Ephesians 2/Thankful Tuesday

1Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.



4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.



8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Raising Little Girls

3 Things To Do When Raising Little Girls:

1) Prepare you mind before the day begins. (1 Peter 1:13)

The best way I know how to do this is by spending time with the Lord, letting Him show me where I need my heart cleaned, talking with Him, and spending intimate time in His word. Without this “renewing of my mind” Romans 12:2 my day just doesn’t go the same. I am not filled up with Him in order to give to my children. Also, it helps set my priorities for the day.

If you are not a morning person, no big deal, the best solution I have heard for this is to simply make a note or two of what the Lord teaches you at night and then make sure you wake up the next morning and give your day to Him and refresh your memory on what He taught you and wants you to do by looking at your notes from the afternoon or night before.


2) Exercise Self Control (1 Peter 1:13)

At my house, emotions run high. I have two girls 14 months apart, and both have very strong personalities. There is no passive child at our house. Therefore, it’s easy when the girls emotions take off with them, for mine to as well. For example, one girl steals another toy, one screams, the other screams, they hit each other, I walk over and they start hitting me. What I really want to do is to get mad because let’s be honest, no one likes to get hit, but the Word says I must exercise self control. I must as the original language suggests of this text, be calm, collected and temperate. It is not an option, it is a command. My girls are looking to see how I react and in essence I am teaching them how to respond by my example.


3) Practice Being Grateful (1 Thes 5:18)

Being ungrateful is a vicious cycle that begins when we are children. The only way we begin to express gratitude is when we are taught to be grateful and thankful. Whenever the girls start whining about wanting something they don’t have (in other words being covetous and ungrateful) I redirect their thoughts to how many things they have to be grateful for and then if it continues I tell them that if they cannot be grateful for what they have, they will simply not get to have or play with anything at all. Even if gratitude is not their heart felt emotion, sometimes we have to practice until we do “feel” what we are disciplining ourselves to do. In other words, if I continually remind our children to be thankful, most likely, they will take this action on themselves and even if they don’t, they will remember that they should, in their hearts.


The Lord has laid it on my heart to continue to write out areas of my life that I need to give to Him in order to show an example to my girls of how to love Him. All three of these areas I have struggled with or am struggling with currently, I, by no means do all of these things perfectly, but by searching His word for how I am to raise my children and live a life for Him, He does teach me. I am thankful that through my kids,  I see myself before the Lord as His child whom He disciplines because He loves. There is nothing that has taught me more about myself than my marriage and children, and although some of the things revealed are hard to swallow, I love how much it challenges me to grow in the strength of the Lord. Without Him, I really can do nothing. (John 15)

This week so far we....

 1) Visited the fish at Walmart

 2) Finished some puzzles

 3) I Lost my credit card and found it

4) Saved $42.42 at Kroger without coupons just shopping their sale

 5) Annabelle wore a little braid in her hair to hide her new self imposed haircut

6) I spent special time with Adelyn while Annabelle was at school

 7) God spoke through His word

 8) received their Hunter Boots from their sweet Aunt Janice!

Thankful Tuesday

 It's Thankful Tuesday and today I am super thankful to God that I get to be a stay at home mommy to these two. It is by far the hardest thing I have ever done but it is so so worth it for me and I don't type this without thinking how blessed I am because I know some moms would love to stay at home and simply can't afford it.

 God has just blessed me with so much. I found a quote on pintrest the other day that said, "God thank you for this beautiful life. I'm sorry if I don't love it enough."

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thes 5:18

 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1

 Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Ephesians 5:2

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:15-17

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 

2 Corinthians 9:15

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 

Philippians 4:6

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

Colossians 3:17

Baby Food, Boupbwacks and More...

 The girls looked so cute before church on Sunday. These were their "Christmas Dresses" and I decided it's a great idea to get holiday clothes that don't just have to go for that day. I got these dresses at the gap kids outlet with my friend Crystal when I went to Denver to visit her and her sweet baby Mack. I got them for such a steal. I wish we had a gap outlet here! Oh and I love how Adelyn is putting on her "boupbwoks" here. What a cutie!

 Annabelle has been into eating baby food again. haha Ok not really or kinda. I saw the "on the go" fruit things on clearance and decided to try some for the girls and Annabelle just loves them and Adelyn doesn't like them at all! ha! Could've guessed.

 Today, the girls and I decided to make princess cookies. (They have shoes on them if you can't tell.)

 They were pretty yummy and it was fun!

 I caught the girls playing ring around the rosy and it was so so sweet. I love how much they love each other!

And I read this this morning and I was so convicted about how the girls probably don't think I am a very thankful person. What a way to reveal to me the area that God needs to work on my heart in! (Oh and this is from "Choosing Gratitude" if you couldn't have guessed. :) )

Beauty & the Beast

 Today, I took Annabelle to the movies to see Beauty and the Beast with some of her friends.

I'm pretty sure she felt pretty special getting to go with the older girls! :)

 Before we left we tried to get a picture and this is what we came up with. Ad is still not exactly herself yet.

 And Annabelle helped me pick the giveaway winner and I am kind of showing off the basement color and the floors down there. I love love love it. I wasn't sure about it at first but I really am liking it all now.

NICOLE MULLINS! 

You are the winner of "Choosing Gratitude." Just direct message me your address or e-mail it to me. :) Thank you all for entering. I just really wanted to bless someone with a free book that really helped me since "blog world" for the most part has been such a blessing to me.

'No one expects you to be superhuman'...

I finished "Choosing Gratitude" today and this passage just particularly spoke to me so I wanted to post it. I'm so excited to give this book away. It is a must read!

 A and A looked so cute snuggling this am on the couch. Ab was reading a book and Ad was of course eating. By looking at Adelyn, you would never know she eats literally the whole time she's awake! ha! She has the Fisher metabolism! Lucky girl!

And I had to snap some pics of this cutie with her sissy's clothes on and with her daddy. Annabelle was hiding from the camera so maybe I'll get her next time!

I'll draw a name randomly for the giveaway tomorrow morning before I take Annabelle to see "Beauty and the Beast!"

'But Not Without Sacrifice' and Curly Hair

Today's chapter I read in the book "Choosing Gratitude"is called "But Not without Sacrifice." It is the chapter of this book I have been waiting to read. It is all about choosing gratitude toward God even in the hardest of times. I simply want to record in bullet point style some of the things that really spoke to my heart. 

"To give thanks to Him for all things, is indeed, a very difficult duty; for it include giving thanks for trials of all kinds; for suffering and pain; for reproaches; for loneliness. Yet those who have learned submission will not find it a hard duty." -Priscilla Maurice

"God, I have never thanked you for my thorn! I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed to you by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow." -George Matheson

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21

"Not unscarred, not unmoved, not functioning out of reality like robots, but still spotting reasons for hope and promise. They seem to know that the only thing more debilitating than what they're going through would be going through it ungratefully." (or unchanged!!) -Nancy Lee DeMoss

"No, the days don't always get easier. The night can still drag until utter exhaustion finally pulls a person under for a few hours' sleep. But those who say "No" to resentment and "Yes" to gratitude even in the face of excruciating pain, incomprehensible loss, and ongoing adversity, are the ones who really survive. They stand against the tide of memories, threats, loss, sadness, and answer back. With gratitude." -Nancy Lee DeMoss

"The question that came to her heart was: 'Can you thank Me for trusting you with this experience, even if I never tell you why?' " -Helen Roseveare

"My circumstances didn't change but He changed me in the midst of them." -Nancy Lee DeMoss

"I have learned along the way that, regardless of how I may feel, anything that makes me need God is (ultimately, in the truest sense) a blessing. Be it disappointment. Be it physical suffering. Be it mental or relational anguish." -Nancy Lee Demoss  

"Gratitude may not change your situation, perhaps not even a little. But it will put you in the only possible position for experiencing everything God desires for you throughout this hard stretch of life." -Nancy Lee DeMoss

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be on my mouth!"Psalm 34:1

Today while Annabelle was in school, Adelyn decided she wanted to take a bath and so her hair was so curly. I was just dying at how cute it was so I finally got out my camera and took some pictures and then I snapped one of the snow today for the snow lovers.

Hoping my sweet babies feel better soon!

Oh and don't forget about the giveaway of the book "Choosing Gratitude" by Nancy Lee DeMoss. Comment here if you would like to enter!