2012 in Review

No, it can't be time AGAIN! Really, another year has already flew by?! It seems it has.

Somehow, the older I get, the faster time wants to go. Why is that? When I was young & anxiously awaiting something, it took F O R E V E R, but now that I am trying to slow down, I can't!

2012 was filled with ups & downs, laughter & tears, triumphs & disappointments. G.R.A.C.E has reached out & encouraged more people than I could imagine.  Blessed Boutique is allowing me to do what I enjoy while still being home.

In a nutshell this year we have had 1 child stop believing in Santa & the tooth fairy, 1 child lost their first 2 teeth, 1 child to take their first steps. We have bought a dirt bike, a go cart, a 4 wheeler, a truck, a new engine for the Suburban, & a new washer & dryer. We have played football, soccer, baseball, & cheer leading. We have dealt with RSV - twice, ear infections - too many to count, a gash in a head, a leg almost sawed off, bumps, bruises, black eyes, & bloody noses. We have left one church in order to follow God's will for Justin to become a pastor.

Thankfully, through it all, I can still say that I am BLESSED! God is good!

Here are a few of my favorite posts from the past year -

Hey Can You Help these Old People

Is it Really That Important  

What Will You Leave Behind

If You Never Did Then You Should. These Things are Fun & Fun is Good.

Something More

Happy Birthday Austin

The End of an Era

My Sweet Logan is 1

When Did He Grow Up

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly - Part 1

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly - Part 2

A Higher Calling

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ School Pictures

Reviving Your Marriage

The Marriage Project

20 More Years

Whose Dream is This

The Elf on the Shelf

Here's to the close of 2012 & the promise of 2013!

Revive Your Marriage - 50 Shades of Halleluah

I hope & pray that I & others like myself have been a help to you this month. I hope that you have truly put forth some effort into reviving your marriage. I know that my marriage has benefited from these posts.

Have you revived your prayer life?

Have you revived your attitude?

Have you revived your friendship?

Have you revived your praise?

Are you ready to revive your sex life?

I want you to take a trip with me. That's right, let's head down Memory Lane.

When you first met your husband, did you think he could possibly be the man of your dreams? What about when you first realized you were falling in love with him? Was he the man of your dreams then?

Did your heart race everytime the phone rang? Did you wish the week days away in anticipation for the weekend?

How many of you doodled your time away by writing your love's name all over everything? Did you try out your name with his last name?

When you first started dating, how many times a day did you call his phone just to hear his voice telling you to leave a message? How often did you write letters professing your undying affection towards each other?

When was the last time you daydreamed about this man? When was the last time you fantasized about your time together? When was the last time you wrote him a love note?

Has it really been THAT long?

Don't you think he would enjoy hearing how much you missed him during the day or receiving an unexpected message just saying you love him? Think how excited he would be if you  greeted at the front door with a kiss? Or expressed how you couldn't wait to get him alone for a few minutes?

We all have the greatest romance script ever written awaiting us. Why don't you start working on your own copy?

While you're at it, why don't you join us for The Marriage Project? You won't regret it!

Revive Your Marriage - Can I Get an Ego Boost

3 down 2 to go....I'm talking about the great ideas going on over at the Revive Your Marriage blogger link up. If you haven't had an opportunity to read all the wonderful ideas flowing through cyberspace this month, I urge you to do so.

If you have read some of these posts, I hope they have been a sincere help to you.

How many parents out there praise their children for their good deeds? That's what I thought. We start at a young age telling a child "good job" & clapping our hands when they do something that pleases us. The child smiles & tries to do it again because they are seeking praise.

When we are training a new puppy, we praise it for obeying. This is the only way they learn what we consider good behavior.

Think back to when you were in school. When the teacher praised you, it made you happy & more often than not, you strived to repeat the process.

How different are we as adults? We are still looking for gratitude. We are still begging for appreciation. We are still searching for attention. We are still needing praise.

When was the last time you told your husband how good he looked? How nice he smelled? Or how he still made you a little hot under the collar?

When did you acknowledge that he mowed the grass? Changed the oil in the car? Or took the trash out?
Sounds simple, huh? But have you done it lately?

Don't think its important to thank him or to tell him how attractive he looks? Wouldn't you like for him to tell you that the house looks nice? Or that he likes your new haircut?

Trust me, he WANTS to hear your admiration, your respect, & your devotion. He NEEDS to hear it. We NEED to say it. We NEED to NEED our men.

Take a few minutes out of your super busy day & thank your husband for his efforts. Praise him for whatever help he provides for you. Remind him how you like the way he looks in those jeans. Show him the respect that he craves. I can just about guarantee that your efforts will be appreciated!

Revive Your Marriage - Man's Best Friend

Our Wedding Invitation 

I hope that you have been blessed by this series on reviving your marriage found over at Women Living Well,  Time Warp Wife , Unveiled Wife, and To Love Honor & Vacuum. If you have missed any of the posts, please take a few minutes and read over them. I'm sure someone somewhere will have written something especially for you!

We are halfway through our posts about marriage this month. We have talked about reviving our prayer life and reviving our attitude. I have seen positive results already. If your results haven't been that noticeable, please don't give up. Your marriage is worth it!

We all love our spouses, otherwise, how could we stand a lot of the stuff that they do. ;) Most of the time its easy to love the person we promised to spend forever with. Now, don't get me wrong, some days are harder than others, but we still love them.

What's hard, too often, is liking our significant other. I've told my husband a lot of times that I didn't like him. Sometimes, I was joking because he had done something crazy or embarrassing, but I have also meant it sometimes.

Most wedding vows include some sort of "to love, honor, & obey" & "for better or worse, in sickness & health". Nobody really ever addresses liking each other.

But let me ask you, how can you continually love someone when you find it difficult to even like them?

In our society, its common knowledge that a dog is man's best friend & a diamond is a woman's best friend. WHY???

Why should we continue to buy into this?

Husbands, are you tired of having a dog as your closest companion? Wives, how do you feel about being best buddies with a cold lifeless rock?

I think its time to break the stereotype! Make your spouse your best friend. After all, they are the one who  sees you at your best, encourages you at your worst, cheers the loudest, and loves the deepest. If that's not the way your relationship works, I urge you to do everything in your power to right this wrong.

Revive Your Marriage - I Want to be a Farmer

I don't know about you, but I don't like to clean. I mean, I R E A L L Y don't like to clean.

I love the results of a clean house, but the effort just seems like more trouble than its worth sometimes. I spend all of this time sweeping, mopping, washing dishes, & folding laundry. Just as I sit down to enjoy the fruits of my labor, Makenzie spills a drink in the kitchen, Justin tracks dirt through the living room, Logan dumps cereal all over the rug, Austin leaves his shoes in the hall, & somehow the laundry basket is overflowing again.

Really, but I JUST CLEANED! HOW did this happen?

Even though I feel like throwing my hands up & quitting, I resolve to pick up the toys again tomorrow.

What in the world does cleaning house have to do with reviving your marriage? I'm glad you asked!

Marriage is similar to cleaning the house, tending the garden, & mowing the lawn. These are all things that need to be done. Of course, you don't HAVE to do any of this, but most people do. Sometimes we complain, sometimes we half way work at it, sometimes we put it off, sometimes we give up & start over, but most people make some sort of effort.

If we look at our marriage as another "job" that we have to do, we will never see the results we are truly looking for.

Do you know someone who is a terrible house keeper? They are constantly tripping over things left laying about. They are always misplacing things. They only clean the areas that they know other people see. The garbage has been piling up & there aren't any clean dishes in the cabinets. The place is a wreck! It would be less work to sell the place & start over. Do you like to go visit them? Me neither.

This marriage is on the verge of divorce. The couple no longer cares what goes on inside their "home". They don't see the need to make any effort any more. They think that their home is too far gone to worry about any more. What's the point, right?

Have you ever driven by somewhere & you realize that the yard has been mowed again? Does that make twice this week? I have. They live right down the road from me. They are outside in the yard every. single. day. They never rest from working on the lawn. They even pick up trash on the other side of the road because it makes their house look bad. Do they ever rest? Are they ever satisfied?

This marriage looks good to everyone. Everyone that is, except the people living it. They are always looking for something wrong. They are always trying to fix things. They even look at other marriages to compare with their own. They are looking for perfection.

Don't you just love summer gardens? Nothing beats the taste of a home grown tomato after a long hard day! Did that tomato just poof into existence? Yeah, don't we wish! Thought, preparation, time, effort, money, & sweat went into getting that ripe juicy tomato to the table. The ground had to be tilled & fertilized months in advance. The fragile plants had to be picked, handled, & planted with care. They had to be constantly watched over for too much heat, too little rain, deer, rabbits, & bugs.

When the tomatoes finally start to ripen, you have to pick them almost daily. Then, what in the world do you do with all of them? A good farmer cans them of course. Canned tomatoes, salsa, relish, spaghetti sauce, & tomato juice can all be enjoyed for months after the last plant produces if the farmer plans properly.

Even though farming is hard work, the farmer loves what he does. He can be proud of his sacrifice & share his harvest with others.

Doesn't this sound like a happy, healthy marriage? We labor day after day. We plan, prepare, protect, & provide for the ones we love. We fight for & sometimes fight with our partner. After continual effort & exhausting conditions, we get to enjoy our significant other.

Are conditions always perfect? Hah, hardly ever. Are circumstances less than ideal? Yeah, a lot of the time. But, do we give up? Or do we keep plowing away at the field while keeping the harvest in mind?

I don't know about you, but I need to spend a little more time in my garden!

Revive Your Marriage - Heads & Hearts

Have you remembered to pray for your husband this week? Have you seen a difference in your marriage? Have you seen an improvement?

Did you have good intentions to pray more but maybe you forgot or you got too busy? It's ok. This starts a whole new week & you can try harder!

But, that's not all you need to do this week. You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?

I want you to revive your attitude.

WHAT??????!!!!! There's nothing wrong with me! It's all his fault!

How many times have we said that? How many more times have we thought that?
 
But seriously, let's think about this.

Most of the time, we have a real problem admitting when something is our fault. It's so much easier to believe that we are right.

What's more is that not only is it not our fault, but we, as women, are equal to men now! No more being submissive, no more waiting on a man, no more being seen & not heard.

But, what are God's ideas about this?
Ephesians 5:22-23 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: 

and he is the saviour of the body.

God wants us to openly admit when we mess up. He wants us to confess our faults to Him as well as admitting our mistakes to those we have wronged.

God also still desires that the man be the head of the household. This doesn't actually mean the ruler. This more of a cornerstone, the foundation.

When He put Adam & Eve together, He made Eve out of Adam's rib. He didn't pick Adam's foot so that Eve would be less important than her husband or his head so she could be in charge, but his rib so she would be close to his heart.

Think about this ladies. It is God's plan for our men to be in charge. I understand that this idea is not very popular, but most often what is right isn't what is popular.

I haven't always believed this. I didn't even want to say "love, honor, & obey" in my marriage vows. I did say those words though & I'm glad I did. God has brought my way of thinking slowly around to His way.

If this is a new thought for you, go slow.

Start with prayer. Pray for your husband. Pray for yourself. Pray that God will show you what His expectations for your marriage are. Then act on it. Be the first to apologize. Pick up his dinner plate just to be nice. Ask him if he needs anything. Rub his feet.

If your husband is truly the head of your family, then you can take your rightful place as the heart. 

Who knows, once you allow (or nudge) your husband to take his rightful place as the head of the family, God may remind you just how much you love each other!

Revive Your Marriage - The Marriage Project

I just found out I won a giveaway over at Joyful Mothering. Yeah, I'm so excited! I never win anything.

This is perfect timing, since we have all just started working to revive our marriages. I have been watching all the posts on Facebook about The Husband Project but I haven't read the book yet, so I'm slightly in the dark. Christin Slade was giving away one of four different books on her blog. They all looked like helpful ideas, but God knew that I needed The Marriage Project most.

I can't wait to get my hands on this & start using it!

Revive Your Marriage - Are You Up To The Challenge

I guess I should have started here, but yet again, I got a little ahead of myself. Oh well....

When I happened across this link, I decided I would take a few minutes to participate in the Revive Your Marriage blogger series during the month of September. After I read more about it & read a few of the posts that were being written from the heart, I knew I needed to ACTIVELY participate in this challenge.

This can not just be looked upon as another blogger opportunity. This is an open request from God. I haven't been able to get the thoughts concerning it out of my head.

I had already been dwelling on my marriage lately & how I might could improve our relationship even before I came across this challenge. Now, I'm not saying there is anything "wrong" with my marriage, but sometimes we all get in a rut & get caught up just living day to day without taking much thought about what or why we do things.

We, as mothers, put so much effort into our kids, that too often we lose sight of our husbands. If it were not for our husbands (usually), we wouldn't have our kids. After all, God created Adam & Eve first. Then sometime later came Cain & Able. Dwell on that thought for a few minutes. If God had wanted us to put ALL of our energy into our children, don't you think He would have created them first or at least at the same time. 

I know so many couples that rarely ever take dates anymore without their kids. When they do, they find that they don't have anything to talk about. That amazes me. What did you talk about when you were dating? How good he looked? How much you loved him? Hey, guess what, tell him. He still wants to hear it. What are you going to talk about when the kids are grown & have lives of their own?

You claim that you & your husband don't share the same interests anymore. Did you really share the same interests back then? No, but we made an effort to do things just to please each other. He's loves football, but you can't stand it. Take a few minutes to curl up on the couch beside him. Its ok, you don't have to like it, but show some effort that you want to be with him.

I also know several "couples" (& I use the term loosely) that choose to stay together out of comfort & simplicity instead of love. My heart breaks for them. Living a life of habit is no way to really live. When one person wants to make it work, but the other is determined to do whatever they please, only misery can follow.

Remember who the man was that used to make your heart flutter? He's still there. Hey guess what, the woman that used to drive him wild is still there too. Somehow, they have gotten lost under too many take out dinners, nights of falling asleep in the recliner, & taking turns shuttling the kids between activities. You just need to find those people again. Years of comfort & routine tend to make us forget why we started this journey in the first place.

Is this still the man you want to grow old together with? Or are you secretly longing for a way out? Are you satisfied with your everyday life? If not, check in with me periodically throughout the month as we try to encourage each other to improve life as we know it.

Every Monday, we will be addressing a different topic, so share your thoughts, your progress, & your growth.

September 3rd – Revive Your Prayers

September 9th – Revive Your Attitude

September 16th – Revive Your  Friendship

September 23rd - Revive Your Praise

September 30th - Revive Your Sex Life

I challenge you this month to step out of your comfort zone. Step away from your routine. Open yourself up to something bigger & better than what you are now. Take a deep breathe, think about where you are & where you would like to be.

Revive Your Marriage - When All Else Fails, Pray

I must admit that I take my marriage for granted. I'm sure that I'm not the only one either.

I know that Justin loves me with all his heart & I know that I love him with all my heart, but do I tell him enough? Do I show him enough?

When I saw this blog series, I KNEW it was something that I needed! I need help bringing back the spark in my marriage. I need help remembering all the things I love about him. I need to be reminded why I was so crazy about him all those years ago.

I am going to make a more conscious effort to pray for Justin this week. I want to put his needs in front of mine for a little while.

I know that we live crazy busy lives & I have so many things going through my head at any given moment. But Justin has a lot on his mind as well. He has a family to provide for financially, physically, emotionally, & spiritually. He has a congregation to lead & encourage. He has a career to continue, classes to attend, & boys to coach. He also has an example to set.

Won't you join me in praying this week? Pray for me as I pray for my husband. Most importantly, pray for your husband & your marriage as well.

Its sad that as I was looking for a photo to share on this post, this was one of the few I found. Don't get me wrong, I love this picture, BUT it was taken 2 years ago. Maybe (hopefully) I will have a few more before this month is up! ;)

James 5:16 "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."