I used to run.

Sunday mornings, on our way to church, we drive around the lake near our house. There are always flocks of people running, biking, walking. Even if it's twenty-degrees outside you wouldn't know it. Minnesotans are committed. The other week on our drive my eyes locked in on this young girl in her early twenties. 

She was wearing black running tights and a baggy sweatshirt. Her pony-tail bouncing up and down with every stride. She looked kind of intense but she also looked free. I saw my younger-self when I looked at her and I thought about what it would be like to be in her shoes. I took a deep breath and it was almost like I could feel the cold air burning in my lungs. My train of thought got away from me and before I knew it I blurted out, 

"I used to run." 
 "What do you mean?" 

I can see how he would be confused considering he spent all of that money buying me a jogging stroller. " I mean, I used to run. I would wake up in the morning, grab my shoes and and take off. There was no one who needed me, no time I needed to get home I would just stick in my earphones and run." I went on about how it would feel to come home, sit on the floor and stretch. How I would lay on the floor in quiet. I would feel so tired but so alive. The feeling was still so familiar. Again, I could close my eyes and it was like I could feel the weight of my body sinking into the floor. 

"You need to run babe." 
 "You're right, I do." 

 As we continued to make our way to church I thought about the young girl. I thought about her day. How she would go home to her cute and cozy apartment, take off her shoes, grab a glass of water and find her place on the floor. She would stretch out and rest. No one would call for her, no one would come jump on her stomach, no one would need to nurse. She would sit in silence for as long as she wanted. When Jessi first started talking about being in the thick of it this was the moment I came to. 

For me, being in the thick of it feels weighty. Demands are pulling me in so many directions it's hard to imagine what it would feel like to run free again. I feel the weight of everyone looking to me to hold it all together. I fear if I run it will all come crumbling down. I feel the weight of being a mom,a wife, a friend, a neighbor, a daughter, a sister, a small business owner, a follower of Christ. 

 During church that morning I felt heavy, tired and desperate to run. In a moment of prayer I felt it all come out... "Lord, It often feels like I am the cornerstone, the one everything is resting on. I feel the weight and I'm afraid to move. I'm afraid to run. I'm afraid if I do it will all fall apart." I heard Him gently respond, "Jessi, you were never meant to be the cornerstone. I AM the Chief cornerstone. I bear the weight so you can run free." “

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30 

When you're in the thick of it do you feel the weight, do you feel like the cornerstone? The one holding it all together. What does it look like to stand in the thick of it but not bear the weight of it? Where does my role end and faith begin?  These are some of the questions I'm wrestling through. The questions I come to everyday around 5 p.m. when the weight is bearing down. 

How do I live in my role but let Him bear the weight so I can run free?

dependence. some grace imparted by Sarah.

hey yall...I'm Sarah from Racing Towards Joy!

{Jessi is one of those ladies I constantly draw life from

so I'm honored to share here on her blog today!}

I gave birth 11 days ago,

to my second baby girl, Bethany.

I love having a brand new little one around again.

There's something so fresh and innocent about newborns

that brings life to my days.

But I totally forgot how needed I would be.

How dependent on me SHE would be.

I was totally slammed with the reality of a little person

being totally dependent on me when I had my first daughter 2 years ago.

It rocked my world.

And somehow I forgot it would be like this all over again.

Don't get me wrong.

I LOVE fulfilling her every need,

responding to her every cry, never putting her down,

feeding her at all hours.

(and this girl eats ALL the time. :) )

It's just that I forgot about the utter dependence of a newborn.

But God has shown me something through her need of me.

My mentor growing up called it

"Daily Desperate Dependence".

This need, this complete reliance on God,

that I MUST HAVE to even survive.

Just like my little baby.

I want to learn this lesson from her...

I want to wake from sleep

(literally and spiritually speaking)

CRYING OUT to Him to come and meet me...

and trusting that He will.

I am thankful for the journey of faith that God has had my little family on

for the last 8 years.

It has been one of desperate dependence...

whether we chose it or not.

Circumstances often required it.

Accounts have been negative, health has declined,

life has been taken, life has been given, changes have occurred.

All things that MADE us desperate

for HIS provision and protection.

And He showed up every. single. time.

Like Bethany is right now,

I desire to be so dependent on my Heavenly Father

that I cannot function daily without Him.

I think part of this dependence comes from remembering

all that He has already done for me.

All the needs He has already met, all the desires He has already fulfilled.

...and to be able to trust Him for even more.

I believe He designed it this way,

He made me His daughter.

He desires to meet my every need.

Because He is GOOD,

and I am desperately needing His goodness in my life,

every. single. day.

you, me, & the kid

Hey y'all faithful Naptime Diaries readers! I'm April from You, Me & The Kid. I feel so super special to be here posting on the infamous blog of Jessi Connolly!

 

Writing this post on Jessi's blog is a full circle blogging moment of sorts for me.  You see, Jessi's blog is the first blog I.EVER.READ. I guess you could say, she partly inspired me to start blogging.  Here I am three plus years later, writing a post here! Crazy!  

 

When I first started reading, I have to be honest...I wasn't a huge fan.  I didn't get all the scripture and I couldn't relate to her living all the way across the country with three kids.  I knew I had to be missing something because she is loved and adored here in blog land. 

 

Even though I swore I disliked her blog, I kept coming back.  Every day reading, checking in to see how she was.  I had to know how she was doing it with three babies.  Where she was with loosing her baby weight.  Where she and Nick were on their church planting journey. Something kept bringing me back.

 

I think I thought Jessi had it all figured out.  I started to realize the "dislike" was more "envy" than anything. I was envious that she had the strength to put on her blog when she was happy and when she was really, really sad. That she could start a project and admit she would rather just spend time with her family than finish it. I was envious when she took the kids to school with LIPSTICK on and that she looked so beautiful after having three kids and I was still a disaster after one.  I was envious of her incredible faith in God.

 

Slowly, I started to realize the reason I loved her.  It wasn't that she has it all figured out, because really, who does?  It was that she really was just a normal girl trying to be a good Christian and a good mother and a good wife.  And isn't that what we're all trying for?  How could I not relate to that? 

 

And now this blog of hers, it's my INSPIRATION.  I used to greet my hubby with yoga pants and crazy hair every day.  Now, I try my best to throw on some make up and the jeans he thinks my butt looks cute in.  And I've worn lipstick to preschool once or twice.  I almost thought about running.  =) .  I'm nowhere near making Quinoa but it's the thought that counts right??  Most importantly I've learned from Jessi to be happy where I am in my life.  Find the good even when it's muddled together with tons of bad.  And even though I have days I feel like my best isn't good enough, HE always does.  

 

Thanks for reading and Jessi, Thanks so much for having me. 

...........

Jessi here, tagging on to sweet April's post:). 

I loved her words and it was a great challenge to me to remember to always put forth a real picture about our lives. 

And of course, when I read her post, I immediately emailed her this picture of me from yesterday morning. Where I look straight up busted and have NOTHING all together:) 

Thank you for your post, April! 

sorry if that frightened anyone:)

 

Ellen. She knows what's up.

ya'll. I'm trying to live out my choosing the better portion this week by taking some time away from the internet. While I repent from the idea that I NEED to check my email 3,205 times a day, you all get to enjoy the voices of some of my favorite writers and today - one of my favorite friends. Enjoy Ellen:). 

...........
Hi, I'm Ellen :). I blog and create and whathaveyou over at handmade recess. I'm so happy to be here with y'all today!

Didn't y'all love what Jessi shared last week about how the Lord is gently leading her to seek the good portion?

On Monday, when that post went up, I was having one of those WHEN?! days. Do you know those days? Days where I wonder when I will be the world's most awesome at every single teeny tiny thing. Because why shouldn't I be?

And the thing is that I'm not the type of person who generally thinks I'm wonderful. I have a hard time just saying thank you when someone compliments me.

Somewhere in my life I've swallowed a huge horse pill of untruth. That life is about me being perfect. And about me accomplishing things. And accomplishing them well. And looking cute PLUS! having good hair.

I can relate to Martha slaving away in her kitchen. She couldn't stop. Because who was she if she didn't make the best pie and keep her house the cleanest and show Jesus the best hospitality?

Who was she?

Mary understood. She was a daughter of the king. Everything. Everything is about Him.

When He moves in our heart and mind. When He is present. When He is pressing. We can stop the whirlygig that is our life. We can sit at His feet and rest.

Those things aren't who we are. They don't define us. They don't redeem us. They don't cover us.

And He is ever present. And so we-the we of haves and have nots, of done and not done, of mistakes and approvals-become less so that He can become more in us.

beautiful Rachel on adoption

Ya'll. Enjoy this wise & beautiful post from my friend Rachel today. 

She is a gem and LOOK at those precious kids.

Hello to the Naptime Diaries readers! 

My name is Rachel and I met Jessi when she was a young spry college student on a mission trip to Haiti. I remember that she was a sweet girl, who had great hair and was way into her boyfriend (don’t worry it was Nick.) I have loved watching her become a wife and mama via the blogosphere. Even though I have not seen her since that trip nearly 8 years ago I feel like she is a friend. I love to hear her heart for Jesus, her husband, children, sister and friends. It spurs me on to love others better.  I also love and appreciate her heart for the orphan and it is because of her heart for this that I have been asked to guest post. I asked Jessi last minute to go to an orphan care conference in August and she could not make it but she said "can you blog about what you learn?"  I agreed, even though I am not a writer, because I am passionate about orphan care. Before I get started I want to give you some background:

First off a little about me. I am 32 and grew up most of my life in SC. By the grace of God, I began a saving relationship with Christ as a sophomore in college. I met my wonderful husband while in college, but we did not marry until 4 years after college. We are in our sixth year of marriage and have four biological kids. We hope and pray that when my husband is finished with seminary we can adopt. That does not cover it but you have others things to do than read my post, so I must move on...

 It seems in the blog world you do not have to be an expert/professional to write about something but it can't hurt to tell you what has led me to want to care for orphans and to want to write and share on this subject.

1. I have an adopted sister and brother. 

2. The home I grew up in had an open door policy. We always had people who were in need living with us. Whether it was an elderly man with no family (my adopted Grandpa, who we affectionately called AGP), or a college couple who got pregnant out of wedlock, or a battered woman and her children, the door was always open.

3. Last year I started an orphan care ministry at my church (not as big of a deal as it sounds - I prayed, got people together to pray and then we took action).

4. Lastly and most important I was actually an orphan: alone, hungry, living in filth and poverty and my God adopted me, brought me out of all of that horror and made me HIS CHILD. He told me that He would relate to me the same as his real son Jesus and invited me into his home and family. Amazing!

I thought narrowing down what to share with from the conference you would be hard but it was not because even though I learned tons about the call and mandate to adopt (listen here) and I learned lots of practical tips from the seminars (here is a sampling: adopting out of your skin color, adopting special needs, the ministry of foster care). I was reminded and reinforced in my belief and awe of the doctrine of adoption (listen here.) I got some great books, Orphanology and Reclaiming Adoption. But what I really wanted to share with you was what I learned from the speaker Sean Cordell (listen here) whose talk was entitled "How can we care for the orphan." However, his talk was not a “how-to” on adoption or a strategy session on how to get all the kids out of orphanages.  Rather, he spoke about how it is ONLY the love of God that will really motivate and  allow us to persevere in the cause of orphan care. This topic resonated with me because I am a mother of four little people, one with special needs, and most days I can barely keep my head above water. Still, I desperately care for these children who are orphaned in this world. I want to do something about it but it is HARD and it is COSTLY! What in the world is going to get me and keep motivated to help in this cause of caring for the “least of these”? The answer is not what I naturally think or feel. It is not the praise of man. It is not even the praise of the children we help. It is the love of the father.  "We love because he first loved us" (John 4:19). "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 5:9). When we know we are loved freely then we can be empowered toward orphan care.

You might be saying “Well, duh Rachel. That is simple enough.” But, I constantly need to be reminded that it is the gospel, the truth that Jesus gave up glory and became nothing to purchase and adopt me that needs to motivate me toward good deeds. See, I am a man-pleaser. I easily can help orphans so that I look good to others, namely my church, my facebook “friends,” my whole community. I have to soak in the gospel to avoid the temptation of such an improper and short sighted motivation. I am also the lover of all things “underdog.” I do not love watching sports, but if my husband can convince me that a person on the team is an underdog I am so excited to watch. I love to look and cry at the adoption websites like Adopt US kids and Reece’s Rainbow. My heart breaks for these children. I have to fight hard to not let pity for these children, these underdogs, (who do indeed deserve our pity) to be the motivator in taking action to serve them.  I am also often a Pharisee at heart and I have to fight my tendency to serve the needy with the motivation of trying to earn Gods favor. I need constant reminding that God loves me. I need to read it, speak it, write it, hear it! I have to soak and bask daily in the love God has for me demonstrated in my very existence and his Son’s death for me on a cross. It is his love for me and this alone that will cause me to take on the costly job of caring for the orphan.

Folks, we know it is not all going to be peaches or everyone would be doing it. We all know deep down no matter how cute those kids are they are going to cost us. Not just money, but time, energy and even heartache. It will be hard. It might be late nights (like tonight for me, and oh those kids get up early), skipping vacations, or getting the minivan or, even worse, the 15 passenger. It may be later retirement or even no retirement at all. As Sean says in his talk “Adoption is tragic beauty.” There will be hardship, but there will also be great beauty. For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross. We can endure the cause of caring for the orphan because He first loved us. His love can make us the most crazy, loving, sacrificing, risk taking people on the planet.  We can love the orphan simply and yet profoundly because God loves us.  So, I challenge you to soak in this love and pray and ask how God wants you to love others. Ask him if he wants you to adopt, to foster, to mentor a parent-less child. Ask him if he wants you to give money, raise money, or receive money to get an orphan adopted. Ask him if he wants you to teach, plan or lead in the cause of orphan care in your community. There are so many ways you can demonstrate the love that God has shown you. We need stop and stare and soak up His love for us and then step out in faith and take action. 

Jessi and her readers, thank you so much for letting me share my heart.  I hope it blesses you and glorifies God and serves to bring more children home here on earth and in the kingdom to come!

welcome september

I'm welcoming September with a morning on the couch, with coffee, and sinus meds. 
Watching my sweet babes play and pretending it's crisp outside. (hahahahahahaha)
My to-do list is a million miles long and all of a sudden, we're getting ready for preschool to start! Agh! Parent night tonight, meet the teacher tomorrow, let's slow this boat down! 
Wasn't I just washing bibs and using that nose suction thing on these newborns? 
Oh, blerg. 


In the meantime, you can find me over here. 
I am such a fan of that Annalea's and so blessed to take part in her "a day in the life of her" series. My post is quite possibly frustratingly honest, so read with caution:). 
Happy September folks! 

guest post by Jacy, life is short.

Hi guys! I'm Jacy from lucylucybangbang and I am super excited to be here! Today I want to talk about the TOTALLY cliche saying - "life is short". You know, like that Kenny Chesney song "Don't Blink". Yep, totally lame cliche.

Recently, I was slapped across the face with this very cliche saying when my husbands sweet aunt passed away. We were already up in NY when she passed away so our trip was greatly extended. Kevin's (the hubs) entire family lives up there and we are down here in the Carolinas and while we know this is the best place for us, we miss them like crazy. This turned into a strange blessing for us to get to relax and spend LOADS of quality time with family. We played. We laughed. We danced. We sang. We drank margaritas. There were basketball games in the pool and late-night pizza. Shoe shopping with teenage nieces.  We talked and we laughed some more. We did some serious family bonding. At some point, it hit me. Life is way too short to take myself so seriously. Aunt Janet was 66 when she was handed her fate and when she was told she would die her reaction was to put her hands in the air with "and so it is!" What kind of person says that? The kind who knows she lived her life with everything she had. The kind of person who knows where she going and is eager to get there. The kind of person who feels good, genuinely good, about the life she lived. She was kind and generous and funny and spiritual and a faithful wife and mother. I'll tell you what kind of person says that...the kind of person I want to be. The kind of person whose wake has to be held in a church because a funeral home isn't large enough to squeeze in all the fine folks who want to pay their respects...'cause she was that awesome. Lofty goal, that last part, I know but it doesn't hurt to aspire to great things, right?

At some point in all this family goodness and celebrating life and missing Aunt Janet I realized I had it all wrong. It's time to carve out more time for family trips up north and slow down when we're there. It's time to care less about the laundry and the dishes and play with my kids more. It's time to laugh at my short-comings and celebrate my strengths. It's time to care less about the way I look in a bathing suit and do cannonballs in the face of insecurity. It's time to be a better friend. It's time to forgive others and forgive myself too. It's time to greet opportunity with open arms, not fear. It's time to enjoy my children and not think of them in terms of shoes outgrown and dirty laundry and meals needed. They're not chores, but priviledges to raise. It's time to whine less and margarita more. It's time to take risks and regret less. It's probably time to stop using cliches. It's definitely time to LIVE life in a way that I can carry with me that same attitude that Janet carried and accept things as they are with grace. And so it is.

I like to think that the towels I make serve as a reminder to the ladies who use them. To remind them, amisdt the chaos of meal prep and dirty dishes and screaming children, that life is short. Laugh at it all. Put the dishes down and play. They'll still be there later and so will the towel...because it's snapped on - hah! Please enjoy the coupon code "naptime" for 10% your entire order all month long and use your new towels to dry up all those cannonball splashes. 

Jessi here. Thanks so much Jacy!

And just fyi - I am in love with my lucylucybangbang dish towel. It is absolutely a spot of joy in my otherwise easy-to-seem-boring kitchen. 

Thanks girl for all you do! 

sweet Ellen, wisdom & beauty

Below is a guest post from Ellen over at handmade recess. 
Ellen is an internet friend - turned real life friend. 
She's my everything friend. 
We go running together, she sharpens me & we pray together, she has taught me literally everything I know about running a small in-home business, and our kids love each other. I love her & praise God for her. 
Enjoy & love her as much as I do! 
...............
Hi! I'm Ellen, the handmade recess girl. I'm so thankful to be here with y'all today. The basics? I'm a married mom of three. My husband works for a residential children's home and we live right next door. It's kind of crazy good. I try to keep up with my little business, handmade recess, where I make bags and wallets and various pretty things out of fabric. My shop is closed right now as I'm restocking for fall and winter but I plan to reopen it next week. You can see a tiny preview of my fall and winter products right here.

Keeping a business that centers around creativity as been a huge journey for me. One that has been challenging some deep seeded fears that I've harbored for a long time.

I struggle with being timid. Fearful. A perfectionist. And somewhere along the way I swallowed the lie that it's better to just not try than to fail. Failing became crippling for me.

But. God has not given me that spirit of timidity and He's been rubbing my heart raw as he draws that out of me.

Fear of failure keeps you from connecting with others and stepping into a new season and the beauty of surrender. I've learned that I'm much more afraid of not stepping into a season God has appointed for me than I am of falling on my face. The Lord has a plan for my gifts, one that does not involve hiding them as too precious to be shared.

There have been major fails. I could easily look around and see all of the people who are better at life and business and creativity than me. I could easily walk around shadowed by rejection.

Instead, God is sweetly leading me to see that failure is just part of His story for us. When I turn to Him with the realization that every good gift is given well and even hard things become beautiful in Him, I enter into sweet fellowship with Christ whose grace covers over all of my shortcomings.

In the end, it's not about me and my failure. It's about Him picking me up. And that's beautiful.


.......
Sometimes in my head, I call Ellen "e-bug" because that's what I call Elias and it just comes out sometimes in my head. 
Don't tell her. 
Isn't she wise?
Isn't she lovely? 
Also, you can pray for Ellen and I as we ask the Lord about embarking on a new endeavor together. But don't get your hopes up, cause He might say no. 


Love ya'll!  

1% change, from Rachael

Hey ya'll. My last little summer "vacation" is almost over, but one more guest post. 

Here's my sweet friend Rachael from Letters to Ames. 

I LOVE when people do guest 1% changes for me and take

 it to a place that is TRULY challenging to me. 

(looking at you, Kelli). Here's another one. 

Thanks for putting it plainly Rach. 

Love you guys & miss you! 

Entered the giveaway yet?!

...................

Side note... err... Top note. Before I even get started, I want to say something. Jessi sat in my living room about a year ago and told me her theory on the 1% change concept. I think it was new to her at that time, and she was still in the processing stages. 

Can I just say, Jessi, that I am so proud of you?! You stuck with this idea and fleshed it out here on your blog, allowing us to share it with you on a regular basis. You are an inspiration on how to make healthy living (be it physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual) less intimidating and more feasible in our families. Thank you!

Now, I will share about a little family victory in our home.

Our 1% change for healthy living has to do with groceries: GO FOR IT.

We made a commitment to buy organic, vegetarian-fed meat. So we do. It's not available everywhere, and it's ridiculously expensive. So we just buy a little less, or a little less often. But we stick to our commitment. 

We committed to eliminating high-fructose corn syrup in our house (with the exception of ketchup, because the organic stuff was JUST NOT CUTTING IT). Anyway, whenever we see something we'd like, we read the label. If there is corn syrup in it, it goes back on the shelf. We take a minute to mourn, because that item would have surely been enjoyed. But it's not coming across our doorstep. Because we committed to it.

Sure, healthy eating has affected our budget. But I refuse to accept "organic is just too expensive" as an excuse to buy yucky stuff. We simply find ways to make it work. We meal plan more efficiently, which means we grocery shop together, which means the right side items accompany the right entrees, which means we save money, which means we don't stress as much about food or finances, which means we enjoy sitting down to dinner as a family. So basically, committing to something and sticking to it makes for a healthier marriage and a healthier family! Right?

........

I say RIGHT. What do you need to just go with? Just do? 

Do it. 

And tell us about it. 

1% change, FINANCE

This is Kelli. She is precious. 

She has a wonderful blog on great money 

saving tips and I am so thankful for her!

1% Change- finances

Hi everyone! Don’t you just love Jessi, and this great community she has created here? I know I do, and I love how she challenges each of us to better ourselves, a little at a time. 


My name is Kelli and I am very excited about sharing a 1% change you can make involving finances, which in turn, can help us accomplish a goal with eternal benefits. Read on to find out what that goal is!  


I think so many times we get stressed out about bills, keeping up with the Joneses, pursuing the American dream, or whatever it is we want to do that our focus becomes severely egocentric. Anyone still with me? I would venture to guess we can all give up something, or change one habit, that will enable us to change by 1%- or even more! So. What are a few ways we can effectively cut our budgets? Here are just a few.  


1} How many of you LOVE to drive through Starbucks, McDonald's, whatever, and grab iced coffee? I know I'm raising my hand! But this can add up so quickly. I don't think you have to give up the restaurant coffee all the time, but set yourself a budget. Give yourself $10 a month in cash, and when it's gone, it's gone. Then, learn to make iced coffee (or whatever kind you like) at home. Then sit down and enjoy it instead of slurping it down in the car. :)  


2} Downgrade {or even cancel} your cable. Ouch. I know this can hurt. But do you really have time to watch 250 channels? Or need to? And if you have kids, do they need access to what is out there? Can I let you in on a little secret? My husband and I have been married almost 10 years and have never had cable. And I really don't want it! {except for Food Network- that would be nice!} And it is a treat when we get to go to a hotel and have cable! It makes watching the Food Network special for me. In the last year or two, we have also subscribed to Netflix. For only ten bucks and some change, you can have lots of movies and shows at the ready, for much less than a cable plan costs.  


3} Shop at "dollar stores." I have a blog dedicated to this very thing that can help you see what items you can purchase at these stores that are a good deal, and those that aren't. But just for a sampling, did you know you can get children's acetaminophen {generic Tylenol} for $1 at Dollar Tree? Or a great pair of sunglasses for $4 at Dollar General? Or even pregnancy tests? There are so many items we can get on the cheap if we just take a little time to research. Dear sisters, can I be lovingly honest here? 


If we are not being wise stewards over what God has given us, we are not only being selfish, we are being disobedient to his word. I think it is easy to slip into the mindset of this is "my money," and "my needs," but God reigns over all of it! And, he will bless us when we are faithful to obey him.  


So, now that we have discussed ways to help out our budget, and you've saved a little cash, what is this eternal goal that I speak of? It is to help others! There are soooo many ways to help out that I can't even begin to touch them all. Here are three that can get you going, though:  
◊ One way is to support a child through a great organization such as World Vision or Compassion. For just about $40 a month {hello there, 8 coffees, or 4 movies, or one pair of shoes}, you can help give a child clean water, food, education, and best of all, access to the Gospel. 
◊ I know that not everyone will be able to spare an extra forty dollars. It just isn’t there. But there are still ways to help! Jessi has a great idea about helping others here. Just taking a meal to someone can be HUGE.  
◊ Know any single moms? Take their kids out and buy them a pair of shoes. Give them a giftcard to Wal-Mart for groceries. If you can't do something financially, let her kids come over for an evening so she can get some stuff done. {and for you precious single moms reading this, you are in my prayers. You do SO much and I admire you. } 


If none of these ideas spark your heart, do some research. Look online, ask a minister at your church, or simply look around your neighborhood. Most likely, someone close to you could use some kind of help. In conclusion: Do I have this all down pat? Absolutely not. Are there days when I would much rather get a mocha Frappuccino (with whipped topping, of course) than to make my own? Absolutely yes. But I think the important lesson is to GIVE more than we are giving now. A little at a time. 


I would love to hear of other creative ways you have to save money, as well as to help others!
.................
thank you so much, Kelli.
I'm on board and super challenged.
Save the money so you can steward it, so you can give it. Amen & Amen.

meet the tiny twig.

I like everything about The Tiny Twig. 
I like emailings with her and reading about her life, and praying for her too. 
If I'd know she was going to write about running, and this beautifully, I would've begged her to write a guest post months ago. Forgive me. 


Enjoy ya'll, Jess



Running.  It is the last thing in the world I thought would make me feel like a woman, like a woman alive.  However, that is exactly where I find myself.
I had my third son a couple months ago.  You see, I am the lone lady in a house full of the boyest of boys.  I don't even have a girl fish.  Along with that boy tribe comes noise, dirt, sword fights, wrestling, and all sort of bad guy/good guy play.  No hair-braiding and Anne of Green Gables reading in this house.
During his 20 week ultrasound, the technician flippantly announced, "It's a boy!" within a minute of beginning the sonogram.  She quickly followed this by, "Is he your first?".  I was so stunned by her haste that I just sputtered out, "No...he's our third...boy."  Then, I sat in silence for the rest of the exam.  My poor husband asked me every 30 seconds if I was excited by this awesome set of events.  Three boys!  Could you believe our luck?
We walked out to the car and I told him that I was stunned, that I would be very excited once it sunk in, and that he needed to paint my office pink that weekend.  For some reason, a pink office where I could hide my breakables until we were empty nesters seemed like the best laid plan.  My husband, he's a sweet man...my office was a beautiful shade of blush within days.
However, that office rarely gets used.  See, I can't hole myself up in a pink coccoon until my boys turn 18.  I need to be there to witness the races, and judge the jumps, and break up the fights.  These sweet young men count on me to show them the gentler side of life.  I have such a short window to influence their lives.  I have realized that I must join their adventures if I wish to have any sort of impact.
So, for the remainder of my pregnancy I looked forward to starting the Couch to 5K program.  All of the sudden, I realized...I needed to be strong in mind and body for these boys.  I need vitality.  I need strength.  I want to be able to keep up with them well into my golden years, and that dream takes planning now.  So, away I went.
And now...this workout is the most feminine part of my day.  I am alone in the world, alone with my thoughts and my God.  I am away from the noise, and the wrestling, and the needy little men that love me and need me.  I am nourishing myself.  I am making sure I am strong and able, so that I can be strong and able to give.
This is a new adventure, one that will morph and change over time.  If I've learned one thing about going out on a limb, it is that it never looks as you've imagined.  However, it is so worth it.  It is worth finding new joys, and learning new things about yourself and the world.


.........
thanks lady. I'm going to go run (femininistically) and think of you. 

guest post #5, given to love

Have these been the best guest bloggers ever? I've never liked reading my own blog more! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to 

Jhen, Danielle, Layla, Rachael, and now KATIE!

Katie blogs over at Given to Love and she is also the BRILLIANT mind behind Faithblogs, which you should check out right now if you haven't. I think she is incredibly visionary and also incredibly passionate and incredibly wise. And I like her hair. 

Katie, THANK YOU! 

1. What do you blog about and why?

Oh, I blog about the cute/weird/wonderful things that my kids do and say, about the things that God is teaching me in this life, and the things that are close to my heart, like adoption, and orphan-care. I blog as a creative outlet, a way to share my faith and my life and hopefully (mostly) to bring glory to God.

2. What is the most terrifying possibility in life? 

The death of anyone of my children, or the possibility of them loosing me/us too soon. It scares the crap out of me. On this planet, they are my everything, and at this place in time, I am theirs. But when I think about what it really means to loose them, I realize that loosing them to an early death would not be nearly as terrifying as loosing them for eternity. What I mean is, I want to be the kind of mama that teaches them the way to the Father. That in my life or in my death, He will be glorified in a way that will leads my children to life eternal with Him. And I often pray that no matter the cost, I will one day have the great joy of spending all of forever in Heaven with my Maker, and each one of my little treasures. This is what I live for.

3. How did you meet your husband? 

In eighth grade, (mid-90s) I was a mega-dork (big ears, stringy hair, super-awkward) and he was mega-cool (decked out in adidas, rockin' the bowl-cut. Maybe that was just cool in my town?) Anyhow, I was in all of his elective classes: art, home-ec, gym. I did his art projects, sewed his quilt square and impressed him my ability to Sweat to the Oldies with Richard Simmons.Okay, the last part is probably not true. I may have sweat, but no one was impressed.

Good and bad, by the time we were out of high school, a lot had changed. I had watched him date plenty of girls, always secretly wishing it were me, but we had become really close and had been through a lot together, as friends. The kind that held hands at the movies. Only a couple more years passed before we were married. I still tell him that I always knew he was the one for me. (interject here, this is Jessi. Katie, Nick and I have a similar story and we always laugh about our hand-holding-for-months-in-movies-before-dating-ways. Thank goodness for high school secret PDA. 

4. What's an issue/topic/idea that makes your heart beat faster and makes your face get hot and makes you incredibly passionate?

Every part of me wants to type something witty/sarcastic here, something like "matching socks." If only to avoid the subject. But, if I am honest, the only thing that comes to mind, well it's pretty heavy. While I care deeply about the orphan crisis, hunger, people without love.... the one thing that gets me really worked up is abortion. I try not to think about it too much in a way that consumes me or makes me crazy, but I am just plain upset about the whole industry. Please understand that this does not mean that if you've had an abortion, or several, that I think any less of you. I know in my heart and soul that you are the beautiful daughter of a King, and I pray that you know Him too, along with all of  His abundant goodness and sweet mercies. 

5. What is something you do every single day? Screw up

6. What do you most want people to come away from you knowing? That I am the worst person I know, with the greatest Savior

Thank you SO much Katie. (And all guest bloggers)

Semi-normal blog life may (hopefully) (we'll see) resume tomorrow. (maybe)

I sure like you guys and I miss you! 

...............................

Two quick things: 

a) I'm still incredibly encouraged and spurred on and burdened by all the responses that are still coming from this blog. I feel so much encouragement from hearing other women need a space to grieve. Mostly, I wish I could make my blog into a house - invite all of you in that have experienced loss, and hear all your stories. And give God all the glory for how He has met you in it. And preferably, if we're going to to be crying our eyes out, it would be nice if there was coffee and pretty throw pillows involved in this fantasy. 

But for real. Women in my actual-physical-life have been incredibly encouraging, but the truth of the matter is that I'm a stay at home mom, sharing a car with her husband, trying to walk through the process of grieving a baby while raising three kids and sometimes an email from ya'll or a comment really truly meets me in a way that physical people can't in this season. And I'm thankful. 

b) our friends, the Ladds, are in Ethiopia getting their son right NOW! They bring him home this weekend and we are seriously overjoyed for them! Also, we've been so blessed by how many of you have bought their print, which 100% of the proceeds go to their fundraising. They are still actively fundraising to finish paying for this leg of their trip, and we'd so love to just shock them with a massive check with they get home. 

ok. Connolly out. happy Wednesday ya'll.