Inner beauty

Have you ever been around someone that just stands out? The way they dress. The way they act. The way they carry themselves. The confidence they portray.

Sometimes people stand out for the wrong reasons and that is not what I am talking about here.

While volunteering at my sons school one day several years ago I noticed this woman. She was very pretty, well dressed and well groomed. You know the type. She walked with her head held high and her shoulders back. She walked with confidence, like she knew who she was. She stood out.

After some time I got to know this lady and in fact she now is one of my very best friends. Since getting to know her I know why she stands out. I now know why she carries herself with such confidence. I know why she holds her head high and throws her shoulders back. And you know what?  It has nothing to do with the way she is dressed or groomed - though she likes to look nice and presents herself that way.  It is her inner beauty that stands out.

Proverbs 31:30  Says Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!

That is what stands out about this friend of mine. She loves The Lord and seeks to honor him with all she does.  And it shows.

I Peter 3:3-5
³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.

We are told in scripture that God looks at our hearts or our inner self and not our outward appearance.  1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

So my question to you dear reader is, What stands out about you?

Do you spend time every day reading God's Word and getting to know Him better?  Do you pray and communicate with Him often?  Do you allow Him to speak to your heart with guidance and do you follow His leading? Is He Lord of your life and of your home?  Do you reach out to the needy, the lost, the hurting?  Do you offer hospitality to others? 

17 Years and Counting

On Saturday my husband and I celebrated 17 years of marriage.  We both feel like it's been longer (in a good way). lol  It really is hard to remember life before we were together.  We have been blessed with a great marriage.  Is it perfect?  Uhm, no but we love each other more today than we ever even knew was possible 17 years ago. 

 

We celebrated by going on a date.  We went out to dinner ALONE, all by ourselves.  Our boys are not babies but we rarely go somewhere that we don't take them with us.  I mean after all that is why I became a parent so I could spend time with my kids.  But I realize that sometimes daddy and mommy just need a little alone time.  So we did, we went on a date - the first one in probably 2 years.  We went out to eat (and ate way too much) and then ended up at Wal-mart (why that always happens I do not know) but my husband bought me a new skirt and shirt for church so that was pretty exciting.  I definitely think we need to start having date nights occasionally.  It was good just to be alone with my man.

 

How about you?  Do you and your husband go out on dates?  If so, how often?

 

My Favortie Books on Prayer

Super excited to be joining up with Courtney from Women Living Well once again this week as she counts down to the release of her new book by sharing some of her inspiration for the book in her Top 10 Marriage and Motherhood Quotes Series.  You can read about my favorite quotes on Praying For Our Children here and my favorite quote on Marriage here from the previous 2 weeks of the series.

Prayer is such an important part of a believers life.  It is something we are told to do without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. While we can't pray ALL of the time we can do it often by simply living a life of prayer. What do I mean by that?  Just be in a constant attitude of worship and prayer to our Father. I am not perfect at prayer but it is something very dear to me. I was not raised up being taught how to pray nor was it modeled in front of me which is probably one of the reasons I have so many books on the subject in an effort to learn as much as I can about prayer. What it is? What is its purpose? Who can do it? Why we do it and so on??

This is one of the reasons I am excited to share with you my favorite books on prayer. These books along with teaching from my Pastor and just praying myself have changed my life. You know the old saying practice makes perfect- well I am far from perfect but I am learning more all the time and the way we get better at doing a thing is by practicing it often - the same way someone would practice often at a particular sport or playing the piano, etc. 

The books in my picture are the following:

7 Absolutes to Pray Over Your Kids by Blaine Bartel

Praying to Get Results and
The Art of Prayer - A Handbook on How to Pray by Kenneth E. Hagin

The following 8 books are all by Stormie Omartian
The Power of a Praying Husband
The Power of a Praying Wife Devotional
The Power of a Praying Wife
The Power of a Praying Parent
The Power of Praying Together
The Power of a Praying Woman
The Power of Praying Through the Bible
The Power of a Praying Life

A Woman's Call to Prayer - Making Your Desire to Pray a Reality by Elizabeth George

My Bible

I also have Stormie Omartian's Book "The Power of a Praying Teen" (not pictured because it is with my boys devotion books).

A few of my favorite verses on prayer are:

Phillipians 4:6 says (Amplified) Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (^[a]definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

Mark 11:24 Jesus says For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].

Matthew 6:7 Jesus again teaching says And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking.

Just talk plain.  We don't have to use fancy words or be an awesome speaker to talk to our Heavenly Father.  He desires for us to talk to him and have a relationship with Him. 

The best teacher on how to pray is Jesus Himself.  In Matthew 6:9-13 he says this:

⁹ Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.

¹⁰ Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (^[a]left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have ^[b]given up resentment against) our debtors.

¹³ And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

You can read about my prayer journal/binder  or my prayer card notebook that I wrote about in earlier posts by clicking the links.  You can also click here to read my posts in an ongoing series I am working my way through using Stormie Omartian's book "The Power of a Praying Parent" or to read my post on Specific Prayer here.

Summer Slump

It's the time of year where schedules shouldn't matter, fun is supposed to abound.  Lazy days spent relaxing pool side, picnicing and doing what we want when we want.  Right???  Apparently it's time to wake up from the fantasy world I am living in.

Because Summer is slipping by once again. Every year I have plans in my head of all the fun and great things I am going to do with my boys over their summer break from school and every year I fail miserably at making those plans a reality. Life gets in the way. Between family reunions, soccer conditioning and practices, church camp, summer mowing jobs for the boys and just normal everyday keeping the house in good working order, the frig and cabinets stocked, dinner on the table and laundry done it really doesn't leave a whole lot of idle time. Late nights turn into lazy days and My plans of going swimming 2 or 3 days a week, going to the free bowling or free movies each week, the local art museum, camping and camp fires along with several other ideas just don't seem to turn out the way I had hoped.

 

But then I remember back to my childhood and summer vacation. I was always so happy to be out of school for a while that it honestly didn't matter if I did anything but hang out at home, it was fun because I didn't have to wake early and go to school all day. Don't get me wrong either. I liked school and I graduated with honors but everyone needs some time off every now and then.  And as I was lovingly reminded by a dear friend My boys are not complaining so obviously it doesn't matter that much to them and I am sure they are like I was years ago too and I am sure just having a break from the routine that grips our days most of the year is a relief.

I guess I am just in a Summer Slump.  The days are passing by way too fast and another school year is looming on the horizon for my precious boys.  With each passing summer brings the reality to this momma that her little boys are no longer little but are half grown men and I (**tears in my eyes**) am not ready for that.  Not yet.  I just want them to slow down and be "my babies" for a little while longer. 

I do not want to bring anyone down with this post but I am feeling a little sad lately (it hits me every year about this time) but rather I want to encourage you as I am trying hard to encourage myself to make the most of each day with your children whether you homeschool or your kids go to public school - make the most of your days.  And I don't even mean running from here to there trying to fill of their time with activities but rather just really connecting with your kids.  Spend time talking with them and laughing with them.  Sit down for a meal together and unplug from the world if only just for a moment to soak in these precious fleeting moments that are here today but will gone tomorrow.  My bloggy friend Nan from Moms the Word blog says in her about me "My kids were ages one and five just yesterday. I know it. Somehow they just grew overnight."  Her children are now grown young men in their twenties.  I am on the other side of that statement a little bit and I can see the reality of her words very clear that soon I will be where she is and my boys fully grown.  I don't want to look back with regret of not spending every moment possible enjoying my time with them. 

How to get a good photo of Humming birds.

First of all let me start by saying that I am not an expert or a professional photographer.  I do enjoy nature and birds and taking pictures of them.
 

My top tips to getting a good photo of hummers are:

•patience

•patience

•patience

Did I mention patience? Ok seriously it does take a lot of PATIENCE.

Seriously though here are my top 5 tips for getting a good photo of a humming bird.

1.  Get to know your birds- sit outside and allow them to get familiar with you.  Be a frequent visitor to the area where your feeder is located.  Sit on your porch, deck or in your yard often and allow them to buzz around you.  Talk to them.  I know, sounds silly but I really do this.  When I am hanging my feeders, pulling weeds or messing in my flowers and they come close I talk to them.  Last year my husband was able to video me holding my humming bird feeder while they ate right out of my hand.  

2.  Patience - Be prepared to sit and wait.  Getting a good picture of any bird requires sitting still and having some patience.  You could get lucky but normally you are not going to be able to go outside, get a good pic and be done within 5 minutes.  Try early morning, late evening or after a rain - that is when I have the biggest abundance of birds in my yard. 

 

3.  Be prepared to delete A LOT.  Last year I took literally hundreds of photos of humming birds and only ended up with 2 or 3 that I would consider great and a few others that were good.  But hey don't feel bad, even professionals have to delete.

4.  Make an inviting place for them.  Plant colorful flowers in your landscape of all varieties.  They will love them. 

5.  Keep feeders clean and filled.  Usually my hummers empty my feeders pretty quickly so they stayed washed and filled regularly but you need to remember that the sugar water nectar will sour and mold will grow inside your feeder so keep them washed up and filled with fresh nectar at least every 2 weeks, especially in warm weather.

I have read that "real photographers" find their hummers in nature and do not bait them in with feeders.  I do not have time to find them in nature and I am perfectly ok with baiting them in to get the shot.  In my opinion there is no difference in a picture taken in my yard of a hummer or one found out in the woods. 

And please don't get hung up on the type of camera you have.  Even a small camera will do if you are patient.  Oh yea, I said that word again.   I took the picture below with this simple little camera  that I carry in my purse last summer.  I don't have any great expensive camera with zoom lenses that cost more than camera itself.  I use either the one pictured below or another one similar to it that does have a little better zoom.  Both are basic point and shoot - Canon power shots. 

 

 

So there you have my top tips for taking a good photo of humming birds.  Do you take pics of nature?  Of birds?  Of humming birds?  Do you have any you would like to share?  If so, leave a comment with the link to your picture for us all to see. 

Do You Pray For Your Children?

I am linking up this week again with Courtney Joseph from Women Living Well for her series on Top Ten Quotes on Marriage and Motherhood.

This week I wanted to share several passages out of one of my all time favorite books.  This book has helped me find just the right prayer to pray for my boys many times.  If you are a parent then you definitely need this book. 

The book is The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian.  I have an ongoing series here on my blog that I started nearly a year ago where I go through this book chapter by chapter.  Stormie's book is packed full of powerful information and scripture to stand on while praying our children through life. 

Here are my top five favorite quotes taken out of Chapter 1 - yep, it's that good.  The following quotes are taken from the first chapter of the book.

"For it's the power of God that penetrates a child's life when a parent prays."

"When we don't pray, it's like saying we have no need of anything outside of ourselves."

"God knows our thoughts and our needs, but He responds to our prayers."

"It's not enough to pray only for the concerns of the moment;  we need to pray for the future, and we need to pray against the effects of past events."

"In fact, we don't even have to be parents.  We can be a friend, a teacher, a grandparent, an aunt, a cousin, a neighbor, a guardian, or even a stranger with a heart of compassion or concern for a child.  The child may be someone we hear of or read about in the newspaper;  the child may even be an adult for whom we have a mother's or father's heart.  If you're aware of a child who doesn't have a praying parent, you can step into the gap right now and answer that need.  You can effect a change in the life of any child you care about.  All it takes is a heart that says, "God, show me how to pray in a way that will make a difference in this child's life."  Then begin with the prayers in this book and see where the Holy Spirit leads you."

So my question to you this week:  "Do You Pray For Your Children?" 

My Favorite Quote on Marriage

I am joining up with Courtney Joseph from Women Living Well this week for her Top 10 Marriage and Motherhood quotes.

I have been out of commission these past few days and am still recovering from what I guess is my sinus' bothering me but resulted in my having a migraine and being flat of my back in bed for a few days.  Prayers for a full recovery and speedy healing are appreciated (momma's don't get sick days you know).  I am on the mend but moving slowly still so for today I am only giving you my absolute favorite quote on marriage.  I have more but am not feeling like making this long so maybe one day in the future that can be another post.

It is from a book called Capture His Heart by Lysa Terkeurst.  I have actually heard her use this quote several times before but in this book she gives credit to it coming from her Pastor at the time Rob Singleton.  

When talking about people seeing the grass as being greener on the other side of the fence and them wanting to jump the fence and abandon their marriage commitment he gave this quote

"The grass isn't greener on that side or this side.  The grass is greener where you water and fertilize it".

Lysa then goes on to say that she can't think of a better way to water and fertilize our marriages than with the Word of God.

What is your favorite quote on marriage?