Motherhood Moments

It's January in Michigan and the sun is shining. That makes this a GLORIOUS day! I'm enjoying some quiet time and bursting with excitement about how the Lord is answering my prayers. I couldn't wait to share them with you! One of my 2012 goals was to: spend more regular time in prayer in the mornings after Dave leaves for work AND to reach a deeper level of connectedness with my "Tween" twins. I'm nearly in tears now thanking God for such swift & obvious answers to both of those. Let me back up... Even though we homeschool, I sometimes feel like my kids are growing up so fast that I don't even really get to fully "know" them. Life seems to be so constantly busy that weeks and months go by without me feeling like we're getting any quality 1-on-1 time. I found myself at the beginning of January feeling this overwhelming sense of urgency to re-connect with my kids. Particularly the twins. I know how important these "tween" year...

As I was reading through my personalized Verseability cards (see previous post), I came across this verse: "Jennifer, the Lord your God, will make up for the losses caused by those things in your past that have brought you disgrace and harm." Joel 2:25 This verse resonated with me so much! One of the things that seems to weigh heaviest on my mind is our finances. I'm so thankful for the blessings and provisions that God provides us daily. I'm also never too far away from the pit of guilt and shame caused by some pretty poor financial decisions from the past. I'm working to stop that crazy cycle. We're working to become debt free. Progress is slow, but still progress. This week, though, I had a dream that was all about a scary financial place. I can tell that the enemy is trying to keep me in a bad place. Trying to keep me stuck in the rut of guilt, shame, and worry. And then God spoke to me through this verse. A verse I didn't even remember ever hear...

Just a quick note to let everyone know about a GREAT resource! After saying yes to my friend Cindy Bultema's A to Z Scripture Memory Challenge  and sharing about it on here, I was blessed to be "introduced" to Versability  and Darlene Dykstra. Yesterday Darlene surprised me with a special delivery (because we live so close) of my A to Z Versepack! AND, she even threw in an extra special surprise: a personalized versepack! I was so excited to open them up! What a blessing it was to me to open it up and see each Scripture personalized with my name. Talk about God's Word coming to life! I can't wait to add those verses to my morning quiet time. I know I'll be extra blessed by seeing my name in each verse.Thank you, Darlene! I just wanted to share this with you in case you are also participating in Cindy's 2012 Scripture Memory Challenge. Darlene has offered the amazing price of just $5 per Versepack (just mention She Sparkles for this special pricing). Each...

How's the beginning of 2012 going? Have you taken time to reflect, prioritize, and plan? I know it's hard with our busy lives to find those quiet, reflective moments...but they're SO necessary. One of my big goals for this year is to make time each weekday morning for those quiet times. The few times I've done it so far, have blessed me abundantly. I truly love those quiet moments with my Heavenly Father. Makes me wonder why I ever leave them out of my day. Anyway... Here are some of my personal tips for each part of our 2012 Wellness Challenge: Eating: We all know our bodies. And, as much as we'd sometimes like to deny it, we (probably) all know exactly what we should and should not be eating. In the old days (a.k.a. two years ago), I was the queen of making my food choices this big mystery. I never seemed to be able to string together enough days of good eating to see weight loss. But, what I learned this last year, is that all I really have to do is: STOP. M...

Happy 2012 Everyone! As usual, this past year just flew by and a brand spanking New Year is upon us again. I have to admit: I have always loved that brand new year "mulligan" feeling. Yes, I know that God's mercies are new every morning. There's just something extra freeing about taking down last year's calendar and starting fresh with a new one. Of course, if you're a busy mom like me...there's no such thing as an "empty" calendar. I just printed out my January calendar page from Outlook and it has a whopping 4 days of white space! (For now.) Regardless...it IS a New Year! Now that the Christmas and New Years' Eve celebrations are behind us and we still have a couple of days of "holiday" left, it's time to ponder. Time to find a little quiet corner and enjoy some reflection on 2011 and some much needed mental preparation for 2012. I don't want my fast-paced life to mean that I'm just a passenger on this crazy ride. ...