Reflecting on the year!

2017 was a year for us!  It started out with us being at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh where we received the diagnosis for Caleb that he had Epilepsy, we wondered what that would look like for our family, what changes we would need to make.   But throughout all this we leaned on the Lord for HIS strength to get us through this and He has!  Also this year we felt called to go back to our very first Church home Altoona First Grace Brethren and we are so glad we did, we still miss our other church family, but this church is home to us.

We had a calling for the ministry 6 years ago and are excited to see where the Lord leads us, right now Chris is the Associate Pastor at our church(Pastor John’s assistant) and it is so good to see what he loves doing, preaching when needed to, leading the music, youth group!

Also as this year comes to an end, I feel so blessed to have my family and church family in our lives, especially with the boys!   We are looking forward to what 2018 has for our family! Happy New Year!!!

 

 

All The Pretty Things

Edie Wadsworth the author of this book, does a fantastic job of describing in her book about heartache, love, loss, healing, and her journey with the Lord.

We all have at one time in our lives have experienced these things and this book is a great read to reflect on when you are feeling that way.

She Reads Truth

For years I never imagined God as my hero, but now I feel differently. God is my hero, He died on the cross and took the punishment for my sins.
This book is about about two young amazing loving women, who write about the good and bad in their journey , but also showed much courage with their faith.
Throughout this book it also showed through the darkest of our times in our lives that we can handle any situation

I was given this complimentary book in exchange for an honest review for B&H Publishing.

Christmas Memories

This week I have been thinking about Christmas Memories and what it meant to me growing up.  I can only remember a few gifts I got growing up but what I remember more are the Christmas traditions we had.

Christmas  Eve growing up we used to go around to the Uncles and Aunts houses and gather as a family and I always looked forward to going to each house and eating food.  We would always end up at my grandparent’s house last after everyone had gone to church, but growing up Catholic we usually didn’t stay long because as we got older we went to Midnight mass! I loved to just being with my family especially at that time of year.

Christmas Day we would get up early and open gifts and then go to my grandparent’s house for dinner followed by sometimes visiting the Uncles and Aunts which was always so nice to do.

Then I always looked forward to after Christmas because we would go to my Aunt Susie’s house where we celebrated Christmas with my mom’s side of the family. We would play games, eat lots of food and open gifts.

What Christmas Memories do you have?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step by Step

Step by Step by Candace Calvert was a book about an accident that happened that left a woman a widow named Taylor Cabot. She was looking to fall in love again until she had met the Chaplain Seth Donovan.

This book was beautifully written based on faith, hope, love and grief.  All while saying Will hope survive when a crisis hits?

Having a Martha Home the Mary Way

The author Sarah Mae gives a great viewpoint in her book on 31 days to a clean house and a satisfied soul.  The author talks about finding that balance while keeping a home and also being a good homemaker.

Each topic in the book was related to cleaning and gave great insight from her own struggles  At the end of each chapter she gives a challenge question and also a Bible verse to focus on.

Giddy up Eunice

Giddy up Eunice by Sophie Hudson shows us as that as women we need to separate what focuses on us whether it would be the way we parent our children, career goals fashion goals, and even opening our eyes to what God has given us with friendships and who is around us.

She gives a biblical approach and compares relationships in the Bible.

Looking for Lovely

Annie Downs writes and honest book about life experiences and shared her deep struggles with food and everyday life. She shows us how God puts beautiful things in our lives and directs our paths.

It is hard when you are struggling with the “broken crazy” but Annie gives some great examples to go through each day through the broken crazy and gives a new perspective on life.

Prayer Life

The Battle Plan of Prayer is one that I needed to read because of my prayer life. Watching the movie War Room and knowing you should do your battling or fighting in prayer really convicted me as a believer.

The one chapter in the book talks about scheduling of prayer. Mark 6:46 says “After bidding them farewell he left for the mountain to pray” KJV I never thought of scheduling to pray or making prayer part of my daily life until recently. Prayer is powerful and I believe in 1 Thessalonians where it says” Pray without Ceasing” KJV

We are encouraged as believers to pray without ceasing and we pray knowing God cares about us but also looking as prayer as a priority and passion as it says in the book.
Committing to prayer as part of our daily routine keeps us focused.

I received this book as a gift to give an honest review.