We are going through a lot of transition as we welcomed my hubby back to work at home on his new business launch. It has certainly taken some adjusting. We set up his own little desk space in the basement with a room divider to give him a little more privacy. Now I just have to learn not to interrupt him. With all our toys and school materials in the basement as well, we are learning to protect his work space. We also welcomed my cousin to live with us this month, to help provide a bit more income and cover some of our ongoing expenses. It has been very peaceful having her live with us thus far…so we are thankful for God’s multiple provisions.

We are doing well dressing ourselves to begin our day and the kids are joining in on the challenge! It is very helpful for getting me started well for the day. I am finding short moments to take prayer walks and get fresh air and exercise on a regular basis while the kids rest. It does wonders to my joy and constitution. If you are feeling weary, tired, or depressed, I recommend you stop, get out and get some fresh air. I can testify that it will encourage your spirits immensely. Even 5-10 minutes is so sweet.

January Reading

I was blessed to receive a Kindle Touch this month so I am finding myself being able to read so much more in each little spare moment. I love it! I find such joy and encouragement in seeking to invest at least 30 minutes in reading each afternoon during my daily pause and before I go to bed at night.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett – I was so greatly moved by this movie so I knew I had to read the book, and I have certainly not been disappointed! I couldn’t put this book down. I love hearing from the perspective of these sweet black ladies serving in the South before the civil rights movement. It was challenging and beautiful and brought tears to my eyes multiple times.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian – I have LOVED this book! Such a powerful refreshing read on living in light of the gospel. We need to be washed in the gospel daily, hourly, moment by moment. It was a challenging reminder that I have been redeemed. I am “In Christ” and therefore do not need to struggle with my identity, comparison, fear, or condemnation. The more I seep myself in the truth of the gospel the more joy we will truly experience. Highly recommended!

I started participating in the classics book study group (with other friends in our church) that I had determined to participate this year to complete my goal of reading more classics this year (thanks to the inspiration of the Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer). We read The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and found it quite intriguing. Now I’m on to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte! It’s so cool that you can read so many classics for free with the Kindle!

My Thankful List

Even in the struggles and pains, there are so many glimpses of sweet graces in my everyday life. I am continuing on my journey to reach 2,000 gifts by the end of the year. I still need grace each day to be faithful in looking for the gifts that each day brings. I am loving the Joy Dare thanks to Ann Voskamp and highly recommend you join us in this pursuit! Here are some of the sweet blessings I experienced this past month.

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• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

Kombucha

I recently purchased some store bought kombucha at my local health food store. I was blown away to discover that it cost $2.50 per pint (on sale, mind you!) for this beverage! To make your own kombucha it costs less then $1 per gallon! All’s you need is your own kombucha starter (which keeps reproducing itself indefinitely with proper care), tea bags, sugar, and filtered water. I have just began exploring with all the different flavors you can make by adding fruit after the first fermenting period. The flavor variety seem endless (pear, mango, raspberry, and more)!

Cultures for Health is a wonderful local company that offers a wide variety of culture starters to help you make your own yogurt, kefir, butermilk, and kombucha, in addition to a supply of various books, resources, and equipment for your healthy kitchen.

Cultures for Health would like to give away three kombucha starter kits for three special readers to enable you to make your own kombucha. This starter kit includes a dehydrated culture and a plastic mesh strainer ($16 retail value).

They also offer a free e-book guide called Learn to Make Your Own Kombucha which every individual who enters this giveaway will receive your own copy! There are a wide assortment of thorough how-to videos available at Cultures for Health as well.

To Enter:

1. Visit Cultures for Health here and enter your name and email address.

You will be entered into the giveaway and also receive a free copy of the ebook on How to Make Kombucha. You will be subscribed to their newsletter which will keep you posted on wonderful how-to’s and discounts for making your own wonderful cultured products. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Giveaway Closed.

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Amy Auchenback – Amyauchenbach@…
Terri Robinson – robinson.terri@…
Brittany Johnson – eviejeanable@…

Giveaway limited to US participants only.
Winner will be randomly selected and contacted on the Wednesday following the completion of the giveaway. The end of this post will be updated to announce the winners.
Email subscribers: You must click through to the original post on Passionate Homemaking to be entered into this giveaway.
No purchase necessary.

Cultures for Health would also like to offer our readers a 20% discount off Kombucha Cultures & Kombucha Starter Kits. Enter coupon code: KOMBUCHA at checkout. Code expires on 2/19/12.

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

Paula’s Bread is a sweet family operated business offering a wealth of natural kitchen supplies to equip you for making your own homemade goodies. They have been a longterm distributor of the Bosch Universal Mixer and NutriMill grain grinders which are powerful reliable tools for any whole foods kitchen.

Paula shares, “It has been my passion to help the harried cook feed their family nutritionally while not overtaxing the cook. The kitchen products I carry are kitchen tools I personally use to help/enhance getting the finished food product done. I love helping others make great bread, saving the cook time and saving family’s money with all the wonderful things they can do to stretch their budget with a simple batch of bread.”

I have owned a NutriMill for nearly 6 years now and it has served me faithfully in grinding all my grains into fresh whole grain flours to make our own baked goods.

It has a very trim design and is not huge and awkward making it easy to store on my kitchen counter tucked in the corner for easy access. It produces fresh flour very quickly providing me with a nice batch of flour in a matter of minutes. It actually stays relatively clean while grinding flour and does not have a huge off spray, thus providing easy clean up. Its works very well for grinding fresh flours for all your baking needs. It has a twenty cup bowl capacity, so you can prepare a lot of flour at once or any smaller amounts as well. The Nutrimill keeps your flour at temperatures (typically around 118 degrees) that protect the nutrients in your grains. Its new airflow design makes it the world’s coolest-running impact mill. It has a lifetime warranty including the stainless steel blades.

For my complete review of the NutriMill, visit here.

TO ENTER:

1. Visit Paula’s Bread and check out their line of products. In the comments below, share your favorite product that they offer and how you would use the NutriMill if you were to win this product.

2. For an optional second entry, sign up for the Paula’s Bread newsletter (located on the lower right hand portion of the side bar) and let us know in a second comment below.

Giveaway Closed.

AND THE WINNER IS…Therese – Artistta!!! Congrats!

Check out Paula’s Bread on facebook to stay informed on future sales and updates!

Paula’s Bread is offering a special discount of $5 off any order of $25 or more with a stainless steel purchase. Enter “Stainless Steel” at checkout. Expires 1/31/12.

Giveaway limited to US participants only.
Winner will be randomly selected and contacted on the Wednesday following the completion of the giveaway. The end of this post will be updated to announce the winners.
Email subscribers: You must click through to the original post on Passionate Homemaking to be entered into this giveaway.
No purchase necessary.

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

I have been mediating on the life of Rebekah from Genesis 24 lately. Abraham’s servant has been sent to his hometown to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham’s servant asks this young lady to come with him to marry Isaac. Rebekah simply says, “I will go.” In a moment, she was willing to say farewell to all that she had ever known. She knew that potentially she would never she her family and home country again. She was willing to marry a man that she had never met. That is amazing faith. I want that faith. To be so at rest in my Father’s arms that I could willingly walk the unknown path before me.

I don’t know what lies behind the next corner of our lives as we let go of my husband’s job and walk by faith and not by sight. We simply don’t know what it will look like this year. The only thing we can do is strive to be faithful in the knowledge that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Am I willing to take a leap of faith into this unknown? For it is in the unknown that fellowship with my Lord is sweetest. It is in the unknown that God’s mercy is most beautifully manifested. It is in the unknown that our faith is refined and comes forth shining more brightly. Am I willing to simply say with Rebekah, “yes, I will go?” Am I willing to follow my man, to faithfully stand by his side, as I committed to at the altar nearly six years ago?

We can be confident in one thing. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He holds me by the hand and walks before me. I am not alone.

I am excited about the new adventures that life brings with it as we set forth in this new year. We will certainly be living more frugally until his new business gets off the ground. Our budget is being trimmed down significantly. I love how God seeks to stretch our faith and get us out of our comfort zone so we can see His beautiful majesty in a whole new light.

Life is full of new adventures saturated with God’s gifts to be observed and recorded and if I stayed in my comfort zone I surely would not be able to experience them.

In addition to it all, during these past few weeks, I have honestly been really struggling and wrestling with the future of this blog. At the start of a new year I want to get all my ducks in a row, have a wonderful inspiring plan for my writing. I wanted to have amazing themes for this new year. I felt pressured that I need to be this professional, organized blog. But the Lord wasn’t opening these doors. No amazing creative ideas. Was this a sign that this season of blogging was coming to an end? I was willing if God wanted to close these doors. But then I felt the Lord speaking to be gently: “Lindsay, I just want you to be faithful in sharing your messy self with these women. I just want you to share My messages. I don’t want you to be about overwhelming women in all the little things they “should” be doing, but rather encouraging them to press in to know the Lord right where they are at.”

I believe in the importance of sharing my real life messes with you. I’m far from perfect. Daily I must cry out for grace and mercy to walk this rode of mothering and homemaking. I want our team of writers (many thanks to my awesome contributing writers) to be about encouraging you in your homemaking, mothering, and wife-hood. We want to see you grow to see the beauty of your work. It is a glorious task that we have been assigned. We need each other in standing strong even when our culture seeks to make us seem invaluable. But ultimately this is all about Jesus. Everything here is for Him. I want this new year to be flowing with His Spirit in everything that is shared here.

So there you have it. The dawn of a new year. You will still find practical simple living tips and healthy recipes sprinkled here and there. These are part of my day by day passions to live by our family mission to live simply in order to give generously. We’ll be sharing practical ways that you can live a generous missional life in the sphere that God has placed you. But ultimately, our writing will be Spirit led, sharing the day by day struggles to kneel humbly before our Master and offer up our hands and feet to his service.

Will you join us and step into the unknowns of God’s amazing grace for you today?

{Photo credit}

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

The Edmonds Family 2011

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season as we celebrate the beauty of Christ’s birth together! We will be enjoying the fun of family celebrations, stockings, cranberry candy canes, caroling to neighbors and friends, and building other sweet memories. I also can’t wait to help bring my newest niece/nephew into the world any day now! Life is full but God is so good. We pray you would have a lovely Christmas as well!

We will be taking a blogging break here for the remainder of the month and plan to return in early January. Be blessed!

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

While recently putting together my children’s art center, I was on the look out for some cute creative art tools that were natural for them to explore with without being exposed to unnecessary chemicals. They love coloring, painting, and drawing with a variety of tools. So when I was introduced to Stubby Pencil Studio, I was beyond thrilled.

Stubby Pencil Studio offers eco friendly products and arts and crafts for kids. You’ll find crayons made from soy – not petroleum; stationery and sketchbooks made from 100% post consumer recycled paper – not virgin trees; pencils made from sustainably harvested wood and recycled newspapers – not dying forests. Stubby Pencil Studio is committed to offering quality and earth friendly goods, at an affordable price, and you’ll find an expanding collection of creative products that are unique, non-toxic, recycled, fair trade, educational, sustainable or environmentally responsible. Stubby Pencil Studio is based locally in Portland, Oregon, so it makes it extra special to discover them.

We have been exploring with many of their art supplies and have been absolutely in love! I love the assortment of supplies that are easily used by both my toddler and preschooler. Chunky colored pencils and the washable markers have been especially enjoyed. My daughter loves markers, but with the staining nature of them, I wanted a good set of washable markers. Stubby Pencil Studio offers a wonderful vibrant set that we have been using and they work! No more stains. The set of watercolor paints with bamboo brush are lovely. I have been extremely impressed by the quality of the products and thrilled by the reasonable priced items in their collection. Their products make the perfect stocking stuffers for all your little ones! Check out their special gifts under $10 section for lots of gift ideas!

Today, Stubby Pencil Studio is offering our readers a First Artists Gift Set for two separate winners (a retail value of $100.00 each)!

The set includes:

• First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos
• Jungle Juice Art Apron
• Jumbo Soy Crayons
• Giant Colored Pencils
• Jumbo Graphite Pencils
• Crayon Rocks
• Learner Pencils
• Supercolor Jumbo Markers
• KUM Pencil Sharpener
• Watercolors with Bamboo Brush
• Baby Stamps
• Holiday Smencils

To Enter:

Visit Stubby Pencil Studios, check out their creative product line. Come back and share your favorite Stubby Pencil product. Or offer a suggestion for products that Stubby Pencil Studios might provide in the future. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

We encourage you to visit and “like” Stubby Pencil Studios’ facebook page or subscribe to their newsletter to follow up on featured items and updates as well as current online discount codes.

Stubby Pencil Studios would like to offer a special discount code to all Passionate Homemaking Readers giving you 10% off of your order until 12/15/11. Enter: “HOL10″ at checkout.

Giveaway closed.

Giveaway limited to US and Canadian participants.
Winner will be randomly selected and contacted on the Wednesday following the completion of the giveaway. The end of this post will be updated to announce the winners.
Email subscribers: You must click through to the original post on Passionate Homemaking to be entered into this giveaway.
No purchase necessary.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING WINNERS:

• Ashley- marriedlan…..@….
• Jen- jen@….

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

We personally have been using the NaturoKit for over a year now and can testify to its effectiveness and usefulness. From stomaches and nausea solved with Activated Charcoal, to stress and anxiety calmed with Crisis Calm, to healing chapped skin, scraps, and bruises with the moisturizing Wild Weed Salve. I love this kit! I love the handy reference chart that is included that lists a variety of ailments and which medicine to take to address the issue.

NaturoKits offers two different kits for your family, the Basic First Aid NaturoKit which is their full complete care package containing 9 different potions, and the First Aid MiniKit which includes the favorite 3 potions: activated charcoal, arnica, and wild weed salve. These kits make a easy travel first aid kit for your care as well as wonderful stocking stuffers for anyone on your life – from employees to relatives. They each come package in an easy to use zipper case or cotton bag.

Today, NaturoKits is offering our readers a First Aid Mini Kit for two separate winners (a retail value of $19.95 each)!

To Enter:

Visit NaturoKits and check out the first aid kits. Come back and tell us what are your favorite natural medicine products. Or offer a suggestion for products that NaturoKits might provide in the future. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

We encourage you to visit and “like” NaturoKits facebook page or subscribe to their newsletter to follow up on future discounts and updates as well as helpful hints and tips on natural holistic health care.

Giveaway closed.

Giveaway limited to US and Canadian participants.
Winner will be randomly selected and contacted on the Wednesday following the completion of the giveaway. The end of this post will be updated to announce the winners.
Email subscribers: You must click through to the original post on Passionate Homemaking to be entered into this giveaway.
No purchase necessary.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING WINNERS:

• Hannah- hannah.four…@…
• Krista- kwhel…@…

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

Titus, Eden & Karis - my three special gifts

In an effort to be intentional about adopting an attitude and demeanor of rest, I began scheduling in a 15 minutes rest period every afternoon (with a daily alarm on my phone set to remind me as well!). I consider it my “daily pause” in the day. A time to sit down, light a candle, drink a cup of tea, and simply read for just 15 minutes. A moment to stop, think, listen, and glean. To fill my soul after the rush of the morning activities. To renew me again to embrace the rest of my day. Imagine how much you could read if you would stop for 15 minutes? It’s sweet to this soul.

Me and my studly husband

My toddler and preschooler are thriving well at our studies. We have admittedly cut back quite a bit from our more aggressive original preschool year 2 plan as we figured out what was going to work best for us.

We have been focusing on memory work primarily, seeking to establish a broad foundation of language, and I am truly loving it. We are memorizing Scripture, poetry, catechism questions, the continents, the books of the Bible, and the kids are picking it up so fast. Even my two year old just loves reciting for us all that he has learned together with his sister. I love Language Arts for Little Ones. It gives my Karis such fun exercises in narration, storytelling, art work, and poetry (which is the source of most of our poetry memory work).

In November my husband and I took a quick beach trip retreat with the leadership of our church, as Aaron is serving as a Deacon in training at our church right now. It was a sweet time together. We had our three little ones dedicated to the Lord surrounded by our church family this month as well. We were excited to partner with the body of believers in striving to raise them for the glory of God. Thanksgiving was celebrated as a family at home in the peace of our own intimate family. We barbecued a turkey and made our own fixings for the first time. We really enjoyed the sweet family time together followed by a lovely dessert at extended family’s home. We couldn’t beat having some great leftovers for once!

A Beautiful Day to Give Thanks

I look out on this cold December day and see a beautiful partly clear sky with the sun shining brightly. It fills me with delight and reminding me of the importance of continuing my pursuit of recording the daily blessings that God has poured out in my life. Making my way up to 1000 and beyond.

746. Honey and lemon to soothe a painful cough
747.for sweet drawings crafted for children around the world
748. Blessing my hubby with a clean car
749. Finding help for the management of my blog
750. Inspired to simply study God one verse at a time
751. For cleared draining boards at last
752. Seeing our kids immensely enjoy an old classic Disney movie that we enjoyed as children
753. A quick coffee break
754. The sweet rest as a family over pizza, games and a movie
755. Capturing the sweet smiles of kiddos nested in leaves on camera
756. Heart to heart with my hubby
757. Little people helping daddy rake leaves
758. New jeans to replace the wholly that have seen better days
759. Crockpot freezer cooking day 
760. Exploring advent ideas for a fun holiday season
761. For sagging pants on the sweet skinny bottom of a toddler
762. For the love of a husband to live life together through the thick and thin
763. Peace and serenity through a cup of tea and candles
764. Overhearing the children’s giggles while playing with daddy
765. Meditating on the nature and beauty of God
766. Crafting our own thanksgiving celebration
767. Fun ideas for a month of Advent
768. Blessing a sister with a shower of goodies as she prepares for a little bundle of joy
769. Finding inspiration through pinterest
770. An adorable family photo captured
771. Love notes tucked away in car dashboards
772. Enjoying real life tools with my munchkins
773. The glorious splendor of fall leaves
774. A thankful tree to cherish sweet thanks from our little brood
775. Dinner table devotions over sweet candlelight
776. Ironing clothes with two helpers- one with starch and the other with lint roller in hand
777. A doctor within a 5 min drive
778. For a lovely nap
779. Leaves blowing in the wind
780. Daddy playing instruments with the kiddos
781. The creative ideas of kiddos playing with blocks
782. Snuggling with my baby as we talk back and forth in our own language forms

As we prepare our hearts for this holiday season, may we continue in this reverential spirit of thanks and rest. May we seek to focus on the building of relationships, of giving generously rather than receiving. May our hearts be in tuned to the Creator’s leading. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

Sponsors

We want to give a hearty thanks to our sponsors this month! Stubby Pencil Studio offeres unique and creative gifts in all different realms of non-toxic art supplies, drawing, and crafting. NaturoKits offer wonderful naturopathic kits for first aid relief for families. Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique continues to faithfully sponsor offering an awesome supply of cloth diaper and natural home supplies and Willow Pads as well offering natural menstral care, wool dryer balls, and more.

Family photos taken courtesy of my sweet sister, Christa Taylor Photography.

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

Paula originally became a consultant with Lilla Rose because she fell in love with the flexi-clip! She shares: I have very thick hair, and until I found the flexi, nothing would hold all my hair up without breaking or popping out. The flexi is beautiful, unique, and well-made. It is also very comfortable, and I get many comments from customers that they no longer experience pony-tail headache! It also works in all types of hair, from baby-fine to super-thick.  The best thing about the flexi-clip is that I can do my hair beautifully in only seconds, and be ready for the day!

Paula would like to give away three certificates, redeemable  for a flexi-clip of the winner’s choice, valued up to $15 each.

Make sure to check out the Sizing & Styling video for help in finding the perfect size for your hair type! For inspiration and how-to’s in all the variety of hair styles, check out the Lilla Rose youtube channel.

To Enter:

1. Visit Lilla Rose and pick out your favorite flexi style and share in a comment below.

2. For a second optional entry, “like” Lilla Rose-Paula Ramm on Facebook. Let us know in the comments below. (Stay in touch with all the specials and current giveaways, as well as extra pics, videos, and sizing tips that are not available on the website.)

Giveaway Closed.

Giveaway open to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Winner will be randomly selected on the Wednesday following the completion of the giveaway.
Email subscribers: You must click through to the original post on Passionate Homemaking to be entered into this giveaway.

Giveaway limited to US participants.
No purchase necessary.

And the winners are…

Amanda (bokusfam..@…)- “I love the fall leaf and the celtic cross!”
Kristie (kristietruell@…) - “I love the flowering fern. Beautiful.”
Robin (robin@ex..) ”I love the new Fall Leaf flexi-clip. It’s beautiful!”

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook

I have just returned from a fabulous weekend retreat at the Relevant conference and find myself at a loss of words. My spirit was so refreshed and revitalized by the fellowship I shared with the wonderful gathering of sisters from all over the country. Ladies from different walks of life, different cultures, different standards, and yet we shared one core value of uniting together in being a writing force that builds the Kingdom of God. It was truly beautiful to see the community that blossomed in our midst.

This is the message that came loud and clear to my heart. You and I are together in the fight to be women that build our homes rather than tear them down with our own hands. We each have been gifted uniquely to bring something different to compliment the meal at the table before us, in our homes, our churches, and our lives.

I am just as messy as the next, as I battle to be a joyful mother and yet stumble once again in anger in response to my little boy wetting his pants (shouldn’t we be done with this?), or when these two little people fight over who gets to pull the silly suitcase from mommy’s trip around the house while they play camping. Or when I groan and complain because my body craves sleep and God has other plans for me.

I can’t remember the last time I made my own bread or toothpaste. We had canned soup last night for dinner. I sit here with a tangled mess of hair in my bathrobe. I don’t have my act together. We each have a voice…we each have a unique story. We are called to encourage one another. To tear down the masks of perfectionism. To admit that we are messy.

A fun reunion with my fellow sisters and bloggers from the Philippines trip: Stephanie, Tsh, Kat & Emily

I can compare myself to another and seep in bitterness and a fruitless life, or I can rejoice when another succeeds and together we can be fruitful in our own mission field in the home, church, work, and community. It is easy to compare yourself when you only look at yourself. But when you look at God, there is such freedom. (Thanks Joy for that message!) Comparison steals our unity.

Remember, our God “rejoices over you!”

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zeph. 3:17)

HE rejoices over YOU, just the way you are.

Can you tell I like to laugh?

Am I willing to be honest in showing my messy self before others? What is my greatest hindrance to being real with others? Am I finding my identity in Him?

Let’s overlook our differences. “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” (Eph. 4:2). Let’s embrace the fact that we are truly loved by an amazing God. Let’s give grace to one another. Let’s be humble and honest to share our stories and encourage one another in our faith.

When we let go of comparing ourselves, throw aside our own insecurities, and simply embrace the way God has created us…beautiful, unique, and loved by an awesome Father, we can make a huge difference for His kingdom. Hand in hand…heart to heart. Let’s go!

These are the truths that have been ruminating in my heart…and I can’t help passing them on, my dear sisters.

Eden and I with my sweet friend Kat

Hear more about what others gleaned from the conference here.

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Current Sponsors:

• Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique - Where green comes naturally - free shipping on cloth diapers and more!
• The Willow Store - Reusable diapers, dryer balls, and natural resources for your home
• Jenuinely Pure -Organic products for the body, face, home and baby
• Paula's Bread -Kitchen appliances and safe tools for all your homemade health adventures
• Tell Your Time - How to Schedule Your Time to Live Your Life Fulfilled eBook