Today, I am hosting one of my sweetest blogging friends, Katie M. Reid. Katie has guest posted for me in the past. I am immensely proud of her of as she officially launched her first book, Made Like Martha, last week. I am honored to have her share a little of what her book is about. In this post she shares story from her book when she encounters Jesus in her living room. After that, scroll down to the bottom to read my personal review of the book.
Before becoming a mom, I was a teacher. I have taught in some capacity ever since, but not full-time. I have professionally taught all levels from preschool through adult education. My favorite two ages to teach are fourth and fifth grade and adults.
In fourth and fifth grade, the kids still think you are brilliant and are worth listening to. They have a new sense of independence with enough caution to keep them from making incredibility ridiculous decisions. Their abstract thinking is developing so they can start to have deeper conversations, and you really get a sense of who that are and will become.
Autumn is so delicious. Everything about it makes me happy: chill in the air, gorgeous shades of oranges and reds, the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind or crunching underfoot, the smell of the fire pit, and of course, pumpkin flavored everything!
Just as we are to embrace each season as they come, we also need to recognize that we were never meant to stay in the same season forever.
After taking a long break from blogging, I decided to reserve this site for mainly ministry and devotional style pieces, but I know my readers have really enjoyed my family day trip posts in the past. I still get messages requesting ideas for family activities and recommendations for various businesses.
Last week an awesome website was launched in Northwest Arkansas to be a tool for families here in NWA. To be honest when I came across it on social media, my first thought was, “WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT!” I am so excited to have a resource to refer my readers to so that you all can get some current recommendations for these type of requests I receive,
Please allow me to introduce you to FamilyLifeNWA!
I know it is almost Spring Break, but it’s not too late to talk about New Year’s…is it?
Over the past few years, instead of selecting New Year’s resolutions which are dumped by the end of January, I have joined the growing trend of choosing a One Word focus for the year. Actually, I have found that it is the other way around…the word chooses me. The words become a theme for the LORD to shape and mold me.
Some of my past words have been blessed, yield, and hope. By the end of each year these words have had such deeper meanings. I learned that I was in fact blessed, but I was blessed to be a blessing to others. I learned that I had to yield to the LORD so that my efforts for the kingdom would yield healthier fruit. And I learned that hope is not a wish; it is something that we should actively be anticipating….and “that hope does not disappoint”!
One of the things I missed most during my 18 month hiatus from blogging is the practice of Five Minute Fridays…and the community there!
I have met some of my best online friends there.
Kate provides the clan with a one word prompt, and we all set our timers to write for five minutes flat. It is a challenging assignment, especially for those who are grammatically cranky or the poor spellers like me.
I am very out of practice so please bare with me. This won’t be a Pulitzer Prize Piece, but I need to practice my craft…
The word this week is PURPOSE
Ready…set…go!
Thirty years ago today the trajectory of my life changed forever.
One moment I was a healthy, happy seven-year-old running around our new house playing with friends, and the next I was being rushed to the hospital. I don’t remember much about that day. More like flashes really. I remember collapsing in the first hospital, waking up briefly in the second hospital, and then nothing until the next day when I woke up in the third hospital paralyzed on my right side.
It’s been almost two years ago now that I sat in my counselor’s office sobbing uncontrollably. She looked across the empty space between us and simply asked, “Do you have hope?” I shook my head no. I have no idea what she said after that. It’s hard to hear anything when you are in a pit of despair and a storm is raging.
With some reservations I want share something with you. I suffer from OCD. Not the funny “haha I like everything in it’s place” OCD. I suffer from crippling Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I hear people joke all the time about their “OCD kicking in”; however for those who truly struggle with this disorder, it is not a joke.
Silence.
Not a word has flowed through these fingers onto this blog for over 18 months. Not because I don’t have anything to say…those who know me well know that I always have something to say. Not a word have I typed because The Father has wooed me into the wilderness so that we can be alone…in the quiet…so that I can listen.
A friend once asked me what I liked to read. I told her I didn’t read much. She said, “But you are a writer!” I said, “Exactly! I am a writer not a reader. Just like I am a talker and not a listener.” We all had a good laugh. But looking back, I must have sounded so arrogant and immature.
What an amazing journey I had this past year! I was given the honor to teach a group of Hispanic parents in the Springdale Family Literacy Program. Monday-Thursday these women (and one gentleman) showed up to my little cottage outside an elementary school with one motivation…providing a better life for their families.