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Thursday, April 1, 2010

April Praise and Coffee Giveaway!


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The praise this month is:

WOW Worship!

You're going to love this, it's packed full of awesome songs!

You'll also receive some of our Praise and Coffee coffee!







AND if it could get any better, I have a super special treat for you this month.
Leigh Gray of "Speaking Thru Me" ministries has given me a book to share with you!

She actually sent two, one for you and one for me because she so sweet like that!
This book is a must read and it also has discussion questions included if you want to do it with a study group.

It is a warm and personal book that brings you to the heart of God and causes you to look deep into own heart to see what HE and others are seeing.

Check out Leigh's ministry too, she has lots going on and always an encouraging word to share.


You will enjoy it! And if you don't win, you can get the book at Amazon.



To enter the drawing, it's simple:
1. Leave a comment on THIS post.

2. Make sure I have a way to contact you if you win or check back on April 10th.

3. If you have any of my blog buttons on your blog, let me know in your
comment and you will be entered twice.

Feel free to tell your friends on Facebook and Twitter about the giveaway and thank you if you do!!

EDITED to ADD:

The winner is...
Ginger at Following My Heart

Yay, I'm so excited, Ginger is one of my home town gals that I know!!!
Congrats!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

"I Love You and I Like You"

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Lauren's joy is hard to contain right now. Daddy got her some Thor gear and a FOX chest protector and she is just beside herself with glee.


The only thing missing is the boots and they're on order. Oh, and the motorcycle...


She has wanted gear for so long, she's been known to sneak down to Matt's (21 yr old brother) room and swipe his chest protector and wear it around the house. Although it is more like a giant full length shield when she has it on.

So when her packages came yesterday she was dancing for joy!

She put it on right away and wore it all evening. We even let her wear the shirt to bed after she begged.

As if all that wasn't darling enough, the cutest moment came when she jumped up on Daddy, wrapped those tiny little arms around his neck and proclaimed, "Daddy, I love you...and I like you!"


There's something so endearing when you hear..."I like you."

We say "I love you" alot around here, and it's wonderful, but when someone that loves you says "I like you" it seems to take on a deeper meaning. It's even more personal.

So maybe today when you tell your spouse that you love them, you might want to add that you like them and see if it doesn't make them smile.

It sure did with us.

I'm praying for our marriages,
Sue



I have to add this because it was so funny...when Lauren went to bed, she put the pants in her closet, closed the door and then stacked toys in front of the door to barracade it shut. I'm not sure if she was keeping others OUT of the closet or making sure the pants didn't up and run away....

Monday, March 29, 2010

A Snappy New Look for Praise and Coffee

Of course you've noticed the awesome new look here on the blog done by Mary Mary Quite Contrary Design Shop!!




But have you also seen the new Praise and Coffee website design yet?

While you're over there, check out the info about starting a new Praise and Coffee Night in your community!

Call a bunch of girlfriends and do it.

There are no church walls at Praise and Coffee and no leadership requirements, just a heart to share His love with the girlfriends in your life!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Friday Fluff~ Lots of Random with a Side of Ranting


I haven't done a Friday Fluff in a long time! Basically it's a post about a whole lot of nothing that is swimming around in my brain.
If you are totally bored, grab a cup of coffee and enter my world.
God is great, coffee is good, people are crazy.
People ARE crazy! And I admit, I'm right at the front of the line with the crazies.

But, why do some people insist on living their life in dysfunction?

It's not like they've never heard about God's peace...but apparently it doesn't appeal to them.

Yes, I know they are just so deceived that they don't see the truth for what it is...blah, blah, blah.

Maybe it's time to put your big girl pants on and grow up.


(Ok, that was not random, that would qualify more as a rant...guilty. Go ahead and tell the world about it on your facebook page...that's where all the rational people settle their disputes right?! Ooops, ranting again...time to move on...)

*******
Let the randomness begin...
Mothers, do you ever find yourself saying the craziest things and when you hear them come out of your mouth you just shake your head?
Just yesterday I found myself saying:
"NO! I don't want to draw an igloo!"

I mean, what is wrong with me?
Do I have a problem with igloos?
Maybe it's the cold I'm avoiding?
Why am I so opposed to such a simple task?
Maybe because I was up to my elbows in dishwater.
But still, a better mom would have dried her hands and drawn an igloo.

*******

Speaking of drawing, Lauren drew a portrait of me the other day.

She made me hold perfectly still for this...I'm not kidding! I was scolded if I even tried to itch.

She would stare at me for what seemed an eternity then turn and draw my nose which as you can see is practically a perfect interpretation of my actual nose.
Then she came and lifted my hair and said, "I can't wait to have big ears like yours."
I didn't think I had big ears but I'm never pulling my hair up again.

I do agree with Facebook friends who saw this and said that I am looking noticably thin. Might need to double up on the chocolate.

*******

I went for an oil change this week. It really brings out the crazy in me. Something about driving in that garage with a huge hole under the truck freaks me out.
I'm just sure that I'll fall into the hole and never be seen again.

Once I pull in safely and breathe a sigh of relief...I quickly turn off my truck, yank my keys out of the ignition and throw them down to the floor. I know that I will accidently forget where I am in the middle of the oil change and start my truck to hear music or check the time. It will be just the moment that there is no oil in my truck and it will immediately burst into flames. So I hastily throw them to the floor.

It never fails, this is when the scary man with few teeth, listening to AC/DC's "Back in Black" approaches the truck to ask me my mileage, which means I have to turn the key on.
So I fish the keys from my floor board while he stares at me perplexed at their location.

This is when I become a frightened school girl again and nervously admit that I'm 1,000 miles over. I wait for the slap on the wrist...nothing, whew dodged the bullet. But of course he's thinking about what a loser I am for not taking care of my vehicle.

After I give him my mileage, I quickly pull the keys out and decide they can sit in the cup holder just in case I need them again.

Lauren picks this time to get up and start bouncing a basketball in the truck (it's an Excusion, we have a full court in there) and I immediately scream at her to stop because surely the bouncing ball in the truck will upset the scary men under the truck and who knows what could happen then.

I spend the time Twittering my anxieties while Lauren sulks until I hand her my phone to play games on. The scary men can't possibly be bothered by that.

Finally it's over. I drive out thankful to be done again for a few thousand miles, and breathe a sigh of relief that no one was hospitalized.

I told you it brought out the crazy in me.

******
I am leading a Bible study at my house this month on Wednesday nights, it is a great group of girlfriends and we are having a wonderful time.
This week though, for some reason my nose got a tickle. I sneezed 486 times in 2 hours. I literally held my finger under my nose as I shared my heart and soul about the beauty of a woman of faith.

It was bizarre.
I don't know what else to say except thank you to all those sweet ladies that put up with it.
I have awful allergies, especially to cats, but I don't think anyone brought a cat...at least I didn't see one.
Next week I will double up on the Claritin and check their purses for cats.

******
Ok, if you read this far, you really need to get a hobby because you are one bored woman!
But thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!!!
EDITED TO ADD:
I'm so sorry if you left a comment and it disappeared, I am using a new comment system and not sure what happened, but they all disappeared. I did read them all though and am hoping that doesn't happen again!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

In the Mud? It's Might be Time to Cry

I'm thinking on this today...I pray it touches your heart too!

Psalms 40:1-3
I waited patiently for the LORD to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be astounded.
They will put their trust in the LORD.
NLT


"He heard my cry"
A pre-requisite for being pulled out of the mud might be a "cry"...thank You Lord....I can do that!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

No Full Length Mirrors Please!!

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Let’s take a look in the mirror girls.

No, not the bathroom one and heavens no, not the full length one!

Those are straight from the pit, I'm just sure of it!

We see that one all the time and work pretty hard to change that reflection, or at least we think about how much we wish that image would change…and then have a little more chocolate (or is that just me…).

But I’m talking about the mirror we look into that reflects our hearts. Truth be told, we probably worry a lot more about the other mirrors. I can become obsessed with the size of my jeans but not think one bit about the fact that I’ve become a real …shall we say…”witch” to my husband.

~big sigh~

God’s given us such a high calling as wives, and how often do I throw that calling under the bus for things that seem more important to me at the time.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him." NLT

Every translation I look at describes the woman as a “help, helper or help meet” to her husband.

Sometimes I forget that, tell me I’m not alone girls…


Our God created us to be a helper to our husband and when I look at myself in that mirror I fall really short sometime. We can get so busy balancing life, like one of those circus clowns spinning plates all over the place, that we completely forget we were created with a purpose in our marriage.

But, if God’s called us to do it, He will equip us for it. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves if we’ve purposed in our hearts to be his helper.

What ways can we be a better helper?

What about encourager?

Yes, I hear you over there screaming at me (you aren’t the first and won’t be the last) “but I have needs too!! I could use some help and encouragement once in a awhile!”


Yes, you are right, but it does not say that our husband was created to be our helper or to fill that need.

Who is our helper?

Psalms 121:1-2
I look up to the mountains--
does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
who made the heavens and the earth!
NLT

Psalms 54:4
But God is my helper.
The Lord is the one who keeps me alive!
NLT

Hebrews 13:6
That is why we can say with confidence
"The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid.
NLT

It is wonderful when a married couple work together as one and are focused on meeting each other’s needs, but what does a wife do when that doesn’t happen?

Give up- quit and figure that God doesn’t want you happy??? NO!

My advice is to follow the Lord for your own life and hide yourself in God who will pour Himself into you as you depend on Him.



He WILL bring you peace, joy, hope all the things you so desperately need.

Let God be your all in all.

In doing so, you will become a better wife and mom -and face it-much stronger woman of faith!
I have watched many marriages heal and get stronger when the wife looks to God for her love and acceptance. Suddenly the man sees the wife as someone who is not disappointed with him, but is happy and complete and she becomes more appealing to him than ever.


I'm praying for our marriages!
Sue

After leaving a comment, go check this great post that Kristine wrote after reading this one:
Kristine at Escaping the Cauldron

Thursday, March 18, 2010

March Spotlight ~ thank you!

Hello Ladies!


If you are stopping by here after meeting me at the "A Woman Inspired-Get Revived!" online conference, WELCOME! So nice to meet you! Please leave a comment introducing yourself to me, I'd love to know where you're from and what God is up to in your life!


AND I'm doing a special giveaway for those of you that attended...so if you did...leave a comment and you are entered to win a Praise and Coffee mug, I'll do the drawing tomorrow.

EDITED on March 19th TO ADD: The winner is: Karen Hammons!!!



Also, I want to share the March "A Woman Inspired" newsletter where we are the spotlight feature:


A Woman Inspired ~ March 2010


(Thank you Holly for thinking of me, that was so sweet!)




The whole newsletter is power-packed with great articles for women!

  ©Blog Design by Amy Bayliss.

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