Life. Love. Jesus. Everything in between.

Sometimes in life we can get so caught up in every single thing we have to do. We get so focused on everything that people will see from the outside and focus on how we can shine those things up. We have problems and we try to fix them. We have issues and we try to sweep them under the rug. We have friends, but we keep them at arms length. We have co-workers and we keep our Jesus life separate. We have classmates who would never guess we go to church and consider ourselves Christians. We have Bible study friends who have no idea the sinful life we live on the weekends. We live lives that are contradictory to The Word. We live lives that are being lived to a man-made standard that is derived from magazine article, Pinterest accounts, and Instagram pictures. We are striving for perfection in our eyeliner and aren't even willing to forgive people and chip away at our hard hearts. We fully dive into anything our friends say is cool, but the last time we dove into God's word was..

Ever wonder what you want to be when you grow up? Wait. Most of you are grown up and you probably already are "something". Well I have grown..but I can't say I've grown up. In my mind growing up is building your life up. I have laid the ground work, but there has been no "up". Not yet, atleast. I've never had a career. I've had several jobs, but nothing I felt like WOW THIS IS WHO GOD CAREFULLY CRAFTED ME TO BE. I did feel like I was where God wanted me. To mold me and "lay the ground work", but I've never felt like that WOW THIS IS WHO I AM moment. God has made a way for me and continues to do so. I have had SUCH a hard time trying to blog lately cause all of my post truly come from my heart. Even if they are silly. And my heart has been on hold for writing lately. I wanted to write this to encourage someone who feels the same way as I do. You may be young-ish like me. You may be in your 30's or 40's not that you're

Feelings! Feelings get me in trouble from time to time! I don't even consider myself to be a person who is emotional or "in tune with their feelings".  But I am still a person and a female...and just like all females...we FEEL! But let me let you in on a secret. Well it's not a secret actually. But that made you want to know....OUR FEELINGS AREN'T ALWAYS RIGHT AND DON'T ALWAYS REFLECT GOD'S TRUTH. I have feelings all the time that make me want to act a certain way. Can I justify an ungodly action that took place because of what I FELT? No. That's not how it works. Can I allow myself to wallow around in feelings that are opposite of God's truth? No. Let me tell you why. I have FELT like I could not do anything right these past few weeks. I FELT like I really didn't have any purpose. I FELT like maybe all the things I had involved myself in didn't really need me and I should probably bow out. I FELT like I was less than others around me w

I'm looking for a hobby! It needs to require me to spend lots of money. Like I'm talking fees, dues, licenses that need to be renewed every year, etc. I would prefer that it is more expensive that what my household income is in a month. I want to spend money on clothes, gear, more gear, gear to carry my gear, etc. Also, it would be nice if it required something new everytime I turn around. I want to spend lots of gas money for it. I would prefer it to be a huge waste of time. I want to be able to do it any day of the week. The more real life stuff I can miss out on the better! Must be able to spend hours, even days or trip centered around being gone. I need it to require special expensive stuff and junk to fill up every empty space in my house is a must! I'm willing to tear my vehicle up and sacrifice time with my family for this! Anybody have any ideas?? I also am really hoping every single friend I have can get super wrapped up in this too. I want this to be a

If you know me then you know I love to talk. From small talk to deep conversation I love it all. But what I really like to know is WHY. I'm a "why girl". If someone says the can't stand the color blue I just gotta know why. Or someone thinks a certain show is amazing. Why? Tell me what makes is so amazing. Help me see what you're seeing. I can't fully understand someone's opinion until I see their point of view. So WHY is something I always want to know. This past Saturday at Bible study (shout out to all the Bible study ladies! I ♡ y'all so much) we have some great conversation. Many of the women were speaking about things in their lives that were going on. Some would basically say, "I'm not equipped to really handle this season of life I'm in." Or "I don't feel like I deserve the blessings that are falling in my lap" etc and me being ME, of course, said WHO TOLD YOU THAT? WHERE IS THAT COMING FROM? Pretend we are h

This is something that has been rolling around in my heart for a week or so now. It may not come out perfect, but I've got to get it out. There are many things we commit ourselves to. We commit to be the one to bring dessert to the holiday function. We commit to attend Bible studies. We commit to being a workout or study buddy. We commit to so many things on a daily and weekly basis and before we know it we are over committed. This is me. 99% of the time. I want so badly to be everything for everyone. I want to make the game to cheer on kids in the youth group. I want to bake an extra pan of cookies to deliver to the new couple I've seen at church. I want to have lunch with old friends and new friends and all the friends, really. I love lunch. Or breakfast. I love all food honestly. But the point is there is so much we can spend our time doing. These things aren't bad. Most are good. It's not the business that's bad...it's the condition it sets your heart to

If you don't think I'm crazy frugal think again! I just made muffins and put them in a Styrofoam bowl I found in the cabinet(probably left over from a party that my mom brought them to). Charlee was sitting at the table and I sat the bowl down in front of her. She asked me what that was....lol we never use paper plates or bowls or cups! It cost next to nothing to wash something. I don't spend money to eat on something and throw it away. All yall Big Money Mamas can go on with ya bad self, but this More For Your Money Mama can't stand the thought of it! It's pretty sad though that my 2 year old has no idea what a paper plate/bowl is. I haven't ALWAYS been Frugal Frannie. I didn't necessarily grow up with a frugal family either. Y'all my granny uses GLAD PRESS N' SEAL. That's the Big Money I can only dream of being one day. I re-use tinfoil and even then it kills me to throw it away after use #3. Being an 18 year old married person (I don't

I could tell you a 7 minutes story about how much I love this recipe and ramble about how delicious it is and how people always ask me how to make it or ask me to bring it when I attend a gathering and they literally scoop some fruit salsa on a cinnamon chip and force people to try it who are convinced they "are good, but thanks" but honestly nobody cares...let's get to why you're really here...the recipe! ______________________________________________ What you'll need : Flour tortillas Sugar Ground Cinnamon Two large bowls Glass Pan/Bowl (for melting butter) 2 Metal Cookie Sheets Tongs Cooking Spray Butter (I used 3 sticks when I used 20 tortillas..that is equivalent to filling up a gallon sized bag with the cinnamon crisps) 1 Pineapple 1 pound of Strawberries 2 or 3 Kiwis Large Knife(for cutting pineapple) Small Knife (for dicing fruit) Spoon (for digging out pineapple) Air-tight container or gallon plastic bag __________________________

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what kind of wife and mom I am. Not who I THINK I am in my head, but the cold hard facts of how I respond to situations, the words I choose to use, and my diligence to do MY part to the fullest. Everything tells us to BE A PROVERBS 31 WOMAN! Be the kind of woman the devil himself fears and fears her prayers cause he knows they can move mountains etc. And we should strive to be this woman. Having a godly quote as a screensaver doesn't make you a proverbs 31 woman. Wearing Christian t-shirts or listening to Christian music doesn't make you this kind of woman either. Raising your kids to be kind and telling them how to be humble doesn't make you a proverbs 31 woman either. Those are good things, but it's in YOUR actions that determine what kind of woman YOU are! The Wife of Noble Character 10 A wife of noble character who can find?     She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her     and lacks

If you're like us summer has flown by! We are already through the first week of August too! It's crazy! We have school shopped for clothes, but shoes and supplies still has to happen. We are pretty ready though...except what really needs to happen before school starts back is this. I need to remind my child of a few things and while we are at it you may want to call yours in the living room and remind them of these things too : If you make an effort like you never have before you will learn more than you ever have before. If you strive for excellence nothing can stop you. If you focus and do what your teachers ask of you..you will be surprised at how great this year will be!  Not everyone has been raised like you. Not everyone's parents expect what I expect out of you. Not everyone has rules and guidelines in their homes. But we do! And just because there are others who are disrespectful and disruptive doesn't give you a pass at all to hop on their train and forg

Affiliate links in article*  Ok so I've been debating whether I wanted to share this with yall or not. Charlee turned 2 Christmas day and moved out of her crib not long after. She wanted a big girl bed and so we honestly put her crib mattress on the floor and took the crib out of her room altogether just to see how that would go. We told her if she slept on that without a fuss we would see. We had already converted to a toddler bed months before that so we thought she may be ready. After a few weeks she slept just fine laying on her crib mattress (yes it looked sad in her room...judge me) so we decided to get her a twin mattress. We've had the frame we wanted to use with her mattress already so I started researching mattresses. I have a problem with wanting the BEST product for the cheapest price and won't stop until I find it. I began searching Amazon, naturally. I found a few traditional mattresses for decent prices but I then stumbled across a brand called Zinus. Zin

Growing up in a Christian home I had parents who served the Lord...In some capacity and on some sort of (if you grew up Baptist like I did and everything had a committee...committees even had committees) committee. We were always at church. My dad sang in a Southern Gospel quartet and my mom decorated what seemed like everything at our church so we (my sister and I) were always there. They served as Sunday School teachers, taught in VBS and Awana on Wednesday night's.  You name it and we were there. We were the kids playing in the baptism as mom hung the Christmas garland and we used pews as hide-and-go-seek hiding spots while dad and his group practiced on Tuesday Nights. We were just always there. As a young married adult I longed for the days of having my own purpose in ministry. I had been on a mission trip where I fell in love with that sort of ministry. I had helped with VBS and Middle School Camp as a teenager and loved that. I served as much as I could as a kid, but I alw

Have you ever looked back on a time in your life where you knew the devil was on your back? Maybe you're in it right now? When the darkness around you is closing in and you can't see the hope you once did...when the thought of giving up on God creeps in...when your marriage doesn't seem worth it anymore...when you get the "if you can't beat 'em join 'em mentality because you can't handle the pressure to "fit in" any longer...when you think about giving in to the immoral thoughts you have REMEMBER that God can absolutely use these situations for good! There's NOTHING He cannot do! He has the power to change ANY situation and pull you up and out of it and restore you! Some God sent friends and I were recently talking about how God has done this exact thing for us. And quite frankly it's not something you always share with others. Our pride sometimes keeps us from wanting to share with others the fact that we had divorce papers sittin

So I've always been a pretty headstrong person. Even as a child and teenager I wanted to do the opposite of what everyone else was doing. And if it wasn't the complete opposite it was usually different. I liked being different. I never was afraid to do or wear or act how I wanted to. I never dyed my hair purple or wore crazy clothes for attention....not THAT Kind of different. Just wanting to go enough against the flow that it felt good. (That has been a blessing and a curse to me at times) Alot of my friends were afraid to stand out. Afraid to be labeled as anything other than "cool". I didn't want to be cool...I wanted to be ME! As a kid and teen I was involved in so many sports and teams. I loved the fact that I broke the stereotypes a lot of the time. And I loved being so diverse. I wasn't afraid to be "the girl who drove a truck" or "the girl who prayed at school events"...I actually loved it One minute I was cheering on my high sc

If you're a parent of tiny people, listen up. I feel your pain. I know your every struggle. At the end of the day (literally because we have had a long day) we just want them to eat, let us rinse the shampoo out of their hair (without acting like we are killing them), and SLEEP IN THEIR BED! The bedtime struggle goes like this : 1. Goodnight Sweetheart  When bedtime begins there are books being read, prayers being prayed, a recap of our day and gentle snuggles with silly voices. But we all know this is only phase one.  2. Mama loves you, but get back in your bed Phase two is still sweet, but a little more firm. So they know we are serious. Along these lines..Mama loves you, but you better get back in your bed! Please don't get up again. It's time to sleep. And no you can't have anything to drink. And no you can't help me do the laundry. And no that's not Oreos under the blanket. I would never eat those without you. *walks dear child back to room