Today I'm a guest blogger at one of my favorite blogs in the whole wide world.
It also happens to be my bff's blog.
Glory Girl is a beautiful place to be inspired and encouraged by an incredibly gifted artist. So grab a cup of something wonderful and get ready to be inspired. You'll love it over there.
Here's the link to my post.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Nichole
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Greetings From a Stranger's Home
Hello!
My house is officially FOR SALE. This means we now live in what we call a stranger's home because it's nearly perfect all of the time...except for when we're sleeping and even then it's creepy.
We are not normally neat and tidy people. I'm not sure there's anything normal about neat and tidy people so maybe that's OK. No offense to the few neat and tidy people I know and love. You know who you are.
So here's the link to the virtual tour of our creepy home. Wouldn't it have been fun to have a 'before' tour when we had lawn chairs for living room furniture? Well, maybe fun isn't the right word.
Anyway, enjoy a peek into our neat and tidy. It will explain why I haven't been able to write for awhile. How have you been?
P.S. My kids have said that they're not going to say the word 'perfect' in their homes when they grow up. Yeah, I thought I'd never say 'shut up' too.
My house is officially FOR SALE. This means we now live in what we call a stranger's home because it's nearly perfect all of the time...except for when we're sleeping and even then it's creepy.
We are not normally neat and tidy people. I'm not sure there's anything normal about neat and tidy people so maybe that's OK. No offense to the few neat and tidy people I know and love. You know who you are.
So here's the link to the virtual tour of our creepy home. Wouldn't it have been fun to have a 'before' tour when we had lawn chairs for living room furniture? Well, maybe fun isn't the right word.
Anyway, enjoy a peek into our neat and tidy. It will explain why I haven't been able to write for awhile. How have you been?
P.S. My kids have said that they're not going to say the word 'perfect' in their homes when they grow up. Yeah, I thought I'd never say 'shut up' too.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
A New Song
This is my song and I am gonna praise You.
This is my song even if I can't sing.
These are the opening lines from a song I started writing back in October of 2009. Almost three years ago. When I first wrote these words and began to hear the melody in my head, my lungs were in pretty bad shape. I couldn't get enough air to sing or put dishes in the dishwasher without having a coughing/choking episode. These lyrics were complete opposite of what I felt like doing. I sat at my keyboard and pounded out the chords as tears splashed onto the keys. I wondered if I would ever sing again.
This is my song, with every breath I praise You.
A wise sister had encouraged me to praise God in spite of my physical ability to actually praise him in the way I preferred. She reminded me about that whole 'sacrifice of praise' thing that I'd heard preached from the pulpit more times than I cared to remember. It was beautiful advice for someone else and a whole lot harder to put into practice.
This is my song, I lay it at Your feet.
A few months ago while I was battling another round of the same annoying lung issue, I was finally able to add a chorus, a bridge, and a bunch of other stuff. This morning I had the privilege to sing this song in its completion with a full band and vocalists along with my church congregation. I cannot even begin to think of the words that describe the joy in my heart tonight. My hope is that the congregation was encouraged and that maybe, just maybe, the chorus has worked its way into their brains so much that they just can't stop singing it. And maybe, just maybe, the next time a situation comes along that makes them feel like they're losing it, they'll remember these words:
I'm gonna hold on to You
I'm gonna hold on to You
I'm gonna hold on to You
You won't let me go
It's a fight song. It's a sacrifice of praise song. It's a pressing through song. It's a hold on to your hat because it's a bumpy ride song. It's a new song.
He never let me go.
I waited patiently (not so patiently) for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry...He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.-Psalm 40:1,3 (emphasis mine) NIV
This is my song even if I can't sing.
These are the opening lines from a song I started writing back in October of 2009. Almost three years ago. When I first wrote these words and began to hear the melody in my head, my lungs were in pretty bad shape. I couldn't get enough air to sing or put dishes in the dishwasher without having a coughing/choking episode. These lyrics were complete opposite of what I felt like doing. I sat at my keyboard and pounded out the chords as tears splashed onto the keys. I wondered if I would ever sing again.
This is my song, with every breath I praise You.
A wise sister had encouraged me to praise God in spite of my physical ability to actually praise him in the way I preferred. She reminded me about that whole 'sacrifice of praise' thing that I'd heard preached from the pulpit more times than I cared to remember. It was beautiful advice for someone else and a whole lot harder to put into practice.
This is my song, I lay it at Your feet.
A few months ago while I was battling another round of the same annoying lung issue, I was finally able to add a chorus, a bridge, and a bunch of other stuff. This morning I had the privilege to sing this song in its completion with a full band and vocalists along with my church congregation. I cannot even begin to think of the words that describe the joy in my heart tonight. My hope is that the congregation was encouraged and that maybe, just maybe, the chorus has worked its way into their brains so much that they just can't stop singing it. And maybe, just maybe, the next time a situation comes along that makes them feel like they're losing it, they'll remember these words:
I'm gonna hold on to You
I'm gonna hold on to You
I'm gonna hold on to You
You won't let me go
It's a fight song. It's a sacrifice of praise song. It's a pressing through song. It's a hold on to your hat because it's a bumpy ride song. It's a new song.
He never let me go.
I waited patiently (not so patiently) for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry...He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.-Psalm 40:1,3 (emphasis mine) NIV
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Not Forgetting
We are prepping to sell our house. This means making it look like we don't live here so that a potential buyer will imagine themselves living here. This means our clutter has to go so that their clutter can have a place to stay. Easier said than done.
Tomorrow we'll repaint the walls in the boys' bedrooms. No matter how many times we've discussed that this moment was coming, the reality is pretty hard. The boys don't love change anymore than I do. In fact, they think we're doing long term damage. There's never a lack of drama in our house. One of my sons mumbles "she's burning and forgetting" every time I walk near his bedroom. Let the record show that I'm not burning anything, although the thought has crossed my mind more than once. I am definitely not forgetting. My boys were three and six when we moved into this house. They are now twelve and fourteen. So much life has been lived within these walls. Regardless of how much putty is used to patch tiny holes from air-soft bb's, we will not be able to remove this house from their childhood. It's not possible. We are not forgetting.
As of now we have no idea where we'll be moving. We just know it's time to move. Sometimes the not knowing overwhelms me. Every time I see a camper with a 'for sale' sign in the window I consider calling the number just in case we need to live in a campground for awhile. I won't survive a tent and I don't think my dream of living in The Plaza is the next step. Bummer.
Would you mind saying a prayer for our family? We are believing God for some big things right now that seem impossible. Please pray that our boys will trust that their parents really do have their best interest in mind even when it feels like we're leading them in the dark.
Thank you.
Tomorrow we'll repaint the walls in the boys' bedrooms. No matter how many times we've discussed that this moment was coming, the reality is pretty hard. The boys don't love change anymore than I do. In fact, they think we're doing long term damage. There's never a lack of drama in our house. One of my sons mumbles "she's burning and forgetting" every time I walk near his bedroom. Let the record show that I'm not burning anything, although the thought has crossed my mind more than once. I am definitely not forgetting. My boys were three and six when we moved into this house. They are now twelve and fourteen. So much life has been lived within these walls. Regardless of how much putty is used to patch tiny holes from air-soft bb's, we will not be able to remove this house from their childhood. It's not possible. We are not forgetting.
As of now we have no idea where we'll be moving. We just know it's time to move. Sometimes the not knowing overwhelms me. Every time I see a camper with a 'for sale' sign in the window I consider calling the number just in case we need to live in a campground for awhile. I won't survive a tent and I don't think my dream of living in The Plaza is the next step. Bummer.
Would you mind saying a prayer for our family? We are believing God for some big things right now that seem impossible. Please pray that our boys will trust that their parents really do have their best interest in mind even when it feels like we're leading them in the dark.
Thank you.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
It's Finally Here!
I am sooooo excited to introduce you to my new baby, I mean my new blog.
This blog will be more focused than the attention deficit driven blog you're currently used to. I promise. My main goal for PBnJGrace is to write encouraging words, especially for people who are caring for young children every day. This is not where I'll write about what a fabulous mother I am. Quite the opposite. It's a place where I'll tell the honest truth about how hard it is to be a caregiver, including my gigantic flops. The beautiful thing is about having so many flops and failures is that because I surrendered my mothering to the Lord many years ago and received his beautiful grace, He has taken those failures and turned them into beautiful places of hope. For those of you who witnessed my struggle first hand, this is a party indeed!
I believed wholeheartedly that my very existence was a huge mistake for more than half of my life. When God rescued me from the jaws of depression, he ushered a grace into my life that I have never gotten over. Where there was complete hopelessness, there is now more hope than I know what to do with. I can't shut up about it. If I know anything about who I am and what I was created to do on this planet it's this:
Offer hope.
We can only give what we've received and I've received more of it than I ever deserved. It is with passion and joy that I share my story with anyone who will hear or read it.
Real Life will still be a place to ramble about appliances, food, and whatever else is keeping me from the laundry. Aren't you relieved?
I'd like to ask you for a favor. I need you. Would you visit PBnJGrace, read the blog post and think of someone else you know who might need some daily encouragement like that? If you have time, would you mind taking a tour around the site? I've been working on it for a couple of weeks and my brain feels like it's been turned into hashbrowns. There's also a Facebook page for the blog as well to make it easier for readers to get updates. It's so easy to 'like' a page. I promise not to flood your Facebook page with nonsense.
It means the world to me that you show up here and read these posts whether you're related to me or not. I pray that you will be blessed because you are part of what God is doing here on this blog and beyond. There is NO LIMIT to what He can do when we surrender our dreams to his beautiful plan.
Thank you.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Untangling My Dreams Update **winner announced**
Thank you so much for your comments to the last 'Dreams' series post.
We have a winner!!! And the winner is....drum roll please....
Shawna Lass
I will mail the Tangled soundtrack to you. Thankfully, I already have your address ;-).
Tomorrow's the big day! I'm launching my new blog August 1st.
Check back here tomorrow for the link. Until then,
NEVER STOP DREAMING.
We have a winner!!! And the winner is....drum roll please....
Shawna Lass
I will mail the Tangled soundtrack to you. Thankfully, I already have your address ;-).
Tomorrow's the big day! I'm launching my new blog August 1st.
Check back here tomorrow for the link. Until then,
NEVER STOP DREAMING.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Change Will Do You Good?
Sheryl Crow has been belting out "I think a change will do you good" in my head like crazy for the past week or so. Change is in the air. Can you feel it? I know so many people who have sold their homes and are moving. Those are big changes. Even if the move is just across town.
Change isn't something I've openly embraced. It scares me. Often it comes with some uncomfortable side effects. Like giving up coffee or dairy and corn chips. Even when change is 'good for me', it's not easy. It's not as easy as Sheryl makes it sound.
Today we gave emotional hugs and said goodbye to my sister-in-law, her kids and my mother-in-law as they are moving to Virginia. It was hard. Even though our families know it's a very good change, it hurts. Change doesn't necessarily feel good while it's happening. Just ask any woman with hot-flashes.
I knew My husband was facing a tough day going to work this morning. It was full of the certainty of change. I found myself whispering, "I trust you, God" over and over even though I didn't feel certain of much. Sometimes I have to speak words that don't feel true so they can be true regardless of my feelings.
Lately this song has been playing on the radio station and has my full attention. Here are some of the lyrics by Need to Breathe.
'Cause if you never leave home, never let go
You’ll never make it to the great unknown 'till you
Keep your eyes open, my love
So show me your fire, show me your heart
You know I’ll never let you fall apart if you
Keep your eyes open, my love
Here's a link to the video if you want to hear the entire song. The video reminds me of a recent optometry appointment that proved my prescription had changed quite a bit.
Change is in the air. Keep your eyes open.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.--Psalm 40:5 NIV
Change isn't something I've openly embraced. It scares me. Often it comes with some uncomfortable side effects. Like giving up coffee or dairy and corn chips. Even when change is 'good for me', it's not easy. It's not as easy as Sheryl makes it sound.
Today we gave emotional hugs and said goodbye to my sister-in-law, her kids and my mother-in-law as they are moving to Virginia. It was hard. Even though our families know it's a very good change, it hurts. Change doesn't necessarily feel good while it's happening. Just ask any woman with hot-flashes.
I knew My husband was facing a tough day going to work this morning. It was full of the certainty of change. I found myself whispering, "I trust you, God" over and over even though I didn't feel certain of much. Sometimes I have to speak words that don't feel true so they can be true regardless of my feelings.
Lately this song has been playing on the radio station and has my full attention. Here are some of the lyrics by Need to Breathe.
'Cause if you never leave home, never let go
You’ll never make it to the great unknown 'till you
Keep your eyes open, my love
So show me your fire, show me your heart
You know I’ll never let you fall apart if you
Keep your eyes open, my love
Here's a link to the video if you want to hear the entire song. The video reminds me of a recent optometry appointment that proved my prescription had changed quite a bit.
Change is in the air. Keep your eyes open.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.--Psalm 40:5 NIV
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