An Eternal Encouragement Review- 12 Super Simple Time-Saving Tips for Moms

One of the constant battles that we continually fight as women of this 21st century is our schedules!  How do we fit everything in when we only have twenty-four hours in a day?

This month's product for review from Eternal Encouragement is a CD or MP3 from Lorrie Flem entitled 12 Super Simple Time Saving Tips.  What a gold mine of encouraging advice!  Whether you consider yourself organized-challenged or just need a refreshing boost -you will find something for YOU in this talk.

I will not surprise the fun and list all twelve of the tips that Lorrie shares; I will just share a few that spoke directly to me.

 #1 Make it my priority to look like Jesus.  In following with the theme for LOV this month -I can have a perfectly clean home, laundry all caught up, children happy and obedient, but if I have not LOVE then all is vanity.  I want to love Jesus more.  I want to be like Him.  The only way that I know to do that is to spend time with Him.  Much of my time can be wasted because not just of poor organizing but of sour, ugly attitudes.  I need a continual readjustment.  I need to constantly be with Him.

#6 Love something by giving it away.  Are you overwhelmed by work?  Give it away!  Lorrie reminded me that I am NOT loving my children when I am doing everything for them.  They are not learning how to keep house, be a part of the family, and grow in discipline.  Delegate the chores.  Work together.  I need reminded of this, because for me it is often easier do it myself rather than deal with complaining.  But am I loving them by allowing that?

#7 Be like a grape!  Grapes grow in clusters and so do tasks.  One way I do this is by setting items that need taken upstairs in a basket at the bottom of the steps, then I will take the basket up and put everything away at once.  Another suggestion by Lorrie was to make all of the phone calls that you have to make together and while doing another task if possible (like folding clothes).  This will greatly cut down on time and work effort.

And beautifully, Lorrie points us to JESUS at the beginning and end. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith, is He not?  All of the tips that she shares fall under this heading.

   Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?    Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . . But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
~from Matthew 6

Click on the image and you will be connected to this great product that will offer you spiritual and practical advice to help you stay kingdom focused and sane.

*As a member of the Gabby Moms, I received this mp3 free in exchange for my honest review*

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Love transforms...

I am sitting here with a blank computer screen waiting to be filled with words.  Sometimes words are ready to tumble out of my brain falling onto each other.  This morning I am contemplating LOV's monthly theme -LOVE- and I am just sitting here pondering just what to write about.

Love has been the muse of poets and painters throughout the ages.  Do we ever get tired of love?  Can the books to fill all of the book shelves in the world express all that there is to say about love?

Love transforms.  He takes a vile murderer and removes the evil. 

Love washes the perverse white as snow.

Love touches the tongue of the liar and cauterizes the member with fire.

Love elevates a life to have eternal purpose.

Love gives passion with a continual flame.
 
What does Love do to you TODAY? 
Is Love transforming you?
Is Love adding purpose to your days of mundane routines and dreams not yet realized?

Ponder on LOVE.

"Love is enough, though the world is awaning."

~William Morris (1872)





God is Love.  Is Love enough for you today?

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Brushing His Hair

I am learning much these days- 22 credits full of the Tudor lineage of the British monarchy, symbolic analysis of Keats' poems, what is a poly carp, the painting techniques of Lorenzetti, and how to calculate a Cartesian product.  I love it.  I love learning and I can feel my brain cells growing fat and the synapses stronger.

This morning these words shouted at me as though in big, bold red letters-
"...as for knowledge, it will pass away.....but LOVE never ends."

All of the reading, studying, and harboring of knowledge -Knowledge WILL PASS away. What is left?  Only LOVE.

And then in His Providence, I was led to read this story.  I have read it before and it still brings tears to my eyes.....Oh, the great, great Love of Jesus!  So simple, so pure.  So upside down in this world.   Read on  and you will understand what I mean.

For those of you who do not know Beth Moore, she is an outstanding Bible teacher, writer of Bible studies, and is a married mother of two daughters. This is one of her experiences: April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville.
 
     I was waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons, not the least of which is your ego.
     I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt.. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man. I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face.
     As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... An impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.
     I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!' There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.' Then I heard it...'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.' The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top.
     Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! ;You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man.' Again, as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.' I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?' God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)

     Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.' 'I have one in my bag,' he responded. I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing.
     I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.   
  A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.
     I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knee and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?' He said, 'Yes, I do' Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'
    
     Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.
     I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?' I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!' And we got to share.

     I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way... all because I didn't want people to think I was strange.
      God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me. Please share this wonderful story. 'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!

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Meeting All My Needs and Desires

It has been many years since I have learned the life-changing truth that my husband cannot meet all of my needs...The need for happiness, security, purpose, value, peace, and contentment. I have learned and continue to experience, "My God shall supply all (my) needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 4:19) He is the perfect Lover of my soul. Relieving my husband of this role, which employed an endeavor impossible to actualize, changed my marriage. I could then begin to ENJOY my husband, not focusing on his short comings in meeting my needs. Really, if every woman could "get" this, I think that our culture would be elevated! How many marriages are stressed because the wife unconsciously or not manipulates her husband to get him to meet her needs and ends up angry and frustrated.

However, after reading and pondering Day 21 in The Love Dare, I became aware of present desires that I have for my husband to fulfill. I want more- more depth of love in our relationship, more intimacy, more comraderie. Are these desires wrong or misplaced? In this case, no, I do not think so. I did not endeavor to take the "Dare" because my marriage was bad or falling apart. Rather, I wanted more! to have the ultimate marriage experience on this earth and I would do my utmost to make that happen! I felt a push to strive to have an exceptional marriage as a testimony of God's handiwork and for my pleasure and satisfaction! But what about just having a "good marriage" to a "good man"? What is wrong with that? Is that not enough? My husband is thoughtful, loving, a great provider, friend, and a wonderful father. I sense the Holy Spirit leading me to gain a new perspective. One that confidently knows that all of my needs are met through Christ Jesus, and enjoys my marriage completely at this moment, accepts my husband at this moment.

Will I stop praying that our hearts would continue to bond and experience the depth, breadth, and height of the love of God? No. But my intent is to pray and live from the postition that we are "joint heirs of the grace of life". (1Peter 3:7) If today is as good as my marriage ever gets, I will be most blessed. And I do have a great marriage now!

How about you ? What is your perspective today?

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We All Want To Get Flowers

Many of you will be receiving flowers tomorrow from the man in your life as a symbol of his love for you.

Many of you will not receive flowers -and will probably be pining that you didn't.   We are women.  We want our loved one to acknowledge US, to tell us that we matter to them.  We want pretty petals to look at, to remind us that we are loved.  Nothing says it more deeply than the velvety petals of the rose.

Do any of you watch the television show "The Middle?"  The episode this week showed the Heck couple dining out with friends.  A flower lady approached their table and asked each husband if he would like to buy a rose for the love of his life. The husbands of the two other couples purchased the lovely single rose and in handling the love token to their wives, received the crowds, "Aaaaahs."  Mike Heck simply continued his monologue and dismissed the flower lady with a "No, thank you."  Frankie (his wife) is left flowerless and grabs a bread stick to munch on while her two friends gaze at the velvety petals.  The next morning Mike is awakened by a very upset Frankie who berates him, "Why didn't you buy me a flower?"  He replies, "I thought we agreed that that is a scam and that flowers are a waste of money?"  "Yes,of course it is.  But I still wanted a rose!!"

Doesn't that speak for the woman in all of us?  I know for me it does.  Yes, Hallmark is making millions from the propaganda of your love.  So is the flower industry, and diamond.  We KNOW that it is propaganda.  But don't we still want the flowers?

How will YOU react if your hubby comes home empty handed Tuesday evening?

Can you get over your disappointment?

In twenty years of a marriage relationship, I would like to think that I have grown and learned something.  There have been a few Valentine's that I went flowerless.  I have been disappointed. I have cried.  I have yelled . . . And I have learned to not depend on my husband so much for fulfillment and happiness.  My husband will be away this Valentine's Day.  He is working 2,000 miles from our front door.  That speaks his love to me.  He will not be able to bring me flowers.  I knew that.  So when I saw this beautiful bouquet at Sam's Club -I bought them for myself.  And I love to see them open more each day.

The other day my daughters and I made cookies.  I tried out the new cookie mold I had bought for the purpose of making heart-shaped coolies for Valentine's Day.  Making my husband's favorite, chocolate chip, I filled the mold.  The cookie turned out perfectly.  I took a picture of the tasty treat with my phone and sent it to my husband with the message, "Here is your Valentine's gift.  I guess we will have to eat it for you."  I also sent him a picture of the flowers with the message, "Here are the flowers you bought me, thank you."

He replied, "Bon appetit.  And I hope that you like the flowers."

We both smiled inside.

It is freedom to know that I can buy myself flowers....and enjoy them.

Can you?

Have a Valentine's Day filled with joy and love.

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Makin' Valentines

Originally posted February 12, 2011. We plan on doing the same this Saturday.

My daughters and I spent a sunny, cold afternoon creating Valentine's for our sweet ones.

This is our breakfast room. If you look closely you can see my sweet, shy daughter hiding from the lens behind a book. The table is nice and neat awaiting all of the ephemera (I am always looking for ways to use that neat word. I just "googled" it and discovered that there is actually an Ephemera Society! interesting...well, if you need a little help with its definition the dictionary says that ephemeron {the plural} is transitory written or printed material not intended for long time use such as postcards or tickets...the etymology is the Greek meaning "mayfly" {have you ever seen one of THOSE?}....interesting ...well. since we DO want our Valentine's to be preserved, remembered, and cherished may be this is not the correct context for this word. However, since little decorative things for scrapbooking like stickers are culturally described as "ephemera" {see all of the internet scrap book with "ephemra" in their name} then I will still use it. Also, ephemera such as notes and cards are now considered collectible- though completely contradictory to the very definition of being temporary- then there is another confirmation that I can indeed express that the breakfast room table was waiting to be covered with ephemera- otherwise known as colorful paper, stickers, ribbons, bobbles and such. Did I loose most of you? I am trying to write as goes the conversation in my head....may be that the general populace cannot follow my sporadic thoughts? But I DID get to use the word about 5 times!

Here the girls are creatively concentrating.

Between taking pictures I read Little Town on the Prairie. Presently we read about Laura's autograph book that she shared with her friends and the rage of calling cards. Even then pretty ephemera was exchanged and appreciated. This is a poem that Laura's friend wrote in her autograph book. We thought that it was perfect for inside a Valentine.

                                     "The rose of the valley may wither,

The pleasures of youth pass away,

But friendship will blossom forever

While all other flowers decay."

Isn't that sweet?

                       Here is my "little" one happy with her creation.

So if you have some ephemera lying around your house, maybe you can gather it together, sit and relax, and make some collectible ephemera for your loved ones.

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Sending Love

This month at LOV we are celebrating LOVE.  How wonderful!  Each month I would like like to share with you, ideas for family activities to celebrate a monthly holiday or theme.  These activities are meant to bring your family closer, add joy to your home, and a deeper appreciation for sentiment.  They could very will become beloved family traditions.

February 14th is known as the hallmark of Love.  Today it has been made to be quite an indelible mark in our lives by the card company  Hallmark.  Howver, the holiday first had its roots proliferate in the time of the Victorians.  In that era most middle-class and upper class women enjoyed the hobby of scrapbooking and letter writing.  These ladies of romance combined with their love of aesthetic beauty and the sharing of sentiment; the idea of sending valentines became popular at once.  These first valentines were hand-made with an ephemera of colored paper, fabrics, feathers, tinsel, and glitter. Until the nineteenth century, what we think of valentine's were handwritten love letters.  As the techniques of printing became more advanced in the 1800s, commercial valentines were produced, then becoming the rage of sending love. 

Still enamoured with love and sending it to others- valentine's today can be a cute rhyme for a class mate or the deepest of emotions shared to the one we love.  Bought or hand-made, valentine's remain a token of our well wishes, friendship, and appreciation of love.  A friend gave the idea of sending out cards for Valentine's Day to her friends that she is unable to communicate much with throughout the year, a perfect time to say, "I think of you often and still mean so much to me."  I have taken up this tradition and look forward to finding the prettiest appropriate cards for each one that I mail.

My daughters enjoy making their own valentine's, which I do as well if I am feeling creative.  I get excited by gathering our ephemera of colored card stock, stickers, trimmings, markers, colored pencils, glitter, ribbons, buttons, and anything else that might add to our pretty creation.

"Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

Friends, kindred, days,

Estate, good fame,

Plans, credit and the Muse,

Nothing refuse.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Poems. Give ALL to Love st. 1

Will you blow warm wishes of kindness, friendship, and love to those in your circle?

~I would love to get one. (o;

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Real LIFE

  Today is Friday.  I put down short thoughts as I am constrained to write for only five minutes with the Gypsy Mama. Today we are talking about REAL.

Coffee that has overflowed, vomit spewed on the couch pillows, moans from a sick little girl, dirty bottom of a dog than needs attention (It is my dog, so I am the one to clean her butt.  As I do so I cannot believe that I am doing it.), packing hubby for a cross country trip (where is that big suitcase?), more moans mean I need to be with her to comfort -everything else has to be placed on hold -somehow- the heart of a friend is ripped apart as her husband is taken from her and her four darlings in a violent auto crash, my heart mourns for her loss.

This is real.


And so is this-

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned...

"I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.

 My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you

[sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully];

for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed)

and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness."

Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities,

that the strength and power of Christ may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!

~said by Jesus Christ in Isaiah 43:2, 60:17, 2Corinthians 12:9 (NIV & Ampl.)

Two worlds existing simultaneously, intertwining to be one for she who believes.

"Oh, Father how we need You today.  Comfort our hearts. Fill us with peace and joy in believing.  We trust you with our lives.  We know that You are for us. Amen."

This is REAL.

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Love~ Begin with Him

Today is February the first -yeah!  I love the beginning a new month.  The cold winds of January are blowing away and the red brightness of February is turned onto our calendars.  It is the month we celebrate LOVE.  So we shall this month, as LOVE becomes the topic of LOV. (:  All posts that you read here will center on that theme.

And where is the best place to start except at the One who is LOVE.  Have you ever stopped to contemplate that?  Well, as much as our finite little brains can take it in.  God IS love. (1John 4:8)  He cannot act out of love, as that would be out of His character.  Every move He makes on your behalf, dear sister, in an act of love toward you.  Yes, even the trials, even the hardships and heartaches, the discipline, and sorrows that we experience in the few moments that our blossom blooms in this temporal garden. He works all things for our GOOD, even the worms that would eat our tender petals.  He loves us.

This love is embodied in the Person of Jesus Christ.  Have you looked upon Him lately?  He beckons you to Himself to be wrapped in His arms of love.

"We love because He first loved us."

~1John 4:19

What powerful words.  It is not in us to love.  We simply do not have the ability in our natural beings.  But, oh, when we allow His love to flow through us!  He is able to release a deluge that soaks all who are near us.  We become a fountain of Living Waters.

Let the Waters flow over your heart and through your soul.  No matter your burden, it is lighter when it floats on waters of Love.

Swim in it.  Meditate on it.  Pray to know the breadth and height and depth of this great expanse of Love.  It is limitless, because He is boundless.

And after being soaked, let's celebrate it this month.

Will you join me? 



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February Printables for your Manager of the Home Notebook

The new month is almost here!  I love February....probably because it hosts the holiday for celebrating LOVE.  And that is the theme for the whole month- LOVE.  So if you return to visit LOV, that's what you'll get, some more love.

The February printables are ready for your Manager's of the Home notebook.  No, there is not an "official" MH notebook, except for the wide three-ring binder that I use to hold all of my printables together.  Did you get yourself one?  Can't wait for you to see the darling images for this month- lots of fun.  If you would like to read a brief explanation about why and how I use these printables, read this  first.

After much duress, I have the link to my printables figured out.  Well, maybe duress is exaggerating a bit, but not having you be able to find the printables was as frustrating for me, as it was to you! Soooo- hopefully these links will be smooth as my favorite peanut butter pie.  Each print-out has its own link.  The idea is  make copies for the "Week-a-Glance," "Weekly Planner," and the sheets for "Today."

Please give me your thoughts about having used them, including any changes that may help.  I want them to be adaptable enough that each of you can use them for your unique schedules, but I would make additions, etc., if that would help most of you.

Can I pray for you? 

"Father, I pray according to the riches of Your glory

that You may grant this dear sister to be strengthened with power

through Your Holy Spirit in her inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in her heart through faith

-that she, being rooted and grounded in love,

may have strength to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

and to know the love of Chirst that surpasses knowledge,

that she may be filled with all the fullness of God.  In Jesus's name, Amen." 

-Ephesians 3: 16-19

I consider it an honor and pleasure to bring you on the other end of this screen things that will lift you up and encourage you in this walk.

Have a blessed day.

Once again as a "thank you" for these free printables could you click "Like" on the Ladies Of Virtue FaceBook page if you have not already?  Thank you.

Click here for~

February's Cover

February's Calendar

February Monthly Planner Sheet

February Week-at-a-Glance

February Weekly Planner

Today Sheets for February- I have three different sheets
(merely for variety). 

One of them is by hours, which I especially like;

though you schedule is probably different that mine.

Today's Journal Sheet- Valentines

Today's Journal- Two Valentines

Today's Journal by the Hour

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Eternal Encouragement Newsletter

How often do you need a word of encouragement?  I need a steady infuse of words that pick me up and direct me to the Truth.  It was such day when I grabbed a CD on my way out the door.  I was headed to a far destination; the trip offered plenty of alone time.  I took the chance to fill up my soul.

The CD that I had grabbed featured Lorrie Flem.  I had gotten it many years before at a homeschool
convention, I think.  The Holy Spirit had directed my steps that day as the words that Lorrie shared were just drink that my thirsty soul needed.

I was so moved that I searched Lorrie on the internet and discovered that she has an entire web-site housing her resources.  The magazine that she edited had its titles changed  to Eternal Encouragement.   Isn't that phrase in itself, refreshing?  I wrote an email to her, sharing my gratitude for her words.  Soon after, I received a reply asking if I would consider being a Gabby Mama.   I accepted the role,  which means that once a month I receive a product through Eternal Encouragement, and as a "thank you," I get to share my thoughts about it with you all.

This month I want to share with you the e-letter that Lorrie sends out twice a month.  I so enjoy visiting a blog and receiving words of encouragement (and hopefully you do too, which is why you are here!), but  I also like to have a printed copy sometimes.  (It satisfies that tactile need in me, I guess.)  The newsletters sent from Eternal Encouragement can be read online as well as be printed out.  (And what you are reading here, at LOV, can be printed out as well- look for the Print Button at the end of every post.)

I encourage you to sign-up.  The newsletters are filled with encouragement for wives and mothers wanting to live a pleasing life to the Lord.  Lorrie shares heart-warming stories, always filled with wisdom and her own humorous personality.  You will be led  back to the cross again and again all on a journey of grace.

And the news-letter is FREE!  You can sign up through following this link- EternalEncouragment.com

Have a blessed beginning of the week.  Please visit Tuesday and Wednesday as I will be posting February's printables for your Manager of the Home notebook and writing about February's theme.

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Poem for Bonnie

I wanted to write about an experience that I had the other day.  Today's writing prompt from the Gypsy Mama is VIVID.  We have a world around us that lives with us simultaneously.  What is vivid to me?  just my own sphere?

To Bonnie
I see you there
Drawing comfort from a chair
your thoughts seem far
as you sigh with care.

I ask if you are
soaking in some comfort
from a work break,
a needed pause,
you opted to take.

You need it you say,
after yesterday,
two girls left you hanging
in the middle of the work day.

As you rise from there,
to return to the bar
I see you bent over
with the heaviness of care.

"Are you alright," I ask
Hoping not to see a mask.
I have "MS," you reply.
"that is aggravated by stress," you sigh.

"For ten years it was in remission,
But in December returned this condition.
Died my husband, my sister, my brother, and my dog."
Her life a dark fog.

Her body could not take the weight
of such a fate.

"Oh, dear," I reply
taking in all that she suffers
"I will pray for you"
hoping that my small words give her comfort.

She returns to the barista
to fix lattes with gusto
and I realize that in December
I had ordered soup or coffee
when world was turned asunder.

Yet not on her face
was despair or heartache.
She had handed me a mocha
fully aware of her place.
But, oh, how those days
her insides must have quaked.

I walk my way
saying heartfelt prayers for her that day
That she might come to know

His grace,

that so sweetly He does place,

comfort in the heart

of all that is hard.

I affirm that day

To take notice of place

for who else is in my path
is suffering from heartache
that I take no notice of
because I order my latte in haste.

So important it is
to share a word of routine
"Hello, how are you?"
Does not sound pristine
But it can be just those words
said with eyes that hear
That opens the doorway
to give comfort and cheer.


All His grace,
Nicol

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January's Theme- RENEWal

Each month I would like to write a post about my focus for that month.  A theme to go with the Manager of the Home" planners if you will.  I know that it is already into mid-January- how did that happen?  But I am still adjusting to the groove of a new year so you may be too!

When I sit with my monthly planner sheets before me, all blank waiting to be filled, I overview the entire month first.  More often than not, there is a holiday which beckons celebration.  The season of the year also offers its own frivolities and appeals.  Also, the time of year may require certain attention in that month.  Some examples would be Christmas in December is a holiday that directs the activities of most of the month.  The summer is fun for picnics and January's snow brings sled-riding parties (oh, but we do not have any snow- yet.)  When I look over the month awaiting to happen and consider all of these things, I get a feel for the month.  All of this gives me a theme.  No, I do not set this in stone and live by it perpetually.  But I have found that taking this time to ponder about the upcoming month, gives me a perspective that enables me to live with purpose, pursuing my priorities with passion.  (You will see this last idea a recurring one as it blends with a series I will be writing about who and what Ladies Of Virtue is.)

So with that introduction, I would like to share that January for me is about RENEWal.  I used to follow the masses and view this month after Christmas with disdain.  Yes, the days are shorter, colder -bleak even- routine.  However, I now actually look forward to these days of January.  Why?  Because the cold gives me reason to get cozy with a hot mug of hot chocolate.  The shortness of the days prompts me to crawl into my cozy bed with a good book.  The routine and lack of celebration gives me time to rest and enjoy the simple things some of which I just mentioned. 

We need calmness to balance out the chaos.  We need quiet to counter the noise.  January's schedule (compared with the rest of the year) offers that calmness and quiet, the is the perfect time for putting all of those "p" words into practice.  A whole year awaits us of things that have never been, ventures never explored.  In the calmness of January I can think.  It is a month of renewal. I can gain my bearings again.  Being the beginning of the new year, I can pause, ponder, pray, gain perspective, prioritize, and plan for the year ahead.  All of which allows my life to be lived with purpose and passion.  It is a month of new beginnings.

Do you need renewal this month?

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AWAKE to Stillness

Today is Friday.  Has it really been a week since I have said those words?
I AWAKE and go right to the writing prompt from the Gypsy Mama.  I write with other lovelies and the commonality that we all share on Friday is that we can only write for five minutes.  Gypsy Mama gives us the prompt.

Today's is AWAKE.

Go.
Nothing comes to mind this early morning, blanketed still with blackness.  I must still be sleeping.  My Golden is curled atop a sitting chair.  She knows not to do that.  But with night and darkness I assume she thinks she can get away with it  When I enter the room and sit to stare at my keyboard, she slowly opens her eyes just long enough to took me, then nonchalantly closes her eyes again.  I am not the Alpha dog here.  Small moments pass and I hear a low growl.  Who is she growling at?  I realize that she is dreaming.  The sound is so patterned I wonder if that is a dog snoring instead. (Our house is plagued by those.)  No; the little "wuff" at the end of the growl tells me she is working out some story in her doggy mind.

The beeper goes of  signaling that my coffee is ready. NOW I can wake!

I love this blackness, well more clearly the stillness. Just before a little girl wakes the other sleepers with her loud steppings on the hard wood steps and little songs sung from an extroverted thoughts.

In this stillness it is more easy to "Be still and know that He is God."  Everything is a pure moment right now. All is calm.  I know His love and holiness and might and power.  HE IS.

I hope that I remember to take this with me today when all is awake- and fast, full of interruptions and expectancies, and chitter-chatter, and overlapping thoughts, and worries wanting to take prison my mind.

It remains -"I AM."

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Manager of the Home- January printables

Good Morning Ladies!  Today I have January's printables for your "Manager of the Home" notebook.

Yesterday, I shared with you a little about my learning experience as a home maker.  I have learned that the longer that I am married, adding children to our family, life gets more complex!  Imperative for me to foster any kind of order to our home is executing the essentials of  ponder, prayer, prioritize, and plan.  Please click to download a short bible study that I have written on "Managing the Home."   This study will direct you into gain a biblical perspective of your home life.  After all, being a Christian homemaker is more than changing diapers an cleaning toilets.

If you have never used a home planner, you may be a little overwhelmed at first.  But soon I think that you will find it quite comforting to have your "brain in a binder" as someone has called it!  Everything is there for you to see and plan for (even the margin of the empty space of free time for Life's many unexpected interruptions.)  There are six different sheets for you to download for January's use.  Print them out, punch holes in them, and place in a three-ring notebook.  (I have found that Wal-mart sells these binders at a much cheaper price than the office supply stores.  You may also want to get a three-hole puncher as well.)

The pages are:

January's cover                       
Monthly Calendar
Monthly Planner
Week-at-a-Glance
Weekly Planner
Daily Sheets

When you first sit down with all of your pages, the planning may seem like a lot.  But with routine and use, the planner will be an effective tool for your home to flow smoothly.  Before the beginning of a new month I sit with my planner and write the number dates on the monthly calendar.  I add any known appointments or activities for that month.  I use the planner page (which I place facing my calendar page, having its holes punched on the opposite side of it) to write in ordinary tasks and ones specific for that month.  For example- This month I have written "Grandma's birthday dinner".   I will have "making Valentine's" on the monthly planning page for February.

After having done the monthly planning, I concentrate on the upcoming week.  I write general activities first, then I can see what open spaces of tine is available for extra things.  I also use the weekly planner.  This current week, I wrote on to call garage to make an appointment to have our car's oil changed.   Every Saturday or Sunday, I sit down for a few moments and look over the upcoming week.  This also provides a great tool for meal planning.  You will be able to see when you simply do not have time to make an involved dinner and perhaps want to do a crock-pot dish that day, etc.

Finally, the daily sheet.  After looking at the week, I write myself a daily sheet.  You will be surprised by how much little open time you have when you write down what are actually accomplishing in a single day!  Even folding one load of laundry and putting it away can take up to 20 minutes.  If you do only two loads a day that is 30-40 minutes of time!

Another way in which I use the planning sheets is to see where I can add activities that I do not usually get to do, but would like to.  For example, I like to make jewelry but have to find a place where I can fit that it somewhere in the schedule.  If I do not make time- it just does not happen.

So there you are.  A brief introduction.  To reiterate- this planner has saved my sanity!  I hope that it will be a blessing to you too!

"She looks well into the ways of her household,

She laughs at the time to come."

~Proverbs 31:27, 25

Yesterday there was some trouble with downloading the study.  The January printables I have placed in one folder.  When you click the link you should see a page that has all six titles of each pdf.  Click on that title- wait a second- and a page will appear with a "Download" button.  You will have to download each page at a time. (You should NOT have to log in or register)  PLEASE let me know if you are not able to do this.  I certainly want you to be able to access them!

As a "thank you" would you "like" LOV on the FB page?  There is a link on the right bar here.  And pass the word on to your friends; I want to bless others.

Have a great day and happy homemaking!

For January "Manager of the Home" free printables- click on the title pages above.

 

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Managers of the Home Study

  Hello to all. I am excited to share with you today something that I think could be life-changing for your home.

  I have had twenty plus years to grow at being a home-maker.  Not just a woman who lives in a house co-habitating with other members who share the same blood.  Nor simply a cook, or laundry washer, ironer, budgeter, shopper, chauffeur to children and teens.

  A maker of HOME.

   Four walls with a roof where love is fostered, creativity blossoms, dreams emerge, comforts laid, lessons learned.   Four walls that are beautified with generosity, appealing hues that set the ambiance of a cozy library or sunny kitchen.  A sanctuary from the world and a place of welcome with hospitality.

     So many areas that make a home.  So many areas to balance.  God made us women the managers of this multi-faceted responsibility; our brains are wired to think of different subjects simultaneously.  If you have ever confused or tired your husband by talking about the dress that you got on sale at the store, which will save you money to put away for Junior's lessons which reminds you that you have to call Jennifer because you need her to carpool with you tomorrow....you know just what I mean. 

   Womens' minds can think globally and in a detailed manner all of the same time.  Yet, even the most clear headed woman can benefit from a list.  You know the classic "To-Do" list.  I cannot remember a time when I did not use one.  Early in my marriage, I used post-it notes.  Then notebooks with pretty covers.  When I started to homeschool my children the daily tasks became more routine and complex.  I think that I would have forgotten to brush my teeth if I did not write it down!  Not really. But I probably would have forgotten to buy the frozen blueberries for a fruit crisp recipe or to order that present for Grandpa's birthday, if I did not write it down somewhere.

   In recent years my "to-do" list has developed into a Home-Manager Notebook.  The demands of having children whose ages span a decade having their own activities that accompany each differing age, their schedules, mine, my husbands, activities we would like to do together, appointments, etc. I found it essential to have a calendar with a planner together.  Though, I could not find a planner that was 1. pretty and 2. fitting to my personal needs.  Yes, both are important.  So through the years I have developed a planner of my own made up of a set of monthly sheets.

   Tomorrow I will post these printables for you to use.  They are for the month of January.  Please come back as I am sure you will love them!

   Today I want to share with a short bible study that I have written on managing your home.  Before tasks are written in their appropriate spot, I have found that there are some essentials that cannot be overlooked if I am to have a happy home.  (Meaning a home where Momma is happy because she is not over-stressed! And a well-planned home makes for an orderly, lovely home.)  Those essentials are pondering, prayer, prioritizing, and planning.

   This study, "Managers of the Home" is six pages in length and I encourage you to prayerfully use it over the next few days.  Pondering your family life, prayerfully asking for wisdom, prioritizing areas, and planning, helps you prepare your home for family life.  You will be able to confidentially say as the virtuous woman from Proverbs, "She looks well into the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness....and she laughs at the time to come." (Prov. 31:27, 25.)

   Your home is a reflection of Him. I pray that my words will point you to Him.

    As a special "thank you", I ask that you would simply "Like" Ladies Of Virtue on the Face Book badge to the right and share LOV with your friends.

To download the study click here-Managers of the home.

Remember to come visit tomorrow for January's printables. 

~Nicol

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Listen for the ROAR

     Today is Friday. Already!  I look forward to blogging Fridays.  I link up with The Gypsy Mama who gives a writing prompt.  We can only write for five short, sweet minutes.  I like writing within these parameters because- 1. I know that I will get a post up!  2. I will write stream-lined from my heart.  And as now as the sky is still cloaked in blackness, that means I am still sleepy, so it is sure to be stream-conscious.  3. No editing allowed!!! (Of course, I DO go over my too common misspellings.)
So today, the 6th day of January of this new year in 2012, the prompt is ROAR.

THAT wakes me up a little!

GO.

I cannot help but connect "ROAR" to thoughts that I have been having all week of the New Year.  My thoughts have been about pondering, praying, and planning.  But when I put "ROAR" in the same thought of the New Year...I cannot help but feel the whole resounding impact of

ROAR!!!!!!

A lion roars when he wants to be heard, right?  And being very direct about it.  This New Year has engulfed us six days in, and I am wondering what it will roar to me and what I will roar back. 

The stresses of life roar at me constantly and I sometimes roar back as loud as I can.  Sometimes that helps and sometimes not- my throat just gets soar.  Sometimes instead of roaring I cower.

I do not feel like roaring at the moment.  But there are times when it is necessary isn't it?

The Holy Spirit whispers to us in a gentle quiet voice. If I ignore Him, He beckons me still.  That soft voice a can become a soft, yet clear roar in my soul.  What will HE SPEAK  to me this year?  Words of love, words of encouragement, words of correction and direction.  I will listen and with clear voice roar what I have to share.

Have you roared lately?



STOP.

Image courtesy of blingcheese.

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