About a month ago I stumbled across this website that was promoting a conference for pastor's wives & women in ministry. It's called the JustONE Conference. If you're married to a pastor or are in ministry yourself, I would really encourage you to check it out here.  http://bit.ly/4D6owY Anyway, today was the first day of a 4 week conference. The idea is genius. We're all busy, we all have different schedules. This is an online virtual conference that streams twice a day, Monday & Tuesday for 4 weeks. Each week there will be different speakers, and tonight I got to hear from several really gifted women I had never even heard of before. After just an hour I am fired up! So, I thought I would post some thoughts each week about what I've heard. You can also follow me on Twitter for more of my insight! Probably the thing I related most to tonight while watching came from Jessica Cornelius from Texas. She was talking about the "voices" that we lis

I started drafting this post back when the news broke about Kim Kardashian ending her marriage after just 51 days or something. I like her. I wouldn't call myself a fan, but when all the news came out about who's fault it was, how expected it was, etc, etc, I got a little defensive. Obviously, none of us know the real truth-who's fault it was, how it happened, and why, but does it really matter? I don't think God cares. I think he's just saddened that another marriage had to be lost. When God created Adam and Eve He didn't present Adam's wife to him with the disclaimer, "Here's a wife to keep you company until things fall apart and the next woman comes along." In the same way, He didn't give Eve the "out" by saying, "Eve, have fun with this one until you see something you think you'd be happier with." No, God ordained marriage as a forever thing. One man, one wife, forever. I think God is truly saddened by each marri

Can I please just say how much I love these 2? Both my babies are in bed, and I'm just thinking about how blessed I am to be their Mommy! There is no feeling in the world like having both sets of those big, blue eyes look up to me each and every day!

I'm aware the phrase "to be honest" (or TBH as teenagers refer to it as) is floating around on facebook. I don't know how or where it started, but a lot of our youth are using the phrase to send each other messages about whatever topic, speaking honestly.? I didn't realize I needed a disclaimer placed in front of whatever I feel like sharing to others...I'm a pretty bluntly honest person. At any rate, I'm about to get brutally honest. This is not fun to admit, but I feel like the greatest lesson learned may be in being able to help someone else. Today started out rough for me. (Big deal, you might say) I don't know why, and I don't know how, but I wasn't myself this morning (or I HOPE that's not myself). Because my day started rough, I made my family's day start rough. I woke up like normal, headed to the kitchen to make Olivia's breakfast and pack her lunch while she got dressed. When she came down, she sat at our counter to eat

So I'm on Day 2 of my Daniel fast. Fruits, vegetables, and water. That's it. Sounds like torture-especially for a "meat and potatoes" kind of girl. I Love fruit-and several veggies too though, so it's not bad (yet). I've also given up facebook.  Scott and I are wanting to grow closer together as well as hear from God about a few specific areas of our life, so I'm devoting these 3 weeks to seeking God, hearing from God, praising God, and being more productive as a wife and mother! This morning I was reading my fasting devotion and it talked about repentance.  "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Matthew 4:17 In the Old Testament the word "repent" meant to "be sorry". But in the New Testament, the Greek word means "reconsider or think differently".  It's no longer OK to just "be sorry". We're called, commanded even, to chan

"Back to Life, Back to Reality". Anyone know what song that is? Ha, me either! Home from a 3.5 wk holiday. Today is Olivia's birthday! I cannot believe she is 6 years old. Only because most of the time she acts like she's 16! "The princess" woke up to hot cinnamon buns and cold milk in a champagne flute this morning! She got a big kick out of that! We've played with birthday gifts and her toy puppy that Santa left her. In a way, it's good to be back! She even got a call this morning from a little girl in her class asking her to come to her birthday party this afternoon, so she's excited about that! Can I just say how nice it was to come home to a clean house last night...especially since we didn't get home until around 12:45AM!  It's much nicer to wake up in a clean house after being away so long! The only thing I should have done before leaving was make my bed! It's much more relaxing to just be able to crawl in bed rather than s

Most people say that "goodbyes" are never easy. I can definitely agree with that! My family knows all-too-well how hard they are. In fact, I've been saying goodbye for years, and it's never fun. Also, people that say "it gets easier" are LIARS! Scott and I started dating long distance in 2007. We were constantly saying goodbye in airports, and it ALWAYS sucked! When we moved to Canada in 2009, we had to say the hardest goodbye ever. I never imagined I would be 2,000 miles from all my family. Each time we are able to see my family, we all dread the goodbye at the end of the visit.  Tomorrow, we say goodbye again. After 3.5 weeks of holidays with my family, we are flying from Atlanta to Orlando, and then fly from Orlando back to Canada on Wednesday.  The end of a long trip always leaves mixed feelings for me. Sad to once again say goodbye. Eager to get back home and "get back on track".  (P.S. For me, the word "home" is used very loosely

Here's to catching up from 2011. I promised myself that during our Christmas holidays I wouldn't get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the retail-generated commotion of the holiday season. Yes, there would be gifts to buy and give, food to prepare and indulge in, sales to take advantage of, and "traditions" to keep up. I expected to take part in all of these things, but wanted to remind myself often of Psalm 46:10. The NLT version says this, "Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world." In the midst of all the holiday traditions, I wanted to truly remember the reason for all the celebration. We have been in the U.S. for about 3 weeks now, and I can truly say that I've been able to slow down, enjoy the moment, and remember the reason for all our celebration.  Also, in keeping to tradition, I'm quite sure by the end of this trip I'll need a vacation from my vacation! That's the