WHEW Tribe

I know I am a slow learner and I have come to realize that I have to be told some things over and over again, especially the hard things. Luckily, God is patient with me! He just gently reminds me that I need to get back to doing what He has told me to do, (numerous times before).  A few days ago I was just praying and listening for the Lord in a few areas and He nudged me and said, "You aren't loving the people." Ouch! He was right. I may have been loving them a little bit, but I was not loving them the way He calls us to love them. I was loving them based on my feelings, not based on scripture. He reminded me that before I can serve Him in any other way, I have to love them first. Of course when you want to know what God says about love, you go to His word. "Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one's achieve...

I have always loved all things old fashioned. I think maybe because it reminds me of my childhood, my grandma and the wonderful memories I have growing up. I love antique dishes and furniture. I love aprons and quilts. I love gardens and homemade pies.  To me cooking from scratch, gardening and sewing are old fashioned skills, because it doesn't seem near as many women do these things as used to. These skills used to be part of everyday life, at least in my family they were.  My Grandma always made pies from scratch, biscuits from scratch, hung out her clothes to dry and they had the best garden ever! Grandma fed anyone that stopped by and never acted like it was a bother. She took care of Grandpa and the house, because that's just the way it was done. Her home was always in order and she was always busy doing something. I learned a lot from Grandma, just by being around her - even though I didn't appreciate it until I was older. I remember when I was in the th...

We are not all the same.  That came as a shock to you didn't it?  Just kidding, I know that you know this.  However, I really believe that we need to be reminded of this - often.  We are NOT all the same, so why do we feel like we have to be like everyone else. Why do we feel like we have to do things the same way others do them?  And when we do something differently, why do we feel guilty? UGH!! Drives me crazy! But we do it. I know I'm not alone in this, because I've talked to too many women that struggle with this. We get  caught up in the comparison trap in so many areas: housekeeping raising children being the "best" wife clothes hair exercise food worship and the list goes on and on.... STOP!! Just STOP!! God created each one of us uniquely and we need to embrace that! It's okay to just be yourself, to just be who God made you to be and to be comfortable with that. Some of u...

We all have an idol. The only question is... who is yours? Don't be too quick to answer. Pause for a moment and think about it. Think about what an idol is and what it looks like to worship one. According to Merriam-Webster, an idol is "an object of extreme devotion".  My Webster dictionary defines devotion as "attachment manifested by constant attention."  So I think it is safe to say that our idol is whatever or whomever we are giving constant attention to.  Would you agree? So let me rephrase my question... Who or what is getting most of your attention? Who or what do you spend most of your time on? Who or what do you spend most of your time thinking about? What is the reason you do the things you do? Be completely honest with yourself. Go back and reread those questions and be brutally honest in your answers. If you can't answer honestly, ask God to reveal the answer to you. There are so many things th...

What makes you feel loved? Do you ever really stop to think about this question? Pause for a moment and really consider it... ...seriously, consider it for a moment. What makes you feel loved?... Now, do you consider what makes those close to you feel loved? Those things you thought of that make you feel loved, do you do those things for others? Can you honestly say that you make an effort everyday to make your loved ones feel loved? I can't.

The season of love is almost upon us, you know what I'm talking about, Valentine's Day. As we think about the perfect gift for our loved ones, let's first think about love. It is so easy to get the wrong idea of what love is, or what we think it should be. We expect love to make us feel good, to give us those warm fuzzies and maybe even butterflies in our stomachs. We expect those that love us to know what we like and get it for us, to know what we need and do it for us, and then we will love them back. But that is not what love is all about. Love isn't a feeling. Love is a verb. Let's take a look at the scriptures and see what they say about love. You know where we are going right? Yep, the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13.  " 4  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6  It does not rejoice about injusti...

I have let Satan win. Again.  Ugh, will I ever learn?  Maybe. But maybe not. Even as I am writing this, I'm giving in again. I hear that voice of perfectionism in my head that is critiquing every word I type to make sure I'm saying everything correctly, that I'm using just the right words to get my point across. This voice is what keeps me from blogging more, it tells me I have to know just what to say and how to say it correctly and let's not forget about proper punctuation. Every time I think about writing a post, this voice starts questioning me: what do you think they want to hear, what picture are you going to use with the post, do you really have time to sit down and write, what about all your housework? So, I don't write. I don't share with you what is on my heart, because I listen to that voice. That same voice also tells me that I'm a failure and that if I share what's really on my heart, you will all see just how many times...

Serving others joyfully does not come naturally to me.  It is not one of my gifts. But I wish it was... and I'm working on being better about it. God has really been speaking to my heart lately that I had fallen back into the trap of selfishness, which easily leads to bitterness and resentment if I'm not careful. I can start having thoughts such as "Why am I the only one that ever picks up around here?" or "When do I get a day off?" and those thoughts are very unhealthy for me. If I buy into those thoughts, I can become bitter toward my family and resent serving them.  I become irritable and grumpy.

Hymn to a Good Wife 10-31  A good woman is hard to find,      and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve,      and never has reason to regret it. Never spiteful, she treats him generously      all her life long. She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,      and enjoys knitting and sewing. She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places      and brings back exotic surprises. She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast      for her family and organizing her day. She looks over a field and buys it,      then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden. First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,      rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work,      is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. She’s skilled in the crafts o...

I'm going to be really open and vulnerable with you on this post and trust me, it isn't easy for me. I would not be sharing these feelings with you, except I feel God telling me to because someone else needs to read it. Someone else needs to know they aren't the only ones that feel this way and that it's okay.  I believe it's time we, as sisters in Christ, lay down the masks and be real. We have to be open. We have to let others know it's okay to not have it all together. How can we build each other up if we don't even know we are falling down? I don't know where to start other than just jump in and blurt it all out.  So here it goes...

Have you ever been so moved by someone that you couldn't stop thinking about the encounter with them? Moved because just being around this person made you feel special, they made you feel important and loved? I had an encounter like that recently and it touched my heart so much that I just could not stop thinking about it.  Let me fill in a few details for you...

I didn't realize it at first, but I had let fear and perfectionism stop me from doing what God had called me to do. God told me to create WHEW Tribe to encourage and lift up other women; to let them know they were not alone. I made excuses: I don't have time, I don't know what to write, I don't know what they need, and on and on... But the truth is... I was afraid of what some people  might say if I wrote what was really on my heart. I was afraid of the criticism I might get if I didn't write properly, using the right grammar and punctuation. Because goodness knows it's been a long time since I was in school. I was afraid of the negative comments I might get; of the theological debates that might ensue if I shared my beliefs. I am not a theologian by any means.  Fear.  It's such a powerful thing. A crippling thing. But do you know what? All of those things I was afraid of weren't even REAL ! They were all thing...

Hello sweet friends! I just wanted to take a minute and let you know I am taking a Christmas break and won't be blogging this week. I hope you all enjoy your Christmas - may it be a blessed time!

It's almost Christmas!! And because I love Christmas time and I love my WHEW Tribe, I'm giving away this book!! What better way to kick off the new year than by doing a 12 week Bible study about worry and contentment! Here is what Christianbook.com has to say about it: "Women worry a lot. We fret about our children, our friends, our careers, our spouses---the list goes on and on! If you're tired of being held hostage to a million "what ifs," Dillow's 12-week Bible study will provide the help you need to exchange your anxieties for godly peace and contentment." I know this book was published several years ago, but if you haven't read it yet, I think it's an excellent study.  So, I'd like to share it with one of you.  Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.  I will announce the winner on my Facebook page on December 23, 2016. a Rafflecopter giveaway If the widget above does not work...

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the usual, ordinary tasks of our everyday life and let the romance in our marriage take a back seat.  Well, it is for me anyway. I have a tendency to be a task oriented person and although that helps get my to-do list done, it can also mean that I don't take time to work on relationships (with my husband or my children). It isn't that I don't love them or spend time with them, but I often forget to put in that extra effort. You know, that extra effort that goes beyond just taking care of their everyday needs. That extra effort of little things that can make a big difference and really show them they are important to me. More important than my to do list. I've been married 19 years and we have a great marriage! But in those 19 years I've learned that keeping the fire going takes work.  It takes that extra effort - but it's so worth it! Rekindling the fire can make a good marriag...

As a mama of teenagers, I want to encourage all the mamas of littles in something- Mama, these moments won't last forever. So don't forget to live in this moment. I know it can be hard, especially when you've changed your third dirty diaper of the day or you just had to comb snot out of your hair. Let's not forget the dog poo that got tracked across the floor or the cheerio floating in your coffee. (At least it isn't the other way around, right?!) I'm not going to pretend that every moment of motherhood is wonderful.  It's not. It can be hard. Really hard. But it's also wonderful. It's full of slobber kisses and squeezy hugs. It's a time for snuggles and bedtime stories. It's full of giggles, tickles and zerberts. Mama, I know you get tired. I know that your babies need you every single minute of the day and sometimes you'd give anything for a moment of quiet. Just quiet. Just you and your ...

I don't always enjoy serving others. There, I said it out loud.  I hate it. I hate that I sometimes I take on the role of Martha when she whined to the Lord - I have thought this same thing so many times. Don't they see me doing all this work? Why are they not helping? Why am I the one that always has to _________?  It's ugly. Those thoughts are ugly and selfish. But I have them. Not all the time, but I wish it was never.  I wish that I would serve everyone, all of the time without one single thought of myself. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Phil 2:3 I'm trying. Really I am. When I feel those thoughts coming up, I try very hard to quiet them. I try to remember these scriptures. I remind myself what a blessing it is to be able to serve and to have others to serve. I started writing in my prayer journal what kind of woman I want to be and verses...