a smitch of sparkle

Thursday, June 6, 2013

The Necessity of an Enemy

Book REview

This book is not one to just sit down and read all the way through. (Which is how I started reading it.) The nuggets of truth and encouragement within each chapter are conveniently broken down into bite-sized pieces. Quick enough, in fact, that I'd say you could leave it in a place where it's convenient to grab when you've literally got just a minute or two to dive into something. Although it's not really a "devotional" book, it could be used alongside your daily Bible reading as support for your Walk. Sometimes it was amazing how much I could relate to a situation, and then other times, well, not so much. Still, this book is a great reminder that in the battles of this life, we have to face some tough things. We will wade through them, struggle in the midst of them, And have the ability to overcome them by the power of the Lord - and in that power alone. It's amazing to see what we can see when we start looking at our struggles and the issues of this life that seem so looming, as something the Lord uses to strengthen and grow us instead of as inconveniences - or even as negatives. Good things really can come from them, if we will only let the Spirit speak to our hearts and if we are willing to let Him use everything, everything, that comes into our lives for our growth and His glory. This life is not really about us. It is about Christ; who we are in Him. And when we're facing our giants, we'll do well to remember that.

Check it out Here I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books. Love to read? Have a blog? Join me at www.bloggingforbooks.org

Friday, January 4, 2013

This Year's Journey Starts with iBloom

If you were to describe the journey you think you might go on over the next year, would you explain it as ...
Typical?
Adventurous?
Simple?
Exciting?

What about...
Stretching?
Extraordinary?
Ordained?
Purposeful?

Today I'd like to extend a challenge to y'all that has been extended to me. I received a preview copy of iChoose2 Love My Life: a one-year journey toward living a life you love. (You can check it out here.) And I can tell it is definitely going to be a valuable tool on my journey this year! This book was written by a team of authors from iBloom - whose goal is to inspire, encourage, and empower women. This book offers weekly guidance, motivation, and insight to making small changes in our lives that will help our potential bloom and grow ... helping us truly love this life we live!

Addressing each part of day-to-day life - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual - in fresh yet simple ways, this book offers me a chance to see myself honestly, as I am. If I will use this book as an aid to walking on my journey this year, I have no doubt I will be refreshed, renewed, and rewarded.God has already pointed out things to me from my review of the book, that I am eagerly anticipating what He's going to do in my life this year ... today ... in the next hour. I've realized I haven't lived my life like that - excited to see what blessings, and challenges, lie ahead of me. I've kinda been walking through life doing the good I know, instead of expecting God to stretch and grow me even minute-by-minute.

How about you? Would you care to join me? You can get your copy of this nifty little book which has 52 sections - one for each week of the next year - from the iBloom website. If you do purchase it, give me a shout. I have a closed (meaning, no one can see what's there except members) Facebook group already in place where we have talked before about being women of prayer and purpose. If you're not already there, we'd love for you to join us. I hope this will help spur us on to bring the Lord the glory He deserves in our lives!

One other thing before we part today - I mentioned iBloom a minute ago, and I wanted to let you know a little more about them. It's a great little "community" of women where you can find support, encouragement, life and business coaching, and a whole lot of fun! Explore their website, where you can sign up for daily inspiration that comes right to your email inbox. Also, check out their Facebook page where you can join in the "party" on the 3rd Tuesday of each month! And finally, you don't want to miss the online New Year's Party they are hosting. Just click the picture below to find out all the details!

I have been so encouraged by the women and activities over at iBloom, and I think you will be too! Hope to see you there!

Expecting more from the Lord than ever before,
Jamie

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Today's Choice

We would all say we know that every day brings us choices. But do we act like it?

Let me expound that: Do we see the morning as the beginning of an opportunity to choose how our day goes - or do we stumble out of bed and grope our way through the next sixteen hours or so, moving in whatever direction things seem to push us? Are we living intentionally or recklessly? What we think our purpose is for this moment either gets us going and keeps us focused, or causes us to be complacent and lazy. Are you there; at the point where you realize you are not living your days as though you have a choice? Today I'm taking my choices out from whatever ignored corner I've stuck them in. I'm choosing to focus on my purpose, make decisions that support that purpose, and keeping my eye on the goal.

Now, I know days can bring unexpected things - good and bad - and it could happen at any second. There's no preparing for those things. But, I am certain that even if the next hour were to bring the most unimaginable joys or dreaded things into my life, I would be ready.

Maybe you're wondering how I can be so certain of my purpose; so sure that I could face whatever may come. Well, it's because I believe God is Who He says He is, and I believe He can do anything - even bring Glory to the midst of a mess. And so, on this first day of 2013, I have come to the throne of my Creator and asked Him for the focus it will take for me to live out His purpose for me.

Care to join me? Take a minute right now and call on His name. He will hear you. When someone calls your name, don't you turn your attention toward them? Our Heavenly Father does the same. He knows you already: He knows your struggles, your passions, your sins, your joys. He formed you and created you for a special purpose - one that only you can fulfill. And He's such a "gentleman" - He will never force us into living life as He designed it, but will wait until we are ready and willing to embrace it. He has already chosen you. Will you choose Him?

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Miracle Baby

Just a little story, for those of you who don't know why we call Tate our miracle baby...

Five years ago (after my water broke at home late one night - 3 weeks before my due date) we were headed to the hospital to welcome our third child into the world. Instead of the "birth center" kind of labor and delivery I had experienced with the girls, I found myself in the unexpected position of being in the middle of a very non-active labor, watching the monitor tell us our little man's oxygen rates were dropping, and dropping, and not coming back up.

Around 7:00 a.m. we started prepping for an emergency c-section and at 7:24 a.m. Tate was born with a low heart rate (less than 60 bpm), not breathing. The doctor and his team performed 15 minutes of CPR and took him from the room without us knowing his status. I knew something was "wrong" but of course they don't tell you anything when you're laying on an operating table. Still, I cannot begin to explain to you the peace Matt and I were surrounded by - but I am certain it is the peace we read about in Philippians 4:7.

We finally got to see pictures of him that they let my mom take in the nursery, but since he was under constant monitoring, we had not gotten to see or hold him yet. We were told that once they got him going, he seemed good to go, but that Cook Children's was coming to get him for a couple days stay in the NICU for observation and testing. They came to get him by ambulance, and when the team brought him in to see me before he left, one of the paramedics told me he was the healthiest baby she had ever picked up for transport.

I got to snuggle him, and tried to soak up every second, for I knew it would be two days before I'd get the chance to do it again. We ended up rooming in 5 days at Cook's (Tate was there a total of 7) because those monitors pick up every episode of apnea and he was making them go off late at night. He had an amazing team of doctors and nurses there, and we are forever grateful for the care they gave him during his week visit. Family and friends surrounded us; took good care of our girls, prayed for our little guy and me, came to visit us, and ministered to us in a hundred different ways.

Even with tests and scans and lots of poking and prodding, they never found an "explainable" reason for Tate's issues at birth. We believe, at the very least, God reveled Himself to us during this time. We came to know Him better, we realized we could explicitly trust Him - no matter what the outcome was to be, we felt very safe and secure in His love for us in the midst of it all. And we can have that confidence in Him because of this experience.

Today, Tate is a curious, busy, curly-headed blessing. He is the child who randomly comes up to me multiple times every day and says, "I love you, Mom," or "I need a hug." He is a "typical" jumping off furniture, digging in dirt, wrestling, ball-throwing boy. He gets "minute bears" at school for not listening and at home he's often too rough with his brother. :) But he has the most amazingly tender heart and he moves my heart in ways that are simply beyond words. He is a constant reminder of the grace of God.

When days are hard, when we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, when we just don't understand why the things that are happening - are happening; let's remember all that we have been given and treasure it for the blessing it is.

I didn't go dig out a ton of photos, but here are a few from the past couple of years...