The Gift of Listening

The evening winds down after a full day of family worship, errands & fun time activities, and I just finished getting the kids all in bed. My sweetheart of a husband begins to share many thoughts & concerns of various subjects about life, the kids, his job, and more as I smiled inside enjoying every moment of this wonderfully detailed conversation. What is it about most of us, that as women we "need" to hear about our spouse's day, and "need" to have as many details as possible shared with us in conversation in order to enjoy to the fullest the relationship our Lord so dearly blessed us with to our husbands? I for one am guilty of this. I truly lit up inside to hear my husband pour out his soul to me just out of the blue and value my thoughts & opinions on matters at hand that he had been contemplating for awhile. It made my day! Too often I find myself wishing I knew more of what he was thinking about or why he made certain decisions, but in my reluctance to just ask, I have been selling myself short of what could blossom into an even deeper relationship with the man I love.

Have you ever found yourself hoping for more of the details in your man's life? Do you hesitate to ask him what's been heavy on his heart lately? Well, I hope for all of you, that the chance will present itself - to be the best listener you can be to your spouse on a daily basis. I discovered that if I would just practice the gift of listening more, & share less of my own opinions, I might give my dear husband enough time to express more often what God has placed on his heart lately. Would this be a development that is worth being quiet & learning to listen more? You bet it would be! We are never too old to revamp our listening skills. We are never too wise to receive Godly counsel. Our goals as a wife should be to put the needs of our husband first as often as possible. God gives them wisdom to pass on to us as their wives, & we should truly value every opportunity to hear their advice or counsel & receive it with grace. Who would have thought that by acting in gentleness & quietness with a listening ear & an open mind, I would receive the greater joy & blessing by fulfilling my own need for hearing him share what's on his heart? :) May our Lord meet you where you are & help you meet the needs of others by becoming a great listener today. The rewards for trying are too numerous to mention. May God be glorified each time we practice how to become better "listening servants" for Him.

Gardening: Surprise Blessings From Above

Variations of purple & white Flox are spreading like wildfire in my front yard. I believe gardening has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl & it always involved my endless love for flowers. I have a bad back, but that won't stop me from enjoying God's beauty in the nature He created all around us. I like to surround myself with beautiful flowers as often as possible, but this year was going to be a challenge as I was starting from scratch again. We no longer had lawn service to combat the weeds & my flowers were no longer blooming from last year. The weeds decided to make their mark quickly & I tried my best with the help of my teenage son to conquer the beasts before they took the upper hand in the flower garden & in the yard. Having the right tools for the job certainly makes gardening alot easier though! I found this out the hard way when I tried to fight the crazy weeds with cheap $1 gloves and lots of motivation. I was hopeful to be able to handle the yard myself by getting the weeds under control, nourishing flower growth, & even improving their look with enriched color & size of blooms from fertilizing. I had no idea that the Flox from last year (a type of small flower that is a bedding plant) would be a super surprise from the Lord that would soon spread so much they would start taking over the front 1/3 of my lawn! Such a beautiful scene to drive home to an array of mixed lavendars, dark purples, raspberry & white Flox that have also grown to be quite tall in fact. I heard a speaker at the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival who was apparently a gardening expert & she shared that Flox can spread some on occasion but usually not too much. Boy did I need to talk to her & share my story! LOL! Last summer the Flox I planted died in the summer heat when our sprinkler system broke & I was out of town for a few months & was not there to hand water them. Upon returning, my son & I dug up the dead plants out of the front flowerbed & kind of tossed them behind our backs into a pile on the front lawn to be picked up and bagged later. Little did we realize that FL sunshine & rain have a way of making things grow very fast & sometimes they can even regrow after they've died. I did nothing to deserve the lush color & beauty I now cherish in my front yard, but I know who sent this surprise blessing my way..our Heavenly Father. He has a wonderful way of surpassing all my needs & expectations on things I pray about, & then He even goes above & beyond what we need so we may be blessed beyond measure & give Him the glory. I love it when those precious moments of realization occur that make me want to shout,"Praise the Lord for His goodness!" Flowers not only bring me a smile each & every time I see them, they are a lasting breath of encouragement & joy that fills my heart with gladness to know our Loving God & Creator cared for us so much He even colored our world with things to make us happy. I hope you will find that your days are filled with His light, love, & unfathomable blessings & miracles with things that bring you a smile & a joyful heart. In my picture below, I share my newest tools of the trade to make tackling the weeds and gardening an easier job. Gripper gloves on the left & suede gloves on the right. Both have their purpose along with a good sturdy spade. :) Happy gardening!

Implementing small steps in Exercise to Improve Your Life

There are many reasons people start an exercise routine. For some it may be the desire to lose a few pounds or fit into that favorite dress again, for others it may be they need to stay in shape or look their best for the type of job they have. Whatever the reason, we probably all agree that exercise is indeed a positive healthy choice that we just don't seem to do often enough. After just recently having another baby (number 3) I can certainly see a GREAT need for some daily exercise to burn calories, tone muscles, & build up some stamina. It wouldn't hurt to fit back into some "normal" blue jeans again either. LOL!
I think the main problem most of us have is the proper motivation. We need someone cheering us on, or a goal set that is easy to achieve in small consecutive steps. I pondered this during the last week after sharing with some friends how frustrating it was not to be able to climb uphill pushing a baby stroller while toting a diaper bag, cooler, & four year old by the hand. My sense of purpose to get back into shape and feel healthier so I could enjoy life again was overwhelming me. I wondered if anyone else ever felt that "needy" to get back into shape right away and how did they get motivated & accomplish it? To my surprise almost everyone I spoke to shared with me the same answer...the desire is there on a daily basis, but the motivation is not. They all wanted & felt they needed to have a daily or weekly exercise routine established in their lives, but just couldn't stay motivated to do so. I told them that I did not like feeling powerless. I wanted to enjoy a day at the Disney parks walking around with my children and refused to allow my physical state to keep me from precious moments with my kids again. Having to leave early due to lack of "pep" was not going to control my life anymore. It was time to get serious.
My friends shared that they would love some good ideas to keep a steady exercise plan in their life and even asked to have me help them stay accountable to their goals. Covering the basics of proper sleep, drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated, eating healthy foods, & getting some extra protein after a workout was important to help my body rebuild its muscle tone & strength again. I shared these tips with my friends to see if they needed to evaluate their current lifestyle & adjust their schedules to fit in 30-60 minutes a day of moderate daily exercise. Keeping a log or journal of your daily efforts to eat healthy, rest well, drink water, & find the time to make a good effort at some form of moderate exercise that will break a sweat, can be very beneficial at staying on target with your daily fitness routine. For my needs after having the baby and also suffering from a lifetime condition of a weak/sore back, I have found that doing 5-10 minute spurts in the am & pm on a recumbant bike, working out to a fun aerobic video, or taking a brisk jog around the block while my four year old rides her bike, seem to do the trick to start. Its easy, its fun & it doesn't take much time or effort. Now the small consecutive steps I mentioned earlier, this is where they fit in. Keep that journal or log up to date & track how often you complete 5-10 minutes or more 2-3 times a day of some form of moderate fitness. Then start working up to 15 minute intervals for 2-3 times a day. Adding some varied exercises, swimming, walking, jogging, or heavy housework/yardwork can count too for burning those extra calories & keeping your muscles toned. I'm thankful to report I only had to take some ibuprofen for a day or two when I first started my fitness routine, & now I am up to 20-30 minutes at a time on the recumbant bike. I am now able to include 3-4 different upperbody exercises on the home gym to my routine as well to balance toning my core muscles, arms, shoulders & chest. I included chest press, butterfly press, lat pull down & ab crunch. Feeling more energetic, having less back soreness from my lifelong back ailment, being able to lift the new baby more easily, & having the ability to keep up with my active four year old & teenage son is priceless. What will you use to motivate you today to start a simple, small consecutive steps way of implementing an exercise routine into your life? Grab a partner to keep you accountable, or keep the fitness log or journal and get started right now. You CAN do it! :)

Tangled Movie Review

Fabulous movie choice for young & old alike! Disney's Tangled is their 50th animated feature & brings a heart-warming tale of romance & adventure along with an almost Broadway style set of musical scenes that are sure to entertain. The villain, Mother Gothel, is a manipulating old woman made young again day after day by using Rapunzel's hair & its magic healing powers for her own purposes. Flynn Ryder (or Eugene Fitzherbert) is the romantic interest & eventual hero in this movie to our star & heroine, Rapunzel. Rapunzel is simply refreshing as she joyfully soaks in the world around her & sets out to fulfill her dream as she desires to go see the floating lights that appear each year on the night of her birthday. As she discovers love, guilt, trust, heartache, and a flood of other emotions throughout the film, viewers are drawn to her energy & passion for making her dream come true. Once her dream is realized & she finds her new dream in the love interest of the movie, Flynn, he too makes her his new dream, and becomes the hero in the end as he saves her from the suffocating grip of Mother Gothel forever. Reunited with her true parents, Rapunzel gets to take her place as Princess & marries Flynn (Eugene) to go on & live happily ever after. Comic relief & side kicks in the movie are the best with Pascal - a little chameleon, who is Rapunzel's only friend as she's trapped in the tower for most of her life up until now, and then the palace guard horse named Maximus who steals the show just about with his hilarious antics, determination & charm. A must see movie for the whole family. Definately a show worth owning on dvd or blue ray disc! Enjoy!

Epcot Flower & Garden Festival

The scenery & atmosphere are breathtaking as you stroll through this year's Flower & Garden Festival at Disney's Epcot Center. Some of the most beautiful views to photograph were ones that cast reflections on the water like this shot. Combining use of sun, shadow, reflection & color, this picture presents a memory of happy times & quiet thoughts on a gorgeous sunny day in FL at one of the area's most traveled family vacation destinations.

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

Joy-filled Life!

Welcome to a joy-filled life filled with faith, hope, and dreams as we serve the Lord with gladness. I will share our days as we view the world through the eyes of faith. As our Lord continues to bless, mold, shape, encourage, inspire, and reveal to me & my family what amazing plans He has set before us in this life, I will do my best to share what wisdom & understanding has been learned and to give God the glory. I hope you will enjoy this blog with its encouragement in all aspects of  family living, homeschooling & general education & lots of creative ideas for fun times with family & friends. I share from a joyful heart & hope the Christian devotionals & suggested books, movies, music, games, & "mom moments" will be helpful on your road to a stronger relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ, and with your own family relationships. God bless your days and may they be filled with gladness! Please join us again soon for more fun & encouragement. :)