Lifting Up Our Voices in Prayer

I lift up these requests to you oh Lord, you who knows the true prayers of our hearts.

Tiffany: "I would like to ask you to pray for my mom Vonda. She is just going through a rough phase and I no longer know how to help her. So I decided that in addition to my own prayers I am going to ask others to lift her up in prayer in hopes that things improve."

Rachel: Rachel works at a Christian academy abroad and has needed to raise her own support to finance this opportunity. "All the staff raise their own support to serve here, and this year my support has basically bottomed out. Pledged supporters haven't been able to keep up with their commitments, and I am desperately seeking new financial supporters to partner with me and invest in the work of educating and raising up tomorrow's history makers. I would very much appreciate prayers for rest, good health, peace of heart and mind knowing that God is walking with me through this next month. That the joy of the Lord would be my strength, and also that He would place people in my life who have the desire and the means to support me financially in my ministry."

Praying for Each Other

I'd love to bring back another favorite of mine and start praying for one another again each Monday!
My number one goal with all this social media bloggy internet stuffs is to first and foremost be an outlet for worship, praise and prayer. I'd love to lift you up and create a community of prayer here.
Feel free to email me your prayer requests or praises to iamalongfortheride@gmail.com. Each Monday I will post them and we will spend the week lifting our voices in prayer.
I'd love for you to be part of this community!

Journaling the Journey

I had so much fun journaling through January, that I thought we'd keep going!
Each Sunday I will post 7 journal prompts.
Some ways to use them:Use each prompt in order (or mix them up) and journal every day of the week.Use them during your reflective/prayer timeUse them in conversation with your spouse or friendsSave them for when you need a bit of journal/blog inspiration
1. Spring means growth and new life. What is growing for you this season?2. Write out a list of 5 things you'd like to do or accomplish this May.3. If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would it be?4. What is one skill or talent you've been seriously considering practicing or taking up?5. What's one way you can show your spouse/friends/kids you love them this week?6. What's one way you can show yourself you love you this week?7. As we leave the cold behind and welcome the warmth of spring and summer, reflect on God's faithfulness during this season of your life.
***
I will continue to be as creative as I can, but I need some help! Feel free to email me your prompts. I will include a link back to your blog.

Umm...

So I've really been thinking hard about how I can get more exposure for my blog. Get a bit more traffic and what not.

Umm, his isn't quite what I had in mind.



"Hi Laura,

I stumbled onto your blog while looking for people who have talked about pooping and wanted to reach out to see if you were interested in sharing/using a graphic my team and I designed.

It focuses primarily on issues from the lack of sanitation and also what we're try to do resolve it.

Let's connect if you're interested.

Thanks!"

Oh geez...

Friday Favorites

This post from Design Sponge on escaping comparison.

***

Everything about this blog! Words of Williams

***

This print from Livy Love Designs

***

I'm  making my way through Hayley's No Brainer Wardrobe and I'm loving it!

Click here to to purchase The No Brainer Wardrobe. 

Unending Blessings

We can get lost in counting the blessings that the Lord had given us. The big and the little. The seen and the unseen. The realized and the yet to come.

[source]

The number is huge and ever growing.

I've find God in knowing that I'm taken care of. 

...in knowing that I am provided for as one of his children.

...in knowing that I am an heir to the throne.

"For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith." - Galatians 3:26

At first blush, and when I first heard this at church, I was taken aback by that, being a son of God through faith. In my usual not trusting in the words spoken to women in the bible, I was a little offended.

What about daughters?!

Of course in the time of the bible, daughters didn't gain much from their father's house. The family rested on the men, the heirs. The wealth and the name was passed along to them.

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." - Galatians 3:29

Through Christ, we are set on the same level as the sons, the true heirs. By the suffering and dying of Jesus, we inherit the promise.

"...so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." - Titus 3:7

In the blessings that my husband and I have been given, the spiritual gifts seen and unseen, in the family and friends, and in each other...we are provided for by the Lord. 

Things To Come...

I've been keeping a secret. A 13 week secret that has me just busting out of the seams with excitement.

Kyle and I are expecting our first child!

I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by and how quickly it will continue to pass. When we first started trying, we were comforted by the fact we'd have 9 months to figure things out. Well goodbye "month one", and hello "that much closer to being clueless parents!"

We have had two sonograms and have heard the heartbeat. Everything looks and sounds great.

This week Baby D has formed fingerprints. Tiny fingerprints on his or her tiny little fingers. Everything about this experience is a miracle and a testament to God's amazing and perfect plans.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you." Psalm 139:13-18

I'm trying so hard not to get to overwhelmed or overloaded with mommy information... but you know me, we've been together for a while, what advice do you have? Books recommendations? Blogs? Websites?

I want to thank you all a billion times over for coming along for the ride with me. Here's to another wonderful journey!

Featured Sponsor: Prairie Hen

I'm so excited for you to meet my friend Sara from Prairie Hen! Her blog is wonderful...and isn't she gorgeous??!

Hi! I'm Sara. I am a believer, a wife, a mommy, a craftoholic and a blogger... in that order. I started knitting in college and fell in love. The only problem is that a lot of knitting projects (ie sweaters, blankets, scarfs) can take a loooong time. My tendency was (is) to get bored and start another project... then get bored with that one and start another. That is until I found my first toy pattern. It was a kit made for children. The box said 8+ and I thought "Well, I'm older then 8..." so I bought it and the rest is history.

It's funny because for a while I was down on myself for being a "quitter" (and to be honest I don't have the best endurance) but this has given me encouragement.

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." -Philippians 2:13

I am so thankful that God made me the way I am. While working on big, long projects that have big payoffs bring some people joy, God knows me and best of all created me as I am. He even leads me down the toys aisles in Target to find a knit toy kit that he knows will better fit my personality and bring me joy. If He can so perfectly take care of the small things like that then imagine what he is orchestrating behind the scenes in our lives. I am thankful for that!

blog // shop // twitter // facebook

Stewardship

source

Recently for work, my colleagues and I read an article by Key Herr Gillespie called "Rumination: The Concept of Stewardship Applied to Higher Education." Remember, I work at a university, running a residence hall and all.

Now of course, as the name implies, the article dealt with the concept of stewardship in higher education. The using of resources, the caring for students, the working with constituents.

But the more I read the article, the more and more I started thinking about stewardship as applied to the Lord.

According to Gillespie: "To be a steward is not to have ownership of something. It is rather to

have the responsibility of taking care of something on behalf of another."

And right there, reading those two lines I saw the world and my body and my life come into focus. All of those things in the palm of the Lord's hand, outstretched to me, with Him saying "now take good care of the things I've given you."

Have you ever really thought about our lives? Our bodies? Our possessions? Our loved ones? 

They have never belonged to us. Not really anyway.

They are on loan. 

They belong to the Lord

We have been given the responsibility of taking care of them on behalf of another. On behalf of the Lord, until he comes again, or until we leave to live with Him.

I don't know about you, but my mind is blown!

Truly. This is big stuff.

If we really start to see our lives and every thing in them as belonging to God, where does that leave us?

How does that shape the way we live the big and small moments of our lives?

How does that change the way we view our possessions and the things that we "own?"

How does that affect the way we spend our money?

How does that impact the way we grieve and deal with loss?

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." 

Romans 12:1

Beautifully Rooted: The Old Made New

I have the honor of being a contributor at Beautifully Rooted! You can see my post for this month here.

I saw it sticking out of a dumpster and yelled "trash," our code word for "hey, there's something fabulous sticking out of that dumpster." He pulled over and I skipped towards it, giddy at my find.

What I pulled out was an old, chippy front of something. Maybe an old pantry or a curio cabinet. We pulled the pieces and parts away that were leftover from the dismantling of it all, and put it in the car.

It was perfect...



Hebrews 10:23

Friday Favorites

I love that Cheryl from A Pretty Cool Life wrapped up the most fun treats and mailed them in plastic Easter eggs! 

***

This post from Hello From the Nato's.

"i will continue to boast in our weakness that God will be glorified."

***

This iCozy from Rags to Stitches Boutique.

***

This post from Heather Boersma at Dreaming Big.

***
This new clutch from Sew Beastley.

***
Kelly Rae's home tour on Living with Kids, specifically her amazing attic turned master suite!

Redeemed

I was honored again to review a few products from Dayspring. And I was giddy when I opened my box this month!

Dayspring is featuring a new collection called Redeemed. 

Did you know that the word redeem is in the bible 56 times, and redeemed 62?

"You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life." Lamentations 3:58

The entire collection features jewelry, accessories, home decor items, and stationary and mugs that feature inspiration scripture reminding us of God's redeeming love.

I received four beautiful items!

I Am Found- Pillar Mug

Love One Another- Memofolio

In All Things- Medium Gift Bag w/Tissue

I Am Found- Teacup with Lid

Such high quality, beautiful items!

I've been using the mug non-stop. 

My favorite part...

the little reminder on the inside!

The other items in the collection are just as gorgeous! 

A few of my other favorites.

Found and Treasured- Large Purse

Everything Beautiful- Jewelry Tree

I Am His Necklace

Everything Beautiful- Decorative Lantern

*I received a free product from Dayspring in exchange for a product review. However, the opinions and thoughts stated here are  my own.*

Featured Sponsor: Love Poured Out

I'm so excited to have Grace Anna joining us for the next two weeks! She has a gorgeous blog and a beautiful heart for the Lord!

***

Hello! I'm Grace! (or Grace Anna as I am better known in the blogging world!)

I started blogging a while back, but restarted several of times. Finally in January, I settled with the name “Love Poured Out”. When I mentioned it to my little sister, Emma, her reaction was, "But, you aren't very loving..." And I'll be honest, I'm not. I'm a selfish, harsh, perfectionist who gets ticked off pretty easily. But this is wrong! The first of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is LOVE.

My word for 2012 is love.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

--Matthew 22:34-40

Love is important. It is a key factor in the two greatest commandments.

We are commanded to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And I would add to that: possessions, time, body, social status.. everything we are and have.

He also commands us to love others like we love ourselves. (For the majority of us, that is quite a bit!) I believe that true love is a choice, not an emotion.

We just celebrated Easter. Do you really think that Jesus felt like being crucified? I don't. In the garden he prayed that the Father would deliver him from this death that was coming. But, he knew it had to happen. He chose to die that slow, painful, unjust death because he loves us.

I want to learn to love like Jesus. I want to choose to love even when I don't feel like it or want to. I want to learn to give of myself until I have nothing left.

So, my blog is a journal of how the Lord is teaching me to love- to love him and the people I come in contact with. I also share pieces of my daily life and the other lessons He is teaching me...

Drop by for a visit sometime!

Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Shop

Thank you so much, Laura, for giving me a moment on your blog! You and your love for our Savior inspire me every time I read!

Journaling the Journey

source

I so loved our time in January where we spent each day journaling! A prompt a day for 31 days.

I'd love to keep journaling and journey with you!

Starting in April 29, each Sunday I am going to post journal prompts, one for each day of the week. 

But I need a bit of help.

I'd love to include your journal prompt ideas- and I'll be sure to link them back to you as well.

I would like a good mix of faith-based prompts as well as fun/silly/other types of prompts. 

You can send them to me at iamalongfortheride@gmail.com

John 11:25

photo found here

text added by me

One Year Ago Today...

Taken from my mom's Facebook,

"A year ago today I started treatment for breast cancer. Since then I've had 6 chemo treatments, 17 additional drug treatments, 2 surgeries, 36 radiation treatments, and lost all of my hair. Today I am happy, healthy, disease free, and have a new head of curly hair. It's amazing how much can happen in a year!"

To which I promptly replied,

"I've never been more proud to be your daughter."

What a year it's been. A year that's taught me the true value and meaning of our precious lives, what it means to really bring the prayers of your heart to the Lord, and what a grateful spirit really looks like.

source

Friday Favorites

Here a few of my favorites from the week.

I'm loving Gussy's "How I Live a Creative Life" mini-series!

***

These vintage gusset zippered clutch from Sand and Starfish. Look at those pretty zippers in the last picture!

***

I adore this adorable cookies from Le Pétrin.

***

These beautiful wood necklaces by Yellow Heart Art.

***

This Pinterest post from dot...in the city.

***

The Pleated Poppy shared her five favorite parties she's thrown!

Share your favorite post from the week in the comments!