Balanced Challenge Day Nine: Inspiration and Relaxation

Give your mind a rest and a dose of good, old-fashioned inspiration. Carve out some time today to implement one of my tips about finding inspiration and enjoy the feeling of creativity. 

1. Spend time with God, praying for God’s inspiration.
2. Do something to feed your creative soul.
3. Let the creativity spill out through words, through music, through art.
4. Share your message (God’s message through you) with others.

Something that I have let go of over the years of becoming a busy mom is recording our family history through scrapbooking our photographs. One of my new year's resolutions is to begin scrapbooking on a weekly basis with my older daughter. So I pulled out some envelopes of school and soccer pictures, hauled out the stacks of decorative paper, and we matched up what papers would look best with the pictures. that's as far as we got, so next time we'll plan the layout and embellishments and get it all glued down. I expect (and hope!) that as we get into the groove my creative juices will flow faster...

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!

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free e-book: The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Free e-book through March 31st! Get it at Amazon here. I've read some other books by this author and they were lovely. I'm looking forward to reading this one!

Synopsis from goodreads.com

With a vibrant, fresh style Suzanne Woods Fisher brings readers into the world of a young Amish woman torn between following the man she loves--or joining the community of faith that sustains her, even as she questions some of the decisions of her elders. Her choice begins a torrent of change for her and her family, including a marriage of convenience to silent Daniel Miller. Both bring broken hearts into their arrangement--and secrets that have been held too long.
Filled with gentle romance, The Choice opens the world of the Amish--their strong communities, their simple life, and their willingness to put each other first. Combined with Fisher's exceptional gift for character development, this novel, the first in a series, is a welcome reminder that it is never too late to find your way back to God.

Free e-book: Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz

Get it at Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

Morrow Little is haunted by the memory of the day her family was torn apart by raiding Shawnee warriors. Now that she is nearly a grown woman and her father is ailing, she must make difficult choices about the future. Several men--ranging from the undesired to the unthinkable--vie for her attentions, but she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a forbidden love that both terrifies and intrigues her. Can she betray the memory of her lost loved ones--and garner suspicion from her friends--by pursuing a life with him? Or should she seal her own misery by marrying a man she doesn't love? This sweeping tale of romance and forgiveness will envelop readers as it takes them from a Kentucky fort through the vast wilderness to the west in search of true love.

Balanced Challenge Day Eight: Make Today Amazing

Taking a moment to tell my daughter how special she is helped me realize what a precious trust God has given me in raising my children in love and righteousness. She is such a blessing and brings us so much joy- how important it is that she knows that and can see it reflected in my words and action.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!

 
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Balanced Challenge Day Seven - Teamwork

"Many hands make light work—and moms, you shouldn’t feel the need to do everything yourself. Schedule a quick family meeting today to talk to your kids and spouse about the responsibilities you all can share to make your load a bit lighter."

I remember when my daughter loved to "help" sort and fold laundry, simply because we could do it together and it made her feel like a big girl. Now at age seven, she's learning just how much laundry mom folds on laundry days and how much of it is hers :) She's rising to the challenge though, and I'm so proud of her. I've discovered when there's the promise of a snack (especially a pickle) at the other end of the chore she perks up and moves more quickly.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!

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Free e-book! Forget Me Not by Amber Stokes

Today through Friday the e-book version of Forget Me Not by Amber Stokes is free! I haven't read this one yet, but it's on my list :)

Get it at Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

(Prequel to Bleeding Heart)

Old hurts, new betrayals, and a love that survives them all...

Summer 1885

A startling revelation sends Elizabeth Lawson escaping into a stormy night - and tosses her into the arms of a young mountain man with secrets of his own. When he offers to take her to the Nevada mining town where her long-lost brother lives, she accepts. Suspicions and uncertainties are pushed aside as she struggles to forge a future for herself by meeting her past.

David has been hiding from his painful memories for years. The solitude and wildness of the Rocky Mountains are challenge and comfort enough for him - until Elizabeth's arrival. Fueled by anger and a sense of obligation, he strives to take control of his new situation...only to find control slipping from his grasp with each new emotion Elizabeth evokes in him.

When their journey leads them on unexpected paths, can two lonely hearts find the strength to remember the good amid the heartbreak?

Balanced Challenge Day Six - Do What You Can

"Do you have an extra fifteen minutes before you need to hop in the car to pick up your kids? Make the most of them! Do a little laundry, organize a stack of papers, do a quick sweep of the kitchen. Those five, ten, and fifteen minutes add up throughout the day!"

At the end of a busy day I usually look back and wonder how productive I really was. Even when I manage to use my spare time to catch up on the small stuff, it's not always noticeable when I look around the house- probably because things are where they belong and I tend to notice the mess, not lack thereof :) Having a working checklist of things to get done helps me remember when I do have some spare minutes what some options are for spending my time.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!

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Balanced Challenge Day Five- Rank those Priorities

In chapter five, Tricia talks about first forming your calendar with the things of highest importance, then filling the spaces with the rest that needs to get done. Otherwise, what is urgent will always come before what is important.

This reminds me of an analogy on time management- You have a jar that represents your day. Some rocks represent the most important things, pebbles- less important, sand- trivialities. If you start by putting in the biggest rocks, you can add in the pebbles and then the sand that will fit in around the larger rocks. However if you start with the smaller less important things first, not everything will fit into the jar.

Some things I would like to form my calendar with before I fill it are family dinner each night, family home evening on Monday nights, and scripture reading and prayer with my older daughter in the morning before school.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!
 
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Balanced Challenge Day Four- Believing God

What have you been called by God to do? Take a few minutes away from work and family to sit with your Bible and talk to God. Believe that God placed your dreams and passions in your heart. Find a verse that speaks to you about this, and post it today on your blog.

While I love creating art, photography and crafting, at this time in my life I'm focusing more on the children in my life. I have two perfectly wonderful daughters that joined our family through adoption, and also provide daycare for two fun little boys. The steady additional income has been a blessing for our family, and it feels good to know that I'm helping their mothers in their callings as middle school teachers. They are entrusting me with their child- I don't take that lightly. It's my responsibility to provide their sons with a loving, nurturing, and stimulating environment during the hours they are away from their mother. These are a few of the first pictures I remember as a young child depicting Jesus and his love for children.

 

Mark 10:13-16

13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!

Download the e-book for only $2.99 at Amazon

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Balanced Challenge Day Three - Get Your Kids Involved

How can you get your kids involved in what you’re working on? How can they experience what your job is like and contribute to it?

By providing day care for infants in our home, our seven year old daughter has become accustomed to having babies around and being a helper. She has grown in being willing to share my attention, learned how to safely play with babies, and enjoys the many joyful firsts that happen in that first year of life. A wonderful blessing is that it really prepared her to be a big sister when we adopted our second daughter! Some of her responsibilities are helping hold the bottle during feeding, throwing away the diaper after I change it, and folding and putting away her own laundry. Even though my attention is often divided, I feel like our relationship is stronger for working together and showing trust in her abilities.

This post is part of the Balanced challenge with Tricia Goyer—and you can join, too!

Download the e-book for only $2.99 at Amazon

Get Balanced!