Improving Little by Little

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Our younger 4 children think they are improving our front yard. 🙂

We are experiencing growth here at Rock Solid Family.

In the past couple of months I have experienced what it is like to have a Consultant. Brenda McGraw is an excellent Mastermind and Consultant and if you have goals and dreams in your life that you need help to reach without giving up everything else important to you I highly recommend you contact Brenda. Because of Brenda’s help I plan to have my book finished by this summer. I will give more details on that in a later post.

Also in events over the past month we went as a family (minus our oldest daughter) to the World Missions Seminar. If you haven’t read those posts we are planning to move our family as Missionaries to Argentina as soon as God provides a church to send us. I learned a lot from WMS and will write another post soon with more about it.

And finally I want to share a book called The Art of Work by Jeff Goins which he is launching this week. If you are looking for your purpose and calling in life you will really like The Art of Work. It really changed the way I look at the things I’m doing and how it all ties together with my and my family’s calling. There is no reason we have to settle for less than what God wants us to do. The book launches Tuesday but he has a special going on for pre-orders. You can go to ArtofWorkBook.com to learn more about this special deal and the bonuses that go with it. This is the last day to get his book for only the cost of shipping plus the bonuses that come with it so I thought I would share that with you all.

I wrote a blog post for Ask God Today last Friday but was so busy over the weekend I didn’t take time to post about it here. So if you want you read the devotional I wrote entitled Barak: Reluctant Faith .

Oh and one more thing that I forgot to mention… For my homeschooling friends there is a Sonlight Curriculum Give-A-Way taking place. You can register for free and they will give you a special link to share with your friends. For every person that registers under your link you get another entry for the drawing. And yes if you register under my link I will get an extra entry too.

Finally what can you expect in the future from me and my Rock Solid Family? Thanks to some of the people and resources mentioned above I actually do have a plan.

One of my plans is to start a series of posts of Frequently Asked Questions. I’ll make a page to go along with this series so anyone can find the questions people frequently ask us.

Do you have a question for us? You can ask it in the comments or send us an email. Your question could turn into a blog post.

Thank you all for joining us as we improve and grow little by little through this year. We are all excited about what lies ahead.

Note: I’m an affiliate for The Art of Work book which means that if anyone purchases something with my link I may receive a portion of the proceeds.

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How to Be Happy Every Day (Book Review)

Have you ever felt sad or depressed? Is your cup half empty most of the time?

Well it’s time to fill that cup up!

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Bryan Hutchinson of PositiveWriter.com has written a book that will help you do just that. Fill your cup up with happiness.

In his book, Bryan shares from his own experience how he came out of the mire of depression.

Happy Every Day – Simple Effective Ways to Better Days is a powerful book that is easy to read. In it Bryan gives simple, practical tips to live a happier life.

“Happiness is about perspective. It’s not just a feeling.” ~ Bryan Hutchinson

He talks about how to create happiness through helping other people and encouraging your children to live happier lives. Those are just two of the many examples and steps he gives to encourage us on our road to happier days.

This book is for anyone that finds themselves depressed or sad about different situations they may face in life. Happy Every Day doesn’t put you down for having those feelings.

Instead it cheers you up and helps you to realize that you are an amazing person and knowing that should make you happy every day.

Reward yourself for choosing happiness. Grab a journal and this book and start living a happier richer life everyday.

Have you read Bryan’s Book “Happy Every Day” yet? If you have tell us about it in the comments. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Better yet go ahead and write your own review. Bryan is hosting several contests over at his blog “Happy Every Day” Book Launch Drawings and Contests where you can Win Kindles and Gift Cards!  Let me know if you write a book description and I’ll be sure to read yours too.

For those who haven’t read his book, don’t miss out. You can get it on Amazon today by clicking here or on the picture below.

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Happy Every Day – Simple Effective Ways to Better Days

*None of the links in this post are affiliate. Even though I was offered a free copy of Happy Every Day for my honest review, I went ahead and purchased my copy. The price is very affordable and I want you to know that I wouldn’t suggest you buy something I wouldn’t buy myself. 

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Embracing the In-Between

I had to fight back tears yesterday. My husband and I were talking about possibly letting our 15 year old son ride his bike a mile down the road where he works as an apprentice. There are days that it would be nice for him to have his own transportation. There are days when I can’t take him or pick him up. We talked about the possibilities and like any good father my husband also pointed out some of the risks.

Elisabeth has some big boots to fill.

Elisabeth has some big boots to fill.

I cried… just a little. I mean do I have to let my little boy grow up? He wants to start taking driver’s ed. If I’m afraid of his riding his bike down the road will I be able to handle him driving? 

Then I looked over at my baby that has just started walking this past week. I asked my husband, “Why do we even teach them how to walk? Before you know it they want to drive.” And my heart aches.

I  just read a book entitled “In Between” by Jeff Goins. He talks about treasuring the moments of waiting. The moments in-between now and the next big thing. Then I realized…I am there right now.

This is my “In-Between” moment. I’m in-between milestones. In-between stages of my children’s development. 

One child just started walking. One is about to start driving. And I can only stand here and watch as all this happens around me. 

I cannot slow down time.

My husband tells me that all of this independence and growth is a good thing.

I hear what he says. I know he is right… But… It is so hard to let go. 

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I must let go though. No more worrying over the inevitable growth that must happen. Instead I will embrace these moments in my children’s lives.

I am blessed to be able to watch them turn into the fine young men and women God has designed them to be.

How about you? Are you at an In-Between moment in your life?  Please share with us in the comments.

I highly recommend you read In-Between.  Learn more about it at InBetweenBook.com

 

~♥~ Anastacia ~♥~

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“Dare to Dream”

bookcoverI am teaching a creative writing class in our Homeschool Co-op. 

For those that don’t know a Homeschool Cooperative is a group of homeschooling families that get together to have classes for their children. Each parent in the Co-op volunteers to help out or teach a class.  This co-op I volunteered to teach Creative Writing for 6-12 grades and Creative Reading for 1st – 5th grades.

I called the second class Creative Reading because it is basically a Creative Writing class with less writing. I didn’t know what level of writers I would have in the 1st – 5th grades.

I am covering several genres of writing styles in my class and so I invited several of my Tribe Writer friends to contribute to my class.

This week I introduced the subject of writing with a wonderful book by Joan Hall entitled “Dare to Dream”.

This book was a perfect start for teaching Creative Writing in that she talks about Dreams. Although she focuses on the dream of writing her book is applicable for any dream. 

Joan’s book really resonated with me. She talks about the start of her dreams. She describes the steps she took to fulfill them. 

Like me she wanted to be a writer as a child. And also myself Joan didn’t really start seeing herself as a writer until she was grown. 

Joan challenges us to Dare to Dream. If we work at it, one day we will see those dreams come true. 

Joan Hall is an amazing photographer as well as writer. Her book is complemented with beautiful photography and inspirational quotes through out. 

And to top it all off Dare to Dream is free to subscribers of Joan’s blog.  

Go check it out and let me know what you think!

This was a great book to kick start my co-op classes. I want the children in my classes to reach for their dreams while they are still young. Sometimes we just need to have someone come alongside us and say, “Hey! This is how you get there.”

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Where to Find Real Love Guaranteed to Last

Have you ever felt all alone?

Maybe you’re in a room full of people but you may still feel alone. I know I’ve been there many times.

Did you know that even a prophet felt that way before? Yes, Elijah the Prophet!

You can read about it in 1 Kings 19. Elijah had to run for his life. Queen Jezebel wanted to kill him.

When he got to the wilderness he prayed to the Lord to take his life. He didn’t want to live anymore.

God saw that Elijah was week and provided him some food.

God asked him what was wrong. Elijah replied, “I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”(1 Kings 19:10)

Can you believe that a prophet that delivered messages from God could feel depressed and alone?

The story doesn’t end there though. God then revealed Himself to Elijah. Not in an earthquake. Not in a whirlwind. But in a still, small voice. Then He told Elijah about the 7,000 people that God still had left serving Him.

Elijah wasn’t alone.

Real Love guaranteed to last by Anne PetersonIn her book, Real Love Guaranteed to Last, Anne Peterson shares with us in a still, small voice that we’re not alone.

Someone does love us.

Through her own beautiful poetry, photographs, and true stories from her life, Anne shares with us lessons that she has learned from her own experiences.

Anne’s book is a must read for anyone that feels alone in the world.

Even if you don’t feel alone and have already found real love. You’re heart would still be blessed by Anne’s book.

If you would like to learn more about my friend, Anne Peterson check out her website at AnnePeterson.com. You can also get to know her better on her Facebook Page.

If you want to read more about Anne’s book, she wrote about it on her blog Why You Should Read This Little Book.  You can find her book for sale by just clicking on the image in this post or click here to find her book on Amazon. And if you prefer a paper copy of the book that will also be offered on Amazon soon.

Was there a time that you felt alone and then found real love? Tell us about it in the comments. And let me know what you think of Anne’s book! 

This review is my honest thoughts on a friend’s book that I received for free. I was in no way bribed, coerced, or begged to write this review. This post is my honest heart felt thoughts and I was in no way compensated for what I said.  Basically if I hadn’t of liked the book, I wouldn’t have written this review.   (And no I’m not saying that I will write a review for every book I like. If you don’t see me write a review for your book don’t feel like I didn’t like it. *sigh* I’m not very good at this disclosure stuff.) 😉

But that being said, I have been reading a whole lot of good books lately so don’t be surprised if I do talk about some of them.

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