Tag: Family

Marriage: Commitment on Your Wedding Day

Posted on by

The big day has come. You are prepared. You know you are marrying the man God has for you. The two of you have studied and worked through your differences. You’ve discussed your plans. You are ready!

wedding2Now it is time. You are now about to make the promises you should have already made in your heart but this time you will be voicing these vows before witnesses.

Some people use vows prepared by the preacher leading the ceremony. Other’s write customized vows that are more personal. There really isn’t a problem with either of these methods as long as you really mean what you are saying and are not just saying words.

Whichever vows you choose to use, you should be promising to love, honor, and cherish your spouse for better or worse, whether they are rich or poor, while they are healthy and when they are sick. You are promising that no matter what happens you are going to stay together until death. Nothing will part you.

You will put rings on each other’s finger as a reminder of these promises.

What is it you are promising anyway? These are not to be just words.

1. You are promising to love them. Love is not just a feeling. It is something you do for someone else. You will do what is best for that person even if they do not realize that is what they need.

2. You will honor them. Honor means respect. You will not look down on your spouse. You take what they say under consideration and speak well of them around other people.

3. Cherish them. Be there for them. Help them and encourage them. Hold them close.

Think of your favorite possession. How do you treat that item? Do you throw it around and mistreat it? No. You cherish it, treat it with great care and attention. You don’t want to lose it. So you keep it in a special place. When you look upon it you do so with care and joy. You will not let any harm come to it. It is your special treasure.

That is how you should treat your spouse. They are your beloved. You want only what is best for them. You treat them with compassion and care. Don’t break them by saying ugly or mean things to them. Their feelings are valuable. Take care of them. Hold them close and treat them better than you do yourself. If anyone else tried to hurt your beloved whether it is family, friend, or foe, you will not let them. You will defend your beloved with your words and actions.

4. For better or worse. You will do what is best for your spouse whether it is a good time or not. If it is what is best for you or if it seems like the worse time to do what is right. You are still going to be committed to your spouse.

5. For richer or poorer. Hard times will hit. If you lose your job for whatever reason, the two of you will stay together. The bills come in faster than the money is coming in. You will work together to solve the problem. Perhaps you will even have to move into a smaller house. Circumstances will not matter because you are committed to doing what is best for this person no matter what. Even if you have to give up some of the things you love because you cannot afford them at the time. You will do so knowing that your love and commitment to your spouse is above any possession or financial gain you could have.

6. In sickness and in health: If a major illness hits your beloved, you will not leave them stranded and wounded. You will still be there for them. Even if they were to be physically or mentally affected for life. You are still motivated by love, only doing what is best for them. No matter what society says or thinks, you would want your spouse to stand by you if your health had failed. This is the time to do unto your spouse what you would have them do unto you in the same situation.

7. ‘Til death do you part. You will stay true to your beloved. Nothing else will separate you. Divorce is not an option. Should the health of the person cause mental issues that make them abusive, you may have to get them medical help and you may have to keep yourself safe from physical harm. However that does not mean you should leave them. They are still your spouse. Your cherished treasure. If a part of your treasured possession is broken you will do whatever it is in your power to help fix the broken shards that are trying to hurt you.

These things should be on your mind when you commit your life to love, honor, and cherish your spouse. Taking care of this treasure God has given you is worth all the time and effort you need to work on it. If you love your spouse you will be their for them.

Do you love, honor, and cherish your spouse? Please share your experience with me in the comments.

This is Day 14 of 31 Days Building Commitment. Tomorrow I will be discussing how to have a happy marriage after the honeymoon phase is over.

 

Share

Engaged Preparing for Marriage

Posted on by

Alright! So you read yesterday’s post. You prayed about it and you’ve decided that this is definitely the person God would have you marry. You are both on the same page. In fact you both read that post and were in agreement.

What? You didn’t think about sharing the post “Engagement: Point of Decision” with your fiance? Okay real quick click the link here and go down to the share button and send it. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

engagedThat didn’t take long. After reading that page, I will assume right now that you both are in agreement. Now it is time for the two of you to prepare for marriage.

No. I don’t mean picking out flowers and the wedding dress. I mean preparing mentally and spiritually.

I could write a whole book just on ways to prepare for marriage. For now I will share what my husband and I did.

  1. We decided which church we would attend together. When we first met I was the Sunday School teacher for the teen class at the church where my dad pastored. Scott was a member of a larger Baptist Church where he was helping with an ESL ministry. We decided we needed to choose one place to worship together. I decided that I would follow him and join the church where he was a member.
  2. We had one session of premarital counseling with the pastor of the church we planned to attend together. I think we might could have had a little more counseling but the pastor saw that we were committed to each other and loaned us some videos to watch instead of having us back for any further counseling.
  3. We watched marriage videos and read books on marriage. Now with the internet there are a lot more resources available to engaged couples preparing for marriage than there were 17 years ago. One great resource is Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk marriage videos. He has also written quite a few books. We also studied Larry Burkett’s books and videos on budgeting and finances.
  4.  We took a marriage and family class together. You may not be able to find a marriage class in your area. However I know there are a lot more resources online now. In fact just going through this 31 Day Series on Building Commitment you will get a lot. When I am done with this series my husband and I may start working on creating an online marriage course through Rock Solid Family.
  5.  We found out our personality types. I remember in the Marriage and Family class we took, the instructor looked at my chart and told Scott, “You won’t have any problems with her. She knows exactly who she is and is comfortable being that way.”  He was mostly right, except the person I was comfortable being was exactly opposite of the man I was marrying. So we still had to learn to adjust and work on our weaknesses and help build each other up instead of hurting each other. And we had to realize that a lot of the things we did differently were a matter of personality and we had to be patient with each other.

How about you? Do you have any advice on ways to prepare for marriage? What resources would you recommend to engaged couples to help them prepare for marriage and raising a family? I know I didn’t cover all of the great resources available in this post so I would love to hear what I might have missed in the comments below.

This is Day 13 of 31 Days Building Commitment. Check back tomorrow as we look at marriage life after you say, “I do.” If you know someone that might benefit from what you are reading here please share any of these posts with them. 

~♥~ Anastacia ~♥~

Share

Commitment While a College Student

Posted on by

This is a continuation of yesterday’s post on Commitment While Single. Today I want to tell you about my life around the time I entered college.

singlestacieThere was a time in my earlier years as a new Christian that I didn’t really listen to the preacher. But I’ll never forget the day that I started to actually hear what the preacher was saying.

The pastor’s wife taught one of my classes. The other students and I were talking with her after class. I remember saying something about the preaching taking so long.

She wasn’t angry. She simply smiled and told me said, “You know if you listen to what Bro. Davis is saying the service will go by faster. It won’t seem so long.” 

Listening to the service? You mean instead of daydreaming and counting the people in the choir. We’re supposed to actually listen to the sermon. So that day began my real growth as a Christian. 

In High School, I still went to church every Sunday, I taught in Vacation Bible School, and was very active in the youth group. I still didn’t go out with boys. Instead I stayed busy with Church and family activities.

My Dad was a deacon, youth director, and Sunday School teacher. Then my Senior year of High School my Dad announced his call to preach. That really rocked our simple uncomplicated lives.

Instead of going to just our church services every Sunday, sometimes my Dad was asked to preach for other churches. My Dad gave us children a choice whether we followed them or stayed going to our normal church. It would have been strange going to our church by ourselves so we followed Dad to his different appointments.

Then a small nearby church called my dad to pastor. My dad gave us the choice again. We could continue to go to the Church we grew up in or we could go with him and mom to the new church. We decided to go with our parents. This was another giant step in my growth as a Christian.

I was a teenager, just entering college when I became the teacher for the teens class. I wasn’t very good at it but I definitely grew from the experience.

I also became a teacher at church camp.  I was even asked to stand in front of 500 people to lead out during the testimonial time. Me the socially awkward one. And to top that off, when the director of the camp asked me to lead it, my dad pointed out that I would be the first girl to stand and speak in front of the camp. Before that day they only asked boys.

Even though I was a nervous wreck I felt that this was something God wanted me to do. Before I gave my personal testimony, I read the passage about the woman at the well. She was a woman willing to give her testimony of what God did for her and a whole city was saved.  

“Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. … And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.” – John 4:29-30, 39

“So what does this have to do with commitment in college?” What I just told you has everything to do with my commitment to my future marriage and in college. 

I was committed to serving God. I didn’t need attention from boys to do what God wanted me to do.

My Dad’s pastorate was right around the time I was graduating from High School. I enjoyed hearing my dad preach and teach. I also enjoyed the great Biblical discussions I would have with my dad. Quality time is my main way of showing love and I loved the quality time I would have with my dad discussing the Sunday School lesson or his next sermon.  

As I entered college a list was beginning to form in my mind as to what I wanted in a husband.

  1. He had to be as committed to following God and attending church as I. I saw women in my other church that struggled to keep their children in church because their husbands stayed home. I didn’t want that for my children. 
  2. He had to be at least as knowledgeable in Biblical truths as my father. I needed someone I could look up to. I wanted to be able to respect my husband.
  3. He could not be divorced. I was not going to marry a man that had been divorced before. I understand that some marriages work out after divorce but that was not what I wanted for my marriage.
  4. No smoking. I didn’t smoke and I didn’t want to marry a man that did. The same went for any other drug but I specifically stated I wasn’t marrying a smoker. That decision came when my sister got burned by a cigarette outside our church. It was an accident but I knew the wife didn’t smoke but her husband did and he had lung cancer. I didn’t want that.
  5. Finally I wanted him to be handsome. 🙂 Okay, I know. I know. It’s not all about looks but I wanted him to be at least easy to look at. LOL I couldn’t marry someone that I thought was ugly. But you know what I think God helps us with that one. I guess what I mean by handsome is that he cares about his appearance and doesn’t go around looking like a slob.

I went to college and didn’t really know what degree I should graduate with. I decided to go with elementary education because I thought that might be helpful no matter where I lived. Although now I wish I had gone for a degree in journalism. But that’s another story.

To be honest the main reason I was going to college was  because I was hoping to meet a great guy there. I had lived an enclosed life though and didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find a man that met my high expectations. 

I stayed faithful to seeking though. It was just when I was about to give up that my dad found a seminary student that he highly respected and kept telling me about.

Here is the thing. If I had been any different, if my list had been set at a lower standard, would I have met my husband? Would my dad have found Scott for me? 

Probably not. I had to be faithful and committed to those high standards and to what God wanted even when I was about to give up. Right before I gave up, I let God step in. I put aside my embarrassment and let my dad set up a meeting with the man that would one day be my husband. 

Have you ever made a list of what you were looking for in a husband? What takes top place on your list? If your already married, what would be on your list now? If you could help your children find someone what would you have them look for in a husband? Please share with us in the comments. 

This is day 8 of 31 Days Building Commitment. Tomorrow I will share another guest post from my husband who will tell you his story of commitment while single. 

 

 

Share

Commitment Even When Mistakes Are Made.

Posted on by

We had a very busy week this week. Mom’s Night Out was Monday night.

The kids had a dentist appointment on Thursday. If you follow my blog you’ve read about my Adventures with 6 kids at the Dentist before. Well, imagine the same thing but this time without my parents. 

Then we had Keepers of the Faith on Friday. (Keepers is an alternative to Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.)

familypic (2)

All dressed up and no where to go. What better time to initiate a photo op?

But I have been reminding myself all week about Saturday morning being our Church’s Local Association Meeting. Basically that just means that we were voted to represent our church at a big business meeting of churches like ours in our area.

This year we had to drive about an hour for the meeting.  We had to leave the house this morning by 9 a.m. to get to the meeting on time.

I have one bedwetter and sometimes one that doesn’t necessarily wet the bed but he “forgets” to go bathroom occasionally. So needless to say I didn’t want my children dressed  in their clean clothes (that I stayed up late into the night to wash) smelling terrible.

So this was our morning…

My husband wakes up takes his shower. I wake up and check my messages before getting my shower. My calendar goes off plain as day announcing  what I’ve known all week. Today is the day to go to the meeting. 

The children are instructed to get their clothes out of the dryer, to get their shoes on, and… what is that smell?!  Ugh! Baths! Quick! We have 14 minutes we have to leave by to be on time. I rush the 3 youngest through baths. Once they all smelled better and were dressed, we were ready to leave.

“We’re going to be late!” my husband declared.

I decided it would be alright, I’ll drive. Yes, I tend to be one of those drivers every once in a while. But I rarely go beyond 5 miles over the speed limit. 

We had to stop to grab toaster pastries for breakfast but the rest of the time was a mad dash to not be too late to the meeting. 

What does this have to do with commitment? I’m getting there.

During the hour drive it took us to get there, Jonathan (5) was in the back singing at the top of his voice, “WHAT CAN WASH AWAY MY SINS? NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS!” over and over. 

I passed the church the meeting was to be held in. My husband saw the church as we passed.

We were turning around in a nearby parking lot when my husband looks at the paper with the info and says, “What is today?” 

Me: “The 5th, I think. Why?” 

My husband: “It’s not today.” 

Me: “It’s not? Today is what I put on the calendar!” (As if my having put it on the calendar  means it has to be right.) 

My husband: showing me the paper. “The parking lot is empty.”

Me: “Oh.”  long pause “Well, at least we’re not late!” 

Another long pause and both he and I start laughing. The kids have gotten used to our plans changing so they aren’t too disturbed. 

Child from the back: “So we’re not going?”

My husband: “We had the wrong date. We’ll do something else.”

familyshopping

All our ducks in a row at the store. We looked like one of those cursor trails that follow the mouse movements around the screen. Everywhere my husband went a trail of children followed behind him. 🙂

Are you still wondering what this has to do with commitment?

My very detail oriented husband could have gotten angry with me. Things are a bit tight this month and we really don’t have the money to spare on such mistakes. But he chose to show grace and make the best of the situation.

Instead of becoming angry for my slip up, he laughed and said, “Well, this would make a good blog post.” 

If you are single and plan to one day marry, you will most likely find someone different from you. Are you a detail oriented person? You may marry someone very laid back. Are you an introvert? You may marry someone outgoing. You have to be willing to work through your differences.

Learn about different personalities now. Figure out how to get along with people who don’t think like you do. You will find that by giving them the benefit of a doubt you might learn something new along the way. 

Have you ever been forgiven by a spouse or relative? How did you feel? Have you ever had to put anger aside and be the one to forgive? I love hearing your stories. Please share them with me in the comments.  

If you would like to talk with me privately, you can simply reply to any email you receive from Rock Solid Family or go to my Contact page for my contact information.

This was Day 6 of 31 Days Building Commitment. I really appreciate all the feedback I have gotten thus far. Be sure to get a copy of my free book, “Don’t Quit: Build a Legacy of Commitment“. 

Tomorrow, I plan to post what I originally had planned for today, Preparing for Marriage While Single. I’ll be sharing from my own experiences while single.

I have installed a new commenting system on my blog. If you had troubles in the past with posting comments, it should be easier now. Let me know if you have any further problems. 

~♥~ Anastacia ~♥~

Share

A History of Family Commitment: My Maternal Grandparents

Posted on by

charlcyjimyng2 - Edited

James and Charlcye Taylor were married January 1, 1945. We called them Mema and Daddy Jim. They were married 64 years.

I remember how Daddy Jim was always a hard worker. He was a marine. Then he felt the call to preach a little while after being out of the military. I loved to hear my Daddy Jim preach. He was one of those old timer preachers that would emphasize his points with relish.

Mema and Daddy Jim were always good at hospitality. Their family has always been a close knit family. Their doors were always open for company. 

Our family would all get together at Mema and Daddy Jim’s house. I remember gathering around their piano in the family room passing around hymnals and singing beautiful songs of praise to God. Everyone would sing in joyful harmony. taylorfamilyyoung2That is one of my favorite memories. 

Mema and Daddy Jim were always there for us. If we needed help, we could always count on them. 

I remember Daddy Jim many times coming to help when we had car troubles.One time I got my car stuck in a ditch. Daddy Jim was there in no time to help me out. Flat tire? Call Daddy Jim.

No matter where you were stranded you could always count on Daddy Jim. He was committed to family.

MemawDaddyJimOne time my parents were out of town. I was a teenager and we were sure that we could take care of ourselves while they were away. However all three of us, my brother, sister, and I caught strep throat.

Mema took good care of us big kids. My parents didn’t have anything to worry about. Mema took us to the doctor. She made sure we took our medicine and got plenty of rest. She has always been there for us.

As Daddy Jim got older his health began to fail. Mema was always there for him and took good care of him. Even during the times she couldn’t get around as well, she would continue to serve him. If he wanted anything, she would get it for him.

memawdjhands

A Perfect Picture of Commitment
Mema and Daddy Jim’s Hands.

I think the sweetest memory I have of their marriage was on one of Mema’s birthdays. It wasn’t too long before he passed away.

Daddy Jim had just come out of the bathroom and sat in his chair. My mom and her sisters had bought a present for him to give Mema. 

Mema was admiring her present when Daddy Jim told her that she hadn’t even noticed his real present for her and pointed at his face. Mema came closer and saw that he had shaved just for her. She put her cheek against his cheek and gave him a kiss. And the whole room went “Aaahhh!!!”

Of course no one had a camera ready to capture that moment but I guess if a picture is worth a thousand words then maybe I was able to paint you a picture of my grandparents’ faithfulness and commitment with just five hundred. 

Do you know anyone that is that committed to family? Do you have any examples of unconditional love? The kind of love that does something for someone else without expecting anything in return? Please share your stories with us in the comments. 

This is Day 3 in my series  31 Days Building Commitment. You can bookmark that page to see my previous posts in this series. Tomorrow I will be introducing you to the lessons I have learned of commitment from my parents. 

I am going through this series expounding on my book “Don’t Quit: Build a Legacy of Commitment.” Download your free copy today! 
 

Share

Dear World, You Need A Lesson On Commitment

Posted on by

I am joining several other writers to reply to Josh Irby’s “Open Letter Challenge“.  On his blog he asked us to answer his free download an open letter from the world with a letter of our own. I thought it would be fitting to start my 31 Days of Commitment with this letter.

scottstacieDear World,

It is scary writing this letter when I don’t know how you will respond. I know you say that I have a message that you need to hear. Sometimes it is awful hard to give you that message. I know some people will respond positively to what I have to say but then again they are not of this world.

If I could get one message across to you and change one person’s life in the process, I would do my best to give you a lesson on commitment. That is the biggest problem you seem to have. You are very selfish. It is hard to see what is best for everyone else if you are only concerned about yourself and what you want.

You want someone to love you. You don’t necessarily want to love them back. You are looking for someone to meet your needs. It’s too much work to meet there’s.

Life is not all about you. Life is about commitment. You have to think of other people and how your actions will affect them. This is a lesson that you cannot learn in a normal school. This is a lesson that you will only learn from the example of others that live commitment out.

Look at someone that are committed to their spouse and refuse to stray from their commitment and you will see a good example to follow. I know it is hard to find people that are committed. It is beginning to look like it is really getting scarce in our society.

momkidschurch

 

“Where is commitment to be found?” you ask. I understand your concern and it is very valid.

Preachers and their families should be a good place to look to for modeling commitment in marriage. After all the Bible says they are to be examples.

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having [his] children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);” – 1 Timothy 3:2-5 NKJV

Yet every time I see another preacher’s wife leave her husband for another man, or a preacher that runs off with another woman, I cringe. I realize that no one is perfect but preachers’ families live in glass houses. I know you are watching us to see if we fall. 

We are suppose to be the ones that you can look up to as an example of how God would have us to live. But if preachers don’t have commitment figured out, who will teach you.

That is why I am here. This is why I am writing this letter. I will love my husband and model true commitment for you.

If you will read what I have to say I will teach you. Even when you get mad at me. I will keep giving the message God wants me to give. 

Now take your fingers out of your ears. I know this is hard to hear. It’s hard to give up the things you enjoy in order to do what is right. That takes real commitment. But if you would look ahead at what the future could hold if you would only be committed to what you set out to do.

scottpreaching

Life is so much better when you put out the effort to get along with your family. I realize everyone has different circumstances. I’m not saying you have to be a doormat to get along. You can be strong. It takes a lot of strength to be faithfully committed. Especially with the mess you are in the midst of right now.

This is a hard letter to write but I realize you needed me to write it anyway. How will you ever know what you need if no one ever tells you? I will keep on writing. You need to hear what I have to say.

“Where [is] the wise? Where [is] the scribe? Where [is] the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” – 1 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV

Sincerely,

Anastacia Maness

What would you like to tell the world? Will you strive to be committed? As always feel free to share in the comments.

Tomorrow I will be continuing to write on building commitment for the next 31 Days. Don’t worry I won’t be writing every post as a letter. 🙂

If you haven’t gotten your free copy of my book yet, you can download it here. My posts this month will be expounding on what I have written in my book. 

Thanks for listening!

~♥~ Anastacia ~♥~

Share

Freedom to Enjoy Life

Posted on by

Co-op was canceled this week. I get an extra week to make my lessons even better. So instead of highlighting a fellow writer today, I decided to share a few pictures and tell about some of what we’ve been doing.

dirt

This past month, I’ve been making sure my children have ample opportunity to just be children. One of their favorite places to play is over at the nearby ranch where our oldest son works as an apprentice.

The day after Hannah’s birthday we all went over to visit the animals. Of course they had high hopes of getting to ride a horse too.

But while they waited to ride a horse their imaginations took over.

Jonathan

Jonathan and his invisible horse

 

 

Hannah

Hannah found a saddle on a stand she could ride.

Ruth

Ruth just loves any horse she can hug. Especially the babies.

 

 

Joshua

Joshua has been learning a lot while working as an apprentice. He was proud to be able to show us how to put a saddle on a horse.

Elijah

Elijah’s favorite part seemed to be watching the pigeons and chickens that were in their coop.

 

 

Elisabeth

Elisabeth didn’t let all the excitement get in the way of a good nap.

siblings

Ruth leads her younger siblings to find water to drink

 
I love to see my children growing and learning. 

They need these opportunities to be free to learn on their own and in their own way within the eyesight of a loving parent that won’t let them get hurt.

Ah, yes! I can learn something from my children.

Maybe I could use to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Let my hair down. Enjoy freedom under the steady watch of my loving Heavenly Father who is always with me. He’s always within reach. Any time I fall down God’s right there to lift me up and dust me off.

What do you plan to do to enjoy life today? I’d love to hear your ideas.

 

I may just forget chores this afternoon and go play outside barefoot with my kids. The dishes will still be here when I get back.

 

barefoot

 

 

Share

How to Baby Proof Your Kitchen in 8 “Easy” Steps

Posted on by

You may remember a recent post I did on How to Maintain a Clean Kitchen in 6 “Easy” Steps. Well, the more mobile your youngest becomes your methods sometimes have to adjust. Especially when your oldest young’ns are away.

I now present you with my latest method of baby proofing the kitchen with less helpers.

Are you ready?

Step 1: Hold your baby out in front of you. Take a good look at her. Pay close attention to her size. Smile real big and coo before continuing on to Step 2.

20130221-231104.jpg

Step 2: Position your baby on your hip and hold her with one arm. Grab a broom with the other.

Step 3: Sweep a spot on the floor at least two baby lengths square. (May need 3 baby lengths if your baby is a fast crawler.)

20130221-231519.jpg

Step 4: Keeping broom in close reach set baby down on the floor.

20130221-232606.jpg

Step 5: Quick! Grab broom. Immediately start sweeping the area your baby heads toward.

20130221-232939.jpg
Step 6: Throw a pan lid and spoon in her path to slow her down a bit.

(WARNING: Pan lid and spoon are no match for the Cheerios clear across the floor in keeping your baby’s attention.)

20130221-233757.jpg(But having a big brother with a matching lid and spoon helps.)

Step 7: Grab dust pan. Sweep it all into dust pan before baby sees the dust pan. (Dust pans are even more attractive than Cheerios!)

Step 8: When baby gets fussy because you took all the “fun” stuff away give her a nice big carrot to teeth on.

20130221-234220.jpg
How about you? Do you have any great baby proofing tips you’ve learned along the way? Please share them with us in the comments.

I have so many things to write about. The hard part is deciding what to write about first. I’m also contemplating a few book ideas. Be watching for more on that.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for our free email updates.

For those who have already joined, you may have noticed that I’ve tweaked the look of my email posts.

Let me know what you think!

Share

The Family that Draws Together is Drawn Together

Posted on by

Okay, I couldn’t resist that title. I mentioned in my last post  Happy New Month! that we have been drawing pictures every Monday.

My husband set a goal to draw something every day. He set that goal when he saw my need for artwork to go along with my writing. The neat thing is that with his goal to draw something for my writing that gave me the desire to write something for him to draw for. That in turn keeps him wanting to draw pictures for me to write to.

It’s a never ending circle but I see a lot of great things to come from it.  My husband is even talking about setting up a website to connect with my website. Won’t that be great!

I’m not as good an artist as my husband but I’m not horrible at it either. I just don’t like spending too much time on it. And if it takes a lot of effort I’d rather just not. Ha!

Okay, bottom line I’m lazy when it comes to art. I’d rather just write about something than to have to draw it. So having an amazing artist in the family is a wonderful thing.

Now about my charicature…

 

20130206-104828.jpg

mrbean2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not too bad for my first attempt at Charicature. Don’t you think?

Do you recognize him now? I know my charicature  isn’t perfect. The eyebrows could use to be a bit shorter and longer. I think if I were to try again I’d do a little better.  However I’m not the artist remember. I just did this for fun with my kids.

Okay, as for guesses. Not very many people attempted to guess at who he is.

My brother, Jason, guessed correctly. He thought my drawing looked like Mr. Bean.

Thank you, Jason, for making a big sister feel better about her art work. I’ll never forget sitting outside watching your pig. I drew a picture of you and our sister. No, my drawing hasn’t really improved much since then.

My Brother-in-law, Justin, guessed that it was Dracula with his teeth pulled.

Umm… No.

I suppose if Mr. Bean had a widow’s peak hairdo then maybe he would look like a toothless Dracula. Hmm…

Alright, enough about my artistic abilities or lack thereof. Hopefully it won’t be long before I get to show off some of my husband’s work.

How about you? Is there something you enjoy doing even if you’re not good at it? Maybe it’s just for fun or for your family.  I’d love to hear about it!

Real Love Guaranteed to Last

I’ll be having a special post on Valentine’s day. I have a friend, Anne Peterson, that wrote a book about Real Love guaranteed to last.

Her book is free  Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  It would make a great Valentine’s gift for yourself and to share with a friend. Just click on the picture of the book.  Go ahead and get it early!

Check back here on Thursday where I’ll be talking more about Real Love!

 

 

 

Share

Happy New Month!

Posted on by

At the beginning of this year, I decided to do something a little different.

All the previous years I would write down all the goals I wanted to accomplish for the year. This year I’m setting monthly goals.

For the month of January, I had several main goals. 1. Keep the kitchen clean. 2. Blog twice a week. 3. Write 1 devotional each week. 4. Write one children’s story book in the month.

I am happy to say that I did pretty well at keeping the dishes clean. There were a couple of nights that I was too tired to wash dishes before bed. But I got those first thing the next day. My husband and kids helped quite a bit by doing dishes when I was busy with the baby.

20130206-101348.jpg

Those of you who follow my blog may have notice a long break in my posting. I blogged twice a week most of the month. That goal is good if I don’t want to write anything else.

Last week I spent my normal blogging time to write the rough draft of my next children’s book. I plan to finish editing it this month and then it will go to my illustrator (aka my husband).

20130206-102525.jpg

My husband, Scott, started an art class for our family. Since we homeschool we can add classes at any time. Monday is our main art day.

On Wednesdays we watch The Wednesday Drawing Show. Shoo Rayner is the instructor. His videos are made for all ages. Then when you draw the assignment he gives you can upload it to his website and he’ll show it off on his Sunday Gallery Show that he added to show off all the art.

20130206-102330.jpg
So far we have drawn snakes, made or drawn eyeballs on scrap materials, and this Monday we did charicatures of famous people.

20130206-105039.jpg
Here is my first charicature. Can you tell who it is of? Go ahead and guess in the comments. I’m curious if he’s recognizable.

This month I’m switching to just one blog post a week. I need a little more time for pursuing other goals.

So for the month of February I plan to blog once a week, write 1 devotional a week, write another children’s story, and learn some HTML.

20130206-111303.jpg
Keeping the dishes clean is an ongoing goal. I am adding to that getting the master bedroom cleaned up. It’s the catch-all room. I’m going to be brutal and get rid of a lot of stuff.

I’ll give an update at the end of this month on how I’m doing.

Did you set goals this year? How are you doing with your goals? And don’t forget to guess who my charicature is of.

I’ll let you know if you guessed right or not. In my next post I’ll tell who he is.

Don’t miss my posts! I don’t have a set day I post on. The best way to keep up with me is to receive my free email updates in your inbox.

Share