the most wonderful time of the year

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I wait for it every year. As soon as the air turns warm at night, I know it won’t be long. And after the sun goes down, and dusk starts to settle, I go out on the porch to sit and watch and wait for that looked for moment of magic.

Monday night, it happened.

I crawled under the covers and took one more look out the window into the darkness. And then I saw a tiny sparkle in the night air. And then another, and another. The fireflies are back!

And for me, it’s the happiest season of all.

Fireflies. Dogwood blossoms. Leaves of bright green. I can’t think of any happier season.

(The fireflies right here aren’t synchronized. But a few hours from here, they do. It books up so fast, but one day…I hope I can see that in person.)

Reading Challenge 2013—Checkpoint #3

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reading-challengeI’m not entirely certain why, but maybe it had to do with March of Books. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we moved our remaining two bookshelves into the living room and sorted and organized all our unboxed books again. Whatever it is, with April’s arrival, I have finally felt like tackling my reading pile in earnest.

In March itself, I didn’t do so well with reading. Between all the behind the scenes March of Books stuff, and getting ready to launch a brand new site (Which is now up and running at Adornabelle.Com.), I didn’t get a lot of extra time for anything after work.

That’s okay, though, because the one book I did read was one of the best. Pain Redeemed is such a beautiful, courageous book. It is so small, but so very touching, and I felt honored to be able to review it on Kindred Grace as a part of March of Books.

I also mostly finished an old book from my childhood, Montana Meadow Star. It was fun to relieve the memories of my Dad reading to us kids at night. It also inspired me to start reading aloud again to my hubby! We use to read a lot when we first got married. But after three moves, months of books in boxes and really crazy job schedules, we got out of the habit. We’re currently working through For His Honor and enjoying a lot of laughs along the way. I’ve missed reading together, and am glad we’re doing this again.

What have you read in March?

Look for the Helpers

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Last night I lay in bed and mentally wrote a post about the most wonderful time of the year. This morning I don’t feel much like pushing the publish button.

Instead I find myself choking over a newsfeed of pictures and stories of people who shouldn’t be in pain right now. People who shouldn’t have to plan funerals for tiny little boys who just wanted to cheer for their daddy as he crossed the finish line.

My eyes flood and I feel angry and hopeless and sad. I’ll never understand why people can purposely try to destroy the lives of other people who aren’t in any way involved in their particular political agenda or personal vendettas. I’ll never understand why tragedy turns into politics and why we think that we can keep things like this from happening by enforcing background checks or taking guns away. It isn’t the weapons being available or not so much as it it is about what is in the heart. And that’s a much deeper issue that is much harder to fix. Human beings will always find ways to hurt each other so long there is hatred and greed and pride in this world. And I know that’s not going to change this side of Heaven.

In the middle of all the sad pictures and stories, I saw this.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” – Fred Rogers

I can’t change the bad that has happened. As much as I wish I could, I can’t take away the fact that people are hurting right now. But I’m just glad, that in the middle of tragedy, there is the one glimmer of beauty and goodness that gives me hope again. It is in the faces of those people who quietly step up and become those helpers. Some of these tears I’ve cried are tears of thankfulness and pride for the fact that not everyone will turn away from those who need their help.

So today, my heart is hurting and I’m saying prayers for Boston. And I’m cheering those helpers on. May God bless them.

American Patriots—a book review

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American-Patriots-Santorum-Rick-EB9781414382685I don’t think it is a secret that I love history. When I get the chance to grab a book about History (especially American History) I have a hard time passing it by.

In January, I started reading a new history book. It was American Patriots, a small book by Rick Santorum. I enjoyed it because it told the stories of little known men and women who played a part in the writing of our Nation’s story. It talked about people I’d heard of, but didn’t really know the details of who they were or the background of their moment in history.

Some of the stories were graphic in that Mr. Santorum didn’t hide the fact that sometimes Freedom comes with a steep price, and that there were times when there was a lot of bloodshed, sometimes for the wrong reasons. Some of the stories were sad. Some of them made me laugh. But in all, I enjoyed getting more glimpses into my nation’s past.

I find that there is so much to learn from the people and events of the past, and that in spite of dark hours, there are always those who stood up and shone in their day in history. It inspires me to be that person in my chapter.

The book itself is small enough to be read quickly, but long enough that you can’t rush through it. It is divided into three sections, and in the back it has a copy of our Declaration of Independence. (I imagine everyone has read it, but If you haven’t before now, you should.) I think American Patriots could be a great homeschooling resource in the future, so it now has a home on my bookshelves. It will be in good company. I hope that our children will love history, and learn from it so they can know what our nation once was, and why in spite of what she is now, I’m still proud to be an American.

Thanks to Tyndale for sharing a copy of this book with me for review purposes.

Oh glorious spring!

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Last night, Scott and I made our way out of walmart at 9:30 pm with our weekly groceries. I subconsciously cringed as I stepped out of the doors, waiting for that cold blast of air to hit me. Instead warm, humid wonderful spring was what I felt.

A week ago, I bundled up in a jacket and long shirt, socks and tennis shoes to brave a miserable rainstorm in pursuit of weekly produce. I was cold all day! This week couldn’t have been more different.

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I’m not going to say it too loud, but I think Spring is finally here. It is a month later than usual. My soil is still much too soggy to even think about tilling for our garden. But the leaves are finally popping out. The dogwoods are starting to bloom. There are violets everywhere. And I hung laundry on the line. It was glorious.

If you’re up for more Spring-talk, head over to Kindred Grace and read about five reasons why I love spring so much.

Now I’m going back to looking at the pretty new leaves and those beautiful dogwoods. I’ve been waiting for this!

she sent me a baby blanket

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I never knew my maternal grandmother. I always wanted to, but life is complicated. Her own brokenness made her choose to be a stranger.

We use to write letters, she and I. I would tell her all about my life. She would reply politely, but I never felt like I knew anything about her. Except that she enjoyed creating things. I use to dream about meeting her. I imagined what she would look like. I wondered if she sounded like my mom. I always thought that one day…one day I would meet her. Even if we didn’t ever have the kind of relationship that I longed for in a grandmother, I always looked forward to that day.

About the time that I met Scott, she stopped writing. I thought she was busy. When I got engaged, she replied that she planned to come to the wedding. I was nervous and excited.

But she didn’t come. Instead, a box arrived a week before with a little note. “This” she said, “is your wedding gift. I’m sorry that I won’t make it. Love, Gram”

I pulled back the tissue and felt something soft. Folded into a neat square was a beautiful, hand knitted blanket. For a baby. It was cream and edged with a little pink ribbon. Soft, and she had made it. I loved it. It was perfect. It was a funny kind of a wedding gift. But I knew that creating things was the one way she could show love. And I treasured that.

So we wrapped it back up. I tucked into a box where it would stay safe.

It was the last time I’d hear from my grandmother. Six months later, she passed away. I didn’t even know she was sick.

I was heartbroken. We’d never really known each other, but the thought that now there would never be a chance to change that here on this earth hurt my heart.

Four years have passed. I was cleaning out boxes in the shed yesterday when I pulled out a little cream blanket tied with pink ribbon. I’d forgotten about it. I held it up and thought how I could use it now, and how it would remind me of her.

Suddenly, it all made sense. She knew she was dying when she sent us that wedding gift. She knew, but she didn’t ever say it. She knew that she’d never know our babies. But even though I never met her, one day I could wrap our own tiny one in a memory of her…in a bit of her love. The best kind of love she knew how to give.

Sitting there on a dusty box, clutching at a cream knit blanket with a pink ribbon around the boarder, I cried a little. And suddenly I knew why she sent us a baby blanket for a wedding gift.

March Fades

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I can’t believe that March is practically over. Four days ago I was rejoicing over the fact that Spring would be here soon. This morning I realized that those two days were actually four entire weeks and that there are only a few days left before April begins. Wow. A lot happened since March began. But somehow it doesn’t feel like it should be over yet.

Spring hasn’t really shown up yet. It snowed a few days ago. It’s been too cold to wear my beloved chaco sandals more than once.  Last year we planted the first week of April. That won’t happen this year! We haven’t even been able to till the garden once.

I do have all my seeds, though. The moment it gets warm enough to dry out the soil, I’m heading out and planting to my heart’s content! Hopefully that will be soon!

You may or may not have noticed that the blog has a bit of a new look. I’m in the process of some serious rethinking and reorganizing of my blog and the new look is a little part of that. It’ll take some time, and I may not be back up to posting regularly for a while yet. But I think the sorting and cleaning times are necessary once in a while in order to go forward and keep blogging where it should be in my life: something I do to connect with people and a place to write for the sheer love of writing. It’ll be good.

With March ending, so does March of Books over on Kindred Grace! As always, there’s a little link up in progress which will give you a chance to win a nice little gift card. To buy more books with of course! :) If I could enter and happened to win, I know exactly what books I’d be buying: a nice set of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. I think it is about time I own the whole thing myself.

What would you buy if you won?

Click over and enter if you’d like a chance to win….

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If you read eBooks…

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The day I downloaded my first eBook onto our iPad, I was thrilled. I had finally found a way to carry a library in my bag – without breaking my back or going over the weight limit at the airport! When I downloaded my first free eBook from my wishlist, and began to realize the potential for collecting lots of books I wanted to read for free, I felt like I’d just unwrapped a perpetual Christmas package. What book lover wouldn’t get excited about free books?

Read the rest on Kindred Grace today…

Contentment: a review and giveaway

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guest book review & giveaway by Samantha Robinson

contentment-godly-womans-adornment-lydia-brownback-paperback-cover-artA dear friend sent me this cute little book during a time when I was struggling with being content in my present circumstances. I was also going through a spiritually “dry” time in my life and really wasn’t in the mood for a lot of heavy reading. This book was perfect and just what I needed. At only 107 pages, it’s broken down into little chapter sections for easy reading. The book’s size is convenient for “on-the-go” girls.

I love how the introduction gets right to the point: “Our unhappiness does not spring from what we lack. It springs from our desire from what we lack.”

We crave all these things- love, comfort, independence, self esteem and more and we’re unhappy because we’ve come to expect such things, esp. in today’s society.

Happiness and contentment comes from where we look and what we believe and not from what we have.

Filled with gentle yet firm encouragement, this book will help you discover what God’s Word says about contentment and you’ll soon realize that God truly does want you to be content and happy. The choice is ours :) 1st Timothy 6:6-8

Because this little book blessed me so much, I want to bless one of you with it. I only wish I had more copies to giveaway!

To enter this giveaway, please fill out the form below. Open to residents of the USA only, due to shipping costs. :(

a Rafflecopter giveaway

bootstraps and my work at home dream

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Eight years ago, I started dreaming. I started dreaming about some unknown job that would combine doing what I enjoyed with being in the environment I loved. I dreamed of a job that would let me be a successful working woman, and a successful master of my home. I dreamed of something that would let me manage my time so that I could keep devoting energy to the things and people I loved. I was dreaming of a job that I could do right from my own kitchen table. I wasn’t sure if a job like that even exisited, and if it did, if I’d ever find it. But the dream was born. And this was just the very vague beginning of my work at home dream.

A couple years later, I got a real life taste of that dream. I discovered from-home call center work. It was demanding, exhausting and it kept me on my toes. It wasn’t exactly the dream job I’d been looking for, but I was working from my little desk in my own bedroom. It was a step in the right direction, and it lit a fire under my dream. I was determined to find a way to keep doing this.

Over the next few years, I worked other jobs but I kept dabbling in attempts at figuring out what my dream job was and how to make it work. I tried web design. I did more phone work. I applied for dozens of freelance jobs, and considered transcription. I met with some good results here and there, but nothing exactly fit.

What did happen though, was that I started to figure out what exactly I wanted to do from home. I figured out what I was good at, and did enough to know what I enjoyed and what I really didn’t. But I was discouraged. I didn’t know how to get going, or if I even had what it took. We needed me to be able to work, and I felt doomed to work jobs I hated forever.

That’s when I met Lisa Morosky and got a copy of her soon to be released book, The Bootstrap VA. I already knew that Virtual Assisting was exactly the direction I wanted to go if I ever could work from home. I just had no idea how to actually launch a business, find clients and make it work.

Lisa’s book was exactly what I needed to read. It laid it all out there, step by step. It showed me how much closer I was to making my dream a reality than I dared to hope. It also helped me to realize I already had the skills and the resources to make this work. I could launch a business doing what I loved. I could manage my own time and work from my kitchen table. I could actually do this!

I was so relieved, so excited and empowered by what I was reading that I just might have cried a few times over my notes. The book made it so clear and so easy to understand. It answered my questions, and gave me resources and tools to not just make a half hearted attempt at figuring it out, but to build a good foundation that would help make my efforts more successful.

It was an answer to prayer, and the thing that helped make working from home move from only a dream to a reality. I know that God used it at the right time to help me find the courage to make the leap into starting my own business.

In January, I officially launched my dream in the form of a brand new website. A few weeks ago, I got my first set of recurring hours and a new client. I have been thrilled every day since that this work from home dream is actually happening!

My business has a lot of growing to do. Eventually, I look forward to having a fuller schedule and more clients. (If you or someone you know is interested in VA or Social Media Management work, I’d love to hear from you!) But thanks to Lisa and her book, we’re off to a good start. I am so grateful!

I’m telling this story because I think I’m not the only one who has felt trapped in a place or job that they really don’t want to be. Maybe this book could help you find your niche and your courage to step out and start something of your own.

The good news is that The Bootstrap VA is going to be on sale for the next few days. From Monday, March 11th – Wednesday, March 13th, The Bootstrap VA will be 30% off. That makes it just $9.09, and believe me, if you are thinking of working from home, it is well worth every penny of that. You also get access to a special facebook group for Virtual Assistants. It’s such an awesome resource and connecting place to ask questions, bounce ideas and to get help!

When you buy the PDF version, you’ll need to use this coupon code to get the discount: LASTCALL.

Also, when Lisa releases the new version in April, you’ll automatically get the updated version if you buy it now. There won’t be any sales or discounts in the foreseeable future, so now is the time to grab it if you are interested.

I truly can’t say enough about how The Bootstrap VA helped me to know how to focus and plan ahead for working from home. I loved how easy it was to read, and I hope that some of you can benefit from it like I did.