Hello, Sweet Sisters!
Happy Tuesday! I am a day behind but we only have 4 chapters left of our summer study, so we will be finishing it up this week! I will have details soon for our upcoming Scripture study. So for today, here is our reading plan: Tuesday - Hebrews 10 Wednesday - Hebrews 11 Thursday - Hebrews 12 Friday - Hebrews 13 I'm praying for each of you! Check back often as I have a few future posts in the works! Keep reading God's Word! Joyfully His, Andrea
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Good afternoon, Ladies!
Here is this week's reading plan: Monday - Hebrews 5 Tuesday - Hebrews 6 Wednesday - Hebrews 7 Thursday - Hebrews 8 Friday - Hebrews 9 Our summer study is almost done, we will finish up next week. I hope God has opened your heart and mind to all that He has for you! My faith is being strengthened this week in Hebrews! I'm praying for each of you this week! Joyfully His, Andrea Hello Ladies!
I'm so sorry to get this out so late today. Last week was a bit hectic and this week is starting that way as well! So I'll just jump right into our reading plan: Monday - Titus 3 Tuesday - Hebrews 1 Wednesday - Hebrews 2 Thursday - Hebrews 3 Friday - Hebrews 4 I also wanted to share a very special announcement with you all! My oldest daughter and I have just opened our very own online store: Mohawk Craft Shack! We specialize in personalized, hand-painted, wooden signs and crocheted gifts! We are so excited to see what God has in store for our little business and praying He not only blesses us through it, but also blesses others with our unique, hand-crafted items. Please take a look at our etsy store and please share it with all of your social media outlets. And if you are looking for that special gift for yourself or someone else, let us know! Here is our stores website: etsy.com/shop/MohawkCraftShack Have a wonderful week! I'm praying for each of you! Keep reading God's Word! Joyfully His, Andrea Good morning, Sweet Sisters!
Today we jump into our second week of our summer Bible study! I hope you all are enjoying our reading in Song of Solomon. I know I am! I am passionate about marriage and know how important it is to nurture our relationship with our husbands and love them deeply! Here is this week's reading plan: Monday - Song of Solomon 6 Tuesday - Song of Solomon 7 Wednesday - Song of Solomon 8 Thursday - Titus 1 Friday - Titus 2 On another note, I would like to ask you all for prayer. My daughter and I are embarking on a new home business, and hopefully it will be up and running this week! Please pray that the Lord will direct us, guide us and give us wisdom with this business. Ask Him to bless it! Not only bless us through the business but also bless others with our work. Thank you for praying for us! Keep reading God's Word! Joyfully His, Andrea Good morning, Sweet Sisters!
It's the first day of our Summer Bible Study, and I am so excited! We are starting this study with the book of Song of Solomon: a love story for sure. A beautiful picture of love, adoration, sincerity and passion within marriage. Start your reading with prayer, and ask God to open your eyes, heart and mind for all He wants for your own marriage. Let's jump right in! Reading plan: Monday - Song of Solomon 1 Tuesday - Song of Solomon 2 Wednesday - Song of Solomon 3 Thursday - Song of Solomon 4 Friday - Song of Solomon 5 For those of you who may be new to our studies, we read one chapter a day, Monday - Friday, and leave the weekend for catching up if needed. Please feel free to comment with any prayer requests or anything God shows you through your reading. I hope to post later this week! Keep reading God's Word! Joyfully His, Andrea I'm not sure why we do it, but women can be the absolute worst at tearing other women down. I'm sure I've been guilty of it, but now that I'm older and dare I say, wiser, I purposely try to encourage other women. Because as quick as we can be at insulting someone else, we can be even quicker at criticizing ourselves. I'm definitely guilty of this.
Here's the truth: I'm not super woman. I do NOT have it all together. I don't have the supermodel look. I'm not as skinny as I would like to be. I can have a bad attitude. I'm a bit sarcastic. I'm not as patient as most people think. My house is usually in a chaotic mess. I'm not a chef, but I do cook. My kids are NOT perfect, not even close. And there are many other things I could list here, but I would bet you have on your own list for yourself. I'm a very conservative - some would say - strict mama. We have strong boundaries set for our kids, and we have high expectations of their character. We expect them to be well behaved, kind, gracious, helpful, and hard working. And for the most part they are, but.... they are kids. And just like us adults, they fall short sometimes. That's something we all will continue to work on throughout life. This past weekend, while grocery shopping with my oldest daughter, we witnessed a lack of good behavior. A young mom with three kids was shopping one isle over from us. As we came around the corner I heard yelling from two adults. I quickly assessed the situation. The mother, holding her baby boy with her preschool daughter at her leg, was standing mortified as her older son (maybe 6-7) was running around and not listening to her. The yelling was coming from an older woman and man who was telling the mother how to parent her child and how her son was acting dangerous and needed to be stopped. At the same time this discussion was going on, a younger couple came through and loudly said they were rushing through because they both hated children. What?! When did society come to this? When did we loose compassion for other people? When did we decide it was no longer a good idea to hold our tongue? I will agree that the little boy was very rambunctious ( all 4 of my boys have been). He was running in and out of the isles and we all know that he shouldn't have been doing it. I later heard his mother talk to him and he was sorry for his behavior. But I also saw a grown woman yell at another woman because her child was misbehaving. She didn't kindly inform the mother that her son could cause an accident, she screamed, her disgust, across the store. The woman left and did not apologize for her misbehavior. I also witnessed 2 grown adults loudly proclaim how they hated children, but I would guess they are thankful their own parents didn't feel that way before having them. I finished my shopping after seeing this incident and I felt bad for that mama. So much so, that I felt the need to go talk to her. Before checking out, I went and found her and said, "Excuse me ma'am, I overheard the incident with your son earlier." She quickly replied, "I'm sorry." I continued, " I just wanted you to know you are doing a good job, Mama. Raising kids isn't easy, I have six, and I know how rambunctious little boys can be. I just wanted you to know you are not alone and you're doing a great job." She said " Thank you. Six kids, wow!" I smiled and walked away. You see, I've been there. I've been out in public many times when my children have acted out, and several times when I have been completely embarrassed by their behavior. And I have walked away from those situations feeling defeated as a mom. I imagine that poor mama at the grocery store felt the same way, but after being berated by strangers she probably felt even worse. But what about those adults? I witnessed each person's actions, and I dare say, the adults behavior stood out to me the most. That little boy is still learning, but us adults....we should know better. This incident taught me two lessons: 1) Encourage others, build them up. 2) Think and pray before I react to something. My prayer is that I will always be able to exert self-control and watch my tongue when dealing with others. No, I'm not perfect, and I've ran my mouth rudely before as well, but I'm striving to do better with that from now on. Take a moment today and think of someone that you can encourage. Who knows? It may be the exact thing they need to hear to know they are cared for, thought of, and not alone in this world. "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing." ~ I Thessalonians 5:11 Joyfully His, Andrea Hello Sweet Sisters!
I hope each of you have had a wonderful spring and I'm praying your summer is full of fun, adventure and time with your families! I took a few weeks away to finish up our school year and now we are settling into our calm and easy summer break! But.... now it is time to jump back into our Scripture reading together! Starting next Monday, June 24th we will begin our Summer Bible Study of the books of Song of Solomon, Titus, and Hebrews. This will be one of our shorter studies at just 5 weeks, but that will get us in line for a longer Fall Bible Study starting in August. This is a great time to start a summer small group and read through these books together with a group of friends. Our first priority here at Redeeming Elegance is to bring God glory by encouraging Christian women to be in His Word daily. That will continue to be our focus, but I have also felt God pull me towards sharing more with you about Biblical Womanhood. It is so fitting that Titus is next in line for us to read, because God has laid Titus 2 on my heart for sometime now, and I have been studying, praying and preparing myself to be the woman God has purposed me to be, not what the world tells us women we should be. Our identity is in Christ alone and I am truly trying to focus on that personally, and praying that my example to any who are watching me, reflects that truth. So be on the lookout for some encouraging posts of Biblical womanhood, from marriage, parenting, friendship, homeschooling, service and more. I am excited to jump back into Scripture with you! Joyfully His, Andrea Good morning, Sweet Sisters!
I hope each of you sweet Mommas had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday and had the chance to soak up special time with your children and family! We celebrated on Saturday evening at a restaurant we had not yet tried, and it was delicious! I certainly missed my oldest son, as he was unable to be with us this weekend, but I so enjoyed spending special time with my family! Here we are at the end of our Spring Study. We have read through I and II Timothy and this is our last week in Deuteronomy. I have learned so much and I hope you have too. I pray for each of you each week, even though I don't know who you are. If you have any specific prayer requests or would just like to say hi, please leave those in the comments section below. :) Here is this week's reading plan: Monday - Deuteronomy 30 Tuesday - Deuteronomy 31 Wednesday - Deuteronomy 32 Thursday - Deuteronomy 33 Friday - Deuteronomy 34 Our Summer Bible Study will begin in June. I will have all the details posted very soon! Keeping reading God's Word! Joyfully His, Andrea It begins in the womb. The first sound a baby hears is it's mother's heartbeat. The consistent thump-thump becomes the child's comfort. Then her voice. When a baby is born into this bright, loud, cold, chaotic world, it finds solace there: in it's mother's arms, hearing her heartbeat through her chest, and listening to her voice calm and soothe it's fears. But this is just the beginning.
Influence: the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself As a mom, the influence I have on my children is the most significant influence I will leave on this world. No matter what else I accomplish, this influence is the most important. It's the only one that will last. Not just for my lifetime, but for generations to come. The influence I leave on my children is my only true legacy, and that influence will be passed down from one generation to the next. What a huge responsibility! I taught them to sit up on their own. I encouraged them as they took their first step. I've held their hands to guide them and protect them. I taught them to speak, feed themselves and comb their hair. I taught them to dress themselves, pick-up after themselves and as horrible as it was, I potty-trained them all (ok, technically I still have two to go here). I showed them how to write their name, memorize the alphabet and I have taught them to read. I've showed them how to ride a bike and how to swing on their own. I taught them to sing, and play, and pretend. I taught them how to share and take turns (although I'm still working on this with my two toddlers). And though there is much influence in the these things I've showed and told them to do, this is only a sliver of what they are really learning from me. My influence goes beyond what I have told them or even taught them. My true influence is my own example. My children will take from me, more than just the things I purposed for them to learn. Who I am in front of them (and when I think they are not watching) is what will sculpt the people they are becoming. What do my children see in me? Or I guess the real question is what do I want my children to see in me? What legacy do I want to leave with them? I have given this a lot of thought lately. How do I want to influence my children? I want them to see Jesus in me. If all they ever take away from me is: "My Momma loved Jesus with all her heart, mind and soul, and she tried so hard to serve Him" -I'm okay with that. I don't want to just tell them I love Jesus, I want them to know it. I want them to see it in me as I pray out loud or silently in front of them, as I read my Bible to myself and to them, as I take the time to tell them all God has done for me and point out His goodness and blessings in our lives. I want to influence them as a wife. I want my kids to see that I not only love their Daddy, but I respect him, I trust him, and I love being his helpmeet. I want them to know that my marriage to my husband is important, it's holy, it's protected, it's for a lifetime, and it is blessed. Perfect? No. But I want them to see me nurture my marriage and love, support, help, encourage, and submit to my husband. I want them to see through our marriage, that we aren't just spouses, we are best friends and we will always love and support each other no matter what this sinful world throws at us. I want to influence them as a mother. I want my children to know they are each a gift from God, His reward to us. I want them to know that only God loves them more than me, that I would protect them at all costs and that I will always be their biggest fan. I want them to feel important to me because they are priority to me. May they see it in the time I spend with them, the dreams we share, the laughter we exchange, the fun we have, the experiences we have together and the love I unconditionally give to them. I want to influence them as a person. May they see me treat others the way I want to be treated. May they see me be kind, gentle, caring, forgiving, compassionate, humble, and merciful. May they see me bite my tongue instead of lashing out. May they see me pray for those who persecute me and for my enemies. May they see me give forgiveness instead of revenge, and may they see me be kind when others are not. I want to influence them as a friend. May the see me nurture my friendships by listening, encouraging and helping my friends when they need me. And may they see me make time for my friends without taking away from my family. I want to influence them as a believer. I don't want my children to ever think that my faith in God is not important. I want them to see that sharing Jesus with others, serving in church, and being the hands and feet of Jesus, is important to me. I want to influence them in hardship. How do I handle it when life gets tough? Do I despair, complain, whine or give up? I want my children to see me at my strongest - when I am weak. In other words, I hope that as hardships come- that my faith in God, His Word and His promises- is so strong, that the hardships do not consume me. Instead, may my children see me stand tall, trust Jesus, and smile through my suffering. And lastly, I want to influence them through my mistakes. I've made many mistakes, and I'll make many more, I'm sure. I want my children to see me admit when I'm wrong, seek forgiveness from those I've wronged, repent for my sins, and learn from my mistakes. I don't want pride to keep me from showing my kids what true repentance looks like. My children are watching me. They are listening to my words, and they see my reactions to things that happen to me in life. My example, my speech, my actions, or lack thereof, is shaping my children into the adults they will become. I don't want to forget that. They're watching me, always watching me. Daily, I am disappointed in my shortcomings, and I have been praying for God to show me what areas I need to improve. I'm a work in progress - and will be - as long as I'm on this side of heaven, but I'm determined to try and do my best to guide my children well. They deserve my best. I'm very thankful that my own mother has been a wonderful example to me, both as a child and even now as an adult. That's the thing we should never forget: our influence as a mom never stops. Your grown children are still watching you. They listen to how you talk to them, your children, and others. They watch how you handle different circumstances that hit you head on. Our children, no matter how old they are, will be effected by our influence, our choices, our behavior, our attitude. We will leave a legacy. Let's do our best to put our best foot forward, serve God completely, keep our family as our top earthly priority, and leave an influence of godliness, humbleness, selflessness, love, grace and faith. Happy Mother's Day! Joyfully His, Andrea Well, I never intended to be behind a day, again, but...here we are! We will do a little catch up this week to stay on track of finishing this study next week.
This week's reading plan: Tuesday - Deuteronomy 25-26 Wednesday - Deuteronomy 27 Thursday - Deuteronomy 28 Friday - Deuteronomy 29 Keep reading God's Word! Joyfully His, Andrea |
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. " AuthorHi! I'm Andrea, wife to my handsome hubby, homeschooling mama to my 7 amazing blessings, and daughter of the King of kings. I am so glad you have stopped by my little piece of the web. My prayer is that the Lord will use this blog to encourage you in your personal, daily walk with Christ. Archives
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