On Days It Pays To Walk Away

 

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 So shall the king greatly desire your beauty: since he is your Lord, worship him.
Psalm 45:1

 

I pulled into the beach parking lot at six in the morning. I knew that my regular walking partner would not be there, but another friend had mentioned joining me, so I made sure to show up. I sat in my car, opened the small devotional I had brought along for just such a waiting moment and I waited.

By 6:15 it was clear that for reasons unknown to me, my friend was not coming. I smiled and stepped out of my car, breathing in the glorious morning.

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Gripped By Perfectionism

Teresa, 5m4m contributor shares her insights on perfectionism and how it can become a major stronghold in your life. The book, Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist is the perfect tool you need to finally break free from that lie. We were compensated to write this post and sent a copy of the book to review, however all opinions remain our own.

Per·fec·tion·ism, noun. “A fault, often disguised as a good quality, that ends up leaving the bearer disappointed with oneself for not having acted ‘perfectly’ in a given situation.”

I realized at a young age that I might have a bit of a problem with things being ‘just so’.

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Lessons I Learned From My Mother: Giveaway WINNERS!

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Thank you for stopping by during our Mother’s Day series. We hope that you were blessed and will continue to read.

The winners of the giveaways are  as follows:

Fed Up With Flat Faith – Sarah (#13)

Growing in Love art print – Rosann (#6)

Feed Your Soul Necklace – Kristin Smith (#14)

Young Essential Oils – Vicki (#4)

All winners have been contacted by email and have 24 hours to respond with their information. In the event a winner does not respond, a new winner will be chosen.

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Spiritual Deficiency

Pills Pouring out of BottleI have a vitamin D deficiency I didn’t know until my doctor did a blood test. I wouldn’t say it’s a big deal, but when I first found out, it did help explain why I was so tired all of the time.

*Among the symptoms are:

Low energy and fatigue

Symptoms of depression and mood swings

Sleep irregularities

Lowered immunity

To combat the deficiency, I take vitamin D3 supplements once a day. Pretty easy.

As I reached for the vitamin bottle one day, I realized that vitamins are not the only deficiency taking its toll on us.

There is spiritual deficiency.

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Dear Mama & A Giveaway Recap!

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Dear Mama,

I want you to know that no matter what season of motherhood you are in, that you are loved and appreciated right where you are. I know this time in our lives can often feel lonely, exhausting and mundane. When you feel as if no one notices all that your hands touch each day, the words of correction and love spoken, the countless hours pouring over lesson plans and curriculum building, the noses wiped, or the knees bandaged, know that God sees. He sees it all, and He wants you to know that you are a good mama. He has given you the tools and equipped you with all that you need.

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My Mother’s Sacrifice & An Essential Oils Giveaway

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She woke up before the sun peeked through they sky each morning, being careful not to wake us up. In the darkness of the early morning she would peek into our rooms, tip toeing in to lay a kiss on our cheeks before slipping out until the sun would set again on most days.

My mother was fortunate to stay home with us until I was in grade school. But out of necessity, she chose to enter the workforce so that she could contribute to the family income. My father, who immigrated from Mexico, was a chef at a restaurant and money was extremely tight as he would often work 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet.

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The Best Lesson, I Hated Most

lessons-i-learned-buttonAs my fingers start to move across the keyboard, my eyes are filled with tears but there’s still a smile on my face. That’s what happens when I think about my mom.

It’s been five years since I’ve been able to celebrate Mother’s Day with her, and I still miss her like crazy.

My mom, like so many moms, was chauffeur, cook, housekeeper, laundress, counselor, painter (walls as well as canvas), gardener, nurse, teacher, party planner, nutritionist, beautician, and decorator. She was also a fabulous hostess, a voracious reader, and a talented seamstress. She could even shoot straight and scare away those critters brave enough to invade her garden and munch on her labors.

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The Unexpected Lesson I Learned From My Mother

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Mother’s day has always been a very emotional day for me personally, a day to celebrate this beautiful calling of being a mother and also a day of mourning the absence of my own mother. My mother passed away when I was only 11 years old, she was a beautiful woman and I loved her deeply but she wasn’t perfect and she was far from a godly example of what a mother should be but she was none the less my mother.

Over the last month I have wrestled with my own heart and my own experience with my mother, digging around in this 32 year old wounded and confused heart of mine for some kind of beauty and truth to share with your mother’s heart today but the deeper I dug, the dirtier and darker the soil prooved to be.

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