and the giveaway winner is...

*drum roll*

...Alice from My Golden Journey!!!!

Congratulations! I will be sending you an email tomorrow!

my word: a b i d e

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing." 

{John 15:4+5}

Two years ago I started choosing a word for the year for me to focus on/study/and grow in. For 2016 my word was hope. For 2017 my word was bold. For 2018 my word is abide.

ABIDE: to remain; continue; stay

 "It is a tremendous freedom to get rid of all self-consideration and learn to care about only one thing - the relationship between Christ and ourselves." {Oswald Chambers} My relationship with Christ is the most important relationship. I want my relationship with Him to grow abundantly this year. I am a branch for my Father (the True Vine) to produce fruit, I need only abide in Him and His love each day. 

"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." 

{Colossians 2:6+7}

"He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked."

{1 John 2:6}

Below are some ways I've thought of to help me abide in Him more throughout each day:

•Choose a new fruit of the Spirit to really focus and work on for a little over a month each this year. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." 

{John 15:8} To bear fruit means to become more like Jesus and to reflect the fruits of the Spirit.

The fruits of the Spirit are:

l o v e

j o y

p e a c e

l o n g - s u f f e r i n g

g e n t l e n e s s 

g o o d n e s s

f a i t h

m e e k n e s s

t e m p e r a n c e

{Galatians 5:22+23}

•Have my quiet time with the Lord before checking my phone at all each morning.

•Set a verse as my lock screen so that I can see it and meditate on it throughout the day.

•Memorize scripture and recite it in my head as I work//memorize scripture through songs so that I have Godly melodies running through my mind.

•Instead of listening to music, use the time on my drive to work and back home to pray.

•Encourage and build up those in the faith around me//ask people how I can pray for them.

•Praise Him for His work in my life no matter how the day is going//remember I always have so much to be thankful for.

I am excited for the Lord to use this word to work in my life this year...I would love to hear if any of you have a word you chose for this year? To read more about this idea check out this post!

***

Abide in Him and He will abide in you; He who has began a good work in you will complete it!

on this Sunday...

...my alarm woke me up at eight o'clock, it was nice being able to sleep in! The day began with changing Micah's diaper, haha. When I was finished he threw it away. Throwing things away is his favorite thing to do right now, he tries to be a little helper in that way. We need to frequently check the trash cans though to make sure he doesn't throw away things that aren't trash. :)

Then I fixed Lilliana's hair and while doing so I asked her if she had a dream. She did and said that it was about flowers and hearts. "And it was even about myself too." Paige told her that she was glad she was having good dreams now, as Lilliana has had a few scary dreams lately. Lilliana replied, "Yep, all we needed to do was pray!" Mom had prayed with her and now she is back to having good dreams.<3

We looked out the window and saw the snow coming down. We decided it would be a good idea to stay home and not go to church with how much the snow was piling up. I brewed a pot of mocha mint coffee and settled down on the couch with my cozy tiger blanket that my parents got me on New Years. I'm reading in 1 John at the moment and love that book so much. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not." {1 John 3:1}

Then we all gathered in the living room, sang a few hymns, and listened to a message by Adrian Rogers (Love Worth Fighting For). It was about having a rock solid faith in Christ and how God gives us both peace and tribulations. It was about how we need to "...glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience; experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." {Romans 5:3-5} I enjoyed the message and the time together as a family.

I got some Shane and Shane Psalms playing (thanks to Tashia for sharing them, I love them!) and watched Micah for a bit. Then went outside to feed the rabbits, chickens, and ducks. I filled up the rabbits cages again with fresh straw to help keep them warm.

Dylan and I got ready to go pick up some hay for the horses. We also had a birthday party to go to for one of my managers' sons. It was slow going with all the snow still on the road. The hay lady had given us wrong directions so it took us a long time to find her house. We finally did though and then we went to Walmart so I could get a gift (I'm so last minute people!). When we walked out of Walmart Dylan realized he had left his head lights on, so the battery was dead. It took a little while to find someone with jumper cables, but we finally made it to the birthday party. It was a mickey mouse themed party for the most adorable little guy, named Cyrus (CyCy) who turned a year old. He has the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen and seems to always be so happy. Holding him and another three month old baby boy were huge highlights of the day!<3

On the way home we drove into an empty snow covered parking lot and Dylan did some donuts in the snow, it was fun! When we got home I got to see Paige's adorable baby bundle she is getting ready to ship off! She amazes me with her crocheting abilities and her heart to help those in need! We ate dinner and watched an old Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mystery on Youtube. Dad is working on the addition to our house. We enclosed our back porch and turned it into an extra bedroom, laundry room, and more storage space. We are all excited for when it is all finished! It will be so nice to have the extra space. I gave Micah a bath, he loves his bath time so much! 

And now I'm gonna be off to bed, I hope y'all enjoyed this glimpse into our day! Good night and I hope you all had a lovely Sunday as well!<3

***

"I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress: my God; in Him will I trust."

{Psalm 91:2}

twins: nineteen years separated.

***

giveaway time // The Case for Christ

Happy new year to each one of you!!!

To kick off the new year, 2018, I am doing a giveaway!

{Based on the true story of Lee Strobel: an award-winning investigative journalist - and avowed atheist - who applies his well-honed journalistic and legal skills to disprove the newfound Christian faith of his wife...with unexpected, life-altering results.}

Our family really enjoyed this video and I'm sure you will as well!

To enter please comment below with:

*your favorite way to spend family night

*your most recent favorite Bible verse

*your name

*your email address

The giveaway will end and the winner will be drawn on the night of the 24th!

******

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

-Psalm 27:14