I look at my own life as a book. Within my book of life there are many chapters, childhood, being a teenager, college, marriage, children and the list goes on. I would consider myself to be towards the middle of my book, buried deep into a chapter that can be very hard to read and understand...... it is my chapter of faith.As I walk the path of being a breast cancer survivor, I am currently elbow deep into learning what faith means. It's so easy to say the word, but another thing to truly know it and believe it. I've had many chances to learn faith. Chances that have brought me down on my knees in prayer with tears rolling down my eyes, hands gripping tightly to my worn Bible as the word ,"Why?" was the only thing I could utter. I know that all of our chapters read differently. We have all ... read more
“Mom, Why Does God Allow These Things to Happen?”
Last week my daughter and I were talking about some difficulties that we were both facing. As we were talking she looked up at me with her big green eyes that reflected my own and said, "Mom, why does God allow these things to happen?" That's when I had one of those moments.....you know....the ones where your heart sinks down to the pit of your stomach and you want to rush to your baby and make all the confusion and pain go away. Yep, one of those. My response to her was, "God allows these things to happen so that we can grow closer to Him and be a witness to Him through our difficulties." She had a blank look on her face as I kept talking, I could tell that she didn't quite understand. The truth is sometimes.......neither do I.It is easy to say one thing and know that in your heart ... read more
Harvest Time
Many Blessings~Linking to: Scripture and a Snapshot, Fresh Brewed Sundays, Still Saturday, The Sunday Community, Into the Beautiful, This or That Thursday ... read more
A Legacy of Living Life on the Playground and a Link Up
"Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!" Psalms 47:1 I once read a story about a family who had very little. The mother was busy making a meal out of the only food they had, potatoes. As she was peeling the potatoes to put in the pot, she heard the laughter of her children outside on the neighboring playground begging her to come and play. She knew at that moment she had a choice....a choice to dwell in her sorrows or a choice to go out and play with her children. She made a choice.....she choose joy. She choose to not dwell on the negatives in her life and instead focus on what was good. "Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. "~Helen Keller Years later her ... read more
A Legacy of Love and a Link Up
Twenty years ago today, my husband and I said, "I do", in front of family and friends. Wow! We were so young 22 and 23, we had the world ahead of us and thought we could accomplish anything that the world threw at us. You know what? We did. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. However....by the grace of God we made it.We have gone through more than we could have ever dreamed. The birth of two precious children, the death of family members and a diagnosis that shattered our world......stage IV breast cancer.Throughout these twenty years of ups and downs we have always had two choices. We could both have turned and run when things got difficulty or messy.....or we could choose God's way. God's way has always been the path we have both chosen. Our desire as husband and wife has been to show our ... read more
Show Them Jesus
Please welcome our featured blogger for the month of September, Christina from To Show Them Jesus. You know you've had a bad day when your child prays that God would give you patience. Have you been there?My days are spent rushing from one thing to the next and trying to get my kids to keep up with me. I am irritable and short. I get frustrated by whatever slows me down. And as my son pointed out, I get impatient.My heart's passion is that my children would know and love Christ with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. I read to them from Scripture, explain the gospel, and help them learn about their maker.Yet far too often, my own behavior is a deterrent and distraction. St. Francis said "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words." As a parent, if my ... read more
A Legacy of Respect and a Link Up
My parents September 26th, 1992. God has been speaking to my heart lately about the word respect. The dictionary states that the definition of the word respect is: "an act of giving particular attention, high or special regard, the quality or state of being esteemed." I often wonder what has happened to respect in our society. So many elderly or underprivileged are being tossed aside as if they and their lives didn't matter. It's time for we as Christians to take a stand and make a difference. We need to make sure that we are leaving a legacy of respect for our children. Our children will learn more by what we do than what we actually say. What are we showing them? Are we giving of our time and selves to those older than us, such as our parents and grandparents? Or are we pushing ... read more
The Winner is…….
The winner of the $50 Vision Forum Gift Certificate is..... Melissa Baker ! Congratulations! Thank you everyone for entering. I am so thankful for each and everyone of you. I pray that God would richly bless you as you grow closer on your walk with Him. Have a wonderful weekend! Photo Credit ... read more
Stop Running {a Giveaway and a Link Up}
Leaving A Legacy is hosting a giveaway for a gift certificate to Vision Forum. Vision Forum is a wonderful Christian company that sells books, homeschool materials, dvd's and more. Please take a moment to stop by the Growing Home and enter the Vision Forum $50 Gift Certificate Giveaway. How many times do you find yourself running away from a situation that you don't like, or that is uncomfortable for you? I myself do this very often. Once the pressure starts to weigh me down, I try to get out of the situation as fast as possible. Have you stopped to think that in doing this you may be missing out?Just like a rose bush remains beautiful and gets the chance to grow properly, through times of pruning, we also need the same type of circumstances in our life. If the rose bush was left ... read more
Live Each Day to the Fullest and a Giveaway
Today I have the privilege of guest posting at the Growing Home blog. Please take a moment to stop by and visit this wonderful blog and enter the Vision Forum $50 Gift Certificate Giveaway. As the sun rises each morning I want to challenge you friends to live each day to the fullest. We each have our own stories that we're living, filled with chapters of sorrows, growth, celebrations and joys. As I walk through this chapter of learning how to deal with new aspects of my cancer journey, God is challenging me to not take things for granted. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, yesterday is past, and today is all we have. Live nowhere else but in the present. Begin your days in communion with the Lord; seek His guidance for how you should live. Plan out the hours that you've been given to ... read more