My Delightful Journal

  How many friends do you have on Facebook? How many groups are you in? How many times does someone's profile pop up to click "Add Friend" with 1 or 2 mutual friends and you think, "Should I know them?"? Mark Zuckerberg would not agree with me; but your 400, 800, or 1,700 friends on Facebook are not all your real friends. You may be very careful with whom you allow to view your life for safety or privacy purposes. But still, it's seemingly impossible to have that many friends. They may be family members, acquaintances, old school mates. They're not the people who know you inside and outside. They don't all "have your back." And, most importantly, not all of them will give you Biblical truth and spiritual edification.  But do we often run to these online companions for comfort, reassurance, advice, and hope? Does the loose social media term "friend" really mean what it says? A few questions I have to ask myself... When I'm face

  This should be talked about. Based on a recent Instagram poll I did, I think it’s safe to assume that many moms heading to church feel drained after a busy Sunday morning. Or maybe some even pass on church regularity because it’s been too overwhelming. Most of these tired moms probably have little ones, but I really don’t think the age of kids matters. Whether it’s a two year old running around or a fourteen year old who’s embarrassed by you, parenting can be physically and mentally exhausting.   I think I could easily insert the importance of nursery, giving moms a break, and volunteering in children’s ministry. I could probably stop there and call it good, get some likes, and chalk it up to a nice Facebook post.  However, I find it deeper than that.  We feel pressure to give our kids the perfect Sunday outfits, expect them to sit still (dreading inside because we know they won’t), and smile on the outside like the Holy Spirit has worked and we don’t even know the chapter and verse

 How often is your reply "No thank you" to the question, "Do you want your receipt?" when you're at the grocery store or fast food. You need to STOP! You're throwing away money! I've had multiple people ask me about which websites and apps I use to earn money back on receipts. Some I use, you can also do small tasks like take a survey or watch an ad. All these little things really add up! For the majority of them, you'll need some type of smart phone.  Take a look down below! 1. Swagbucks I'm starting with this one first because capturing receipts is only one of its many features! You can take surveys, watch ads, answer questions, play games, and make purchases through Swagbucks for money back! This is easily used on the desktop, and there's an app to upload receipts as well.  Head HERE   to sign up! Earn an extra 300 SB (Swagbucks) when you earn 300 points within your first 30 days. 300 SB = $3 gift card. You can easily get that within the f

This post contains affiliate links, in which I earn a small commission at no cost to you. So thank you for looking, shopping, and sharing! <3  I've followed Crystal Paine ( The Money Saving Mom ) since Aaron and I have been married. She has great tips for living on a low budget, and we needed that when we were first married. So she always intrigued me.  Her oldest kids are only teenagers, so she never claims to know everything about parenting. I appreciate her fresh approach to parenting and coming strictly from the heart. She shares some of the background of her legalist mindset as a new mom and equates that into how it affected her parenting style.  I find that fascinating because it's a temptation for anyone to want to hear, "Hey, you raised some good kids" or "Congrats on your son's/daughter's accomplishments." But is   that the goal of parenting? Is raising "good kids" to be "good adults" the pinpointed accomplishment? It&

This post contains affiliate links, in  which I earn a small commission at no cost to you. So thank you for reading & shopping!  Human trafficking is not a problem "somewhere else." It's happening right where you are. You might see someone who is trafficked when you head to the grocery store or go to a local baseball game and never realize it.  Jasmine Grace found herself in desperate need for love and acceptance. She thought she found that through her "boyfriend," who ended up selling her for money. After years of prostituting herself, she covered the pain she never realized she had with drug abuse.  Thankfully, like many human trafficked victims, her story doesn't end with a gun shot or a drug overdose. Her story still continues in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. She recollects her different diary entries during her trafficking years from a fresh perspective as now a believer. She spends her life helping other women who are in the same situation.  I

 How many emotions have you felt today? Anger, guilt, joy, love... Maybe you felt multiple at one time or maybe you've felt too many to count.  "Ugh, she spilled her cereal again." "Aw, that picture is so cute!" "Why does he always degrade me in our weekly office meetings?" "This coffee is my favorite, yum!" We, as humans, are made up of many parts. We can honor and glorify God with our bodies. He gives us the ability to think and reason through situations. And He also gives us inward feelings and emotions to use as another guide source.  I have always viewed my emotions as intrusions. They were either causing me to worry and fret about something unnecessary or pushing me to love something of this world that I really should let go. I had never once viewed my feelings and emotions as a help in a decision making process or an indicator to slow down. And if I couldn't control my emotions, I at least needed to shove them out of the way.  But

My five year old Chloe is starting to get interested in board games. She's starting to play them enough that she can tell when she's losing and can become quite frustrated in this realization. Suddenly, she remembers! The rules that we'd somehow forgotten. She devises these rules that aren't actually "new," but we just forgot that's how to play. Of course, these new rules help her to get ahead in the game.  What would a game be without rules? Complete chaos!  Eek, what would a road be like without stop signs, speed limits, or traffic lights? I'd start riding a bike.. but probably still wouldn't be very safe.  Rules protect us and others from getting hurt.  Even the Bible has a list that could be classified as "rules." Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments were given to Moses at Mt. Sinai. You can read more about them in  Exodus 20 . Israel also received other laws and commandments.  1. Moral laws - God has already instilled inside each pe

  This post contains affiliate links in which I earn  a small commission at no cost to you.  Thank you for looking and shopping.  Why does that quote make so much sense yet is so hard to believe? We've all struggled with this. Whether it's been a loved one we've lost or has suffered, whether it's been a broken relationship because of political arguments, whether it's been fear of the unknown, or whether it's been annoyance of the inconvenience - everyone has been touched through this pandemic.  John Piper doesn't waste his time (see what I did there... Piper's  Don't Waste Your Life ... He didn't waste his time... anyways...) in this little book. He skips past the ever changing number of cases, moves on from the political drama, and takes a step away from the medical implications or lack thereof.  I don't desire to mislead you. There are plenty of facts  in this book. Facts from the Bible. There's no exaggeration that he uses 184 Scriptur

  This post contains affiliate links in which I earn a small commission at no cost to you.  Thanks for shopping and looking!  Woohoo! I finished book two of 2021! That doesn't sound like many, but some of you know that I'm on a reading journey. If you want to learn more about how I'm trying to read more, you can check out  this post . I don't want to spoil the book... but... I'm fascinated by Hudson Taylor's beginning years. His parents prayed that if they had a son that he would one day become a missionary to China. He would say as young as 9, 10, or 11 years old, "Mom, Dad, when I get older, I'm going to be a missionary to China." His parents had not pushed him toward this thought or even mentioned their prayers to him.  His teen years consisted of apathy toward God and somewhat of a disbelief of ideas he'd been taught his whole life. However, when God a hold of his heart - he couldn't resist the pull to this particular people group.  Hud

This post contains affiliate links, in which I earn a small  commission at no cost to you. So thanks for looking. :) This is embarrassing, but I've struggled to consistently read my whole life. I enjoy reading, I majored in English, and I love to study literature and write. I would start a book, lose interest, and never finish.  I now have a strong desire to learn more through reading but still have the same struggles.  I received my advice from my dad about this because he's an avid reader. He and I are both goal-oriented people, so he gave me a suggestion on how he reads so much! I don't claim to be an expert, but I have stayed on track and even gotten ahead with this advice! Plus, I've made it into a printable for you! 😌 Good advice from Dad Choose your book, divide the number of pages to read in one month (two months if it's a bigger book, but I wouldn't suggest a bigger book if this isn't a habit yet), and follow your plan! Start with just one book, th

I've been making slow cooker lasagna since we've been married. In fact, I think this may have been the first meal I cooked my in laws. It's a great recipe if you have a large family (*define large here*) or you're having guests over.  I'm always impressed with slow cooker recipes because I can dump it all in sometime in the morning, and dinner is prepared in the evening when I don't feel like cooking. :)  I've tried several slow cooker lasagna recipes, and I've used different aspects of each over the years to create my own.  This is a husband and kid pleaser in our home! Recipe 1 lb. ground sausage* (We prefer sweet but hot would work too.) 1 onion, chopped Clove of garlic  2 jars pasta sauce  24 oz of ricotta 16 oz of shredded mozzarella cheese  8 oz shredded parmesan cheese  16 oz oven ready lasagna noodles * You can certainly use ground beef as well. Be sure to generously season it with Italian seasoning and spices.  Brown your ground beef in pan on m

Here's some fun questions that we both answered, not knowing the other's answers! What's the first time you remember seeing her/him? Aaron  - My family was visiting my brother and sister in-law in Virginia. She was across the room at my brother's youth group. I was 12, and supposed to be in a younger group, but the classes were combined that night for some reason, and she was the first thing to catch my eye. Lizzy  - Aaron's brother Dan had just become the youth pastor at my church. I was in high school at the time. I remember vividly when his family came to visit because I had never met anyone from Vermont before. I made sure to introduce myself to his parents and welcome then because I was the "good youth kid." (It's crazy to think back on that moment - They'd be my in-laws 5 or 6 years later!)  I think the first time I saw Aaron was in the foyer at church while Dan was taking his parents upstairs to see his office. I don't think I had any sp

This post contains affiliate links in which I receive a  small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for looking!  What's your reason for wanting to cut your spending? You must have something on your mind if you clicked on this post.  Paying off debt? Saving for a trip? Send your kid(s) to college? Give more to your church?  Income loss? Whatever it is, I have a few helpful tips that I'm still learning and refining!  1. Establish a budget (and use it!) I feel like this should be an easy one... like, DUH. But it's not so easy to keep track of a budget and stay on track. I've found myself slacking up in knowing where my money was going many times.  You can't cut spending to save money if you don't first know where it's being invested!  Track your... Income Budgeted expenses Actual expenses This overall view will determine where you can cut and where you can't.  If you haven't used a budgeting system before, here's a few downloads to help you get sta

 I like to get from Point A to Point B in about 30 seconds. I like outcomes and success stories. Yes, sometimes I even peek at the end of a book to see what's going to happen.  Blame it on my impatience, maybe. I don't like the journey from one thing to another unless I somehow know exactly how it will end - And I only know that if I use enough of my imagination to convince myself what I think will happen.  God has an aerial view of each of our lives (Matthew 10:29-30) and all of history.  Not only is He aware but He controls. I find gracious comfort in His sovereignty in my life (Ephesians 1:11) and over all of life (Colossians 1:16-17).  The ground isn't that pretty. I am a goal-oriented person. I like check marks and cross offs. I may or may not put "Make coffee" on my to-do list, so that I can cross it off. 😏My head is always downward trying to do some mundane task that gets me nowhere.  I create a long-term goal, then complete the small goals to get to the b