Saying Yes this Season!

December can be such a busy month!

It seems like my calender is always full of cmas parties, ornament exchanges, playdates, christmas plays to see, full of plans~ all with good intentions to be around your family and friends! How could this ever be a bad thing?

Well for my home it is... rushing my children by myself or alone leads to stress..which leads me to be a bit cranky! (okay, alot cranky)

I am a home body... I love to be home..to have easy sweet relaxed days of cleaning, school, loving..cooking....placing my husband and children first  ;)

My children suffer rushing here to there..although they always have fun, they dont always get to run their energy out or get to have time with me alone.. when they get out of their routine of chores, free time of playing ..its very hard to get them back into a good routine! Free time becomes boring when once they were so creative with their ideas to play together... so willing to serve our family with their chores becomes...ohhhh mom, do I have to?

 And a good routine is very important to have the days I crave: relaxed!

I also spend much more money: bringing a dish, gift, gas..rushing to figure what to do for dinner and alot of times I will just grab takeout! Which is not the best option for our family at all! Its expensive and unhealthy!

There is such a peace in my heart when I wake up knowing there is no where I need to rush to.. a clear calender is refreshing to me!

Its not even December yet and my days have been busy due to the holidays..

I said yes to help with our Homeschool co-op cmas party

I said yes to help come over and create center pieces

I said yes to bring a dish

I said yes to come the day before and decorate our church

I said yes to prayer meetings and playdates

I had to schedule an apt for my hair, to get ready for the holidays!

I already had it planned that I need to find the perfect Christmas card and send it to everyone I know!

Those are only a few things I said YES to..

Never once did I say, let me think about that and ask the Lord if I would be able to commit~

The enemy loves it when we rush to say yes to things...

So for this Christmas season I will be saying lots of "Thank you for inviting me but I wont be able to make it"

I am saying YES to the Lord to guide my days..

I am saying Yes to my family

I am saying yes to anything spontaneous my husband would like to do!

Ofcourse this doesnt mean I will be saying NO to everything... and completely leave everything empty.. but I will go over my calender and free it up and not try to add anything new.

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord”(Psalm 37:23)  

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8)

If we fill up our days with our own plans, this leaves no room for the Lord to guide us.

Have you been super busy in the past during the holidays? Or have you freed up time and seen how refreshing it is?

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass … Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:4,7)

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Goodbye Facebook!

There is a new addiction growing in our world today, the internet and media.

Why is the internet/media an addiction?

Look around, I often seen men and women online using their cell phones in the car, sometimes while driving (yikes) at the park, store..everywhere! Constantly texting. I also seen a preview to a show about labor, one of the moms texted right thru it! Why is interent a problem? Its a problem because its distracts you from life, from the people around you..moments are passing by, our children are growing older and older. It also takes away those quiet moments with Jesus. Each time we get a moment of peace and quiet we could be resting in Him, praying, reading his word..


This addiction isnt something that I myself just see but struggle with too! I love connecting with friends and family, sharing and viewing photos, writting a blog or reading other wonderful ladies thoughts. I can look up herbal remedies, any recipe in seconds.. I love the internet! But when I do get online..minutes go by..time ticks away and I have wasted a whole hour online..doing what? It feels so wasted..the guilt kicks in big time for me. The people who suffer are the most precious to me, My Lord, my husband, my children, my home.. I could have read some pages from a good book, played on the floor with my children, emptied the dishwasher..ect.


Realizing I had a hard time with the internet, an addiction was the best wake up call. I continually give it Jesus to help me. I also set up some boundries and rules for myself:


Never will I own a cellphone that has internet, its blocked. Why would this be a rule? Because its way too easy to get online for me.


Never will I allow myself to get online in the morning, especially when I have not spent time with God in prayer and in His word.


I also used to have facebook text me my updates..turned off.


This is the time of my life, a home with young children and I want to create as many memories everyday with my family. I would never want my children to look back and remember me on the internet or on my cell phone.

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."


These rules I set for myself were good..but its not my personal best..

 "Good, better, best, never let it rest, until your good is better and your better best." learned this quote from Elizabeth George and I always remember it! 

After much prayer I felt my heart feel convicted to step away from media as much as possible. Not only from internet but from texting as well. I am saying goodbye to Facebook.

My church showed us parents a movie about the evil in media (you can view a preview of this movie:Shattered) and this also pushed me to step away. Never will I allow my children to text nor have a facebook. First I need to set a strong example.

Ofcourse I will miss connecting with friends and family but this is when you die to your needs, wants, likes, dislikes and take up the Lords. As soon as I deleted facebook and let my family know that I will be texting alot less, the Lord gave me great peace.

I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Philippians 4:13



How do you handle the internet, texting, tv? Do you struggle like me? Have you said goodbye to facebook? Would love to hear!

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Slow me Down, Lord

Summer can be such a busy time of the year! I still cannot believe how quickly June flew by and now it is almost July. Our days have been spent with trips to the park, homeschool field trips, playdates, lakes, vbs.. I did have a plan of what I wanted my summer to be. When the weather starts to bring hot days I like to spend as much time as possible in the water with my children, swimming is my favorite. My view has changed a bit and I want to put the rest of my summer in the Lords hands, guiding the children and I to spend our days how He would like us to. Its been so busy that I would like to slow down...to stop rushing, truly enjoy the summer months.

My great grandmother had poems, prayers and scriptures she cut out on her refrigerator. I remember always enjoying this prayer:

Slow me down, Lord! Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the art of taking MINUTE VACATIONS.......of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise that i may know that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than increasing in speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots into the soil of life's enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny. Amen.


How has your summer been? Do you need to slow down like me?

Blessings,
Sarah beth

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Our Simple Country Life
Women Living Well

Greater Health God's Way!

One of my biggest struggles is food! My habits are wreckless! I often skip breakfast, never been a big breakfast eater. I also tend to not sit down and eat lunch then just snack here and there...over eat at dinner time..snack later on in the evenings...it adds up! This is not a good way to nourish my body whatsoever! When it comes to excercise, again wreckless.. I love excercising but I never add it on my day like rest and eating.. its never a priority like it needs to be.

So here I am with a goal to get healthy, for me it is not about just losing weight but changing the way I view health, setting up solid habits and not the way the world views it but the way God does. His ways are perfect! With every struggle in my life He was the light in the dark...He ripped away so many bad peices and replaced them with good.. I know He can and will do the same with my health. & yours too!

Today I am sharing with you a book by Stormie Omaritan. She is famous for her amazing prayer books but I wish her health book was more known too!

This is not a diet book, this is a total health book...God's way! Not only does this book help with physical but it will strengthen your mental and spirtual health as well.

"Greater Health God's Way" kept me reading & reading!

Stormie says,
"The Bible says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" Hosea 4:6. How true! Sickness and premature death are commonplace, all because we have no knowledge of the Lords ways. We live so very far from the way God intended us to live. That's why there is so much pain and sickness, so many headaches, heart attacks, bad tempers, mental illness, and just plain lack of joy. We suffer a great deal just because of our own ignorance about God's ways."

She also says,
"It is not good to be preoccupied with your body, but it is wise to value the temple God has given you. The holy spirit of God dwells in and works through that wonderful body of yours. But how do you treat it? Do you feed it poorly, never allow it to have any exercise, keep it shut away from fresh air and sunshine, fill it with the poisons of unforgiveness and bitterness, never allow it any rest, and then criticize it because it doesnt look good and never does what you want?"

Stormie does not only discuss foods to avoid, foods to eat but the importance of sunshine and peaceful living. She also talks about the damange of stress.

Her book features 7 steps to inner and outer beauty. The 7 steps are:

Peaceful Living
Pure Food
Proper Exercise
Plenty of water
Prayer & Fasting
Fresh Air & Sunlight
Perfect Rest
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I highly recommend this book! If you would like to journey with me, let me know and we can link up each 7 step..encourage eachother!

My first step is avoiding pop, juice, coffee, ect. I want to drink
W A T E R! & lots of it! I pray that the Lord helps me to crave water and only water!

I love fruity drinks so I thought why not naturally sweeten my water {without the extra chemicals and sugar} I simply add lemon and sliced strawberries. It gives my water a slight sweet taste: perfect!!

If you have any tips on managing your health the Lords way, please share =} 

Much love,
Sarah beth

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