My sister sent me a photo via text message last night. Jesus was having a Zoom meeting at the Last Supper with His disciples and was looking for Judas. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Why do people call Good Friday “good?” I’m sure the disciples didn’t think it was a good day. Their best friend, their mentor, their roommate, their fish and bread winner was dead. Even though Jesus warned them multiple times, they didn’t quite get it until the cross was right in front of their faces.

That Friday wasn’t good for them, but it is good news for you and me. Typically a day where services are more somber and a time for reflection. I would venture to say that before we can celebrate Easter, we have to understand what it is and Who it is we are celebrating.

I read an excerpt from “Who Is This Man?” by John Ortberg this morning. He proposes that “Silent Saturday is the time in between despair and joy, this strange in between day.”

As I read on, I couldn’t help but think that this is what we are facing right now in this in between space moment of history. With COVID-19 effecting peoples’ health, economy, and changing our daily lives dramatically, many of us are in this “strange in between” space. In between jobs, in between what used to be and what we hope for, in between a paycheck and wondering how we will provide for our families…

Mamas, Papas, families, you are not alone. The disciples also experienced this Saturday 2,000 years ago. Ortberg questions, “What do you do with Saturday? You can wait. Work with God even when He feels far away. Rest. Ask. Whine. Complain. Trust.” 

It’s ok to be real with God. Abraham was. He questioned how could he possibly become the Father of Nations when he had no children and was old enough to be a great grandfather. Moses was. He questioned God’s choice of a spokesperson for His people, after all, he had a stutter. Mary was. She questioned Gabriel, “How can this be?” when she was told she would give birth to the Messiah when she had never been with a man.

On this Saturday, God is waiting for you to be real with the in between spaces of your heart. Don’t rush from Friday, skip Saturday, and get to Sunday. Press into this moment, this day, and this in between space.

What are you and your family “in between” right now, Mama? I’d love to hear from you! Share in the comments below.

*Quotes referenced from “Who Is This Man?” by John Ortberg

*This post contains affiliate links.*

With 7 more days until Christmas, the countdown is ON!

I have several Mama friends that sell for awesome companies. I love supporting and promoting them, so today I want to share what’s on my Christmas list and give a shout out to those Mamas!

1. Pure haven. Pure Haven is a toxic free company that makes everything from cleaning products to skin care, essential oils to baby body wash. I love, love, LOVE their skin care line! I feel good knowing the products I put on my face are pure and are helping my skin glow and reduce signs of age. My friend Amie sells for Pure Haven, and you can buy from this link here and connect with her on facebook here.

2. Crunchi. Crunchi is a local company to all you here in Palm Beach County. They are widely known for their toxic free and high performance makeup. Some favorites I like to purchase by Crunchi are their: body bars, sunscreen, and eye shadow. I will be receiving their foundation and concealer for Christmas, and I am very excited! Lianne Smith is passionate about educating women about how to live a toxic-free lifestyle. She has a great facebook group where she posts all kinds of helpful information. You can shop with Lianne here.

3. Norwex. Norwex is famous,  and in my opinion, brilliant for their microfiber cloths. These bad boys (or good boys!) remove 99.9% of bacteria from a surface. With. Just. WATER. Whaaat? These cloths help reduce my costs of cleaning products and helps save the environment by using no more paper towels! My girl, Christy Thompson, is a Norwex consultant and is very knowledgeable about their products. You can connect with her here and shop on her website here. They currently have some sweet Christmas deals going on!

4. Noonday collection. This company provides sustainable jobs for men and women around the globe. They make beautiful jewelry, bags, and even Christmas ornaments! I own three pairs of their earrings and would love to own them all! You can connect with Caroline or Jessica by clicking on their names and shopping at their sites.

5. Beach body on demand. I must admit, I totally dug insanity, p90x, and especially t25. I wore those dvds out. As a mama on a run, I’m always looking for effective and timely ways to get my workout in. I love that beach body now offers their workouts by streaming them, and the options are numerous. Molly is an excellent Coach and loves to encourage women to make healthy lifestyle choices. You can connect with her here.

What’s on your shopping list, Mama?

It’s that time of year where everything has a little pumpkin spice! Our family loves creating and continuing traditions. Here’s some fun fall festivities we partake in every year:

1. Attend a Fall Festival. My Mom and Dad’s church, Grace Chapel in Loxahatchee, hosts a rocking fall festival! There’s bounce houses, hay rides, and a trunk or treat this year! Look up local churches in your area to find one near you. What I love about these is that they are usually free!

2. Trunk or treat. We choose to go to a trunk or treat event instead of walking around the neighborhood. We let our buddy fill up his bucket and choose three pieces of candy that are most appealing to him at the end of the night. He eats one that night, and can have two more for the two days following. That night he “trades in” his bucket and I replace the candy with a book or game. When he wakes up the next morning his bucket is waiting with his new good inside.

3. Pumpkin patch pics. We love getting our annual family picture at the pumpkin patch! We told the Facebook world we were having our first little “pumpkin” as our announcement to say we were expecting, so pumpkins and patches have a special place in my heart.

4. Painting pumpkins! I buy a bag of small pumpkins and acrylic paint at Walmart. This is super fun and not as messy as carving a pumpkin! Plus we use the kiddos pumpkins to as decoration!

What do you and your family do to celebrate fall, Mama?

Can you believe it’s the first week of March, Mama? The year of 2019 seems to be flying by and I am trying to keep up with its fast past. Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 6, Lent begins.

I grew up with grandparents who loved Jesus and were devout Catholics. I have a very vivid memory of going to an Ash Wednesday service with them and having an ash put on my forehead around age 4. I have other memories as well. The smell of incense. The image of my Grandfather holding his Rosary beads. The sound of the recording of Hail Mary prayers on our car rides.

I attended a wide variety of denominations growing up…pentecostal, baptist, non-denominational, and presbyterian. It was my Grandparents’ influence, however that had me ponder the season of Lent when I grew older.

In years past, I’ve fasted from sweets, restaurants, dairy, and meat.

This year I stumbled upon a treasure. There’s this beautiful devotional called “40 Days of Decrease” by Alicia Britt Chloe.

Alicia challenges us to look past the superficial and seek to fast from deeper issues of the heart that we allow ourselves to engage in such as: comparison, accumulation, and gossip. She calls readers to “study Jesus’ uncommon and uncomfortable call to abandon the world’s allusions, embrace His kingdom’s reality, and journey cross-ward and beyond.”

The study guides the reader through John 12 to 21 over the course of 40 days, preparing our hearts and pointing to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

What I love is that it is available for free on the Hoopla app. All you need is your library card and you can access it!

What are you giving up for Lent this season, Mama?

How’s it going, Mama? It’s fifteen days into January! How are those goals coming along? I wanted to share a few more ways I like to set goals for myself.

My friend Jessica recently introduced me to the idea of setting one month, three month, and six month goals. This is a terrific way to aim a little further into the future. I like to start with asking myself, “Where do I want to be in six months spiritually, physically, personally, or financially?” I write out my SMART goal according to each topic, and then from there I set my one and three month objectives to help me aim for the six month target.

Something super trendy right now is choosing a word for the year. I LOVE this because it’s simple, and you could always come back to, “Does what I’m doing in this moment line up with my word?”

To take it a step further, turn your word into a word map. 🙂 My word for this year is focus. If you check out the picture below, you can see that I branched out and wrote some areas I want to be focused in and then got even more specific with ways I can focus on those topics. I have my word map displayed in a place I see regularly to motivate and remind me.

I recently was challenged by my Babes to think about choosing a verse to focus on for my life. In thinking about planning for 2018, I decided that a verse for the year would be a great way to keep my goals in perspective. Here’s what I chose:

“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3

Where it’s doing laundry, washing dishes, changing diapers, or working for corporate, let’s commit our goals and dreams to Jesus!

What’s a word or verse you want to focus on in 2018, Mama?