Living as a Victorious Christian Woman

If you don't think you're going to be tested and tried in this life, try teaching a Sunday school lesson in the morning and then living it out that truth the rest of the day. It will make an even more of a believer out of you. Our youth have been studying through a Faith Baptist Bible College devotional for the past few weeks, and yesterday's lesson was on breaking free of the tyrant of fear. It used 1 Samuel 21 and Psalm 34 to show that even in the scariest, darkest of situations, God and His power are just a prayer away.  It's our job then to differentiate between truth and lies. The only way to do that is to know the truth so well (God's word) that the lie (anything the devil and the world try to slip in there) sounds weird and foreign and it jumps out as just plain wrong. I wrote them an activity to show what this could look like in real life. For each verse of Psalm 34, I gave them a lie that objected to that verse and a simple truth to combat it. But they were...

This is one of those scrapbooking techniques that I absolutely love, I just haven't used it in my planner for a very long time. I figured the first day of fall and one of my favorite weeks of the year deserved a dramatic and beautiful layout. And it works with any theme, so start thinking about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and winter! The first layer of this sticker technique is the largest four leaves cut in half and alternated on either side of the spiral. This creates a line of leaf pattern along the holes and provides a visual foundation for everything else. Then each layer on top of them uses smaller and smaller leaves until you get to the smallest and the words last. Tomorrow is the first day of fall, and I absolutely can't wait. We've had a rainy weekend and it's supposed to continue, but that must mean cooler weather's on the way! Next Friday, Saturday and Sunday is the Pages for Pennies book sale. We've received tens of thousands of book donations over the ...

I remember  reading once that ruining God's plan for your life is impossible because you, my dear, are not that powerful. Let that sink in for a minute. The same truth applies to other people. We as human beings truly lack the power to change other people's hearts and minds. We're called to be a spiritual influence in the world around us, but some days we can barely handle our own actions and reactions, let alone work hard to change someone else. Surprise plot twist: we aren't called to change other people. God alone has the power to transform people from the inside out, while each of us are called to focus on their own actions, exercise self-control, and reflect Christ in all we do. What the people around us do with that influence is up to them. We can clearly see in Scripture that inner transformation is solely God's work and has nothing to do with us. The king's heart  is  in the hand of the LORD,  as  the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will....

Have I mentioned yet that I'm ready for fall? I probably have, but I'lm happy to repeat myself. The combination of pulled pork (thank you, Iowa farmers) and cornbread screams fall to me. I won't say no to them year-round, but there's something about tangy pork and sweet cornbread in autumn that just makes sense. I found a recipe for cornbread muffins with pulled pork tucked inside and thought that was a lovely idea! But I recently had to throw out a broken muffin tin and I haven't replaced it yet. Sad story, I know. Instead, I pulled out these 8-inch baking dishes, filled them 2/3 of the way full of cornbread mix (about half the batter), and put about 1/4 cup of prepackaged BBQ pulled pork in the middle. Then I baked them at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. The middle of the cornbread soaks up the sauce in the pork, so it never got crusty like the rest of the top, but it was still amazingly delicious. Danny suggested that next time I put the pork in the bottom and ...

It's one week until the first day of autumn, so I wanted one last summer-feeling planner layout to say farewell. Of course, it's supposed to be 90 to 95 degrees the next couple of days, so it seems more than appropriate. The calendar and the weather don't always agree on what season it is. Unfortunately. I'm pretty sure I combined four different sticker sets for this spread, but it could have been more. I pulled out several books so I'd have a lot to choose from, and that was just the inspiration I needed. I alternated fringe garlands with floral bottom borders to add some variety of texture and colors. They all coordinate with the buildings, and the foil phrases absolutely pop off the page. I'm not going to tell you that this will be a catch-up week at work with just a few things on the schedule, but the minute I do that I'll get slammed with meetings. So we just won't talk about it. When you look at planner layouts online or social media, it's easy...

We're down to one week of taking donations for our Pages for Pennies used book sale. Or as I like to call it, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year! We turn our local convention center's expo hall into a book lover's paradise with gently loved books, CDs, DVDs, LPs, audio books, games, and puzzles. Almost everything is $2 or under, making it literally trading pennies for pages. There are so many things that I love about this sale, but particularly that the hundreds of thousands of books come from donations from our community. This year we've received entire estate book collections, boxes cleaned out from attics, basements, and storage units, as well as books from last year's sale that readers are dropping off so they have room to buy more in two weeks. We are an entirely volunteer corps, book lovers all. We take donations for five weeks, sort them by quality and then by genre, and box them up. It's a pretty thought-involved process, but it's so much fun! The s...

Wapello County, Iowa, history lesson: The town of Agency, just outside Ottumwa, was established in 1838 by the United States government as an Indian agency for the Fox and Sac tribes. The agency was overseen by General Joseph Street, who became great friends with our county's namesake, Chief Wa Pe Lo. General Street and his family are buried in Agency, as is Chief Wa Pe Lo, who wanted to be buried with his good friend. The sign pictured here is next to General Street's wife Eliza's grave. "At age 15, she chose the Savior as her eternal portion and lived an active and devoted Christian until she heard the welcome words, 'Enter thou into the joy of the Lord.'" His lord said unto him, Well done,   thou   good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21 Since I first saw this marker several years ago, I've wondered if Eliza chose what was writte...

When Parker James came to live with us in 2019, our pack was complete. He added the sweetest personality to our family, and he had the best manners and cuddles ever. He was diagnosed with a liver tumor last winter, but he stayed with us for another eight months. On Monday we let him go so he's not suffering physically anymore. Our hearts are broken, regardless of knowing it was coming. Here are just a few of our favorite Parker moments - I hope they make you smile like we do. This is how we will always remember him.

The best part of cooking and baking in autumn is the mix of seasonings that just feel right this time of year. You can use anything you want any time of year you want, but cinnamon, nutmeg, apples, apples and honey just seem better in the fall. And who wants the typical, plain meal when those flavors are beckoning? I adjusted my normal waffle mix to capture all of those seasonings and added a little whipped cream for good measure. Because I can. The Belgian waffle mix I use is pretty standard - 1 1/2 cups of mix, 2/3 cup of water, 1 egg, and 3 tablespoons of oil. These amounts make 2-3 waffles. Instead of sticking to the recipe, I did this: 3 cups of waffle mix 1 cup water 1 cup cinnamon applesauce 2 eggs 6 Tbsp oil 1 Tbsp cinnamon 1/2 Tbsp nutmeg Cinnamon honey butter for topping Whipped cream for topping It all gets mixed together and poured into the waffle maker. I set it on the medium setting for these beautiful, light brown waffles. The combination of fall flavors here is comfort ...

Since starting my planner in July, this is easily my favorite weekly layout. I love the colors, the adorable birds, the 3D accents on the stickers - I love everything! It's going to be a great week getting to look at these pages. I started with two washi tapes, the thick leaves going about 3/4 of the way across each day box and the thin green layered on top of it all the way across the box. This creates a small cubby hole to tuck leaf stickers, each with some 3D elements on them. My theme for the week - breathe - is embellished with two more tiny flowers. Each day is balanced with flowers and a bird facing into the page on opposite sides. I love the way this keeps a lot of open white space to write, but it also draws your eye down to see what's coming next. It's going to be a good, productive week judging by the plans I already have written in here. My prayer for you is that not only will your planner layout be balanced like mine, but that you'll find some balance betwe...

Once September hit, it's like Southern Iowa went into autumn mode! The temperatures are cooler, the air isn't as thick, and the warm sunshine feels even better. I took a solo ride around the property this week on the slightest chance that there might be some fall colors starting to pop. It wasn't looking great at first, but the view can't be beat regardless. This is one of my favorite spots by the big pond, down where my prayer bench is. The trails that are cut on both sides of the pond are each their own little adventure. I went most of the way up one on the far south side when I encountered a fallen tree and had to turn around. Ever seen a 16-point turn in a side-by-side? But while I was turning around, that's when I saw it. A tiny patch of about six leaves that had turned yellow! They were glowing in the sunlight like a spotlight, way up in one of the taller trees. Feeling victorious in my pursuit, I went back by the pond and saw an entire tree that was turning. ...

Living in the country, you never know what you're going to find on your doorstep in the morning. We have wildlife of all kinds, and I often feel like a Disney princess with all the creatures roaming free on the Carrell Wildlife Preserve. And we won't talk about Cooper's first introduction to a toad this week... But this beautiful praying mantis wasn't out in the country. He was going through his morning routine on the downspout outside the back door of my office, in the middle of downtown. Right in the heart of the city was this gorgeous insect, just doing his thing and getting ready for the day. Until I looked it up, I didn't know anything about the praying mantis. Now I'm glad I did because it taught me some fascinating lessons about the bug, my prayer life, and how God's creation is always perfect. * The praying mantis is easily recognizable by its shape - that long body, eyes that rotate 180 degrees, and those spiny legs that look like they're in the...

I am amazed every single day that our Parker is still with us. He has an inoperable tumor on his liver and cysts that continue to grow, causing him to lose an incredible amount of weight. He won't eat kibble from a bowl anymore, but he'll happily eat hand-fed wet food twice a day along with plenty of treats ... and keep 'em comin'! We have no idea how much longer he has, but we're doing our best to make his time as happy as possible. With the loss of Molly a few weeks ago and the addition of our 3-month-old dachshund Cooper, life has been pretty hectic, but there are several adjustments we've made to make Parker comfortable and able to enjoy his home as long as possible. Parker has free roaming privileges in the house; the puppy does not. If Parker wants to get away from him for a while, go to the blankets in the back of the house, or just be separated on the other side of the couch, he's able to do that whenever he wants. Cooper's spaces have a gate and...

As we transition from summer to fall, it's obvious that we need to put together an amazing collection of fall flavors to match the autumn mood. There's no better way to start than with a trail mix for the ages! Here’s a cozy list to help you build the perfect fall-themed trail mix. Autumn flavors are all about warmth, spice, and a little sweetness, making trail mix the ideal snack for hikes, parties, or even curling up with a book. With these ingredients, you can mix and match to create blends that feel like pumpkin patches, crisp leaves, and bonfires in a bowl. Nuts & Seeds Roasted pecans (maple glazed or plain) Honey-roasted peanuts Cinnamon-spiced almonds Candied walnuts Pumpkin seeds (pepitas, roasted & salted) Sunflower seeds Hazelnuts Cashews (salted or spiced) Pistachios Chestnuts (roasted & chopped) Dried Fruits Dried cranberries (craisins) Dried apples (cinnamon-dusted) Dried cherries Golden raisins Regular raisins Dried figs (chopped) Dried apricots (spice...

August was a busy, stressful month at work, and it was so nice to come home and just read. And read a variety of genres, authors, and topics. Books have always been my detox and relaxation, and they definitely did the trick the past few weeks. Here's what I read: God is My CEO by Larry Julian. I always have some kind of business book going at work, but I don't always have a lot of time to get through it. This was the only one I kept at this office in August, but it was a good one with lots of interesting stories of Christian leaders in the business world.  The Gospel in Isaiah by Gilbert L. Guffin and Lessons on Living from Isaiah by Woodrow Kroll. There are so many things I don't know and don't always understand in the Old Testament books of the prophets. So when I got to Isaiah in my through the Bible in a year reading plan, it was time to pull out some study books from my library and learn something new. Lessons is a 31-day devotional and a very interesting read on s...