Love and Respect

Posted on February 13, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

The funny thing about respect is, as women, if we don’t feel loved, we don’t give respect. This creates a vicious cycle of selfishness in your marriage. She doesn’t show me respect, so I won’t show her love. He doesn’t show me love, so he doesn’t deserve my respect. That’s where we are wrong! The Bible doesn’t say, WHEN your husband outwardly shows you love, then you should respect him. No, it’s a command with no fine print added.

Do you want to feel love from your husband? Do you want attention? Then try something for me stop nagging, questioning, and criticizing everything your spouse does. But Bethany, I’ve been doing that for years and nothing has changed. Friend, it will never change doing things your way. Stay committed in your prayers and let God’s light be a witness to your husband by your words and actions of respect. It’s not the easy way, but it’s God’s way, the right way.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, take time to evaluate yourself. Don’t worry about what your husband is or isn’t doing, rather, ask God to help you be the wife He has created you to be.

Simply Portraits

Posted on February 3, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

Happy Pl

Posted on January 29, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

My heart smiles as I watch them run and play. In these moments I feel alive and peace rains down! No screaming, no attitudes, no tattle telling, just giggles and hair blowing in the wind. I store this picture in my heart, then when chaos erupts, I close my eyes and visualize our happy place.

The funny thing about this “happy place” is, the lack of growth. We rarely grow in times of peace, but rather in times of struggles. Friend, don’t rush to always be at your “happy place”, learn to grow and thrive in the chaos. Accept the chiseling, the chipping away of bad, that God is performing on your life and make a choice to persevere. It took over 15 years for Leonardo da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa and he wasn’t even working with her heart or soul. We are God’s masterpiece, a continually work in progress, and the fire is what releases the impurities of our heart. When you feel the heat today, take a moment to exhale and know He’s creating His Mona Lisa or Sally Sue or Maria Gonzales (you get the point) in you.

Whidden Family Photo Session

Posted on January 23, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

Sharing a few pictures of the lovely Whidden Family ‘s Photo Session.

Throw It Away

Posted on January 22, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

A youth leader once told me, many years ago, “tell me what your room looks like and I can tell you how your spiritual life is.” You have to know she was talking to a group of high school students, we all know high school students aren’t the cleanest bunch, but I personally think this can be true for adults too.

We have an abundance of “stuff” in our house, to the point it’s hard for us to focus and to manage our daily activities efficiently. I would love to purge our entire house in a day’s time, but that’s not possible. So, today we started with the school, gathering bags, and bags of trash (three little girls equals lots of random art work, did I say LOTS). We also, bagged items to give away. I dusted the fan, blinds, desks and the air vent. Taking this time to invest in our house and get things in order, brings clarity and productivity back into our home. The room looks amazing and my spirit is beaming inside.

Don’t allow that overwhelming feeling, like where do I even start, come over you as you look around your house. Take one room at a time, a day or even a week at a time.

The same goes for your spiritual walk. We allow “distractions” to sit on the shelves of our heart and negative thoughts to take over our minds, like dust and cobwebs, making everything filthy. It’s time to clean house, spiritually. We must spend time with God, purging the “stuff” of worthlessness out of our heart and mind. You know what I’m talking about…anything that speaks against God’s word…
I can’t forgive…THROW IT OUT!
I’m not good enough…THROW IT OUT!
My marriage will never change…THROW IT OUT!
I’ll never find a job…THROW IT OUT!

What are you waiting for, it’s time to clean house literally and spiritually.

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
~Phil. 4:13

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
~Romans 8:37

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”
~1 Corn. 6:19

Praise His Good

Posted on January 18, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

Have you ever done something because someone nagged you about it? And if you did it, did you do it to get them off your back, to basically quiet them? Lastly, how was your attitude when you preformed the job?

I think it’s safe to say, most people are not wired to preform jobs pleasantly when nagged. Okay, Bethany, where are you going with this?

Today I say, drop the nagging, and praise his good. So what if he doesn’t take out the trash or do the dishes. Is it a real big deal that he doesn’t pick up his clothes off the floor? None of these things warrant putting a wedge between you and your spouse from nagging about it. Instead think, does he work to pay bills? Does he listen to you when you talk? I don’t know what your husband does that’s good, but praise it.

One of my favorite things about my husband is he is a non-nagger about the house. With homeschooling, three kids and chasing a extremely active two year old, an immaculate house is not a top priority. Random toys do lay around and crumbs consistently visit our floor, but my husband rarely ever says anything, which makes me want to work even harder to keep the house clean.

Prayer:
God I pray you help each of us to see the good in our husband and remind us to encourage these deeds. Give us the strength to refrain our mouth from nagging. Give us a clear perspective on the things that truly matter in our marriage. Thank you now for the man you have given us to lead our family. I pray you anoint our husband, give him wisdom, guide his steps, and guard his heart and mind.

In Jesus Name Amen

Microwave Results

Posted on January 16, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

You’re halfway through the month, which means you’ve been working out for two weeks. This is around the time you want to see microwave results. You know, the kind of results that are instant. As much as I would like my gym to go back to normal, I also want to see you succeed! Fitness doesn’t happen over night or even in two weeks. Now is not the time to start slacking.

Prove others wrong, keep going, make this fitness thing more than a new year’s resolution…make it a lasting commitment to a better you.

Your body is a temple, honor God by taking care of it.

Curriculum vs Relationship

Posted on January 15, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

It was another day of begging, pleading, crying, and blood boiling. ENOUGH!

It had been six months, my daughter and I were getting no where and our relationship was growing apart. Hello, I’m the teacher, I can change the curriculum at any time. What was I waiting for. Well, today was the last straw. With tears rolling down her sweet face, I told her to grab the book. I pulled up the school blinds, unlocked the window and unsnapped the screen…I then said, “throw it!” She hesitated, “what?”
“Throw the book out the window. I’ve had enough of this curriculum.” Her demeanor instantly changed. Smiles and laughter filled our class room again!

My best advice I could ever give you for homeschooling would be this, no curriculum is worth your relationship between you and your child.

If you were wondering, she threw the book and we are all happier because of it!

Mocha Frappuccino Goodness

Posted on December 11, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

ESPRESSO MOCHA FRAPPUCCINO
(Starbucks homemade Frappé)

– 1½ cups crushed iced
– 2 oz. shot of espresso cooled
– ¾ cup milk
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1½ tbsp Chocolate Syrup
*optional whipped cream and topped with MORE CHOCOLATE SYRUP 🙂

*Blend all the ingredients (except the whipped cream) 30-45 seconds.
(I prefer to drink it with a straw.)

Get PAID to Shop!

Posted on December 1, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

Being a mom to four young kids, can have its challenges when shopping… until I found Ebates. For the past three years now, I log onto Ebates, if I already know what I want to purchase, select the store of choice, then shop away ONLINE.

This site is extremely helpful around the holidays (cyber Monday) and birthdays! Ebates won’t only give you cash back for buying items you were already going to purchase, they provide discount codes and free shipping promos.

I have collected over $800 dollars back from Ebates!!! This is not a scam, it really does work! If you haven’t tried it yet, click here to start getting paid to shop ONLINE!