Last week I introduced a dream of mine in this post about how I would like to start a fitness group of some sort where I can encourage moms to set an exercise goal of and motivate them along way until they reach achievement. I was blown away by the kind words of encouragement and excitetment I received through your comments and some texts (thanks Dad!). You all sure do know how to make a girl feel good! Thank you! I am very excited to see what will come out of me actually saying my dream aloud. Still a bit nervous yes but that keeps me humbled and reminds me that this dream is from God and not my own. I know anything that will come out of it will be His doing and me following in obedience. So let’s GO!

As I also mentioned I am not alone in this whole dreaming big thing. I have 99 new friends that are doing the same thing through Holley Gerth’s God-sized Dream Team. This week’s assignment is to share one step we took towards our dream. I am thrilled to share I have an exciting opportunity that pretty much fell into my lap after sharing my dream last week. My friend and fellow God-sized dreamer, Stacey Thacker commented on my post and said she had an idea for me that she thinks would fit my dream. Well that she did! Along with many other amazing things Stacey has going on right now (like this amazing book you have to read which she co-authored) she happens to be the (in)courage group coordinator. (in)courage has developed community groups based on stage of life, interests and other connectors where you can build deep, meaningful friendship beyond comments on blog posts. For the first time they are starting a fitness community group and I was asked to co-lead the group! So yes, I can officially say I am an (in)courager! The session will begin February 12 and run through April 28. I will have a co-leader and we are working on exactly what this group will look like. But you can be assured that you will meet other women who, like you want to make fitness a priority. And you can be sure I will be SO excited to help you move one step closer in achieving your fitness goals. If you would like more information about joining this group or any of the (in)courage community groups go HERE.

There it is. I took the plunge to say aloud what I have been thinking for so long and once I did an opportunity gets plopped in my lap. Maybe this dreaming thing isn’t so bad after all! Did you take a step, even the tiniest one towards your God-sized dream? Tell me! I want to hear all about it!

Today I am so excited to share you an amazing story and opportunity that YOU can be a part of! My friends Katie and Lara wrote a book last year on how to have effective quiet times. I bought and it’s amazing! From the start they have committed to giving away a portion of their proceeds. They also set a crazy goal to go along with it! Guess what?!? They have almost reached their goal. Read Katie’ story below and see how you can help them cross the finish line!
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It has been a year since Lara Williams and I first launched Savoring Living Water: How to Have an Effective Quiet Time. I thought we might sell a hundred or so copies of our little e-book. Yet here we are—thousands of copies later—with the book in print and a leader’s guide right around the corner.

God has chosen to use our little e-book in a big way to help end Bible Poverty. We set a crazy big goal last year to bring 104 verses to the Vidunda people, through OneVerse, a Wycliff Bible Translators affiliate.

Today, we stand with only 16 verses left.

Sixteen!

To celebrate all the Lord has done, and to reach our goal near our one-year mark, we are going to give ALL PROFITS to OneVerse for every sale of the e-version sold today, and we would love for Y-O-U to be a part of the work God is doing in the lives of the Vidunda people!

Every PDF, Nook, and Kindle version sold on Thursday, October 4th will bring $5 to the Vidunda people.

If you already have a copy, will you consider gifting a copy, or donating directly to the Savoring Living Water OneVerse project. Any gift amount is welcome!

Thank you for helping us bring God’s Word to the nations!

are the Barelas?

Well that’s a great question considering I’ve left my blog kinda hanging these days. Well you see, it’s summer and I have 3 kiddos to entertain all day. And then we have family we get to visit, road trips to make, friends to celebrate the 4th with and more family that drove all the way across the country to stay with us for a whole week. All of this was great, wonderful and tiring and we are left with hearts full of thankfulness and love. In the midst of all that awesomeness (that’s my new word these days, don’t say I didn’t warn you) we’ve been swimming, playing baseball and basketball, doing some craftiness around the house which led to some re-decorating and more crafting. You know that cycle. There was a date night on bikes in there with some of our best friends, more fun times with new friends, and lots of quality family time. Bedtimes of gone out the window most nights and the sugar consumption has been high. The affects have not been pretty at times. Hanging. By. A. Thread. I tell you! But it’s summer and we only have 18 summers with our kids so why not?

So you see the blog has not been forgotten really, it was just put to the side for a bit to fully enjoy and embrace what is right in front me. Because I don’t want to miss it! Summer is running away from us people. We have 4 weeks left. I love capturing how life is happening around me into words. What I’m learning, what I’m doing and all the little things in between. But I haven’t figured out how to make blogging fit nicely into the schedule where everyone is happy. It’s a balancing act that has yet to be figured out. The allusion of perfect balance in all areas of life is just that…an allusion. For me, I gotta go with my gut and write when my heart and schedule are open. It’s tricky yes. But when it works, it’s pure awesomeness.

Told ya I liked that word:)

Happy Monday friends!

1. First! Our girls aged ATLEAST 5 years this week. And it all happened in a matter of minutes on one day. The day they got their hair cut. This has been a topic of discussion for awhile now. We even tried one time and left in tears and screams (them not me). It was a for sure no go that day. But soon they started talking about it again, then their friend got hers’ cut. The last straw has been the painful attempts of trying to comb “pool hair” out almost everyday. It was a battle of the wills between them and me and most times they won.  The result has been a matted dreadlock mess. Thankful for perfect timing, I have a new friend that is an amazing hairdresser. The girls love her and the appointment went super smooth. Ahhhh. Sigh. Of. Relief. Although I did get a lump in my throat when I looked at the mounds of hair on the floor! I could have made a blanket! Not to mention my babies now look 10 years old.

2. This week I linked up with an amazing group of writers at Write It, Girl! I’ve joined them before and each time I am so encouraged by the comments I receive by other writers and by reading so many others good blogs! If you get a chance you should stop by. Read some great posts and comment if you’d like. I know they would appreciate your thoughts and words.

3. This week I found a little time and a little inspiration to get crafty. I completed this project I saw in pinterest forever ago. I’m planning on re-doing our living room. Time for change. Never really loved it in the first place. I’m hoping this little guy will find a place somewhere in our living room. I just painted a square board grey and then cut out leaves from scraps of fabric and modge podged those puppies right on. Easy peasey.

4. Next I want to make these for our kitchen. The towels we use now are seriously embarrassing. So stinky, stained and ugly. But when you clean up 189 spills a day that’s what you get. So I hesitate to get or make new ones when that is my reality. Still, I want something pretty. I’m thinking something like these would look lovely. And I just won’t let anyone touch them!

5. Next the kids and I are heading to my parents house for a week. I’m looking forward to help from the grandparents, lot of cousins time for the kids, a local festival that I’ve gone to forever, a visit to my grandparents cottage in the PA mountains and hanging out with lots of friends and family. Oh! I can’t wait!!!

Happy weekend friends!

I have a blog. So does that make me a writer?

I have asked myself this question from time to time. Other blogs I have read say so, but it is hard for me to say yes confidently. I’m not sure why. Maybe because I am not that confident in my writing. My blog is really just me opening my heart a little bit. It’s a place where I share our little piece of the world.

But does that make me a writer?

Well I don’t know. But I am hoping to explore this question and grow in my writing through a series that started yesterday called 31 Days to Become a Better Writer. It is hosted by Allume.

So whether you have a blog or not. Whether you consider yourself a writer or not. Or still trying to figure it out like me. Won’t you join me in following along with this series? I think we might learn a thing or two!