Roomag.com Giveaway!

I'm so excited!  I just joined Twitter (ChristianMom003) a few days ago and came across Candace Cameron Bure there.  I checked out her website, watched her testimony, and today came across this awesome website by her!  Check it out! 

The do a much better job of explaining what this site is about, and why, so I'm just going to copy their info.  I've linked the site above, so please, check it out!

Why the name Roo?

Roo – As in Kangaroo
There are two words synonymous with Kangaroo : strength and femininity. Strength, because a kangaroo is known as a boxer. She’s tough, ready to fight the battle and prepared at all times by her God given attributes. Femininity, because she carries her baby (joey) snuggled in her front pouch for up to 18 months. She goes to any length to love, nurture and protect her child. Roo Magazine is a reflection of the picture the kangaroo gives us. A reflection of the woman who embraces and lives out her strength and her femininity with strong power and beautiful grace.

Who we are

We believe that traditional values are not necessarily old-fashioned values. We believe that modern women want traditional values.
Traditional values are one thing, but they aren’t our ultimate goal as parents. They are of great value, but unless they are backed by a strong conviction they are nothing but traditions and choice. Values are a means of growth, but the fruit we produce as a result of them depend on the beliefs that are backing those values.

• We believe in radiant health, which includes a healthy diet and regular exercise.
• We believe that women are enthralled with beauty and fashion, and that shopping is the female equivalent to hunting down moose.
• We believe that children grow when they are nourished with love, direction, and discipline and that compassionate discipline is firm at times.
• We believe that embracing these roles brings ultimate empowerment to our femininity.
• We believe that the mother of George Washington and wife of Martin Luther King have had more influence and impact on modern society that any corporate CEO.
• We believe that wives were created to be helpers to their husbands, building them up to become strong leaders in their homes.

What we do

We believe that if united with the purpose to support encourage and trade secrets with each other, that together we can be one of the most powerful influences on the future of our world

Why it Matters to Us

The extreme feminist mindset is a minority in our society, and although pop culture tends to portray it as the norm–real women believe differently.
Modern women in the trenches of motherhood can feel isolated at times, and want a watering hole where they can gather with like-minded women. They need support that empowers them to optimally function. They seek to find fulfillment and purpose in who they are.


As you can see, this is a great site for Christian Moms who see that the world needs a change, especially among Mothers.  Plus, they are having great giveaways this week!  Starting today February 13, and ending the 19th, visit www.roomag.com (or click here for the giveaway page) to enter for a chance to win.  5 winners will receive a copy of Candace's book Reshaping It All, plus a CD copy of her testimony.  Winners will be announced February 22.  There a 6 ways to enter, so head over there and get started!

Have an AWESOME day, know that God is in control!
~Heather~

30 Days of Thankful -- Day 8

Week 2 already!  Are you finding it difficult to take the time to write out your thankfulness list each day?  I’ve tried to sit down in the morning and do it after I take the kids to school…it worked pretty well until the weekend.  On Saturday and Sunday, all bets are off….for everything!  Between church, family visits, cleaning and keeping the kids busy, I usually don’t have a minute to myself until the kids go to bed.  But I have to be flexible because they are only going to be little once.  If I don’t write it out until night, that’s OK.  It doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it at all that day – in fact, I usually know exactly what my 4 answers will be because I’ve been thinking about them all day.

Have a blessed day in Jesus,

~Heather~

1.     Personal

Honestly, I still struggle with this category.  I still feel like people reading this will think I’m bragging.  It’s something I need to work through. 

Today I am thankful that I can read.  You know the bumper stickers, “if you can read this, thank a teacher”?  I think of that, because reading is a precious gift.  I love to read; I always have.  In fact, I can remember my parents getting so mad at dinnertime because they would call and call for me, but I was so engrossed in a book I didn’t hear them.  I’d try to read at the dinner table, which didn’t usually work J  I can finish a 400 page book in 1 day.  I just love to read.  I’m thankful for that ability.

2.     Work/School (wherever you spend the majority of your day)

I’m tempted to say I’m thankful for my warm house again, because it’s so cold here today.  It isn’t that it’s so cold, it’s 26 degrees, but we’ve had such a mild winter this is a rough adjustment!  However, I’ll try to be more creative than that! 

I have a cold, so today I’m thankful that I don’t have to leave my house (except to pick up Evan this afternoon.  That gives me plenty of time to rest and prepare for the bible study I lead Monday evenings.

3.     Church

Today is Monday, the day of the ladies Bible study I’m involved in.  I’m so thankful for the study, as well as the group of women from the church who also attend.  They are awesome ladies!  We laugh and talk, but we also have an earnest desire to see God’s best in our lives.  I love them all!

4.     Family

I am thankful for my sister Kristin.  Kristin teaches Kindergarten, and I’ve never seen a better teacher!  She is truly doing what God called her to do.  She’s married with a little boy, so I know it’s hard for her to go to work each day.  But she’s a great teacher and an especially great Mom.  I’m so blessed to have her as a sister.  She has a great heart!

30 Days of Thankful -- Day 7

The end of our first week!  I’m so excited!  What are some things God is teaching you through this exercise?  I’m learning that it really takes a concentrated effort to be thankful.  It’s so easy to slip back into the old habit of being discouraged when things go wrong.  I think Thursday was finally my breakthrough day.  I was worrying about the outcome of a specific situation, when God brought an old song to my mind.  It was Jehovah Jireh.  I was trying to focus on my blessings when this song came to mind and I was struck that God is MY provider.  These blessings I’m thankful for are God’s way of providing for me.  He has supplied me with everything I have.  Not that I really spent a lot of time analyzing it before, but I guess I always thought of God providing for me in terms of providing family, or shelter or food – necessities.  But God provided my hair, my husband, my church family, my kids – all the things I am thankful for.  It’s certainly eye-opening when you look at it this way. 

I just want to leave you with an encouragement.  When we are open, and really focusing on living as God wants, that includes being thankful in all circumstances, that is when God can really mold and change us.  I pray that you find yourself being changed

In Him,

~Heather~

1.     Personal

I’m thankful I can sing.  I am NOT a singer, I don’t have a good voice.  I am capable of singing.  And I was so thankful for that voice this morning during worship at church.  There are others ways to worship God, but this morning during worship was such a personal time for me to sing the words on the screen directly to my Heavenly Father.

2.     Work/School (wherever you spend the majority of your day)

I am thankful for my stove/oven.  If you know me, I am always complaining about how I need a new one.  I think one of the burners isn’t working right, and it doesn’t match the rest of my appliances.  But really, what would I do without it?  What did people do before stoves?  I would not want to live like that.  Plus, a new stove would probably cost around $800 or so, and I am thankful to not have to spend that kind of money on one right now.  3 little kids are expensive!

3.     Church

I’m thankful for my worship Pastor and his leading by the Holy Spirit.  Worship was amazing today….there is just something about the old hymns and choruses.

4.     Family

I am thankful for my sister Jessica.  See is a wonderful sister and friend.  I can always count on her to tell me the true, in a nice way.  She will do anything for anybody.  She really has a great heart, and really loves God.  She has a weight loss blog called, Pudget: Losing Weight on a Budget. It’s a really great site with amazing low fat recipes and ideas.  She is also married, with 2 girls, and she works full-time.  I’m mostly thankful because she doesn’t get mad when I call her when she’s at work J

30 Days of Thankful -- Day 6

I bet you thought I forgot!  Nope, today has just been crazy!  I haven’t had 2 seconds to sit down and post this.  We have my parents, sisters and their husbands and our nieces and nephew over for dinner to celebrate my Dad’s birthday.  I made 4 homemade Stromboli, veggie pizza, mondoo (Korean egg rolls) and a cream cheese and basil bruscetta.   It was amazing, but man am I tired!

I pray you had a great day in Him

~Heather~

1.     Personal

I’m thankful I have thick hair.  It’s falling out like crazy since Alexa was born.  It’s really been bugging me lately since there is so much in the drain each morning, but I’ve decided to see it 2 ways.

a.     I’m not going to go bald because my hair is so crazy think.

b.     I don’t have to pay to have it thinned at the hair dresser.

2.     Work/School (wherever you spend the majority of your day)

I’m thankful for the ability to have my family over to my house to celebrate birthdays, holidays or just to hang out!  We’ve had to set up a kids table in the living room, and we may get cramped sometimes, but we always have a good time!

3.     Church

I’m thankful for all the kids I teach in Children’s Church.  It’s so amazing to see how much they change and grow each year.  I love them all!

4.     Family

My daughter, Allyson, is my sunshine.  She tends to drive me crazy but you will not find another fun, creative, imaginative little girl anywhere.  For example, today she referred to herself in the 3^rd person all day long.  There are days when she won’t answer me unless I call her princess __________ (insert princess name here.)  She is obsessed with mermaids….today our kitchen floor was the ocean and she had to ‘dive’ into it to find something; thank goodness I’d just mopped the floor!  She also loves fairies, but today her wing was broken so she couldn’t fly.  Her favorite game is ‘Let’s Pretend.”  Never heard of it?  It goes like this:

a.     “Mommy, let’s pretend this is  my make-up.”

b.     “Mommy, let’s pretend you’re the baby and I’m the Mommy.”

c.      “Mommy, let’s pretend that I can drive the car.”

d.     “Mommy, let’s pretend Alexa is my baby.”

You get the picture.  I love this little girl so much.  She keeps me on my toes, that’s for sure!

30 Days of Thankful -- Day 5

Yesterday was such a great day!  Some tense things were happening, but I knew that God was in control, and when I would waiver, or lose sight of that truth, I came back to my thankfulness list.  Sometimes (most times) it takes a conscious decision to be thankful, but I can tell you from experience, it is so worth it.  I am so glad to be on this journey, and I am so glad to have you to share it with.

Have a great day in Him

~Heather~

1.     Personal

I am thankful that God gave me a creative spirit.  I’m not the most creative person in the world, or even my family…my sisters have me beat by a landslide, but I’ve been known to have my fair share of creative ideas.  I enjoy being creative; I enjoy looking at things other people have done and making them my own.  I look at things and picture how they could look.  Seeing things how they COULD look, instead of how they DO look is a wonderful ability.  That’s how we should see others.  I foster that ability whenever I am creative.

2.     Work/School (wherever you spend the majority of your day)

I was thankful for my super warm, comfy bed this morning.  (Even though there were 4 of us crammed into it since my kids come in to snuggle with us in the mornings before we have to get up for school.)  One day soon, that bed is going to seem empty when my kids find themselves too old to snuggle with Mom and Dad.  I’m trying to cherish these moments.

3.     Church

Today I am thankful for the Associate Pastor at our church.  He allows himself to be moved by the Holy Spirit, and follows It’s lead, even when it takes him out of his comfort zone.  Miraculous things happen when we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.

4.     Family

I am so thankful for my son, Evan, today.  He is hysterical, and I don’t know what I’d do without him.  Yesterday was chapel day at his school, and the speaker was our pastor.  When our pastor came into the room, Evan stood up and yelled, “Hey, that’s Pastor Nathan!  He’s my Pastor!”  Well, that made everyone’s day, especially Pastor Nathan’s.  In fact, when the older kids came into the room, the head of school introduced him as Evan’s pastor.  I love all of my kids, and there is something special about each one of them.  Evan is kind-hearted, sweet, very literal, and smart and is so excited about everything!  He’s very dramatic and I thank God for him every day!

30 Days of Thankful -- Day 4

"Give thanks to the God of gods.  His love endures forever."

Psalm 136:2

So how are you doing being thankful?  This has been a pretty eye opening experience for me so far.  I find that God is reminding me, convicting me, in the areas where I’m not as thankful.  Which leads to my next question.  Are there any categories that are easier, or more difficult, to fill out?  I’ll be honest, I find the first category, Personal, to be the most difficult one to fill out each day.  Don’t get me wrong, I am as selfish as the next person.  I am ashamed to admit it, but most times, my first thought is, “how is this going to affect me?”  But I’m learning that maybe I’m having a hard time, because this is an area in my life where I’m not as thankful.  I tried to make the excuse that I have poor self-esteem.  Then I tried to convince myself that I’m just humble.  But the truth is, I’m just not recognizing the fact that the way God made me (my personality traits and quirks) CAN be a blessing….if I allow it.  God made me just the way He wanted, but most times I find myself complaining because I’m too tall, or too fat, or not smart enough, or not organized, or an introvert.  I think maybe God is trying to make me understand that He created me to glorify Him, so I need to thank Him for giving me qualitites that I can use to glorfiy Him.  Then I need to find away to use these personal qualities to do just that.  

1.     Personal

I have a great sense of humor!  I love to make people laugh.  I’m not afraid to be silly, but I do need to be careful, because I do use humor as a defense mechanism, or to turn the focus of a situation away from myself.  I have also been known to incorporate quite a bit of sarcasm into my humor, which can lead to problems too.  But overall, I am thankful that God has given me the ability to make people laugh.

2.     Work/School (wherever you spend the majority of your day)

I’m thankful for the windows in my house this morning.  We got snow last night, and as I type, I can look out my dining room window and see the snow covering the trees and shrubs.  It’s so beautiful.  In the fall, I can look out another window to see the leaves changing colors in the mountains.  I can watch my kids play in the backyard from my kitchen window.  I can even use one of my windows to see who is at the door without them seeing me.  I’m finding myself a little self-conscious about this answer, but at this moment, it’s the truth.  I’m thankful for the windows that let me see the outside world, but say warm and protected inside my house.

3.     Church

Today I am thankful for my church friends.  You know who you are.  And I cherish each one of you.  I know that you accept me for who I am, quirks and all, and my life would not be the same without you.

4.     Family

I just need to say Happy Birthday to the world’s greatest Dad!  Today is my Dad’s birthday and it’s all about him.  For the second time this week, I’m thankful for my Dad.  Without him, I wouldn’t have been born!  But seriously, he’s a super guy.  He coached my softball team, taught me how to pitch, tried to teach me how to drive (no, I am not going to elaborate.  Lol), walked me down the aisle at my wedding and has always been supportive of my decisions.  And I love the fact that he was the first person to meet my Alexa (the baby) after she was born.  He was already at the hospital for an appointment – what great timing!  I’m planning a special birthday dinner for him on Saturday night.  I hope he likes what I’m planning. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

~Heather~

30 Days of Thankful -- Day 3

30 Days of Thankful

Day 3 already!  I hope you are as encouraged as I am.  Yesterday, I began to feel sorry for myself, worrying about a situation out of my control.  God reminded me of my goal of being thankful in all circumstances.  And once I started thanking God for the items on my list, reminding myself that God blessed me with them, I felt peace that I could indeed trust Him with the circumstance that was causing me to worry.  And the most amazing thing:  God is now moving in that situation!!  I won't give specifics, just be assured that this is a situation that can only be resolved with God's intervention....and that's what He is doing!  I am so blessed, excited, awed and encouraged!

Here goes day 3!

1. Personal

I am thankful for my education.  I have dual degrees in English and Secondary Education.  I taught for a couple years in North Carolina after I got married, but since having children, I have chosen to stay at home with them.  My only son, my oldest child, is almost 6 and in Kindergarten; my oldest daughter is 4 and in pre-school; my youngest, the baby, is 10 months old.  Lately I've been giving some thought to going back to work, but I struggle with the idea of not being there for my kids.  I don't have to go back to work, I just sometimes miss adult interaction.  Then yesterday, while speaking to my son's teacher, I mentioned that I used to be a teacher and she got so excited!  She wanted to know when, or if, I'd be interested in subbing at the Christian school my kids attend.  Truthfully, I'd never thought of it.  But now I am because I could choose how many days a week I would work, and because the school is K-12, plus they also have a preschool/daycare on site, I would have a place for my kids.  A place I know, love and trust!  I'm going to keep praying about it, but I'm thankful for my education that gives me these kinds of options.

2. Work/School (wherever you spend the majority of your day)

Today is cold here in North Central PA, so I am thankful for the warmth of my house!  My husband reminded me to wear my coat this morning, but me, being stubborn, insisted that I didn't need it.  Let me tell you, I was so glad to get back in my car after dropping the kids off at school!  I was even more glad to get back into my nice, warm house!

3. Church

I'm thankful that God put Children's Ministry in my heart around 18 months ago.  In 2010, I became a co-leader of this ministry at our church.  I've been so blessed since that time!  It's hard work, and I do miss a lot of services, but seeing the kids in the church growing spiritually and knowing that they are learning more about what following Christ looks like make all the hard work and sacrifices worth it.  I never saw myself in children's ministry....ever.  I did it once, a long time ago, and I got burned out.  But God gave me a love for these kids.  I can't even begin to describe it; all I can say is I feel like these are my kids, and it's my privilege to be one of their teachers.

4. Family
My baby is sick today.  She's running at 102+ fever.  Plus she has a very stuffy nose and major congestion.  I feel so bad for her.  Today, I am thankful for her, my Miss Alexa Kim.  I never thought I'd have a 3rd baby, especially after suffering a miscarriage a year before.  It wasn't that I didn't want another baby, I was just scared.  What if it happened again?  I also get really sick during my pregnancies, and I was worried about taking care of Evan and Ally.  So we had decided that we were happy with 2 kids.  But God had other plans...thank goodness!  I was so surprised when I found out I was pregnant again.  And I was terrified!  I didn't want to spend my entire pregnancy a nervous wreck.  But God was gracious, and really took away my fears.  And He blessed me with the most amazing, beautiful, smart, funny baby I could have imagined.  She's my miracle baby!

Pictures of my miracle baby!

Have a great day!  And remember, God loves you so much!  Choose Him today!