All posts tagged inspire

Liebster Award

wpid-liebsteraward I know, don’t faint or anything, but I was nominated for the Liebster Award! The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. To imagine little sweet little ol’ me, is any of those things is encouraging, and I want to thank Jodie Lea for that! Thank You Jodie, for not only thinking about me, but passing the award on to my blog. Be sure to click her name, and check out her blog!

Upon receiving the nomination, you are required to do the following:

a. Tell 11 things about yourself

b. Answer 11 questions asked by the nominating blogger

c. Nominate 11 new bloggers

d. Ask 11 questions to the bloggers you nominated

e. Inform the bloggers you choose

11 Things About Me, That You May or May Not Know

1. I was a band geek. I played clarinet for 6 years, and even concert band.
2. I began my “job” as a Stay-At-Home-Mom before I was even a Mom.
3. I am well on my way to my Third Trimester in my pregnancy.
4. My ironing skills consist of throwing the clothes back in the dryer on “wrinkle free”
5. I do not own an Iphone, maybe one day.
6. My favorite TV shows right now are: Ax Men, Swamp People, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice
7. Trying to take at least 1 friend/family out for lunch a week.
8. My appendix and Gallbladder are both removed within 2 years of each other, on New Year’s Eve.
9. Learned how to do “The Wobble” 6 months pregnant, and still do it!
10. Dishes are my most hated chore. (Doesn’t help that we don’t have a dishwasher)
11. I love reading

11 Questions from Jodie aka Not Pretending (to be sane)

As a kid (or older) when you pretended to be someone else, who were you and why did you want to be them?
I don’t ever remember pretending to be like anyone. I was an only child, so I had my imagination with stuffed animals.
Have you had your “15-minutes of fame” yet? How did it happen? (If it hasn’t happened, how would you like it to happen?)
I try to stay out of the “Spot Light”
If you could change one thing about your personality – what would it be and why?
To not let others use me. I think it is one of my biggest things that I am trying to “change”
What was the last novel you read? Would you recommend it?
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
Who was/is your favorite teacher, and why?
My favorite teacher was Coach Kribbs, he was my History teacher. I think the reason why he was my favorite is because he helped me with my Graduation Exam, he took the time to sit down with me and make sure I passed the history part of it, and I will always be grateful for that.
Besides writing, tell us about one of your other talents.
I like to craft. I just started back sewing. I also like re-doing furniture. You can see those under “projects” in my categories.
Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?
I wasn’t even thought of it, and my Mom wasn’t either.
You wrote a novel about your life growing up, and now Hollywood is making a movie based on that novel. Which actor/actress would you want to play you, and why?
I have no clue, but they would have to be pretty spacey and random to play a part of me 😉
What was your favorite TV show when you were in grade school? What about now?
Friends! Oh, I miss that show, I even catch reruns sometimes, and I will eventually own all the seasons.
Swamp People has to be one of my Favorites now.
What are your top 3 pet peeves?
Top Pet Peeves
Do you like your first name? If not, what would you change it to?
I would never change it, I love my name.

My 11 Nominees Are:

My 11 Questions for my Nominees

Why did you start blogging?
Favorite quote?
What is one of your quirky habits?
What would be your realistic dream home?
What are the three most important things in your life? List them off without thinking!
Who inspires you?
Have you ever Googled yourself?
Your favorite post on your own blog?
Your favorite post on another blog?
Kindle or real book?
What are you looking forward to the most in 2013?

7 Comments

by We're Jumpin' on January 18, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Awards

Tagged 2013, fun, games, idea, inspire, Liebster, Liebster Award, memories, Swamp People, thoughts

Posted by We're Jumpin' on January 18, 2013

https://werejumpin.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/liebster-award/

Spirit of Winter

This is part of Free Write Friday Prompt
In the spirit of Winter… Use one or more of the words to inspire your pen…
Winter berries, candles, ice crystals, snow flakes, seasonal, winter, holidays, Christmas, family, eating, religion, Santa Claus, reindeer, blizzard, snowstorm, peppermint, hot chocolate, gloves, scarf, boots, fireplace.

dog-candle-fireplace-fir-tree-room-wreath-christmas-new-year-christmas-fireplace-holidays-420x262

Winter holidays are approaching, the family is preparing for the best Christmas meal. Their gloves, scarf’s, boots, and wet clothes are in front of the fireplace decorated for the seasonal holidays. The candles are flickering, winter berries scattered around, the windows are forming ice crystals, and snow flakes falling as the blizzard sets in. The family starts eating as the little ones sits out the Hot Chocolate, peppermint, and tea they begin to tell stories of the real reason for Christmas, regardless of religion or other beliefs. Christmas is about Jesus, not Santa Claus or reindeer. They talk about the blizzard and the last snowstorm that roared in.

2 Comments

by We're Jumpin' on December 5, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Blog Hops, Free Write Friday

Tagged Blog Hop, Christianity, Family, inspire, Writing

Posted by We're Jumpin' on December 5, 2012

https://werejumpin.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/spirit-of-winter/

Christmas the Art of Giving

St. Nicholas – modern-day Santa Claus

Nicholas lived during the third and fourth centuries in a small village now known as Turkey. He grew up in a wealthy family. but both parents died in an epidemic when he was young. Nicholas’ deep faith led him to take Jesus’ word to heart. He set out to sell what he owned and to give the money to the poor. Nicholas spent the rest of his life-giving his fortune away. He cared for widows, orphans, the sick, suffering, sailors, and children. His life work was giving.

it is amazing we can celebrate Christmas with such love not only for the birth of Jesus, but yet to bring toys for kids to also show compassion for Nicholas – showing his Faith and wisdom.

Christmas is a spiritual season – the perfect gift given already – the Son of God. One of the best things about Christmas is the generosity we ca offer to celebrate by spending time with our family, our friends, and the Son of God.

A lot of time we get caught up into buying presents that we forget the true meaning of Christmas.

I remember not only the gifts during Christmas, but reading the story from the Bible. We would take turns every year, it would be another kid/another grandchild. My Grandpa would wait till we finished reading the story to break down the true meaning of us gathering near the tree. After we would have the discussion the kids got to pass out the presents in celebration of Jesus’ life.

Those are the moments I will never forget, and now I can pass down the tradition to my kid/kids.

As the time comes closer to Christmas try to remember the real reason of the celebration. Don’t be too stressed due to money, or wondering how you’re going to visit everyone. Just relax, smile, and be devoted to Him for that’s what the Son of God would want us to do.

7 Comments

by We're Jumpin' on December 1, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Christian, Family, Life

Tagged Christianity, Christmas, inspire, Jesus, memories, Religion and Spirituality, Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus

Posted by We're Jumpin' on December 1, 2012

https://werejumpin.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/christmas-the-art-of-giving/

The Hobbit’s Tree

This is part of Free Write Friday Prompt

Her eyes looking at the opening of the tree, the rounded edges, the dark circle as the opening, the trunk not straight up and down, but swirling of sorts as it went high the sky, the branches long and thick, leaves as big as a sheet of paper. She walks slowly toward the tree, her eyes darting around, pulling in all the light, colors and her ears trapping the sounds. Her feet soft, and cold against the rocks below her, the smell of rain, not close enough to feel the mist, but the humidity was on the rise.
She stopped quickly about the second rock from the entrance, her eyes locking with his, “are you sure about this, how do I know you’re real? Do you live here?”, she asks him, her fingers outlining the bark on the tree. He grabs her hand as he holds her still, with one swift movement he steps one rock closer to the tree, the darkness of the entrance casting a shadow over his shoulder, he says, “For I am the one that lives here, why would I ever lie to you. You are a lot bigger than myself.”
She smirks as she looks down at him: his ears are pointed, his eyes bigger than any normal person, his hands are small, but aged, clothes smelt of mold and slightly hung off his shoulder, his hair danced in front of his face, the shade of an orange sunset. She sighs, “I can trust you?” He pulls her into the darkness of the entrance before he answered.
She tightens the grip of his hand, holding herself still, her eyes adjusting quickly to the light. The room is huge, candles darting up the walls, flames dancing shadows, mirrors scattered throughout, she steps to the side. She notices a piece of furniture with a picture frame sitting on top, picking up the picture she noticed the frame was probably handmade, branches as the trim, some kind of string at the ends, holding it together, wax melted at the corners, her eyes go back to the furniture, it wasn’t quite level, one leg longer than the others, her thumb brushes over the picture as her eyes go back toward the frame. “who is this”, she holds the picture out, but down a bit so he could see. He clears his throat, “Oh, well, that is my brother, he was a normal kid”

He talked about his brother for hours it seemed, his eyes lighting up as he remembered the memories of him. We never talked again after that day, the tree is no longer where I remember it, not even the rocks that led up to the entrance.

4 Comments

by We're Jumpin' on June 15, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Blog Hops, Free Write Friday

Tagged Blog Hop, inspire, Writing

Posted by We're Jumpin' on June 15, 2012

https://werejumpin.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/the-hobbits-tree/

Floating

Walking barefoot to the edge of the rock
Looking down, second guessing
Jumping into the bluest of waters
Face covered with water, arms pulling back to the surface
Floating adrift to the shore
Looking back wanting more
Watching others taking turns
Hearing faint screams as they jump

This piece was written in response to a Free Write Friday prompt

4 Comments

by We're Jumpin' on June 14, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Blog Hops, Free Write Friday

Tagged Blog Hop, FWF, inspire

Posted by We're Jumpin' on June 14, 2012

https://werejumpin.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/floating/

Day 3 – What Drives Your Life

I like to hear other people’s ideas/thoughts. I will do this daily and want to stay focused. Please join in if you want to, but remember to bear with me and to be gentle because I will be posting my own thoughts and my own opinions. I am not here to debate God’s word, or have an argument over His word.

Ecclesiastes 4:4
Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Genesis 4:12
When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.

Psalm 32:1
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.

Job 5:2
For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.

Isaiah 49:4
Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.’

Job 7:6
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.

Job 7:16
I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Ephesians 3:20 – 21²⁰Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Proverbs 13:7
There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Ephesians 5:17
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Philippians 3:13-15
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.

Romans 14:10-12
But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.¹¹For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God. ¹²So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

There is 5 Common Driving Factors
1) Guilt – Live their life burdened by guilt. Guilt controls them, their past controls their future. Spending their life running from regrets and holding on to shame.

2) Resentment/Anger – Hold on to hurt from the past and never let them go. Anger/Resentment controls their life.

3) Fear – They rather play everything safe and always fighting to maintain the fear; traumatic experience, unrealistic expectations, or even illness.

4) Materialism – Bring in more possessions and believe that security can only be found in having more (things).

5) Need For Approval – Need other people’s approval to control their lives. They spend time worrying about what others think of them.

There is 5 main benefits to living a Purpose – Driven Life
1) Knowing My Purpose Gives Meaning To My Life
Without purpose life is meaningless. Meaningless life is a life without hope or significance. God gives purpose. Purpose gives meaning. Meanings gives hope and significance.

2) Knowing My Purpose Simplifies My Life
My purpose becomes the standard I use to determine which activities are important and which are not. If an activity does not further my purpose, even though it should, then it should be removed/ignored. My purpose gives me foundation on which I base my decisions and distribute my time and resources.

3) Knowing My Purpose Focused Life
A determined purpose is focused with my time and energy on what is truly important. Focusing on things that fulfill my purpose will yield results than attempting to focus on things that do not.

4) Knowing My Purpose Motivates My Life
Having a purpose produces passion, with knowing my purpose I will be passionate about achieving it.

5) Knowing My Purpose Prepares Me For Eternity
My life on Earth is nothing more than preparing me for Eternity. The only thing that matters in the end is not whether people remember me after I have left this physical world, but what God says about my judgement. Building for my Eternity is far more awarding than building an Earthly One.

Point to Ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace
Verse to Remember: Isaiah 26:3
Question to Consider: What would my family and friends say is the driving force in my life? What do I want it to be?

I wouldn’t say I am totally driven by approval, but it does happen. Heck, I have probably done all of these at some point. I often do feel as though I need approval for a lot of things. In the past few years I have grown more of a backbone and I have begun to tell it like it is, and not really care what people thought about me, because it shouldn’t be about their approval of me. If they don’t like me for what I am then they can walk away. Amen!?

I would want people to say my life is driven by love, compassion, serving others, God, and being an awesome wife/mom/friend. I love to see people happy, or hearing someone laugh because of what I said or did. I care about people, even people I never even met. I need to also find my purpose in God, to figure out where He can use me. Make myself available for His calling.

God’s purpose is not limited by our past. He can turn a murderer (Moses) into a leader, a coward (Gideon) into a courageous hero, and he can do amazing things with the rest of your life.

Day 1 – It’s Not About Me
Day 2 – You are Not An Accident

13 Comments

by We're Jumpin' on June 3, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in 40 Days of Purpose, Challenges

Tagged Challenges, Christianity, inspire, life, Personal, Purpose Driven Life, Religion and Spirituality, thoughts

Posted by We're Jumpin' on June 3, 2012

https://werejumpin.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/day-3-what-drives-your-life/

Losing Weight

Oh my goodness!
I have started on my weight loss journey again! I have found a walking partner and doing Zumba on Monday and Wednesday nights! I am beyond excited for what the future holds of us! I have made an account on My Fitness Pal. If you are on there don’t be afraid to add me and we can motivate each other all the way! I am so glad I got my car back, now I feel free again. 🙂

5 Comments

by We're Jumpin' on June 3, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Journey Through Weight-loss

Tagged Exercising, inspire, life, memories, Personal, Walking, Weight loss, Zumba

Posted by We're Jumpin' on June 3, 2012

https://werejumpin.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/losing-weight/

Renew Your Mind

Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

When the Bible tells us to not love the world or to not be conformed to the world, of course it is not talking about the Earth or physical world; but it is talking about the age in which we live.

World in Greek means Aiwnos – which means “Age”

You need to avoid “the age” in order to do the will of God. Age needs to be recognized and avoided because negative and nonspiritual aspects to them – Selfishness, Desires with no Limits, Materialism, Greed, Pride, and Dishonesty.

With being Humans, we tend to have social influences that can be powerfully overwhelming. We learn to do things that we shouldn’t from others, also known as Peer Pressure. Other times we are influenced when we least expect it.

Rom 12:2 reminds us to be aware of the problem and to be on the lookout for potential bad influences in our lives.

When our eyes open to the peer pressure we often draw away from it, we corner ourselves in our house, or pass at invitations, but the Bible says for us to learn to be IN the world, but not BE of the world. We can not change the world, but we can change ourselves.

If you do want to change, then first change how you think. Every action you do is reviewed by a thought first. Entertaining the wrong thoughts then you will perform the wrong actions. Monkey See – Monkey Do – surely you have heard of that.

Don’t stop renewing your mind. Once you stop renewing your mind you will begin to conform to the world.

Someone’s Home

This piece was written in response to a Free Write Friday prompt in which American author and poet Kellie Elmore asked us to write about a moment spent at someone else’s house and then to end with a line hat is seemingly unrelated to the rest.

The rooms are empty
The warmth of the air
Humid captures your breath as you stand there
Your eyes darting around
Dust covered all the shelves, even the walls
Walking farther into the house
Beds are made
Curtains are drawn
Sunlight peers in
but no laughter at all
Children toys thrown about
But no one was home, not even the mouse
Pictures of happiness hanging alone
Lights are out
A cow moos at dawn

2 Comments

by We're Jumpin' on May 25, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Blog Hops, Free Write Friday

Tagged Blog Hop, Free Write, fun, inspire, Personal, thoughts, Writing

Posted by We're Jumpin' on May 25, 2012

https://werejumpin.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/someones-home/

Chores

This week I have started a new way of cleaning. I wasn’t cleaning on the weekends when Hubby was home, because who would want to do that?

I knew I had to figure out a way that I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed. I would sit on the couch on Monday wondering where to start. I would try to bust out everything an hour before Hubby came home, because I knew then I had a time limit but then that became stressful.

While exploring Pinterest, I found a chore list, and Wow, it works! This is my first week starting it, so it has taken a lot longer than the 30 minutes, but I can see the light at the end of the ~~tunnel~~ hallway. I can feel it working! Even my Hubby says “Wow, I might keep you for today.” ~laughs~

Another thing, I don’t feel like an overpowering Mom anymore. I let Jade pull out all the toys she wants, when I begin cleaning I make her put up her toys where they belong. If she spills hr dry cereal in the floor, I assist her with the vacuum.

If you start this way of cleaning – Don’t think it will just start working over night. The first week just worry about marking the stuff off the list as you do them, don’t worry about the time. You will see how easy it is to maintain in the first few days.

Happy Cleaning