August 20, 2013 · 12:03 am

Caught-Up with the Urgent?

“It all seems ultra-important at the moment—but later we realize much was done at the extent of cultivating deeper and more meaningful relationships with those we love most.  Being held hostage by the tyranny of the urgent is not how we were meant to live.”                                Charles R. Swindoll.

Guilty?

I sure am.

The years I struggled as a single mom I was under an insurmountable amount of stress.  It wasn’t just child support or family support that I lacked, I was also stuck with huge amounts of debt I didn’t create.  I tried to make the best of things, but I was often overwhelmed, exhausted, and grumpy.

Unwittingly, I placed more importance on finding a home for my family than the treasured place my kids held in my heart. It wasn’t that I didn’t love them.

It was for them that I sacrificed! Continue reading →

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August 16, 2013 · 12:09 am

Yard Sale Lesson

When my kids were little, money was always very tight. My then-husband had a great job and made good money. The problem was that he had a hard time letting go of it at home. I was the only adult I knew who received a weekly “allowance” that barely covered groceries but was supposed to also cover haircuts, clothing, shoes, gifts, gas, personal items, and anything in between. The amount of his paychecks was always kept a mystery.

I looked for ways to make extra money. I babysat, sold Avon, and had countless hostess parties like Tupperware and Christmas Around the World. I tried anything I could in order to buy needed things and to buy Christmas and birthdays gifts for my kids.

Continue reading →

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August 15, 2013 · 10:21 am

Hot Dog!

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Happy Thursday!

I thought this picture was precious.  There have been times I wish I could get away with doing the same thing!

I realize not everyone who reads this is in the midst of summer.  I live in the northwest and though we get snow in the winter, our summer days can get quite warm, lately they have been in the mid 90s.  I am more of a mid 70s girl myself.   We have had slight humidity which gives you that need-another-shower feeling, but nothing like the suffocating humidity the east coast gets.

How do you survive the dog days of summer?

Found image on Facebook.

By ~ Elizabeth Yalian 2013 ©http://hiseyeisonthissparrow.com.

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August 13, 2013 · 12:49 am

What If Your Troubles Are Hidden Blessings

imageI found a beautiful song that helps everything make so much sense.  It is called “Blessings”  The music is absolutely lovely, but the words are priceless and speak miles and miles of wisdom.  I hope you get to listen to this song and that it will bless you as much as if has blessed me!  This person who wrote the lyrics, Laura Story, she gets it!  She was there. Her dream marriage came under fire as she and her husband battled for his health.*

As for me, I spent years angry at God for all the heartache and physical pain in my life. I felt cursed and I blamed Him for it.

In Matthew 17:20   Jesus said, “ I tell you, if you have faith as small as a tiny mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

This verse greatly frustrated me because I know Jesus doesn’t lie.

I had faith the size of coconuts,  yet the mountains weren’t moving.

And, everything–even ordinary things, just seemed impossible! Continue reading →

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Filed under A Broken Childhood, Awed by His Love and Grace, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life Lessons, Life with Chronic Pain, Poetry, Seeds of Inspirations, Single Parent Struggles, Writing and Author Stuff

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August 12, 2013 · 11:35 am

Interesting Reblog from Beliefs of the Heart

I Wonder If Sunday School Is Destroying Our Kids

July 23, 2013 — 629 Comments

Several years ago I met with a woman distraught by her son’s rejection of Christianity.heroes of the faith

She said, “I did everything I could to raise him right. I taught him to be like the ‘heroes of faith,’ with the faithfulness of Abraham, the goodness of Joseph, the pure heart of David, and the obedience of Esther.”

She wondered why he rejected Christianity.

I wondered why it took him so long.

Look at almost any Sunday school curriculum. You’ll find:

  • Abraham was faithful, and God made him the father of a nation. So be faithful like Abraham.
  • Joseph was a good little boy (unlike his “bad” brothers), and God made him Prime Minister of Egypt. So be good like Joseph.
  • David had a pure heart (unlike his brothers), and God made him King of Israel. So have a pure heart like David.
  • Esther was an obedient girl. God made her Queen of Persia and she saved God’s people. So be obedient like Esther.
  • Finally, if we fail to be good, Jesus will forgive us (a “P.S.” tacked onto the end).

What’s so bad about these Sunday school lessons?  Continue reading.

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August 12, 2013 · 1:28 am

God Redeems Blunders

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This small image carries an amazing amount of truth!  And it is too important not to share.

I found this image on Facebook

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August 10, 2013 · 11:54 pm

Shout Out to the Lord

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Let us all shout out and sing

Let bells of God’s majesty ring,

As we find comfort under His wing,

We worship our Lord and our glorious King.

As Darlene Zschech says in her song “Shout to the Lord”, there is non like Him!

Found image posted on Facebook

By ~ Elizabeth Yalian 2013 ©http://hiseyeisonthissparrow.com.

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August 9, 2013 · 12:40 am

Growing Pains

You know that feeling of resistance we naturally get when we are required to step outside our zone of comfort, to push further, strive harder and move past stagnation?

Much like when the momma bird pushes her young to the edge of the nest.  What is that youngling thinking?

“Momma’s off her rocker!”

“She’s trying to kill me!”

“How could she do this to me?”

That little one, paralyzed by fear, becomes frozen as momma gives the final shove.

Down, down it goes until finally it gets this crazy notion to flap its wings… flap, flap, flap… Continue reading →

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August 8, 2013 · 5:31 pm

Everybody thinks I’m crazy. They say “You take the Jesus thing too seriously” Well, I don’t know, but, Christ took me pretty seriously when He died for me on the Cross.

Excellent statement!

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August 8, 2013 · 3:56 pm

An Unexpected Answer to Prayer

I received this in an email from my friend Lyn Pelton.  I wanted to share this worth-reading beautiful story with you!

A Father, a Daughter – A true story by Catherine Moore

“Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!” My father yelled at me. “Can’t you do anything right?”

Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn’t prepared for another battle.

“I saw the car, Dad . Please don’t yell at me when I’m driving..”

My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt. Continue reading →

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