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"Your 100 Day Prayer" by John I. Snyder is a book to read when you are facing a challenge in life. I found that it is a great book to help guide you through a daily prayer life. However, I found that the prayers it guides you through each day are more directed towards a specific issue in your life. Personally, I think it would have been a great book to help me through each day as my husband and I faced secondary infertility. It could have given me hope and direction in what to pray for each day. During that time in our life, I felt like my prayers were always the same and misguided perhaps. So if you are facing a trial like financial issues, job loss, infertility, etc. I would definitely recommend this book.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of "Your 100 Day Prayer" via Booksneeze.com for review. No other compensation was received.
“Green Like God” by Jonathan Merritt was sent to me some time ago for review from the publisher. I must admit that it was hard for me to complete reading. It is easy to read, but I found it difficult to capture my interest after have read “Serve God, Save the Planet” by J. Matthew Sleeth. The two books are different but very similar in their goal.
In “Green Like God” Jonathan does a good job sharing his journey going from an anti-environmentalist to someone who now respects the Earth. I think this is the main factor in what I like about this book. His personal journey and discovery into the theology and why it is our job as Christians to be good stewards to the Earth. God mad the Earth and we are to respect and care for everything he has left for us, including Mother Nature.
If you are looking for a reason to “go green,” I encourage you to pick up “Green Like God” to get a perspective of one Christian, who has learned it is crucial for us to start caring for the earth in which we live.
Disclaimer: I was sent this book for review for free. However, this is my honest opinion and in no other way was I paid.
 Image via Wikipedia Five posts in 2011. How sad. I apologize. No. No, I don’t. I am VERY thankful for every one of you that have stuck with me through your RSS feed, e-mail subscriptions, Facebook “likes”, or Twitter follows. Since I’ve been pretty much MIA in 2011, I thought I’d do a little reflection post for you all to get an idea of what I have been up to these past 12 months. I’m just going to write as it comes to me. So here it goes:
Death. Said goodbye to an amazing uncle very unexpectedly at the onset of the year. Made the very hard decision to say goodbye to our 10 year old yellow lab in April, our first son. Said goodbye to my husband’s grandmother a month later in May. Said goodbye to my husband’s boss and a his great-aunt. Too much death, but thankfully all lives that were to be celebrated.
Life. We welcomed our precious son in the early morning hours after putting our dog to sleep the night prior. Talk about an exhausting and emotional 24 hours!!
Transition. We moved the beginning of July from our single wide trailer in a mobile home park to a farmhouse somewhat “in the country” for around here. Super excited about planting a big garden this spring and playing outdoors so much more!
Exhaustion. Little man just now began to sleep through the night in this past week. It has led me to complete exhaustion. I do not deal well without eight hours of sleep. Considering I haven’t really slept well since the twelvth week of the pregnancy, I’m deprived. My adrenals are pretty much shot.
New Things. We are cloth diapering and loving it!!!! Can you sense the surprise, the excitement, and true enjoyment? I love it! Ok, so more than anything, I just love the fact that we spent less than $300 and don’t have to worry about buying diapers hopefully again! However, I think we will end up diapering him with disposables come summer and hot weather. Or less, I find a solution for his heat rashes he began getting late August.
Growth. Through reading, friendships, and even a christian counselor, I feel I’ve grown a lot these past twelve months.
Change. I quit Facebook and Twitter. I’ve been able to sporadically jump on Twitter and not get sucked back in. I didn’t have such success with Facebook. So I finally bit the bullet and just closed my personal account. I’m hoping that my posts will still get fed to my fan page though. Guess only you can tell me that one, since I won’t be rejoining just yet. It has been quite a freeing experience. I’ll go back some day, but not yet.
I’ll close this summary of 2011, so to speak, with some of the books I have read. Feel free to check them out or ask me more about them. Some were great. Some were good. Some were okay. Others were life changing. I know this won’t include everything I’ve read, but what comes to the top of my head. Thanks again for sticking around! Much love sent your way!!
Books: The Maker’s Diet. Nourishing Traditions. How To Cook Everything. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda. Family Ties Don’t Have to Bind. Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy. Free To Stay At Home: A Woman’s Alternative. How To Be A Happy Healthy Family. Finding Contentment. Simple Blogging. The Everything Beans Book. 100 Day Prayer. Get the Sugar Out. One Bite At A Time and Primal Blueprint Fitness are both being read now.
Tell me about your 2011 highlights. I’d love to catch up with you.
Disclaimer: some links within this post are affiliate links. If you click on these links and would choose to make a purchase, I would receive a small portion of the sale proceeds.
This is a series I just feel I need to finish. It is long over due. August over a year ago, I began this series. Please go back and read Part 1 and Part 2of my Secondary Infertility story, if you did not before. I get quite a few hits from Google for those two posts. So I feel I should complete the story for all of you who are struggling with secondary infertility. God has a plan. It is just often not our plan.
November 2009, I went to see a fertility specialist. During this appointment, the specialist reviewed my medical records, ordered more blood work, did a complete physical exam, and discussed fertility options. The first course of action would be up to six months of monitored clomid cycles. This would be different from what my ob/gyn could offer due to the increased monitoring. In the end, I left the office with the information in hand. Climbed into my Jeep and cried. Cried out to God like I hadn’t in a long time. I knew in my heart this was not the route he wanted us to take. We had been blessed with our dear daughter. Our finances could NOT afford even one monitored clomid cycle. Yet, my heart ached for another child. I cried out to God. I prayed to God.
I prayed that he would answer my prayer – just this once. Let me please get pregnant in the months of November or December if we were NOT to try a clomid cycle. My mentality was to wait until January when our new insurance year began. This way our deductible would start fresh and we would have more time to try treatments without extra money out of pocket. I knew our maximum costs out of pocket. We couldn’t afford it, but I couldn’t live with the “what if” the rest of my life either. So, I prayed.
God has a weird way of answering prayers sometimes. He answered my prayer LOUD and CLEAR. I got pregnant! Yes I did. The evening of Black Friday I took my first test. Two more the following morning. Life was good.
 Image by jusgre via Flickr
December 17th God answered my prayer in a completely different way than I had hoped, dreamed, or imagined. He took our precious baby to heaven with him. I miscarried. For a long 5 days, it was not “official.” I still say I lost our baby on that first day, before I had all the blood work confirm it. So when I was absent from Christmas celebrations, my parents got to tell other family why I was not present. Instead of announcing our pregnancy, they got to announce our loss.
Despite the pain of losing our child, I felt a strange sense of peace. A sense of peace I can not begin to describe. I can only tell you, God was in those moments. He was whispering to the deepest parts of my soul, “I always answer prayers. Some times, you just need to listen.” As I told my dad the day my miscarriage began, God answered my prayer. I got pregnant!!! He also made it clear. He had his timing. I didn’t need the fertility treatments is the answer I got from him.
My message is this: Proverbs 3:5-6 became a life verse for me during this time. Please keep it in your heart and mind as you struggle with anything.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Do you struggle with infertility? Secondary Infertility? Miscarriage? If so, please let me pray for you by leaving a comment below.
 Image via Wikipedia
A funny thing happened this past month, I turned 29. It didn’t bother me. I don’t believe turning 30 next year will bother me either. However, I recall saying certain things as a child/teen growing up. Why I said these things, I will never know. I’d be married by 25 (check). I’d be done having my 2 or 4 kids by 30 (check). If I was not pregnant with my last child at thirty, I would be physically fit. Did you notice a difference with that last “goal?” No check. Yes, these are ridiculous goals that I really didn’t think about when I met my husband or got pregnant on our honeymoon or struggled to have our second. Who knew? Only God.
I think God knew something else when I was telling Luke about this “no check” goal. He knew I truly have the desire to be healthy and physically fit. God also knew I couldn’t do it alone. I would also need accountability with the exercise. I hate exercise. Did I tell you that little fact? Luke and I have taken pride in the fact that we have lost weight without exercise. However, I want to be able to run and play with my kids. I could weigh 130 pounds and still be physically unfit. My point is this: God gave me a goal. God gave me accountability.
My good friend Cory posted on Facebook this past Friday about wanting to run in a marathon. He knew he couldn’t run in a marathon. At least, not in the near future. Then he heard about this marathon in Gettysburg that is having relay teams as an option. Could he find some friends to join him in this crazy adventure. You bet! I read it and immediately wanted to say “YES!” I waited a day after some prayer and talking to my hubby. I’m in! 6.5 miles by April 29, 2012.
Please join Cory over at “Fat Man Running” and me right here, as we venture into new territory, that quite frankly, scares the heck out of us. Pray for us, would you please?
On a side note, we have our other 2 team members. They are also good friends, a husband and wife.
Do you walk regularly? Run regularly? Have you ever completed a 5K? 10K? Marathon? Please share in the comments below. I’d love to hear about how you exercise, stay fit, or hope to get fit.
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