Determination to Win!

In high school I was a cheerleader. One of our chants was, "Determination, Determination, Determination to win!" I don't think I ever really understood what the word determination truly was until now.

Back in November I started making a few life choices for me regarding what I drink. I cut out pop except an occasional one when are at Wendy's or Arby's (which is usually shared with my husband). I started drinking one cup of coffee a day and started drinking between 58-64 oz of water a day.

In December I decided that I really wanted a tread mill. I hate walking with my girls. It is a complete nightmare usually ending with me as sore as possible, since I'm pulling three girls in the wagon, and at least one in tears. January all fitness equipment goes on sale. My husband agreed to let me buy one.

It has been almost 4 weeks since I got it. I don't run every day but my goal is 5 miles a week. Now I am not a runner. Even when I was at my fittest in high school, I got winded going up stairs. I have bad allergies, my lung capacity is smaller than normal, and I have a family history of asthma. For me to run a mile a day is a huge accomplishment.

On Tuesday afternoon I started getting myself ready to run. Shoes on, water bottle filled, Pandora on my phone, girls watching a movie, ear buds in, distance goal set. I knew I wanted to run a mile, what I was hoping was to do it in 11 1/2 minutes. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I had been taking a little time off here and there. I have been recording my time here and there. 11 days ago my time was:

A few days later my time was:

I am proud of myself. I have been pushing myself a little harder each time and hoping to keep getting it down.

Well Tuesday was different for some reason. The only thing I can think of is DETERMINATION. It wasn't just my determination but His. He wanted to see me be pushed and determined and strong. 

I started the nice little jog at 5 miles and hour and say some prayers that I'll make it and listen to some uplifting music (usually some Third Day). At .2 miles in, I kicked it up to 6. I thought I would just do this for a bit, but something or rather Someone kept pushing me and saying, "You can do it!". At every tenth of a mile I would switch between 5 and 6. I could catch my breath and then go hard again. At .8 miles I kicked it up to 6. I pushed so hard that last little bit. I had never run the whole mile before and here I was pushing hard to finish strong. As the machine came to a stop at the end of my mile, I took a look at the summary screen and this is what I saw:

I was shocked and tears just started rolling down my face. That time is better than anything I ever did in high school. It may not be track star time, but to me it felt like a winning number. I have never been more determined to take care of myself as I am now. I did something I thought would take me another couple weeks, but probably longer. I never thought I could run an entire mile without walking a bit to catch my breath, but I did.

This morning I was reading in 2 Corinthians and one passage really touched my heart.

But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in his weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest in me. 2 Corinthians 12: 9

Reflecting on my treadmill and my running I realized one thing, God has used this weakness of mine to glorify Him. He set a fire, a determination, like I had never experienced in me. I was able to accomplish so much because I allowed Him to use the weakness to make me stronger. God wants us to be weak, not strong. He wants us to need Him, depend on Him. Only then will we allow God to instill a determination in us to overcome our weaknesses.

Winter Project: Bunk Beds, Triple Bunk Beds

Well I finally talked my husband into actually building bunk beds for the girls. I found the idea of triple bunk beds on Pintrest. I thought it was a great idea with three girls. My husband wasn't sure since we do have a 4 bedroom house. We want to keep one room for guests and my craft room plus some storage, so two would always have to share. I don't want to deal with fighting over who shares with who.

We finally came to the conclusion that we could use one room for my sewing and crafts and the other could be turned into a school room for as long as we home school. Both can still be used for guests.

Well husband and I threw some ideas around. We liked the idea but didn't love the plan we found that was mounted to the wall. My husband decided to use posts to make it sturdy and mount the beds to that instead. 

I didn't want an actual ladder, like the plans we had found, since the girls are still pretty little and steps wouldn't work, so my husband made a combination of the two. 

My husband is a rock-star and finished building it in one weekend. By that Wednesday he was able to put it together and the next day we took a trip to IKEA to get mattresses.

We haven't moved the two year old down yet. I took her crib apart and turned it into the toddler bed at the same time as the other two got her bunk bed. She can't handle being with her sisters yet.

 I also don't want the three year old, who is currently on the bottom bunk, crawling out of the middle bunk in the middle night. She is in our room at least once a week. 

It is ready for the little one when the little one is ready to move in with her sisters even if it will be another couple of years.

Weekly Goals

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Run 5 miles (1 mile for 5 days) (Did 3 miles)
• Try something new (Made a Carmel Apple Snickers Pie. Very yummy)
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night (or some other family activity at night)

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

This Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Run 5 miles (1 mile for 5 days)
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night (or some other family activity at night)

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night
• Work on the 3 year old's quilt 

 

What Do You Crave More Then God?

Food has been a problem for me. Maybe not in the same way as others, but it is still an issue. I either embrace it or fear it. I saw my mom struggle with food my entire life and I know she has struggled much longer than that. This is where my fear comes in. I can't count calories or I won't eat for fear that I will eat too much. I do however need to watch portions and snacks or I eat way more than I need to without even considering what is entering my body.

In the past year I have learned a lot about God and how my relationship is with him. Money is the first area my husband and I had to work on. We really needed to be more obedient with what he had given us. He trusts us to be responsible with what we were given. It has been a wonderful journey and I now see how obedience needs to be in all areas of my life. 

God gives us so much and we are not being responsible. For me time management is just as much of a struggle, maybe even more then food. I can get lost on the computer for hours very easily or sit down with a book and realize I read much longer then I intended. I have a tendency to think that things can wait until tomorrow and I have time to read one more chapter. 

I have made a household binder to help keep me organized. Some days it works and other days it doesn't. What it really comes down to is am I obeying God with my time or not. My choices affect my kids and my husband, not just me. It's more fun to sit and read my new book then to clean the bathrooms or wash the dishes. The problem is that I am using my time selfishly instead of glorifying God.

When I am at my worst is when my husband, who is a seasonal employee, goes back to work. It's a major change in our family. I go from having help around the house to being the sole caregiver of three little girls five days a week from the time they get up to when they go to bed. Then the weekends are spent with him trying to make up time with us, fix things around the house, or tend to other things that need to be taken care of.

I usually spend about a month dealing with depression. Now I have come to the realization that if I can pray through my food cravings why can't I pray through other cravings as well. Depression can also be considered a craving for me. It is easier to retreat into myself then deal with the issues around me or pray through them. He promises never to leave us, He will guide us through all the valleys.

My prayer life needs to take front and center if I am going to over come these cravings that hold me back from being the daughter of the King He aspires me to be. I have the desire, now I just need to allow God to hold my hand and walk with me through all the valleys.

Taco Bake

Taco Bake is one of my family's favorite recipes. It is one of the very limited recipes that everyone can agree on. It's not healthy at all but sometimes you just need a go to recipe that will bring everyone to the supper table with smiles on their faces.

Ready to go in the oven.

Taco Bake from Two Maids a Milking

1 lb. hamburger
1 pkg. taco seasoning
8 oz. sour cream
Salsa
1 pkg. crescent rolls (8)
1 can of black beans (I added from original recipe)
1 c. shredded cheese
Doritos

First cook your hamburger meat and season it as you would for tacos.

Then layer starting with crescent rolls. I bake it for 5 minutes or so otherwise it will be slightly soggy. 

Now come the meat and beans. 

You may add a layer of sour cream and salsa if you desire. We add it on top after baking. 

Next add your cheese.

Top it off  with crumbled Doritos. I use a half to 3/4 of a bag.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes 
 

All that's left. The girls will actually eat this!

My Happy Birthday Girl!

Can it be true? Can I really have a 5 year old? I guess it's true (at least that's what she keeps telling me.)

So here is her birth story: 

"Once upon a time . . . my husband and I found out I was pregnant. It was a complete surprise. We weren't trying at all and had been married all most three years. 

We were excited and nervous.

This was the first grand baby on both sides, so lots of excitement and spoiling from the extended family.

Christmas Eve I felt her drop. There was so much pressure, I was incredibly uncomfortable (even more then before although I could finally breath for the first time in months), and I started having contractions. I found out shortly after that they were not braxton hicks but pre-labor contractions. 

I wasn't due until January 30th, so at my first doctors appointment after all this started, my doctor confirmed that it could be anytime. She was very low and ready. This of course meant we had to hurry and get the last things ready. I hadn't had a single baby shower yet, so I didn't have much more then a crib and carseat and a few clothes. 

Well I spent the next few weeks having constant contractions; some very strong contractions and many mild ones. Finally on January 20th at about 4:30 in the morning, I woke up feeling awful and went to the bathroom. When I came back to bed, I still felt horribly uncomfortable. Shortly after I had a strong contraction. At that point I started feeling wetness. As I ran to the bathroom, I was confident that my water had just broke. 

Well off to the hospital we went and sure enough my water had broke. In all the birth classes we were told it rarely happens and we don't really need to worry about it. Well I sure wish they would have told me that the pain tends to be much more intense after your water breaks. Wow did it go from mild to extreme pain in about 5 minutes. 

Well at about 5:30 at night I was finally able to start pushing. At 7:54 she was finally born. Yes if you did the math, I pushed for about 2.5 hours. She was not facing down but to the side and I couldn't get her pushed out very far. Her shoulders couldn't get past my hips. She was crowning for half that time at least. You can imagine that the recovery was very long for me. 

Well here we are 5 years later with a happy and healthy girl. She loves being a princess and a daddy's girl. There is a real desire in her to learn and she is full of questions. She is an awesome big sister and a good helper to me.

We went to the fabric store and picked out the fabric for her birthday dress a few weeks ago. She also picked out the pattern.

For her 5th birthday we decided she could get her ears pierced. She did awesome. Just a few tears. She picked out 4 additional pairs of earrings to wear when her 6 weeks were up.

All done crying and very excited. (I'm so glad she picked out the cheapest pair of studs on her own. Boy do they get expensive for only wearing them for 6 weeks.)

Weekly Goals

Well I guess I didn't do as well as I thought. There are going to be some tough weeks. I am hopeful that this week will be better, since I am not sick like last week.

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times (I love my new treadmill. I can run or walk everyday now)
• Try something new (sewed my daughter's birthday dress)
  
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day (I am very close to this most days and have succeed a few days this week)

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

This Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Run 5 miles (1 mile for 5 days)
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night (or some other family activity at night)

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

For Such A Time As This

One of my favorite Bible stories is Esther for a couple reasons. Of course as a woman, I love to see stories of amazing women God used. To me it is important to remind myself and my girls that God thinks we are important too. He has a purpose for us because we are women. 

I also love the story of Esther because of what Mordeccai said to Esther when he was pleading for help: 

"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4: 13-14

A few years ago that passage stuck out to me like it never has. Every time I read it I feel like I learn even more. First God and God alone put Esther in the role of queen to save her people. Why else would a Jewish girl become queen instead of one of the hundreds of other beautiful girls. 

The phrase, "such a time as this" keeps playing in my head. If God can make Esther queen so she can save her people, what plans does He have for me? Of all the times for me to live, this is when God chose us to live. We are here for such a time as this. 

He calls us just as He called Esther. What I find even more interesting and inspiring of the passage is that Mordecai tells Esther that if she doesn't speak up, deliverance will come from some place else. In Judges, Deborah warns Barak that because he didn't trust God when he was called to deliver the Jews, he would not be the one to deliver his people but a woman. God really is series about us obeying Him and there are consequences when we don't.

God will deliver His people, not just the Jews but also His children, believers. We were put here on this earth at this time for a "such a time as this". We have a chance to do what God has called us to do, be a light that shines with LOVE:

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

Matthew 5:44 "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

Matthew 19:19 "love your neighbor as yourself"

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love on anther. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love on another."

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

 I feel God is calling me to rain down love on those around me for such a time as this. What has God called you to do? Are you obeying?

We Will Do It!

Sometimes it's hard to dream because it seems impossible to ever achieve them. My husband and I have had a dream since we got married: to live in the country. 

My husband lived his first 18 years on a farm. His dad lived his whole life on the farm and his dad before that. Farming is in my husbands blood. Since we've been married we've lived in a small apartment in West St. Paul and two different houses in a small town. Right now we know this is where we need to be but it is hard for him to be in town with limited space. He misses the space and freedom a farm has. 

I spent a few years of my childhood on a little acre of land outside a small town and I have never felt as much freedom as I did during those years. I want that for my kids.

The truth is that land around here is very expensive because it's all farm land. Getting 5 acres of land will cost as much as our house does now. It's been hard for both of us to put off that dream. 

Last year we started budgeting. Before budgeting we didn't always keep up with the student loan payments and rarely paid extra. Now we are a few months from paying off all extra debt and will start paying extra on our rental houses. Our first rental will be paid off in a little over 4 years. In about 15 years will should have two rentals and our house completely paid off. We can finally see God opening doors for us. We may not live in the country when we want to but we know that we will when God is ready for us.

Over the past year I learned a few important things:

1. Prayer: Our dreams mean nothing if God is not on board. My husband and I need to be spending more time praying over where God wants us to be. If he truly has plans for us to live in the country, then he will open the doors for us. Our hearts need to be ready in case God has other amazing plans for our life.
2. Set Goals: I have started setting weekly goals for myself. This year I also set yearly goals for myself and my family. We have clear plans to accomplish what we need to achieve our dreams by taking baby steps to get there.
3. Be obedient: We were not be obedient with our money. Once we were, we were blessed in more ways then we ever thought possible. It felt like we had extra money being thrown at us in every direction. There were moments of temptation but after resisting, we were blessed again. If God can bless us financially when we obey, how will he bless us when we obey in all parts of our lives?

One thing I can say about right now, is that God has blessed me more then I could have ever imagined. We have a nice house, decent vehicles, money for necessities, and God watching over us. This may not be the orginal dream my husband and I had, but it is a good one.

Weekly Goals

Well it wasn't a great week, but the great news is that it is a new week with a clean slate. Did you set any goals this week?

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

Creating My Household Binder

Well to get a jump on my goals for 2014, the last week of December I was spent putting together my Household Binder. I keep adding as I go, when I find something lacking. There are some really great household binder printables out there, but none really seemed to fit as a whole. I took one here, one there and feel pretty confident with what I currently have.

From organzinghomelife.com I took the daily and weekly chore chart. This helps to break up my day so I'm not looking at the clock and trying to do everything as I'm trying to cook supper. I also have a couple chores each day that need to be completed and there is usually enough time in the morning to complete them. I lamented this after creating my daily and weekly chores, so I could just check things off with dry erase markers everyday.

http://www.organizinghomelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Blank-Chore-List-Snapshot.png

I also took the monthly zones from organizinghomelife.com. In my house there are 4 zones that need a lot of work: laundry room, bedrooms, kitchen, and my sewing room. Small chores that need to be done monthly are listed in each zone. This I also laminated making it easy to check off and reuse.


http://www.organizinghomelife.com/archives/4433

Because we have a lot of insurance policies, I also printed those and the password and username sheet. There are many more to chose from just check out Organizing Home Life.

Over on Money Saving Mom I printed off a menu planner and a monthly/ semi-monthly cleaning list. These were both laminated, making checking off easy with dry erase markers.

On imom.com I printed off their cute calender to keep appointments and schedules organized.
 


I printed off my 2014 goals and my book list for 2014 so I can cross things off as I complete them. I also lamented a page to write my weekly goals on. I also put a notebook in to take notes for anything but specifically for blog ideas and organization.

Last but not least, I printed off a prayer journal from AmyBayliss.com. I love it because it is simple, but pretty. It has a space for date, person, fulfillment date, prayer request and any scripture that might be beneficial. 

My prayer is that I use my household binder to keep me organized and motivated to keep my house and family well taken care of. If you haven't made a household binder, I strongly encourage you to take a look at what's out there and see what might work for you.

Weekly Goals

I did pretty good. Not all goals were met but some goals are becoming more habit, that I can slowly remove and replace them. How was your week?

Last Weeks Goals:
Personal: 

• Daily Devotion/prayer
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new (did some sewing Sunday since we were stuck at home due to cold temps)
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day (close I drank over 6 every day)

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night(it turned into a train night, setting up an extravagant train track)
  

 Around the house

• Use household binder to stay organized 

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal: 

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

Hearts at Home: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Moms

My last session at Hearts at Home was called 7 Habits of Highly Effective Moms by Sherry Surratt. Sherry is the CEO of Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), mother of two and grandmother to one. 

This session was slightly different because most of the session was conveying a study done to discover the habits of highly effective moms. It was very interesting to me as someone so enjoys numbers, data, and statistics. Here is what the study came up with: 

First they came up with the Better Mom Better World Metric to in a sense create the image of the perfect mom. This was used to study moms that had these qualities and from their study their habits.  An effective mom would have:

• A strong core resilience
• Healthy network of friends
• Supportive partner
• Developed Mom Finesse
• Spiritual Development

Now that we know what the characteristics of an effective mom are, the habits were easy to find. If you've ever heard of the 7 habits of highly effective leaders, you might be surprised to see some similarities in habits. In the end there were 7 very distinctive habits. 

1. They put themselves first in spiritual development. Their day is fit around God instead of trying to fit God into their day.
2. Engage in spiritual walk that has nothing to do with being a wife or a mom. You need an identity in Christ separate from everyone else. 
3. They form a S.W.A.T team of support. Husbands and mommy friends are the most common team members and are always trusted confidants. 
4. They continue to invest in who they were before they became a mom.
5. They balance being a mom and a woman. 
6. They keep their sense of humor. 
7. They parent with the end in mind.

Well if that list doesn't just make you want to crawl into bed and hide, you may be more effective than me. I can say I usually keep my sense of humor and I believe I parent with the end in mind although I know there is always room to grow. 

When I look at the habits I can tell that my hardest has to be number 4. I can hardly remember what it was like before kids. My whole identity is mom and wife and there are so many times where I can't remember who I was before that. There will come a day where I won't be mommy anymore and that scares me. Who will I be then? The good news is, the session ended on a really good note. 

3 Splendid and Beautiful Truths: 

1. There is NO perfect to achieve
2. Great moms don't happen on accident, but on purpose
3. God's got your back

I may not be able to achieve perfect but looking at the habits, I know which one I need to work on the most. In 2014 I can work to find who I am again and work towards being that person again. 

To end I will let you ponder the verses shared as the session closed out. It may seem a little odd at first but think about what it takes to be a mom. You need a plan and you need your weapons. What are those for you?

Ephesians 6: 13-18 "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes form the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

My Goals for 2014

This is the first time I am setting goals for the year. I am a little unsure of what goals I need to set for myself and my family. Here is what I have come up with and hope to accomplish

Blogging:

• 3 posts a week
•  Do at least 3 series posts
• Find 5 more companies who I can be affiliates with to generate some extra income
• Sign up for Twitter

Homeschooling:

• Purchase charts I want
• Read through the Alphabet (from thisreadingmama.com)
• One big craft project a month
• Establish a morning routine including personal hygiene care that the girls will do on their own

Relationships:

•  Date night with Hubby at least 6 times this year
• Play date at least once a month
• Plan a trip to Arizona, find a couple of places to stop along the way
• Sponsor a child from Compassion

Around the house:

• Create a weekly planner for cleaning, organizing, and meal plan
• Try one new recipe a month
• Plan a freezer cooking session once a month (at least one recipe doubled and put in the freezer)
• Create a recipe book complete with pictures

Finances:

• Completely pay off my student loans
• Start paying extra on one rental house
• Refinance rental houses
• Set up an IRA

Personal:

• Daily devotional, bible reading, and prayer time
• Read an average of at least 5 books a month from my reading list for 2014
• Save for a tread mill
• Exercise 5 days a week
• Try to find a Bible study that will work with my schedule
• Lose 20 pounds

What are We Reading This Month: January

January: Here in Minnesota it means cold temperatures. Very cold temperatures. Many days of negative temperatures. This month is going to be filled with appropriate cold books. Anything with snow will be covered this month.

Here is our list:

• The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll
• The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
• The Hat by Jan Brett
• All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle
• You Can Do it Sam by Amy Hest
• Boots by Anne Schreiber
• A Silly Snowy Day by Michael Coleman
• There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell by Lucille Colandro
• Little Snowflake's Big Adventure by Steve Metzger
• The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg
• The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler

My 2014 Book List

I LOVE to read. I LOVE the Kindle app on my tablet. There are so many books that I have gotten for free that I really needed to write them down and make my list. So for the first time ever I have a reading list. I hope to be reading at least 4 at a time. One from Faith and Spirituality, Devotions, For Me, and one other category. My ultimate goal is one book a week, so 52 total. During the year I'll have updates on how I am doing. 


Faith and Spirituality: 

• Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine
• Just Like Jesus: A Heart Like His
• Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament
• Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity
• World of Jesus, The: Making Sense of the People and Places of Jesus' Day
• 10 People Every Christian Should Know 
• That's a Great Question: What to Say When Your Faith Is Questioned
• The Burden Bearer: Who’s Carrying Your Load?
• After God's Own Heart: The Key to Knowing and Living God's Passionate Love for You
• What is the Trinity?
• Minor Prophets: Major Issues
• Did the Resurrection Happen . . . Really?
• Why Trust Jesus?
• The Truth of the Cross  
• Dancing in the Arms of God: Discover Your Cinderella Story
• God's Grace Apart From Law
• And the Lamb Wins: Why the End of the World Is Really Good News
• Drawing Near to the Heart of God: Encouragement for Your Lifetime Journey 
• Understanding the Times
• God's Love Story
• Every Bush Is Burning
• The Bad Girls Of The Bible "7 Most Infamous" Book
• Handle with Prayer: Unwrap the Source of God's Strength for Living

Devotions:

• The 7-Day Prayer Warrior Experience  
• The Daily Walk Bible NLT: 31 Days with Jesus 
• The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Isaiah: Feeling Secure in the Arms of God 
• Love Gives Life: A Study of 1 Corinthians 13
• 40 Days of Prayer 
• The Daily Devotional Series: The Gospel of John  
• 21 Days of Faith Challenge 
• The 7-Day Doubt Diet  
• The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Mark: Serving Others as You Walk with the Master Servant
• Daily Devotional for Women and Men - Open Your Hymnal . . . Again
• Faith - Four Week Mini Bible Study
• Capture His Heart 

 Relationships: 

• The Purpose and Power of Love & Marriage
• Art of Neighboring, The: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside your Door
• The Essential Oil Advantage: How to Use Essential Oils to Create a Healthy Lifestyle
• Happily Ever After : Six Secrets to a Successful Marriage
  Be A People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships
• The 4 Seasons of Marriage: Secrets to a Lasting Marriage
• Never Stop Holding Hands: And Other Marriage Survival Tips
• A Faith Full Marriage: Building a Lifetime Love on Biblical Principles
• Praying Circles around Your Children 
• The Parenting Collection 
• The 5 Love Languages of Children 

 Homeschooling: 

• Science the Preschool Way
• Bucket List Learning: Creating An Experience Rich Education For Your Homeschool
• Overcome Your Fear of Homeschooling with Insider Information
  House Mommy's Boredom Busters – 201 Fun Things to Do With Kids!
• Kids Cooking and Learning Through Food Activities
• Grace for the Homeschool Mom

Around the Home:

• The Essential Oil Advantage: How to Use Essential Oils to Create a Healthy Lifestyle
• The Quick & Easy Pioneers' Cookbook
• 30 Delicious Dump Cake Recipes
• The Minimalist Cleaning Method 
• Kill The Clutter: Declutter Your Home and Organize Your Life 
• Homemade Jelly and Jam Recipes - 35 Recipes To Make Delicious Jams and Jellies from Scratch 

 History:

• While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement
• Portraits of Integrity: Real People Who Demonstrated Godly Character
• Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania
• Henry VIII’s Wives: History in an Hour 
• When You Come Home: The True Love Story Of A Soldier's Heroism, His Wife's Sacrifice and the Resilience of America's Greatest Generation
• The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson 
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Fanklin
• Extraordinary Patriots of the United States of America: Colonial Times to Pre-Civil War
• History of the United States
• Woman on the American Frontier 
• Rise of the New West, 1819-1829
• The Narrative of Sojourner Truth

For Me: 

• The Ultimate Gift: A Novel
• 50 Keys To Better Photography!
• How To Take Better Photos – Your Guide To Taking Better Pictures From Any Camera
• Abortion: A Rational Look at An Emotional Issue
• The Shut Mouth Society
  Agenda 21
• Made to Crave
• Contingency 
• The Hobbit  
• The Circle Series 
• Reshaping It All