afieldsday on Xanga

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

{I MOVED}

My blogging continues here. ♥

Monday, 09 May 2011

{ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!}

To you Xangans out there, a friend of mine, who authors one of my favorite blogs, grace2be, is doing a giveaway. It's been open all weekend and closes at midnight tonight!

1st Prize

(Signed copy of One Thousand Gifts book, blue journal, Anthropologie colored pencils, word FAITH decor, pewter bird decor, and Anthropologie blue tea towel in a market basket)

2nd Prize

(Calm TAZO tea, little bird and flowers tea cup and gift book in a wooden basket)

3rd Prize

(Refresh TAZO tea, little birds and flowers tea cup, and gift book in a wooden basket)

TO ENTER go here. And make sure to take some time to read what Amber wrote about the lessons she's been learning in motherhood. I love the part where she wrote:

"Mothering isn't a assembly line. It's careful handcrafted quality time and effort for each [child]..."

Be blessed!

Monday, 25 April 2011

{♥ ANTHROPOLOGIE?}

So a friend of mine is doing an Anthropologie giveaway: a $50 gift card if you follow her blog via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin'! I've been following her blog for awhile. I've seen it grow from the thoughts of a teenager trying to figure life out on Xanga to a beautiful journey it's become, of a maturing wife and mom, sharing the lessons she learns along the way. Not only is there a chance you'll be blessed by winning this giveaway, but there's a guarantee you'll be blessed reading Arielle's blog. =) ♥

So if you won the $50 gift card, what would you buy? The first time I saw an Anthropologie store was when Gregg and I were up in Newport Beach a couple years ago attending our church's Married Couples' Retreat. It was a weekend getaway and we were given some free time during our stay. So Gregg and I chose to peruse Fashion Island. We were so excited when we spotted the Anthropologie store front. It was so creative and I wish I took a picture of it (I wasn't sure if I was allowed to)! There was so much cool stuff inside and we had a lot of fun looking at it all. I especially liked the kitchen section. There were several yummy looking cook books! There was a lot of unique home decor too! They have some cute aprons and if I won the gift card, I know Gregg would want me to get one. That would be something great to get to do to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary the first weekend of June! I think I would want to pick out something special for Leala too.

P.S. I thought the hay bale couch was really creative and I didn't think I'd get in trouble for taking a picture of that outside their store. Plus it was Fall and it reminded me of our church's upcoming Harvest Celebration.

Saturday, 23 April 2011

{'TWAS THE DAY BEFORE EASTER}

And to get my head into gear
A message from Francis I wanted to hear...

Francis Chan... I can count on that man to help me get a bigger view of God. Last month I was the most excited about the upcoming Easter holiday than I've ever been. I was excited about celebrating the new life that the Spring season brings. I was excited about the Easter traditions I could start with Leala.

[from Amber Hutchins' blog entry]

I was excited that Leala may be old enough to enjoy her first Easter egg hunt and I was excited about the bright idea I got that when she was old enough, I would teach her that we could celebrate the Easter egg symbolizing new life, just like the new life we can have through Jesus because He defeated death by His resurrection, which is what Christians celebrate on Easter. But sometime in April I lost that excitement and the only thing left that I was looking forward to was our big family get together at my aunt's house. I was feeling a little guilty that the reason I, as a Christian, should be celebrating Easter seemed a little rote this year. How many times had I heard the story of Jesus' resurrection? How many times at that annual traditional Easter service, had I pretty much heard the same ol' teaching followed by that familiar altar call? And to make me feel even more like a pagan, we decided that going to our church's Easter service this year wouldn't work out because with the timing of the service and the timing of our family get together, Leala would end up being one grumpy girl if she didn't get her nap. We thought about visiting another church with an earlier service, but those plans seemed to fall through. So... to keep from being irreverent this Easter holiday, I decided to look up a past Easter teaching from Francis Chan. If anyone's teaching can snap me back into reverence mode, it's Francis'! I ended up watching this teaching:

And sure enough, my view of God was raised and I was reminded that Easter is a time for me to celebrate the power of Jesus! I love the questions Francis asked and the statement he made:

Do you underestimate the power of Jesus?

Does your mind paint a weak picture of Jesus?

What image comes to your mind when you hear the name "Jesus?"

When you paint a weak picture of Jesus, what it does is it causes you to be weak as His follower.

I think it was John Piper who said:

"Weak theology makes weak Christians."

"Theology" simply means your thoughts or beliefs about God. I've seen this to be true in my own life, so when I feel weak, I find ways to remind myself, once again, of how strong, big and powerful God is. When my view of God changes, my life changes.

P.S. I was thinking of setting up an "Easter" playlist in iTunes to listen to today and tomorrow. You guys have any suggestions for good songs to add?

P.P.S. I just realized that this blog entry could be read in a totally different way than I meant it to be read. When I wrote, "How many times at that annual traditional Easter service, had I pretty much heard the same ol' teaching followed by that familiar altar call?" I was expressing my bad attitude, not putting down the teachings themselves or the style of service. Because we're unable to go to an Easter service this year, which honestly feels like a big deal to me, I knew where I could go to listen to an Easter service online to make sure I was revering the celebration of Jesus' resurrection the way I should as a Christian. Phew! Now that that's cleared up!

Monday, 18 April 2011

{HOW TO SAVE A LIFE}

The showing of this video yesterday morning at church was so timely! I was planning on posting about this year's Walk for Life to help support Alternatives Womens Center, and after seeing this video, I knew it would be perfect to post because it does a very good job explaining how this pregnancy clinic serves my local community. Watching this video in church was emotional for me, probably because I have a little baby growing inside of me, almost 4 months along.

As the video mentions, I feel strongly that if women were educated more about their baby's development, it would help them make good choices. I've felt that way since I learned about my first baby's development when I was pregnant with Leala about 2 years ago. When I was still in denial that I was actually pregnant, my baby's heart was starting to beat. A baby's heart starts beating at around 5 to 6 weeks after conception. Once I realized that I really was pregnant, my baby had already developed so much! I realized that I needed to start taking my pregnancy seriously and start praying for my baby's health.

I've been interested in what Alternatives Womens Center does for some time, but I don't think it was until I was pregnant myself with Leala that I had an even greater interest to finally get involved in supporting them. My first opportunity came last spring when I registered for the Walk for Life and asked friends to sponsor me to help raise funds for Alternatives.

My second opportunity came that summer when I got to join Dorcas Circle, a sewing ministry a lady from our church started, and one of the things I got to learn how to sew were tote bags for Alternatives! They fill the donated tote bags with needed baby items for the women who come for help. I even got to donate baby items to them myself like clothes, blankets, baby bottles, formula, etc.

This spring, since I am unfortunately unable to participate in the Walk for Life again, I have helped support Alternatives Womens Center by sponsoring a couple friends from church who are walking. I was planning on blogging about the walk when I thought I would be getting sponsors for myself, but when plans changed, I thought it would be a good idea to post for my friends who are walking instead.

The following list of women are friends of mine from church who are looking for sponsors to support them in the Walk for Life held next Saturday, April 30. The links will take you to their personal fundraising page. Donating online is so easy! I have put them in order of who needs the most help raising funds. I hope you can help! Thank you. ♥

Diana Curry
Nicole Padrnos
Norma Kaufman
Kimberly Beck
Sarah Springfield