What If I Had Given Everything In 2010?

I know I said I would post my 2010 goal plan on January 1st, but I am just so excited that I decided to post early.  For an introduction to my goal theme please read this post.

Now, without further ado let me share my goal plan with you.  It’s called…

What If I Had Given Everything?
Stepping out of going through the motions in 2010.

If you would like to join in, please grab the button from my sidebar.  It looks like this…

In keeping with the 2010 theme I made a list of 10 areas in my life that I wanted to grow in…areas where I wanted to step out of the motions.  They are as follows:

1. Schedule
2. Spiritual Growth
3. Health
4. Personal Growth
5. My Husband
6. My Children
7. Ministry
8. Family
9. Housekeeping
10. Financial

Each goal (or unit as I have begun to call them) gets 5 weeks of time.  For those of you doing the math that gives me us 2 weeks of grace time.

Under each unit/goal I have listed 5 little goals – one for each week.  I will list these goals on a week-by-week basis as I go through out the year. 

For example, this Sunday I begin the first week of unit one.  This week’s goal is to evaluate my schedule and re-organize it if needed. 

If you are joining me, your goal might be to make up a family schedule or re-organize your existing one. 

This is what mine looks like: 
Each Thursday I hope to post the goal that will begin that following Sunday and maybe even add a place for you to link up about your own goal for the week or how you are doing with your own plan.

I also have created a more detailed plan for my Bible reading, personal Bible study on both a daily and weekly basis, book reading, and daily focuses.  I will post more about all of them later. 

Until the next post, will you grab the button and link below with your own goal post for 2010?!  I hope so! 

Also, hop over to my community forum to talk about your 2010 goals and share your tips with us all there.

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Take a moment to watch this video clip if you have not already done so.  It will encourage and challenge you in this new year, too.

I would highly recommend you jump over to Matthew West’s MySpace page to read his biography on the right hand side.  It’s touching and you will understand even more why I was impacted by this song and testimony.

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A BIG “thank you” goes out to Jamie from Mommy’s Camera for creating my cool blog button for this theme!  Visit her!

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The “Ick” Of Being Sick & 8 Tips To Make It Easier

A few days before Christmas Micah began to have a raspy voice and a croup-like cough.  By Christmas his nose was running like a maple tree in March.

Even though I stayed home with the kids all weekend long, it kept coming and as I type, all of us but Justin, are sick with it.

The “it” is a bad head cold that brings along it’s friends known as “runny nose”, “croup cough”, and “headache”.  Put them all together and you have the “Ick” of being sick.

But never fear!

Trench Mommy is here to give you some tips on how to make being sick as a family just a little bit easier!  Here we go…

Tip #1 – Cook a turkey on Saturday for when your in-laws come to visit so that you will have leftovers to eat for Sunday dinner, Monday supper, and Tuesday dinner…along with enough to throw together a pot of turkey-noodle-soup for Wednesday dinner.  (For tips on where to find a husband who doesn’t complain about eating the same thing for 5 days in a row…look else where…because I think I have the most gracious husband alive.)

Tip #2 – Plan to be sick over school break so that you don’t have to get anyone dressed to go to school.

Tip #3 – Make extra waffles at breakfast one morning because you think each person will eat more than one for sure and then be pleasantly surprised when you have leftovers so that the next morning’s breakfast is now prepared, too!

Tip #4 – Clean your house on Christmas night for said visit of in-laws so that when Monday morning cleaning comes around and you feel really yucky…it’s already taken care of.

Tip #5 – Be sick post Christmas when everyone has new toys to play with in the few moments that they feel well enough to do something.

Tip #6 – Be a blog book reviewer so that as you have something to read since you took an afternoon nap and are now laying awake at midnight.

Tip #7 – Use Netflix.com to stream movies to your computer so that after 3 days of watching the same things you can have fresh viewing without going outside the house.

Tip #8 – Stay up late several nights in November to get ahead on your blogging so that when you feel like a crummy dish rag other people think you are organized and on top of things!  Never mind the fact that you fed cereal to your kids for supper those few crazy nights in November which probably led to a break down in their immune system which therefore brought you to posting about tips to make it being easier to be sick as a family.  Just kidding!  I didn’t really feed them cereal for supper.  At least not this November!

How To Learn The Books Of The Bible: WFMW

Our church has an Awana Club program and Abby is in Sparks.  Last year she had to learn the books of the New Testament and this year she has to review them again.  However, she is having difficulty remembering them. 

So, being the wonderful improvising mother I am - *snort* – I made up my own solution to this problem. 

I took 4x6 index cards and wrote a book of the Bible on each one.  Now she “plays” by putting them in order.  Not only is she refreshing her memory on the New Testament books, but she is also utilizing her reading skills…which works for me on this Wednesday!

What’s In Your Throat?

This morning as I was helping the girls get ready for school, Emmy kept clearing her throat.

Abby asked, “Emmy, what is in your throat?”

Emmy cleared her throat once again and soberly answered: “Slime.”

I love her thoughts and perspective on everyday life!

From The Trenches Of Motherhood…where we clear our throats of whatever that stuff is!… -Mandy

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Join us here for more fun thoughts and comments from the trench kids!

You can also leave us a comment or share your funny stories over in our forum.

Going Through The Motions

This past year was one of the hardest years in my life.  Maybe the hardest of all.

In an ironic twist, it seemed that every time this sweet baby was in the hospital, my own trials increased.

While the things that God allowed to come my way in the past 12 months have strengthened me, they have also left me exhausted and spiritually drained. 

At this moment, the close of this 28th year of my life, I feel like I am stuck on “auto pilot” or in what I fondly call the “cope mode”.  And I am tired of that.  I don’t want to be stuck…

…I want to be thriving!

I don’t want to go through the motions anymore, I want to give my everything with an all consuming passion for Christ and His amazing grace in my life.

When I came across the above video clip of Matthew West’s song The Motions I knew it was going to be my theme for the year of 2010.  I hope it will be your theme as well as we step out together from going through the motions to soaking in the presence of God and living a life consumed by Him.

I don’t want to wake up at 60 years of age and look back and ask myself: “What if I had given everything?”  I want God to take me – my selfish pride – out of the way this year and dig deep to refresh my hear, mind, and soul in Him.

Do I have a plan? 

Yes!  I do have a plan.  Something that I am going to set in motion this week to help make this a year where I just soak up all I possibly can and saturate my life with the truth of God’s Word.

Join me on January 1st to read about my 2010 theme…

WHAT IF I HAD GIVEN EVERYTHING?

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Fan The Flame {Introduction}

In November I did a book review of Seven Reasons Why God Created Marriage.

I walked away pronouncing it one of thee best books on marriage I have ever read.  Maybe even the very best. 

Although this book holds a very close second!

Seven Reasons Why God Created Marriage inspired me to do a series of posts, based on page 36 of this book, to encourage you in your marriage. 

And to encourage you to read the book.

Starting Friday, January 8th, I will be doing a weekly post to encourage you to fan the flame of your marriage.  This will go for 9 weeks and you will have the opportunity to link up with a post on what you did to fan the flame.

I hope you will join me on the 8th!  And even tell your friends about it, too!

The One Year Devotions for Preschoolers 2 by Carla Barnhill

  The One Year Devotions for Preschoolers 2 by Carla Barnhill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Several years ago I read through the first Devotions for Preschoolers and enjoyed it with my two daughters. And now with my son I am once again blessed by this simple book written for little ears and eyes.

Each page holds a dated entry for you to read as a devotional for your preschooler. A title and verse are followed by a short devotional thought and explanation that even a two year old can begin to grasp.

The adorable illustrations will have your attention captured along with your child's as they bring to life the words on the page.

At the bottom of each page is short sentence that sums it all up that you can use to remind your child through out the day of what they learned earlier.

My preschooler, Micah who is 2 & 1/2 as I write this review, loves this book and begs me to read it to him. He doesn't want to stop with just one day...he wants more! It's a book that we love to snuggle up with and spend talking in child terms about Biblical things.

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This review copy was provided by Tyndale House Publishers.

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Kids Say The Funniest Things: Removing Birthmarks According To A 6-Year-Old

On the way home from school today Abby announced that one of her class mates was not at school because she was having surgery.

The word “surgery” always sounds so serious and so I quickly asked her if she knew what the surgery was for.

Abby responded very solemnly: “Yes.  It was to take a birth bump and move it to a different place.”

“Do you mean it was to remove a birthmark?” I asked as I held in the giggles.

“Oh, yeah it was that. ”

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Want more laughs?  Then click here to read more of what my kids say!

12 Pearls Of Christmas: Celebrate

What Really Matters
by Dawn Meehan

In the hustle and bustle and commercialism of Christmas, take time to remember the real reason why we celebrate - the birth of Christ, our Lord and Saviour. May you all have a blessed Christmas!

I had a VERY long day with the kids doing little but fighting. By the time we left for church, we were all short tempered, snapping at each other, and not at all in the Christmas spirit. Thankfully, once at church, we calmed down. Things were put in perspective for us. We sang Christmas songs and began to smile at one another again. The kids didn't fight once while we were there. Well, they did use their battery operated candles as light sabers for a minute, but we'll forget about that part.

I never sent out cards (sorry to all my family and friends). It just didn't happen this year. I don't think I ever completely finished my shopping, but it's a little late now. Several items I ordered online have been back ordered. I just realized that the kids have eaten all the cookies I've made and there are none to put out for Santa now. I encouraged them to leave him a glass of wine instead. And I failed to read the Christmas story to the kids before they went to bed.

But you know what? None of that matters. It really doesn't. Christmas is here! Christ is born! And He doesn't care if we sent out Christmas cards. He doesn't care if we ate all the cookies we baked. He doesn't even care if we never got around to baking a single cookie at all! He loves us no matter how much we screw up.

Now that's worth celebrating!

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Dawn Meehan (aka mom2my6pack) grew up in Chicagoland where she began her writing career at the age of 5 with her widely praised, The Lucky Leprechaun, an epic tale of a leprechaun who is- yes, you guessed it, lucky.

Dawn has six children, basically because she didn't want seven. She is the author of Because I Said So and spends her days blogging at BecauseISaidSo.com, changing diapers, cleaning pudding off her ceiling, tackling insurmountable piles of laundry, and explaining to her kids why they can't have a pet squirrel or an indoor slip-n-slide.

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to you!

We hope that you will celebrate the greatest gift of all today – the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

We also hope that you are looking forward to a new year as much as we are.  As we gear up for 2010 it’s only appropriate to reflect on 2009 and praise God for his faithfulness.

Our youngest member of the family, Micah will be turning three in February.  He has has had a big year -learning to walk, talk, and put together puzzles among many other things.  And he was even steady enough on his feet to go outside with the girls this summer and by fall was running in chase of them. 

Micah enjoys playing with his friends in the church nursery and in Sunday morning Toddler Church.  His favorite toy is a John Deere skidder which he uses to pretend he’s logging with his little round blocks.  His love of trucks, tractors, and all equipment make us think he has sawdust in his blood due to having family sawmills on both sides of the family tree.

He has also become a big fan of Lightening McQueen and Friends.  The first two weeks that the girls were back in school Micah would beg to watch the movie “Cars” each day…and he can do a very cute “ka-chow” like Lighting.

Our middle child is four-and-a-half-year-old Emily.  She likes to know everyone’s birth order for some reason, and of recent she has deemed middle children “special”. 

Emily is full of energy all the time.  She began K-4 Preschool in September and is doing very well.  Emily thrives on the challenge and learning and the social fun as well.  However, each afternoon she still takes a nap for Mommy’s sanity and because her busy pace wears her out even if she does not want to admit it.

Emily likes to be a mini mommy to her little brother and at the same time do everything her big sister does.  We have tried to find things for her to do that she is good at and that help her grow.  One of those events was when she sang a duet with Mommy.  She practiced all week and it was beautiful, but when the time came to be on stage she burst into tears and cried her way through.  However, since then she has been on stage twice and done wonderful each time.  God has gifted her with a beautiful little voice and the ability to sing through life.

Abigail is our six-and-a-half-year-old first born.  She is eating us out of house and home as she grows taller and taller each week. 

Abby is in first grade in a class of all girls which is actually working out quite well.  She looks forward to school and thinks snow days are “bad ideas”.  She has begun to read books alone and likes to read to her siblings.  She enjoys watching our school basketball games and mimicking the cheerleaders.

We have seen such a sweet tenderness in Abby’s heart this year towards God.  It was such a wonderful celebration to have her accept Jesus Christ as her Savior this year and desire to grow in her relationship with Him.  There is nothing that makes a parent’s heart rejoice more than knowing they will see their child in Heaven someday.

Justin enjoyed a good spring turkey season this year; limiting out in both states where he hunts.  He also enjoyed spending time with his Dad, Brothers, and other family members when he spent a week “back home” to deer hunt.

He continues to serve as Assistant Pastor and enjoys what God has called him to do.  It’s exciting to watch how he grows each year in skill and in passion for touching the lives of others. 

Justin’s “big” accomplishment this year is his developed computer skills.  Since moving here three and a half years ago he continues to hone his skills, but this year he really has rolled up his sleeves to learn how to better use Power Point and download videos, etc.  I now go to him for some computer advice.  That is a big change for my truck-driving-turned-pastor husband!

And  then there is me.  Mandy…the Trench Mommy.  I have grown in my boldness this year in learning new blogging and web skills.  Not that I’m an expert by any means, but I sure am excited for the constant learning and mental challenges it gives me. 

My passion for reading was sparked once again when I made a goal at the beginning of 2009 to read a book a week.  I met that goal and then passed it by another 15+ books.  That personal challenge brought life to my new hobby of book reviewing on my blog (To Read, Or Not To Read) for multiple publishing companies.

The most important part of this year has been my spiritual growth.  It’s been a long and exhausting year of being stretched and molded for the glory of God.  However, at the same time, it neat to look back over the year and to see where I’ve been, where we have been as a family, and now see where we are.  I’m not perfect, we are not perfect, but we are growing…and for that we praise God.

As a family we are so thankful for where God has brought us and what He has done in our lives.  We are looking forward to another great year of serving Him here in our family life…and in the trenches of motherhood, too.

Merry Christmas!

12 Pearls Of Christmas: Slow Down, Pray, & Give Thanks

All Decked Out For Christmas
by Maureen Lang

One of the reasons so many of us love the holiday season is that it's just so...pretty! Twinkling lights, shiny ornaments, packages that glisten with bows and fancy wrapping. Our houses are trimmed with wreaths and glowing trees, and the neighborhood lights up the night with strands of icicles and glimmering reindeer.

Even we get decked out for the holidays! Chances are most of us will attend at least one party this season, and if we don't usually don clothing or jewelry with a bit of sparkle, now's the time to take a chance with something that reflects the holiday.

Smiles are another reason this season is such a popular one. They accompany that familiar greeting-Merry Christmas! Smiles go with the gifts we give and with the gifts we receive. Smiles go with the old Christmas carols and classic movies we watch every year.

The holiday season is a time when everything can seem amplified. But what if we're all decked out on the outside, from the sparkling clothing to our best effort at a smile, and on the inside we're anything but happy? If life isn't what we expected it to be, the gap between reality and our happy, hopeful expectations seem wider when everyone around us is laughing through the season.

I know there are as many reasons to be unhappy as there are to be happy, and I wouldn't begin to have the answer to make this season bearable for everyone. But I do know a few things that have worked for me:

Slow down. What? During the busiest time of the year? Yep. I know when I feel completely overwhelmed it's because I'm pressuring myself to do too much. So I try to plan ahead, settle for less than perfection, do my best without driving myself and everyone around me crazy. Choose what's really important and let go of the other things. And I've adopted my aunt's favorite saying: "However it turns out, that's how we like it." Works wonders on attitude!

Pray. As my pastor reminded me this weekend from Psalm 34:18: the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. God may not deliver us from our troubles, but He promises to stay beside us-in fact, closer than when everything seems hunky-dory.

Find a moment to give thanks for what you do have (without looking around at those who have more).

This last point deserves a moment of reflection, and is something I'm still learning to do. I have a child severely handicapped by Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic form of mental retardation. For years I thought I'd accepted his condition. I obediently said to God, "thank you even for this," since it taught me many things about adjusting to the life I've been given rather than the one I might have chosen.

But as my son gets older, I see new forms of acceptance making that feeling of gratitude more genuine. I think I'm finally letting go of some of the hopes and dreams I had for him, my oldest son. I can no longer imagine him any other way than the way he is, even though I'd be first in line if a cure is ever found.

I still think it's a good thing to give thanks in all things, even if it begins out of obedience rather than tender gratitude for whatever thorn we live with. But realizing it's okay to grow into that gratitude was a blessing to me.

Maybe some of the bruises on our spirit seem tender during the holiday season, a reminder that all the glitter on the outside might not light us up on the inside. My prayer is trust Psalm 34:18. Let's lean on Him this season-He's right here beside us!

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Maureen Lang grew up loving to tell stories, and God has blessed her immeasurably to be able to tell them to a wider audience these days. For the latest goings-on, please check her blog!

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

Countdown To Christmas!

Our family has been counting down to Christmas by adding a sticker a day to this cute little advent poster.  We hope that you will have a wonderful Christmas day tomorrow celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Next year I would like to try out this idea that my blogging friend, Jenny, used this year.

Merry Christmas!

12 Pearls Of Christmas: Wondrous Mystery

Magnificat
by Anna Joujan

Holy. Holy. Holy is the Lord. The familiar catch of breath. The sting in the eyes. And the tears begin to flow with the falling rain. Or do the tears fall with the flowing rain. What is it in these words that I whisper that wrenches at my heart so? Why does Mary's prayer touch the core of my being, so many centuries after it was spoken?

I think it must be because I know that she was just a girl, just a human being, with a woman's heart like my own. And so, when I hear her wondering words, I can feel with her the emotion she must have felt. To bear the son of God-what wondrous mystery, what glorious honour! And she was, like me, just a young woman-much younger, in fact, than I am now. And so, no matter how often I hear the story and read her words, it still has the power to bring abrupt and unsought tears.

What a gracious God, to work wonders with such frail and faulty creatures as us!

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Anna G. Joujan was born in South Dakota, as a Canadian citizen, and was raised in Zambia, the child of missionary teachers. Since her family's move to the U.S., Anna spent her childhood and early adulthood traveling throughout the world thanks to various educational and work opportunities . . . France, China, Peru, and Jamaica being some of the stops in her journeys. Her undergraduate degree in French Literature led to a Masters in Information Sciences, and to work as a college and high school librarian, and a cross country coach. She has also returned to Zambia multiple times to teach for individual families and for local schools. All the while continuing pursuing her passions of writing, artwork, photography . . . and running to a fault. She blogs at Full of Grace.

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

12 Pearls Of Christmas: Perspective

A Soggy, Jolly, Holly Christmas
by Melody Carlson

One of my most memorable Christmases started out as a natural disaster. But isn't that a bit how a pearl is formed? An oyster's soft easy life is disrupted by the invasion of sand, but something good comes out of it. When I was eight, we experienced the worst flood in recorded Oregon history. It was only a few days before Christmas when our streets became shallow rivers and the governor proclaimed a state of emergency. My sister and I assumed the flood was simply our new water-world playground and didn't understand the seriousness of washed out bridges and downed power lines and submerged homes. But when we realized this flood was about to nix our usual three-hour trek to our grandparents' home near the coast, we were not happy.

Naturally, our mom, a single parent, protested the sensibility of holiday travel (most of Oregon's rivers were involved in the flood). But Christmas at Grandma's house was our favorite event of the year. And thanks to our persistence, Mom finally gave in. We piled into the car and headed out. Flood waters climbed higher the closer we got to the coast. And at one point the road behind us was closed and the one ahead was flooded and about to be closed as well. The state policeman told us we could cross "at our own risk." We followed a Volkswagen Bug into the water-then we actually watched the bug floating away! Of course, there was nothing to do besides plow on through the water, which appeared to be nearly two feet deep! Fortunately we had an old heavy Chevy that did not float away, but the water seeped in and pooled on the floors.

Fortunately, we made it safely to the grandparents. But once we arrived, we learned there would be no Christmas tree because the road to the woods was closed. Then my grandpa picked up his ax and led us outside where he chopped down his prize holly tree planted in the parking strip. I stared in horror, thinking Grandma was going to have a fit. But then he explained the city had told him to remove the tree for traffic visibility. So we had a twelve foot holly tree for Christmas. It was a little prickly decorating it, but with its shiny green leaves and red berries, it was the most beautiful tree ever! So what started out as a disaster turned out to be a soggy, holly, jolly Christmas after all.

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Melody Carlson, author of Limelight, Love Finds You in Sisters, The Christmas Dog, 86 Bloomberg Place, Diary of a Teenage Girl, The Carter House Girls, and much more... http://www.melodycarlson.com

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

A Christmas Train

A few weeks ago our family bundled up to brave the cold and went to see The Holiday Christmas Train* sponsored by the Canadian Pacific Railroad.

*I refuse to call it the “Holiday Train”.

We found a spot right next to the track and watched as it came into town all lit up.

The Train stopped and one of the box cars was set up as a stage.  We watched as the band played a few numbers and then collected food for Chow. 

We got home late and had to get up early the next morning for church, but spending time with the family as we made memories was worth it all.

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What are you and your family doing to celebrate this Christmas season?  Leave a comment here or join me in my community forum to share.

And don’t forget about this great way to celebrate Christmas and help out The Children’s Hospital!  You can help TheBlogFrog donate money just be joining my community forum.  It’s that easy!

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12 Pearls Of Christmas: Help & Support

Calling Elizabeth ... HELP!
by Tricia Goyer

Mary, the mother of Jesus is one of the most well-known women of all time. She was also a teen mom facing an unplanned pregnancy. This Christmas we will see evidence of Mary's story all around us. And as you hear it through Christmas songs and Christmas shows think of three things:

1. Mary was signed up for a big task she wasn't prepared for.
2. Mary no doubt faced criticism from people around her.
3. Mary found someone to turn to - a friend who could help Mary to succeed in her new role. It was Mary's older cousin Elizabeth.

Elizabeth played an important part in Mary's life. We know this because the book of Luke begins by telling us Elizabeth's story first. Elizabeth was the wife of a priest. She was very old and had no children, but God blessed her in her old age by allowing her to get pregnant. After Elizabeth's story comes Mary's story ... another surprise pregnancy. Can you imagine what a shock that was to everyone who knew both women? (Yes! I'm sure you can!)

The cool thing is that the angel Gabriel told Mary about Elizabeth's surprise pregnancy. It's as if he was saying, "Look, there's someone in your same situation. Turn to her. She can help you."

Mary did go to Elizabeth. In fact she lived with her older cousin for three months. Elizabeth was the first one who rejoiced over the child Mary held within her womb, and I imagine Elizabeth was there to encourage Mary as she coped with the idea of becoming a teen mom.

Like Mary, each of us should have people in our lives who we turn to for help, support and encouragement. Being a mom isn't an easy thing, and facing an unplanned pregnancy is even tougher.

When I had my son Cory I was 17-years-old, and there were a group of women from my grandma's church who supported me. They were the first ones who showed me that the child that was growing inside me was a gift. They gave me a baby shower, and they fought over holding my son after he was born.

As my son grew, there were other women I looked to ... and most of the time they didn't even know I was watching. One of them was Cheryl. Cheryl was patient with her children, she gave them big hugs, she laughed with them and played with them and I modeled myself after her. The thing about finding mentors is sometimes we can observe them without them even knowing. And if we're really lucky they enjoy their role of giving us advice.

Later, when I had two kids, I met a friend named Cindy. She and I were the same age and we became quick friends. Cindy was a support to me because we traded babysitting, talked about parenting problems, and we encouraged each other. She was someone who was walking the same road as me, and her advice helped more times than I can count.

No matter who we are, or where we live, each of us can look around and see the people we have in our lives. Some may cheer us on, some may guide our parenting, and others may just be there to walk along side us. If the mother of Jesus needed someone to look to for support ... shouldn't we? Everyone needs someone to provide a little help and support.

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Tricia Goyer is the author of twenty-one books including From Dust and Ashes, My Life UnScripted, and the children's book, 10 Minutes to Showtime. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like Today's Christian Woman and Focus on the Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in the mountains of Montana. Connect with Tricia at www.triciagoyer.com.

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

Blogging Basics: Swagbucks

Welcome back to my humble little blog post series on blogging basics!  Thanks for joining me!

Today’s post is about Swagbucks.  Something I really didn’t know anything about only a few short weeks ago.  Seriously, I won’t even tell you what I thought it might be.  I like to hold onto what dignity I still have!

In my trench lingo I will sum it up for you as best I can.  Swagbucks is a search engine type of thing that you use to search just as you might with google or dogpile.  However, as you seach, you will win swagbucks which turn into $5 amazon.com gift cards for every 45 swagbucks you earn. 

There are more ways to win, too, but to get you started here are a few links that might help you out!

• Swagbucks forum discussion
• Article on swagbucks tips & tricks
• Swagbucks website
• Swagbucks store

Now it’s time for you to share!

Do you use Swagbucks?  Why or why not?  What helpful tips do you have on using it?  Join me in my community forum to voice your thoughts.

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