Because of HIM

life can be beautiful and blessings abound....

Praising God today. So thankful we serve a RISEN Savior. Happy Easter, Friends.

 

 

Firmoo to YOU

(Poor Firmoo. They did not know I was eight months pregnant when they asked me to model their product.) 

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by a representative from Firmoo. For those who don't know, Firmoo is a global online optical store that sells both prescription and nonprescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. And get this... glasses start at only eight dollars! Firmoo contacted me to ask if I would be interested in reviewing their product. (Read... they send me a free pair of glasses of my choosing and I tell all of you beautiful people about my experience with their product and company.)

After reading the email, I did a happy dance in my living room!

I danced for three reasons.

The first reason I danced is because I love to dance. I look for any and every reason to bust a move. My oldest daughter frequently asks me if I am really going to be that mom. I assure her that I am.

The second reason I danced is because I am a sunglass loving gal, and being offered a free pair felt like Christmas. Sunglasses make me feel like a movie star. I do wear eyeglasses when necessary (though I mostly sport contacts), but I have yet to master that look. I usually wind up looking like a school marm from the eighties. But give me sunglasses and I am a happy girl doing a happy dance.

The third reason I danced is because it now meant I had FOUR WHOLE PEOPLE who knew that I had a blog! My dad, my mom, my favorite auntie, and now Antonio from Firmoo. And let me tell you, four whole readers felt awesome. Definitely something to dance about.

I wrote Antonio back right away and told him that I would love to review Firmoo! He was super helpful and friendly, and the entire process was fun.

After looking through their site, I chose these babies.

(My glasses and my pregnant face pictured above.) I chose that pair of sunglasses because they were orange, and for me there will never be another color. The only thing I was not crazy about were the little white bows on the frames. Not my style. But I knew my hair would cover them, and the color orange covers a multitude of sins, so I went with it. I placed my order right away. It was an easy process, the website was user friendly, and in less than two weeks my new sunglasses arrived in the mail. I was most impressed with the packaging! Not only did my sunglasses come with a handy dandy cleaning cloth, but I also received both a hard and a soft case! Awesome! I tried my glasses on for my girls and then I performed another happy dance, this time looking like a movie star. The glasses rocked and I rocked out. That is what we call a win win situation.

Now here is the cool part! Firmoo is offering a first pair free program. To you! This offer is for new customers only, one pair per person, and you are required to pay shipping. But other than that it is fabulously free! Click HERE for details and to check out this program. Another cool thing about Firmoo is that they offer a Virtual Try On System, where you can 'try on' glasses after uploading your photo. That way you are sure to never look like a school marm. Pretty awesome. If you are in the market for a new pair of glasses, check out Firmoo!

Thank you Firmoo for contacting me and allowing me to review your product. It was my pleasure! And thank you for helping me to look like a movie star while I shake it out in my living room. My family is forever grateful.

Winner(s) of Words

Words by J.K. Rowling. (source)

Words are my favorite.

If not used correctly, they have the potential to wound. But when used correctly (to encourage, compliment, truth tell, inspire), words have the power to change the world.

 I love that God chose words to tell his story that changed history. History that changed the world. And I love when writers who came after him encourage me to walk more closely with the creator of the world, the creator of words. It is my absolute privilege to share words with you here in this space. Words that have the potential to change your world. For those who won the book giveaway, it is my prayer that they do.

I think it is obvious, but I could not draw a single name. A lone name sounded too lonely, so I decided to give the lone name two friends. This made the lone name happy. My oldest daughter worked hard at writing out the names of the ladies who entered my little giveaway, and then she folded them into teeny tiny bits of paper. She was concerned that I would try and cheat (ahem). But what my daughter didn't know was that I had no agenda! It is my sincere wish that I could gift everyone who comes to this space with the gift of powerful words! But today, I could only gift three.

So here you have it. The winners of words:

Denise O.

Brittnie

Trish

Friends, contact me (kendrazickafoose@yahoo.com) and we will work out how I will get you the words of your choosing! If you live far away, send me your address and I will pop your prize in the mail. If you live, say, across the street from me, then I would love to hand deliver it to you!

Thank you all for coming to this space. And congratulations to the winners of words! I hope you are blessed because of them.

To Write Love On The Walls

Feathering of our new nest has begun.

Walls are being freshly painted, new carpet will soon arrive. And I am trying to find the balance between creating a beautiful space for our family to call home, while reminding myself that every last bit of it is temporary. I want my children to forever know that we will never really be home until the very end. And I want to assure them that while beautiful things are fun, and while a beautiful space can make the soul sing, life is far bigger than the beautiful temporal. New beginnings and a new home do not necessitate new belongings. A new attitude can make all the difference in the world. So we are striving to create beauty, while being creative with what we already have.

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Today we wrote love on the walls of our new nest.

In ten years of marriage we have moved ten different times. And every single time I have wanted to pick out specific scripture(s) for each room of our new home. For ten years, I have wanted pieces of God's love letter to  the world to be the foundation of our nest. But we would get busy, things would become rushed, and scripture would be overlooked. But not this time. This time we wrote love on the walls. Boss will paint over the words, but they will still be there. Our foundation. A reminder of what we are trying to accomplish in our family and in our home. And it makes my heart happy.

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Tonight is the last night to enter your name (HERE). If you would like the chance to win something that has the potential to rock your prayer life, then pop on over and leave a comment. Tomorrow, one of my children will select a name from a bowl (because we are professional like that), and then I will announce the winner! Hooray! It makes me happy to share some of the things I love to love with you!

As always, thank you for sharing in our story. Life is better when we do it together.

Among Thorns

(source)

A seed among thorns.

That's me.

I tend to skip over the parables in the Bible, as if I don't need to be taught any lessons. But this morning the lesson jumped right off the page.

The seed (the word of God) that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. (Luke 8:14)

Choked by life's worries, riches, and pleasures. That's what jumped out at me.

I want my life to produce a crop for the Lord. I want my days to matter. I want the point of my life to be to point to him. In everything. I want to get this living backwards thing right. Jesus first. All else second. And I do believe my heart is in the right place. I have good intentions. But then I get choked by life. And instead of producing a crop, I am merely a seed among thorns.

I have already shared my hope that our new move produces a new movement in our family.  Less space for us to fill up with worldly clutter, hopefully equals more room for God to work in our lives. Less places our money needs to be spent (just to make ends meet), hopefully equals more to give away. Less of being in the world, hopefully equals more of the world seeing God in us. That is my hope. Those are my intentions.

But then I get caught up in the worries. What if our current house does not sell? What if the world doesn't understand what we are trying to do? And I get caught up in the worldly riches and pleasures. Like paint samples, and designing a beautiful space in my mind. Light gray walls with cherry, turquoise and lemon accents would look nice, I really do think. And our table might not fit, so perhaps we should get a new one. And if our house does sell and we are able to create a new budget, how fun to be able to purchase all of the pleasures I see in my Pinterest dreams!

And just like that I get choked up, all thoughts of less of me and more of God gone. All thoughts of more to give away gone. And we are back to the old way of life. Fitting Christ in around the edges of our very American lives, instead of fitting our lives around him. A seed among thorns.

But praise God the story does not end there. The last part of the parable gives us the key to being successful at producing a plentiful crop.

Perseverance.

Though the world will forever try and choke us with its worries, and its riches, and its pleasures, we can persevere. We must persevere. Because Christ did not come so that we could remain the same. He came so that we would have the chance to change. The continued chance to produce a plentiful crop.

Because of Christ, we do not have to remain a seed among thorns.