Favorite Blog: Your Sacred Calling

Hello dear friends. My blog has sat unchanged for a few weeks. As many of you know I have started to homeschool my 11 year old ds, and my days have been really busy. I am sorry!

Back to A Mother's Apron and my favorite blogs.

I wanted to direct you to another favorite blog of mine Your Sacred Calling.

Here is a little about the wonderful owner Stacy McDonald:

I am a pastor’s wife, mother, grandma, conference speaker, co-author of Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, and author of Raising Maidens of Virtue. While traveling with my family, I have had the privilege of encouraging women all over the globe on issues pertaining to marriage, homemaking, chastity, and biblical beauty.

I became a Christian in my early twenties, after a lifetime of depression, wandering, and rebellion. I didn’t “find” Jesus; He found me, kicking and screaming. I am here only because of God’s Grace, period. I am so undeserving; yet, by His own sacrificial death and resurrection, Jesus overwhelmed me with His mercy and made me His. I truly am forever in His debt.

My husband, Pastor James McDonald of Providence Church, and I, together with our children, moved from Southeast Texas to the cornfields of the Midwest. I am a native Texan. I love spicy food and Blue Bell ice cream; in that order. I can’t stand fire ants, sauna-style heat, tree roaches, and traffic.

Since moving to the Midwest, I have enjoyed the four seasons, cooler summers, and wonderful new friends! Two of our ten children are married; one is engaged; two adult daughters live at home; and the five youngest are still being homeschooled. Yes, I am still in the trenches with you; but, I am willing to share what I’ve learned so far on this exciting walk of faith! Won’t you share with me too?

Stacy's blog is a wonderful place to go and find God honoring information. And on occasion she will list some of her wonderful recipes. Enjoy dear ones!

Blessings, Tracylea

Favorite Blogs: Like A Bubbling Brook

I stumbled on this blog quite by accident (or not). And just love it. Even the name Like A Bubbling Brook is fun to say!

Here is a little about one of my new favorites:

Welcome to Like a Bubbling Brook!

I’m Jaime, a very blessed thirty-something mama, married for over ten years to the man that I adore, Pierre. He’s a minister who loves God and his family with his whole heart. In the very little spare time he has, he enjoys mountain biking and endurance cycling. A couple of years ago he completed a 100-mile ride!

Did I mention I love this man? He is a dream come true.

We have two boys. Our oldest, Gentry, is five. He loves it when we read together, play silly games, or when he gets to help me in the kitchen. He’s incredibly smart; just yesterday he told me all about the Wright Brothers, and how they owned a bike shop before they started building gliders! He is a sweet boy and loves to talk to anyone who will listen.

Our youngest son is Preston. He is such a happy little man, and so sociable! He has the most amazing smile… it lights up the room. Do you know the kind of smile I’m talking about?

We live a simple life compared to most, I think. We try very hard to be good stewards and glorify God with our health, finances, and time. We have personal convictions about doing our best to live without debt shadowing our lives, so that we may be able to work for God without unnecessary financial pressures, and so that we may be able to do more to bless others. We fulfilled a long-time dream and purchased our current home debt-free in July 2007.

We believe that it is primarily our responsibility to train and disciple our children. We just began homeschooling our oldest son last fall, and it brings me so much joy to witness those “aha!” moments in Gentry’s life as he learns and grows. It is an honor to teach him that God has a plan and purpose for his life, and that everything he learns has its roots in God’s word. Home education is a privilege we are grateful for.

We try to eat wholesomely. Many of the foods you’ll find in our kitchen are all natural, and almost everything we eat at home is made from scratch. Our dinners are healthy and usually cost less than $5 to make if I’ve properly shopped the sales and stocked up when prices were low. I try to share a healthy, "real food" recipe here on LABB at least once a week.

And me? I love to cook, bake, read, tend to my tiny garden, consignment shop, and cozy up with my family. I enjoy a good cup of coffee, as I sit curled up on the couch, Bible in hand, in the early morning hours. As a stay-at-home mama with a graduate degree, I have an insatiable itch to study and research just about any worthy thought out there. I also love the challenge of living well on less.

That’s our little family. I’d love to hear about yours sometime. Let’s keep in touch!

In His Service,

Jaime is so wonderful and her blog is wonderful too. Please go here to enjoy it. Blessings, Tracylea

FYI

A dear sister wanted to let me know that a site I had linked to did not seem to align with my Christian beliefs. I feel so blessed to have a sister in Christ that cares enough about me to mention this to me. So I have been thinking and praying about how to address this and have come up with the following statement.

A Mother's Apron contains links to many sites, most of whom I agree with, but a few that are not necessarily Christian sites. Some I agree with on some matters, and differ on others. Just because I link to them, or speak about something on their site, it should not be construed as an endorsement of all that is written on the website or their belief statement .

While I certainly will not lead you to a site that is sinful, I do not and can not check everything on each site. And while some sites I link to are members of a religion/no religion that I do not align myself with, the information that is contained on that site has some Christian value to me and I hope you.

Again, I will not ever purposely lead you to a site that is not good for you or me. But I may link to a site, owned by a group that shares a different religion/belief than I do, solely because of an article or information the site contains that may help us in our Christian walk.

And please, in the future, if you feel like something posted here is not a good fit, please let me know like this sweet sister did!

Blessings, Tracylea

(My beautiful son at his Baptism (2007), HE REIGNS)

He Reigns~Newsboys

It’s the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It’s the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God’s holy fire
It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir

It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

Let it rise about the four winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this

And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they’ve just heard
‘Cause all the powers of darkness
Can’t drown out a single word

When all God’s children sing out
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
All God’s people singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

Godlessness in the Last Days

2 Timothy 3

Godlessness in the Last Days

¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

⁶They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. ⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. ⁹But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

Blessings, Tracylea

Communication and time management

Hello dear friends. I pray today is going well for you.

I was reading over at Women Living Well and came across a wonderful article about communication on time management in marriage. Courtney is correct when she says:

A lot of quarrels can be kept at bay if we are willing to ask our husbands their preferences and then be mindful of them.

I want to encourage you to follow her suggestion for week 5 of the Completing Him Challenge:

Week #5 Challenge: Make a list of 5 things you currently do and ask your husband to prioritize them for you of what is important to him. For example - a clean home, home cooked dinner, coupon clipping, service at church, having friends over for dinner, watching/doing sports with him, etc.

Read the full article here.

I am anxious to hear back how this works out. Please drop me a comment and let me know. I will post in the future my dh's responses. Blessings, Tracylea

Godly Direction

I have two wonderful books that I like to read yearly. Each for their own reasons give me a sense of direction of who I am and Whose I am, they are: Becoming A Woman Who Pleases God and Designing A Lifestyle That Pleases God by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock

Here is an excerpt, on fear, from Pat Ennis' blog Unfading Beauty :

As you multi-task today consider memorizing and meditating upon these truths:

● God is with you and will keep you wherever you go (Genesis 28:15).

● You should not fear or be dismayed for the Lord goes before you; He will not leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8).

● God will provide divine power for the tasks He calls you to accomplish (Joshua 1:5).

● God will be with you throughout the assignment He has commissioned you to undertake (1 Chronicles 28:20).

● When God calls you into a difficult situation, you are to recall that the battle is not yours, but His (2 Chronicles 20:15).

● When you are protected by your Savior’s rod and staff you do not need to fear any potentially threatening environment—even death (Psalm 23:4).

● Because the Lord is your light, salvation, and the strength of your life you have no need to fear (Psalm 27:1).

● When you are afraid you are to trust in God—an act of the will, not the emotions

(Psalm 56:3-4).

● No person can subvert God’s protection of you (Psalm 56:11).

● God has provided an intimate place of divine protection for you (Psalm 91:1-7).

● If you delight in God’s commandments you do not need to fear evil tidings

(Psalm 112:1, 7).

● Fear is removed when you reside in God’s wisdom (Proverbs 3:25-26).

● You need not fear if you are God’s child because He is faithful to sustain you (Isaiah 41:10-13).

● Your sovereign heavenly Father controls even the most mundane events—therefore you can have confidence that He will care for you (Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6-7).

● The peace that your heavenly Father gives provides comfort in the midst of turmoil (John 14:27).

● If you are a child of God, you do not have need to fear death or final punishment (Romans 8:14-16).

● Spiritual resources, seeking the welfare of others rather than your own, and a properly prioritized mind, not a spirit of fear, is a gift from your heavenly Father (2 Timothy 1:7).

● He who fears has not been made perfect in love (1 John 4:17-18).

The only positive fear recorded in Scripture is the fear of God. This fear is a reverence of God’s majesty, power, and greatness; as you embrace the biblical definition of fear you will most likely find the influence of the fear of man dissipating—thus increasing your ability to multi-task with greater proficiency.

Fear can truly overtake our daily lives, can't it? In this we learn that fear truly should be. But we are encouraged, aren't we sisters, by the Lords words. He teaches us that He is with us during all and we should only fear Him and not man.

To read this entire article by Pat Ennis at Unfading Beauty go here.

Blessings, Tracylea