Words to Live by, Southern Style

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"My dear, this is something you must always remember. Your bosom can be fake. Your smile and your hair color can be fake. But your pearls and your silver must always be real." South Carolina grandmother talking to her granddaughter.

  ~Maryln Schwartz in  A Southern Belle Primer

One of my favorite blogs, Walking in Grace & Beauty

I struggle with getting older.  Yes, I realize that sounds "very mature," but I do. No where is that struggle greater than with clothes. At some point, it seems, designers and store buyers are at a loss as to what to buy for those of us who are too old for the trendy teenager influenced set but not ready (by a far shot) for the grandama fashions.  This is particularly true if you are petite.  Trust me when I say, apparently if you are petite you want to dress like you are 90 years old...at least that is what it appears to me when I visit the mall.  Hello!  There are more than a few of us not ready for polyester down here!!!!

Recently, I found an adorable blog that hits this struggle right on target.  Cyndy Spivey at Walking in Grace and Beauty is a fashion and beauty blogger with a twist, "For years I thought mixing Jesus with Fashion was an oxymoron until I realized that God created beauty in the very beginning when He created the world and He created me to enjoy beauty too! As a forty something wife, mother and grandmother, I think forty’s really are fabulous!"

Walking in Grace & Beauty

 I LOVE it! Cyndi presents all kinds of wonderful, budget conscience, and modest but fashionable clothing, along with makeup and lifestyle tips to help you feel better about the way you look without forgetting that the most important element is  your heart!  I hope you will pop over and check out Cyndi's presentation of  the latest trends in fashion and make-up and how you can incorporate them into your busy lifestyle.  Please tell her I sent you!

Friday? YES!!!

YES, IT IS!!!!  Can I get a WHOOT?  Since my husband is out of town during the week, I tend to feel like I am living for Friday these days, this week especially!  We were invaded by the sick bug and my boys were both out of school most of the week with a really bad case of Strep.  Normally Strep has been a pretty minor thing for them to bounce back from, but this strain just knocked the wind out of them.  So, needless to say (but I will anyway), it has been a long week.  It hasn't been all bad, though.  I actually kind of like them being home and us not having to run around so much.  The up side, as well, is that they were both sick this week as opposed to one being sick this week and the other being sick next week.  We did lots of jammy wearing, napping and movie watching so overall it wasn't too bad.

I hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!!!!

Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge Week 3 - Kiss Your Way to a Better Marriage

Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge Week 3

I have been joining in with Courtney, at Women Living Well, for her Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge and this week the challenge is a fun one!  It is a KISS your way to a better marriage!!! 

"So this week’s challenge is:

Pursue kissing your husband. Purpose to meet him at the door with a whopper of a kiss!

 

Solomon 5:16 says “His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely.”

 

Also, respond to his initiatives for intimacy.  “S*x is like a silent cheer.” ~ Paula Rinehart

 

“Be agreeeable and interested.(~Linda Dillow, Intimate Issues)

For some readers – this is going to be an especially tough challenge.  If your love has run out – you don’t need to manufacture it on your own - remember where love comes from, (I John 4:,7,8) love comes from God.  Go to God in prayer, be honest –ask God to help bring the spark back to your marriage and restore the love you once had.

 

Our men feel stronger, more capable, and built up when we respond to their advances with a smile. Seek to give your husband a back rub, or shower together, be creative! Purpose to kiss your husband like you mean it this week!"~Courtney, Women Living Well.

 

OK, ladies, I say lets go for it!  My husband is out of town during the week so I have to wait until Friday to share that wonderful kiss with him.  I know sometimes life gets so hectic and distracting that I kind of forget to really get lost in the simple act of kissing....but not this week!  

Coveted....

Shoes by Kate Spade

From my devotional today, "What will it take for you to come to that settled place where the central desire of your life is, "God, I just want more of you?"*   

Does anyone else wonder this for their own lives?  I do continually and sometimes I even seem to get a glimpse of that place...then I look away at something new, something shiny...something to distract me and catch the attention of my selfish desires.  This was the focus of my devotional today in a series on covetousness, which is funny to those who know me well because "coveted" is a very regular word in my vocabulary to describe all kinds of things, particularly a good parking spot.

I have learned a great deal about myself with this series especially about my  desire for the "right things at the wrong time."  I would never consider myself covetous in the sense that I see things others have and I desire them...but I do see things that I want for the sake of want.  I want it now, I want more than I might need, and want more than I need to fulfill God's plans for my life.  It seems that most of those "want things" are truly just a distraction to let myself stay focused on making myself number 1.  I use my wants to keep my focus off what I should focus on and that is contentment and the overwhelming blessings in my life and what I have.  Focusing on wanting a new pair of cute shoes is much easier than focusing on what God has called me to do...particularly if that calling might be a wee bit uncomfortable.  So, in the vain of transparency, I am here to say I struggle with covetousness but I so want to find that settled place where God is my central desire...

God granted them their request, but sent leanness into their lives.

Psalm 106:15 (ISV)

*The Word For You Today

Top 5 on Friday!

This week I read some really great posts that have given me much food for thought, motivation and inspiration. I am linking up with Kate @ Mrs. Monologues for the Blogs to Love Friday #1 linky party  with  my Top 5 on Friday!  I hope you will check out some of these great posts and be inspired and encouraged:

• Darlene, at Time-Warp Wife, continues her marriage series with a great post about praying in marriage:  Day 20 - To Uphold our Marriage in Prayer

• Courtney, at Women Living Well, continues her Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge, with 10 Creative Ways to say "I Love You" to your Husband

•  Jen, at Jen's Journey, shares how she has been impacted by one of my favorite books, The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian, in her blog post: The Power of a Praying Parent

• A new to me blogger (and apparently fellow shopaholic), Hilary Kimes Bernstien, shares about her personal challenge with a clothing fast in Controlling my Shopaholism with a Clothing Fast

• Another blogger I recently discovered is Priscilla at The Blissful Wife. She shares some great insight into making a home and realistic expectations in Keep it Steady, Mrs. Susie Homemaker

Happy Weekend, y'all!  I hope it is blessed!!!