Faith Like a Child

My almost-five-year-old sister, Abigail, came to me a few weeks ago tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Amy, something's w-wrong with m-me!"

Me: "What? What's the matter?"

I get on my knees next to her and put my arm around her as she continues to cry.

"I f-feel like I'm gonna throw up!"

Poor baby. I tried to comfort her, thinking she was going to- you know- and said,

"Ok, go ahead- it's gonna be all right."

Abigail: "But I drank too much water!"

Me: "You will be fine- it's okay- it just probably went down funny so it's making you feel weird."

Abigail getting more upset: "No!  Water I got out of the bathroom!"

Me: "That's okay, sweetie!"

Abigail: "No it's not!  It's bad water! We w-wash our h-hands with it!"

I proceeded to explain how the water was really just the same as we drink in our kitchen except we have a filter for our drinking water in the kitchen but that some water from the tap wouldn't hurt her.

I went on to say that I was going to pray over her to ask God to settle her stomach.  Her answer surprised me.

"I d-don't think H-He can!"

In a bit of shock I went on to explain how God can do anything and even if He doesn't do wha

t we want Him to He has a reason for it that is good for us.

So we prayed... and I turned on a short movie to get her mind off her nausea... she didn't throw up.

A little while later I said to her, "I guess God really can can't He?"

~

A few days ago it happened again.

"W-will you p-pray for m-me?"

I thought you'd never ask, Pumpkin.

~

Yesterday it happened again- but this time she came to Daddy. He picked her up and was holding her when she cryed,

"W-will you p-pray for m-me?  It always f-feels better w-when we p-pray for it!"

It's like a sweet reward- those words.  I felt so honored to be instrumental in building the faith of my little sister.

It in turn built my own.

Photo Challenge: Music

Hello, all...

Kelsey over at A Ray of Sunshine is having a photo challenge... but I'm late and it ends today!

The theme is music... here's a photo I took a year or so ago for a friend who builds guitars:

Have a wonderful day, y'all!

 

~Amy

And the Winners are....

Congratulations to my winners!

(So sorry it took me so long to post... we had a VERY busy day yesterday!)

 

The winner of the Pinecone Votive Candles is.....

Alyssa at Alyssa Rose!

 

The winner of the Vegan Shea Butter Candy Corn Soap is...

Kara!

 

And the winner of the Pumpkin Spice Cupcake Soap is...

Kelsey at A Ray of Sunshine!

 

And the winner of the 3 sets of fall earrings is...

Vanessa!

 

And the winner of the Fall Leaf Soap set is...

Kara!

 

And the winner for my brother's adorable leaf coasters is...

Kelsey R. at Like a Tree!

 

The winners were pulled by my two wonderful assistants, Emma (9), and Violet (2 1/2)- so you know it wasn't rigged ;)

 

Please email me at aheartsurrendered@gmail.com with your mailing address before next Tuesday... if I do not receive it by then I will choose another winner...

Today's the Day!

Yay!  All the giveaways ended yesterday- the winners are to be announced today!!!

Please be patient as the entries are tallied... winner to be announced shortly!

(Unfortunately I may not get around to posting them until tonight or tomorrow morning... we have a busy day planned today- apologies, apologies...  :)  )

 

~Amy

It's Cold Outside!

I am wearing long sleeves.  I am wearing long sleeves.

I AM WEARING LONG SLEEVES!

Yesterday it was an average warm day here in the south- this morning it is actually COLD!

I was so excited- I finally got down my "cold clothes" bin and picked out a long sleeved shirt...  I'm looking forward to going through the whole bin soon (I would today but I'm working on Abigail and Violet's closets today!)...

We have the back sliding glass doors open in our living room- aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh....

Thank you, Jesus, for seasons!

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven"

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Where's Your Heart?

"for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:21

Most of the time when we hear this verse we think of "treasure" as our money, but what else do we treasure?  What do we hold dear- everyone has it- that is much more valuable than all the money in the world?

Time.

(Clock sold here)

It's a tough thing.... so much can steal our time away if left unbridled- TV, movies, Facebook, Twitter, hobbies.... the list could go on and on.  Are we investing our time into things that really matter?  Because whatever the activity, worthless or not, our hearts are in whatever we spend our time on.

Food for thought.

When I sat down to write this post I was specifically thinking about my brothers and sisters.  Do they have my heart?  Am I spending enough on my "treasure" of time (and/or money!) on them?

What about the Lord Jesus? Are you spending your most precious possession to read His Word- to pray to Him and to enrich your relationship with Him?  Your life is a gift- He gave you the time that you spend now as you please... how are you using it for His glory?

Just been thinking...  I know I need to work on prioritizing where my time is spent!

Hello, Autumn! Blog Party and Giveaway *Week 4- Final Week!*

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Happy Friday, ya'll!

This is the final week for my fall giveaway... I know, I know... it's sad but it hopefully won't be the the last giveaway on this little blog!

This week's topic:

That was just two years (and only two children...) out of many more years (and siblings :-) ) that I would have loved to go through but ever since I had planned this topic I had the above photo in my head so I posted the above photos because they were to cute to pass up once I found them with it... :-)

When we lived in IL (that is from where the above photos came from) fall was our favorite season... like- EVER.  We would open all of our windows and doors in our 150-year-old Victorian farmhouse and the crisp cool air would fill the rooms.  The smell of leaves, both burning (what else to do with the piles and piles of leaves that surrounded our house courtesy of the 6 or so huge maple trees that filled our back, front, and side yard?) and sometimes wet and musty from a fresh autumn rain permeated the air.  Pumpkin Spice coffee (which I am now drink myself as I write this :-) ) marked the season when I smelled my parents brewing the morning joe...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh....

Anyway- want to know the prizes for this week?

Rose City Soap has generously sponsored this lovely Vanilla, Pumpkin Spice and Cranberry Autumn Soap Set :

Here are some other lovely and festive things in her shop:

The second prize is sponsored by my sweet 11-year-old brother, John-David:

Felt Leaf Coasters that he made!

Ok, here we go again....

Mandatory:

Visit Rose City Soap-leave a comment telling me that you did!

 

Extra

Leave seperate comments for each “entry.” If it says “2 entries,” leave two comments, etc.

~

Subscribe to my feed (at the top of the left hand sidebar) and if you are a subscriber let me know.

{3 entries}

~

Add the giveaway blog button to your blog’s sidebar, and leave me the link to your blog.

{2 entries}

~

Blog about this week’s topic and leave me the link.

{3 entries}

~

Blog, Tweet, or Facebook about this giveaway and leave me the link.

{3 entries per}

~

Add my link to your sidebar.

{2 entries}

~

For those with Etsy accounts, “heart” Rose City Soap.

{2 entries}

~

Purchase something from  

Rose City Soap.

{10 entries}

Make sure that if you have not already enter the last three giveaways as well!

Week 3

Week 2

Week 1

  All giveaways end on October 20th and the winners for each giveaway will be announced on October 21st.  If you still don’t understand let me know and I’ll help ya out… 

Did you know...

If you have a blog, Facebook, or Twitter, you have a wonderful ministry platform.

 

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always , even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

We have heard this scripture uttered again and again by pastors about to go on missions trips, missionaries giving their testimonies and even just in passing.  We imagine taking trips to Africa, giving Bibles to people in destitute areas, or  maybe even just giving tracts to your server with your tip at a restaurant.  All of these are good things...  but what about at home?  What about your blog- your own little space on the internet- do you share the gospel with people on there?

I must confess that I have not had the gospel spelled out on my blog until now...  I was hit with conviction that I have this blog (albeit small and insignificant) but what am I doing with it that brings glory to God?  I mean, that's what we are here for, right?

I found a wonderful place to get online gospel tracts that you can embed into your posts.

Here's an example.

Here's the link to the site: http://www.chick.com/cartoons/embed.asp

It can be so simple to just add one (or more) of these to your sidebar... or better yet create a whole page about Jesus, who He is, what He means to you and what He did for you- what He can do for others...

Food for thought- please consider it carefully!

The Party Goes On... and On...

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I know ya'll are loving the Fall Fashion topic...  so many young ladies have posted about it this week!

Check it out:

Visit Kara L.'s post here.

Kelsey at A Ray of Sunshine:

Gloria at Discover Captivating:

Mariah at Heritage Photography:

Alyssa at Alyssa Rose: A Daughter of Heritage:

Be sure to stop by their posts and leave a comment or two on your favorite outfit! ;-)

I Love Rainy Days...

It is so cozy and fall-ish here where I live right now!  :-)

It has been pouring all weekend- the sky has been dark and the air humid but not hot.... it has been so wonderful!  (In case you haven't noticed I LOVE rainy days!)

Last night I enjoyed the coziness with a Salted Caramel Mocha Latte (homemade)

 

and cutting out the pattern pieces to my latest project:

I'm making the dress on the right for Violet and Abigail...  with some awesome corduroy from Hobby Lobby!  (photos to come)

 

Anyway...  hope you are enjoying the weather as much as I am!

Have a blessed day :-)

 

~Amy

Hello, Autumn! Blog Party and Giveaway *Week 3*

*Note:  I changed the date that this giveaway ends to October 20th- the winners will be announced the 21st...  I'm sorry for any inconvenience :-) *

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This week I decided to switch up my post- announcing this week's giveaway prize first then maybe you can guess this week's topic.  :-)

This week's sponsor is:

She has sponsored all three sets of these earrings that will be given away in one prize:

 

 

 

Aren't they cute?

Check out these other things in the store by clicking here!

Now- how to enter (here we go again!):

Mandatory:

Visit Made By Lin Lin-leave a comment telling me that you did!

 

Extra

Leave seperate comments for each “entry.” If it says “2 entries,” leave two comments, etc.

~

Subscribe to my feed (at the top of the left hand sidebar) and if you are a subscriber let me know.

{3 entries}

~

Add the giveaway blog button to your blog’s sidebar, and leave me the link to your blog.

{2 entries}

~

Blog about this week’s topic and leave me the link.

{3 entries}

~

Blog, Tweet, or Facebook about this giveaway and leave me the link.

{3 entries per}

~

Add my link to your sidebar.

{2 entries}

~

For those with Etsy accounts, “heart" Made by Lin Lin.

{2 entries}

~

Purchase something from  

Made by Lin Lin.

{10 entries}

 

For those of you who do not understand how this giveaway works:

Every week I will add a new giveaway- they will all end on October 20th and the winners for each giveaway will be announced on October 21th.  If you still don’t understand let me know and I’ll help ya out… 

 

Ok.... can anybody guess this week's topic?

 

Imagine.... it's getting chilly outside... the winds are making it so that you can no longer go outside in short sleeves and flip flops anymore.  So you go into your closet to find a sweater to slip on and find that you need a little advice in...

Fall Fashion

Yay!  Now's the time for the transition into warmer clothes: sweaters, scarves, boots, denim jackets, leggings and the like...

Now's the time that reds, oranges, browns, and creams really get to shine.

 

Layering, layering, layering- the key to fall and winter fashion...

This dress could be easily considered only for spring and summer but with a few layering pieces you can see that it was easily converted into a beautiful "transition" outfit.

 

Note how most of the outfit is made of creams with one deeply colored piece to ground the outfit along with the dark leggings and boots...

Because of the softness of the pink one could definitely get away with this outfit in the fall!

 

Anyway- I won't claim to be any sort of fashion expert- therefore I cannot give any advice on the exact "rules" of fall fashion-  but I hope you enjoyed the photos...  :-)

 

Do you have any advice on fall fashion or do you know of a website that talks abut it?  Leave me a comment and let me know!  (You can get extra entries in this week's giveaway if you blog about it!)

 

Did you enter last week's giveaway or the giveaway from the week before?  They all end on the 20th- so enter them all now!

The Party Goes On...

Ahhh....

Just when I couldn't stand it anymore ("it" meaning the weather being 85+ degrees) on October 1st God sent a sudden breath of cool air.  If I hadn't felt it myself I wouldn't have believed it but yes, it was boiling hot one day- GORGEOUS the next.   Thank you, Jesus!  You know how much I enjoy the cool weather :-)

 

Anyway- all the more reason to celebrate that fall is really here... what better way to celebrate than with some yummy food?  (I know, I know- it's sick and twisted- why we always have to celebrate stuff with food is a question that I have no answer to...)

Here are some other ladies that have posted about this week's topic:

Kelsey at

 

Grace at

 

Anybody else who blogs about this weeks topic leave your link in a comment either on the giveaway post (it gets you more entries on this week's giveaway!) or on both the giveaway post and this one so that I can be sure to add you! :-)

 

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway or last week's giveaway (they both end at the same time later this month)!

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