8 Affordable Essentials for the Beach Mom

Beach living now characterizes our family, and just in time for summer!  We've been living, or semi-living, we're still in a hotel --in sunny Florida now for five days and it didn't take long for me to realize that there are some essentials for me as a "Beach Mom". 

I love seeing people's favorite picks for various things, but when I go to the websites that they highlight, I usually find that the items recommended are WAY out of my budget.  So, I've rounded up some affordable essentials that I either have, or am planning to purchase for our summer at the beach.  

1// Extra Large Canvas Tote.  A classic from Lands End.  This has been on my secret wish list for a long time.  Now that we're carrying things around on our walks to the beach, I may have to order one. I would use this for books, towels, and other items that I don't prefer to get sandy.  {I'm not sure it's possible to go to the beach and walk away without sand on everything, but I'm sure going to try!}

2//Denim Shorts from Loft.  I bought a pair of these 6" inseam shorts when we visited Florida back in May.  They are my favorite shorts.  Not too short, comfortable, and classy.  Even better, they are on sale right now for 50% off!  Some colors are out of stock, but I'm going to keep checking because as hot as it has been, I'll be wearing out the one pair I have. 

3//Utility Tote from Thirty-One.  I have this in blue and it's great for anything wet and sandy because it's vinyl and you can just rinse it out.  

4//Studded Sandals.  I only tried these on in the store, but they were comfortable and affordable.  I usually purchase sandals from Target, and my current pair is on its third summer; not bad for $12.99, but I think they're on their last leg.

5//Straw Hat from H&M.  This is certainly not essential, but I'd like to have a stylish hat to help shade my eyes and face from the sun.  This one is super affordable and I love the polka dot sash.

6//Maxi Dress from Old Navy.  This would work great as a cover-up or just for running errands around town.  It's really hot here, and sometimes dresses and skirts win out on keeping me cool over a pair of shorts and a tank top.  These are also on sale right now, if you've been looking for one.

7//Surprised by Motherhood, by Lisa-Jo Baker.  Excellent book on being a mom.  I cried and laughed my way through this one.  Dayspring currently has this on sale for $12.99.  Reading at the beach doesn't always happen for me, but in the rare moment that everyone is blissfully occupied and relatively still, I might get in a few pages. 

8//Water Bottle.  Mine is currently packed away and in storage somewhere here in town.  We won't get our belongings for another couple of weeks, but as soon as we do, this will be filled up at all times.  I even bought some cheap ones at Wal-Mart for the kids.

What are your beach, or summer, essentials?

Friendship begins with my attitude

Last night our family of six rolled into our new town.  We packed up our house in Georgia, said goodbye to friends and familiarity, and now we're living out of suitcases and a hotel room for the next week while we wait for our home to be ready for move-in.

Moving is always an adventure.  Some might say it's a logistical nightmare, others won't even consider moving because of the hassle that entails.  We're a military family, so it's just what we do.  I guess I've gotten used to boxing up our stuff, finding my way around new places, and learning new layouts of grocery stores {why is every Target and Wal-Mart different??}.

One thing that I haven't gotten used to is friendships.

Maintaining friendships with people where we've formerly lived is challenging.  Pushing myself to make friends in new places is scary.

Oh, sure, I have hundreds of friends on Facebook, a few connections on Instagram, and you, my blog readers.  And, I certainly value each of these.

I think we were made for more than just liking each others' pictures and commenting on statuses and such. Friendships need to take place away from our screens, face-to-face, on the phone talking, sharing the messy parts, not just our post-worthy pictures and witty statuses.

My two oldest girls were playing on the swing at my sister's house the other day.  Laughing, taking turns pushing each other, sometimes swinging alone.  Their interactions reminded me of how easy it was to make friends when I was a kid.  Sometimes I just needed someone to push me on the swing.  After a few turns, we would switch places, without even saying anything.  Before long, we'd be playing tag, going over to play at each other's house, and whispering secrets at slumber parties.

Without even knowing it, we were inviting, receiving, sharing and growing.

Why has it become so difficult as adults?

I'm sure there are many people who could answer that question and unearth lots of psychological issues that I am quite unqualified to understand, let alone explain.  For me, I think it boils down to my selfishness.

Friendship, good friendship, begins with my attitude.  I have to stop thinking about myself.

So simple, really, but over and over God shows me just how selfish I am.  With my time, my house, my stuff, my family.

1 Peter 3:8 says, "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind."

I had never read this with the idea of friendship in mind, but this past week, it struck me:  each of these commands are others-focused and sort of summarize how to be a good friend.

Unity of  mind.  In the body of Christ we are one, and we hold to the truth which should be fleshed out in harmony with one another.

Sympathy.  I have to feel with others, come alongside them and weep or rejoice, whichever they are doing at any given moment.

It seems pretty obvious here that if I am to sympathize with others then I need to know what's happening in their life.  I have to ask questions and spend time with them.  Most people will not divulge their deepest challenges without the foundation of a solid relationship, and that takes time spent together.

Even people who don't know the Lord need our sympathy.  Often times, through the challenges of life, we're given more opportunities to openly share about our hope in Jesus.  What greater truth can we give to someone who is hurting than the truth of the gospel!

Brotherly love.  Love those who are near to me.  True love will result in service.  Giving my time to listen or drink a cup of coffee together, opening my home to share a meal, helping out when people are in need.  These are practical evidences of love.

Tender heart.  This is much like sympathy, only a little bit deeper.  John MacArthur, in his commentary on 1 Peter says, "Much like sympathetic, the expression calls for being so affected by the pain of others as to feel it deeply, following the kind of tenderhearted compassion God, through His Son, has for sinners" (188).

This means that I also need to be willing to share my own heart.  Openness can't just be one-sided.  And, if we're supposed to feel with one another, then we need to make ourselves vulnerable, allowing others to walk through life with us, even if it means that they see what a mess we are.

Humble mind.  The  most challenging thing for me.  Always regarding others before myself, just as Jesus did, is tough.  But, we're instructed to (Philippians 2:3); it's not optional.

Most likely in friendship there will be giving and receiving.  Sometimes the only receiving may be joy in knowing that you are serving and loving.  Either way, a humble mind is essential.

......................................................................................................

Next Thursday I will open the door to a new home, in a new community, surrounded by new people.

My prayer is that God will continue to teach me how to be a purposeful friend.  That He will help me to open up my door and let people in, open my heart and allow people to be known and to know me, and love people in true friendship.



How do you strive to be a purposeful friend?

The Last Morning & Jesus is Enough

Today is the last morning I'll wake up in this house, head downstairs to make the coffee, and sit in my chair to journal and read my Bible.  I'm a creature of habit, a routine girl by nature, and I especially treasure my quiet morning times while everyone else is sleeping.

As I wrote in my journal this morning and stared at the boxes piled up around me, I started looking ahead: what will our new home be like?  Where will I put my chair?  How long will it take to feel settled?  Will the kids like it?  Will I like it?  What lessons are we going to learn?

And, then I started thinking back on the 3 1/2 years we've lived in this home.  We've had some great memories here.  And we've had some tough times, too.  Some of my hardest days have been spent on the floor of this home, crying out to God for answers, help, strength, and grace.

He gave it.  He gave me strength to be a mother.  He gave me help to embrace the unexpected and to rejoice in it.  He has poured out His grace in my life in countless ways.  He has become more precious to me than I could ever imagine.

It was in this home that I learned Jesus is enough.  

We face trials that we don't understand, but God has a purpose.  And even if we never have answers for what He does, we can be confident that He will use them to prove our faith.

Trials in life are likened to what fire does to gold.  When gold is placed in the fire, all of the impurities rise to the surface, and they're skimmed off and discarded.

When we are put into the fire of trials, it is meant to bring our impurities to the surface.  God uses those trials to sift out what needs to be removed in order for us to be purified and made more into His likeness.

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:6-7

And what's the result?  The result is that our more pure faith then results in praise to Jesus.  We can rejoice in those trials because they are being used to strengthen our faith and make us more like Christ.

I don't know what God has in store for the next chapter of our lives.  But I do know that whatever comes our way, we can trust God.  We can trust that He will do whatever it takes to continue to purify us and to make us more like Him.

Stop looking at the wind

I was making dinner last night and the room started getting really dark.  I peeked out the window and saw the darkest clouds coming.  Grabbing my phone, I ran out back to quickly capture the sight.

My husband loves storms; they remind him of growing up in West Africa, hearing the plink of rain on their tin roof.  He often sits outside and listens to the rain, and loves the sound of thunder in the middle of the night.

Me, not so much.  I still jump a little bit when I see flashes of lightning and hear claps of thunder.

It's that way in my heart, too.  Storms come in the form of troubles, uncertainty, what appear to be closed doors, or what I perceive as unanswered prayers.  My natural tendency is to shudder in fear, doubt God, and grow weary with anxiety.

Only a few hours after I took that picture of the storm, we received word that the tenants we thought had secured our home with a three year lease, fell through.  I went to sleep last night, fighting worry.

My heart was fixed on the storm.

During my Bible reading this morning, I was looking through the gospels and Acts, reading about the life of Peter.  He was an ordinary guy, a fisherman, familiar with boats, water and storms on the sea. I read in the book of Matthew the story of Jesus walking on the water, in the midst of a storm, heading toward the disciples' boat.  The disciples were terrified, thinking Jesus was a ghost.

Peter, the eager spokesperson of the group, said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."   When Jesus told Peter to come, "Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came to Jesus."

But, then, Peter saw the wind.  And he was afraid.  And he began to sink.

Peter fixed his heart on the storm.

After Jesus had taken hold of Peter, rescuing him from the water, He said, to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Just like Peter, I had doubted.  I had doubted God's goodness, His ways, His plans.  I had doubted His character.

We are not promised a storm free life.  We are promised a never-changing God, who walks with us through the storm.

I don't know what storms you're facing right now, but whatever the storm might be, there's a choice:   We can look at the wind of uncertainties and troubles, or we can look at the One who controls the wind, carries us through the wind, and promises His presence and grace.

It is only by looking to Jesus that our hearts can be calm in the midst of troubling storms.

Scripture taken from Matthew 14:22-33


Linking up to:

It is Not Death to Die

The words that provide the most encouragement to me are ones that point me to the truth of God's Word.  This was especially true when my brother was killed almost five years ago.  I remember receiving the call telling me of his death, and after I hung up the phone, I immediately opened up my Bible and started flipping through the Psalms.  I was desperate for truth in the midst of a traumatic time.  As I cried over the loss of my brother, I was strengthened reading about the character of God, His promises, and the hope of heaven for those who are in Christ.

As we put together my brother's memorial service over the next few days, I came across a song by Sovereign Grace.  The words of this song were an encouragement to me as I thought about my brother's death, for they pointed me to God's truth.  Death for him meant life. 

But that isn't what we feel when we lose someone we love.  All we feel is death, and the magnitude of loss in our lives.  And so as we grieve we must cling to the truth.  Cling to the hope that is found in God's Word.  For it is only in His Word that we find the most powerful encouragement for any situation we are going through, any hurt we feel, any longing of our heart.  

Today would have been my brother's 24th birthday.  It's a sad day for us as we miss him and the joy that he brought to our lives.  So on days like today, and everyday, we remember:

"Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Below I've typed out the words to the song I mentioned above, as well as a link to the recording.  May it be an encouragement to those of you who have experienced the loss of someone you love and for those who are facing the possibility of losing someone you love.  In Christ, death means life.  "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  Philippians 1:21

It is not death to die

To leave this weary road
And join the saints who dwell on high
Who've found their home with God

It is not death to close
The eyes long dimmed by tears
And wake in joy before Your throne
Delivered from our fears

O Jesus, conquering the grave
Your precious blood has power to save
Those who trust in You
Will in Your mercy find
That it is not death to die

It is not death to fling
Aside this earthly dust
And rise with strong and noble wing
To live among the just

It is not death to hear
The key unlock the door
That sets us free from mortal years
To praise You evermore

O Jesus, conquering the grave
Your precious blood has power to save
Those who trust in You
Will in Your mercy find
That it is not death to die

From the Kitchen :: Strawberry Ice Cream

My laptop is sadly broken, and with it are all of my pictures.  We can hopefully recover them, but it's been a little busy around here with getting ready to move in just two weeks.  I did want to quickly share this recipe with you, though, because it would be a perfect addition to any Memorial Day festivities that might be going on this weekend.  And, it's strawberry season, so berries are ripe, sweet, and on sale :)

Strawberry Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups half and half
4 cups strawberries, hulled

Stir whole milk and sugar in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Heat until hot, but not boiling.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks for about 2 minutes, until they turn a lighter yellow.

Spoon a ladle full of the milk/sugar mixture into the egg yolks and whisk together.  Add another ladle full and whisk again.  (This keeps the eggs from cooking and looking scrambled).

Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture and cook for about 4 minutes, until thickened slightly.  Pour into a bowl and add the half and half, stirring to combine.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Puree the strawberries to desired consistency (I like to leave a few little chunks).  Mix the strawberries in with the cream mixture.  Place in your ice cream maker and follow the directions to make ice cream.  You can freeze this when it's finished, but it's best eaten right away.

source:  slightly adapted from Pioneer Woman

You're Invited to be (in)couraged

When I started blogging a little over three years ago, I found myself swimming in a world of creativity and DIY projects.  The inspiration was phenomenal and I loved learning from the women who were making their homes lovely on a small budget, with their own two hands.  It was fun to jump into this group, sharing little pieces from my own home.

Reading blogs became a part of my daily routine.  

As I became more acquainted with blogs and the bloggers who wrote them, I was introduced to women who were writing about the Lord, their walk with Christ, and pointing me to the truth of God's Word.  My daily blog readings started shifting away from the home decor scene, and I was growing in my knowledge of God through the words that these women were sharing in their little spaces on the internet.

I discovered (in)courage, an online community for women that seeks to encourage women in their faith.  I was reading blogs of many of the contributors for this site, and so I signed up for the daily emails that (in)courage sends out.  Real women write real stories of their life in Christ, how His grace spills out into it, and these stories have been an encouragement and blessing in my walk with the Lord.  

One of the blessings of (in)courage are the Online Community Groups they offer several times throughout the year.  These are groups that women can join to connect with other women from all over the world, who share similar interests, stages of life, or experiences.  I've never been a part of one of these groups, but for the next six weeks, I'll be co-leading a Bible study group.  And I wanted to invite you to join!

We'll be studying 1 Peter together,sharing what we're learning through a Facebook group page.  My co-leaders are Julie Holly and Lauren Huss {click on their names to check out their blogs}.  We've never met in real life, but already I've been encouraged by them as we've worked through putting the details together for our group.

If you want to join us as we study 1 Peter, click here and you'll be directed to our registration page.

Ours isn't the only group, though!  There are over 70 community groups that you can join! Head on over to (in)courage and look for a community group that fits your needs/interests.

Registration for the groups begins today and will continue through this week.  The session officially begins on May 26 and will close on July 4.  The groups fill up quickly, so be sure to sign up right away if you're interested in joining.

I look forward to all that the Lord has in store for each of us who participate in this community of women who long to be more like Christ and (in)courage others to do the same.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."  

Hebrews 10:23-25