Sunday, August 13, 2023

Community is LIFE

I honestly don't know how parents with a busy, active household can get through life without a community to support the daily grind. Our community life started with this group of "young marrieds" and we established ourselves within our Catholic parish back in 2014. It is tremendous that we have stayed together and have stayed the course! 

Here we are continuing to grow our families and continually leaning on each other for spiritual counsel, friendship and just some good ole' summer fun before the kids start another year of school.

I believe our family is thriving because we have plugged in to multiple communities from our Catholic parish to our sons' Catholic school to all the different ministries we volunteer and serve in. We have many people in our lives to help us when we struggle to juggle it all on our own. We have a sphere of influence that cares we are deeply nourished in the spiritual and also practical ways. 

How do families that aren't as fortunate survive this current world? The village hustle is what I've heard it called once (shoutout to Jennifer Fulwiler). The pace of this way of life is as messy as life is unpredictable. The more your life is filled with interruptions and people randomly asking for favors is a clear indication that you are living out the village hustle. It can be chaotic but more importantly, it is life-saving in more ways than my tired mom brain can count. 

So, cheers and thank God for the village hustle! 







Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Life has never been busier!

I am super excited to get back to regularly blogging. It has been quite the journey since I last posted. My husband and I now have 4 boys and we're down to just 1 dog. Our life is abundantly blessed, but oh my goodness...I am on edge trying to juggle it all. 

In short. my husband and I have co-founded a small business called, "Get to Give." For now, I offer public relations support to women in ministry. I would be honored if you checked out my credentials at www.gettogivefundraising.com. 

We are discerning what to do with this small business. Our ultimate goal is to garner generational wealth by utilizing our spiritual, professional and financial gifts through the vocation of marriage and the messiness of family life. We feel most inspired to guide marriages/families struggling financially with practical tips to become better stewards of their financial blessings. 

So into your hands, Lord, I give you our hopes, fears, victories, challenges, talents, ambition, and business pursuits supporting Get to Give. Please open the doors that YOU want us to go through. Please blatantly shut the ones that aren't going to serve the greater good. Amen.

Let's GOOOOOOOOO!!!!



Tuesday, April 22, 2014

"You're Wrong, and You're Loved..."

I thought this was such an informative and thought-provoking read that I had to share it with the blogosphere. Christianity is about love, and this writer's written truth is way beyond my ability to ever explain where I'm coming from. I feel like after reading this important message, I'm more equipped to stand up for what I believe in when it comes to such a racy and controversial subject. Read on, and I pray you be empowered too.

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/why-homosexuality-is-not-like-other-sins


Monday, December 2, 2013

Thanksgiving 2013

There are many wonderful blessings I am thankful for this holiday season. This year, I’m forever grateful for my husband who loves me physically, emotionally and unconditionally.

First of all, I don’t believe I deserve a lot of the great things I have in my life. In all honesty, I don’t ever feel good enough for my handsome husband who loves me. I am imperfect in character. I am cruel at times and dangerously self-centered in most cases. I have created rifts in our relationship and have brought us to painful depths I never, ever want us to feel again.

But together we stand eternally, and our love is deeper today with greater substance and purposeful meaning. We just celebrated our six-year wedding anniversary on November 17th. We have made it this far and have two young boys to nurture and lead by spiritual example. There is more to us than meets the eye. But what a beautiful picture God has created for us, through us and in us.


After giving thanks for another blessed year of life and answered prayers, I am most grateful for one moment I shared with my husband on Thanksgiving night. Our house grew quiet after it was once filled with family and toddlers during a festive lunch. We were up late with our two boys just enjoying our family time together. We were all exhausted from the busy day and looking forward to not having any set plans for the rest of the weekend. I don’t remember what happened right before, but out of nowhere, my husband got the attention of our two year old and then tackled me to the ground. Once I was defenseless with his entire body weight pinning me down, he kissed me all over my face and my head and my hair--so lovingly and frantically all at the same time. Our son noticed us and laughed. I assume he felt just an ounce of the joy that filled my heart at that moment. Our two-year-old son could see just how much his daddy loves his mommy and was amused at the very sight. It was the perfect ending to another great family holiday and such a special reminder as to where we are in this union despite all the twists and turns God allowed to happen in our marriage.

I’m really giddy thinking about those few minutes we shared a few nights ago. For in that fleeting moment, I was overjoyed that the Lord gives us times like those to revel in forever and for always. For me, it was another reminder of His merciful grace that comes in many forms. But I’m eternally grateful for the package it comes in as an adoring husband He gave to me love.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Breast is BEST!

Breastfeeding is the natural way to feed your newborn. I successfully breastfed my two boys (who are 17 months apart) and am so impassioned about the subject as a whole.



Thanks for tuning in to Motherhood and Marketing!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Feeling lonely

This is a particular subject that may leave some confused, hungry for more or even in blatant disagreement with where I’m trying to go on this stream of consciousness. My husband and I have been reading blogs, listening to podcasts and following the work of influential individuals who we admire on a spiritual and financial level. I’m not sure how else to put this, but it’s a lonely feeling taking the road less traveled. So we have turned to folks like Dave Ramsey and Kari Patterson to find some source of inspiration as we learn how to be good stewards of our financial blessings.

My husband and I are trying to get our family out of the (relatively) little debt that has held us down for too many years. Before we had children, we enjoyed living a life of extravagant luxury: international travel, random excursions to Las Vegas, bottle service at swanky lounge/nightclubs, designer clothing, owning/operating a Mary Kay home business, and eating at the finest restaurants all too regularly. Man, we thought spending on our credit card was the right choice at that time. WRONG! Oh we were so WRONG, and now we’re paying for our foolish and irresponsible choices. I’m so embarrassed to admit how ignorant we once were. We literally charged most everything to our credit cards for the first few years of our working professional lives. We both had (and still maintain) excellent credit. But back when we had dual income and no dependents, we foolishly thought we could live large and in charge.

Now let’s visit the present day. Our looming credit card debt is holding us back from financially giving back. It’s disgusting, and I’m mortified to admit that we are not currently giving to the church until we can eradicate this horrid debt. I need to mention that for years, even with our gut-churning debt, we still gave our more than 10% to the church. It wasn’t until recent months had we decided to withhold our giving. Both my husband and I feel terrible that we are now focused on our own financial goals of eliminating our debt without giving back as Biblically encouraged. Thank you, Dave Ramsey, for making it so clear that we have to take care of our self-indulgent-buying-on-credit mess before we can fulfill our financial stewardship.

So now I’m feeling the pangs of loneliness because I don’t know how to reach out and talk to people about where we stand and where we’re trying to go. I have never asked friends if they give 10% of their income to their church. I have never asked if any of my friends care to be out of personal credit card debt. It’s none of my business, so therefore, I will never ask. But I’m so self-centered in thinking that people must wonder why we don’t buy more or do more now that we’re enjoying a (relatively) luxurious life with our kids and dogs. I believe we’re in a unique financial situation. For many that know our background and personal story, you know what I mean by unique. For those who may know what we’re able to enjoy, I’m guessing they may not know the kind of sacrifices we’re choosing to make in order to pursue debt elimination. It is uncomfortable to bring this all up because I personally believe money talk is taboo. But there is more we could do and indulge in because of our financial blessings. But we are freely (and temporarily) not going to add to our collection of unnecessary luxuries while taking away from the collection plate. For our family, there is one goal and one purpose…to get to a financial point where we can GIVE more to whom it all came from.

It’s so hard to explain in words the passion and fire we feel to take what we have and give back. It’s no easy feat to give up certain comforts or pass on impulse purchases. Thank God we have some wisdom and sense that giving in to our interests/hobbies might keep us further away from being able to give more. We have a plan of action to reimburse the money lost in our giving to the church. When we get to our financial goal by paying off our personal credit card debt, returning to automatic giving is our number one priority. Until then, we’ll have to wait it out by delaying fun trips with our boys or refrain from buying extravagant things we don’t necessarily need but really, really want. It’s uncomfortable, and I kind of hate it. I’m not perfect and doing what’s right doesn’t feel natural. We’re human and are inclined to indulge, even at the expense of giving back. But tithing is necessary and as stated in the Bible, it is what we are called to do. If only there was a way I knew how to talk this out without awkwardness or pride getting in the way…………. But for now, I will have to resort to blogging it out. Thanks for letting me share.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Tina Fey is a comedic genius!

Although I never voted for Sarah Palin, I will have to agree with Tina's improv. If ever I were asked on the spot how I feel on social and political issues, I will just reply quoting a genius moment of Tina Fey's quick, non-judgemental (and I believe honest) impersonation on touchy issues. Tina is a comedic phenomenon, and I love her. I don't know where Tina stands politically, socially or morally. But in a light-hearteded attempt to speak the Biblical truth on lifestyle choices, I agree with Sarah via Tina's improv.