My hope and prayer is that these books would offer a simple, manageable way for families to connect over God's Word, as they prepare to head back to school.

Praying for families everywhere from the farmhouse,
Hannah

❤️🏡​❤️

From the moment I stepped into the one and only bedroom upstairs in the farmhouse, I knew it was meant to be the Claire Bear's.  

It had a beautiful eastern view, where the sun would rise every morning for my sweet early-bird.

It had two closet doors with a long closet that met in the middle...a "secret-passageway" as she says.

And it had a little hatch that went into some attic storage that  really made the oldest daughter nervous.  "Who knows what might come out of there?" Harlee said that first day.

After the room was painted, we started to fit Claire's furniture in. 

She knew she wanted BOTH closet doors accessible, so that left ONE place for her bed.

My mom had found an antique bedroom set at an auction that had "Claire" written all over it.  There was a full bed and matching vanity.  We fit those pieces in first and went from there.  We covered the "creepy attic hatch" (as Harlee calls it) with her dresser and saved room for her desk by the window.

Since those pictures were taken back in July of 2017, we've gotten the windows in the farmhouse replaced and Claire Bear has her dream desk with her dream view.

It's not perfect, but it's all Claire!

I really can't wait to watch my sweet girl grow up in this bedroom.  ❤️🏡❤️

Every single Sunday, I find myself worrying that people think I'm texting or checking my Facebook during the sermon.

Granted, I do reply to a text message here and there.

But usually, I am looking up the scripture that Brother Matt is referencing or taking notes on my phone.

I started taking notes on Google Docs in January of 2017 and it has been amazing.

Brother Matt is in the middle of a sermon series entitled "Second Chances" right now.  

He preached his first message on Easter.

It was amazing.  You can check it out here.

Today was week 2.

The message was from Acts, Chapter 2.

Acts Chapter 2 was after...
​
Palm Sunday,
the betrayal in the garden,
Christ's crucifixion,
His resurrections,
and 40 days of traveling and teaching.

In Acts 2:38, we read these words that Peter had said when the people asked him what they needed to do to make Jesus Lord.

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

I grew up in the Church.

I can't even tell you how many times I have read that passage or heard that passage read aloud during a sermon or Bible study.

And yet today...I got a fresh perspective on it.

Repent means I'm turning AWAY from my sin.
Baptism is when I'm turning TO God.

When we choose to leave behind those behaviors that are not pleasing to Him, we choose to leave behind those feelings of guilt and remorse.

The feelings of not being good enough.

The feeling that we are "broken by our own mistakes" (good words, Brother Matt!).

We choose to turn towards Jesus and the feeling of hope that He brings.

So we stop repeating our bad behaviors, turn towards Jesus, and He sends us the Holy Spirit to help us to keep ourselves out of the situations we have been in for so long.

It's like a lightbulb popped on for me.  

So I took notes and journaled about it this afternoon.

Sometimes, my pages are a lot more detailed.

But today, this was fine.

Turn away from sin.
Turn to God.
The stain will be removed and a Helper will be sent to you.

True story.

If you enjoy art and would like a creative way to connect with God's Word, I would recommend the art of Bible journaling.  

Happy Sunday from the Farmhouse, friends.

Stay warm.

​❤️🏡❤️

Ah, parenting.

Isn't it grand?

You wait nine months for this little bundle of joy to be put into your arms and then you question every single decision you make for the next 18 years.

There are so many joy-filled moments that come along with raising kids.

And let's be real...some moments that are, eh...not so wonderful.

Diaper blowouts.

Toddler fit-throwing in public.

Eye-rolls from the pre-teen.

Sibling arguments one minute and them teaming up against you in the next.

And perhaps the most difficult of parenting challenges...struggles with friends.

I was a young girl once.

I knew that our girls' friendships wouldn't always be beautiful and wonderful and easy. 

After all, we are all human.

However, I have been struggling with something that I believe most parents struggle with...

The tendency to make an excuse.

A few years ago, one of our daughters was having a hard time with a girl who she considered to be a good friend.

This classmate had kind of distanced herself from our daughter and hasn't been the kindest at times.

When I mentioned their friendship, I could tell that there was some tension there...a bit of a strained relationship.

I heard of things the friend had said,
faces she had made,
and other behaviors that would be frustrating for a friend.

However, when I would ask our daughter about her own contribution to the situation,
she admitted that she sometimes snapped back at the friend,
avoided her at times,
and probably was not acting in the way that I would expect her to act...
regardless of how she has been treated.

And my tendency, as a human and as a mother, is to make an excuse for her actions.

But it's not okay.

It's not okay for a child to treat her friend unkindly.

It's not okay for a student to talk back to a teacher.

It's not okay for a player to roll her eyes at the referee...no matter how ridiculous she thinks the call was.

When we, as parents, make excuses for our children's poor behavior, we are reinforcing the choices they are making.

We are justifying the disrespect, the lack of kindness, and the inappropriate behaviors.

I fear that we are raising a generation of entitled youth who don't even understand the concept of respect.

Whether it's respecting their elders,
respecting authority,
respecting their peers,
or respecting property.

I'm afraid the concept of respect (even when it's undeserved) has gone out the window some days.

And I'm afraid that every time I make an excuse for my child's lack of respect or justify her actions, I'm contributing to the problem.

Friends, we have to stop the cycle.

I'm not talking about respecting adults who are abusive or pretending like there's no issue with peers who are exhibiting bullying behaviors.

But in the majority of our day-to-day interactions with other human beings, we should be showing kindness...
showing mercy...
​showing humility.

And we should be teaching our children this attitude, as well.

This week, let's really help our kiddos be accountable for their behavior.

Let's try to not make an excuse when they don't make the right choice.

Let's support that teacher...that coach...that referee.

It's up to us. The parents.

It's not up to the iPad.

Not up to the TV.

Not up to their older siblings.

Not up to their teachers (although we teachers try to set the same expectations in our classrooms).

Let's set an expectation for how they treat people.

Let's work hard to raise a generation that we are proud of.

It's up to us...and it's a challenging and rewarding responsibility.

Happy Tuesday from the Farmhouse, friends.

May the force be with you.

❤️🏡❤️

I have been using the YouVersion Bible app (by Life.Church) for quite some time now.  

For six years, in fact.

However, it was just over the last few months that I have begun making it one of the social media platforms I use to share my Bible study experience with friends and family.

And just in the last three weeks have I become friends with two of the most wonderful little girls you will ever meet...my oldest two daughters.

To be honest, I thought this would be a fun little activity that we could do to spend some time with Jesus and have good conversation about the Bible.

I wasn't prepared for the deep thoughts the girls would share on our shared Bible studies.

After reading her devotional, along with a few scriptures from Hebrews and Romans, my sweet Harlee replied profoundly that faith and trust in God is what makes life worth living.

Wow...what a thought for my barely 11-year-old.

And a wake-up call for her mama.

Since that day, I have taken my Bible study time with her (and her sister) very seriously. 

God has used these words to speak to all of us...

To open up conversations on our Bible apps and in person...

To be able to have these teachable conversations through our day-to-day living.

If you are struggling with how to talk to your children, preteens, and teenagers about God's Word and Kingdom Work, I'd strongly recommend meeting your kiddos where they are.

Let's embrace the technology that is so prevalent today and connect with our kids on the matters of God.

Happy Weekend from the farmhouse, friends.

​❤️🏡❤️