Praying the Promises

Book Description

Find security and hope in a broken world through the unshakable promises of God. Join bestselling author and beloved pastor Max Lucado as he leads you through 30 life-changing promises from God in Praying the Promises. You’ll experience a more intimate and effective prayer life and a deeper faith in the God who keeps every promise.

God makes His character clear throughout the Bible: He is a God who saves us, who is faithful, who sends His Comforter, and who has a good and holy purpose for our lives.

In short, He keeps His promises.

But what does that look like in a broken world? Surrounded by confusion, darkness, violence, and pain, where do we see the promises of God at work in our everyday lives?

Max Lucado invites you into a deeper understanding of the peace and security God offers His people in Praying the Promises, a beautiful book that tells stories of God’s faithfulness and offers tangible ways to implement faith into your own prayer life. Through 30 key Scripture verses, a look into the lives of biblical people of faith, reflections, and prayers, you will see a clearer picture of the promises of God and how He is the rock you can build your life upon.

Whether you are a lifelong believer or if faith is a brand-new adventure, Praying the Promises offers you access to the God who has kept His promises since the beginning of time and will continue to do so for eternity.

A great gift for all ages.

My Review: 

  Y'all, this book.... it is amazing! This is one of those books that I will keep year after year. I love how Max Lucado lays out the prayer topics in the table of contents. While he writes out the prayers word for word, he also gives you scripture to back it up and I love that! It gives you a glimpse of how he reads certain scripture and puts it into his prayer language. 

I would recommend this to everyone, but especially to new believers. 

*I received this book complimentary from Booklookbloggers.com in exchange for my HONEST opinion.

Biggest Sale of the Year!

Etsy Shop

Cyber sale week is here! This is the biggest sale of the year for my little Etsy Shop!

20% off when you spend at least $20! Valid Nov 20-Nov.25th. Use code: ETSYCYBER2018

If you've had your eye on something, now is the time! 

December 13th is the last day to order to get it by Christmas, so hurry! 

Etsy Shop

Pain takes a lot away from you. You fight it, constantly, every second of the day. Fight it from taking away your whole day; fight it from taking your mood; fight it from taking away your relationships, your personality, your sense of worth, your value to this world. 

You’re constantly fighting it from robbing you of everything you enjoy, from taking your mind, everything- it takes everything away from you.

 But praise Jesus that pain can’t take Him away from us. It can’t go near- can’t touch our faith, our God, our Savior. He is what you cling to when you feel exhausted, He will wipe away our tears. He becomes everything when we can’t fight any longer.

 Cling to Him, friends.

Help me send out armies

FindKimFlint.com

Y'all, this post is so hard to write.  A dear friend is missing his Mom. If you follow me on Facebook, you'll no doubt, recognize this flyer and or story.  I've been sharing like a mad woman, getting blocked by Facebook multiple times a day.  But this NEEDS to be in the light.  Louis D. Brandeis said, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant." Oh, how this is true. Evil cannot exist where the light, where God is.  So, let's keep this in the light, keep it in front of people's eyes, cover it with prayer.

I'm clinging to this song, knowing that each share, each prayer that people all over the US pray-- that the Alpha and Omega is sending out armies for Ms. Kim.

FindKimFlint.com

Please, keep this in the light.  Share any & every way you can. Keep up with it on the website--   FindKimFlint.com

Do you have a deadly friendship?

Mary DeMuth has blown me away, again.  My first encounter with her was when she spoke at my church. And then I bought her book- Jesus Everyday, which blew me away. I'm sure you've all heard the saying, "Pray to God like you're talking to a friend." I've always had an issue with that. I didn't know how, and if I should- He is the Almighty, does he really want me to gab on & on like I do with my friends? Yes, yes He does. In reading Jesus Everyday, I was able to experience how Mary prays, and became comfortable with the thought of that type of praying. I love it now!

So, today, Mary released The Seven Deadly Friendships- How to Heal When Painful Relationships Eat Away at Your Joy. And y'all, read this & you'll see why I say Mary blew me away, again! We all have the friendships where you give more than you get. Or the one where someone twists every single thing back to them so that they are the main attraction, always. Whatever your issues, Mary touches on a great many of them. And she speaks about how to handle them biblically. It doesn't have to be something we rehash over & over in our minds, bugging us to death. Through this book, I've been able to identify what is wrong in the friendship, and biblically process and deal with the relationship. Sometimes, it's best to roll up your sleeves and get through it, even when it's ugly, and sometimes it's just time to cut it out of your life. Mary walks readers through all of this in this wonderful book. By the time you're finished reading and dealing with your problem relationships, you walk away with  it off your shoulders, really being okay about whatever the outcome. I highly recommend this book to anyone!

Do you have a deadly friendship? How do you deal with them?

*I received this book free in exchange for my honest opinion.*

Scroll Free September

Day 1- it's 6:30 pm, and I am antsy. Who knew a day was THIS LONG?! I did break free, checking Instagram and Facebook for 20 minutes, to post that I wouldn't be posting until October. How ridiculous is that? Honestly, I rolled my eyes when our local news covered a story that more and more places were offering Social Media Addiction treatment... Y'all, I get it now. EYe-yah-yaeeee! If the Mr and I come out of this month alive, it's all God's doing! That or we will come out even more obsessed with Ginny due to us starring at her like she's our only source of entertainment...because she is! Did I mention that we're also limiting screen time to 1 hour or 30 minutes a day?! Computers- including emails, Pinterest, just looking things up like "What is vinegar made out of?" AND that also includes TV! Netflix was always playing & we were always saying "One more episode?" Completely enabling each other knowing the other would say yes. GEEZZZ, my great-grandparents would be completely embarrassed at this rotting of the brains!

Day 24- Welp, I have to be honest here, this is the longest month of my life. Couple of confessions- football games are NOT, I repeat, NOT part of Scroll Free September.  We watched my LSU Tigers, as well as Da Bears. With a game on Saturday and Sunday, that added about 7-8 hours of TV time to our weekend. Which still seems insane to say! That's a huge chunk of time to be glued to a TV! Before Scroll-Free September, we wouldn't have thought twice about it. So that's progress... right?

Books read- 3

Projects finished- 4

Rooms deep cleaned-6

  I asked my Mr. if he would continue to be Scroll-Free.  He said that he didn't miss Facebook, but I have a feeling the computer games he plays have been on his mind all month! We- or at least I- completed some projects that have been on my to-do list for months, some a year! I wanted to finish the second half of the month strong, knocking out projects left and right. But, like always, something slowed me down to a halt- enter- Upper Respiratory Infection. Yep, the germs done gone an caught meh! I was down for a solid week, on a z-pack and trying to come back to life! The Mr. gave me a pardon since I had cabin fever pretty bad, and said that if I had to do fluids & lots of rest, then Netflix was included in that. And y'all, it's startling how I feel after watching TV for hours everyday. I feel sluggish, my brain clogged with images and junk, altogether bogged down. Before, I wouldn't have a second thought about leaving the TV playing all day for background noise or watching. The difference is crazy!  

Since no Instagram, I don't feel dissatisfied with my lack of travel, with my body, with how my home isn't picture perfect 24/7. I feel CONTENT, even satisfied!

Having social media is a necessity when you have a little business like mine. Yet, I never realized how unhappy it was making me to be on social media daily! Beginning Oct. 1st, I believe I'll keep off of Netflix and social media as much as possible.  Perhaps I'll use one of the social media schedulers they have now to schedule out my posts for the week. Only checking them once a week. 

Scroll Free September countdownCountdown

Have you ever purposefully had screen free time? What are your tips?

A bundle SO big!

OK, I'm going to get real with y'all... I use to think all these marriage builders, marriage makeovers, etc. were kinda cheesy. And if I thought that, then my man-of-very-few-words husband would definitely think it! So, we never did them. And- like any marriage- events, work, health problems, get in the way. One day you wake up, not as close to your spouse as you use to or want to be.  How do you fix it? Well, if you're me, and a Research Master, you research it until it's dead, and more dead, like never even a chance of it pulling a zombie to come back and get ya, type of research dead. 

When I found The Dating Diva's website, my cheesy factor meter was tapping out. But- I wanted to feel that closeness with my Mr, so we gave a couple of things a shot. Like the 52 Dates photo album. And y'all, once you say- "Yes, it's cheesy, and yes, we have to do it, " it's pretty okay! The activities and dates we've tried put you in the mindset of focusing on each other, giving an opportunity for communication, and just let's you have fun with your spouse. When's the last time you had FUN? Silly, pointless, no to-do list kinda fun?  Yep, I thought so. It'd had been a while for us, too.

Fast forward to today, where I found out that The Dating Divas have pulled together this Marriage Bundle..... can't you hear them? the angels... HALLLLEEELLLUUUJAH! Printables, marriage courses, ebooks, the works! And just a little tip, when The Dating Divas put out a product/bundle launch, they normally do cheapest first and as the days tick by, price goes up! They also are only offering this bundle for a few days, so GOOOOOOOO!

How cool is this? So many things, all in one spot! Not to mention, one of my favorite blogger pals, Charlene, wrote something for this bundle! EK! So proud of her!

I'm not going to try to sell you on this, because that isn't what this blog is all about.  It's about being real, and truly wanting to share my life. Even all the stinky, cobweby parts. And it happens! Life happens! If you intentionally put your marriage & spouse first, then you're back on the right track, my friend.  This site has helped me & my Mr. connect better than we have in a year. 

If you give this a try, and I pray that you do, leave a comment below or email me, telling me how it goes!

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I might get a tiny percentage of the purchase price, but it doesn't cost you a thing. All opinions are my own.

52 Dates, Coming Right Up!

52 Dates for Two

I don't know about y'all, but for us, the go-to date night is dinner and a movie. 99% of the time, that's what we do. It's a great thing we love movies! Even then, sometimes I crave a little bit of adventure. And since we have our beloved Ginny, and have to plan for her potty breaks, we need to keep the adventures local! Not to mention the time it takes to research places to see if they're date night worthy.

My dear friend Charlene, who blogs over at Enduring All Things introduced me to this site called The Dating Divas. Y'all, at first I was like, "Who's going to print out ALLLLLL that material?" or "No way is Chris going to go along with this. He will think it's too cheesy!"  

Yet, the more I looked into the site, the more things started to click. MAYBE he would go along with it to be supportive to something I wanted to do and MAYBE we would end up having a little fun in the process!  And then... I saw this.... 

I thought about it for a while, but decided to try it! I mean, it's only about $8 and what did I have to lose?  

With a chronic illness, you can't always plan things a week or even days ahead of time. That is our number one problem when it comes to date nights.   When I saw this photo (below) I thought, Sold! It has different categories of dates-  Free, Out on the town, inexpensive, quick and easy, at home. HELLLOOOOOO! Our number one problem solved! I can flip through & find what we need that day! If it's a bad pain day & it needs to be a fast date- I'll look for the Quick and Easy cards. Or, if I don't have extra energy to get date night ready, and go somewhere, I'll flip to the at home date cards. 

I'm so happy that The Dating Divas makes it so simple for you! When they send the digital file, they include instructions and tips. They suggest that you put them in a photo album. While you're on the date, you can snap a photo of you guys & slip it into the slot next to the date card! How adorable is that???

So cute! We've done a couple of these and love it! What I love the most is that you can flip through with your Sweetie trying to find a good date night suggestion. Trying to decide which one to do is a sure fire way to get your mind out of work/school/chore mode and into date night mode! Which I love! 

One of my goals this year was to be more intentional with screen-less time with the Mr., so this makes it sooooo easy! And let's face it, if you can make things easier in life, then it's worth it! Especially since it's a budget friendly way to invest in your marriage. I'm starting to realize that if you're being idle in marriage, and not being intentional, then it's tough to grow closer. You may even grow further and further apart! Not what I want in the least little bit!

And for my friends, don't be surprised if you receive 52 Dates for Two as a gift!

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I might get a tiny percentage of the purchase price, but it doesn't cost you a thing. All opinions are my own.

Playing catch-up

Hiya! Here I am, trying to play catch-up with my blog posts that have been sitting in my drafts folder FOREVER! Ah well, Summer is always busier than these Midwest Winters! Let's just pretend that these aren't year(s) old drafts and carry on, shall we?

Last August- yes, I'm a terribly late blogger- we went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.  My Mr. had a work conference in Vegas, so I met him out there at the end and we played tourist!  This was my first time to the area, his second, I believe.

I didn't care for the gambling, hustling street vendors, or any of the craziness in Vegas. To me, it's one of the places where you should go once to experience all the hustle & bustle of it, just so you know what it's like.  But, I loved the Bellagio fountains and the sightseeing part of it.  What struck me was the support and love the city showed after the shootings. We went shortly after and it was a little spooky, but I don't think it slowed Vegas tourism down for long.

The Grand Canyon, on the other hand, was my jam! It's another place you need to go at least once. The majesty of it, the scope- so much more beyond what you can see in photos! I loved every second of it, even if my Mr. was fussing that I was getting too close to the edges.   Enjoy my favorite photos from the trip! I've spared you from the hundreds of photos and just picked my favorites!

Winners!

From Blogging for Books- Whisper  by Mark Batterson

Y'all- GO GET THIS BOOK!  I feel like there is still so much I need to learn about God. And a major thing I'm learning & working on is listening to Him. How do we listen? Is it audible? Is it through other people? Through the bible? There was so many questions and not enough answers for me. And then this book came along and blew me away! I loved how he backed it all up with scripture, but also with "Real world" things. It's hard to describe how much this book has changed how I listen to God, without getting into a long post, so do yourself a favor and go get this book!

From Bethany House- Courageous Women of the Bible by LaTan Roland Murphy


 It is hard enough to be a woman in this day and age, but I can only imagine how difficult it would've been for the ladies of Jesus' time and earlier. This book helped me to visualize the time period and circumstances of the women of the bible, and how hard it was for them.  The courage they showed took major guts! Everyone would like to think that they would do the same if they were in the same situation and circumstances, but if it came down to it- I probably would have a hard time doing what these ladies did! This book is a good reminder of how courageous we must be to follow after Jesus. 

From Moody publishers- Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free book and study guide by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

This book and study were just what I needed at the moment I needed them.  A great way to get yourself out of the lies from the enemy, to fight back, to show him we will not let him have strongholds in our minds! I only wish I would've read and went through the study earlier in life so I could've demolished the lies from the enemy sooner. I highly recommend this book and study for everyone at any time.

The Finishing School by Val Worner

This is a book I purchased on my own & I love it! I did get behind in the book club that Val Marie Paper is putting on now, but it doesn't matter! The chapters are  pretty self-contained so I just jumped in where they were.  Val is a lady after my own bookworm heart. It's so great to know that someone else has issues with reading so many self-help/self-improvement books and doesn't know how to put all of the good tips into action! I bought the ebook but now I wish I would've bought the paperback so I could highlight that baby all up! What's even better is that she has the worksheets to the book for free on her website! HELLLOOO!! So amazing! 


* I received most of these books free in exchange for my honest opinion.*
*Jessica is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  This means that by clicking on & purchasing through the links provided, I get a small percentage of the sale at no cost to you!*

Seascape Release

Hiya!! I'm soooooo excited because I'm finally able to release my Hawaiian Seascape paintings! Yay!!

Hawaii is the type of place that captures your heart & never turns loose. So, while I'm sitting here in Chi-beria, waiting on Spring, I decided to paint some of our favorite beaches in Hawaii.

8.5x11" Prints are available now in the shop, and the original acrylic paintings (most are 16x20") will be listed in the next few days.

Hope you enjoy them!

Throw me something mister!

Happy Mardi Gras, Y'all! I hope you're celebrating wherever you are!

If you dare to try your hand at making Gumbo, click here for my recipe!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!!

That Bookworm Life

Blogging for books- We Stood Upon Stars by Roger W. Thompson

This book couldn't have come at a better time! I'm currently fascinated by the whole tiny home /sell everything & travel around movement, and this book has so much travel in it that I can't get enough! Very descriptive scenes, showing how all events and days in your life mold and form who a person turns out to be. This was my first time reading Roger Thompson, but it won't be my last. 

Tyndale- The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers

OK, it's safe to officially declare Francine Rivers my favorite Christian author! I was first introduced to her through her mega popular book, Redeeming Love, and was immediately hooked! Her character portraits are so detailed, you really feel like you get to know them personally. And this latest book- Masterpiece, is one that I've been looking forward to for a year. It did not disappoint! The characters were relatable, a few twists & turns, but, as always, her message that God loves you shines throughout the book.  I devoured this book in 4 days, and I am debating whether to do a re-read immediately or wait a few weeks! Please get your hands on this book asap! 

MPnewsroom- How To Overcome Worry by Dr. Winfred Neely

Worry is something I do incredibly well. So when any book comes across, I gobble it up. I love how Dr. Neely not only helps you identify what is concern verses worry, but he tells you how to handle the worry situation. He also backs up everything he says with scripture, which is something that makes me feel at ease knowing that the author's beliefs line up with mine. Only God can provide you with that soul soothing peace, and Dr. Neely's book guides you through the steps to achieve that.

No More Perfect Marriages by Mark & Jill Savage

It is my belief that if you are not actively working to improve your marriage, you will get stagnant and then start drifting away from your spouse. So, I try to find many books on the subject. What I love about this book is that you don't feel pressure and shame over your marriage not being absolutely perfect. We are human, we make mistakes, and the Savages convey a plan to improve your marriage while not being ashamed.  I would suggest this book for every married couple! 

From Baker Books- Called to Create by Jordan Raynor

This book was exactly what I needed, a good motivator! I had neglected my art for years, while trying to deal with being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. It takes over your whole life! But, while reading this book, I began to look at my art with fresh eyes. It's a gift from God, the ability to create something from nothing, and it didn't hit me until this book! I loved all of the different stories in here. It really gives you a lot of inspiration to get back to your gift! I would recommend it for all creatives out there.

* I received these books free in exchange for my honest opinion.*
*Jessica is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  This means that by clicking on & purchasing through the links provided, I get a small percentage of the sale at no cost to you!*


What are you reading lately? I love a good book recommendation! Leave them below!