March Kindness Challenge Invitation

Happy March! Today I signed up for Shaunti Feldhahn's Kindness Challenge. If you'd like to join me you can sign up here: https://www.jointhekindnesschallenge.com/ or just follow along with the basic three commitments of the challenge (outlined below). If you do join, I'd love to hear about your experience! Feel free to comment below or email me at lovejoypeas@gmail.com.

Kindness Challenge Summary
Choose a person to focus your kindness on this month and, every day, do each of these three things.

1. Say nothing unkind to or about your selected person
2. Say something kind to your selected person
3. Do something kind for your selected person

Her research shows that 89% of participants experienced improvement in their relationships!

I chose to do the challenge for my husband. Not because of any problem but because he's awesome and deserves even more kindness in his life. Depending on how it goes, I might repeat the challenge in future months, focusing on a different person each month.

I used January and February as informal practice months to get in the spirit of things and it's a good thing I did because March opened with a bang ... I'll tell you more in my next post so be sure to come back soon. I aim to post about my Kindness Challenge experiences at least once a week in March 2018.

May God bless you and every kind thing you do!

Related posts:
Create a loving atmosphere: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/01/creating-loving-atmosphere.html
Life Lessons for Women: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/04/life-lessons-for-women-7-essential.html
Authentic Relationships: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/authentic-relationships-book-review-and.html

Note: This isn't a paid or affiliate post of any kind. I'm just a fan of Shaunti Feldhahn's and personally wanted to do the challenge. All opinions are my own.

Happy Valentine's Day with Cute Bird Card

Photo of one of the Valentines we sent to core family members

Happy Valentine's Day! You are loved by our Lord! More than words could ever say but the story is in the Bible and there are wonderful volunteers working 24/7 to answer questions and pray with people at www.peacewithgod.net 

Today, on this day we celebrate love, I just wanted to take moment and say I love you too! Thank you to my dear, patient readers. I'm still not 100% sure where God is leading me with my writing but unless I feel led otherwise, I'm aiming to share more frequently here.

My heart goes out to all for whom this is a tough, sad holiday. May God comfort those who mourn and those who feel lonely or need comfort in any form.

I am supremely thankful for God's love, for my husband's love, for the love of my family, friends and readers. I am blessed. God is good!

May God bless you and those you love!

Related posts:
Our 2012 cute valentine cats: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/02/happy-valentines-day-funny-monkey-cat.html
2013 valentine cats: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/02/happy-valentines-day-funny-cat-photos.html
Valentine crafts from my mom plus cats: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/02/cute-valentine-cats.html

Overtaken by Grace by Debbie Milam - Book Review

Of all the books available on Bookcrash, this was the one I most wanted to read, and the main reason I signed up for the program. More grace is always a good thing. 

As the saying goes, God works in mysterious ways. Little did I know that by the time the book arrived, a core family member would be in the intensive care unit (ICU) and I would be too sick to be able to travel, even though there was a good chance my beloved family member might not survive. Debbie Milam's Overtaken by Grace: How Intimacy with God Brings Hope, Healing, and Miracles provided exactly the support I needed during that difficult time. I loved her liberal use of scripture and her heartfelt prayers.

It's a very slim book, totaling 115 pages, and it didn't have any big original thoughts that I noticed. But what it did deliver is Debbie's beautiful way of speaking about core Biblical truths and life lessons in touching, heartfelt ways. Debbie's love for the Lord and her readers was evident and I felt like she was a friend helping me through this difficult time.

Some of the sections, such as coping with teenagers, didn't apply to my life but I read the whole book and do feel like I got something out of each part.

God did grant a miracle and my family member, while not completely healed, is still alive and able to live independently, something some of his doctors did not think would be possible. I'm still not up for travel but the need is less urgent.

Normally, once I finish a Christian book, I pass it on to my mother, who runs an informal free Christian lending library. But I'm going to keep Overtaken by Grace. I love the personal inscription she so kindly wrote for me and I know I'm going to want to reference it in the future, especially for the prayers.

My only criticism of the book is that Debbie only vaguely alludes to her challenges and doesn't get deeply personal and specific until more than halfway through the book (if I remember correctly, around page 65). I would have liked to know what kind of things she had dealt with much earlier in the book. But, even before she got specific, I could tell that she was someone I'd certainly like to get to know. I love her heart for God and her unique way of expressing His truths.

I would definitely recommend this book for any Christian or anyone open to Christianity. 

May God continue to bless Debbie Milam, and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
Refocus book review: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/refocus-living-life-that-reflects-gods.html
Life Lessons book review: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/04/life-lessons-for-women-7-essential.html
Disciplines of a godly woman: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/disciplines-of-godly-woman-book-review.html
Authentic relationships: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/disciplines-of-godly-woman-book-review.html

Disclosure:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am not currently nor have I been in the past, an Amazon affiliate. I am considering applying to be an affiliate in the future and will post a notice when/if that happens. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Merry Christmas! Includes Update and Blessings.

Red and white camellia flower: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

Merry Christmas to you and yours! I wanted to share my Instagram photo but couldn't get the link to work here. It did work on my relatively new Facebook "writer" page. So if you follow me on either of those places you can see our 2018 Christmas card. But I do like the Christmas-y camellia flower featured in this post and hope you do to.

May this Christmas bring you renewed faith, pure joy, and the sure knowledge that Jesus loves you! If this is a painful time of the year for you, I pray that you will draw near to God and He will comfort you with His peace that passes understanding.

I haven't been blogging much this year but I have been praying a lot. I feel like God is leading me to start my own webpage but until I'm sure of what He wants me to do there I'll keep posting here. In the New Year I plan to share some of the things I'm considering and I will welcome your input.

May God's peace be upon you, light fill your soul and blessings be with you!

Related posts:
Christmas blessings: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-blessings.html
Longwood Christmas: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-at-longwood-gardens.html
Cute Christmas cat: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-cat-santa-and-reindeer.html

First Chicken Soup for the Soul Story Published!

Exciting news! Chicken Soup for the Soul bought one of my stories and it is in the book pictured above (The Dog Really Did That?)! The book officially launches on August 8, 2017 but is available for pre-order now on Amazon.

I haven't used Twitter in ages but if I can figure out how to get in to the launch party mentioned in the photo above, I hope to see you there!

May God bless you!

Related posts:
Our kittens when tiny: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/05/braveheart-and-sandman-our-new-kittens.html
Cute wrestling kittens: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/08/cute-kittens-wrestle-and-surrender.html
Our elderly cat: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/black-cat-pink-tongue-cuteness-photos.html
 
Direct link to book: https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Soup-Soul-Miracles-Mischief/dp/1611599695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501874271&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dog+really+did+that

Disclaimer: I am one of the authors in the book and will be paid a flat fee for my story. I don't get any additional monies for books sold. The Amazon link in this article is not an affiliate link.

Blog Break - Spring 2017

Happy tidy Tuesday! The Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues, albeit slowly. I had before and after photos for you of a little clutter busting progress but my husband doesn't want me to share household photos anymore. As much as I love sharing here, I love him more so must respect his wishes.

Unfortunately, my health has been especially challenging lately so I've decided to take the rest of spring off from the blog... and maybe longer. But as I'm able I'll still keep my Facebook page updated with archive posts and other blogger's interesting posts.

May God bless you and those you love!

Quick and Easy Tea Nook Clutter Busting

Tidied tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

Happy tidy Tuesday and Spring! The Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues with a quick flat surface area / kitchen counter clutter busting project.

We have tea almost every day but this little tea nook to the left of our range is a clutter magnet. The above photo is an "after" clutter busting image. It includes one thing that wasn't in the "before" photo below. Can you spot it?

"Before" cluttered tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

This "before" photo shows a much messier tea nook. Most of this stuff isn't clutter in the sense that we don't use it but it is clutter in the sense that it doesn't belong there.

"After" uncluttered tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017

So I removed everything from the area, cleaned the empty space, put the out of place things where they belonged and then returned the things that did belong.

Then I noticed the cup hook with nothing on it. I searched for and found the missing oven mitt and hung it back up (see the topmost image - that was the extra item not present in the "before" photo).  I like the tidied tea nook much better this way.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Quick Kitchen Counter Organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/14-minute-kitchen-counter-clutter.html
Microwave Area Clutter Busting: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/8-minute-microwave-and-cut-flower.html
Organized Utensil Drawer: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-simplifying-home-8-week-journey-week_21.html