A new year to dream bigger.

Tomorrow I'll be celebrating my 23rd Birthday with my two loves.  I have been counting the days and I'm so so excited. Even better my husband has off that day, coincidence?  I like to call it a pretty awesome Birthday gift from Jesus.

I have been thinking and praying about this new year and season in my life. And I really felt the Lord lay on my heart and soul last week  that He wants me to  go after the things that will take the most faith for me to do and go for.

He told me that I don't need money or things to accomplish them but only Him and I have Him.

I'm going to be honest and say that I am a girl with so many dreams. I have so many things I want to do and accomplish and I've let fear get in the way.

Fear of my plans not turning out or not having the money, and fear of me not being ready.

But this year and the years to come I'm so done with letting the spirit of fear effect my dreams. God didn't give me the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

I have such a heart to encourage. In fact  that's one of the reasons I started blogging. But I want to encourage in so many more ways then blogging. I want to do it through my music, books, and more in person.

I want to get my business officially started so that I can remain a stay at home mama for all of my children.  I'd really like to start a mommy group.   I believe that won't only benefit other children but also my girl as well and me.

But mostly. I want people to see Jesus in me to a new level.. I'm done with people only knowing that I'm a Christian because I say that I am and because I post things on facebook. I want my walk to be so much more powerful then my talk. I want God to use me to shine His light, His power and His love on His children and use me just as He used His disciples many years ago.

 This year is the year for me to be a fearless dreamer. To just go after what God has called me to do and go after my dreams.

God wants us to go after the dreams that take the most faith to do because I believe those ones are His favorite.. It's a scary journey for us (particularly me) but I think it's fun for Him because He knows what's going to happen in the end and the impact it will make. He also loves to see us wowed by His awesomeness.. We don't give Him many opportunities to show Himself and if we did I really believe all of our dreams would be fulfilled because  Jesus has plans that will prosper us and give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

I'm ready. I'm ready to be a fearless dreamer. To be unstoppable and not  letting things and even people get in the way. I believe our dreams and passions are on our hearts for a reason. A reason that's meant to impact the world and show the Love of Jesus. God wants us to Dream big and be a fearless one that doesn't use excuses.  The enemy just won't know what to do with you then.

I'm so excited to start this new year with a mission as I turn 23. To live the rest of my life as a fearless big dreamer who accomplishes everything she does with God's help and guidance
 (Psalm 1:3)

I think it's about time I walk on some water folks. And this year is a perfect year to start.

Becoming a mother// Guest post by Beka.

  Hello loves! Today I have a special treat for you coming from one of my friends Beka! I'm so excited to have her here today and share with you some things she has to say from her new experience of entering the world of motherhood.
                                                                
Hello ladies! My name's Beka, and I blog over at The Castilles. I am very honored to be featured on Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee today. I often enjoy reading her posts on marriage, motherhood, and Godly femininity. She's someone I would love to sit down with over coffee! Thanks for letting me take over your blog for the day, Heather!!

 My husband Sean and I got married last August and we just found out this February that we're expecting our first! After some initial shock (and three pregnancy tests), we let it sink in and praised the Lord for the gift of life he placed inside me. I'm young - only 19 - and both marriage and motherhood are happening for me at an age when most girls are in college, starting internships, or studying abroad. Even though I know full well that marriage & motherhood at a young age was exactly what God had best planned for me, the lies of the culture around me still creep in... It whispers, "you're wasting your life". It mocks, "you're not ready for this." It degrades, "there's other women who would have done better at this than you." It lies, "you're weak, God isn't strong enough to hold you." So often I fall into the temptation to believe these lies and I grow disheartened: Oh my goodness! I'm having a baby! Nothing's going to be the same again! I can't handle these changes! God, surely you could have chosen someone else for this task of motherhood. I'm clearly not cut-out for this. I choose to fret instead of looking at my growing belly with overwhelming joy. I choose to feel regret instead of peace in holding my husband's strong hand. I choose to worry about the disapproving looks of others who scoff and think I'm too young - instead of rejoicing that the Lord is sanctifying me in such a unique way! I dwell on the opportunities I won't have instead of noticing all the open doors that a life of stay-at-home motherhood is going to offer me. Do you see how easy it is to view a change in circumstances, such as impending motherhood, as a threat to the comfortable life you've grown accustomed to? As Christian women, we ought to see these changes as a sign that the Lord loves us and loves to teach us new things! God desires to be glorified in our lives...but how can he be glorified if we fret and worry over what He calls blessings? Over what He calls good things? May we view changes such as these with JOY and run after them with reckless abandon!
                                 
                             
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                                       http://castilles.blogspot.com/

Understanding my role as a Biblical Wife. (Biblical woman series)

                   

This is such an important study for me because being a Biblical wife to Leon is my passion. He's such an amazing husband and my best friend so I want to be all that  I can be for him.

Honesty time! I did  a no no folks. You see, I've put my Marriage on the back burner for a bit when I became a mama..  It's something that's so easy to do when you're a first time mom in fact I didn't even realize I did it until I read another blog post about it and realized "Oooops! Am I doing that??"

I guess because I got so overwhelmed with a little person and studying her, getting to know her likes and dislikes and making sure that her every need is met that I forgot to make sure Leon's needs were met too.

I've studied blogs and books on being the best mom I can be and leaving my studies on being the best wife I could be in the dust.  I stopped trying to please Leon, I continued to get behind on washing his clothes, and keeping his meals fresh and even worse I even stopped praying for him.

That's a mistake that took a little hold on our marriage causing us to argue and it's a mistake that I refuse to make again..

Children are supposed to make a husband and wife grow closer and not farther apart. And I believe the reason why that happens sometimes to couples is because they forget that they were a husband or wife before becoming a parent. And obviously it's not the kids fault but the parents.
                                              

Sometimes "we" wives don't run and jump into the arms of our Mr when he comes home  anymore because we're too busy keeping our kids happy.

Or we get behind on laundry because we'd rather be blogging on our little break then folding clothes.

Or sometimes we do "take out" way too often because we don't want to cook dinner..

Which is an understandable thing but not a good thing.

As a wife and a keeper of the house I'm called to be a good steward of what I have.  I was so blessed to have the opportunity to  spend my life with my husband early in life and I want to be a good steward of him and take good care of him.

I'm not saying I'm a horrible wife for getting behind on laundry, or not hugging on him when he gets home from work, or ordering take out when I don't feel like cooking dinner..

What I'm saying is that I shouldn't be making excuses for myself. I get behind on things around that house and I've used my busyness as an excuse.   I get so overwhelmed with piles of laundry but it can be prevented. Doing a load of laundry every day and folding it and putting it away is a 30 minute job at the most.  And planning a dinner menu the week before would make it so much easier to cook each night of the week and allowing myself to have a break from cooking every once in a while.

So ladies, This wife and Mama has come up with a plan to help me be a better Stuart in my role as a wife and house keeper. I'm coming up with a chart and I'm going to write a schedule of things I need to do each day to make my home a cleaner and happier one for my husband. I know at the moment Evie doesn't mind her clothes piling over but Leon does and I'm going to prevent that and make the piling go away.

And I've started praying for my husband these last few weeks every day again and I'm letting him know. Praying for my husband is the most important thing I can do. We can't grow stronger in our relationship together if our prayer life is on the back burner. I'll be posting more on that  next week.

Mommy Moments

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We had some awesome links last week as usual. 

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

 The top viewed link this week belongs to Paula from Beauty Through Imperfection and her post So You Think You're Pro-life. Paula's post is very thought provoking and challenging for everyone in regards to how we treat young moms and pregnant women! I'm so glad Paula shared this wonderful post with us last week and if you haven't already, I hope you stop by and check it out!

The Life Of Faith

 The Not Quite Military Wife


Beautiful Family Affairs, 

 Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee

Just a Touch of Crazy

Now, link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

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P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

Our Easter Weekend

1.2.3.4.5 Bunny zoo trip// 6.7.8.9.10.11 E's first Easter egg hunt at the zoo and enjoying her chocolate covered egg for her reward// 12.13 Enjoying her chocolate almond spread bunny toast and bananas for Breakfast// 14.15.16 Checking out her Easter baskets// 17. Snacking & waiting for daddy to finish cooking off the grill// Easter pic// 18. Trying out her new cow towel her Gandma bought her// 19 Me & my beautiful sister in law//20 Evie and her Great Memaw//  21. Loving her new books// Eye balling Aunties homemade lemon blueberry cake.

On Friday my friend and I took our kids to The Zoo Bunny. They had the cutest Easter bunny costume ever but Evie didn't want anything to do with him so no pictures of that haha. She loved searching for eggs though! She had so much fun and she got a chocolate covered egg with peanut butter for her reward for finding five eggs of a different color. She loved it! She's been so loved this weekend as usual and I think she's had more chocolate these last few days then I've given to her in her life time.. What I'm saying is we officially have a choc-a-holic on our hands.

We celebrated Easter on Saturday because Leon was off that day and thankfully my hubby decided he wanted to cook everything. I wasn't complaining because Leon is amazing at cooking. He's got a gift so when he's willing to cook I welcome him to the kitchen with open arms and an excited appetite. He made burgers, amazing chicken, mac and cheese from scratch, beans,  hot dogs,and  cooked veggies,  and Ashley and I made cake and chocolate cream pie. Other than the sweets Evie favored Leon's chicken. She had a whole piece to herself pretty much. We all were amazed.

Evelynne loved her Easter Baskets.  I just adore how loved she is from not just family but friends as well. Our loving friend even surprised Evie with a fun basket. We were so touched.

This Easter was hands down one of my favorites so far and I just know each year as we grow as a family and Evelynne get's older it will just keep getting better!

Easter is one of my favorite things to celebrate. Not just because of the great food and fun with family but mostly as you all can agree Jesus is the One we're celebrating.  I love Him so much and He is so worthy and amazing. Seriously worthy of all of our praise! We also celebrate Easter because it was the day the battle was won. When death lost it's sting and life had a new beautiful meaning. It's when the enemy was brought to shame and God's children were brought to victory. Christ is Risen.

Some good cup of Friends.

Hey Beauties, I have a special treat for you today.. I'm going to share with you some great friends and bloggers that are worth reading.. I love each and every one of these ladies and I'm positive you will too once you go check out their lovely blogs.

                                                              xoxo Much love!

From Bisons to Buckeyes

What do you love to do more than anything? Spend time with my husband. Is that too much of a cop out? I love exploring new places... with my husband. :)

What are you looking forward to this Spring/Summer? Warm weather, baseball, being outside, rain, animals, pool time. I could go on and on.

Describe your blog in three sentences. I started blogging to keep in touch with my family and friends when the hubby and I moved 500+ miles away from everyone and everything we knew. Since then, the blog has turned into so much more of a hobby and community that I love. I blog about my life, love and faith.

 
 Harbor Hope
 1.What is your blog about?  Harbor. A place of refuge. To hold tight. Harbor Hope is both of these things. In my mind's eye I see a small dinghy. It is stranded. A boat without a paddle. All hope seems lost. There are no sign posts or how-to books on board. And yet there is an ember. Small. But existent. Harbor Hope is about fanning that ember. Building up hope. Restoring lost hope. A place for those who feel lost. Or battered and bruised by the storms of difficult parenting. It is about fostering change. In the way people talk. The way people think. The way people respond. It is about inspiring hope. Pulling each other through the moments we don't think we can survive. Seeing opportunity within challenge. Hoping despite what we see. And it is about promising forever. Not everyone can or will adopt. Not everyone will foster. I don't aim to make this a reality. But everyone can... See the child beyond the behavior. See the mom hanging by a thread. See the parents who love so deeply but don't have the answer. See that every child. Every parent. Is worth the effort. And that no one is beyond hope.

2.What gives you inspiration?  I am inspired by...

 ...the ocean and the great grey sky that stretches above it. Reminding me of the awesomeness of my creator. 

 ...my mom. A more excellent and dedicated woman I have never known. 

... my husband. A man whose friendliness and patience are endless.

...my son. A boy whose joy overflows and who tries so hard. 

...life. And all that God has brought me through. 

4. What do you love to do more than anything? More than anything I love to be with my boys.


 

The Castilles

1. My blog is about my life and adventures as a young newlywed and soon-to-be mother...which includes everything from crazy stories, favorite recipes, thoughts on the world, and really a hodge-podge of everything.

4. I love to create more than anything. Whether that's a blog post, or a floral display at work, or something in my home - being creative, writing, and designing give me such joy and I never lose motivation to do it again and again!

8. As cliche as this sounds, my husband Sean is totally my favorite person of all time. He's my best friend and he brightens every area of my life. I'm sure I annoy people sometimes with how often I'm beaming about him ;)

My Advice for a successful Marriage {Guest post}

*This is a guest post by Charlene @ From Bisons to Buckeyes Hey readers of Like a Morning Cup of Coffee! I wanted to share some tips for a successful marriage with you guys. Because I'm an expert after being married for a year and a half, right? Not really, but I have some experience and I can share what I've learned.

So, here goes.

1. Don't stop dating after you get married. Just because you're married now doesn't mean you can stop trying to impress your spouse. Even though you spend a lot of time together now that you are married and you live together, you still need to set aside special time to spend together. Get dressed up and feel pretty. Do things you don't normally do. Spend quality time and conversation together away from the TV. My husband and I try to make sure we go on at least one date per week, and watching TV at home doesn't count.
2. Try to have dinner as a family every night. This is in addition to a weekly date night. We try to have dinner together whenever possible. If my husband comes home after work in time for dinner, but he still has a lot of homework to do, we at least make time for dinner at the table before he gets started.
3. Put away technology as much as possible. When I am spending time with my husband, I try to not even have my phone on me, but it's tough. I know some people have "no technology in the bedroom" rules. I at least don't have it with me at the dinner table.
4. Don't stop flirting after you get married. Both you and your spouse still need to feel loved, wanted, and attractive. Be the type of parents that make your kids sick. Kiss goodbye in the morning, greet each other with a kiss and hug at the end of the day. Send texts in the middle of the day just to say you're thinking about them.
   
5. Go to bed angry. If you are having an argument, sometimes you need sleep on it and you will be more rational in the morning.
6. When you argue, don't bring up past arguments. Pearson and I attended a weekend marriage seminar when we were engaged and this was one of the big points. The couple presenting this point said that after they have a fight, they flush the argument down the toilet. Literally. They write the problem down on a piece of paper throw it in the toilet and flush. This somewhat ridiculous gesture helps them remember that the issue is over and will not affect future conflicts. You see, when you unnecessarily bring up old arguments, it only fuels the fire and doesn't help anything. Everybody makes mistakes, but we learn from them and move on.
7. Don't try to change your spouse. If you don't like something, try to change your own perspective and your attitude and see where that gets you. You didn't get married to change your spouse, you got married because you love the person he is!
8. Hold hands everywhere you go.
9. Listen to each other. Sometimes your spouse isn't looking for a solution. They just want you to listen and sympathize. 
10. Tell each other how you feel. Even if it seems trivial. Your spouse wants (or should want) to know about you. I learned this one from reading The 5 Love Languages. Sharing is as much a part of quality conversation as listening is. If your spouse's primary love language is Quality Time/Conversation like my husband, then their love tank will never be full if you don't share what you are feeling.
    
11. Never stop "studying" your spouse. Get that PhD in your wife or husband. A lot of people told us this before we got married. It goes along with some things I said earlier. Don't stop paying attention to your spouse after you get married. You do NOT know everything there is to know about them. And besides, people change as they get older so there is always something new to learn.
12. Be intentional about loving your spouse. Once you are out of the "in love" and "infatuation" stage and reality sets it, it might not be so easy to love your spouse on a daily basis. If you choose to love them no matter what, it will eventually become a habit again.
13. Encourage your spouse with your words. This means to speak kindly even if something negative needs to be said. It means to encourage him or her to do things that they want to do (not that you want them to do). And it means making requests of them as an equal, not demands as an authority. This one is hard for me because it is my natural tendency to nag, but there is always a way to get across what needs to be said in a kind way.
14. Don't compare your marriage to other people's marriages. You are two individual and unique people so your marriage is unique as well. What works for other people might not work for you and vice versa. Comparing only brings negative things to light and nothing good can come of it.
15. And last but not least, keep God first. What does this look like? Pray with your spouse. Pray for your spouse. Study the Bible with your spouse. Go to God with conflicts in your marriage. Make the Church and the Bible a priority. Find other Christian couple friends to fellowship with.

This certainly is not an exhaustive list, and I know I have a lot more to learn but I hope this post has been an inspiration to you. What would you add to my list?

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out my monthly marriage goals, my post about The 5 Love Languages, and my tips for arguing with your spouse.

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Mommy Momments

Hey mamas!

Happy Easter! What a wonderful day to celebrate the lives God has blessed us with as well as remembering the life of Jesus, God's Son!
Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We had some awesome links last week as usual. 

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

 The top viewed link this week belongs to Brittany from Sweet Country Roots and her post Easton's Home Birth Story. Wow what a story! Brittany had an unmediated home birth and after 4 hours of pushing was rewarded with this sweet bundle. Congratulations Brittany!! 

The Life Of Faith

 The Not Quite Military Wife


Beautiful Family Affairs, 

 Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee

A Lavender Life!

Now, link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

You would be our extra special favorite if you add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

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P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Easter!!

 

Happy Easter Friends!! I hope you are having a wonderful day with friends and family remembering the life Christ lived and the amazing life He died to give us! HE IS RISEN!

The hardest of times.

                              
Looking at my beautiful rock on my finger never got old.. It was so beautiful and the fact the it meant that I was engaged to be married to my sweet Leon made it even more special.

For the past few years Leon has been praying about his career and where God wanted him. He knew one hundred percent that God has called him to ministry but until then he needed a job that would provide for me and our future family.

We spent many weeks talking and praying with our premartal counselers and Spiritual Parents and him and  I spend many nights praying about it as well.. Military seemed like the best option for us finiancally since niether one of us had a college education. So that's what he went for. This was seriously one of the longest and most frusterating  times of our lives. We wanted answers and we wanted them now. This process went on for almost an entire year. He first signed up to be a Marine but after a long process they didn't want to take him due to a back injury he had back when he played foot ball in High school.  He then tried  Army and Navy and they refused him due to that reason as well. So we kept praying and seeking after God's plan for our life. We knew He had one even when it felt like there was no hope. A door had to open. So until then Leon and I did premartial counseling with our Spiritual Parents and read many books to prepare us for marriage. One of our favorites were "The five love languages" It was so much fun getting to know each other and finding out what our love languages were.. It's definitly reccommended.

The hardest of times.
 For a few months Leon was struggling with horrible mind battles. unthinkable images would come into his mind that would torture him. They weren't his thoughts but they were attacks from the devil. telling him what he thought he was and that he was going to do horrible things. Nothing seemed to help him. He couldn't sleep, or  relax because the battles were so intense so he had to keep himself busy by running miles and miles listening to worship music. He would call me crying and stopping by my house to pray with me. There was no doubt that God had a plan for us. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't have tried so hard to get to Leon.
                      
I was struggling myself.. Struggling with loneliness.. During this time a girl really needed her dad the most to encourage her through this wedding planning process but he wasn't there. He was so uninvolved  and it broke my heart completely and to make matters worse a girl who was supposed to be one of my best friends got word that she wasn't going to be my maid of honor so she messaged me telling me that I was a .... blank blank blank... and that our friendship was over. All because she wasn't going to be my maid of honor. I was crushed. I felt like I had no one.. I felt lonely with the desire to be loved and I obviously wasn't receving the love from Jesus.. He unfortinately was on the back burner at this time which was a big problem.
Because of this Leon and I started to let doors open. We weren't as careful as we usually were. Our hearts weren't as focused on purity as it usually was.. We were both broken and all of a sudden we wanted a quick fix. Something that would distract us from our problems..  So we compromised. We compromised our beliefs, desires, goals, and standards. We compromised purity.

We didn't actually have sex or anything but to me there was no difference. That five minutes of distraction gave me months of regret and shame and even anger towards Leon. This was the start of a very hard trial.. Our struggles were no longer just mind battles, career security, and bad relationships but now we had to fight for purity which was much harder then we thought.

This was the start of many tears, late night prayers and fighting for our identity in Christ. We were over comers. We just didn't know it or see it then.

Come back next Friday for part 10.
New to these series? 
 Part one our Journey
part two He walked back into my life
  part three  Sale for Haiti
Part four Next stop Ocean City where all your dreams come true.. or not.
Part five is it too late?
Part 6 Jeremiah 29:11. I realized I was in love.
Part 6. He's my future husband say what?
Part 7 We're official.
  Part 8 The Engagement