the glittered nest

The Art of Giving

"When I give, I give Myself"

Walt Whitman

Life is crazy busy and it is so easy to forget the little things like inviting a friend over for coffee even if it means your house is not perfectly clean and you have laundry sitting in three baskets with good intentions(yes, embarrassingly enough this is me).

How about making(or buying) some muffins with your children and walking them over to a neighbor?

I have been reading a book titled "Lifegiving" by Tammy Maltby and it has reminded me that God has made women to be unique and beautiful spirits.  We have the gift of sharing our souls, our laughter and our homes.  We are designed to enrich the life of others around us through comforting acts of kindness and hospitality. 

My mother n law is a Lifegiving women and loves to make these strawberry preserves and give them as gifts.  When I visit I am always secretly hoping she has made a batch of this ruby red goodness!  Have you ever known a friend who makes you feel better just being around her?  You feel accepted and loved NO MATTER WHAT?  You want to go to her home not because it is fancy but because you feel her kind spirit and love when you walk through the door?

Think about being a lifegiving woman this week.  How can you spread the love God has given us unconditionally to another?  I would love to hear how you like to give! The recipe below is from one of my favorite bloggers: Elyse of Tinkered Treasures

Just enough Strawberry Preserves

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled, and sliced or chopped
2.5 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
Less than a pinch of salt

In a pot, combine the strawberries, sugar, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil and cook, stirring frequently for 15 to 20 minutes.

Let cool and serve. Keep refrigerated. Probably keeps up to 1 week (if it lasts that long)

 
 

Learning to Pray

 CONFESSION:

I'm not very good at praying. 

How silly does that sound?  Is there anyone out there in blog land that feels the same way? I have wanted to post on this subject for a while now but embarrassed to actually type these words out.

Is there anyone out there that would rather run a 5K in the Texas heat than pray out loud in front of a group for fear of not saying the right thing like me?  Do you have a specific time you pray so you don't forget to?  Our dinner prayer is: God is Great, God is Good, let us thank him for our food"...seriously it's time for me to break out and really talk to God and teach my children to connect with him in their own way.

Why is  praying out loud so hard? 

I recently went to the MOPs international conference where I attended a session on "the melody of prayer".  Jonalyn Grace Fincher was our speaker and I encourage you to click on the link to follow her blog.  She was such a nice and calming spirit to listen to in the midst of a large conference when we were on the go from session to session. 

Her tips for prayer were simple:

You can find peace in nature and music to help keep you centered on God. Jonalyn says to pay attention to things you naturally notice in life and start praying about those things.

 I don't know about you but I often have little thoughts creep in like...Dear God, thank you for giving me my health today(oh gosh...did I start the dishwasher before I left home) also thank you for giving me strength to keep calm when my 5 year old wrote with a sharpie all over my cabinets today(oh yeah...that really happened!)

I find myself picturing something happy and calming when I talk to God:

 
My favorite summer vacation with my family is always at the beach.  This is what I like to picture.

Sometimes late at night I will play a sound machine of the ocean and pray.

Familiar or favorite smells also help me feel calm and ready to pray.  I like to light a candle when I want to connect to God or just center myself when life gets crazy and fast moving. 

What centers you as a prayerful woman, mother, child of God?

When I hear beautiful worship music at church on Sunday it always makes me feel like the gap from this world to god is a little bit closer (which can be hard considering the place we all live in these days).

This will be an ongoing journey for me and I would love to hear your thoughts on prayer and what helps you to make the connection.