La Belle Design

  As Mother’s Day approaches, we often think of our relationship with our mother and, if we are mothers, we recall our time with our children. In an age when the lines between male and female are blurred, as Christians, we know that God made men and women differently. On Mother’s Day, we can celebrate these differences and encourage one another in this special calling.   Genesis 1:27 ESV - 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. You’ve likely felt these differences in the way a woman nurtures others compared to how a man goes about it. God in His wisdom gave men and women different giftings. We can rejoice in these differences and work together with the men in our lives to meet the needs of our children or to help with children in our lives.  While motherhood is a blessing, it is also work that we do to honor God. Work can be exhausting and at times feel like a burden, but it can also bring joy and a feeling o

  I've recently read two books in the Sons of Vigilance Series (two more books come before and I will definitely read them!) by Hannah Hood Lucero and I loved them both. Read my reviews and be sure to check them out yourself! I gave them both five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Crossfire at the Precipice In Crossfire at the Precipice Hannah Hood Lucero does a great job of weaving the truths of human trafficking into the everyday lives of her characters without going into graphic details and while incorporating romance and faith in a natural way.  In the opening scene, I was immediately drawn in when Cynthia Sumrall met Liam Flynn and the romantic tension began. Both of the main characters struggle to balance issues from their past with the challenges in the present and are constantly considering whether they are following God’s direction for their lives. Their romance includes kisses only. The side characters have a lot of depth which adds to the overall story. I’ve not read the two other

April 5/6, depending on how you look at it, is our son's Gotcha Day. This year we celebrated twelve years home. Read on to find out how God worked to bring our family together. As Christians, we often talk about how God directs our paths and how to recognize His will in our lives. The way God brought our youngest son to my family is a beautiful example of how He works in the lives of His people. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. When my three biological children were little, our family started supporting a little Haitian girl through Compassion International. To know how to better pray for her we studied the country and learned about the language, culture, food, religion, and how the extreme poverty affected their everyday lives. My husband regularly went on medical mission trips to Rio De Janeiro to minister in the favelas and when our oldest son became a teenager he was hoping to take him on a mission trip. Because of the intensity of the Rio trips

  Deeper Still is a ministry for those with abortions in their past who recognize that rather than fix things, abortion has left them broken. It is a Christ-centered ministry that provides weekend   retreats free of charge to men and women so they can work through their past and be set free in Christ. Too many times the sins of our past keep us in bondage believing that we are not worthy to speak Christ into the lives of others,   serve Him fully, or worse--we believe we don't deserve salvation. Many who have gone through Deeper Still retreats have finally found freedom in Christ and their voice to speak out against abortion after years of shame that kept them silent. This growing ministry is not only helping those with abortions in their past but also helping turn the tide of abortions in the future. As a Christian and as both an adoptee and adoptive mom, abortion has long been on my radar. I am thankful I was born before Roe vs Wade and wonder if I would be just another statistic

This past week and weekend I was blessed to participate in the Missions Get Together 2024 in Brentwood, Tennessee. About 550 women from all over the state gathered to be encouraged, strengthened, and equipped in our walk with God. Numerous breakouts, corporate worship, updates from missionaries, and our keynote speaker all worked together along with fellowship with ladies from my church and others to make it a special time.  Our keynote speaker was Brenda Croston and she spoke on 1 Peter 4:7-11 ESV - The end of all things is at hand; therefore be  self-controlled  and  sober-minded  for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since  love covers  a multitude of sins. 9  Show hospitality  to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as  good stewards of God's varied grace : 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in orde

  (This blog post is from my 4/5/24 newsletter) I've written about rest before, and I can't stress how important it is that we not only rest our bodies but also our minds. Over and over again in scripture,  God makes rest a priority for his people . On the seventh day of creation in Genesis 2:2-3, God set the example, and Jesus did as well in the New Testament. Often the times that Jesus withdrew, scripture mentions it was to pray (Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12-13; Mark 1:35; Matthew 14:13, 23). We see in Matthew 4: 2 (Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13) that Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days to fast. We should note that he was tempted at the end of this period. Jesus' temptation in the wilderness  is something we should all become familiar with as Christians. It is often when we feel the closest to God or everything seems to be going in a positive direction with our spiritual walk, that we are hit with spiritual warfare. We may not have Satan literally dangling promises of much

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ In The Designated Valentine Drew Taylor weaves past and present together to gradually reveal how Karoline and Mason went from long time best friends to enemies to love. This is a sweet, clean romantic comedy that doesn’t overdo the comedy and only contains kissing, though it does discuss the battle with attraction the main characters have and how they want to be careful because of their faith. Drew includes a warning at the beginning of the book that there is also some mention of alcohol as this book deals with a past addiction. Drinking is not promoted. Both Karoline and Mason think they’ve matured since they last spoke three years before, but they still have room to grow and as a reader I enjoyed my front row seat to see that growth. It’s a great representation of the battles we often face in relationships of all kinds — some from our misperceptions of who we are because of things people in our lives have said or done, and some because we struggle to forgive thinking the o

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hey, Jude Carpenter is a sweet Christian young adult book with a hint of romance by Storm Schultz. It’s ideal for early high schoolers through adults who love sweet clean reads and small town stories.  What would happen if Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending? This book has nods to Romeo and Juliet but is thoroughly original. Mona Montgomery’s life intertwines with Jude Carpenter’s more than they realize as they develop a friendship at the age of 14. Their family members are well developed and Storm does a great job exploring the emotional roller coaster that fills the mind of early teens as they react and try to navigate relationships and life experiences that impact them. Sometimes they have great ideas and reactions that aren’t tainted like those of adults who’ve experienced the hard things in life, and sometimes their reactions are driven by their ever changing emotions. I really enjoyed this book and wish it had been around when my three oldest were younger. I’m