No Fear & a Free Printable

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In 2014 I am praying God’s promises over my life. Won’t you join me?

I am a pro at worrying. And you know what? It robs me of my joy. I remember doing a Beth Moore Bible study on Esther many years back, and one of the things she talked about was the great risk that Esther took to visit the King, uninvited. She was scared, but she told her uncle Mordecai, “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

Beth Moore led us in an exercise where we talked about our fears. What was one thing we were afraid of? If that happened, what were the implications? What’s the worst-case scenario? And if that worst-case scenario happened… would God be enough to get me through that situation?

The simple answer is yes. The hard part is living as if that were true. But oh what a life we would all lead if that were indeed the way we felt, deep in our gut. That God would be enough to see us through our darkest days, our biggest fears, our worst crises.

What if, instead of letting fear consume me, I remembered the promise that God has given me the ability to be POWERFUL, LOVING, and SELF-CONTROLLED. I want nothing more than for my baby girl to grow up being strong… may she see a strong, loving, self-controlled mama living as an example to her.

Join me in praying this promise over our lives. Because God keeps his promises.

“Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” Joshua 21:45

As a gift to you, my dear friends, I’m offering this as a free download. I’d love it if you would share it with your friends on Pinterest, Facebook, etc. Print as many copies as you’d like, but please do not email or sell.

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il_570xN.553634680_5tueHave you seen my newest print in the shop?

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely
On Etsy

I want to dream BIG in 2014

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Free download from Texas Lovely

My goal for 2014 is to dream big. The past few years my goal has been to rest, to pace myself, to slow down, to not overdo. And in those seasons that was what I needed because my life was filled with work and stress and growing a baby and then having a baby and learning how to be a new mom.

It was an amazing season in my life. And now it’s time for a new season. In this season I want to get back to doing something I feel like I haven’t done in a few years.

I want to DREAM.

I want to think and plan, not just for this week or this month or this year, but for the future. I want to try things I’ve never done before, to experience thrills, to conquer fears. To live with reckless abandon. To do things BIG.

To worry less about failing.

To worry less about what others think.

One of those things I want to do is to grow my little blog. Would you help me? I’m offering this print as a free download – would you tell your friends, pin it on Pinterest, and help share the love? You would make this girl very, very happy.

Keep dreaming, my friends.

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Other places you can find Texas Lovely:
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely
On Etsy

Two contest winners

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Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway on Facebook! I’m a little slow in announcing the winner because of that little life-changing event that happened three weeks ago. In fact, I’m typing this one-handed while I hold a nursing baby in the other arm. Now I know why mothers are such great multi-taskers.

For the record, I can also apply make-up, fold laundry, dress myself, make a strawberry pie, feed the dog and eat dinner while nursing. Be impressed, okay?

But back to the give-away…

Congrats to Stacey Mensik for winning the necklace and bracelet! Email your address to bethe(at)texaslovely.com and I’ll drop your goodies in the mail. Thanks to everyone who entered! If you haven’t already, go “like” Texas Lovely on Facebook – I plan on hosting some more give-aways very soon. And to the 217 of you who have already liked the page? Well, you are my favorites!

Also… for the contest I held last month to predict the date of Wrenn’s arrival, congrats to one of my best friends, Katie Beach, for being the only person to accurately predict July 10. Katie, go check out my shop and let me know which print you’d like to have.

Now, excuse me while I finish feeding this little cutie over here…

Friday Favorites & a Give-away

If you moseyed on over here from my friend Helene’s blog, welcome! You can read more about me here and visit my shop, Texas Lovely, here.

Okay, now that we’re friends, on to today’s post:

These are a few of my favorite things…

For those of you who are new here, I teach English as a Second Language to refugees and immigrants from all over the world. Last night I taught my beginners about our elections, and the basic structure of government – things like term limits for the president and congress, names of local government leaders (governor, mayor), and about our two party system. The highlight of the class was having one of my favorite students, a large African woman about 70 years old, lean back in her chair and say, “Mmmm… I don’t like Obama. Romney is my man!” Now, regardless of your political leaning, a moment like that goes against just about every political stereotype, and it makes teaching English an absolute hoot.

I asked my students to tell me about the governments in their countries, how their leaders were chosen and whether or not they’ve ever voted. It was eye-opening to go around the room and hear students from Congo, Ivory Coast and Togo each say that it’s too dangerous to vote – that they would never do it because it’s not safe. It’s just another reminder that regardless of how you feel about the candidates running, we are blessed to be able to go to the polls without fear of physical harm.

To the woman who told me today, while I was wearing my big-girl suit no less, “There is NO WAY you could be 32! I could have sworn you were in your mid-20s,” all I have to say is, BLESS YOU. BLESS YOU. BLESS YOU. You’re my new best friend.

It totally makes up for the woman yesterday who asked me if I was pregnant, and when I told her I wasn’t, she said she didn’t believe me. That’s a new one. (And of course I was wearing a new shirt that I just LOVED, but which I love a little less now.)

This sucker is BIG! But I love the craziness of the pattern, combined with the neutral Christmas colors. It doesn’t just scream “Yea! Christmas!” but instead whispers it soothingly as you cuddle by the fire.

Oh wait, I’m now personifying my quilts. Maybe I’m spending too much time in my sewing studio, watching How I Met Your Mother on my laptop. (The first six seasons have seen me through three different quilts.) Anyway, this gal will probably end up in my shop — unless I decide to keep her for myself, which is a strong possibility — so stay tuned for an announcement about her listing. Feel free to call “dibs” on her now by leaving a comment. I haven’t measured her yet but it’s definitely big enough for two people to snuggle under it next to a fire.

My friend over at Helene In Between is giving away a Texas Lovely print on her blog! If you don’t already follow her, go check her out – she’s a Dallas girl (love supporting local bloggers) and her blog is gaining popularity at warp speed. Thanks Helene for so generously partnering with me! Now hurry up and go enter the give-away so I can send you something lovely!

—-I’m linking this post up with the Bargain Blonde’s Friday Favorites link party—

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Update: If you have found my meal planner through another blog – welcome! I hope you’ll check out my other printables in my Etsy shop – Texas Lovely.

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I saw a great meal-planning guide on Pinterest, and decided to make one that better suited my needs. And, like everything else in life, grocery shopping is more fun if you get to carry a cute list. I chose to break it into just a few easy categories, since we buy almost everything fresh – no frozen or heavily processed foods for us if we can at all help it. Except, of course, for those wonderful boxed muffin and waffle mixes that I’ll admit to you I adore, but if you tell anybody I’ll swear I make them from scratch!

And because I like you, I’m offering it as a free download to my sweet blog friends. Just click on the link and then choose the “download” option. Feel free to spread the love by linking to it on your blog if you like it. And if you do download it, please leave me some love in the comment section, just so I know your’e out there.