The Gabby Mom's Year in Review

So it's the end of 2011.  WOW!  That year went really fast.  At first though it started out very slow.  We had some snow here in SW Pennsylvania at the beginning of the year, then came the chaos of birthday season, our first actual testing season for homeschooling, a trip to Virginia Beach for a graduation, our 10-year Anniversary, and now the pregnancy of our 4th child.

Along with all of that I got the privilege to be a part of a wonderful review team.  The Gabby Moms!  We reviewed several products from Eternal Encouragement.  I can't even begin to say how much reading or watching each item blessed me.

Lorrie has such a way of getting to the heart of the matter.  She cares deeply about every woman who reads/watches her products.  She also makes sure that she keeps focus on what is important.  The relationship with our Heavenly Father.  That is definitely key to everything.  Yes, there are other things that go along with each situation you may be facing, the main thing is to rely on our Heavenly Father.

It has been a great year of product reviews with the Gabby Mom's.  Each one has meant so much to me.  I have truly been inspired by each product I have reviewed.  I have also been challenged to tackle many things I struggle with personally.  Each new product offered me something different.  It felt like I had a second mother with me, encouraging me through my struggles.  Lorrie does so well at putting you at ease, but also making you think.  She is kind but firm.  I am grateful to

I am also looking forward to this year with the Gabby Mom's.  I know Lorrie has some awesome products for us to review and I can't wait to share them with you.

I would like to thank Lorrie and Cindy for allowing me to be a part of such a great team.  If this sounds like something that would interest you for the 2012 year head over to the Gabby Mom's website to Get Involved!  Read More

Yelling - The Cause, The Casualty & The Cure - A Gabby Mom's Review

Have you ever felt like this?  Screaming or yelling at the top of your lungs because nothing seems to be going right?  The baby just dumped his food all over the floor and now the dog is eating it?  Your 4 year old is coloring on the piano keys?  And your oldest, well he decided it was time to build something with the legos and you just know you are going to find them in the middle of the night with your bare feet.

Ah, the joys of motherhood!  But do the screaming and yelling make you feel any better?  NO!  (there I yelled online)  Actually, I don't know about you, but I feel a million times worse than when I don't yell.  But no matter how much I try, I can't seem to curb the yelling.  

So, when the Gabby Mom's review team was given this assignment, I practically jumped out of my seat!  I do not like yelling.  I do not like it Sam I am, I do not like yelling.  It gives me a headache plus I know my kids have picked up on it and they yell back at me or each other.

I knew something had to give.  I always felt like I spent more time screaming than talking to my kids and enjoying my time with them. 

Lorrie has always had such a way of reaching me and I know other moms.  She is gentle in her approach and cares about the ladies she is reaching out to like you and me.  I know that after reading other books, magazine articles, I often feel worse and no where near like I am going to be able to fix what needs fixing.  But after reading several of Lorrie's books & magazines I feel uplifted and have a plan of action to take.

Reading "Yelling - The Cause, The Casualty & The Cure", left me feeling equipped to face the battle ahead.  It's not just for my sake, but for that of my children and husband.  Lorrie offers 11 steps and she always to make sure that we never forget the most important thing.  God.  The relationship with our Heavenly Father always takes first place.  The relationship is never on the backburner.  I am so grateful that Lorrie always puts Him in the right place for us.

If you feel that you just can't keep control of the yelling, screaming or whatever term you prefer to call it, I highly recommend reading this book.  Lorrie offers simple suggestions that will definitely make a change.  I know that I am looking forward to less yelling and screaming in our household.

Go here to purchase "Yelling - The Cause, The Casualty & The Cure"

Eternal Encouragement

The Eternal Encouragement Store

Disclaimer: I received Yelling - The Cause, The Casualty & The Cure as an official member of The Gabby Moms blogging program for Eternal Encouragement Magazine. I did not receive compensation for this post and all opinions are solely my own.

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Welcome Home Daddy - A Gabby Mom Review

"Hi Honey!  I'm home!" says dad as he enters the house.  Oh the picturesque scene of me, 3 boys and the dog all waiting to greet him as he walks through the door.  Dinner is on the table, the house is spotless and the home is his sanctuary. 

WAIT!!!  Wake up call!  Talk about dreaming.  This is more Leave it to Beaver or Donna Reed style than the way it goes at our house.  I typically am scrambling to get dinner done, the toys and other things on the floor picked up.  The dog is barking as he wants his dinner, one of the kids is crying and the baby is shaking the gate at the top of the steps since he heard daddy open the garage door. 

But wouldn't you like to have your household come pretty close to the first description?  I know I would! 

When "Welcome Home Daddy" by Lorrie Flemm arrived at my house, I was so excited to be able to review it!  Our welcome home party resembles something more of mass chaos than the organized (mostly) dream I want to have awaiting my husband when he arrives. 

Lorrie is so helpful and full of insight on how we can do our best to achieve these dreams/goals.  It will take work on our part, but in the end it will be so worth it!  I know I can't wait to see the look on my husband's face when I am actually able to pull this off.  Granted, I know it won't be "perfect", but it will be perfect for our family.  Each one of you will have a different "perfect" for you.

Here are some things that struck me while reading this wonderful book.

~ Time does not equal money.  It is MUCH more valuable! 
~ Our attitude determines the attitude of the home.
~ Enjoy the meal together and Enjoy time with each other!
~ Family devotion time is important and should be lead by your husband.

There are many more nuggets in this book! 

I truly believe it is possible to be a modern mom and have the traditional value of our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers.  With reading this book and the idea's involved I know it is possible.  I can't wait to surprise my husband with this!

If you would like to purchase this item head on over to the Eternal Encouragement Shop.
To read more reviews on Welcome Home Daddy, jump over to The Gabby Moms page.

We are also looking for more "Gabby Mom's" to join our team.  If reviewing products like this and so much more sounds like something you would like to do, click here.

Disclaimer: I received Welcome Home Daddy as an official member of The Gabby Moms blogging program for Eternal Encouragement Magazine. I did not receive compensation for this post and all opinions are solely my own. Read More

Energized & Fulfilled Video Review - The Gabby Moms & Eternal Encouragement

Life as a mom is perfect right?  I mean we all have energy, we don't scream or get frustrated and we have all the time in the world to get everything done.  But that was what we saw on TV in the life of June Cleaver.  Let's face it, we live in the real world and whether you are a mother of 1 or 8 or more children we all feel overwhelmed, tired, frustrated and sometimes just plain ole cranky!  But is that the way we want to feel?  I know I don't want to feel that way but often I do. 

Well, if you want some help then Lorrie's new DVD is available and is perfect for this!  From Exhausted, Irritable and Overwhelmed to... An Energized and Fulfilled Woman of God is the title of her new DVD.  I received this and the corresponding study guide for review in September.  I can honestly say that I am so glad that it came this month.  I have been feeling the entire first part of the title and not the second half.  We have had a lot of things happening and a lot of changes coming which have all left me feeling overwhelmed.  That on top of all of our normal activities make for a tired, irritable momma.

So, when I got this I put it on right away!  But then life happened and I got delayed.  So I got to try it a couple of times.  It's actually good to be able to listen to this several times.  Gives you new insight to the things Lorrie talks about.  I love how she has this new acronym!  REAL REST!  That's what we as mom's need, right?  Lorrie offers some great tips with the REAL REST acronym.  Some are so simple that we often wonder why we haven't done them before and others really make you think. 

So often we lose sight of what should really be first in our life and Lorrie helps remind you in such a gentle way.  She always makes sure we keep God first.  I can truly say that is the most important thing to do.  She offers such great tips to help make sure we are able to do that.  Not only in the Energized & Fulfilled DVD, but many others too.

I have been so blessed to have Lorrie's help as i go through my journey of being a wife & mother.  She is SO very encouraging.  You can tell she truly cares about you.

If being Energized & Fulfilled is something you desire, then head over to the Eternal Encouragement store to purchase the DVD of Energized and Fulfilled Woman of God.  Not only do you get the DVD but you get the study guide and Bible verses and Mom's Spectacular Relaxation Recipes(something we didn't get as part of our review but bet you will love!).  The purchase price is $19.97! That is a great deal.

Disclaimer: I received Energized & Fulfilled as an official member of The Gabby Moms blogging program for Eternal Encouragement Magazine. I did not receive compensation for this post and all opinions are solely my own.
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Godly Woman: The 5 R's of Godly Womanhood Product Review Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my review for The 5 R's of Godly Womanhood.  I am going to start by saying thank you to Lorrie, Eternal Encouragement and The Gabby Mom's for giving me this opportunity to review such great products.  This one came at a much needed time in my life.  

I have been struggling with the daily life of a stay at home homeschooling mom.  I often find myself getting frustrated even before the day begins.  My house always seems to be mass chaos.  (I have 3 boys so I often use them as my excuse)  I often feel run down and like there is NEVER enough time in the day to accomplish everything.  To top it all off we officially started school this past week.  We never really took the summer off, just a few breaks here and there.  So I have been completely frazzled!

I had listened to all of the 5 R's back when we first got them for review.  Little did I know that as I was listening to the last 3 for part 2 of the review how much they would give me what I needed to get me through this week.

If you don't remember the 5 R's are the following.

Refresh - A woman who kneels before God can stand before anyone!

Rekindle - Red hot is so cool

Refine - From homekeeping 101 to Graduating with Honors

Rejuvenate - What to do when Abel is raising Cain

Rest - Give it up and Give it all

This review is for the last 3 R's.  Refine, Rejuvenate and Rest.

As I said above, listening to these again couldn't have come at a more perfect time in my life.  I struggle each year with trying to get organized with school preparations.  Between getting the house cleaned, organized and also getting all the school supplies, curriculum set up for the year.  Lorrie's teaching on Refining was such a great reminder and help to me.  I have been applying things I have heard to my life the past month.  What a blessing it has been.  Between planning out my day, scheduling better and trying really hard to stick to a routine, my days have gone so much smoother.  We still hit some bumps.  The baby wakes up in the middle of the night and takes 2 hours to fall back asleep will necessitate a later wake-up time for me which will throw off the start time of our day.  But by lunch time we are almost where we should be in our day.  I have noticed the kids are getting used to the routines we are starting to follow.  It has helped me to enjoy our first week and look forward to the upcoming year!

In Rejuvenate Lorrie talks about child training.  In Proverbs 22:6 it says "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Consistency is probably the hardest thing about training up children in the way they should go.  Each child needs love, training and discipline when they make decisions that go against the rules of the house.  It is important to establish those rules early on and keep up with the training so that they know them.  If they disobey, then the appropriate discipline is given.  

One thing I am working hard on is not being angry/frustrated when I need to discipline my children.  I am not consistent all the time and often struggle with this.  So, I will count to 30 and make sure that I take them aside from the other children, then ask what they did wrong and why it is wrong.  After that the appropriate discipline is given.  It is also important that we not be afraid to discipline our children.  We love them and want them to live a long time while also living for God.  

Even our Heavenly Father disciplined us by kicking Adam and Eve out of Eden.  They were given everything and one act of disobedience ruined the perfection God created.  So they were disciplined.  I am sure it was not easy for Him just as it is not always easy for us.  But it is our job/duty as parents.  We must not fail our children.  In today's society, parents are becoming afraid to discipline their children for fear of squenching their personalities.  We must not be afraid of this.  Is it hard, yes, but it is worth it in training up a son (or daughter) in the way of the Lord. 

The last R is Rest - Give it up and Get it all.  Now when you think of rest, what is the first thing that comes to mind?  Is it a long bubble bath?  Watching a movie and letting time slip away?  Or perhaps reading a good book while sitting in the hammock with your favorite tea?

In this session, Lorrie offers what might be the best way I have heard this put in a long time.  I'll agree that all of the above definitely seem relaxing or restful.  But really does that solve the dilemma of being "rested".  As a wife, mom, homeschooler, housewife, we are always putting our families first.  This is VERY important.  But who fills our cup when we are running on empty.  A bubble bath can't do that.  But our God can.  By reading His word and taking time for others I feel rested.   

Lorrie's sessions for the 5 R's of Godly Womanhood have helped me in many ways.  I definitely feel better about my role in life as a wife, mother, homeschool mom, housekeeper and I feel more prepared to take on any other role that God has planned for me.  It won't always be easy but if I keep Him first, He will show me the way he has for me in every aspect of my life.

If you would like to see more reviews of The 5 R's of Godly Womanhood head over to the Gabby Mom's website. 


If you would like to purchase The 5 R's of Godly Womanhood click here.


Disclaimer: I received The 5 R’s to Godly Womanhood as an official member of The Gabby Moms blogging program for Eternal Encouragement Magazine. I did not receive compensation for this post and all opinions are solely my own.

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Godly Woman: The 5 R's of Godly Womanhood Product Review Part 1

Welcome to Part one of a two part product review!  This review is for Eternal Encouragement's "Godly Woman: The 5r's of Godly Womanhood".  This set is 5 MP3's and 5 e-books for each of the "R's".

We are women.  God made us from Adam, who was created in His Image.  So as a woman we are to reflect the Image of God.  Not just when we leave the house to go somewhere, but at home in our every day activities.

As a woman we have many roles in life.  We are wife, mom, teacher, friend, daughter, & sister.  It can be quite hard to keep up with these roles.  We multi-task as much as we can but in the end, unless we have God first in our lives this proves to be an impossibility.  Of course we may make it several days, weeks or months without God, but then we crash and burn when we realize we simply can not do it all without His help.

In the 5 R's, Lorrie takes on the things that we need as women to help us thrive.  So what are the 5 R's?

#1 Refresh
#2 Rekindle
#3 Refine
#4 Rejuvinate
#5 Rest

When do you feel refreshed?  Is it after a long walk?  How about after reading scripture and doing your Bible study?  Does that leave you refreshed?  Well I tell you what.  After listening to and reading about being refreshed, it is definitely something I want to be more of!

In this first "R", Lorrie talks about putting God first in our lives every day.  When we first wake up.  I must say that I was convicted as this has been a very weak point in my every day life.  The tagline for this first "R" is very appropriate.  A Woman Who Kneels Before God Can Stand Before Anyone.  This is so true and can be applied to every aspect of our life!  Often I tend to rush through my morning activities and put aside my daily devotion time.  I make sure I do devotions with my kids so they get what they need, but neglect myself.  Well after listening/reading this, no more!  I need to take care of myself so I can take care of my family!  They deserve the best from me and by putting God first I can do that!

Lorrie gives such wonderful, yet simple ideas to help us feel refreshed.  You will think of BB's and M&M's completely differently now!  She even offers the suggestion of sharing your devotion time if your little one comes and finds you while you.  What a better way for your children to learn about the importance of time with God than to see it from you!

Psalm 119:11 (TNIV)

¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
   that I might not sin against you.

The next session was Rekindle.  Now what do you think you are supposed to work on Rekindling?  That's right!  Your marriage!  Lorrie was such an inspiration in the session on rekindling your marriage.  I loved the idea of treating your spouse the way you did before you got married.  :)  Flirting with your husband, taking the time to talk to him about things going on, having a date night, and many more ideas.

Today we see more than 50% of all marriages fail.  That is such a sad statistic!  I have been fortunate to see my parents marriage go 34 years and I can't wait to see the next 30 or more!  My husband and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary.  And I will tell you, society has it wrong when they paint the picture of marriages being all blissful and happy, no problems.  Marriage requires both parties to give not just 50% like a lot of people think but 100% effort to make it work.

I know I plan on implementing several suggestions that Lorrie gave in this session.  It is so important to keep the flame kindled and to never let it go out.  It is our job to build up our house, our husband and our marriage.  The Bible makes this very clear in Proverbs 14:1 (as Lorrie talks about).  "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." (NIV)

It is very important that we take time for ourselves and our marriages.  Always keep God in the center and rekindle the flame!

If you've enjoyed what you've read here about these 2 sessions, you will love the other 3!  My review for them will be out in August.  The 5 R's of Godly Womanhood is a MUST have.  It's timing for me to review was impeccable and I am so glad I got to share my thoughts on the first 2 sessions with you.  This is a product that I would definitely buy myself if someone suggested it to me.

Feel free to stop by The Gabby Moms page to see the other reviews for this wonderful product.  Also, if you are interested in becoming a Gabby Mom there is exciting news!  They are accepting applications for the upcoming 2012 year!!  YAY!! So if you think this is something you would like to do, then click here.  An application will load for you to apply to the program.

I wanted to share about my time with the Gabby Moms.  I have read many books, listened to many audio files and never felt as refreshed and able to tackle my day as I have with Lorrie's books and audio's.  They are wonderful and you can tell how much she cares about what she is talking about.  She has a passion to help women as mothers, wives, and teachers.  These products have been such a blessing to me and I am so glad to have found the Gabby Moms group.

Disclaimer: I received The 5 R’s to Godly Womanhood as an official member of The Gabby Moms blogging program for Eternal Encouragement Magazine. I did not receive compensation for this post and all opinions are solely my own.

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God is good... ALL the time!

The day started out good.  Good for a 5am wake-up to meet my sister and return my niece back to her.  I dropped my hubby off at work in downtown Pittsburgh and headed on my 4.5 hour drive to Beckley, WV.  I have driven this route numerous times.  We used it just 3 weeks prior to visit family in NC and TN (where I am from).  So it is a very familiar route.  I am familiar with the turns, hills, popping of the ears and even the occasional animal on the road.

The day was going well.  We had just had a "pit" stop and Starbucks break.  (something Mommy definitely needed with 4 kids in the car)  We were on 79 South and going up the mountains when I saw the deer.  It was close but i thought I could avoid it.  So I swerved to the right to miss it.  Being in the right lane already and it being in the left, I figured this was the best option.  Well the deer must have sensed my move and went back toward the mountain on the right.  I braked...HARD... I am not sure if I screamed or not.  The kids had no clue what was going on.  SMACK, THUD, dragging noise, and another bump.  I hit the deer.

I was able to safely pull over to the side of the road about 1/4 -1/2 mile up the road.  I started to cry.  I cried that I hit a deer and it was dead, I cried because it was the 2nd accident in 7 months with the van, I cried because we were all still alive.  When you hit a deer doing between 50-70mph (though I was slowing down from a cruise position of 72 before I saw the deer) you know there is a good chance of your car flipping.  I knew my odds in the van but I prayed as I knew I was going to hit the deer that He would keep my car with all 4 kids and myself safe.  He listened!  He is GOOD!

It took several minutes for me to calm down and actually call my husband.  My wonderful husband.  He is just the way I needed him to be.  God must have known I needed a man who would not yell or scream or belittle me for something like this.  Instead, he kept asking if I was ok, if the kids were ok.  He didn't care that the front end of the car was completely gone.  He cared about what was most important, our lives.  Again, God is Good!

Trying to figure out what to do when you are stuck in another state and involved in an accident is very chaotic.  I do not like chaos...  I like PLANS & Directions!  Surprises do not do well with me.  (you are reading about the girl who kept asking about when we were getting engaged...lucky he proposed at all!)  So to hit a deer and have that to deal with and not be able to meet my sister was totally throwing me for a loop.

Finally, decided to call AAA and our insurance people.  We wound up having AAA tow my car back to N.E. Allegheny County were our wonderful repair shop is located.  Now, imagine this.  Woman, 4 kids and a tow truck driver in an extended cab flatbed tow truck.  But know what, God is good!  The kids were fairly well behaved.  A game of slapsies in the back by the 2 4-year olds had to be interrupted by me twice. But we survived.

I am so thankful to have a wonderful Mother-in-law and gracious sister-in-law who cancelled their plans for the day to help me and the kids.  Without them it would have been an interesting 2-3 mile walk from the shop to my house...not something else I would have liked to do.

In church Sunday, I knew my heart was just heavy from everything.  The car and some other personal issues were just weighing on my heart.

Earlier in the week, I had watched Facing the Giants (great movie if you want my recommendation).  It had a theme of giving it ALL to God.  Not just the good, but the disappointments too.  Trusting Him no matter what.  Even when that means the answer is No.

Well I am a control freak (remember me asking when we were getting engaged...) So for me to give Him control is something that I am not really good at doing.  Well as I said up above, we were in church on Sunday and I knew that I just had to let go.  It is not in my power to do everything or fix everything or protect everyone.  I would like to, but that's not my job.  It is His.  So I gave it to God.  I chose to give up something I never really had...control.  It is an illusion when we think we have it.  Trust me.  I wasn't in control of the deer.  If I had been, that deer would have been on 79 North and not South!  But God was in control.  Who knows what other circumstance was waiting for me and the kids had we not had that accident.  God uses EVERYTHING to HIS purpose and HIS glory!

So on Tuesday we got a blessing in disguise.  Did you know that when you hit a deer it falls under comprehensive and not collision?  (make sure you have both on your car people)  Well our deductible for comp is less than collision!  Again, GOD IS GOOD!!!  I was already fretting about finances with the extra for the towing (we do have AAA plus which covered 100 of the 154ish miles) but the extra was still quite a bit.  God knew our need.  He always does.

So that is my God is Good story!  I hit a deer.  God kept my car on the ground.  He kept the deer under my car rather than in my windshield or even in my car! (have heard of these happening)  He kept my children, niece and myself safe!  The car is a material thing and can be replaced.  Human life can not!  God is good in His protection, provision and love ALL the time! Read More