This is the DAY!

THIS IS THE DAY THAT I HAVE MADE! As you rejoice in this day of life, it will yield up to you precious gifts and beneficial training. Walk with Me along the high road of thanksgiving, and you will find all the delights I have made ready for you.

To protect your thankfulness, you must remember that you reside in a fallen world, where blessings and sorrows intermingle freely. A constant focus on adversity defeats many Christians. They walk through a day that is brimming with beauty and brightness, seeing only the grayness of their thoughts. Neglecting the practice of giving thanks has darkened their minds. How precious are My children who remember to thank Me at ALL times. They can walk through the darkest days with Joy in their hearts because they know that the Light of My Presence is still shining on them. Rejoice in this day that I have made, for I am your steadfast Companion.

I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. --PSALM 116:17

(Devotional taken from "Jesus Calling")

I read this devotional at midnight right before lying down to sleep and since it was technically Thanksgiving before I went to sleep, I went ahead and read today's devotional. After reading it and talking with Him, I realized that it was a perfect devotional to post today.

So remember to thank Him always because when we stop doing the negative and gray thinking, He provides many blessings we can be thankful for.

I pray you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Thankful Thoughts

Photo retrieved from here

Can you believe today is Thanksgiving already? I certainly can't. So many things have been going on in our lives this year and honestly I don't even know where to begin.

God has been driving hard in our family these days especially after losing my job in October. It was obvious to me that He had other plans for me and just decided to put His foot down. When I walked out of that door that day, I sat in my car and said, "You know what God, it is all Yours!" I am letting you have everything, I don't want to worry about what comes next, because I know you have it all under control." From that moment on, I just never felt weighed down or upset except for the fact that I knew my husband would be extremely upset. Well recently I was selected for a job at KanCare (MAXIMUS) for a 3 year contracted project and I start next Tuesday. I have had many job applications out, plus several interviews. Today I was blessed to meet with another manager of a Dillons (Kroger) entity this afternoon and she advised that since I had just recently applied for an Assistant Manager position there that she would just gather all of my information and go ahead and forward me onto the management leader of Dillons. She advised that I would be contacted by this other individual to then meet with her. Needless to say God has been seriously opening doors around our home lately.

What made it a truly "blissfully sunnyside up" day was after texting my husband about this opportunity, he replied back stating, "Great job Hun!" Followed by another text stating, "That has really helped my day a bunch!" I can't explain how thankful I was and overjoyed to see those words because with everything that has been going on, it just felt so good to receive that compliment.

I am asking for prayers about this opportunity because only God has this plan figured out and I can't wait to see what He has in store!

I am also very thankful for my husband who has been busting his booty working to ensure we make ends meet some way, somehow. Last week he worked 80 hours, yeah I didn't enjoy not having him home much, but he sure was taking care of his family. We have been so blessed through the past month with friends and family taking great care of us either by financial assistance, support, or just down right praying. That has been the greatest thing for us and to this day neither one of us plan to throw in the towel and give up on one another just because Satan is trying to wedge in. He gets so far and we quickly kick him out because he is not part of our family and never will be!

Anyway, many things this year to be Thankful for and I can't express how many things I am thankful for because I am not sure anyone would want to read a book for a blog post (hehe)!

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to think about all those wonderful things in your life.

Jams with the Little One

So the other night Reba came to me and asked if I could do her nails for her; of course I said YES because what momma doesn't like doing her little girl's nails? So we head off to momma's room because that is where it is stored and I asked her if she would like Jamberries or polish? She screached Jamberries!!
I get all my supplies out and pull out all the sets in which go to her nails and asked which ones she would like. She cheerfully chose this beautiful blue set (sadly they don't carry anymore but it's "Shoreline & Celebration") and we proceeded to make her nails all pretty!

JAMbeautifuls

Do you have a little one that would like to have some quality time with momma and loves having nail parties? Contact me today and I can show you how to make those memories special with amazing designs to match one another!

Click the icon to contact me today!

Jamberry Nails & Birthdays

My new addition that I am starting is a Birthday Jam List. For anyone that would like to be on my birthday list, which consists of providing me with your birthday (month/day) I will add you to my calendar to ensure that you receive something special on your birthday! I look forward to building my birthday list so I can give away some amazing things.

If you are interested in looking at our different designs then head on over to katyvannicola.jamberrynails.net to see. Not only do we offer over 300 designs but we also have a Nail Art Studio you can design your own, and if nail wraps aren't your thing, no problem! We also have nail lacquer as well in many different shades. But wait, that's not it! Just a few months ago we launched our TruShine Gel system for individuals that enjoy having their nails gelled or shellacked. Honestly, I haven't been able to try the new line of TruShine Gel, but super stoked to be able to.

In all honesty, doing nails since I was 10 years old has been really the only "girlie" thing about me. I have done glue-ons, stick-ons, acrylic, and now the best of all Jamberry Nail Wraps! Plus the great thing about Jams is the fact that no matter what, they bond to your real nail, acrylic, and even the glue on nails because sadly I am a nail biter so I glue my nails on so I can have that length to show off my Jamberries. So if you are like me and love doing your nails, then make sure to email me your birthday so you can start receiving those surprise gifts yearly!

You can also find my JAMBeautifuls page on Facebook here!

Have a wonderful day!

Focused on Him

As I sit here doing my devotion from "Jesus Calling", I just had to share because it has really spoke to me and I feel it could speak to others as well.

"As you look at the day before you, you see a twisted, complicated path, with branches going off in all directions. Yo wonder how you can possibly find your way through that maze. Then you remember the One who is with you always, holding you by your right hand. You recall My promise to guide you with My counsel, and you begin to relax. As you look again at the path ahead, you notice that a peaceful fog has settled over it, obscuring your view. You can see only a few steps in front of you, so you turn your attention more fully to Me and begin to enjoy My Presence.

The fog is a protection for you, calling you back into the present moment. Although I inhabit all of space and time, you can communicate with Me only here and now. Someday the fog will no longer be necessary, for you will have learned keep your focus on Me and on the path just ahead of you."

 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. ---Psalm 73:23-24

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I now in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. ---1 Corinthians 13:12

Does that speak to anyone? It sure spoke to me because as I go through this difficult time in my life I seem to become less focused on Him and more focused on what I want to focus on or what Satan is trying to get me to focus on, such as all the negative things within life lately. 

It was definitely God speaking to me this morning because I have several devotional books and couldn't decide which one I wanted to open today, and He provided me that answer because this was definitely one that I needed to see.

My Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to thank you so much for all the wonderful blessings in my life. Thank you for redirecting my attention back to You and providing me that peace within my heart and soul that I have been missing. I also want to ask for this same kind of message to speak to others in my situation. Speak to my husband as well, help him to know that You are in control and all we need is to stay focused upon You. I pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.

Daily Devotional: Marriage Prayer

This morning I am looking at my Unveiled Wife book and found this great marriage prayer and thought I would share.

"My Marriage Prayer"
* Must be a believer in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
* Must have respect for others as well as himself/myself, especially in purity (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
* Must be motivated in his/my life pursuits (Proverbs 13:4)
* Must not contain any anger (Proverbs 22:24-25)
* Must have strength (1 Corinthians 16:13)
* Must not harbor jealousy (Proverbs 14:30)
* Must be trustworthy (Colossians 3:9-10)
* Must not be a gossiper (Proverbs 26:20)
* Must show discretion (Proverbs 3:21)
* Must pursue wisdom (Proverbs 13:20)
* Must speak good language (Proverbs 17:20; Ephesians 4:29)
* Must not be crabby (Philippians 2:14-15)
* Must have a good reputation (Proverbs 27:2)
* Must be, above all...loving (Proverbs 15:17; 1 Corinthians 13)

As I read these this morning I discovered I really need to sit down with God and pray. There are so many things on this prayer list that I need to really talk to Him about and ask for His strength and support on helping me change for the better. Making sure that I am not crabby, using good language, not gossiping, and being loving I feel are the top ones for me to work on because they seem to be a weakness for me. I struggle with using good language and being crabby seems to be a daily issue for me at some point throughout the day and then gossiping, well that is what the world is all about these days so trying to get out of that needs to be a priority on my list.

Do you see yourself struggle with any of these?

Fall Craft w/My Girl

Crafting with kids has always been a joy for me. Whether they are my kids or others' kids. Seeing them light up at whatever craft they are working on is just magnificent. So while out with a friend, we came across these adorable Fall craft sets at Target and she had to get one for me and my kiddos to work on. So the other night after we put Bubba to bed, Reba and I got down on the living room floor and had a blast together. And this is what we made.

Saturdays

What does your Saturdays consist of? Well for as long as I can remember, I always try to get as much picked up around the house as I can while kids are playing and daddy working either at home or at work.

Before losing my job, Saturday seemed to be the only day in which I was able to get anything done around the house because Sunday we left for church and usually would be gone for majority of the day and I would be exhausted and ready to be lazy by the time we get home. So now that I am not working outside the home at this time, I have a little more time to work around the house. So this lovely Saturday, I stayed as busy as I could because unfortunately I have a sick little boy on my hands. He would not let me put him down so I decided I would just get the good ol' baby carrier out and just strap him in and do what I can. Weston loved it, he took his froggy blanky and just snuggled right in. Needless to say I truly didn't accomplish much but I was ok with that because I cherish those moments that he is so sweet and snuggly.

So what does your Saturday's consist of?

Pain in Marriages

When thinking about marriage, many don't think about the pain that comes with certain situations. Not only marriages seem to have pain but so does life in general. Well lately we have run into a lot of pain within our home, some we show, some we share, some we hide, some we just can't explain.Pain is something that Satan tries to use to knock us down and pull us away from God, but when our pain started, we knew right then and there that God was in control and we had to follow Him and not allow Satan to even whisper to us. Many people have issues with that which is something we learned the hard way for sure.

So today's devotional questions brought to you by The Unveiled Wife book are as follows...

1. What are some reasons you feel your pain and frustrations about marriage is more important that those of your husbands?
     I have discovered that I have been extremely spoiled within my life and even more so when I met my husband. He continued to spoil me and that made me get that ego built up thinking I deserve everything and that no matter what I was more important. When this was all realized, I began to look at that realizing that it was true. I had never allowed myself to take a good look in the mirror and face the fact that I am not the only person living here. Have you ever had this experience or have tips on how I can work on becoming less selfish and more giving to my husband and especially to God?

2) Have you ever contemplated divorce? If so, what unwanted circumstances motivated you to consider the end of your marriage?
     Well, maybe a long time ago when I felt as if my needs were not being met and the only answer was to get out and find someone that was going to fulfill those needs. That is how so many marriages get into the tangled mess of affairs. How do I know, well I have been there. It definitely is not something I enjoy talking about or even like admitting that I did it, but honestly God made it clear that if we didn't put him first that our marriage was going to suffer. Daniel and I both were having our own issues but coming from families that didn't really communicate feelings and emotions, we didn't discuss those feelings with each other. We kept to ourselves and seemed to live our separate lives.
In the short of it, the unwanted circumstances were I was feeling neglected and not loved so I turned away from my marriage and from God and went about my sinful life.

Praise the Lord for knocking me into my senses because I am still married to my best friend.

Expectations in Marriage

First off I wanted to apologize for not getting my devotions up the last couple of days but with my husband being gone for the last two days, I wasn't able to focus much on my social media stuff. Now that he is home, I can start getting back to my (soon to be) routine of blogging.

First we are looking at expectations within marriages...

1) In what ways do your unmet expectations affect your attitude toward your husband? Toward God?

My unmet expectations cause my attitude to be extremely rude and disrespectful to my husband. I feel he doesn’t provide me the attention that I want. I want that man that wants to be in love and show love. I feel he is just there and that he is just my roommate because we hardly talk, touch, kiss, anything. I hate feeling like this and not having the intimacy with him in our conversation or in the bedroom. So many things are different now that we have kids and life has become stressful. My attitude with God, well I don’t know that I have an attitude but I certainly don’t confide in Him or open my heart to Him like I should.

2) Have you suffered silently in church? If so, what motivated you to hide your pain from others?

I have sat in church and went to church and put on that face of happiness even though I know in my heart that Daniel and I have just got done arguing or having an issue before walking in. I don’t like others to see my pain or frustration so I fake happiness. Especially around his family.

Take a look at these two questions and see what comes to you when you actually sit and think about them. I do have more questions but wanted to get you started with these  so you can see what to expect in future posts. I look forward to hearing from you and your thoughts or even advice on how you handle expectations within your marriage.

Have a blessed evening.

Daily Devotions

Hello November 2015! I am so glad it is "fall back" so I can gain that extra hour of rest, which I never do, but I guess it means an extra hour of work within my home right?! Well it seems like November came very quickly and I just know how fast it will fly by as well. So I am taking this time to start a new month fresh with different goals, ideas, plans for my blog, plans for my family and just all around plans for me. One of those plans I want to share tonight (more will come as each day goes by) is I want to start doing a daily devotional time with not only me and God, but also expressing that devotion for you as I work through my devotional questions from my Unveiled Wife book I just completed today. At the end of each of her chapters, she provides different questions that made me really think about different things within my spiritual and marital life. I found many things where I really need to work on growing with God and stepping up to the plate of being an "unveiled wife".

If you think this might be something in which you would like to walk with me on, I would love for you to join me. I will post the questions along with my answers and hopefully it will help not only myself grow but maybe you can see where you may need improvement as well or could offer me your tips or tricks. I look forward to taking this walk with you.

Have a blessed evening.