Happy Valentine's Day!  Today is the a day to show those you care about how much you care.   There were hearts, flowers, cards, and candy at church yesterday.  Yesterday was deemed Love Sunday.  We gave cards, notes and candy to most everyone.   It's a nice way to show our Christian family how much we love them. 
How do you show your family love?  Do you show them everyday?  Valentine's Day is close to my birthday, so I never expect anything.  My husband asked me what we were doing for the holdiay.  I told him I didn't want to do anything.  The kids are going to see the new movie Gnomeo and Juliet, but that's okay.  I'd rather stay home.  I am making a yummy roast, rice and veggies and bread.  I make a pretty good cheesecake, so I am making that  for a nice treat. 

I love my children and husband and would do almost anything for them.  I take them to church, I correct them, talk with them, help them deal with their problems and support them. I love them with everything in my being.  But I love God more.

Deuteronomy 6:5  "Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."

I think that loving the Lord with all your heart is easy.  We are emotional people.  Sometimes it is much easier to follow our emotions than our minds.  Love is much more than an emotion.  It is an action.  How do you love?  You do things, you say things, and the emotions that you send others.  You do everything you can to show your emotion for others. 

Loving God with all your soul is tricky.  Your soul is not something you feel, or even think about.  Our soul is what you put into things.  What you do in your job, your life, your family, your relationships, can be your soul.  So loving God with all that you have in you may be what this means.

Loving God with all your mind is your concious effort to make decisions, logical ideas and knowing what is right from wrong. Being wise is something that most of deem to be important.  But to love God, you have to make that decision to follow God, to put away your old life and follow him in obedience. 

It's been a while since we've had a Seeds Digest!

In case you missed any of these great posts, we have them all here in one spot so you can get caught up.

I'm praying that the Lord will prepare all of our hearts for this glorious Christmas celebration. May he soften our "innkeeper's hearts" to the real meaning of the Season - the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

November 22, 2010 - I Am Thankful This week, most of us in the United States are readying for several things; a day of eating, a day of shopping, and for most of us, a day off from our jobs. But Thanksgiving started out as more than that...

November 23, 2010 - In This Rejoice, In This Be Thankful Again, in my prayer time this week, it was as if the Lord was making the words in my Bible bold - highlighted - and underlined - regarding something I often fail to thank Him for at this time of year.

Bear with me... as this is not a typical "thanksgiving" verse...

November 24, 2010 - iFellowship 11/24/2010 with Featured Friend, Sarah from Water Water Everywhere

November 25, 2010 - Thanks!I love the reminder to set aside some time on this Holiday to reflect on our many blessings, and to think about what we are thankful for.

But do we make the habit of acknowledging our blessings all of the other days of the year?

My Pastor often talks about the "Attitude of Gratitude"....

November 26, 2010 - Guest Post: God's Answers by Jamie Habermaas from Inspired Mess
Have you ever asked God for answers but never stopped long enough to hear what He's trying to tell you? Unfortunately, that's been me lately. The past couple of months, I've felt led to change careers and have felt my passion for wanting to make a difference just ready to burst forth! I have repeatedly asked for guidance and answers....

November 27, 2010 - A Thankful Moment his is the season to be thankful. With Thanksgiving done and Christmas on the way, i find myself trying to teach my children the real meaning of it all. I can see that the social world has played a big part in what they think its all about. So it was time to take a lesson in Thanksgiving and we will do the same for Christmas.....

November 28, 2010 - M.A.D. Mommies
Our family has many Christmas traditions. Some are classic, like attending the Christmas Eve service together and reading the Christmas story in the morning before opening presents. Others involve eating pizza bread at the family get-together and expecting a toothbrush, toothpaste, and an orange in my stocking from Grandma each year.

But another thing to expect from Grandma isn't so common....

November 29, 2010 - $5 From 100 People
In a previous post we mentioned that the Seeds of Faith holiday project is to support Children's Hope Chest.

Our goal is to raise $500 to help stop Sex Trafficking in children.

Do you know that if 100 people donated $5 each, that we could easily reach this goal?...

November 30, 2010 - The Beauty of Fridge Letters
This morning with coffee in hand, I opened my One Year Bible. I breathed in deeply and just sat still for a moment before reading. I shared with the Lord some of the things that were on my heart.

Some were requests, some were admittedly "whys" (I just can't seem to rid myself of those!), and some were praises and thanks. I asked the Lord to give me a special word. It didn't have to be an answer for all that I had just laid before Him, but just His still small voice that speaks volumes to my soul!...

December 1, 2010 - iFellowship 12/1/2010 with Featured Friend, Aurie from It's Our Good Life

December 2, 2010 - Praise Him!
There seem to be many traditions and examples of praising God in the morning and in the evening. Several songs even come to mind:

"Praise Him in the morning, Praise Him in the evening, Praise him when I'm young and when I'm old."

"From the rising of the sun, til the sun goes down, let the name of the Lord be praised!"....

December 4, 2010 - The Culture's Message: Sex is Great! Why Wait?
Shopping at the mall Thanksgiving weekend, I saw a sight that broke my heart. A little girl of approximately six or seven years old in pigtails and Mary Janes was sitting on the ledge of a store's window front. She was all innocence and bubblegum bubbles, and was laughing at a baby in a stroller....

December 6, 2010 - Giveaway: $35 Gift Code to CSN Stores

December 7, 2010 -Candy Cans
It seems like everywhere we go we see Candy Canes.

Our neighbors have large plastic ones lining their porch. When we go to the bank, they offer them to my children.....

December 8, 2010 - iFellowship 12/8/10 with Featured Friend, Jenilee of the Goodwin Family Blog

December 9, 2010 - Do You Trust Them to Him?
It's easy to want to hold on tightly to our kids sometimes. To shield them from hurt both physical and emotional. To worry about them endlessly when they are in the care of others (sometimes even when they're with loved ones!)

But let us remember that as much as WE love and want what's best for our children, our Father in Heaven wants that even more!...

December 11, 2010 - Going Through A Difficult Time?

December 13, 2010 - Grace Has a Face!
This month I have been looking at non-traditional/contemporary Christmas songs. Earlier in the year, I listened to a cd and found this song that is sung by the southern gospel group, Greater Vision. It starts out telling about how the wiseman went to find this child and how they described him....

December 14, 2010 - Which One is Your Favorite?
here are as many different decorated trees as there are homes to fill them. I have one friend who decorates according to a color theme each year. I have another friend who has a complete tree dedicated to her college alma mater - complete with orange only lights & everything!

I love the many different personalities of decorated Christmas trees. They tell quite the story of the owners' lives....

December 15, 2010 - iFellowship 12/15/2010 with Featured Friend, Liz at A Flowering Dogwood

December 16, 2010 - Joy to the World
You might think with four children and ten years of Christmas pageants under my

belt I could make it through another without shedding a tear. Well I tried, but at our three-year-old’s Pick Up Pageant this week the tears flowed like clockwork. As you probably know, in pick up pageants children choose which part they play in the Christmas story. This year the familiar story was told with the help of three Marys and no less than a dozen angels. Our little one announced earlier this week that she would be ‘a keen’. And a beautiful king she was!...


December 18, 2010 - A Lesson From Love
As I explained on my blog last week, I've been having a hard time this Christmas. We just celebrated my husband's birthday with him being gone from home for the third year in a row, and now we're facing another Christmas with him still in Afghanistan. I battle the desire to go to a corner and just cry at the unfairness of it all. Every day I have to intentionally put my chin up and pray for good cheer.

Wednesday morning, I was feeling really sorry for myself. Wednesday is my day to volunteer and cook at the soup kitchen, which normally is so fulfilling to me, but that day was the day before Gregg's birthday and I was dwelling on it. That afternoon, a young wife and mother came into the dining room to eat....

Hope you enjoyed these posts! Did you see something you missed? We'd love if you'd leave us a comment. :)

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November 2nd - Vote the Bible! Wow! What an extreme honor! I find myself writing my contribution to Seeds of Faith Women on TUESDAY, November 2nd, 2010! One of the most important days in our nation's history!!!...

November 3rd - iFellowship with Featured Friend Danielle from Mom with A Minivan

November 4th - Ask God About It This little sign was a giveaway at the Relevant Conference that I recently attended. It was as if God jumped right out of the box at me when I picked it up. It caught me off guard, ever so strongly, and my heart skipped a beat. I am guilty....

November 5th - Faith Filled Friday: Time
The finality of time is something that we all share in common. We are all given the same 24 hours each and every day, until God calls us home. I want to use the time that I am given to it's fullest. But more than that I want to use my time in a way that pleases the Lord....

November 6th - The Friendship Factor Most of us go into parenting completely oblivious to what is ahead. We think that we will be the best parents on the planet - the ones who always know where their children are and who they're with. We look at child abductions and crimes against children, drug and alcohol abuse by children, pregnant teens, eating disorders, and think, "Not MY child."....


November 7th - Giveaway: iBloom Mommy Missions

November 8th - Give of Your Best I realized this weekend that I am too busy and not giving my best to anyone, especially God. Yesterday, I stood in front of our church to sing special music and went blank. I've sang the song a hundred times, but yesterday, it just fell apart....

November 9th - Calling All Warriors! This weekend I'm speaking at a Women's Retreat. I'm super excited about the message the Lord has laid on my heart to deliver....

November 10th - iFellowship with Featured Friend Doris from Organized Chaos.

November 11th - The 10 Commandments....for Kids The other day my son and I were reading in Exodus 20 and talking about the 10 Commandments. I have what's called "The Parenting Bible (NIV)", which is a regular New International Version Bible, but it has some tips for Parents sprinkled throughout it.

On the page that houses Exodus 20, it has a note from Kevin Leman that was taken out of his book ...

November 12th - Prayer Gifts, a Guest Post by Lee Merrill of Prayer Gifts. Through all the blog surfing I’ve done over the last few years, I’ve learned that people post about their passions. From adoption to zip lining, there’s a blog for everyone!

The title of my blog, Prayer Gifts, gives a name to my passion: prayer that reaches the heart of God but also touches the hands and heart of the recipient. Tangible prayer....


November 13th - Blessed Be The God Our God, who bestows so much mercy on us and comforts us during those difficult times, who encourages us to continue on doing what is right in His eyes. He does this so that we may be able to comfort and...

November 14th - The Older Brother, Guest Post by Alise from BigMama247

November 15th - Seeds of Faith: Bless A Mom
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Do you know a Mom who could use a little blessing?

November 16th - I Want to Learn! This past weekend I spoke at a retreat called, "Weekend 31." It was all based on Proverbs 31. One of the verses that I covered was, Proverbs 31:19

"She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle."

I've done enough research to know that the distaff and the spindle is close to sewing....

November 17th - iFellowship with Featured Friend Dawn from 5 Kids and a Dog

November 18th - What Are You Serving for Thanksgiving? Can y'all believe Thanksgiving is one week from today? I love this time of year when tasty recipes seem to leap off the pages of magazines, food blogs, cookbooks and even my twitter stream! If cooking has a season this IS it! As a food blogger and passionate cook, I'm frequently asked 'what will you be serving this year?'


November 19th - Will You Help Us Change Their Story? “All who heard me praised me.All who saw me spoke well of me.
For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help.
I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy." -Job 29:11-13

The Seeds of Faith team is participating in Children's HopeChest's Change Their Story for the Christmas season...

November 20th - Boy Oh Boys! In continuing my discussion of Vicki Courtney's 5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter, we enter into Chapter 7, "Boy, Oh Boys!"...

Here are our latest posts in one convenient spot in case you missed any of them!

10/22/20/10 - Faith Filled Friday: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

It's easy to "show God's love" when things are going our way and everybody's getting along.  It's a much different thing to be in the eye of a storm and be able to live out the principles we hear from the pulpit every Sunday morning....

10/23/2010 - Identity in Mommyhood- well in life too
Looking for and finally finding a church for my family and I has been a project all in its own. I have had this view of what I thought it should be and what I wanted from one. While my old church was a great one with a great message and wonderful people, it just wasn't what I knew I wanted. So we stopped going.

10/26/2010 - Lessons from Texas
This past weekend, my husband & I traveled to Texas.  We had some business to address regarding our house (yes, that we still own there).  We got in late Thursday night, and took our time getting up Friday morning.  We wanted to truly soak up this time here in this place we once called home....

10/27/10 - iFellowship with Featured Friend Melissa from Fill My Cup 

10/28/2010 - What's That On Your Shoulder?
Is it the weight of the world?  Oh, it's on my shoulder?  Huh.
The Lord revealed something to me the other day, that I wanted to share with you.
I feel guilty if I'm not doing something productive (or at least something that makes me feel productive)...... 

10/29/2010 - Faith Filled Friday: You of Little Faith?
Jesus never promised us calm waters.  In fact, He tells us "in this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33).  It's how we react when the wave hits, that makes all the difference.  I can't say that I am good at this.  More times than not I look to my own limited human abilities and resources to help me first...

10/30/2010 - Moms Like Me
I'm excited to introduce you to Megan O'Bryant. She is a beautiful mom to Rhys (31/2 years old) and Molli (16 months). She and her husband Titus are great friends of mine. They have been living in Texas for the last few years while Titus completes his seminary degree. I know you will learn a lot from Megan's interview!....


10/31/2010 - Guest Post: A Heart of Flesh by Lindsey Hartz
The words rushed over me with a slow, deep sting; and I felt judgment and misunderstanding and trembling and fear start to overtake me.

The person before me continued on; uttering unkind words meant to hurt, meant to cause havoc; casually flinging them at me like fiery darts full of poison.   I swayed under the onslaught, longing oh so suddenly for that old heart of mine to come rushing to my rescue.

As always, we love to hear your comments!

Have you missed any Seeds of Faith posts lately? We certainly don't want you to miss out on them, so here are the latest ones in one convenient spot. Don't forget, you can also subscribe via email and have them delivered right to your inbox!

Here they are in reverse chronological order, so check them out and catch up on your reading. Don't forget to leave us a comment below!

10/20/2010 - iFellowship with Featured Friend, Amy from Missonal Mama

10/19/2010 - God's Growth Chart
Last week I went upstairs to clean my 3 year-old son's room. At first all I was going to do was pick up the toys, make the bed, you know... the basics.....

10/18/2010 - Mommy Missions:Transformed by the Word
It's difficult to take the Bible lightly or consider it just another book when we truly realize what sets it apart from other books. There are several views of what the Bible is in today's postmodern society...

10/17/2010 - Image Bearing Marriage: The Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, there was a young girl. She dreamed that some day she'd fall madly in love, get married, and live happily ever after. Her loneliness would vanish, she would always feel loved and beautiful, and nothing would ever come between her husband and herself....

10/16/2010 - Girlhood Interrupted
We exist in a culture that seems to set out to make our children into adults earlier and earlier in their life. They are bombarded with messages and images that cry out to them to leave childhood behind and make adult decisions, to dress like adults, to act like adults.....

10/15/2010 - Faith-Filled Friday: Getting in Step
Maybe your little ones are brand new walkers.....teetering as they take their first steps. Maybe they are growing like crazy, right before your eyes, but when they walk beside you it's still two of their steps to your one. Maybe....just maybe there are moments when you do a double take, watching their stride fall in step with your's every so often....


10/14/2010 - Practical Parenting: A Love Like Jesus'
I've been thinking on Mark 10:14 lately. It's been going around and around in my mind and on my heart.....


10/13/2010 - iFellowship with Featured Friend Leah, from Dance And Be Glad

10/12/2010 - The Beauty of a Pressure-Relief Valve

I've been in some sort of ministry for just over 10 years. But in my "former life", I was a chemist! In one of my many chemist jobs, I worked for a chemical company where I was responsible for 100's of gas cylinders....

10/11/2010 - Dealing With It
Well I have been trying to talk about missions the world over, and my next blog on here will be about that. But as I was trying to figure out what I could talk about in the interim, I want to tell you what is happening at our church. The devil is trying to devour us Christians, and we aren't standing for it!...


10/9/2010 - Teaching Our Children
Even though we have been homeschooling for 7+ years, I still have days when I question myself if we are doing the right thing....

10/8/2010 - Faith-Filled Kids:Show Them the Real Jesus!
We want our kids to know about Him, but more than that we want them to really know Him. We want them to go to Him for comfort, look to Him for provision, walk with Him, talk with Him, seek Him, follow Him and love Him, with all that they are. Most of these things we do through prayer with our kids....

10/7/2010 - What's Your Love Language?
We're doing something a little different today - We all know the book "The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. Many of us have taken the Love Language quiz but some haven't. So, take this short quiz and let us know what your love language is...

10/6/2010 - iFellowship with Featured Friend Celia from Honoring the King

10/5/2010 - Disciple's Cross Giveaway Winner

10/5/2010 - Don't Make Him re-Wash!
Ahhh!!! I'm loving the feel of my new home here on Seeds of Faith. My name is Penny and I've been writing about Daily Life on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays.... but you can now find me here - every Tuesday - still writing about how we can see God in our "regular, everyday life, stuff"!....


10/4/2010 - Mommy Missions:Transformed by the Word
One of the biggest issues that we Christian moms face is making time in the Bible a priority in our busy lives. Because of that, I wanted to focus on this for the next few posts to provide insight, encouragement and tips with you! We have to be filled ourselves in order to fulfill our Mommy Mission to spiritually train our children!...


10/3/2010 - Disciples Cross Necklace Giveaway

10/2/2010 - Redefining Beauty
On a mommy message board, I posted one of those questionnaires with a question in it that said, "What is your favorite thing about you?" Out of the 65 women there, one woman said, "My rear end." Every single other woman said, "My children, my husband, my skills making cake, etc." No one else had a favorite thing about them that had to do with their physical appearance.....

10/1/2010 - Faith Filled Kids:Trust & Connect

I've been sharing for the last couple of weeks about things my husband and I are being purposeful to pour into our kids. We are equipping them with these components to give them the foundation to leave our home one day and fulfill whatever calling God has on their lives...

So which posts from the first half of this month have inspired you the most? We'd love to hear about it in the comments section!

Here are the Seeds of Faith Posts from September 17th through September 30th 2010 in case you missed any of them!

Faith Filled Kids: Writing Gods Word on Their Hearts
We feel like a working knowledge of the Bible will be foundational for our children as they go out into the world as adults. In our own lives we use the Bible as a reference point for everything. It is the authority over our lives. We purpose to transfer this belief to our children...

Moms Like Me
Deanna Willems is a sweet mom to four children - 5, 4, almost 3, and 6 months. She and her family live in New Hampshire, and besides mothering she also helps her husband with his church ministry....


Media
My husband and I went through a spiritual revival about 18 months ago. Part of that revival was cleaning out what we take in. I don't mean food. I mean all of our sensory input: television, movies, games, music, internet, radio, etc......

Mommy Missions: Are You Overwhelmed?
If you are a mom, one or more of these will probably sound eerily familiar (if you are honest with yourself anyway- don't worry, we won't tell):

• Piles of laundry at your feet at 9 PM and your only thought is "I wish I could lay down on them and nap" Bathtime will result in more of a mess to clean up than the current grimyness of your kids' bodies so you decide to skip it tonight


• Tag-teaming with your hubby between ball practice and the dance recital makes you want to disguise yourself as a gypsy and head for the hills........

"I'm Sorry" vs. "Forgive Me"
I hope you are married to the most wonderful spouse in the world.
(I am too, by the way)

Yet, while he has the ability to bring me incredible joy and fulfillment, he also has the ability to make my blood boil and test the limits of my patience and temperament. To be fair, I know that I do the same for him at times....

iFellowship 9/22/10


Will Anyone Ever See Me Way Down Here?
Have you ever thought about how (or rather the position of where) you spend the majority of your day?

Yesterday on my personal blog, Living Above Ministries, I wrote about Ruth and how she positioned herself for a wonderful blessing. I have not been able to get this message of humility out of my mind.....


Faith Filled Kids: Obedience
My husband and I consider parenting our children our highest calling in life (for right now). We focus our parenting around the goal of utilizing all of the gifts and resources God has gives us to pour into our children....


Moms Like Me
I'm so excited to introduce you to this week's mom, Melissa Hindal. She was actually one of my roommates in college! We have lots of fun memories together! She now lives in Franklin, Nebraska and is mommy to three beautiful girls!...


Guest Post: Hospitality - Are You A Mary or a Martha?
I don’t have a green thumb. I wish I did, but I don’t. Recently, I read an article that said plants can improve the air in the home, so in a surge of optimism I bought two....


Practical Parenting: Praying For The Children

The Lord has placed it on my heart to minister to the children of our church and our community. This Sunday School year I have the privilege of teaching the first-, second- and third-graders at my church. We have only had two weeks of Sunday School so far, but it has been a fun, yet eye-opening experience......


iFellowship with Featured Friend, Robin from Adventures of Arbor Creek.


M.A.D. Mommies
Scripture makes it clear that we are to make the world a brighter place. We are called to make a difference! We need to be intentional about doing so.

The past two months, your challenges have been to actually "do" something out of your typical schedule......

Here are all of the great posts for the first half of September in one spot in case you missed any of them!

• 9/1/10 iFellowship with featured friend Ashley from AP Writing


• Thankful Thursday: Clean Water


• Faith-filled Friday: On Learning to Be Still


• Moms Like Me: Linda Patterson


• Mommy Missions: The Lone Ranger Mama


• An Eye-Opener: To Infinity and Beyond


• 9/8/10 iFellowshipwith featured friend, Becky from Our Peaceful Home


• Daily Life: Lessons From Gumbo


• God's Hand In My Life Guest post byJanna of Mommy's PiggyTales


• Moms Like Me: Kimberly Cassidy


• Promises


• Want, Want, WantGuest post by Alyssa Avant


• Practical Parenting: Choose Your 'Tude


• iFellowship 9/14/10 with featured friend Kristi Stephens

Hi everyone,

Here are the great posts that you may have missed in the second half of August, all in one convenient place!

• iFellowship 8/18/10 with Featured Friend, Deb from Living Montessori Now


• Thankful Thursday: Shelter


• Distractions


• Moms Like Me: Babette


• Image Bearing: Sex


• Practical Parenting: Opportunities for Charity


• iFellowship 8/25 with featured Friend Michelle from A-Tisket A-Tasket


• Daily Life: How Did You Get to Be So Strong?


• Ponder This: Numbers 13:30


• Surrounded


• M.A.D. Mommies


• Devotions: Kids Against Hunger

Hey Seeds Fans! Did you miss any of these great posts? Here they are all in one spot for you. We always love hearing from you, so please feel free to leave us plenty of comments!

Motherhood Moment with Four Sanity-Sucking Blessings

Waiting On God - Practical Parenting

iFellowship 8/11/2010 with Featured Blogger, Michelle from SomeGirls Website

I'm Here - Daily Life

Distractions - Devotionals

Having Faith

Mommy Missions: De-Stress the Mess!

Illusion of the Ideal - Writing Worth Reading

I fell behind on the weekly digest - my apologies! In case you missed any of these great posts, you can find them all in one spot here. We welcome comments - we love hearing from you!


Gearing Up For Another Year - Heart for HomeSchooling

Lord, Help! - Practical Parenting

iFellowship Blog Hop with Featured blogger, Cheri from Heart and Soul Reflections

In Full Bloom - Photography

M.A.D. Mommies

Lifting You Up - Missionary Fields

Mommy Missions: The Backbone of a Christian Mom

iFellowship with Seeds Family Worship Giveaway and the Winner is....

How Do I Pray? - Faith Filled Friday

Fulfillment - Devotionals

Moms Like Me: Lori Pereira

Did you miss any of these great posts?

• Mommy Missions: Can We Be Content Where We Are?
  
  
• iFellowship with Featured Blogger, Sherry from Lamp Unto My Feet
  
  
• Daily Life: Improved Drawings
  
  
• Devotionals: From God
  
  
• Our Featured Friend: Get to Know Gather Inspirit
  
  
• What Is Image Bearing?
  
  

We are going to try to do a weekly digest going from Monday-Sunday of each week just in case you missed a post here and there. Hope you enjoy!