~Calling All Men~

~The Resolution Message~

"I do solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.”

 I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.

 I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.

 I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.

 I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.

 I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.

 I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.

 I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.

 I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.

 I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.

 I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.

 I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

 Joshua 24:15

~Stay Beautiful Within, Erica~

Jan. 2, 2012

~Our Orchard in the Winter~The View From Our Bedroom~

1~2~12

~~REFLECTIONS FOR 2012~~

                                                         
1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled .
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you likeeveryone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness .
11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done .
24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.


I have to thank several of my friends on facebook who posted this on their profiles today. I couldn't resist copying/pasting/sharing it here on my blog. I trust some of them "hit home". Blessings!

~~Stay Beautiful Within, Erica~~

~~HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!!!~~

Friends,

One thing I have learned in the year 2011 is how much of a horrible blogger I actually am. When I first started blogging I thought I would be on here posting and blogging almost everyday. Boy, was I wrong. My 2012 promise to you is to keep up with my blog ALONG with my facebook page "Stay Beautiful Within".  I started my facebook page on June 28, 2011 and it has grown to over 13,000 followers in just 6 short months. From what I understand, it has been one of the fastest growing pages on facebook for 2011. Yay, go me! 

My "Stay Beautiful Within" Facebook page is about: 

This page is for those who have a passion for Christ, their spouse, family, homemaking, decorating, Shabby Chic, pastel colors, white furniture, collecting white pitchers/milk glass, treasure hunting/junkin', repurposing, gardening, homesteading, farming, scrapbooking, couponing, special needs, The Make a Wish Foundation, cheerleading and recipies/cooking/baking. Its for sharing, laughing, teaching, creating, learning, loving and prayer requests. And for you to SHARE YOUR INSPIRATION!! I would love to hear/see what it is that inspires you! 

The Prayer for my blog and facebook page is:

~Lord, help me care less about number of Facebook friends, and more about number of souls I touch for You. Less about followers on my blog, and more about followers of Jesus. Less about re-tweets, and more about repentance. Less about "likes," and more about leading others to You. I love you precious Jesus!~

My Favorite Saying is:

~~The cycle of inspiration...can be contagious..simply allow yourself to be inspired and take that experience to the next level and dare to share and with just taking that step you in turn will inspire others!~~

As you can tell I still have issues trying to learn how to perfect a blog post. Cutting/pasting, font, size and color are always an issues that I don't have time to perfect. Please bare with me as I work on this.

Thank you to all my faithful followers who have stuck with me in my lack of blogging. I trust I can get to know all of you better here in 2012. Please stop by my facebook page and say hello too. Blessings!

                 ~Stay Beautiful Within, Erica~

GW Boutique $1 Treasure

I'm in love, yes love....

 Check out these BEAUTIFUL  glass 'vintage' Sugar & Coffee dispensers I found at

 The GW Boutique (Goodwill) 1/2 off sale yesterday!!!

 Oh yes, my heart be still !! 

Oh so pretty!!

They look so awesome sitting at the kids table on my grandmothers linen

Lovin the punched tin wording.


I may actually use these for their original intention...
coffee and sugar!!
Its these little deals for only $1 that make my heart pitter patter.
~Stay Beautiful Within, Erica~

~I'm 40~

Ok, So its taken me 5 months to post about it, Yes, I'm 40.    I had  been dreading the date September 17, 2010 for a  long long time.   At the beginning of 2010 I warned my family that the only way I could get through that dreaded day would be by a huge surprise party for me. You know, the kind you act like you don't know about, but actually plan.
But 2010 was the fastest year I have ever lived. Talk about busy, phew! Ryan graduated highschool, Kelly had softball and lots of cheer competitions, and all 3 teens (Ryan, Josh & Kelly) showed 4H Dairy Feeder cows, Ryan showed a pig, Ted planted/harvest for our veggie stand, BUSY BUSY BUSY... plus Matthew was granted his MAKE A WISH Disney Trip which was scheduled for October 10. So about my HUGE SUPRISE PARTY... Yeah, it never happened. Nada, nuttin. Boo hoo... woe is me. Right? WRONG!
The week of my birthday, Matthew (our special needs babe) had to have a huge surgery. He was under for a total of 4 hours 10 minutes. Here's a few pics of him pre & post surgery:

Matt & Nat playing pre-surgery

Sweet Matthew

Daddy and his little guy pre-surgery

Post surgery... so groggy.

Trying to wake up in recovery in mommas arms

After 2 hours in recovery he was able to go home. He recovered fast.

So his surgery happened 2 days before my 40th birthday. Like it says in the photo, Matthew recovered very fast. So on the day of my birthday I let daddy watch him and Natalie and I headed out to get my hair done. Check out these pics:

Thumbs up to a postitive outcome!

Oh Lauryn, you're a magician!

Side view

Back view

So when Natalie and I got home we found ourselves alone. Very alone. My usually crazy, busy, crowed, loud home got suddenly quiet. Josh & Kelly headed out to a hs football game, Ryan was somewhere (who knows w/ him) and Ted dropped off Matthew to me and had to run off somewhere fast. So there I was, on a friday night, my 40th birthday, alone w/ my 2 little people. No party, no friends, no presents, not even a dinner. BOO HOO! I put Natalie to bed and Matthew and I were ready to head to bed. Then my family comes filing in one at a time. First Kelly, Josh and Rachel (his girlfriend), then Ryan and finally Ted w/ a frozen cake in his arms. We all gathered around the table around 11pm, sang Happy Birthday, got pics and ate cake. So it wasn't the Grand Party I had wanted/expected, it was better, much better. All I needed was my family... all together.  Safe and Sound under mommas wings on her special night. 

My handsome 3 sons, Ryan~Joshua~Matthew

My beautiful Kelly & Matthew

Matthew thinking over his "WISH" for momma

He loves HAPPY CAKE no matter whos birthday it is.

We blew them out and lit them again.

and again....

and finally a last time! (the candles were getting too short)

Joshua and his pretty Rachel

Ted & the 40th Birthday Mommy. 21 years and still going strong.

Perfect end to a perfect "unplanned different kind of surprise" party for me.

~Stay Beautiful Within, Erica~

~Scrabble Board Game Project~

I have the fondest of memories of my Grandmother Charlotte, Mom & Aunt Diane playing Scrabble and drinking coffee at my grandmothers kitchen table. As an adult I LOVE playing Scrabble also. But w/ a different twist, I play online. Its the new generation of easy score keeping, correct grammer and spelling. Now comes the question: What should I do w/ my old Scrabble board game?
And here is the answer:

I laid out all these fantastic words w/ just one game. TED, ERICA, RYAN, JOSHUA, KELLY, MATTHEW, NATALIE, LENKER, LOVE, FAMILY, GOD, INSPIRATIONAL. And later I added FUN, HOPE & US.

Next I glued them all on w/ the World's Best Craft Glue...ALEENE'S TACKY GLUE.

Natalie was sitting on my lap the whole time. And Yes, she helped put the glue on EVERY game piece.

How fun would it be if I still worked in an office and this was my name plate?

My new fun project now sits on top of the mantel in the dining room along w/ my fat jolly Snowmen.

I went ahead and glued my name to one of the wooden holders. I love it! It sits on my craft desk in my home office...
just in case I forget my name one day. :)

~Stay Beautiful Within, Erica~