Warrior Prayer 21 day update

I'm so excited that there are over 700 people signed up to pray for their sons beginning June 8th as part of the 21 Days 4 Sons Summer challenge!!
I'm leading a group and if you'd like to join this group, sign up here or comment on that blog post!

There are 26 (and counting) leaders signed up here. If you see a group you'd like to join please go to that hosts site and sign up!!

I've been working with Brooke and her heart is so into this project...it truly has become a way of life for her and I'm so happy to be part of it!!!

My blog will be momentarily down on Friday as I am having it moved to wordpress. The address will be the same and I'm all kinds of excited to let www.mommakristi.com grow!!!

Have a great day!!!

exciting announcements

If you’ve read my blog or follow me on twitter you know 2011 has had a rough start. On May 15th my dad passed away. He was diagnosed in late February with Stage 4 cancer. It was a short road we traveled, and while I believe in miracles and the healing power of Jesus Christ, we found our miracle in a different way. For 12 weeks my relationship with my dad and sisters grew. I realized how important faith and family are, and how those 2 go hand in hand. It was hard to say good bye to my dad, but I’m so thankful for the opportunity to say good bye. Those last hours of his life were so hard, but being together and seeing him at peace is a moment I will not soon forget.

As I walk through the mourning and healing process myself, I’m so thankful we serve a God of fresh starts and new beginnings. I’ve tackled a lot of projects in 2011 and a lot has been put on hold. One experience that I’m so excited to revisit is 21 Days of Prayer for Sons.

When Brooke, author of Warrior Prayers, asked me if I’d like to lead a 21 Days group on my blog I was ecstatic!! I admire Brooke so much and this sister friend came into my life just when I needed it. I am hopeful that praying the Scripture for my boys gives me renewed strength and purpose…and I’m so excited to invite you to join me!!!

The official challenge starts June 8th and will continue for 21 days (7 days a week). We will come together and lift up our boys in prayers. Brooke will cheer us on and we’ll be praying with others all over the world!!!

I’m craving community and I hope you’ll be part of this one and join me in praying. Are you a mom or grandmother to boys? Let’s pray. Have girls?…pray these prayers for their future husbands. I found myself praying these same prayers for myself and my husband during the last challenge.

This challenge has also catapulted me into a new goal for myself. I’m now in the process of getting my blog moved to a new home…don’t worry, you can still go to http://www.mommakristi.com/ to find me…I’m just stepping up my blogging. I want to find my footing and new normal. I’m realizing how much I love community and how much it helps me to blog. I hope this new home will have a place where I can journal about my faith, my weight loss journey, my garden, my home endeavors, and my family memories. I hope that this little corner of the internet can be an encouragement to you in your journey too. This will be a place where faith and motherhood will reside and the language we will speak is love. I’m so excited about where God is taking me and I hope you’ll come along for the ride. Please be patient with me during the transition, but my goal is to be smoothly moved into my new home well before the June 15th start date.

So what do ya say, want to pray with me? Please leave a comment below, or even better, link up your blog, facebook page or twitter page in the linky below so we can all get to know each other!! Do you have a copy of Warrior Prayers? Because you need this book, it’s life changing!!! And stay tuned, because I will be updating you about this fun challenge in the coming days!!!

**edited to change start date to June 8th!!! Hope you'll join us!!!**

Hanging in there….

All is well for the most part with us…recovering from illness in our household (mommy and all three boys).  Dad got his first round of chemo this weekend and I’ll be spending most of the next two days helping out there…

Dad’s official diagnosis is Stage 4 Small Cell Lung Cancer with metastases.  He got 3 doses of chemo over the weekend and is actually feeling pretty good.  Praise the Lord!!!  We’re hoping to spend time as a family this weekend (Praying I can get someone to work for me so I can be there).

I’m realizing sometimes God is telling me to slow down…I’m moving way too fast for my own good….

 

Photo by Hope @ Pixosphere 

I’m reflecting as I try to take on more stuff, fit it into the same amount of time, and slow down all at the same time…

As a result….

The next few weeks may not have a lot of blog posts.  I have lots of ideas churning in my head…I’m hoping to get some stuff down and start a regular rotation of posts…

Can you help me?

My question for you…what kind of things do you want to read about!!  You can either leave me a comment or email me using the button on the side.  I’d love to hear from you!!  My intent is not to be gone too long, I love blogging and I love the community of women I’m meeting through blogging.  It’s truly helping me keep my sanity!!  Seriously.

I will be on twitter likely during this blog quiet time…you can follow me @MommaKristi

Some posts you will see hopefully soon on here are

#b90days update (I’m finished!!!)

Hide His Word (and maybe a vlog)

Garden planning

Meal planning (I really need to get back with it).

I’m hoping to get back on the weight watchers bandwagon this week….far too off program for my own good at this point. 

So in case it’s quiet…know we’re ok.  Just keep praying for us!!  and as I said, I’m hoping to throw some posts together this week!!

And don’t forget that the 21 days of prayer for our boys starts Friday!!

 

And dear friends…how are you?  How can I pray for you, help you, support you right now?  If God has shown me anything in this time…it’s that we need one another in this community!!  I’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of prayers and support by my dearest “in real life” friends and new friends I’m making online!!  I want to return the support to you as well!!!

Much Love,

3 in 30 February month end…looking to March

 

I feel like this month has absolutely flown by and can’t believe I’m already thinking about March’s goals!!!  I’m really pleased with the projects I’ve tackled this month and the progress I’ve done!! 

 

So here’s an update: 

 

I’m on day 53 of my Bible in 90 Days!!!  I’ve been consistently reading it and the book “one thousand gifts” by Ann Voskamp and working them both into my morning routine.  I have been waking up at 4:45am and get started.  It’s been such an encouragement to me to.

 

The  hello mornings challenge has probably  made the biggest impact on my routine.

The gals involved with that have become an answered prayer!!  I feel like this is a habit now and I’m excited to continue my morning routine into March

 

I’ve been doing a little better with my tracking but then I don’t do so great…it’s a daily struggle to choose to eat the right things.  I got burnt out early on salads and yogurt so I’m having to try some new things to get fired up about.

 

And the decluttering…oh the decluttering!!!  Doing well….oh so much more to do!!  How do we accumulate so much stuff?  The pantry and area above my computer have been cleaned…So much more to do….this goal may be carrying over into March.

I got to know Pixosphere this month as a sponsor of #3in30 and I’ve enjoyed the website and hope to be able to use it more to help with the photography/pictorial parts of the blog!!!

 

And now on to March’s goals:

1.  TV free afternoons – this is an old old habit of mine.  Growing up the TV was always on…didn’t pay attention to it.  I have a habit of needing the sound…and now my boys are always watching the tube.  They’re really good at playing and don’t always pay attention to it…but I do catch them wanting it always on (and on Disney a lot of the time).  We can usually change it to news in the afternoon, but I find myself using the TV on days when kids (or mommy) aren’t feeling well and if mommy needs some peace.

So instead, during the week I’m gonna try to turn the TV off and turn on some tunes.

I ordered 2 cds from Seeds Family Worship from the recommendation of some of my new twitter friends and I hope they get here really soon!!  My goal is to have music playing in the afternoons so the boys don’t get so stuck on the TV (and mommy doesn’t go crazy without the TV noise!)!!  I can’t imagine completely shutting off the television and that’s not where my convictions lie…I just want a imaginative play to be important, and if we can add in some scripture in the process…win win!!!

Anyone have any suggestions on how to make this go smoothly?

2.  Exercise – I got a jump start on this goal this week and I’m so excited!!  I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill 3 times this week!!!  I’m sore but it felt good and it was nice to have that time for myself.  I’m hoping by exercising I will enhance my weight loss and encourage me with my weight loss endeavors!!

My specific goal is exercise at least 30 minutes 3 times a week. 

I hope to continue to use the treadmill and do some of my videos. I know it’s not huge, but it’s a start!!!

What are your favorite workout videos?  Do you have any podcasts you could recommend I listen to while on the treadmill?

3.  My third goal involves my blog and online time.  I’ve gotten my new computer and getting it set just the way I want it!!  I love it!!

I’ve got some new programs that are helping make my online life a little easier!!!  I’m starting to get some regularity in my computer time and I really enjoy that.  I’m finding it easier to create and post on the blog and this has become my own special little place.

Photo by sisterlisa at Pixosphere

With the help of my friends Hope and Shawntele, I’ve been working on a new look for the blog!!  (thanks sister friends!!)!!!  I’m so excited about the overhaul and am hopeful for the future of MommaKristi!!  It really is my heart and I want to share with other women who are in some of the same places as me!

So my third goal is to finish the blog overhaul & get my hosting together.

I’m hoping our TV free afternoons, my quiet morning time, and the new computer tools will help with this goal (as well as my friends!!).  I’m also hoping to be more intentional about what I’m doing with my time…when I’m blogging or tweeting, I’m not saying to the boys, “just a minute…mommy’s busy”.  I hope once the blog is set up, I can lessen my time actually working on the computer!!!

Wow…long post!!  Thanks for stopping by!!  Do you have any goals for March?

Top Ten Tuesday...bloggy questions from a newbie

Today I decided to participate in Oh Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday!!



I've been thinking about blogging more (as you can tell from my posts). I love what I'm learning from the social media I've participated in and it's gotten my appetite craving more and more!! So I decided to use this chance to word some of my questions and see if I get any answers!!!

1. I keep reading about blogger vs. word press....for a small mommy blogger like myself- do I need to change to wp?

2. How important is it to keep things consistent- i.e. email, url, twitter handle?

3. Do I need to buy a domain?

4. If I do, how do I do it?

5. I want to go to Relevant!!! Do I need a sponsor?

6. If I do, how do I put together a media kit?

7. Any tips on what kind of laptop I should get? (I'm in the market for a new one)

8. What are your most used apps on your iPhone? (if you use it for enhanced productivity...just got my new one...yay verizon!!).

9. What do you use for compiling blog ideas? regular old paper and pen, an app, MSWord?

10. Any other nuggets of advice for this blogging newbie?


I have tweeted & googled some of the questions and will continue to do so- but I thought some tried and true responses from some veterans would help me out!!! I've made some new friends that are already helping me out and I'm gonna work on the look of my blog over the next few weeks, I'm so excited. It's fun to have a place to call my own:).

Make sure you check out Oh Amanda & the other's lists @