The Trash Truck Comes At Naptime

* The winner of last week's giveaway goes to Debbie! Debbie, please email me at wes.lindsay.evatt@gmail.com to redeem your book! Thanks to everyone for your participation! Keep praying for our World!

Naptime is a precious time of the day! I cherish it, really! The little ones get some much needed rest, and I get some much needed time of silence. I'm not sure how naptime works in other homes, but for us it's super quiet! I like to zoom around the house getting some chores done, usually get my plan for dinner going, then plop down in my favorite chair with a  book or catch up on blog reading! All VERY QUIETLY, of course. You see, I have some light sleepers, and too much noise equals a short nap for them, and short "Mommy time" for me; which in the end, makes for a VERY LONG afternoon!

We've had a problem here lately since we've moved though. First off, noises just generally seem a little louder in this home. Not as much insulation, I guess. And secondly, our trash pick-up seems to like my nap schedule! I'm pretty consistent with putting them down, and every week, without fail, they come busting down the driveway to collect and smash our trash! AT NAPTIME! I should be happy to see them come, right? They are coming to take the stinky stuff off my hands and out of my sight, but when they come at naptime with their noisy truck, I usually fail to see how they are really helping me! I can't tell you how many times this loud truck has disturbed the peace and given me VERY LONG afternoons! I've even tried pushing naptime back to allow them to come during "awake hours", and without fail, those are the times they are running behind as well or they just come on a completely different day altogether! Argh!

It somewhat reminds me of our Christian walk! In those times we just seem to be at rest and happy with the flow of life, something comes in to disturb the peace we feel! Sometimes it may even be something helpful, but because it's not on our time schedule, it completely "rocks our world", and leaves us feeling like we just can't catch a break! The truth that hurts is that it usually destroys our plans for "me time"; our selfish plans. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has ever felt this way?!

Isaiah 55:8-9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

When I find myself in these times in my Christian walk, I have to gain strength from this verse! I'm so tempted to get angry, and lose my sense of self-control. Though my plans have me smooth sailing all the time, He regularly comes calling for a "trash pick-up". I never understand why, nor will I. I've just had to realize that:

He is infinite- I'm finite.

He sees the materpiece puzzle put together, while I see scattered pieces everywhere.

He knows the 'whys', while I grasp for wisdom.

Yet through these times of difficulty, He still has a promise for me.

He promises:

wisdom instead of confusion (James 1:5)
Peace instead of anxiety (Phil. 4: 4-7)
and
The opportunity to rejoice and be thankful even in my darkest hours(1 Thess. 5:18)

So, the next time your smooth sailing Spiritual walk is disturbed by a scheduled "trash pick-up", keep your cool, and realize that His ways may not match yours, but His are so much better in the end!

Please take the time to link-up today with us, and invite your friends to do so as well! The rules are simple: just link your favorite encouraging post from this past week! Let's encourage one another on this 'Messy Monday', and turn the usual "drab" to "FAB"!

On Friday, I had the privilege of guest posting for Sonya @ Becoming a Strong Woman of God. I was able to share our family Thanksgiving Doughnut tradition! Even if you've had a chance to read my post, please take some time to hop on over to Sonya's blog! She has such encouragement to offer for women all over the place! Right now she is wrapping up the month with her 30 Days of Being Thankful Challenge! Enjoy and be blessed!

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Doughnuts, Anyone?

We are just now getting to the fun ages with our children(1,2,5) in which we get to begin some pretty fun family traditions revolving around special holidays. I am very careful to make sure that any tradition we choose for our little family of five, points clearly and directly to Our Heavenly Father. Though Thanksgiving "should" be an extremely easy holiday to point to Jesus, it's a little hard to get preschoolers to acknowledge what giving thanks is all about. How do you get kids to realize that gratitude is more than just saying "thank you"? I've pondered this question for a couple of years now, and I would like to share with you today our "new" family Thanksgiving tradition!

The day before Thanksgiving always seems to be a rush! The house begins to smell of delicious food, the sink is piled high with dirty dishes, and you have to decide what to do with the kids that are usually stuck in the house with you due to cold weather! What to do? Should you decorate for Chirstmas while you have the extra "help"? No, silly! It's Thanksgiving! Celebrate Thanksgiving! Here's how we do it Evatt style:

Everyone is welcomed to the kitchen, and it's time to get messy! (We're all so good at that!) We bring out the biscuit dough, the cinnamon and the sugar, and MAKE DOUGHNUTS! No themed conversation while cooking; we just have fun together! Instead of shewing them out of the kitchen, they are welcomed to come on in and just have fun! Later in the day when we sit down to share our delicious snack that we worked together on, I share this quote with them and elaborate:

"While traveling through this life

make THIS your goal,

always look at the doughnut

and NOT the hole!"

Sadly, too many times, we center our lives around the "have's" and the "have not's"!  Yes, there are many things we do not have in life, some material others not, but if we keep our eyes on the things that we do have and remain thankful for them, the sweeter life becomes! Have you ever tried to fool your children into eating the hole of the doughnut? So funny! Not much there to eat, and the taste is rather...well, bland! But the gooey goodness of the doughnut is the part around the hole! Each time I hear my five-year old daughter complain about something she doesn't have, I like to make her tell me a few things that she DOES have instead! Kids tend to be very materialistic, but with an afternoon discussing the things we do have and how we are thankful for them, you might realize (like I did) that we, the adults, may have passed down that trait!

Spend some "doughnut time" with your kids, or maybe even with your spouse! Reflect first on the doughnut, not the hole! Be thankful for the "have's", instead of being in despair about the "have-not's". We have a lot to rejoice and be thankful for!

"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens." (James 1:17) 

After you have "fully" examined the blessings, then reflect on the hole (the have not's) together. Discuss how certain things are cut out of your life, and the obviousness that God may not allow for you to have certain things in life! For children, it's hard to for them to understand why such a good God would not allow for them to have certain things. I like to explain it this way: If the doughnut didn't have a hole, it wouldn't rise properly! it would be all doughy in the middle and probably ruin the enjoyment of the entire doughnut. Such is the same with us; the Lord knows the things the need and the things we don't need. He knows even the things that we DO NOT need to help us grow as Christians! Even though "have not's" can sometimes be painful and dissappointing to us, God sees what we need to rise(grow) and be a sweet success in the end! Our job is to rejoice and give thanks through it all!

 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Rejoice always,  pray continually,

give thanks in all circumstances; 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

It's funny how a doughnut can get kids talking, but it worked for me!

If you think you and your family may enjoy this activity, here is the link to the doughnut recipe! I've also included a fun way to use the doughnut "holes" if you're like me and don't like to be wasteful! 

Use your doughnut holes too!

Enjoy! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just because I'm nosy, what Thanksgiving traditions does your family have?

Leave a comment below and let me know!

Today I'm Linked with:

Women Living Well
Works for Me Wednesday

Burden or Opportunity?{GIVEAWAY}

So guess what?.....

Today is my 100th post! 

So, I thought I would have a little celebration by giving something away!

I hope you enjoy this giveaway as much as I do!

On October 31st, just a few short weeks ago, our world population reached an astonishing 7 billion! The really amazing fact is that it only took 12 years to gain that last billion! 

Most news reports I read about this growth had negative takes. They don't think our world can handle much more! They claimed, "There is too much suffering, why bring more children into this?" One woman, giving birth on that marked day, even named her baby "Enough".

Though there is no denying the fact that our world is in turmoil, I see this recent spike as an opportunity, not a burden!  Christians must see past themselves and their own surroundings and see the crisis at hand as the biggest opportunity to share the message of hope!

There are missionaries all over this world who have responded to this cry of the earth.

How will you respond?

Maybe you can't go miles away to minister the gospel....Maybe you're like me, and "stuck" at home all day with kiddos, finding it hard to even walk to the mailbox! 

How can we have an impact?

WE CAN PRAY!!!

I've always had a heart for missions! I want to GO, but I have never been quite so encouraged to change things in my world through PRAYER! 

I've always known that prayer is such a powerful tool, but when I look at the "shape" of our world, I become overwhelmed and intimidated with how to pray for so many people, and so many issues! (Especially on the days when I can't see past my own!)

But I got a new tool, and I'm wearing it out!

At a recent mission conference, we were given a free copy of the book, Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. And it simply is JUST THAT! This book is a compilation of YEARS worth of research! It takes our world as a whole, and breaks it down country by country, giving brief statistics, answers to prayer, and challenges to prayer for each one. And if that's not enough, it even breaks it down into a calendar year, enabling you to pray specifics for your ENTIRE WORLD within a year! 

It has already brought some life back to our nightly routine even with our small children! I want to teach them about the world around them! They need to know truth and that suffering around the globe is a REAL thing! More importantly though, I want them to have real faith and real hope in their God who is a mighty redeemer! He may not redeem us all from sufferings, but He can and will redeem our souls and the souls of others around this globe! Hearing their tiny voices pray with authority makes this Mama proud! Will you join me and my family in praying for OUR WORLD?

"The countless prayers this book will inspire serve no purpose in and of themselves. Prayer is not a self-validating exercise; in a world where there is no loving, sovereign God, prayer would be weakness at best and folly at worst. No, each and every prayer is a tiny piece of a great cosmic puzzle, which when fitted together will allow for the completion of the grand picture of the Almighty Lord's plan for humanity and the universe. We do not merely pray about the many points featured herein, we pray toward something, and that something is magnificent - the fulfillment of the Father's purposes and His Kingdom come."

-Operation World

Today, I want to give away a copy of this excellent resource! Though I wish I could giveaway a copy to each person, only one will be randomly selected. However, please take the time to visit their website! There are many other awesome resources available for purchase, or you can visit the site each day for a featured nation to join along in the prayers!

For your chance to win, please share this giveaway on Facebook, and leave a comment back here on the blog that you have done so! When you share, make this a plea for prayer, more than JUST another giveaway! ;) Our world needs our prayers! The opportunity to submit for a chance to win will be open until Saturday, November 26th 11:59 PM, and announced next Monday, November 28th! Good luck!

Don't forget to LINK-UP too!

Our usual MESSY MONDAY blog hop!

Messy Monday Link Up

Each Monday, we host a linkup here at The Evatt's Beautiful Mess!

Fellow bloggers may link up one of their favorite post from the previous week.

Monday's are usually a dreaded day, but our goal is to share encouragement on this seemingly gloomy day, thus making it beautiful!

If you choose to link up, please use the Messy Monday picture, or the Evatt's Beautiful Mess button to link back to our site!

Let's share from the abundance of our hearts and rejoice with one another.
If you do link up, be sure to check out some of the other linked blogs and show some love to fellow bloggers!

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To Grow, One Must Be Rooted

Today is Five Minute Friday! I'm linking up with Gypsy Mama and other fellow bloggers! We are writing for five minutes flat today on the topic of: GROW. 

Here's what comes to my mind:

GO.

Grow.

In order for something to grow, it must be rooted!

This time last year, me and my husband were working alongside of our senior pastors to re-vamp the Children's Ministry at our church!

The Lord really impressed my husband's heart with the theme we were to go with:

Colossians 2:6-7

⁶ And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. ⁷ Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Just a year ago, it was only a vision to see the children of the church worshiping in their new sanctuary, truly learning what it means to have a deep and "rooted" relationship with Christ! Learning what it means to not just grow fruit, but grow roots!

Now, a year removed, I can't begin to express my thankfulness in how the children of our church are continuing to grow in their faith and building their lives on Him! 

They are growing.

We are growing, as we watch them grow.

The seasons have changed, literally and spiritually, and one year later, fruit can be seen!

How have you grown over the years?

Are you firmly ROOTED?

If you are continually overflowing with thankfulness, that a good indicator of well-established roots!

Plant. Grow. Reach.

STOP

My five minutes is completely up, but I wanted to add a little more about our children's ministry. Check out our video with our awesome kids, and my post at the beginning of this year to see the remodeling pictures!

If you're interested in new ideas for your church ministries, please get in contact with us! We would love to hear what God is doing within your specific ministries and how we might be able to help put your theme together. From a name, theme verse, decorations, and curriculum ideas, we'll cover it all!

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