Oh, I cannot tell you what a great time we had today with our high school students! Our lunch was a great success, and many of our “regular” students stopped by.

It was such a blessing to me to be able to do this for these students. They are so precious!

Next week is Spring Break, so I have to wait TWO WEEKS to do this again… that is too long in my book! Ha!

Thank you to all of you who came I love each one of you (and thank you for being so sweet and accommodating to my adoring children! All three of them look up to you all.)

To our wonderful (“T-riffic”) Pastor and his wife VA and to my hubby for not thinking I was totally insane!

And thank you to my readers, for allowing me to share this with you… I feel like you are “with” me in this through the comments and tweets you have sent. I appreciate you all!

Once a Week High School Lunch Ministry: Follow Up is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Related Posts of Interest:

• Once a Week High School Lunch Ministry
• Ministry Monday: Learning to Forget
• Ministry Monday: Forgiveness as an Example

I am so very excited to share with you a sort-of-new ministry beginning in our student ministry.

You can hear my sweet girls talking (loudly) in the background, but hey… that’s my life!

Check out this latest vlog, and thank you for letting me share our new ministry with you!

Once a Week High School Lunch Ministry is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Related Posts of Interest:

• Once a Week High School Lunch Ministry: Follow Up
• Ministry Monday: Learning to Forget
• Ministry Monday: Forgiveness as an Example

I don’t know about you, but my biggest struggle on the road to complete forgiveness is not the forgiving, it is the forgetting.

That darn memory of mine is quick as a whip to remember an infraction! It stirs up a lot of unpleasant feelings for both me and Shane sometimes, the “infractor”.

It is unfortunate that it is so much easier to forgive than to forget.

In my first post, I said this:

Forgiveness does not mean you forget. I believe that once you have truly forgiven a person, you still remember the wrong, but it doesn’t hurt as badly as it once did. And once that person begins to try and earn your trust again, that is when the forgetting begins.

So, with our humanly finite minds, how do we begin to forget?

1. When you feel the memory come on you, take a deep breath. Remember, the Enemy is trying to stir things up!

2. Ask yourself, “Why is this memory coming back to me now?” Find the source that jogged the memory.

3. Consider your options: Is it worth getting angry all over again? Or can this be put aside and move on?

4. Make your decision. If you have chosen to put the memory aside, you are moving in the right direction. The forgetting has begun.

Is this a foolproof plan to keep you from ever again getting angry over past infractions? No. Is it a start? Yes.

When I am angry over an error in someone else’s way, I try to remember that I forgive because I have been forgiven. {Colossians 3:13}

How is it that I can hold a grudge of remembering, when the Father “forgives their wickedness and will remember their sins no more”? {Hebrews 8:12}

It must be that pesky human mind we have…

In all we do, we need to remember one final thing, the lyrics from one of my favorite songs:

He is jealous for me
Love’s like a hurricane,
I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of
His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.

Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us all.

We are His portion and
He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption
by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns
violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way

He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves

We are to live our lives knowing we are loved. And, our actions should speak of how we are loved. Because we are loved, we love. Because we love, we forgive. Because we forgive, we forget. We wipe the slate clean, because our slate is clean.

Design by: Amy Loves It! *Photo by: Markus Merz*

Ministry Monday: Learning to Forget is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Related Posts of Interest:

• Ministry Monday: Forgiveness as an Example
• Ministry Monday: Forgive for Others
• Ministry Monday: Forgive for Yourself

What is balance?

Happy.

Healthy.

Tidy.

Organized.

Life is pleasant.

Pleasantness is interrupted by life.

Unhappiness.

Sickness.

Messy.

Piles.

Triumphs.

Struggles.

Strengths.

Weakness.

A never-ending cycle.

What is balance? Balance is how you handle the little things, the day-to-day pursuits of life crossed with the random, odd events life throws us.

How to best balance?

I am still learning.

Photo credit: Bemep

What is Balance? is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Related Posts of Interest:

• Cherish, Relish, and Other Wise Words
• Back from a Break
• Ministry Monday: Live like you were dying

The Nielsen Consumer Panel is looking for more panelists! Be a voice of influence to manufacturers and retailers; sign up to see if you qualify. If selected, you will be able to take surveys, scan your purchases, and answer questions for gift points. These points are redeemable for electronics, household items, jewelry, toys and more.

What is NCP?

The National Consumer Panel focuses on measuring consumer attitudes and behavior. The panel is made up of people just like you, whose opinions help manufacturers and retailers make decisions on what products to develop or improve.

I have been a member of the NCP for several months now. I really enjoy scanning my purchases, and taking the surveys (which are usually VERY short!), and knowing my voice is heard.

Nielsen Home Scan: Panelists Needed! is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Related Posts of Interest:

• Nielson Home Scan Panel now accepting new applicants
• Loving Your Husband: A Reader Survey
• Blogging in 2010: A Reader Survey

M’kay, so this was actually last week’s shopping trip, and I was too lazy didn’t get it posted (obviously!) on Saturday.

So, I went to Homeland (and, oh my, if they are having a fan-ta-bu-lous sale right now!) and took the entire family I will not make that mistake again.

I thought it would be an easy trip, seeing that my husband was there to corral the kiddos.

Uh, no. Two children had major meltdowns, the other lost interest and pestered the other two during their meltdowns, and my poor husband was at a loss. They acted worse than when it’s just the four of us.

Sheesh.

Anywho, we pretty much got out of the store unscathed. I definitely snagged some great deals, so it was worth it. {To me, anyway, maybe not to my super-duper nice cashier!}

OOP $85
Total Value $230
Total Savings $145

Linked to Super Savings Saturday

Weekly Savings Report is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Related Posts of Interest:

• Super Saturday Savings: 12/September
• Super Saturday Savings
• Weekly Savings Report

How did my night go?

Why, thank you for asking! I’ll be glad to tell you how our night went.

I tweeted this last night early this morning:

Sandwiched b/t 2 girls that sleep in funny directions. May not get much sleep but I will cherish every {sleepless} second! #ilovebeingamom

Little did I know what that would entail…

I spent the night being the filling between two very snug Oreo cookies. {Dare I say, “double stuff”???}

Seriously.

Both of my girls were THISCLOSE all.night.

Except during “The Tantrum.” And, that is when my little R proceeded to kick me and yell scream for her Daddy. Luckily, Daddy heard, and put all to rights, because that was not turning out to be my finest moment.

Anyone who might have witnessed this could say that I wasn’t cherishing much about last night. I mean, I wasn’t sleeping, my kids were giving me bruises and possibly trying to smother me; it certainly didn’t look anything close to cherishing.

But, as I look back on the events of the night, I was cherishing each and every moment. No, the moments weren’t all perfect, but they were cherish-able.

Cherishing does not equal perfection; it does not even mean you will be happy and smiling the entire time.

No, cherishing is relishing; relishing the fact that you are where you are.

And I relished the fact that I was smack-dab between two of the greatest kiddos in the world. I relished the fact that I am their mom.

What can you relish today?

Photo credit: kwwsaing

Cherish, Relish, and Other Wise Words is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Related Posts of Interest:

• What is Balance?
• Not Me! Monday
• Back from a Break

source: suZen

Definitely a GREAT read: Kindred Spirits

Snag a few fantastic Monthly Menu Planners from $5 Dinners.

I *might* have licked the screen when I saw this Creamy Baked Mostacolli recipe from Kate at Stolen Moments Cooking.

I’m dying to try Rachel’s Pizza Waffles recipe!

Yay! More free Kindle titles!

I’m pretty sure I need some of these Spring Fashion Obsessions… what about you?!

Mandi has great tips for De-cluttering and Organizing Your Bathroom {why, oh why won’t you come live closer to me?!?!? I need major help in this department! ha!}

This is a great post from Amanda on Taking a Break!

What are your favorite reads of the week?

A Few Good Reads is a post from: Amy Loves It!

Related Posts of Interest:

• A Few Good Reads
• Links I Love 23/Jan
• Links I Love 15/Jan