Taking the Winter Minimization Challenge!

Winter Media Minimization Challenge from Loving the Lord Ministries on Vimeo.

Details for the Winter Challenge 2011 – Media Minimization and love for Jesus Maximization:

In seeking to know and love Jesus more, a huge thing for our generation is to discipline our time spent on media – specifically the computer, internet, and TV - seeing that it can really rob valuable time that could be spent deepening our love for Jesus and truly living for Him!

It is something that needs to be mastered for God’s glory and our good!

So this challenge is for the month of March 2011 to focus on minimizing the time we invest in media and using the time instead on things that will help maximize our love for Jesus!

It is going to be AMAZING and I know the Lord is going to move in powerful ways! This is not going to be super easy – but, it is going to be GOOD for you and so worth it!

I am challenging you to do this - I am doing this with you and am really excited about it! I really believe God is going to do phenomenal things!

Here are the details:

Dates: March 1-31st, 2011
Who: Young Women ages 11-31 (ANYONE can take this challenge – these are the ones to whom we are offering the reward!)

Rules:
Stay off:
Internet, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, all social media, TV, Movies, Video/Computer games, YouTube, GodTube, etc. (This includes ALL OF THESE THINGS on your computer, TV, phone, ipod, etc.) 

Computer details - You are allowed:
- Up to 15 min. a day of personal email time, 6 days a week, for a total of 1 ½ hours of EMAIL ONLY time each week.
- 5 min a day, 6 days a week for emergency internet time (i.e. getting directions, ordering), for a total of 30 min. a week.
- Sunday – Stay off the computer completely.

Do:
- Watch the “Winter Media Challenge” Video on our videocast page.
- Talk with your parents about taking this challenge. Ask for their support and prayer.
- Print off the Winter Challenge chart from the website – www.lovingthelordministries.org. (Post about the Winter Challenge on your blog or Facebook and encourage your friends join you in this, too! You can provide a link to the video and information as you let them know that you will be off for the month of March.)
- Find an accountability partner to connect with by phone once a week to make sure you are both on track, to share what the Lord is doing in your hearts, and to pray together.
- Spend 15 min. (or MORE) of personal time with the Lord each day of the challenge, for a total of 1 hour and 45 min. a week for a minimum – you can spend as much time with Him as you want!
- Spend your other time on things that will help you in loving the Lord and living for and serving Him. (We will have this suggestions/recommendations posted on the blog – check them out, they will be a great help in maximizing this time for deepening your walk with the Lord!)

Send in your chart:
Once you have completed the Challenge on March 31st, send the chart to the address on the chart by April 7th and we will mail your reward to you.

Rewards:
- Best of all, a closer relationship with Jesus!
- An exclusive LTLM designed t-shirt

Post 18: A Time When I felt Passionate and Alive

right now. right now, right now!! so i'm getting off the internet to call my best friend. yes, i'm very passionate and alive right now.

besides now? well whenever i'm discussing orphans and slaves and God's plan for us to care for them. that's another passion of mine.

Post 17: An Art piece

Now this is my idea of art!

Post 15: A Song that Makes You Cry

 This one gets me every. single. time. I couldn't watch it this morning because I knew I'd be crying before I go to work.


Journey from Ashleigh on Vimeo.

Picnic!!

Yay! The First Picnic of the Year! On such a monumental occasion we had to take a picture of course. After that, what started as trying to capture the spaghetti on the face of a little boy that wouldn't stand still turned into an impromptu photo shoot!

 

 

After several fails,

 

 we did finally manage to get a group picture too.

Day 14????: A vacation I would like to take

Well, this challenge has been a bit of what you would call an epic fail. But we'll try again, maybe saying post 14, instead of day 14. A vacation I would love, LOVE, LOVE to take would be a trip through the west. Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon....I know I'm forgetting some in my tired state of mind, so you name it.

Give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above...

don't fence me in.

 

I'd like to take in a rodeo or two...big time, that is. I think it would be cool to see a ranch rodeo too.

  

I'm picturing very long horseback rides. Very long. Like taking sleeping bags and spending the night(s) under the stars. Oh my.

 Mmm, yes. That is a vacation I would absolutely love. Oh, I forgot one thing!

I would just absolutely adore seeing some Colorado mountains. Amen.

=) Okay, enough dreaming. 

All pictures but the last are by Ree Drummond, the gal living my dream life, at pioneerwoman.com 

Make my Heart a Sanctuary

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

   “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 Luke 10:38-42

I can be such a Martha."Distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." Yep, that's me, to a T. And what do I miss out on? The better things. Listening to Jesus. 
I read this passage earlier in the week as I read through Luke, and it instantly struck me. I've thought about it a lot this past week and realized how much I have become like Martha. It's not like I don't spend time in the Word and in prayer. I do, every day. It's my heart attitude that bothers me. I get so busy with preparations. I become so concerned about making my home a Sanctuary, taking care of my body, taking care of my family, keeping my hands busy, and just preparing for the future, that I lose sight of the big picture. My mind isn't constantly centered on Jesus Messiah and listening to Him. I don't have a heart attitude of listening to Christ.
So as the third in this series on making my life a Sanctuary, I'm sharing with you that the most important part of being a Sanctuary is to not be distracted by the process. Don't let the preparations you must make for your home or your life get in the way of letting your heart and soul listen to Jesus, because that is the best thing, and it will not be taken away from you.

Make My Home a Sanctuary: Home Blessing Hour

This is a great way that I've found to keep my home from getting CHAOS-Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. I want my home to be in such a state that someone can walk in my door and I don't feel embarrassed. With several young children, this can be trying. If I have a Home Blessing Hour in the morning it is much easier to keep the house tidy throughout the day. Before I begin my Home Blessing Hour I want to have my sink shined! Even if the rest of my house is sparkling, dirty kitchen counter tops completely overrule the cleanliness. If the children aren't helping with HBH then I have them do a quick pick up of the living room and kitchen floors. If they are helping we include that in the hour. Otherwise, this is what my HBH consists of:

1. Sweep Kitchen, Living Room, Bathroom, and Bedroom(you can't sweep if there is anything on the floor, so this takes care of the clutter!)

2. Clean Bathroom(Not a major scrub, just a quick swish and swipe to clean dirty toilets and surfaces.)

3.Empty all the trash

4. Windex Bathroom mirror and kitchen door(The glass in the kitchen door quickly gets smudged and smeared. Just a quick swiping can make the entrance to our home look so much fresher!)

5. Wash sheets and blankets. (This is only for my bed--not everybody's, and only on Wednesday.  Nearly everything in the stack of blankets on my bed are fleece, and they tend to get dirty and sweaty faster than normal bedding. I would never and have never washed normal sheets this much.)

It's a psychological thing, really. All in my head. =) That list is all it ever takes to make my home clean. It's just the thought that I'm only taking an hour to do it that makes it so easy. I often have plenty of time left in my hour. If I'm feeling really hard-working I'll mop or something, but not always. The children often like to help out. They really like the idea of, "We're going to clean only for an hour and then we can do other things!" It's simple, quick, and it sets the mood for a day with a clean, fresh, house! Add some praise music, start dancing with the broom, and it's FUN!