One Blog - Many Resources

I've recently started writing with a team of women that I greatly admire and am learning to love.  A Martha Heart is really a home.  There are different rooms and each one deals with different areas of our heart and gives devotions, resources, and tools for women who find that they have the heart of Martha (Luke 10:38-42) but want to also want to sit at the feet of Jesus.

Blogs that Inspire My Spiritual Walk

Melissa Runcie - Madabella is a site I found just today.  I love the way she combines her love or art with her love of God.  She is doing an on-line study for the month of July, Rest, that sounds very interesting.  I may have to come back and revisit this study after I finish up the study I am doing now.  I really like that she added a video for the study.

A Woman Inspired - There are entirely too many treasures found at this site to list them here and the ladies are absolutely wonderful.  The conferences they offer are often free and always inspiring to women wanting to lead godly lives.

Blogs to Help Me Focus on My Man

I found these two sites today that show some potential.

Carin Goldstien - Be the Smart Wife (How to take care of yourself and your marriage without killing your husband) - Okay...the subtitle got me on this one...but Carin offers some really good advice.  I haven't noticed that it is spiritually based yet, but I love the videos she has.  I think there are some nuggets I can take away from this site.Carin is "a wife, a mother, and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 10 years of experience in helping people to improve the quality of their lives."

Lori Wilhite and team - Leading and Loving It - I saw a Tweet about something that was going on over at this site and stayed for a while.  I was excited to see that one of the team members is the wife of a local pastor that I listen too, Brandi Wilson.  This site is devoted to encouraging wives of pastors and women in ministry.  Yesterday they started TYMTJ - Take Your Man to Jesus - praying for husbands for 10 days.

And while I'm focusing on my man and blogs....this one has been a favorite for a while now.

Lynn & Dineen - Spiritually Unequal Marriage - I found this website when I Googled "unequal marriage", since then I've found Lynn several different places and Lynn & Dineen have just released their first book, Winning Him Without Words.  Both women share openly about their marriages and they struggle (and rewards) they have from being married to men that do not proclaim Christ, in fact, I know that Lynn's husband is an Atheist.  There are some great resources linked in their blog and links to other sites where they share at.

Blogs that Offer Free Clipart and Pictures

I use clip art and pictures in many of my posts and newsletters that I write.  I have found these sites that give a good variety of pictures that are royalty free and free for anyone to use.

http://www.free-extras.com/

http://photobucket.com/

Blogs that "Might" Inspire Me to Cook

If...and I do mean IF...I ever really decide to take the time and cook, these are some blogs that seem to offer great recipes and advice on how to actually make it look like the picture.

Two Southern Girls - Since I am a Southern Girl, I really liked the set-up of this blog.  It features a lot of my favorite things...sweet tea!....crafts, cupcakes, giveaways...and recipes.  I love the pictures they have and it makes me want to try the recipes myself...one day!  For now...it's fun to look, dream and get hungry.

Holly Smith - What Would Martha Cook? - When I first saw this site, my thought was this was about Martha Stewart (sort of a Julia Julie type of site), but it's not...it based on Martha from the Bible.  How cool is that?  From Holly's profile, she says

After her heart-to-heart talk with Jesus, Martha has learned that she needs to set aside time to be still in His Presence. So she plans ahead.

This is where I fail in my menu planning (what little I do).  I don't plan ahead. Holly shares recipes along with the grocery shopping list and expected cost of the meal. 

Jessie - Vanderbilt Wife - Jessie is a friend of mine from work who has moved on to bigger and better things...taking care of her growing family and writing.  She loves to cook and share recipes.  Jessie is a big fan of "once a month cooking", which I've tried before and I really think it would work for me if I could just get into it.  She has some great links to other bloggers that like to share recipes and a complete list of all the recipes she has shared.

Blogs that Inspire My Spiritual Walk

I'll be adding to this post on a regular basis and listing blogs that I find that inspire my spiritual walk.


Angie Smith - Bring the Rain - Angie's blog really started my search for blogs written by women that shared their heart honestly in a golly way and therefore encouraged me to do the same.  I love Angie and was privileged to meet her and Todd (lead singer for Selah) before the birth of their daughter, Charlotte.  She writes for (In)Courage and co-leads a book club, Bloom.  She also became an author this year, I Will Carry You.

Kristen Schiffman - Like Winter Rains - Kristen has quickly become a lady I listen to, not just because she is the editor of Exemplify On-Line Magazine, or because she contributes regularly to Internet Cafe and speaks at A Woman Inspired....but because she is wise beyond her years.  It's refreshing to see someone so on target with what God desires for them and they are running after it fully.



These are a couple of my favorite people and lots of links to be inspired by.  I'll also be putting a button on the side as a blogroll so you can see other site that I add as time goes on.

Blogs that Inspire my Creative Nature, Just for Fun, & Miscellaneous Genre

I love to create...with words, with thread, with material, with paints...with lots of other mediums.  I'll be adding to this list of blogs of sites that I find that encourage me to put pen to paper and pin to material, that basically make me think outside the box and see life from a different angle.

Natalie Lymer - Cinderberry Stitches - I love Natalie's patterns.  These little bird adorn many of her designs.  I like the way she adds embroidery to her applique and quilting.  Her colors are my favorite pallet.  She is a mother of the cutest little girl and a designer.  She talks about how she designs her patterns and give sneak peeks of her newest ones.

This might be why I like her so much (a portion of a post):

when I wake in the morning these thing's I know for certain
I adore my daughter
I love my Family
I cherish every moment
I dream color
I have to create
I need to inspire
I draw from the heart
I need to eat chocolate
I wish someone else would cook dinner and clean house...

 Jen Campbell -  Green Wedding Shoes - Doesn't that just sound like a fun place to visit?!  One day, my daughter is going to get married.  She's been dating the same guy for about 7 years now and there's talk...only talk.  But we like to dream about that day and this site helps us dream on how to make her wedding unique and special.

It's full of pictures that capture every moment of the special day, including ideas for invitations and "save the date".  Jen brings together different photographers from all over the country to showcase their work.  She makes it all about the couple...not just tradition.  She even has a weekly song list.  So much fun.  I felt like I was at the weddings.

Matt & Maddie Logelin - Matt, Liz, and Madeline - Matt tells the story of suddenly losing his wife only 27 hours after his daughter was born.  He's brutally honest about his struggles, his anger, his love for his wife and his daughter.  He documents all of Maddie's life and uses the blog to introduce her to her mother by visiting people and places that Liz loved.  Matt shares what it's like to be a single dad, it's funny and sad.  Maddie is adorable and has traveled more than most people in her 2 years.  Matt has been on Oprah and is now getting ready to release a book on his life.  He is touching the hearts of millions and reaching out to other widows/widowers trying to figure out how to go on after losing the love of their life. He is a wonderful photographer and captures images that we usually just walk past and never see and of course Maddie. His beliefs are Buddhist and he recently took Maddie to India.  You might want to read his "Warning" page first so that you are not shocked by his words.

This is a start of some of my regular places I visit.  I'll have a button on the side that will bring them all up as a blogroll so they'll be easy to find if you want to browse around.