Beyond the Garden Gate

Starting my first blog post back with what is heavy on my soul...  Lately the  phrase that keeps coming to mind for me is "look at the fruits of the tree"... so much wisdom from the bible verse Luke 6:43–45 (KJV): "For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. I look around and what I see are fruits of discord, anger, resentment, attack, division, hate, anxiety disorders worsened, panic attacks, overwhelming stress, toxic work environments, friendships shattered, sadness, discrimination... the fruits of C19? Politics? Of social media? A mixture of all?  Then I wonder maybe our heavenly father  is taking this NOT good tree and using it for good as he always does. Maybe this whole thing in a way is allowing us- if we are willing- to heal some of those past experiences and stories we kept buried in the darkness and now are being brought to the light to be healed.  Like @journal...

Lately our little one is obsessed with Fancy Nancy and honestly the stories are quite fun… and I still think so even after reading them over and over and over again. But as I read them they started to get to me, the whole over sexualization of our girls… have you noticed it lately? Going shopping after the cute toddler stage is a nightmare! With a wide array of mini skirts and micro shorts makes me want to hide inside of the clothes rack and cry, where did all the cute stuff go? Ok ok, back to my story… tonight I had enough! I grabbed a set or markers and a black pen and gave this children’s beloved character a makeover, well at least in our book. And I honestly think Fancy Nancy looks way cuter now! Mama’s we have the duty to raise the little souls entrusted to us, to protect them, guide them, and keep them safe physically, emotionally, and mentally. We need to raise them to respect their bodies and to see their innate beauty. We as women don’t need to be flaunting everything God gave...

  “When we are distracted with our phones and social media we are telling those we are with: I’d rather be somewhere else or with someone else (watching their lives) than to be present here with you now, you are not worth me giving you my time and attention”… let that sink in like I had to when I first heard that… powerful right? I remember taking out my phone to check something quickly and not realize how it must seem to my little one or my loved ones or friends is one of the reasons why I gave up social media you can read it here in my blog. Today as we went on a out of the blue random family walk to the park, sponsored by my little one’s cold, yup that meant no school or work whoop whoop! I noticed how much my attitude has changed. Normally I am always, when I say always, I really mean always taking pictures, if you know me thats not news to you but today felt different. I was taking pictures for the joy of it not planning on sharing them for my “insta stories” although I did th...