Advent is here! What better way to get our hearts ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus than to focus our hearts with a devotional?

It is okay to start again. There is no shame in plans not working out quite right and not hitting the mark on your first, second, or any shot. There is no shame ever in trying.

I was inspired to share a mental health tip by a post this week for #mentalhealthmonday by Josh Wilson

My tip: Friend, remember where your joy comes from. When someone around you has a bad day, it can be easy to put that on ourselves. Don't.

My mom always said anything worth having is worth waiting for and worth working for. Sometimes we work for a long time in the wait, but don't give up on that wait. Often it is most challenging just before that breakthrough.

Lots of our Promise FM artists have devotionals based on their songs featured on Bible.com. They help you see the heart behind the artist and their music, AND they are typically about 3-7 days. This is not extensive, but I thought you would enjoy a few and hope they remind you that you are loved! 

Seems like we’ll have some catching up to do with the celebration of Labor Day behind us.

Sometimes we don’t get to spend a whole day together. Like ALL THE TIME, but maybe you’d like to catch up. I hope this will help.

This week we spent a lot of time at Gaylord’s Alpenfest. It was so much fun getting a chance to be mobile with the studio, and get a chance to chat with everyone who stopped by. If you couldn’t make it, no problem, we have sticker stops coming your way.

What a great week we had! Sun, rain and a finish with a sticker stop in Alpena! It was so much fun meeting and reconnecting with friends in Alpena.

Here's a tiny smattering of what we chatted about this week.

When God has put a plan in motion…trust His pace. Do you find yourself wanting to scoot the plan along? We do that, don't we? We set our minds on something and then we are like, "Happen already!" But there are a lot of necessary things that happen in the growth process and in the waiting.

Today I saw this little meme picture with stairs, and it said. “You don’t have to see the staircase; just take the first step.”

Do you ever feel like you are just go-go-go-going? Until, of course, you find yourself hitting a wall. I do that. I will push and push until by the time Saturday rolls around, all I can do is burry my head in a pillow. Truth here-just ask my husband.

So hey, this week-don't stress rest.

There are times when we will find ourselves in some storms, BUT those are times when-if we allow ourselves to open up-God will not only bring us comfort but also place some lovely people into our lives.

There are a lot of moments in the Bible where we see the words BUT GOD. They are a potent reminder that indeed at the time that we would say "all is lost" or at the very least, "I need some serious help here"-God brings it.

We can share Jesus with others as we live our lives.

How’s your focus? Focus is one of my weak spots, and it is kind of funny because when I was born, I had terrible vision, and focus was my weak spot then too. But through therapy and eye exercises, I got better at focusing.

I’ve heard that if you are going to pick a month to try being frugal, February is the one. It typically has just 28 days, so there is a smaller time commitment and coming in after holiday spending and dinners, it only makes sense to find a time to make spending less a priority.

Have you ever joined in a year-long Bible reading plan that gets you through the Bible in one year? I haven’t but I have always wanted to. What has happened to me is I haven’t found a plan I liked and then got in late and felt discouraged. This year I am ready to go. Do you want to join in? Here are a few resources but certainly there are a lot more out there.

It’s day 20! The day when the declutter chores have culminated into two boxes to be dealt with the Sell and Donate boxes.