{Guest Post Alert} The Heart of Mother's Day

{Guest Post Alert} The Heart of Mother's Day

Jennifer Smith
Encouragement, Inspiration

Do you believe that you are seen this week? We know it may not physically be seen by a mother or daughter but do you believe that God carries your heart close to his?

There are many women who carry around guilt or shame when it comes to their mother/daughter relationship and feel as though it can never be repaired. Maybe you are one of these women whose relationship is in an estranged or “walk on egg shells” place as we approach Mother’s Day. The heart of a day that celebrates moms when she is not close in your heart.

A Scent You Don't Forget

A Scent You Don't Forget

Jennifer Smith
Inspiration

I noticed the silent distress in her dark brown eyes as soon as she walked into the room. She rushed by in a hurry to get to her destination, bright smile flashing. I followed her, gave her a minute, and as she spun around, I inquired, “Are you doing okay?”

I'm Not Good At Stopping

I'm Not Good At Stopping

Jennifer Smith

My Dad was an auto body repairman. He was a master dent removing, sanding, Bondo spreading, paint spraying machine. His work was always his very best. He was a perfectionist always wanting things to be just so. I watched him work on the same spot for a week at a time trying to make sure the body of the car was as smooth as possible.

I Used to Cuss

I Used to Cuss

Jennifer Smith

Strangely, one of my earliest childhood memories, besides the Christmas I got a Baby Alive doll, was reading the words "Jackass" on the wall leading down to the basement of our home. My brother, six years older than me, had penned it there in his first or second grade handwriting. 

The Missing Heart Beat

The Missing Heart Beat

Jennifer Smith
Inspiration, Encouragement

It was my first known pregnancy. The first time I had seen a doctor to discuss this new life inside of me. I was excited and nervous. David and I had been married for six months when I learned I was pregnant. I had stopped taking birth control three months previously and took pregnancy tests religiously for the next three months. 

Here I Am: Send Me

Here I Am: Send Me

Jennifer Smith
Missions

I guess it was about five or six years ago. Pastor Doc Shell was my Senior Pastor at Christ Chapel in Florence, Alabama. If my memory serves me correctly, a team was either returning from a mission trip or we were sending a team out. I don't remember all the specifics. My home church has always been mission minded--to equip people and send them out into the world with the good news of Jesus. 

Attempting Grateful Living: Breath. Thank God. Repeat.

Attempting Grateful Living: Breath. Thank God. Repeat.

Jennifer Smith
Encouragement, Inspiration, Anxiety, Small Business

David opened yesterday's staff meeting with this verse, "Seek God's will in all you do, and He will show you the path to take." Proverbs 3:6

He explained, as business owners, we are always seeking God for wisdom. The decisions we make are an attempt to make our business better for our employees and our customers. The decisions are never meant to make life harder for anyone. Much thought and meaning are behind them--and sometimes a few tears. We're the first to admit when a decision needs to be changed if we recognize it's not working well. It's not fun to fail, but it's necessary in learning what works and what doesn't. 

A Song, A Needle and Some Thread

A Song, A Needle and Some Thread

Jennifer Smith
Encouragement, Inspiration

While in the car scanning the stations, a radio announcer caught my attention with an interview he was conducting with an up and coming country musician. The musician sounded charming, so I stopped the scan and listened to what was being said. It was amusing and fun. 

After the brief interview, the station returned to its regularly scheduled programming which involved an upbeat song. Whoa! Thirty seconds in, and I was glad my kids weren't in the car with me. I immediately changed the channel. 

Saved from Brokenness: Made Whole

Saved from Brokenness: Made Whole

Jennifer Smith
Inspiration, Encouragement

My seven year old said he had something to show me. He was sitting at the table with a smooth, blank sheet of paper. He said, "See this paper. When someone says something hurtful to you," he bends the corner of the paper, "it looks like this. Crinkled."  He went on, his demeanor serious, instructional,  "And then the next person hurts you," he begins to wad up the paper, "and it does this to you." He repeated this several times until the paper was a legitimate ball of crinkled mess. 

Please Stop Telling Me This

Please Stop Telling Me This

Jennifer Smith

One of my pet peeves is hearing people say about themselves, “I’m not creative.” I hear it a lot in my profession. It’s a lie so many believe. I’ve begun to find great joy in pointing out to self-proclaimed non-creatives how creative he/she really is. Tell me what you have done during any given week, and I guarantee you I can show you how you exercised creativity.

A Scam and a Prayer

A Scam and a Prayer

Jennifer Smith
Encouragement, Inspiration

Some of you know our business fell victim to a scam by a fake customer, "Sam Statler." We lost close to $14,000. Basically, a potential customer placed an order, and gave us a credit card which we processed. When the money from the credit card cleared our bank, we processed a wire transfer to a "freight forwarder" for the freight costs which is common place in our line of business as an importer. This practice is something we have done many times before without even a blink. 

Fight the Good Fight

Fight the Good Fight

Jennifer Smith
Encouragement, Inspiration

If we overcome the obstacles in this world, we get to sit down with God on His throne in the next. Isn't that powerful? To know our reward for fighting until the final round is to sit down, to finally rest, with our Heavenly Father. I don't know about you, but that promise makes me ready for another round.

Running on Empty

Running on Empty

Jennifer Smith
Inspiration, Encouragement

This week has been one of those weeks you don’t want to repeat. It seemed as though one problem stacked against another problem forming an impermeable wall of stress and despair.

As I type these words, I think to myself, "What a cliché topic." I get tired of it, quite frankly, but my feelings about it doesn’t make it go away.

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