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We are so excited about December, the month to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, JESUS!

He is THE REASON for this season, and all month long we will be focusing on the NAMES OF JESUS so we can better honor, praise, and serve Him this Christmas season.

A great way to incorporate the names of Jesus in your house is with these “Adorenaments” from Family Life Today.

Rachel displayed hers this year on the wooden Christmas trees her husband, Aaron built for her. Add some lights, and voila! The perfect decor!

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Do you like to craft in December?

My kids are ALWAYS asking to craft and make ornaments. I’m really looking forward to trying these crafts from “5-minute crafts!”

Let us know if you try any of these!…

How great is our God?  Do you see Him as the great God he is? Or do you put other things on the throne of you hear in His place? Thankfulness, the attitude of the heart, helps you reflect and resonate on God’s faithfulness because you focus on what God has done, where God has been in your life, and the worship of the true God.

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The pilgrims, on their journey “in lean times as well as relatively plentiful—they gathered for prayer, meditation, the singing of hymns, and a sermon. It was their regular practice to stop and give thanks to God at the outset of each week. They did this despite hardships and heartache, and their faithfulness is a bright example for how we are to honor the Lord with our thanks in every season. ”

Are you able to reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness despite the current circumstance you are in? What do you do to center your heart and reflect on what God has done in your life?  He is GREAT. He is WORKING. And he LOVES you.

Spend some time thinking about what God has done in your life and thank Him for it.  Pray a prayer of Thanksgiving for His faithfulness:

“Father, You have been so faithful to me over the course of my life, showing Your care and provision time and again. I’m so grateful for the way You have walked with me, sustained me, encouraged me, strengthened me, comforted me, and loved me in every season. Thank You!” (excerpts from Revive our Hearts: Gratitude Challenge)

Discover the you God created you to be. And see His fingerprints throughout your life. And thank Him for the path you have been on and the fact the GOD has been walking with you. Even when …

This week has been filled with Thanksgiving prep and Black Friday turning into Black Week. Do you ever find yourself so distracted with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season that you forget to actually be thankful or to look at all you are blessed with?

Today, my challenge to you is, in the midst of cooking and baking and maybe a little shopping too, take a few minutes throughout the day to STOP and THINK about all the things you have in your life to be thankful for!
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When you have a grateful heart, it changes your perspective on everything.  You experience heart change, expression change, spirit change. You feel like a different person. Gratitude can affect your physical, spiritual, and emotional health. It can affect everything. Gratitude satisfies. Have you heard the phrase “it is well with my soul”. Well gratitude centers everything you are on the things that are really important. And being centered and “well with the soul” gives you strength. A strong person is grateful for what he has and centers themselves on the things that matter.

Gratitude is the cure for so many things. Have you found yourself in the dumps? Have you been complaining? Have you been feeling bad about yourself? Have you been short with your kids? Take some time to think about the things you can be grateful for and try to notice how it affects you.

And smile. Smiling can change your mood and change what your heart is focusing on. Take some time to be grateful. Pay attention to how you feel. And live centered on gratitude. And find your strength.

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T H I S.

This is what possibility looks like.

Do you ever stop to ask yourself if MORE is possible? God desires GREAT things for our lives. He wants to work IN us and THROUGH us. But we have to TRUST. We have to get OUT of our comfort zones  to do great things!

I’ve been on the other side- – when I couldn’t see past my own day, my own struggles. When “extras” like dance class just weren’t in the cards.

So I set out to change my mindset. To believe in the WHAT IFS. To seize an opportunity to help my family and others DO MORE.

To take an opportunity that allows us to have more choice and RUN WITH IT.

I’m so grateful every day that I said yes. I’m so grateful every day to wake up and wonder “WHAT IS POSSIBLE TODAY?” or “WHO CAN I BLESS TODAY?”

The best thing about this opportunity is seeing the joy on my children’s faces when they attend their extra activities (that we can now pay for EVERY month!!). The best thing about this opportunity is hearing the stories of lives changes by health, of lives changed by connection, of lives changed by HOPE and freedom to do more!

“Anything is possible” is a great way to spend your days!!!

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November is a great time to be reminded of thankfulness. But why just in November?? We should be thankful every day for all the things and people we are blessed with.

^{Exra 3:11} With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.”

When I take time to focus on my blessings and why I am thankful, I have a completely different persona and perspective about life. I feel refreshed, energized, and filled with joy. So I am thankful for the reminder of November to be thankful. But I to take that into the rest of my life. Recently, my husband and I have been sharing the best part of our days at night. And it helps me reflect on thankfulness. So I am thankful for specific time that my husband and I get to connect, and the focus on thankfulness!

How can you incorporate more thankfulness into your everyday?

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“Ruth was a woman with a humble heart—a trait that’s a companion virtue of gratitude…And because she relinquished her demands for certain expectations, she was able to be genuinely thankful when she actually did receive the blessing of his (Boaz’s) generosity….Ruth went out to serve with a humble, thankful heart.”

As I read today’s devotional, I couldn’t help but think of motherhood. It explained how living day-to-day with expectations takes away from being thankful for what we have and seeing all that God has blessed us with. Being a mom isn’t always easy, and I know that if I lived expecting my children to owe me something for all I do for them, I would be disappointed all the time. But, if I can remember to serve them with humility, then I can see my little ones for what they are – BLESSINGS! I am so thankful for the opportunity God has given me to give to my littles and learn to be more like Ruth.

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PASSION PERSPECTIVE

1. All about Meghan Meredith
   1. Life motto: Today is a good day to be well! I came up with this quote while writing and creating my fitness planner and I really love it as a life motto because each day is a day we can choose to be well and begin the journey to being our best, most well self- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
   2. Favorite food: Oh there’s so many! I love eating whole, fresh foods like crisp, cold radishes or a salad but I also love ice cream and chips and guac!
   3. Favorite dessert: Magnolia Bakery cupcakes or ice cream!
   4. Favorite Disney character: Ariel- just because we both have red hair!
   5. One thing you can’t live without: I can’t live without my Bible! And mascara!
   6. Favorite book: Again, so many good ones. Obviously, the Bible is the best book and the best story of all time but other than that, I love One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and glean something new every time I read it…and I’ve read it 3 or 4 times!
   7. One bucket list item: Go to Tahiti! I’ve really been craving a South Pacific vacation in a hut over the water! That would be a dream!
   8. Favorite Bible verse: Again, so many good ones! I love this verse in Habakkuk a lot though and Habakkuk is one of my favorite books! Habakkuk 1:5 “Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed, For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”
   9. Short biography: I am rural Pennsylvania raised, Wheaton College educated, married my Military man in Atlanta, living the good life in sunny Los Angeles currently…until the Air Force sends us to our next home. I’m a lover of beauty and