What Does Joe Know? and an Update

 Joes knows Coconut Cookies!

I've always loved coconut and I'm thrilled that

coconut love is now quite the trend so coconut stuff is everywhere!

These little gems from TJs are no exception.

They are crispy and not overly sweet.

They are great with tea, dipped in chocolate, or on their own.

A little coconut treat from France shouldn't be missed!

And the quilt I displayed them on, well that couldn't be missed either!

I found it at a thrift shop in Seattle for $6.99!  SCORE!

*************************************************************

 

And now onto a little update of my spotty blogging last week.

It was a big week in our home as I mentioned here.

But it wasn't just the start of homeschooling for the Newquists that made it a big week.

I also got to speak to a group of Moms on Wednesday and share my story of anxiety.

When my nightmare with anxiety began 2 years ago, I had just stepped out on my blog and announced that I wanted to pursue what I believe God has given me a passion and gift for - speaking and teaching. 

Anxiety took that step of faith and paralyzed it.

I had 8 offers to speak that following year.  8 opportunities that I never got to respond to.  8 opportunities that I could have never accepted because I was far too sick to even leave the house.

But God has started His beautiful redemption process.

Earlier this year I got to speak to a group of women and it was my first time sharing since my anxiety journey began.  I was extremely rusty and I'm thankful for their graciousness because I learned a lot that day - like trying to recap 2 years into 35 minutes is impossible!!!

Well, last week I got another chance to speak to a difference group of women, and this time I was more prepared.

 

Their theme for the year is "connections" and at their kick-off meeting I talked about connecting with one another as women and mothers and how the key ingredient is vulnerability.

As I arrived at the meeting, I ran into a girl I lived with briefly about 17 years ago!  She commented on how cute I looked and so "put together." 

"Wait until I speak," I told her!

I shared candidly about my miscarriage and battle with anxiety that robbed me of the better parts of almost 2 years.

 

As I spoke, there were some tears in the audience, but one woman in particular stood out to me.  She was seated in the front and she cried the whole time I spoke.

When I finished and sat down, I felt the Lord telling me to get up and give her a hug.

I hesitated for a moment because the meeting was still going on and I would have to walk up in the front to hug this woman, but I did anyway.

"I just want to give you a hug."

She melted into my arms and tried to speak through sobs but couldn't.

I simply continued to hug her and told her that everything was going to be ok. 

She was going to be fine.

She finally was able to start telling me about her battle with anxiety that she was currently in the midst of.  My heart broke.

Another woman came up to me, sharing that she was almost institutionalized after suffering for 3 years.  Her husband even had to quit his job to take care of her and their children.

With suffering and struggles comes great responsibility and purpose.

We must be vulnerable and share our story so that we can help others.

2 Cor. 1:3,4

   "All Praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah!  Father of all mercy!  God of all healing counsel!  He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us." - The Message Translation

 

I'm grateful God is giving me the opportunity to share what He has brought me through and offer hope to others in the process.

I'm thrilled that I'll be speaking 4 more times this year and already have a speaking engagement booked in 2014.  (you can see my updated Speaking Page here)

 He is bringing many into my life that I now get to walk alongside. 

2 in 1

Thank you to all of you who prayed for me on Wednesday!

I had a great time speaking to a group of some wonderful women.  They made me feel so welcome and at ease.  They are truly a unique group of women who are getting it right when it comes to supporting one another, loving each other and being in authentic relationship with one another.

I was rather nervous, but time and again God kept reminding me that I'm a mere broken vessel that He chose to use.  It wasn't about my words, it was about obedience.

I'm grateful that in the Bible, God promises that when His word goes out, it does not return void, but accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent!  My words felt a tad scattered at times and not as "tight" as I'd like, but it wasn't about me.  It was about His Spirit speaking through me.

And personally, it was a huge step in my journey with anxiety to get to do something I've dreamed about and thought I could no longer do, even if I was a bit rusty!

God is the faithful healer and redeemer and I know this was another step in His redemptive process!

So thank you!

 

Now, onto the 7th birthday party wrap-up!

 The girls really wanted a luau party this year with hula dancers, swimming and tiki torches!  Tall order girls!  Since we are re-landscaping (remember the trees?), I couldn't pull off an outdoor party, so I talked them into a little indoor cooking party where we kept it small and simple.

They chose the name "The Yummy Twin Café" for their restaurant!

 

They started by making little cookie cakes where they could, stack them, frost them, and take them home on a little cake pedestal.

 

Then onto making dinner

Stuffed Shells and Pizza

 

We played a little game of Guess the Food.

I got 5 brown bags, placed food in each (chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, marshmallows, cheerios, and cake balls)  I told the girls that we eat with our eyes, nose and mouth.  So they smelled the bags and tried to guess what each was.  Then we did blind taste tests and they guessed again.  It was fun!

 

Daddy switched out the table décor while we played.  He put down brown paper and crayons for the girls to color on during dinner.  The napkins were dish towels.

These little girls were wild!  I thought having a small group would make things easier, but those 7 little girls had more energy than 15 girls!!!

 

Time for our traditional vanilla cake with lemon filling and whipped cream frosting.  This year one wanted strawberry filling, so we did half and half.

 As we sang Happy Birthday, one little girl thought it would be funny to blow out all the candles first!

And it was really funny!!

 

So I re-lit the candles, sang again, and the other little lady blew out all the candles!
 

Each girl left with her apron, chef's hat, cookie cake, and cake pedestal.

A great time was had by all!

Can I tell you a secret?

Out of all the birthday parties I've given, this one was the smallest, most simple - the kids made their own dinner! (I had the girls make an extra pan of stuffed shells that I froze for dinner this week! - brilliant!!)

and I was by far the most exhausted after it!

But the little ladies had a blast and that's all that matters!

Have a great weekend!!

Tomorrow

 

It was long over a year ago when I finally took the step of faith to put myself out there and share my dream and passion for speaking and teaching women.  Prior to being married, I had the opportunity to speak at various conferences, camps, and ministry groups as a young woman in ministry.  After leaving my job in college ministry to get married, my speaking engagements became fewer and fewer and with the birth of my babies, they pretty much dried up!  I did teach a moms group for a season and loved that, but my heart longed for more.  I truly believe that God gifted me to speak and teach and I was beginning to feel like something within me was dying as I was not using my gift.  Through many months of prayer and inviting a small community of mentors and friends to walk this journey with me, I put up this post  announcing my desire to speak and inviting ministry groups to consider having me as their speaker for their next event.  I also contacted several MOPS groups, churches and organizations, "selling myself" and letting them know of my heart and desire.

Within a few short weeks, I was sitting in a doctor's office about to hear words that would forever change my life.

After being obedient to follow God's call upon my life I was struck with debilitating anxiety.

I quickly forgot about my blog post and ministries I had contacted.  I knew I'd never be able to speak to a crowd let alone get on an airplane to go to a conference again.  I was devastated.

But that was only the beginning of my journey with anxiety.  There were many more shattered dreams, losses, and pain that was still in store for me.

 

I started writing my story with anxiety here on this blog as I felt God would use it to minister to others with similar struggles.

I was amazed by the outpouring of encouragement, support and many who offered up their story of anxiety and panic struggles.

There is much of my story that has not yet been written as my path of anxiety took a sharp turn last Summer.  I still don't feel like I'm in a place to share the deepest and darkest seasons of the battle.  But I wanted to give a brief update to say that God has been healing and transforming me in ways I never imagined.  I have hope once again of living into my calling of speaking -  now with a new story to tell of His grace, mercy and healing. 

 

I'm excited to share that tomorrow I will be speaking to a group of women for the first time since this nightmare began.  I will be sharing with them part of my story of anxiety and God's call to surrender it ALL!

 

Please pray for me!

 

I look forward to giving you an update on how it goes!

God is faithful to accomplish His purposes through us and He will finish what He starts!

(you can read my journey with anxiety by clicking the label on the right "a new life" or "anxiety disorder")

Speaking

*Intentional Family Traditions will post Tuesday - tomorrow.
Happy Monday!

Grab a blanket and a cup of tea, this is going to be a long one!

But I’m so excited about it, so please read on!!

I’ve always loved to be on stage, I cannot lie! From dance recitals to musicals – I’ve loved to perform. When I was in college, I had to give a persuasive speech for a public speaking class. I remember that my professor was Jewish. I remember that a few students in my class were friends of mine that I knew did not share my beliefs. And I knew that my topic was to be Jesus. A persuasive speech about Jesus – trying to woo the students and professor to enter into a relationship with the only person who would radically change their lives and give them purpose, significance, healing, rest and peace. I don’t remember exactly what I said. I don’t have any idea what comments were given. I don’t know what grade I got. I only know that Cody spoke to me afterwards and wanted to talk more about Jesus with me. It was that very moment that I knew God had given me a voice to speak of his truth and in a way, persuade others to follow him. Not persuade in the sense of trick or manipulate, but persuade by telling the truth – the rich, unconditional, loving, miraculous, all inclusive truth of Jesus Christ.

I remember my first night of college ministry as the Director of University Ministries at Malibu Presbyterian Church. Over 300 students gathered on that Tuesday night and I decided that if the students were going to be hearing from me every Tuesday night, it was important that they knew where I was coming from, and knew that I believed everything I would be sharing over the next year. I got up and shared my testimony. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt more alive. At the end of the evening, a freshman came up to me, her name was Millie. She said that as she listened to my testimony, it was like I was telling her story. She went on to tell me about her life, her family, her fears, her confusion, and said that she wanted to make Jesus Lord of her life. In the office of the church, we prayed together and her life was changed. As I drove back to my apartment that night, around 1am, I clearly felt God say that it wasn’t always going to be like that. I wouldn’t always see results to my speaking. I wouldn’t always know if what I was saying was making a difference. But I wasn’t called to success, I was called to obedience. My job was to be obedient to speak the truth of Jesus Christ and God would do what only He can do – change lives. Thus began a deep love and passion for speaking and teaching about Jesus.

Over the course of the next 6 years, in addition to speaking weekly at UM, I had the opportunity to speak to 2,500 college students at Pepperdine’s convocation, women’s retreats, high school retreats, university retreats, and church services.  After leaving college ministry and getting married, I took a break. Our twin girls came along a year and a half into our marriage, so my speaking opportunities shifted to baby talk, singing nursery rhymes, and saying silly poems. After I got into a routine with the girls and caught my breath, a few opportunities to speak drifted my way. I was blessed to return to the college ministries I had worked with to speak at their retreats. I also was asked to share in some young adult groups. But, with the babies, my exposure was mostly with moms. I then began to teach a group of young mothers and enjoyed the fact that the gospel knows no age or life stage limits! It covers all seasons and walks of life!

At the beginning of this year I sat at the beach and read Joshua. As I did, I knew God gave me a challenge for this year – Be strong and courageous. Little did I know that the very next month I’d have to be extremely strong and courageous as I walked into my ultrasound to find that there was no longer a heart beat for our fourth child. I’ve had to be strong and courageous this year to protect my children, send them off to school, and stand up for them. I’ve had to be strong and courageous becoming a single mother 3-4 days a week as my husband’s work schedule radically changed. There have been some big things and there have been some little things that I’ve faced, but all have required me to be strong and courageous.

Today is no different.

For the past 6 months I’ve felt a strong calling to speak and teach. My excuses have been, “where?”, “How? I have 3 small children?”, “Who?”, “How do I begin?” My insecurities and fears have gotten the best of me and so I’ve sat quietly and struggled with my passion, my calling, and my doubts. At a conference I attended in August, a speaker was talking about doing what you love and living into your passion. He said stop obsessing over all the things you need to start, and use what you have. I immediately thought of this blog! He said, take small steps with what you have in hand, and bring people along. Last week I e-mailed 6 people who have been very instrumental in my life and ministry and asked them to pray with me about this journey I’m about to embark upon. Their responses only affirmed what I felt God was calling me to.

So, with what I have in hand, I’m taking a step towards my passion and calling and putting a new tab at the top of my blog called “Speaking.” Sounds little and simple, but for me, it’s huge! This has been an uncomfortable process (you can read more about it here and here) – self promotion isn’t my favorite! But if I didn’t feel so passionate and convicted of what I am to do, I wouldn’t do it.

Take a moment and click “Speaking” at the top of my blog.

A good friend said to me once, “how can anyone call you if they don’t know your number?” Meaning, how could I expect people to know that I desire to speak at their retreat or conference if I never tell them?!

So, I would love for you to prayerfully consider me speaking at your next women’s retreat,

conference, or ministry event. 

I'm stepping out in faith with what I have and I'm going to pursue my passion!

I will be updating my “Speaking” tab regularly with new clips of me speaking and other information.

AND….. I didn’t forget!! The winner of the Advent Devotional is

Diana
thanks to Random.org

Please e-mail me your address and I’ll ship it out!

Get Dirty

Sometimes it’s messy to pursue what you love! 

You can’t stand back and be passive, hoping that everything will fall into place. 

You’ve got to get in there and go for it! 

As I mentioned here, God has been pushing me out of my comfort zone to use my gifts. 

I’ve been hesitant to dig in and get my hands dirty to do the groundwork. 

But now that I’m covered, I’m excited and ready to see what God has in mind. 

Stay tuned…