MyLeslieNotebook

I've never been much of a New Year's Resolution person. But lately I've felt felt a holy tug toward considering how God is leading me into this new year. I've already created a chart for praying for certain marriages each month. I have a plan in place for hearing God in His Word. And, true to my non-perfectionism tendencies, I've decided on my personal motto for 2018:  "Six out of seven days isn't bad" (Wow. Way to strive for greatness there, right? Hey, we non-perfectionists are perfectly okay with this.) But yesterday, it all came together. And I present to you my Five S Goals for 2018: Silent Seeking . Every day, I want to start my day in silence. That's a tall order with three other people in the house, but it makes all the difference in how I walk through my day . It may mean sleeping less or saying no to late-night board games, but I have a holy appointment with the God of Creation first thing every morning. He deserves my rever

I set out to study Joseph for a Christmas Sunday School lesson recently, but got too distracted by the wise men. (More on them later. Maybe next week.)  But I'm always drawn to Joseph and his role in the gospels. I wrote a blog about him a few years ago, and I still go back to it from time to time to remind me of this man who lived his faith:  He loved God more than logic. Even when his brain and everyone around him surely said, "Get away from Mary; she's either a liar or she's completely crazy," he instead chose to marry her. We can only imagine how many other decisions he made along that made the men of his community say, "That man's lost his marbles." He loved God more than his reputation . We have every reason to believe that Joseph was a man of high standing: he was a skilled worker, a "righteous man," (Matthew 1:19, CEB) and a descendant of David. But when he chose to marry Mary, he surely got a reputation for bringing disgr

Beautiful simple dress available at silkliving.com I've had two words swirling around in my head for the better part of 2017:  Simple and beautiful . I'm naturally drawn to the simple. Anyone who knows me tends to make a big deal if I wear makeup or do anything to my hair besides brushing. My go-to clothes are jeans and t-shirts.  On top of that, as a family we've been simplifying in 2017, and will continue through 2018. We've systematically gone through so much of what we own and have asked, "Is this thing great ?" If it's great, we keep it. If not, we give (or throw) it away. I have loved simplifying , though I was a tad afraid that I'd created a monster when my 8-year old son gave away every toy in his room except for what would fit in one of those large storage bins.  Simple describes my life and my approach to homeschool and even Christmas. When anyone has asked me, "Are we doing gifts for each other?" I've said, "Le

____________ is the best medicine.  My sweet little Shelby has been totally miserable with a stomach bug for SIX DAYS. So this morning I took her to the doctor. All week, she'd said, "Mom, please give me something to make me feel better!" to which I had to tell her, "Honey, there's no medicine for a stomach virus." But our ever-so-wonderful pediatrician checked her out and, acknowledging her symptoms, told me that lo and behold there were three very simple over-the-counter medicines that would bring her relief. WHEW. On the way home, I said, "I know you're not well yet, but doesn't the fact that we have medicine in the car bring you hope?" So let's re-define medicine: That which brings hope for a better tomorrow. Back to the original topic: What is the best medicine? Of course, "laughter" comes to mind for all of us. And it is true; nothing heals a broken heart or a sore soul like laughing so hard your sides hurt and

(Awesome t-shirt in photo can be found at Rags and Royal .) Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I think it always has been, but even more so now that I'm an adult and I can count my blessings one by one. This past Sunday, I had the girls in my class make a name tag that told three things they were thankful for...but they weren't allowed to say "my family," "my friends," or "America." Those are given. :)  So I've challenged myself to do the same. I am DAILY thankful for my amazing family and friends. It takes very little world knowledge to be thankful to live in America.  So, more? I am thankful for the things I don't have to think about . I don't wonder where my next meal comes from. I don't worry about losing my home, losing my children, or losing my mind. These things are very real for some people.  And as a dear friend watches her husband face cancer and another friend deals with the loss of her unborn child, I am th

I always have a focal verse each month. As one month comes to an end, I look forward to God revealing to me His next Word for me. And when I saw this month's verse, Psalm 93:5, I was consumed. Still am. I read it first in The Message, and this is what the psalmist wrote to God: "What you say goes--it always has. "Beauty" and "Holy" mark your palace rule, GOD, to the very end of time. Beauty. Holy . Maybe you've never thought about those two words together before. So let's look at them together. Holiness  refers to God's otherness , apartness , sacredness , separateness . It points to everything that makes Him not like us . His perfection, His power, His love, and His omniscience make Him holy. The Hebrew word (something like qodesh ) is used 519 times in the Old Testament, all of them describing God or things set apart to God. Beauty  in Psalm 93:5 is actually a verb that means "to be beautiful" or "to be befitting

Julie Holmes Photography One of you asked for a blog on this topic. And though I write this at one girl's sweet request, I've written this letter dozens of times , for many girls over the past fifteen years.  "What would Mrs. Leslie say about marriage?" [Insert: If you're old enough to be married, you can just call me "Leslie" now, okay?] First of all, required reading: Ann Voskamp's blog on The Unexpected Secret about Boring Men and the Women who Love Them . Seriously, any woman who is married, is engaged, or thinks one day she might be married MUST read this.  It's maybe the best marriage article ever written, and provides you with the freedom for your expectations of your husband. Not only that, but I can testify that I married a "boring" man. So did my mom, and so did many of the women you know. Talk to them about their marriage, their husband, and the boring-ness of it all. It will rock your world.  What I'm abo

It's the thing we ask God to just give us. We'd rather not practice it. It's something that drives us crazy when other people have none but, if we're honest, we don't have much, either.  It's a fruit of the spirit, it's a command, and it's a quality of love. Patience. When I asked for suggestions for blog posts, one of you said simply that: "Patience." What a loaded topic. First, a quick overview of what the Bible says about patience: Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer"  Galatians 6:9 "Let us not grow wearing of doing good..." Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him" Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" 1 Corinthians 13:4 "Love is patient and kind..." Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of

Next question from the Class of 2014 Leslie Notebookers: "Now What?" This girl had done what she set out to do: She worked hard, focused, prayed, and kept going through the tears and the all-nighters and the stress. Then it happened . The thing she had dreamed of came true. "Now what?" Sometimes, in the midst of all our hard work and our devotion, we hope our goal will be reached but, in the back of our minds, we know that it might not.  We stay busy so we don't think, "What if all this doesn't happen?"  We pray that God's will is also our will, secretly wondering if it was ever God's will or if it was just ours all along.  We have that pit of dread in our stomachs that asks, "What if this is the wrong path and I wasted YEARS on that goal/guy/dream/job/school/major/relationship?"  The girl who asked this question had a small chance of actually achieving her goal simply because it was a lofty goal; in all realit

I've opened the Leslie Notebook up to suggestions, asking my Class of 2014 girls what they might like to see on this page. Here's today's request: "Please write about how we know what to do with our adult lives." I'll let you know when I figure it out :) Seriously, I'm definitely not an expert on this; I still have so much I want to do and I struggle to know how to prioritize, use my time wisely, and set my focus on the best things.  But I do know this: the most disappointed people are those who think they will arrive at some point and find themselves complete, fulfilled, and mature.  False. We tend to set our sights on one thing : graduating. Getting "the job." Finding "the guy." Marriage. Kids. Promotion. "Enough money," whatever that is. At each of these stages of my life, I can honestly say that I was always a little disappointed. Graduation from college with a music degree, which was a long-time commitme