Writing Prompt: Beauty

What exactly makes things beautiful? 
Write for 20 minutes straight on this subject. Rambling is allowed. 

This Blog is Brought to you by Coffee

*Disclaimer: If you don't drink coffee, insert "tea".

My life happens over cups of coffee. 
So many important milestones of my life have happened over a cup of coffee. Job interviews, promotions, love, friendships, and a whole lot of writing. 

There's something nostalgic about a cup of coffee. Something that crosses cultures and geographical barriers. Coffee is like the first step to any relationship, business or personal. It's a common ground (no pun intended :) where all the various types of relationships in life happen. 


It's usually the first move of a love interest. Dinner is too committed; but coffee evens the playing field. It's usually the meeting place for business partners or co-workers. Lunch, well good friends in the office go to lunch, but you don't want to commit a whole meal-length time to someone you hardly know. Yet, if you go with an old friend, you could be there for hours. I could on forever, but you get my point. 


Somehow, coffee brings people together, and in my efforts to make this place more of a community and inviting, I thought it appropriate to add a place for coffee. 

If you click the cups above, it will take you to a $3 donation page = the average price of a cup of coffee. 


>>>Please note: This is not a sponsorship, nor is it a money maker. The purpose of this feature is to give you an opportunity to be a part of the development of this pretty space.  
Nothing more. Nothing less. 


The money will go towards things like photo editing, memberships for blog enhancement, actual coffees while writing posts and blog planning, and possible give aways! Think about it. This is a no pressure thing and this will be the one and only time I bring it to your attention. Just thought you should know. 


PS. If you want to get some coffee in person sometime, email me and we'll see what we can do.

The Art of Leaving a Comment

I wish I could reach into the machine that runs the world wide web and change the word "Comment" to "Discuss" or "Conversation". The word "Comment" says to me, Leave your two cents or spew your opinion. This is not a discussion. That's not what I want to happen here at JM. And I know I'm not the first inventor of this kind of thinking. There are plenty of bloggers, writers, and communities that have reformed "commenting" in their spaces. My favorite discussion starters are Hollywood Housewife, Vicky Beeching, and Mama Kat's Losin It. 


There are plenty of comment-leavers that have adapted to the whiny commenting. It trades off between griping, bickering and battering. None if it is healthy persay, but I guess there are certain communities that breed those kinds of opinions. 


Another form of commenting that's more recent is the promotional commenting. Like full on, shameless promotion. I think it's totally fine if someone leaves their "Recent Post" or even their link at the bottom of their name. In fact, most commenting systems leave a fill-in-the-blank for this. But I'm seeing more and more people commenting with ONLY their links and products. In my humble opinion, that's not the most respectful blogging etiquette. 


All that to say this, here, you are free to begin, continue, or join in conversations! I try to write in a way that feels like I'm sitting with you in a coffee shop. There's too much pressure when writing for the masses. So most of the discussions here may be less objective and more subjective in conversational form. 


How to Comment on Here:
-Click on the POST TITLE and it will isolate the post you want to discuss. 
-Scroll to the bottom of that post and there will be a box for you to write your question or conversation. 
-It's a little tricky, but I liked it better this way so that it didn't get too cluttered all up in here. 


Ok let's try it:
What do you think about commenting? 
-JM

Sundays are for Worship // Instagrams & Philippians

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-9

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

I thought this verse was so fitting for the first day of 2012. As a Church we have gone through some amazing series with solid content and practical applications. And the start of a New Year can be both exciting because it's a fresh start and nerve wracking because we sometimes fear the unknown. 

But the crazy thing and advantage, for lack of a better word, that we have is hope. We have a God whose purpose has been manifesting itself in us as a people. A lot of us can look back on this year and see the hand of God moving and writing and designing this perfect plan. Some of us may be still waiting to see His hand as evidently, but we can rest on what we know is true. 

We can think on what is know is good and lovely. 

We can hope in what we know is noble and right and that is that God is for us. He hasn't left and He will see us through. 

So we as continue in worship, let's focus our minds on that this morning. 

God you are for me. We know that you are for us. Would you show yourself to us and refresh the hope we have in you.

"You are for me"

New Year Resolutions: The Maddness of Dreaming & Making Plans

I've always heard, time flies by faster as you get older. 
This New Years, I feel that is truer than any other. 2011 was such a modpodge of a year. Summed up, I'd say the Word of the Year is Tears. Tears of joy, tears of loss, tears of adventure and tears of unbearable pain. A lot of this year caught me off guard. I think most people can relate with that. 


It's crazy that we still plan in the first place. Though we hope things will follow suit, we know, deep in our souls that something very well may go wacky at any given time. Plans will change, yet we make them. Call me hopeful or call me mad, but I'll keep doing it. It let's me keep dreaming. 


I looked back at last year's resolutions and I am thrilled to say all but one (the album one) have been accomplished! First year ever!

-Finish the first draft of my book.

-Write @ least 1 of 3 e-books.

-Lose the wedding weight. :)

-Start our creative workshops.

-Finish writing my new album.

-Learn to like sushi.

I didn't want to jinx this year, so I narrowed my over-zealous list to 4 things for 2012. 



1. Write out my grandparent's love stories.
On the way home from Christmas this year, I was telling Ty about how my mom's parents met. I was getting a little jumbled in the details and by the end of the story I thought out loud, Man, I should really have them tell me again and this time, write it down! I can't wait for this one. 4 love stories will be documented this year. Maybe I'll e-book them for the world to read.


2. Get rid of things I don't use.
Clothes, knick-nacks, makeup, jewelry, books, etc. I probably won't sell any of it, because I hate doing eBay, but I'll definitely be giving a lot away. So if you get a book from me for your birthday this year, well, you know I'm on track.


3. Raise the bar on my writing.
While working with She Seeks these last couple of months, I am learning how important, hard, but rewarding an editing process is for all writings. The team over there has taught me a lot of strategies and formulas to writing well, and I want to implement those over here as well. 


4. Dream a little bigger for this pretty space.
I want this blog to be a place of conversation and inspiration. I want to create a community built around alliance, relationships, and encouragement. I have a few ideas but I'd love yours too. Anything you think might work here? 


I have many goals and dreams this year and I hope you do too.
I'll leave you with my closer from last year because it still rings true.

For some of us this year is our Ctrl + Alt + Del button. 

For some of us, this year is the continuation of the best year of our life. 

For some of us this year will bring great joys and greater triumphs.

For some of us this year will bring such sorrow and utter disappointment.

For some of us this year will fly by just like the rest.

For some of us this year will drone on into what seems like an eternity.

For some of us this year will be one of significant discovery.

For some of us this year will be one of significant loss.

But for everyone, this year will be another year added to the timeline of our seasoned lives. And when we look back we'll see how invaluable this year was to the making of who we have become. 

Happy New Year dear friends & family. Happy sweet New Year.

-JM

Farewell 2011 | See you in the New Year

This blog has been a great many things for me: an escape, a tool, and recently, a community. 

It's taken me a while to figure out my niche in this big wide world of blogging. I've written many silly pointless posts, grasping for some purpose and/or traction. I still feel as though I'm floundering, however 2011 has been a good year for me and this little hobby of mine.


Here are just  a few of the many exciting things that happened this year:


-I became a writer as part of the She Seeks team!
-Advertisements in JOIE Online Magazine
-Created & launched 2 online e-courses: Blogging & Singing
-Partnered with Antioch Temecula for a follow-up to their Dating Series
-More collaboration [20+ writers!] and guest bloggers on many topics, from spirituality to beauty secrets
-Developed 2 staple segments: Sundays are for Worship & Friday's at JM

So what's next for JM? 2012 holds many a goal and dream. Things will change around here. I want this small space to be a place of obvious community. A space where you and I feel safe, encouraged, and inspired. 


There will be new segments, features, downloads [!!], focuses, spins and twists. I'm finding my niche a little bit at a time and I think 2012 will prove that. 


I'm a girl who wants to conquer the world through words and music; or at least make a dent in it. I'm not sure how that will play out in this next year, but I am hopeful. 


So this is farewell my friends, for 2011. 
I am spending the last weeks of this year re-designing this pretty place and eating and laughing way too much with friends and family. 

See you in the New Year! Come see me January 1st! 


Love,
JM

The only important thing about design is how it relates to people.

— VICTOR PAPANEK

It is not daily increase but daily decrease; hack away the unessential.

— BRUCE LEE 

Your best work is your expression of yourself. Now, you may not be the greatest at it, but when you do it, you’re the only expert.

— FRANK GEHRY 

TOP  10 POSTS of 2011

#10 It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To

#9 The Hollywood Housewife

#8 First Ad Ever in JOIE Magazine

#7 On Marriage // The Morning After

#6 My Baby Sister's Wedding

#5 It is Time: Post One

#4 On Singleness // The Morning After

#3 My Husband is Pretty Cool

#2 Photographing December

#1 A Letter to my Brother on His Wedding Day

Christmas Traditions: Cake on Christmas Day

I am on family vacation for the holiday, but while I'm gone, you are in for a treat from some sweet friends. They're sharing their Christmas traditions with us! If you missed one, click here to catch up. Happy reading!

By Tammy HodgeI love traditions. Growing up my Mama was the queen of them. Each year at Christmas time us kids knew what to expect. There were jobs for all of us... Stringing lights on the tree, stringing popcorn, tossing tinsel on the tree, spraying fake snow out of a can on the front windows (Southern California Christmas time is special like that), helping to pick the Holiday menu and shopping for it. Mama covered all the bases.

So, when I grew up and had a family of my own, I realized that my mother had taken all the great traditions. What was left for us?

Cake!!

I am the only Believer in my family, so, as a Christian my celebration of Christmas is a bit different than it used to be when I was a child. If I am now choosing to honor the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day then we are just gonna have to have a party.

A Birthday Party!

When my kids were very young we started our own little tradition of baking a birthday cake together on Christmas Eve. We’d all decorate it however we wanted. And this cake was for Jesus and we got to eat it on Christmas morning. For breakfast.

That’s right. Cake for breakfast. I either get the bad mommy award or best mommy award. Depends on who’s voting ;)
Most kids go to their stockings or presents under the tree first thing on Christmas morning. But mine? No...they go directly to the platter of sugar for Jesus.

But let me clarify...this isn’t just about getting to eat cake for breakfast. It’s about setting our first moments on Christmas morning aside to read about the birth of Christ, to remind ourselves why we celebrate and why we give gifts. It’s just a great, and delicious, way to begin one of the most beautiful days of the year! A tradition we still take part in, even though my kids are now 17 and 15, they still look forward to this tradition. One I hope they carry on with their families some day.
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About Tammy: I live in beautiful Nashville, TN with my husband, Brent, of 20 years and my two fantabulous children Kassidi, 17 andDakota, 15. Brent is a Campus Pastor at Cross Point Community Church - North Campus. I am in the process of writing my first book titled, “The Day I Told My Daughter”. You can read more about that on the My Story page. If I could share one thing with everyone I ever meet it would be that we do not have to live under the pain and regrets of our life’s choices or hurts. That we can allow them to grow us…grow us into something powerful that God can, and will, use to reach His people.Where to Find her:Taminprogress.comTwitter

Christmas Traditions: One Big Day of Little Traditions

I am on family vacation for the holiday, but while I'm gone, you are in for a treat from some sweet friends. They're sharing their Christmas traditions with us! If you missed one, click here to catch up. Happy reading!

Photo Credit

By Tamara Clare

Throughout the year we have many family traditions, but the traditions we do at Christmas time are by far my favorite.  For us it’s not the big and elaborate traditions, but the little moments we share doing simple things together and enjoying each other’s company that become the most powerful traditions.  Here is how our Christmas day goes…

The alarm clock goes off around 7:00 am.  Our four children are reminded on Christmas Eve when we tuck them in that they are not allowed to come down stairs for any reason until we call them down.  Charlie and I get freshened up while still in our jammies and head downstairs.  I get my coffee, Charlie gets the camera and we hear the kids rustle on the stairs as they wait patiently, giggling in anticipation of what is to come.  I then take their picture as they sit on the stairs while they begin to get frustrated that I just can’t get the right picture.  Finally, they head down the stairs and around the corner to find their stockings full of goodies.

Once we all get situated Charlie reads from the Little Golden Book, The Christmas Story (which was his as a child) and then reads Luke 2:4-22 from the Bible.  It is then that we take a moment of do “popcorn prayer” and each of us prays to our Heavenly Father, giver of all things, especially our Savior Jesus Christ.  This is one of my favorite traditions that help us to keep our hearts and focus on the greatest gift given, Jesus Christ.

What comes next is the fun part.  

Charlie will choose one of the kids to be the one who hands out the gifts.  Then from youngest to oldest we open the gifts one at a time.  I love the gratitude and happiness that is shared when they receive their gifts.

When we are all done opening gifts, Charlie helps the kids put anything together that needs batteries, screws or the use of instruction manual and then we prepare breakfast.  I set the table fancy using my best dishes and water goblets.  The kids love this and feel so adult like and special.  When we sit down to eat we take time again to give thanks to our gracious God and enjoy the feast prepared.

Around noon, my Grandparents and my Dad and Lyn (my God given Mom) come over for Christmas Dinner.  We spend the next few hours preparing one of the most delicious meals of the year.  I wear the apron my Grandma Mary Nell (who is now with Jesus) made. Wearing it makes me feel so close to her.  

So, four generations of women laugh and love, hug and cry and make memories as we prepare and cook the Christmas Dinner.  The men of course are watching football and bonding the way men do as they wait for us to say “It’s Dinner Time!”

All ten of us then sit at our table in the dining room that my daughter Samantha and I prepared and made as beautiful as we could.  Once the kids are done, they excuse themselves from the table, but the adults remain for what seems like hours.  We sit and talk with my grandparents listening to the stories of how they met, when they first fell in love, the hard times, and the good times.   Sometimes we hear stories that we have heard before, but it never seems to matter.   We laugh, we learn and we connect our family of families one generation at a time.

 

This has been the way we have shared Christmas Day for the last 7 years.  It’s a day that we love to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the gift of life He gave us, the overflow of His love through gifts and sharing with one another and building a strong family through simple traditions.

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About Tamara: Tamara is married to an amazing husband Charlie and has 4 beautiful children that she dedicates her life to.  She loves having “Coffee with Jesus” early in the morning, so she can be a vessel to share His truth and love with all those around her. Tamara desires to always speak in truth, with boldness, yet speak gently to the women who cross her path.  Her passion is for all to taste and see that the Lord is good and find joy through taking refuge in Him.