HappyGoStuckey

I grew up a child of the Full House generation. In a house of 6 other people, we didn’t get too much individual TV time– but I was usually afforded the 30 minute space of Full House– especially on the nights I could convince my next oldest brother to watch it with me. As you probably know, the show was clean, sweet and funny. It was a good way to grow up, and I still enjoy watching re-runs on TV today.

Fast forward to now, I am a mom of two and have appreciated the influence of Candace Cameron Bure (DJ TANNER!!) on the acting world. Candace has a way with Hollywood that few seem to be able to master, she is a great albeit selective actress and is forthcoming with her faith. Last season, her role on Dancing With the Stars was really fun to watch. She danced beautifully, was up front with her struggles and did not waver in her convictions and faith. The world needs more celebrities that are so certain of WHO they are as Candace is. A wife, mom, best-selling author and actress– she has long been acquainted with having a lot on her plate. Enter, her book–Balancing It All

When I was offered a review copy (and a giveaway copy!) from B&H Publishing Company, I jumped at the chance to read Candace’s book. What mom does not struggle with juggling priorities? I also looked forward to reading the perspective of someone who really has been extremely busy long before becoming a mother, and long before becoming a adult even. Who better to discuss balancing priorities than someone who had a full-time job before she even had a drivers license, right?

What this book is not:

This book is not a pointed condemnation of busy-ness. On the contrary, Candace is one of the few authors I have read on the topic of balance, who has not suggested a bare-bones schedule approach to combatting business. She clearly and positively states that busyness does not have to equal chaos and frustration. She gives helpful suggestions on how to balance many different areas of life and does it all while telling her own story.

What I love about this book:

It’s personal. It’s conversational. It’s respectful of many different life stages. Candace is confident in who God has created her to be, and she doesn’t apologize for the opportunities she has been given. She is positive when discussing balance and though upbeat, she is quite open in sharing areas where she has made mistakes in the past. She invites the reader in to learn from both her mistakes and her successes. She shares how she came to know Christ and how she eventually began to grow in Him. Candace includes a very helpful chapter on how they parent their teenagers, and though I’m not yet to that stage- I hope to pick this book up again when I am.

The author’s transparency is a very attractive quality of this book. For someone whose life has largely been in the spotlight, she uses that position to share the things she has learned and to bring Glory to God.

I am so glad Candace Cameron Bure decided to join the conversation on Balance, Priorities, and Purpose. Her words are helpful and enjoyable to read. And it’s kind of really fun to read how “DJ Tanner” became who she is today. 🙂

B&H Publishers have offered a copy of Candace Cameron Bure’s Balancing It All for one of YOU!

Just leave a comment answering this question to enter:

“What is one thing that helps you remain balanced in the midst of a busy schedule?”

Giveaway closes in one week. Want to go ahead and scoop up a copy for yourself? Buy Balancing It All: My Story of Juggling Priorities and Purpose here.
Also, If you missed the WaterOak Design Co. Giveaway yesterday– go here to enter!

*I received a review copy of Balancing It All in exchange for my honest review. Though I was happy to read and review this book, the opinions given are entirely my own.

**The links to Amazon to purchase the book are affiliate links.

Because of Hope.

September 25, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey 9 Comments

Ann Voskamp wrote that “The Days that are Dry and Brittle to Snap, These Days are Perfect Kindling for a Burning Bush.”

And I know that it is true. Somedays we feel used up, wrung out, worn out and without any smidge of creativity or grace left for even ourselves.

Some days we go beyond mere living and we live life abundantly. We walk firmly in our calling, heart held high– 100% certain of who we are, what we’re doing and most importantly, WHOSE we are.

Then other days our heart’s vision is a bit less than 20/20. Maybe it’s just a cloud of uncertainty in our calling. We wake up already tired from the day we have not yet lived and we wonder “why.” Those days can be tough.

Like the milk billows through my cup of Earl Grey and turns the strong liquid from clear to cloudy– We QUESTION what should be clear. We ask questions for which we already know the answers. Not just with the head, but with the heart.

We wonder if we’re getting through to them. We ask if what we’re doing matters. If we are doing enough. Truly helping. When there is so much pain in the world and our arms feel suffocatingly short, we question if we are the friend, the wife, the mom, the anything-– that this world needs.

Though those questions might be good for a time and a place, often they lead not to clearer vision, but darker views of who we are.

Perhaps we should start not with the ‘Why,’ but begin instead with the ‘Because.’

Because we are known. Because we are loved. Because we are valuable to Him. Because we are his masterpiece.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jer. 1:5

Because we have a purpose, and it’s HIS work we are about. Whether the job involves washing sticky hands or taking HOPE half way around the world, we need not waste time wondering IF we matter, but walk forward knowing THAT we matter because we matter to Him.

Not because of self-motivation and an empty thumb’s-up but BECAUSE—

“…We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Eph. 2:10

And this hope that we have– it’s too good not to share. It’s too valuable to be buried in our own uncertainty.

Because it matters. It matters that we know the depth of the hope that we hold. When we are aware of how good this hope is, we cannot help but extend it to others.

Words of Truth: Wateroak Design Co. (and a Giveaway!)

September 23, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey 12 Comments

One of my college roommates, Laura, had the beautiful habit of placing scripture all around our apartment. Sometimes written on a notepad, a dry-erase board on the refrigerator, a sticky note left for me by the front door, all meant to uplift and turn our hearts toward the truth.

I spent a very important year or two staring at these verses–

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” Isaiah 43:1-3a

This time it was copy paper, printed from the computer and placed in dollar store frames, Simple, sure– but the memory of looking at it more than daily has stayed with me for years. In times of both sheer joy and difficulty, there it was– just above the black and white stove which was crazy uncalibrated and had the habit of burning cookies.

I love how God uses people in our lives and specific scriptures to lift us, challenge us and turn our eyes to Him. I believe it is really important to surround ourselves with words of truth; they preach to our soul when we need it most. Now, clearly any form of writing these words “on the doorposts of our homes” will do– but when it can be done with beautiful pieces of art, even better! I love filling the rooms of our house with beauty and truth!

Well, since y’all know I love a beautiful scripture print– I cannot wait to introduce you to Wateroak Design Co. Logan and Taylor, the creative sisters behind Wateroak Design Co “share a passion for truth, color, design, and all things pretty. ” The girls behind Wateroak Design Co. loved the art they were creating on their own time and felt led to share it with others. Their sincere desire is that it will be “a venue for bringing joy, hope, and beauty to others.” And you guys, their art is beautiful!!!!

But rather than ask you to take my word for it— Look!

OH– I love this verse so much!!

I think this one would be so pretty in a kitchen!

And these gorgeous state home sweet home prints? They WANT to come live in my foyer, I think I would need one NC, one FL and one GA– to be fair to all my state loves. 🙂

The Wateroak Design Co. shop is FULL of other beautiful watercolor scripture prints in a variety of colors. (They also do custom designs.)

AND…. GUESS WHAT?!

They are offering a fun SALE this week– all of their prints are 21% off using the code HAPPYBIRTHDAY (until October 4th!)

AND—

Logan & Taylor of Wateroak Design Co. have generously offered to sponsor a giveaway here at HappyGoStuckey.

One sweet reader will receive this print in an 8×10!

Gorgeous, isn’t it?

To enter the giveaway, head over to their shop here and look around– choose your favorite

(and remember the 21% off sale–code HAPPYBIRTHDAY)

Then come back here and click on the Rafflecopter Giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*All photographs are the property of WaterOak Design Co.

UPDATE: Winner is Bethany!!!! Congrats, Bethany!

I’m Holding On.

September 19, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey 14 Comments

Yesterday on Facebook, I saw a photo of my nephew sleeping, and I was completely dumbstruck. He’s only eleven but…He didn’t look 11. He looked just like my brother. My 40-year old brother who sports a boyish grin and the same dark curly hair and who gives great hugs, who happens to be his dad– so of course they will look alike, right? But in a completely different way, my nephew looked unlike the little boy who bubbles up with contagious excitement when he finds a warty, slimy frog.. and more like a grown-up version of himself. And it struck me as wonderful and yet it hurt a little bit.

Because every night before going to sleep, I check on my own little ones… who are the beautiful main reasons that “the days are long..” but instead of seeing that “the years are short..” I look into their upturned faces, all relaxed in peaceful dreaming and lightly fluttering eyelashes… and I see my babies. Something happens when they sleep— they lose all sense of bigness and its like their little faces remember what baby looks like and put it on for me to see.

And I know it may not always be so. I am quite certain that for years, that little 11-yr old’s mom has checked on him, and seen her baby. And I wonder when and how it happens that they start to grow up overnight.

But she knows, because when I was an exhausted mom with a 5 day old baby, she called me all the way in North Carolina and said, “Hold her as much as you want. Don’t worry about spoiling her. You cannot hold a baby too much.”

And she was right. Because here I stand, 5 ft. tall with a 6’1″ husband whose children will definitely grow taller than me long before they’re grown.

And the babies that used to fit into little burrito-swaddled bundles, have long lean limbs that just about reach down past my knees when they sit with me.

And you can’t slow time. Except one moment at a time. And when I check on them at night, I take an extra moment to wonder what they dream. To watch their faces reflect the day. To know that the curves of baby-ness are slowly leaving their faces, and being replaced by the echoes of their future.

And I thank God that they keep right on growing and that I could not stop this train even if I wanted to. Which I don’t.

Linking up for Five Minute Friday here. Hop over and read more FMF friends!

Hope Rising

September 16, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

As I sat in my comfy chair, armed with an Iced Coffee and a highlighter, prepared to crack Hope Rising open, I prayed a short but heartfelt prayer. “God, use this book to wake me up and give me hope for the poor. “ Just reading the subtitle, How Christians Can End Extreme Poverty In This Generation, and feeling my heart immediately ask that telling question, “End?” “Does it say END extreme poverty?”

I immediately recognized my problem was that of so many others in my generation. We just don’t think we have it in us. Furthermore and perhaps even more disturbing, we may not even question if God would use us to do something HUGE like ending extreme poverty in our generation. As a middle class, stay at home mom of two kids, I struggled with the age old cop-out, “But what can I do? I am just one.” So I chose this book. And I’m so glad I did.

What this book is not:

This book, written by Scott C. Todd, the SVP for Global Advocacy for Compassion International is not an emotional strong-arm to sponsor a child. It is not a book full of faceless statistics. It is not a self-righteous treatise on why American Christians are overprivileged brats who could not care less for the world’s poor. The blurb on the back of the book gives a staggering fact that 18,000 children die from preventable causes every day and that we CAN do something about it. Regardless of how small we feel.

What this book is:

Hope Rising is a poignant and you guessed it, HOPE-FILLED look at the facts of poverty and what we CAN do in the name and power of Jesus Christ. Todd identifies and defines what true extreme poverty is and how it can feasibly be ended. Reading Hope Rising graciously challenges our startlingly low expectations and moves us to purposeful action. This book reads like a coffee shop conversation with an impassioned, well-traveled, close friend. Its brief chapters get right to the point, while not neglecting the beautiful element of story-telling.

Who is it for?

The short answer? YOU. Really, whether you are a mom, a dad, a college student or a grandparent, YOU have a part to play and this book just might give you the push in the right direction you need.

I highly recommend it. And you can pick up your own copy *HERE: Hope Rising: How Christians Can End Extreme Poverty in This Generation (Affliate link, Thanks for supporting HappyGoStuckey.com)

Thank you, Thomas Nelson Books and Book Look Bloggers for the review copy of this book. I chose to read this book for review and am happy to give my very positive opinion, which is all my own.

Hawaiian Banana Bread

September 15, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey 4 Comments

We have this little coffee shop here in town with cozy chairs and home made treats. Their Hawaiian Banana Bread and Coconut Iced Coffee are enough to get us all through to summer. I’ve been wanting to re-create that banana bread ever since. Last week, I gave it a shot– and we were really happy with the result.

Hawaiian Banana Bread is fun because you can experiment a bit. The added pineapple adds flavor and moisture, allowing you to cut back on the less healthy ingredients. However, it still needed a stick of butter (for 2 loaves.) because, well, BUTTER. Enjoy!

Hawaiian Banana Bread
Preheat Oven to 325′
Makes 2 Loaves

1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup of raw sugar (or regular, or brown)
4 eggs
2 cups of AP flour
2/3 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of regular rolled oats
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped pineapple
2/3 cup plus 2 tbs shredded coconut.
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup of low-fat buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 large ripe bananas, mashed.

Heat oven to 325′ and grease and flour 2 medium loaf pans. In the bowl of an electric mixer- mix together butter, sugar and eggs. Beat well. Whisk together flours, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and oatmeal to butter-sugar-eggs mixture. Add vanilla, bananas and pineapple. Fold in 2/3 cup of coconut and pecans. Spread batter into loaf pans. Top each loaf with 1 tbs. coconut. Bake loaves for 60-75 minutes. Cool for ten minutes in pans, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

(Store in refrigerator; also freezes well.)

31 Days of Writing Free in October

Balancing It All (Review and Giveaway!)