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Song: Faithful Father

January 2018 issue

Written and produced by Amy Smith

 
 
Tis the season for baking! This banana bread recipe is one that my (Amy's) family has made for generations. It's so yummy and doesn't dry out! ⠀ ⠀ What's your favorite Christmas recipe?
It's Friday! Natalya said hi last week and now it's my turn. Hi 🖐️ I'm Amy, founder of Strength & Song. A few fun facts: ⠀ ⠀ *Jesus Christ truly is my reason. For everything. I mess up a whole lot, but there is nothing in this world I want more than more of Him. Sometimes that statement gets challenged, but His truth never changes and there is absolutely nothing other than Him that can fully satisfy a human being.⠀ ⠀ *My husband and I met online (GASP) when we were 16 (bigger GASP). No, it wasn't a dating site! We talked on a forum for years and became really good friends, but then he went and moved to Ecuador with his family and I was up in frigid New Hampshire... Long story short he moved to me and we got married about a year later.⠀ ⠀ *We have two boys, a 2.5-year-old and a 1-year-old. They keep me on my toes!⠀ ⠀ *I put on "real clothes" every day (with a few exceptions, of course). It helps me take life seriously and I'm much more productive. ⠀ ⠀ *The one thing I wish I could do more of is read. I have a huge stack of books waiting for me... but every time I try to get back to one, I either get interrupted or I fall asleep. 🤷 Someday!⠀ ⠀ *I have a love-hate relationship with travel. I've been blessed to visit many places, but I can't stand the process of getting there! Long car rides, flights, trains, whatever -- not a huge fan. ⠀ ⠀ *This is a rare photo of me for a couple reasons: one, it's a photo of me! and two, my hair is down. Most days I bun it and embrace the insanity - at least it's out of my face!⠀ ⠀ Enough about me. Any of these things sound like you too? I'd love to know!
|| Friday Magnify || ⠀ ⠀ “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Psalm 34:3 ⠀ ⠀ This season is so sweet. The lights and decorations aren't necessary to celebrate our Lord's birth, but they do add a lovely warmth and pause. ⠀ ⠀ This little scene is one of my favorites this year; it slows me down whenever I turn the corner or walk through the doorway. Cozy, peaceful, simple. ⠀ ⠀ I imagine it was pretty cozy when Jesus was born. A different kind of cozy, nestled in hay with tight quarters and animals. But -- after labor and delivery -- I have to wonder if it wasn't the most peaceful scene too. Even with baby cries and rustling hay, was there an inexplicable peace that filled the room? This Savior, born... take it all in.⠀ ⠀ And simple. Joseph and Mary had no idea what they were getting into. They had no idea what was ahead, what their lives would look like raising the Son of God. Yet they believed in Him. They simply believed.⠀ ⠀ Magnify the Lord today, mama friends. Seek Him in the cozy, the peaceful, and the simple.⠀ ⠀ - Amy
"At first I thought You’d be like any other child, but special, maybe? since I’d never known a man and didn’t see how I could be pregnant. But he told me You were from the Holy Spirit, and therefore You would be holy. It took me a minute to catch up with what he’d said after that. Holy. The babe inside me, holy? How could this be? It humbles me. How do I nurture a holy child? Discipline a holy child?" Read the rest link in profile
"At first I thought You’d be like any other child, but special, maybe? since I’d never known a man and didn’t see how I could be pregnant. But he told me You were from the Holy Spirit, and therefore You would be holy.⠀ ⠀ It took me a minute to catch up with what he’d said after that. Holy. The babe inside me, holy? How could this be? It humbles me.⠀ ⠀ How do I nurture a holy child? Discipline a holy child?"⠀ (read the rest link in profile)
Tis the season for baking! This banana bread recipe is one that my (Amy's) family has made for generations. It's so yummy and doesn't dry out! ⠀ ⠀ What's your favorite Christmas recipe?
"No more let sins and sorrows grow,⠀ Nor thorns infest the ground;⠀ He comes to make His blessings flow⠀ Far as the curse is found,⠀ Far as the curse is found,⠀ Far as, far as, the curse is found.⠀ ⠀ He rules the world with truth and grace,⠀ And makes the nations prove⠀ The glories of His righteousness,⠀ And wonders of His love,⠀ And wonders of His love,⠀ And wonders, wonders, of His love."⠀ Isaac Watts⠀ ⠀ I love treasured old Christmas carols that have stood the test of time! The lyrics are so relevant to the world we live in today. What classic carol do you hold near and dear this holiday season?
Lord, I’m overwhelmed. It’s this season every year, and even though I came into it prepared...maybe I’m not as prepared as I thought. ⠀ I still feel like I’m juggling a thousand things. And not well, either.⠀ I still feel like I’m losing brain cells and dropping balls left and right.⠀ The basics are taken care of -- we’re fed, clothed, warm. Our days are still going forward and things are getting done. I am grateful.⠀ It’s the things I know I should remember, though, that nag me. I have a planner full of to-dos and errands and all the things. I am trying to schedule free time -- yes, schedule it -- so that I maintain sanity and remember priorities. I don’t want to be a workaholic, Lord; I don’t want that for myself and I don’t want that as a model for my boys. ⠀ But as the busyness increases, I need Your guidance. I need You to remind me daily which tasks have priority. I need You to remind me in the hours and minutes that this life is for You. What I do is for You. Who I am is for You. ⠀ Take these days, Lord. Shape them how You want them to look.⠀ Take our family, too, and mold us. Father, by all means -- let us not lose sight of You this season. Increase our awareness of You; increase it and increase it some more. ⠀ I need You; thank You for who You are.⠀ Amen
Last December, I was very pregnant with my second son. There's something precious about carrying a child while celebrating the story of the Christ child, curled up in the womb of Mary. . Reading the account of the pregnancy announcement, her response, her song of joy, her journey to Bethlehem, and her labor in a stable all while feeling my baby kick and shift inside of me brought it all to life. . "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." Isaiah 9:2 Jesus. The Light of the world. Merry Christmas! Strength and Song magazine 2019 is in the works! Pray for us as we seek to bless and encourage you all with this publication.
Natalya here for a quick meet and greet! It's easy to forget that many of you dont know who the faces are behind Strength and Song. I'm the administrative assistant for the magazine and I am so thrilled to be part of this incredible team. ⠀ ⠀ • I am 24 and have 2 boys age 2 and 11 months. One was born at home, in a birthing pool (all 10lbs of him), the other was a hospital birth with a much-needed epidural. Both births were miracles I will treasure forever!⠀ • I have been married for almost 4 years to my wonderful fuzzy mountain man who is 8 years older than me - the first guy I fell in love with and shared all my other firsts with (by God's grace!)♡⠀ • The last book I read was Gay Girl, Good God by @Jackiehillperry - it's an amazing book. I read it in one day. I just couldn't put it down. ⠀ • I go to MOPS (@mops_international ). It's my first year, I was super reluctant to join and am still finding my place there but overall it's been a great experience!⠀ • My passion is missions and God has taken me to India, Mozambique, and Romania, and hopefully we will end up longterm overseas here soon!⠀ • Favorite verse is Job 19:25-27 (it's on our stories, check it out!) That passage never fails to recenter my focus on what really matters - eternity. ⠀ • I am a homebody and an introvert. You can find me in my pjs with a messy bun and fuzzy socks all winter long.⠀ ⠀ That's about it, tell us something about yourself! Is there anything we share in common? I'd love to hear it.