A Joyous Life…

Jul1


"A Joyous Life?" By, Nancy Alexander

Is Joy More Important Than Happiness?…

A dear friend told Steve, my husband, several years ago that JOY was more important in life than happiness.  He was right!  He is right!  You can't find happiness without joy. 

 

James 1:2-6, 12  says… "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."  

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who know him."  

 

God has chosen to anoint us with Grace, Joy, and Happiness these last two years.  Steve and I both carry small silver pocket stones which are soft and smooth from our handling with the word "Joy" inscribed upon them.  These stones remind us each day that we have been given the most amazing gift we might ever hope to receive.

 

We are happy and joy filled every single day.  God is blessing our lives beyond our imaginings with each other and with our wonderful family.  Our boys have chosen Godly, beautiful women as wives, and they have given us grandchildren who definitely know the definition of JOY much more than most could ever hope!

We are blessed with an online business which includes a new coaching club which definitely has God's hand upon it!  This new coaching site, "Best Of Nancy"  is really an answer to prayer.  I have been given the awesome opportunity to help make a difference in the lives of so many women.  Some of these women face health problems such as I did for so many years.  To be able to help them set up businesses and sell online is amazing!

  

I want to thank each of our new members in "Best Of Nancy", and for all of our friends who have been beside us as we travel on this remarkable journey.  We aren't there yet…we truly believe the best is yet to come!  We truly believe God has amazing plans for our lives.  In the meantime, as we travel this road, we are filled with immeasurable JOY!

Blessings Flow From Encouragement

May18

Blessings Flow From Encouragement   By Nancy Alexander

So Grateful to Help You Find What Makes You Come Alive!…

What a responsibility and a blessing it is to be able to teach, help, and encourage so many…  I want to help you find your reason for being — to find what makes you come alive by using all your God-given gifts.  I am passionate about this.  My work, and my business had its core beginnings and base helping others know "They CAN Do It".

I hope you enjoy the video I filmed for you today :)…

We all want success in our lives.  But that success doesn't come without failures, and pain.  It isn't always easy, but it is there waiting for you.  I am here waiting for you.  Yes, you will fall down, but with each fall you get stronger and stronger.  I can honestly say that with every failure, and every fall, I have grown as a woman into the one that God put me on this earth to be.  You will make mistakes.  I have made many mistakes, but these mistakes make us stronger and give us a clearer goal into our life's meaning.

The first think I want you to do is try.  Please don't be afraid of failure.  Without trying, there will be no failure… but at the same time, without trying there will be no success either. I have read that fear paralizes us, and that action gives us courage.  That is SO true.  I was paralized with fear for so many years afraid of how my body would react to everything around me.  "So What?" I've had to tell myself over and over.  "What really will happen if I try?"  Well, I'll fail, but is that a really bad thing?  No, I think not — because I won't always fail.  There will be successes there also that will take me up to heights I never thought I would reach.

I want you to feel alive!  I want you to revel in the JOY that success brings!  I want you to know you don't have to stay where you are if is it a scary place.  I tried stepping out many times, and I failed many times.  But, guess what?  ONE DAY I SUCCEEDED.  That doesn't mean that I never failed again, it just means that I was stronger and took more chances and had more successes than failures.

I am thinking of each of you today.  You are a part of my life.  Your notes and emails bring me joy as I learn that I have, in someway, made a difference to you.

Special Recipes From My Family To Your Family…

May9


"Special Recipes From My Family To Your Family"   By Nancy Alexander

Happy Mother's Day…


May is such a special time of year! It's the month we honor our Mothers! This week, I want to share with you a couple recipes that are special in my family because they are delicious and because they come from two very special women in our lives! Nana's Chocolate Pound Cake

  • 3 sticks butter, softened
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 cups plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 tablespoons cocoa
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Carefully grease and flour a bundt pan. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Once fully mixed, add the eggs one at a time and beat well. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the butter and sugar mixture. Once fully mixed, add the vanilla. Pour into your bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

My family requests these two cakes at almost every family gathering! They are classics!


My Mom's 3 Layer Butter Cake

  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup milk

Grease and line 3 Nine inch pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixer, cream butter and sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add dry ingredients slowly to the butter mixture with the milk. Pour evenly into pans. Bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into center of pans comes out clean. Cool on wire racks. Enjoy!  

Some Words of Encouragement

Apr16


"Some Words of Encouragement"   By Nancy Alexander

A Story of Hope…


Today I'd love to share with you a story from my daughter-in-law, Sara. She is the mother of three of my wonderful grandchildren. Sara is always looking for those teachable moments with the children and one came along the day Wyatt brought his Mommy a flower.
 


While Sara has a love for flowers like I do, she is still new to the world of gardening. It was a couple months ago when she discovered a bag of unplanted bulbs in her garage that had never made it into the ground. Determined to not let them go to waste, Sara and Wyatt (he's 3) worked together to get them in the ground. Several weeks of cold weather that followed left her wondering if those neglected bulbs would survive, but about 2 weeks ago tiny green sprouts begin to peak out of the ground. Everyday, Sara and the kids would check their progress, delighted when little buds began to form. Wyatt was especially excited about the flowers!

One day in his excitement, Wyatt decided to do something really special for his Mommy. He spotted one green shoot standing proudly out of the ground, with yellow bud on top. The flower hadn't opened yet, but that didn't stop Wyatt from snatching it right out of the ground and proudly bringing it to Sara. "This is for you Mommy!"  he said with a sweet smile on his face as he held the stem in his chubby toddler hands.  His older siblings immediately recognized that the flower was not ready to be picked and began lamenting that Wyatt had ruined Mommy's favorite flowers. A conversation on forgiveness and grace quickly happened and all was forgotten. 

Sara was disappointed of course. She too had been waiting with skeptical anticipation to see if those neglected bulbs would actually bloom. But like most days, Sara decided to choose hope and placed the bud in water in a vase of Forsythia stems on her kitchen table. Two mornings later, everyone was delighted to see the bud had opened during the night into a beautiful daffodil.

As the kids looked at the stunning flower, Sara said these powerful words to them, "This flower is just like all the miracles in our lives. We all thought this flower was going to die because it was picked too soon, but God allowed the flower to bloom so we can enjoy it and be reminded of His love for us! You see, we all make messes and mistakes, but God can take our mess and make something beautiful out of it! All we need to do is trust Him!" 

Since that day, the children have delighted in watching the other buds began to open up. So far, no one has picked another daffodil for their Mommy, but I'm sure when they do, Sara will be delighted to receive their gifts of love! 

Whatever challenges you are facing today, I pray that you will be encouraged by Sara's words.

Know that there is no mess that can not be cleaned up by God's loving presence in your life.

He loves you so much and has such wonderful plans for you!

Daylight Savings Time… Do I Really Like it?

Mar10


"Daylight Savings Time…Do I Really Like it?   By Nancy Alexander

Good Morning!  Can it really be morning again?

Surely not!  I really did just go to bed.  The alarm clock went off right in the middle of me adding a better ending to the movie we watched last night.  This time change ALWAYS confuses me.  My body stays on the old time for at least 2 months!  Now, at lunchtime, I'll be thinking… "I know my body isn't really used to eating right now… so… should I eat an hour early or an hour late?  As if it matters!  I get started working, and my hubby has to call me and tell me it is time to eat anyway!  lol

We went to bed at 12:30 last night because we were watching this really good movie…."My Best Friend's Wedding"…knowing full well, since we had already lost an hour yesterday it was going to be REALLY hard to get up this morning, but we couldn't pull ourselves away, and continued to watch it anyway.

So, the next thing I know is that the alarm clock is going off at 5:15 – at the normal time, really – but since this Daylight Savings Time is going to give us more daylight – it is really an hour early.  And, to make things worse, ti was right in the middle of my dream where I am giving the movie a better ending than it ended with last night!  Just my luck!   Nonetheless, I just sent Steve off with a breakfast, fresh coffee, and a lunch for today – leaving only 5 minutes later than he should.

Does the time change mess with your life like it does mine?  🙂  I feel like going back to bed, but I am already dressed, and ready work on videos…yippee…yawn, yawn.