Amy Bayliss

A couple of weeks ago I attended an inspiring workshop at my local Havertys. I’ve lived here for several years and somehow I’ve missed this gem. I was smitten from the moment I walked through the door and was greeted by a weathered farm table and organic textures. But that’s not all. Not only was I impressed with the style and quality but also with the design knowledge of the staff.

Kim and Lavontra lead the workshop I attended. Kim was as sweet as can be, answering question after question and making sure I was comfortable. Lavontra was professional and personable but let me tell you, that girl has some mad design skills. I loved her ideas. And truly, it was hard to listen to all they were teaching because I just could not keep my eyes off of the the displays. The design was so unpredictable. I loved it!

They showed us several settings and different ways rooms could be arranged. What I really liked is the versatility of the pieces. Havertys furniture designers really put some thought into each collection. Lots of multi-functional pieces within each one. I like it when I get “pretty” and “purpose.”

I was really digging the French vintage style. My blog friends would love it. It was like walking into Nester or Melissa’s house. I wanted to take so much home with me. The grand thing about designing the Havertys way is that I can update my space by simply replacing one piece at a time. It all works together and the Havertys Home Fashion Workshop taught me how.

Other great things I discovered (besides the accessories):

•  3 Day Return Policy
• Protection Plan Available
• 1 Year Free Parts and Labor (they come to you!)
• HUGE Clearance Section
• Sales & Promotions Throughout the Year (sign up for email updates on their site)

If you are interested in attending a Home Fashion Workshop you can locate a store near you to reserve your space today!

Upcoming Workshops:

• April 13: Spring Color Trends 2013
• June 5: Finding Your Style (Safari Feature)
• August 10: Master Plan (How to Plan Ahead)
• October 19: Dining, Entertaining, and Holiday Decor
• December 7: Five Minute Makeover

Experience a Havertys Home Fashion Workshop for yourself! Be sure to reserve your space now for the next workshop on April 13th. Visit Havertys.com to learn more.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Havertys. The opinions and text are all mine. And I totally loved this place. That’s mine too.

You know I”m a natural mama. I mean, I make my own cleaners and personal care products for goodness sake. So, when I heard about Seventh Generations new baby wipes I just had to try them. I was impressed. They are thick and textured so they easily remove dirt and grime from Matthias’ face and hands but they are still gentle enough to use on his bottom.

I used to have to use two or three wipes but with these I can use one and get the job done. And they have these cute little sheep on them! I give Matthias one while I am changing him and ask him to count them. That keeps his hands busy while I get him cleaned up.

Here are some of the awesome things about Seventh Generation Baby Wipes:

• You can get them in packs of 64 (only $2.99!), 128, or 256 wipes
• Significant environmental savings
• Unscented
• Hypo-­?allergenic
• Free of fragrances and dyes
• Free of parabens and phthalates
• They keep this little man clean…

Seventh Generation is giving one of my readers one box of these awesome baby wipes.

• Entrants should be age 18 or older and live in the United States.
• To enter share a baby care tip in the blog comments section.
• For additional entry, tweet at @SeventhGen and put a link to the tweet in the blog comments section.
• Contest will end on March 15.
• Seventh Generation will fulfill the prizes (shipping baby wipes directly to the winners) within 4-6 weeks after March 25.
• This post is sponsored by Seventh Generation. All opinions are my own.

Join me today (Thursday, March 7th) on the The Whole Woman show with host Lisa Shaw at 11:00 am EST. If you missed it live you can find the replay here: Amy Bayliss on The Whole Woman Radio Show with Lisa Shaw.

Lisa Shaw Ministries
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I don’t know of a woman alive who has not experienced hearing multiple birth stories from family, friends, and even strangers. For some reason, we feel this strong need to share our story.

I know that I have told my stories many times. I’ve even blogged about them. I have one child with a form of dwarfism. We found out about his condition when I was 4 months pregnant. I could tell you a doozie of a story about his pregnancy, birth, and his first year. Then there was my second. At nearly 5 months pregnant I lost a baby but within 3 weeks I was pregnant again with my second born child. His birth was bliss but the pregnancy and first year were unbelievable. Then there was my third. He was a dream all the way around. We won’t talk about baby boy #4. It took years to get pregnant, was the worst pregnancy of all, and the delivery nearly killed us both, literally. We were hospitalized for almost 10 days after and I was on bed rest for almost three months to recover.

There. You see? I went into a passionate speech about my pregnancies, births, and the first year. And I feel exhilarated. I didn’t even need to go into details. And yes, although some of them were rough and seemed like I would never get over them…I did. We did. And the mere act of recalling these memories makes me so thankful for my children. It makes some of the things we deal with today seem so small. They are here and we are doing life together. That makes it all worth while. And recalling those stories reinforces it all.

Reminds me of another birth story.

Read the rest of this post here: Why do we tell our birth stories?

Not too long ago I wrote a post about the women of God speaking up in this world and taking a stand for what God’s word teaches us. I think of women like Mary, Esther, Rahab, Lydia, and Deborah and I can’t help but ask God for that kind of boldness: that kind of faith.

For me, it helps to have life giving reminders in my home and and on my belongings. There is something about it that brings a peace and calm over me and reminding me that I am not alone and that He is always with me.

With that in mind I’d love to introduce you to our new sponsor, I Am A Woman of God. This company carries t-shirts, hoodies (on sale now), bags, wristbands, and other items. I like that they infuse a positive, biblical message on everything. And, if that weren’t enough, if you follow them on Facebook or Twitter, they will bless your socks off with daily bits of the Word, inspiration, and biblical blesesings.

Here is a bit more about I Am A Woman of God:

The term “I am a Woman of God®” is a concept derived from one of the many passages of the bible, which are pertinent to the virtuous woman. The verse Job 33:4 states, “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” The movement wants women to realize that God abides in them and that they were created with and for a purpose. That the Lord himself has made a mark in their lives. We want women to remember this truth as it will give them the motivation to continue pressing forward in life regardless of the situation they may be facing.

Apparel emblazed with the slogan serve as a reminder for women that God is in their hearts and in their lives. Moreover, if you believe in God and have faith, then it is your duty to serve God unconditionally to your fullest potential and praise his name.

Since I began posting about our journey to a spiritually clean home I have received dozens of emails with questions and concerns. Because of that I want to address a few things before we go deeper into the whole home spiritual cleaning series. First, I think the foundation of this is the bible and our belief in what the word of God says. That being the case I want to make sure we all know how to study the bible and think for ourselves.

I know oftentimes we take someone else’s word for what the bible says. That usually doesn’t teach us anything but someone else’s interpretation, understanding, or conviction. It is our responsibility to study for ourselves (2 Timothy 2:15) and not simply listen to the out loud thinking of someone else.

So my question is do you all think it would be beneficial to start with how to study the bible? If so what parts confuse you or do you think you need help with? Do you have any suggestions?

My heart for women is that you would learn to think for yourselves and know why you believe what you believe. The word of God is what changes us, not the word of man.

BY THE WAY: I’m so sorry about any advertising that is coming through my feed. I think I have it fixed now but if you do see another ad please know I am working to have all of that removed.

You can find me posting today over at The Better Mom: Special Needs- Reacting to Differences

I had a few posts in queue but I haven’t been feeling well lately so I haven’t quite finished those posts. I’ll get to them just as soon as I feel better. I get to have a root canal tomorrow. It seems I’ve thought all this time that I had sinus infections and headaches but it is more likely because I have an abscessed tooth. Barrel of monkeys, right?

In the meantime I wanted to share a few things with you. My online presence has afforded me some amazing opportunities. Just last week my blog was featured on a Pennsylvania news feature. WFMZ-TV contacted me about offering my site as a reference for natural cleaning products. Of course, I said yes. They were a pleasure to work with and they offered some great facts about natural cleaning. You can view the episode and read the article here: WFMZ Natural Cleaning.

Then there is Proverbs 31 Ministries. I was introduced to this ministry a few years ago. I was immediately drawn in by their love for women and their focus on Christ. I asked Lysa TerKeurst to speak at our online conference, A Woman Inspired, and was shocked not only because she said yes but because she called me to chat about it. Lysa TerKeurst called me on the phone to chat!! I was on cloud 9. She was so personable and not at all like some other authors I’d worked with in the past. I attended She Speaks the following year and was able to meet Lysa in person, have breakfast with her, and chat with her about some possible projects for the future.

Here we are 4 or so years later and I am a part of the core team at P31 and this is my second year teaching at She Speaks. This year there will be small groups for platform building, more workshops on blogging (beginner and intermediate), social media, developing and marketing ebooks, and so much more!

I’m so excited to be teaching sessions with Lisa Boyd and Rachel Wojnarowski. And in addition to the Proverbs 31 Ministries ladies, more of my friends will be there teaching too: Jen Schmidt, Sheila Wray Gregoire, Holley Gerth, and Emily Freeman. I hope I get to meet you there. Registration opens February 28th and it sells out fast!

I wrote a book, Pursuit of Proverbs 31, and released it last year about this time. I have sold several thousand copies to date and the feedback has been phenomenal. This has given me the opportunity to pursue a traditionally published book. I’m excited to share this journey with you when the time is right. In the meantime, would you share about the book on your Facebook page, Twitter stream, Pinterest, Google Plus, or blog? I would be so thankful! If you do share it come back here and let me know.

Also, I’d love to have you on my dream team. Check it out.

How about a timeless bible study for the modern Christian woman? Pursuit of Proverbs 31 by @AmyGBayliss http://bit.ly/S1TFxw (Tweet This)

Have you ever wanted to tear the 31st chapter of Proverbs out of your bible? Pursuit of Proverbs 31 by @AmyGBayliss http://bit.ly/S1TFxw (Tweet This)

Finally, the ministry started years ago by Amy Stults and myself will be continuing. After Amy and I decided to divide our endeavors and I took on AWI, my family and I went through some pretty hard things. My boys’ dad died, we moved to a new town, and finding others to help fulfill the vision of A Woman Inspired was daunting. I knew when AWI returned I would be sharing the story of my boys’ dad so I had to make sure it was in God’s timing. And just like Him, when He told me I was ready and to pursue it, within 24 hours he had brought together a team of people that He chose. Not me, Him. I would love for you to meet these amazing women of God who will help me to carry on the ministry of A Woman Inspired. While you are there register for the Extreme Faith conference. It’s free! We’ll be bringing you more conferences throughout the year but this is our main event!

So what have you been up to? Do you have root canals as much as I do?

My sweet friend Amy Stults is partnering with another blogger, Carlie, to bring you 14 Days of Fulfilling Your Vows leading up to Valentine’s Day and the launch of a new site! Many bloggers are participating in this initial 14 days and I must say they have published some really good posts on marriage. Go check them out and enter the contest while you are there!

Ryan and I have been married 5 years already and yet it seems like only yesterday that we dedicated our lives to each other. I call Ryan my eternal husband. That usually gets me some inquisitive looks. I don’t mean for it to but honestly, saying that he is my second husband and the stepfather of my older three children seems so dishonoring to me. When you consider that he chose us, sacrifices for us, and determines everyday to be all he can be for us then giving him that worldly label is so wrong.

Ryan loves us the way God defines it:

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵ does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶ does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never fails;

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

That verse is full of action items: decisions.

Too often we think we need to feel a certain way in order to do it and then God will honor it but quite the opposite is true. God made us in 3 parts: spirit, soul, and body. When we first go to God in prayer, with a pure heart, for breakthroughs in our marriage, then we act in faith and in love, then we notice something amazing. The feelings follow. We don’t have to feel something to do it, we must do it to feel it.

I hate hearing people say that they fell out of love. No, you just quit trying. “Falling in love” is a feeling that comes from you going into a relationship with pure motives and then acting on them. The feelings follow. Once we are into a marriage we get lazy and want to feel that euphoric love without working to receive it. That isn’t how it works.

Ryan and I are both stubborn, bull headed people. That means we don’t quit. Even on days when it’s hard we still try. We still keep giving to each other. What we have is eternal. He is not just my life partner. He is my eternal husband. The bible tells us we can’t take anything with us but faith, hope, and love. Did you notice that feelings didn’t make the list?

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Speaking of feelings following action, my good friend, Sheila Wray Gregoire wrote a book entitled 31 Days to Great Sex. Here’s what you get:

• The first few days are devoted to seeing sex in a positive way, and talking through your baggage and insecurities.
• Then we spend a few days on building emotional intimacy (your friendship),
• a few days on building physical intimacy (the fireworks, making sex feel wonderful!),
• a few days on spiritual intimacy (the oneness), and
• a few days putting habits in place so that you can keep the momentum going once you’re done.

This post is part of 14 Days of Fulfilling Your Vows. Click on over to read more marriage-related posts AND enter to win a big ol’ pile of fantastic marriage-focused books!

The following is a guest post from my friend, Robert Smith, author of 20,000 Days and Counting.

Do you ever feel tired, exhausted, depleted, drained—you know, one of those states where you absolutely do not feel motivated to do anything?

Most likely, if you’re the person behind the wheel of your household who is juggling kids, a spouse, work, planning, finances, etc…then the answer is absolutely a “YES.”

If you have multiple plates spinning, the reality is that those plates are probably not going to come to rest any time soon. In fact, when you get good at keeping them spinning, the overwhelming (but exciting) reality is that they don’t slow down—they create even more plates for you to spin!

If you think you’re busy now, how are you going to find the motivation to keep up the activity once those new plates start popping up? (And trust me—they’re coming.)

The answer is: You won’t. Sorry. If you’re going to start looking for motivation in order to stay on top of all you have going on, you simply will not find it. It does not exist.

Motivation, in terms of how we think about it, IS a myth.  (click to tweet)

Here’s the truth—real motivation is the feeling that comes after action. Sure, you might feel motivated to start something, but unless you keep the action up, that initial “motivation” quickly dies.

We’ve been trained to think that productivity follows motivation, when motivation ACTUALLY follows productivity.

Think about it. When do you feel fired up and excited to do more? Before you do what you’re supposed to do…or after you do what you’re supposed to do? Before you start something you need to do there’s usually a bit of hesitancy, feelings of overwhelm, or nervousness.

We tell ourselves negative things like, Are people going to like this? Can I actually pull this off? What if it doesn’t work?

Once we get started though, the activity inspires us. Think about the last big, successful project you took on, whether it was launch a business from your home or finally planning a budget for your family. It probably started slow, but once things began to fall into place, it got exciting. You started seeing the benefits. You did a happy dance.  And then you started doing more!

William James, one of the founders of modern psychology, has a quote that I come back to again and again every time I think about this:

“I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.”
You don’t get things done because you are motivated; you are motivated because you get things done.

How to Start with No Motivation

OK, you’re probably thinking, so if motivation comes after I start, what’s the best way to get myself started in the first place?

I’ve noticed that we as human beings have an amazing ability to overestimate what we can do in the next year…while totally underestimating what we can do in the next 15 minutes!

To get started on anything big, all you need to do is, first of all, STOP thinking about the size of the project. Don’t think about the big end result. Don’t let negative thoughts creep inside your mind. With the project in mind, all you have to do is ask yourself two questions:

• What’s important now?
• What’s next?

The first question will tell you what you need to act on in the next 15 minutes, and the second question will tell you what comes after that. Start by focusing on the smallest thing you can think of that is necessary to make progress. It might be actually scheduling the time for you to work on the project. It might be clearing off a messy desk so you have a suitable workspace. It might be coming up with a title.

Once you know what you need to do, begin moving forward with massive action. Don’t worry about doing it wrong. Don’t worry about being unsure. Just move. A lot. Now move some more.

The real motivation is right around the corner. All you have to do is meet it halfway. I know you can do this. I know you will.

What do you do to find motivation? How do you get yourself to start a big project? (click to tweet)

Robert D. Smith is the author of 20,000 Days and Counting, a crash course in living every day with maximum purpose and intensity. He also writes about personal growth, entrepreneurship, and more at TheRobertD.com.

Robert is offering a giveaway of the book. FIVE readers will receive a copy. (click to tweet)

I have already had the privilege of reading the book (it’s a quick read!) and I highly recommend it. My husband and I both enjoyed it and gleaned from Robert’s wisdom.

To enter the giveaway just leave a comment. You have until Monday morning at noon CST. The winners will be contacted then.