Hope for Women Magazine Winner

Happy Tuesday, ya'll!

I'm just popping in here real quick to announce the winner of the 1-year subscription to Hope for Women magazine gifted by the fabulous Victoria.

And the winner is...

MANDY!!!

Congrats, lady! Email me your address (raeburk01 at yahoo dot com) and I'll get it to Victoria. I'm so excited for you!!! (Can you tell? I mean, I did go a little exclamation mark crazy!!!)

The Turtle on the Fence

                        When Ralene and I named our blog, Encourage. Empower. Extend, we wanted it to be an extension of the truths we held importantly in our own lives.  As women of faith, we are called to put our faith into action daily.  Faith without works is dead, and we can’t become the women God calls us to be.  For the past two weeks, we have discussed what it means to encourage and empower, and today, we will look at what it means to extend.  

At first when I thought of the word extend, I chuckled to myself as I recalled attending some Yoga and Pilates classes where I had to stretch my body into some funky positions. Trust me; it was not a pretty sight!  I was definitely stretching myself past my normal capabilities.  It’s good to challenge ourselves every once in awhile and extend our minds, bodies and spirits into new places that God requires us to go.  It’s part of the process of maturity and God loves opportunities to also extend His grace and power to us so that we can do things we never dreamed of before. 

Another way we can extend ourselves is helping others.  I’ve always loved the verse from Deuteronomy 5:15,  “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”  The word outstretch is another word for extend.  The Greek word for extend is  Didomi,  which means to give something of one's own accord,  to give for advantage, to bestow a gift, supply, furnish, stretch, expand, deliver, to reach out, or enlarge.  It makes me smile when I think of God reaching down from the Heaven with an extended arm to help me.

             So how can we extend ourselves to others in a world that desperately needs it?  We live in times where women everywhere need help.  The world demands a lot from us today.  We are expected to hold down full time jobs while being a loving, caring, perfect wife and mother, who is also the ideal example of health and beauty too.  Oh, and don’t forget to put a smile on your face as well!  Just typing those demands makes me tired and my mind spin, never mind doing it!  However, if it wasn’t for the awesome women that God placed into my life that extended themselves to me in the ways of friendship, time, love, encouragement, knowledge, grace, hope and vision, I may not be the woman I am today. 

             Alex Haley, the author of Roots, keeps a picture of a turtle sitting on top of a fence in his office.  He was reminded daily that the turtle didn’t get up there on his own, but rather someone helped him.  We too need to keep this truth before us that helping others is one of the noblest occupations we could ever do as a human being.  In the end, it is not about us but rather about extending ourselves to others who need it. 

            This is the same vision we have for Encourage. Empower. Extend.  We want to be an extension of God’s love and help to those women around us daily.  We all have something to give that God desires us to use.  In what ways are you like that turtle on the fence?  How can you begin to extend yourself today?  Be encouraged with Proverbs 31:29 that says, "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."  Now go put some turtles on the fence! 

A Winner!

Good morning all! Okay, in most of the rest of the world, the morning has passed, bu there in Hawaii, it's only 8:45. Not that I'm bragging or anything.

On to the good stuff!




The prize we're drawing for today is the book by Stephanie Morrill. We had a very complicated system of choosing the winner. There were 16 comments (though some were by myself, Kimchi, and Stephanie). I asked my 3-year-old daughter to pick a number 1-16. She so brilliantly said...1!

Congratulations, pinkcombatboots!

Send me an email at raeburk01 at yahoo dot com with your address and I'll get the info to Stephanie.

Have a fab weekend!

It Happened at Walmart

It is my pleasure to introduce a new friend of mine. She is a wonderful inspiration and I know you all will just love her to pieces! Please welcome Victoria to EEE!

Victoria is a slave to Christ and a dork for the '80s. Whether homeschooling, housewifing, or hiding from the laundry heap, she’s grateful to be a continual work of progress in God’s hands. You can find her at her new site where she writes about Biblical Friendship each Friday. http://biblicalfriendship.com


I’ve never quite been able to reconcile the “me” inside with the version other people see. Sometimes shy, others outgoing, there’s just no telling what impression I might leave. When asked point blank, I finally put a name to the dichotomy—I am a closet extrovert.

Oh, I’d love to take you by the hand as we chat and laugh the time away, I’m just too chicken to chance looking like a fool and giving away too much of myself in the process. God is wooing me out of my closet and into the life He’s called me to live—one I’m perfectly content to look a bit foolish living if it makes Him a tiny bit more famous.

Having only just discovered the Lord’s movement to break down the barrier I’d been hiding behind, I wasn’t expecting the prompting He placed on my heart. I certainly wasn’t looking for something so profound, but there it was, and it happened at Walmart!

In fairness, I practically live at Walmart, so where else was it going to happen?

The place was swamped. I made my way toward the checkout lanes with a sigh as I equipped myself to take it all in stride. There ahead, a woman wrapped up her payment and I dashed toward the empty conveyor belt. Stopping to snag my sweetie an orange Fanta from the cooler, I thanked God for giving me some small way to tell my husband he is loved.

Once the cashier had finished with the customer ahead of me, she greeted me that same small greeting you’re sure everyone is trained to deliver though so few actually do. I extended the same courtesy she had shown me, and replied. She looked me square in the eye and thanked me for talking to her.

The way she said it said so much.

Then it happened.

That look-like-a-weirdo moment I’d always wished for and away all at one time—God told me to ask if I could pray for her. Right then. Right there. Ask her, this total stranger just trying to do her job, if I could pray for her.

The weirdest part? I didn’t even hesitate! I can’t say enough how not like me this was.

Please know that it is God alone that made me woman enough to “man up” to the task!

Naturally, the cashier was surprised by my question, but she didn’t skip a beat in answering. After simply saying, “Yes,” she paused for a moment as we stood looking at one another.

We both knew there was more to follow, though I don’t think either of us expected what she’d say next.

“Yes. My daughter just died two years ago; you can pray for me.”

There just aren’t words to fit the emotion in her eyes. All I could do was take her by both hands, look straight into her sweet face and let her know beyond all doubt that I would be praying for her.

On my way home, the Lord gave me such a vivid illustration to go along with the lesson He had began teaching me in that checkout lane. As one car after another slowed down in effort to look out for a gnarly, mangy old stray dog weaving his way in and out of traffic, I couldn’t help but wonder why we never slow down that way for the woman at the post office, the guy ahead of us in line at the bookstore, or even the cashier at Walmart.

Who knows how many stray people we zip past in our daily lives?

God does, that’s exactly why He prompts us to do the seemingly strangest things!

It’s a beautiful burden our Heavenly Father has placed on us, to care for one another!


A big thank you to Victoria for spending some time with us. To add to her fabulous-ness, she is giving away a year subscription to Hope for Women magazine. Check it out! Leave a comment below, and on Tuesday we will randomly draw a name.

Salty Conversation

For our first official guest post, I am honored to introduce a dear friend of mine. Along with our love for writing, we also have sons born only a month apart who have the same name. Small world, huh? Please join me in welcoming YA author, Stephanie Morrill.

Stephanie Morrill is a twenty-something living in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband and two kids. Her only talents are reading, writing, and drinking coffee, so career options were somewhat limited. Fortunately, she discovered a passion for young adult novels a few years ago and has been writing them ever since. Stephanie is the author of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series and is currently working on other young adult projects. To check out her blog and read samples of her books, check out www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com and www.GoTeenWriters.com.


I’m a huge fan of salt.

I’m even kinda picky about my salt. I use Diamond Crystal’s Kosher salt and even drive to a specialty spice store here in Kansas City to purchase it. I use it for everything. Baking, cooking. You know, your basic salt needs. I’m fascinated by how many recipes call for salt. Ever made chocolate chip cookies and left out the salt? They don’t taste quite as good. They lack dimension. Same with blueberry muffins. I made that mistake a few weeks ago, and the muffins just tasted flat to me.

This has left me sensitive to every mention of salt in the Bible, and during my reading time on Monday, I came across this beautiful passage:

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:5-6

As I mulled this over, my eyes kept catching on Paul’s use of “seasoned with salt.”
My mother is a fabulous cook, but I can remember two meals that were utter failures. The time she fixed shark (no comment) and then the time she made what we refer to as “the salty soup.” I don’t know what exactly happened there, but I remember taking a bite and the salt overwhelmed my mouth. It was the only bite I took, and then we all ate peanut butter and jelly for dinner.

But to season is to heighten and perfect the flavor. And it’s different for each taste bud, which I suppose is where Paul’s “so you may know how to answer everyone” thing comes into play. Because everyone is at a different place in life, has a different family history, different religious background. That must be taken into account. As Paul says, “we must be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.”

I love this verse. As a woman who’s jammed her foot into her mouth aplenty, I aspire to become known for graceful, well-seasoned conversation.


Wow! Something to think about. Thank you, Steph! Now, we want to hear your thoughts. Steph is giving away one of her books, so leave a comment below and we'll draw a random name on Saturday.

Power to Empower

I love the word EMPOWER. I hear it, speak it, and I can feel my body preparing to stand, to move—it’s action. That’s what empowering is—giving someone the power to move from their present being/circumstance to another (hopefully better).

The dictionary definition of “empower” is to give power or authority to, or to enable/permit. To give power or authority over… To enable or permit… An act of giving to someone else. Like a parent empowering their teenager by handing over those precious car keys. Like a principal empowering a student with the gift of a well-earned diploma. Like a woman empowering another woman with a few words of encouragement and advice.

What do these three things have in common?

They all open up possibilities to the other person. We all know the saying that knowledge is power, but that’s not exactly true—it leaves out the middle man. Knowledge creates possibilities. It’s what you do with those possibilities that’s gateway to power over your own life.

About a year ago, my hubby and I decided to homeschool our kids. Neither of us were homeschooled, and quite honestly we hadn’t really been exposed to it within the circles of our friends. But we made that decision and I took a timid step forward. What next? Where did I go from here? So many choices, so much red tape. Lucky for me, several women had started blogs for homeschooling moms. I merely had to traipse through their archives to find a wealth of knowledge and guidance. These wonderful women helped empower me. They gave me the knowledge to see what our family homeschool could be like—the possibilities. They educated me to make the right choices for our family. I now have confidence in my decisions and look forward to spending time with my children every day.

Kimchi mentioned in her post last Monday that encouragement can reciprocate—by giving encouragement, you encourage yourself whether you mean to or not. The same with empowering. When you give another person the power to rise from their situation, you gain that same sense of confidence. Those homeschooling women had to do their own research in order to learn enough to post about their homeschools, which gave them their own power.

Now, please do not misunderstand me. Power can have such a negative connotation in today’s society. One of our goals is to break the shackles that society has placed on us. Power in our lives simply means that we make our own educated choices based on our own priorities/beliefs because we know who we are.

I know that I am a daughter of the mighty King. I know that Christ died so that I might live apart from this world. I am strong in my faith. I am a military wife, a mother to three, and a friend to all. But even I forget. Even I fall apart. I’m happy one minute, and sad the next. I am sure of myself but then I crumble under the weight of fear. I know I am loved, but sometime I feel so alone. Sometimes I need those extra words of encouragement, sometimes I need someone to remind me that I have the power to rise from my circumstance. Sometimes I don’t have that power because I lack the knowledge, and so am in need of someone to empower me.

It’s so nice that I know I have my husband, family, friends like Kimchi that I can turn to if I am less than I want to be. More importantly, I have a Savior to turn to. I know that I will be okay, no matter what happens.

What are your thoughts on empowering yourself and others?

Up this week, we have two guest posts from some awesome women who are also hosting equally awesome giveaways! Join us!