Kristin McLendon

Kristin McLendon: February 2012

Friday, February 24, 2012

7. {a giveaway}


**As of 2/29 Giveaway is still OPEN (due to this being a super crazy week....my baby is turning ONE...all that to say, there is still time to enter....go for it!  Info on the bottom!**

Seven.  It's such a fun number isn't it?  I'm a fan!  So take the number seven.....then add the words, "an experimental mutiny against excess."  Yikes!  Part of me wants to run the other direction, the other part of me needs this so desperately.

Let me introduce you to my new friend.  Jen Hatmaker.  I was at the beach celebrating a friends wedding by staying at a beach house with another couple.  We had a great weekend and my friend Katie introduced me to Jen Hatmaker.  I borrowed Katie's copy of "Out of the Spin Cycle" to read in the swing out back our beach house and it spoke so deeply to my new mama heart that I ordered it as fast as I could upon returning home.   I also started following Jen on twitter and immediately became a big fan.

A little while later Jen twittered asking if any of her twitter friends would like to read a copy of her new book, "Seven, an experimental mutiny against excess."  Thankfully my sane side responded with yes, please!

I can not even begin to tell you how good this book is.  Maybe it's the season of life I am in.  Maybe it's I'm tired of the just "too much."  Maybe it's the fact that this is the message that we all need to hear.  I'm going to go with option E and say it's for me and for you.  May our hearts be open to receive this word from Him.

7.  What is this 7 all about.  It is about 7 things.  Things such as....Food. Clothes.  Spending.  Media.  Possessions.  Waste.  Stress.  It's about taking a different thing each month, evaluating it, and letting the Lord stir in your heart what He wants to say to you regarding each area.

I read this book front to cover, but it is definitely a book I now want to go back and actually do.  As in read a chapter a month and actually do it.

So how do we remove the excess in our lives?  We take food for example and we eat 7 foods for one month.  That's right 7.  And only 7.  Do you know how many different kinds of foods we eat each day.  I just put dinner in the oven and the recipe says "mix first 6 ingredients together"  and that was just the beginning! There were 3 more ingredients to go.  If I were doing 7 right now, dinner alone would fail me.

And Food is just the beginning.  Clothes.  Wear 7 clothes for a month.  Spending.  Only spend money at 7 different locations for the month.  So on and so forth until we've let the Lord Jesus work his way through these areas in our life.

7 is good.  7 is for me.  7 is for you.  I highly recommend it.

In the words of Jen in regards to fasting, "It's the means to the harvest.  Jesus, may there be less of me and my junk, and more of you and your kingdom.  Here we go."

You ready to jump in?  Jen and her people have graciously given me a copy of this amazing book to give away.

Want to win?  It's easy!  Just leave a comment telling me which area you especially want Jesus to come and do a work in.  For me, it's the spending.  We have a pretty tight reign on our finances and walk the Dave Ramsey way, but I know there is more we could do.  I want to invite the Lord to come and do His thing and have complete and absolute control of our finances.  And waste....yes, I'd love to become "greener" and plant a garden...that's a dream of mine.  Okay...it might be harder than I thought to tell me just one, but go ahead and try!

Want more ways to win?
Mention this giveaway on twitter mentioning Jen Hatmaker (@JenHatmaker) and myself (@kamclendon)
Follow this blog through google friend connect
Mention this giveaway on facebook 

(if you do any of the things above, be sure to come back and leave a separate comment
telling me what you did!)

This giveaway is open for the weekend....
and I'll pick the winner on Monday!

Ready, set, let's go and let Jesus come and do what He wants to do!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Jude Robert, You are Eleven Months Old

You are one month
away from turning ONE!
You are every bit of precious
and I love every ounce
of your 11 month old being!
This month you added the word...
DADA
to your vocabulary!
We are so proud of you
and love that you now say
Mama and Dada
(amongst lots of other jabberings!)
You are crawling full speed ahead....
you are so fast and
into everything!
You pull up on everything
and "walk" around the living
room holding onto the furniture!
You gained about a pound this month 
rounding at at about 19 pounds....
and you've grown an inch and a half...
putting you at 30 inches tall!
It's time to install that big boy car seat!!!!
You're our little eater...
eating everything and anything
that we give you.
There isn't anything you don't like.
Your a tall, skinny little man.
For anything that has legs...
you're wearing 12 month clothing.
You can still fit in some 9 month shirts,
but we've mainly moved onto the 12 month category.
Our washing machine broke over
the course of this month, so you were in
disposable diapers more than we would have liked!
While you were in the disposables,
you were in a size 3.
Still trying to figure out the night time
sleeping/diaper arrangement.
Think we're just going to have to give in
to disposables at night (boo!)
You held onto 5 teeth during your 11th month...
tooth number 6 looks to be making an appearance soon!
You completely dropped your morning nap
during your 11th month.
It's been quite interesting getting on a new schedule...
but we are persevering!
We had a very healthy 11th month!
Whoohoo!
It was much needed!
During this month you nursed 2-3 times a day
and we supplemented the rest with a bottle
(some breast milk, some formula).
You eat a huge breakfast and a huge dinner.
Lunch can be tricky bc you
can become toast before we can get you home
(since you've dropped that morning nap!)
but we do our best to get it in you!
And of course there are lots of snacks throughout the day!
You are full of energy....
full of life...
and so much fun!
You still love your Murphy....
and you sleep with 3 lovies and 1 elmo.
You have to have them all 
and it is precious to
see you love your little people.
And these cheeks.
I could just eat them up.
Thank you for a beautiful 11 months.
It's been a beautiful ride and I'm 
excited for all that the Lord has
for this little McLendon family...
party of three!