got grace? REAL WOMEN ~ REAL LIVES ~ TRUE GRACE

Kandy Noles Stevens February 2013

FEB RUARY 2013

February’s theme is love. How original, right?

Included in this newsletter are two – yes 2 –

challenges. We would love to hear back from you

if you chose to tackle one of the challenges. In

each newsletter, we will have some ideas for

activities for families and some family favorite

recipes. But in keeping with the mission of “got

grace?”, we will explore topics that touch deep

places and make us think about our lives.

A few years back, I read an article where a busy

mom’s heart was convicted after listening to her

pastor’s sermon on loving your neighbors. She

realized that after living in her neighborhood for

many years, she didn’t know her neighbors. But

how was she going to get to know all of them?

How could she include her young children? One

day, she stumbled across her answer. She

LOVED to cook. She asked for the kiddos help in

making and delivering invitations to soup night

at their house. Surprised and intrigued, many

took the young family up on the offer. The meal

was simple: soup and homemade bread and

water. What transpired that night was a changed

neighborhood. Friendships blossomed. People

lingered that night, which led to conversations

later by mailboxes and fences. And soup night, it

continued as a monthly event. Do you stop to

really love your neighbors? If not, tackle

Challenge #1. I’ve got the soup pot ready!

Kandy

Challenge #1: Matthew 22:39 – Love your neighbor as yourself.

A short list of some other ideas!

Send a letter of encouragement

Bake some cookies

Buy postage stamps for an

elderly neighbor

Pray for them as a family

Spend an evening playing games

Volunteer to help at their house

Watch their kids for a few hours

Walk the dog

A note Kandy recently received.

~ REAL LIVES ~

Recently one of my kiddos has been hurting because of the

actions of other children. When I finally learned how bad it

was, I cradled my sweet girl in my arms, and we cried for a

long time.

After she went to bed, I cried more. I couldn’t sleep so I

sat wrapped in a 60 year old quilt in my favorite rocker. I

rocked and cried. In my humanness, I wanted to knock

some sense into the perpetrators of meanness. It is okay to

disagree, but as my favorite football coach says, “It is not

okay to blow someone else’s candle out to make yours burn

brighter.” I wanted to let them know that adults were on to

them and that their little reign of terror was over.

As the night wore on, sleep did not come. Most of the time, I

prayed. I prayed for guidance. I prayed for support. I

prayed for wisdom. At some point, I was overcome with one

word – LOVE. I knew what God was suggesting. I could

not believe that right when I was so heartbroken, He was

calling me to love my child’s tormentors. But I did it anyway.

I prayed for God to help me love them.

Those prayers did not change my call to be my girl’s

advocate and protector, but it did soften my heart to realize

that in order to stoop so low that there were hurts

somewhere. Those prayers did not take away an

overwhelming sense of guilt of failing my child. I should

have seen the little signs that she was hurting. I didn’t,

which caused me to cry for days.

The truth came out and as it does with broken hearts, they

take time to heal. Since then, my thoughts have then shifted

to how I can love – out loud – those who come in my

children’s paths. I have decided to start my own unique

campaign of writing, sincere notes of encouragement to

those kids who are in my kiddo’s lives. I know it isn’t a lot,

but perhaps if each person took the time to invest in a few

those acts will multiply. And maybe, just maybe, that small

token of love will start to make some hurts go away –

including our own.

February’s Family Recipe

Kandy Noles Stevens February 2013

FEB RUARY 2013

Challenge #2: Is there a child or teen you can encourage today?

Groundhog cupcakes (or pudding cups like

the picture above) have been a Team Stevens

tradition for years. In fact, it is how we met

new neighbors years ago by dropping a batch

at their house. We simply use a store mix for

cupcakes and chocolate frosting covered with

crushed cookies. Insert a vanilla wafer or

Nutter Butter cookie that you decorate to look

like old Punxsutawney Phil. The best part is

even if he sees his shadow, he’s still tasty!

Photo courtesy of little paper house

got grace?

REAL WOMEN ~ REAL LIVES

TRUE GRACE

A new venture begins. . .

Almost a year ago, a friend asked me where I

saw my story (well actually God’s story) going.

She spoke boldly that she felt God wanted me to

know that He had different plans than where I was

at that time. I am a creature of habit; so, her

revelation scared me. She asked me to pray and

she would as well. We did for almost a year. It

didn’t take long to see that she was really speaking

God’s truth, but it scared me even more. Start a

ministry? Are you kidding, God?

More prayer happened, but so did more

encouragement from unsolicited sources –

churches, people in the publishing world,

strangers, and friends. The message was always

the same: women, lots of them, need to hear of

God’s presence in the storm.

More prayer and more meetings followed. After

really seeking God’s heart in this plan, we have

come to the conclusion that this IS really what

God has asked us to do. In all our meetings, we

kept coming back to the fact that we are small

town girls who simply want to share God’s love.

We don’t want glitz or glamour, but rather a

ministry where you can come as you are to be

blessed. Our tag line came from our desire to

openly share who we are – bumps, fears, failures,

shortcomings – knowing that God’s grace is bigger

than all of that.

Each month’s newsletter will feature a theme.

We have plans for coming months, but we

would love to hear from you themes that you

would like to explore. We are also looking for

guest writers, best recipes, and family fun

activities. Let us know what you think!

~Kandy & Brenda

5 minute faith activity for families

Pressed for time, but want to be

purposeful with your family’s faith.

Ever wonder what to do with all

those Christmas newsletters and

cards? Why not pick one a night as

a family? Talk about the giver of the

card or letter. Tell your kids how

you know them and share a story or

two about them. At the end, say a

small prayer for that family/friend.

Kandy Noles Stevens February 2013

FEB RUARY 2013

REAL WOMEN ~ REAL LIVES ~ TRUE (Southern) GRACE

HOW TO REACH US!

Follow Kandy’s blog at www.kandynolesstevens.com

You can follow her at Twitter @lakermom75

Or e-mail her: mominmn@hotmail.com

WWW.WEBADDRESS.COM

Nannie’s famous Coconut Bars

These bars are so good; the recipe was actually requested during Nannie’s funeral. It

went a little like this: “Dear Lord – before we begin to pray for Miss Campbell, I pray

that someone preserved her coconut bar recipe.”

Ingredients:

4 TBSP butter 4 eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup Bisquick/self-rising flour 1 to 1 ½ cup sugar

2 cups milk 1 tsp vanilla

1 (7 oz) package sweetened coconut

Directions: Beat all together on low speed until just well blended. Bake at 350 for 45 to 60

minutes in well-greased 9x13 pan. Bars are done when they are lightly brown and set.

The greatest of these is love 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV) FEB RUARY 2013