Catholic Box give away!

I used to spend hundreds of dollars on magazines. HUNDREDS. In my fashionable days, the release of the Fall issue of Vogue was a really big deal. And I never threw out an issue. Martha Stewart, Bazaar, Southern Living, even Teen Vogue, because, well, I like to think I am still young. Finally, I had to face facts. Not only was I not young, but I was a magazine hoarder and addict.

So, one Lent, I gave up buying magazines. I just stopped.

But then.

The world wide web happened.

And so, I didn't really need magazines anymore, did I?

Pinterest, and Pioneer Woman, and blogs....hello????

So even though I gave up on purchasing magazines, my desire to read them was still met.

And truth be told, I really gave up nothing, because this internet has this amazing way of taking you places you never intended to go; of giving you more than you bargained for.

Unlike my magazine, that I could slowly read, put aside and pick up in the same place later, fully enjoy and be present to each and every page, this internet was like an ADHD carnival that spoon fed you crack. While scrolling through a cooking site, looking for a simple recipe for dinner, an Ad would take me to another site, and while at that site, I would notice a cute dress on the woman who suggested the recipe, so I would click on the link to find where she purchased her dress, and suddenly I was on the Anthropologie website, and now I am filling up a shopping cart with latte bowls and vintage dish towels...and I never actually buy anything, I just fill up the cart, and then bam, it is already dinner time and I never even got to read that recipe I originally got on the computer for, and now I am depressed because not only is there no dinner, but my full cart of stuff I could never afford is making me feel poor and pathetic, and there is STILL NO DINNER....and so no one eats and everyone starves and dies, the end.

This is my sort of off topic and rambling way of saying...I LIKE PAPER. Books. Magazines. Prayers cards. Devotionals. Newspapers. PAPER. I like to read the words and hold them in my hands. Because I love words. Words change lives. Stories stretch us to places that often seem unimaginable. And there is something about having it in print, right in front of you, to see and to take in, without ads and quick changes and music and alarm bells and whatever else the computer or our phones flash non stop in our faces.

I remember being a self conscious teen, watching The Breakfast Club, and on a piece of loose leaf paper torn out from my binder, I would scribble down, word for word, the monologues that spoke to me. And I taped these ragged papers to the front of my school books, so that I could always see them and read them, and memorize them...because words...they sink into you, they change you, you feel them. Hearing them was not enough for me. I needed them in print. I needed to always see them, to be reminded of them, to learn them, to be ever present to their meaning.

And so it is no wonder that I do this now with the ultimate, life giving, Word of all; the written Word of God.

Because here is the thing: yes, words can change us. But not all words are life giving. Some words lead us to depression, to false gods, to self hatred, to sin, to evil. (just listen to the radio) And with four children under my roof, I need to really be sure that the words they see the most are the ones that come from their Creator. Not Kylie Jenner. More than ever, we need to saturate our minds, and the minds of our children, with words that lead us to truth and life; that fill us with fresh hope. Our children should be drowning in words that are positive and beautiful; words that teach us to forgive, and to love our enemy. Words that do not motivate us to resist, but to embrace and accept. Words that lead to prayer. Words should have us dropping our burdens and worries, and running with endurance. The words we fill our minds with every single day should be growing our roots strong, supplying us with branches full of good fruit.

My sweet friend Jaimee Keogler, from The Catholic Box, recently whipped this beautiful print up for me, that I gave to some women as gifts. And guess what? I am ordering more. Why? Because there is no gift you can give that will ever be better than giving the Word of God. EVER. And the thing that I LOVE about Catholic Box is that if you do not see a print with a scripture verse you like, they will custom make you a print right on the spot. Everything they produce is so gorgeous and personal, and these prints that I frame in my house are hands down, the best and most inspiring decorative pieces I have ever owned. Because they are not merely decoration...they are spiritual direction, for all who reads them. I want one in every single room, especially my teenagers rooms...and I want everyone that walks through my front door to see and read and know that God dwells here, and that His Word matters. Unlike so much of what we fill our minds with today, His Word will stand.

Now, the GREAT NEWS? Go on over to The Catholic Box, and check out the Frameable Faith...then, using the code WILDFLOWER, order an individual print and GET ONE FOR FREE! Same code for digital download prints as well! And...if you order the Frameable Faith subscription, you will be sent a new print and verse each and every month for a year, AND...you will get the first month FREE! AWESOME.

It is time we do this, people. The world is trying its best to remove God, to reduce His Word to meaningless, and out of date. But we know better. And our families deserve better. It is up to us to fill our homes and hearts with the truth- the written Word of God. Get it, frame it, and hang it on up for all to see! There is no better reminder of whose we are, no better source of encouragement to get us through each day. His Word is the one we need to read, learn and memorize. Starting right now.

"I'm finding myself in the midst of You, Beyond the music, beyond the noise, All that I need is to be with You, And in the quite hear Your voice. Word of God speak." - Mercy Me, Word of God speak