Hello dear ones! I’m so excited to finally be presenting my new site: amberdover.com
If you are an email subscriber you will need to resubscribe at the above address. I am in the process of trying to transfer my followers to my new blog, but you are welcome to subscribe again if you don’t want to wait. If I’m unsuccessful with the transfer then I will allow a couple of weeks for everyone to resubscribe if they’d like. Then I will be setting this blog to auto direct to my new blog.
Thank you dear ones for all your support as I began blogging. You make me smile, and I praise God for you! I hope you will join me on my new adventure into professional blogging. Amberdover.com is still being polished, but it feels good to own my site and to be in control of any advertising on it. These past few months I’ve really had to step out my comfort zone and learn blog lingo. I still have a long ways to go. It’s going to be fun!
I have many new ideas. One of them is the Joyful Wife Project, which includes Titus 2 Word Studies. I pray amberdover.com will be a source of encouragement and inspiration for you. My new site has easier navigation and it will showcase popular posts in my menu pages. Thanks again for subscribing.
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Hello dear ones! Believe it or not, I am still writing my trilogy The Truth Seeker’s Chronicles. I’m on the second book and hope to release all three at the same time. I’ve made it a priority to leave the house once a week and go write. Some of this time is taken up writing my blog as well. I found several nifty places to write. I’m excited to have found these, because it’s easy to be creative in the right atmosphere. Here are some spots in downtown Columbus, Ga.
Iron Bank Coffee~ Iron Bank is my favorite place to write. The classy coffee/snack shop is located inside an actual old bank. They have a large room upstairs that can be reserved. The two vaults on the main floor are decorated rustic chic and one has a couch to sit on. The prices are reasonable and the service wonderful. I also like to sit by the window and look out at the street. They also have live bands and special events like Trivia night.
Looking at the rain while sitting by the door
Upstairs ~ I can just imagine rich bankers standing around discussing business up here long long ago.
The Vaults
Freeze Frame Yogurt Shop~ I’m not as acquainted with Freeze Frame but I like it so far. It stays open later than Iron Bank. You can customize your yogurt and you pay by the ounce. It’s similar to Sweet Frog but it has the rustic feel of downtown. They have local artwork on the brick walls. I found this very unique gummy frog to put on my yogurt. I didn’t eat it though. It was too cute. I was pleased with the service as well.
Picasso Pizza~ I like to eat outside of this pizzeria and hear different musicians play an acoustic set. One day I listened to these elderly chaps play the blues. Sometimes our contemporary music minister plays here. The pizza is delicious, and one slice is enough to fill me up. The only problem with writing outside during the Summer is the bugs. I think I’ll like it more in the fall.
There’s still so much of downtown to explore. I hope to share more with you soon. God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Hello dear ones! I’m finally catching up on posts. It turns out that taking care of a newborn is hard work ;). It’s been a lil over three weeks and I think I’m finally getting into a decent routine. So Leeland was born April 2nd on Maundy Thursday. We got home from the hospital that Saturday and the next day was Easter Sunday. It was a looong day Saturday. We were busy adjusting to having a newborn at home. It was super late when Michael and I dyed eggs.
I saw a neat idea on Pinterest and gave it a try. I painted a few rocks with chalkboard paint. Then Michael wrote his sins/struggles on the rocks and put them in his Easter basket. I exchanged the rocks for goodies on Easter. I shared with Michael about God’s grace in taking our sins.
So after Michael went to bed I set out the boys’ Easter baskets. Leeland was too young to care of course, but I did get him some stuffed bunnies.
Here’s an Easter picture that Michael drew for his nana.
Leeland developed a love hate relationship for the Easter bunny, early on ;).
Chris and Michael went to church. The baby and I stayed home but we did get dressed up. My parents met up with us after church and came over for supper. My mom developed a cold right after Leeland was born, so she couldn’t hold him :(. We had a lovely dinner of KFC. Leeland took a long nap in his swing.He was so easy.
Then we went outside for a photo shoot. I put a blanket in a basket with plastic eggs and used that for Leeland’s pictures. Here he is choking the Easter Bunny. Caption should read “Come here bunny! We gotta talk!”
Then there’s the punch to the face. Poor bunny. Okay…my humor is a bit sadistic. I can’t help myself.
Here’s a beautiful picture of my two babies. Nine years apart. It’s wild!
Easter pic with my parents.
My stepdad holding the baby.
My parents. I love the wysteria growing in our back yard.
Tessa all dressed up.
Look! We found a baby!
My lovely family: Chris, Michael, and Leeland. What blessings! Praise Jesus for His goodness!
Then it was time for the Easter egg hunt, which I missed because I was feeding the baby. Chris got a few pictures though.
Well, I hope you enjoyed these pics. I hope to catch up even more soon. You’ve been on my mind I’ve just been super busy in baby world.
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Hello dear ones! Do you have resolutions for the new year? I’d love to read them in the comments. We had quite the year in 2014. Last New Year’s I skipped the bucket list, but we still had some bucket list moments despite that. I was able to mark off a few things from my 2013 Bucket list, and there are things that I would’ve never put on my 2014 bucket list or expected. They happened anyways. God is so full of surprises. His plans are better than mine! The whole year is a testament to the goodness of God. The fact that he’d take someone like me who deals with chronic pain and was declared barren…then allow me to have this adventure…is just amazing. He took my anxious heart and gave me boldness when I needed it. I could not have done any of this without God’s hand. Nothing is impossible with God!
See my husband graduate from college. Support him as he starts a new job.
Pass Michael from 4th to 5th grade in homeschool.
Have more dates & couple time with my hubby.
Have margin (breathing room) in my finances, relationships, and time.
Have a deeper intimacy with God & understanding of the Bible.
Simplify.
Practice contentment with Godliness.
Meal plan better, save on groceries, and prepare healthy meals with more variety.
Commit more to my book and to bettering my blog.
Volunteer again and give more.
Be surprised by God and follow wherever he leads. Enjoy the journey.
Well, this bucket list is smaller and less detailed. Lord willing, God will fill in all the details. If we are given the future, our family has many changes coming. I have no clue what adventures are coming our way. I just know that God’s plans are far better than mine and they always blow my mind.
I pray you have a blessed new year! Please leave me some comment love if you will. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Hello dear ones! I did not drop off the planet. I still have plenty to share with you. But to cut out holiday stress I’m going to do my posts differently this December. Instead of posting according to the day’s category (Ex: Crafty Monday), I’m going to post whatever whenever. I will still tag them for the right categories for future reference but you may get three craft posts in a week or three inspirational, all depending on when I have time. Lord willing, it will be back to normal in January. I just need to simplify this holiday. Love to you all and I’ll have new posts very soon! 🙂
God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Happy Veterans day to those in the U.S.! Thank you to all Vets for your service and to their families. Thanks especially to my husband, Chris. I love ya honey! Below is a picture from Chris’ promotion many moons ago. Michael was itty bitty and my Mom is in the pic too.
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Hello dear ones! Last week, my family visited Historic Westville , G.A.’s 1850’s living history museum. It was amazing and I took so many pictures. I’m only sharing my favorites though and maybe a few will show up in Inspirational posts down the road.
a lady showing Michael how the cotton feels after she brushed it
People making baskets
a girl doing German paper cutting
candle making
Chris on stilts and one of me on stilts
Chris and Michael playing tug of war
Michael riding up front in the buggy
A kissing picture, a Dover tradition 😉
Blacksmith showing stuff to Michael
There were so many old buildings to explore. I couldn’t include all of the pictures (my image space is almost gone). Here are a couple. The one on the bottom left is of a courthouse.
All of the nice people we met were volunteers. They showed us how things were made in the 1850’s. Below you’ll see the surgeon, the carpenter, inside the shoemakers, and the cotton gin.
My favorite pictures are of the wagon ride. Michael got to sit up front with the driver. It was a 15 minute trot around the town. Imagine how long it’d take to get to just the city over! The mule tried to bite Michael. There’s also a pic of Michael playing with an old toy. He had a chance to throw an ax too.
Lastly, here’s the general store. I was sad that we didn’t have time to shop in the real store. Michael attempted to tap his name in Morse code.
Besides that we’ve just been recovering from October :). Here are some every day pics: my hubby doing what he does best…grilling out (he made the grill from a broken beer keg he’d been given), Michael raking leaves without being asked, our jack-o-lantern was replanted with the seeds in it, and oh by the way….we’ve got chickens.
I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you. We’ve had them over a month. The one with black tail feathers is Baby and the other one is Penny. They’re sweet babies and they’ve both been laying for weeks now. I made a coop for them under Michael’s playhouse. At night they sleep there and then they go free range during the day. We are up to our ears with eggs. The picture is of them drinking from Tessa’s water. Chris picks on me. He calls them lunch and dinner. I am very attached to my hen babies though. They are family now and the only pets that really give back. They’re quiet (except when they’re laying, Baby likes to announce when her or Penny lays) so the neighbors don’t seem to mind.
I read somewhere that in a survival situation you could live off of eggs and tomatoes and have all the nutrients you need. We just need tomatoes now :).
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Are you ready for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)? I am and I’ve got my first Vlog to prove it :). Email sub. if you can’t see the vid please come to my site. Forgive me dear ones for the scary night time face. I figured the Hogwarts hat would help ;). God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
NaNoWriMo time video~ 1st Vlog
PS: If you are a Wrimo this year please leave me a comment. How do you prepare? What keeps you going? Do you have a chocolate stash too?
Dear ones, it’s Tuesday and I have another poem to share. It’s based on a sad but true story. My poems are a bit melancholy but I find it helps me to write about sad times. Please don’t copy but you can share the link. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
“13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”~Jeremiah 29:13 KJV
(Father God speaking directly to the Israelites and indirectly to all His children)
“37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
~Matthew 23: 37 KJV (Jesus speaking to the Jews)
“20 Neither for these alone do I pray +[it is not for their sake only that I make this request+], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word {and} teaching,
21 That they all may be one, +[just+] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe {and} be convinced that You have sent Me.” ~John 17:20-21 Amplified (Jesus’ prayer for his disciples)
Through out time God has reached out to those who seek Him. God loves us and wants us to love Him. Sadly, like Eve turning to the forbidden fruit, we choose to turn to idols to satisfy us. We believe Satan’s lie that God is not enough and that he’s holding out on us. Sure we may profess faithfulness but because we still live in a fallen world and dwell in curse ridden flesh we often play the harlot. Paul described it this way:
“22 For I endorse {and} delight in the Law of God in my inmost self +[with my new nature+].
23 But I discern in my bodily members +[in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh+] a different law (rule of action) at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs +[in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh+].
24 O unhappy {and} pitiable {and} wretched man that I am! Who will release {and} deliver me from +[the shackles of+] this body of death?
25 O thank God! +[He will!+] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind {and} heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:23-25 Amplified (emphasis mine)
If you’re new to the faith then you’re probably wondering what playing the harlot means etc. Spiritually we are one with the Lord when we become God’s children. The Bible uses the relationship of a husband and wife to describe the closeness we now have with Jesus (God) and that barely scratches the service of what we have. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us. When we seek idols it’s like playing the harlot and committing adultery. I’m not talking about idols like statues though that can happen too. These days idols take other forms.
Here’s a good quote by Richard Keyes in Kelly Minter’s devotional “No Other Gods”
“An idol is something within creation that is inflated to function as a substitute for God. All sorts of things are potential idols, depending only on our attitudes and actions towards them…Idolatry may not involve explicit denials of God’s existence or character. It may well come in the form of an over-attachment to something that is, in itself, perfectly good…An idol can be a physcial object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero–anything that can substitute for God.”
A couple more quotes from the same devotional and this time in Kelly Minter’s words.
“…a professed god is who or what we say our god is; a functional god is who or what actually operates as our god.”
“Whatever we fear is our god. Fear itself is not the god; the object of our fear is the god.”
This was interesting. When God led the Israelites out of Egypt they were blessed with the riches of Egypt. The Israelites later turned around and used that same gold to make an idol.
“The Israelites turned God’s gifts into gods.” ~Kelly Minter
How often do we do this too? God blesses us with a job or a house and we begin to worship it instead. It can even be family or a talent. But if tragedy happens and that thing gets taken away we get mad at God. Here’s a great video that shows when we worship God’s gifts instead of God.
Email subscribers please come to my blog to see this video and the one at the beginning of this post ;).
I really like the lyrics of the music video at the beginning. You can scroll down and read them at the bottom of this post. I hope you were able to listen to the song by Tenth Avenue North. It talks about how we look for love as if God isn’t enough. It talks about how we run to other things when God is right there with arms open. He wants us to come to Him to meet our needs. We were created by God to have relationship with Him…to be completely fulfilled in Him. Sadly, the fall back with Adam and Eve messed us up.
Like I said in the beginning, we run to idols and so many times we don’t understand why we keep distancing ourselves from Jesus. He never leaves us but we can tune the Spirit out to the point that we are numb. When we grieve the Spirit that way we can’t hear God’s voice clearly and often our prayers go unanswered. Think about it. If you were ignored by someone and pushed away would you just take it? God is so much greater than us and He is full of mercy. He will go as far as it takes to bring His own back when we stray. His love and mercy cover us no matter what but the blessing of intimacy with God requires that we seek Him. When He calls us back we must go to Him. Sometimes people stray and sin away their testimony until God takes them out physically. I’ve seen it happen and it’s sad.
My Dad often said “God always brings back His own, either on their knees or in a box.” That’s not Bible but the truth of the statement is supported Biblically. I would much rather come back on my knees.
When I was a young believer, I prayed that God would do whatever it took to keep me close to Him. That is one prayer that I know He said yes to and I’ve seen it answered time and time again. Often hardship has brought me back when I stray. There’s this desperation when I stray to a certain point. It’s like a thirsty man in a desert. Every time I get to that point I know why….I’ve neglected the Lord. My need for Him is so apparent. Depression sets in so quick. The only salvation for my soul (my emotions not my Spirit) is to spend time with Jesus. Then the peace comes.
There’s so much I want to say and other Bible verses/stories to go into but this is getting long. So I’m going to split this up into a series. Below are the lyrics from the song for you to look at. I can’t guarantee that I’ll post on this every week but it is in the process ;).
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
By Your Side
By Tenth Avenue North
Why are you striving these days Why are you trying to earn grace Why are you crying Let me lift up your face Just don’t turn away
Why are you looking for love Why are you still searching As if I’m not enough To where will you go child Tell me where will you run To where will you run
‘Cause I’ll be by your side wherever you fall In the dead of night whenever you call And please don’t fight these hands that are holding you My hands are holding you
Look at these hands at my side They swallowed the grave on that night When I drank the world’s sin So I could carry you in And give you life I want to give you life
And I’ll be by your side wherever you fall In the dead of night whenever you call And please don’t fight these hands that are holding you My hands are holding you
Here at my side wherever you fall In the dead of night whenever you call And please don’t fight these hands that are holding you My hands are holding you
‘Cause I, I love you I want you to know That I, yeah I’ll love you I’ll never let you go, no, no
And I’ll be by your side wherever you fall In the dead of night whenever you call And please don’t fight these hands that are holding you My hands are holding you
Here at my side wherever you fall In the dead of night whenever you call And please don’t fight these hands that are holding you My hands are holding you Here at my side, my hands are holding you Ohhh…
Lyrics from <a href=”http://www.elyrics.net”>eLyrics.net</a>
Welcome! My name is Amber Dover. I am a homeschooling mom, happy wife, and a devout follower of Jesus Christ. I am also a writer. I am currently working on "The Truth Seeker's Chronicles" (an inspirational fantasy/allegory). You will find everything from craft ideas to writing tips on my blog. So please pull up a chair and hang out :)
amberdover 