Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Wise Woman Builds Up Her Marriage and Link-up

February is here and if your head is still spinning and you are wondering where January went--do not fret!

I want you to think about February as a time to build up your marriage. Over time, marriages can weaken and need tending to and strengthening. Weeds can grow and the garden of marriage must be cultivated and cared for-- even more now than in the beginning.

Now instead of giving you a list of 100 things you can do to spark up your marriage, I am going to ask you to do something else instead.

For us Christian women, powerful change begins when we get on our knees. In prayer.

Busy lives and schedules prevent us from this vital part of our marriage, but we need to lay our marriages at the feet of Jesus, whether we are going through hard times or good.

Pray for:

1. A Strengthened Bond--a relationship that no one and no thing can permeate. Not sin, Satan, temptation or anything else!

2. For Love to Abound- Not the love that the world talks of and not the love we see advertised on romanticized in movies; but the love that we have such a hard time understand at times. "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...

3. Release: Giving to God your struggles and hardships and all the "little foxes" that tend to ruin the vine. Perhaps you have been irritated with you husband or angry with him. Perhaps he has not kept his promises or has let you down. Bring that to Jesus and forgive him. Sometimes that can be the hardest thing to do but you need to start somewhere---if you don't the root of bitterness can grow quickly like a poison.

4. For His Wisdom--Marriage can bring much happiness and along with that many trials. We need God's great wisdom to direct us through the choppy waters of life. We can't do this on our own, we are weak in our flesh and need His strength and refreshing to carry on.

5. For Your Husband--to be the godly man the Lord is calling him to be. For him to be obedient and courageous in his role ass He provides, protects and shepherds his family on a daily basis. That God would protect his heart and mind out in the workplace and that He would have an undivided devoted heart for the Lord.

6. For You as His wife--To fully "love" our husbands and sacrifice our wants and needs daily to put him first (after God). Husbands can get lost and neglected in the chaos of raising children, we need to take extra effort to nurture our marriages. We need to have obedient hearts to the Lord in respecting and submitting to our husbands--and I am not just talking about outward conformity but what is going on in the heart as well. We also need to guard our hearts, taking all thoughts captive to Jesus Christ and be sober- not unwittingly tearing down our homes.

Will you bring your marriage to feet of God Himself? I pray that you do!

Now please join me in our weekly link-up:

If you have a post you would like to share regarding the topic above or that has to do with building up your home, homemaking, character, hospitality, femininity, family, tea, organization, etc. we would love to have you share it with us! You are welcomed to post more than one post.

When you link up here please use the image below to let others know that you have linked up here so that they might join in the fun and be encouraged as well:

(It's easy--just copy and paste the code in this box!)

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Are you encouraged here? I personally invite you to subscribe and get the latest posts sent to your inbox. Also, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and get updates that are not posted here on the blog.

Also, don't forget to join us for our Facebook Party on Feb. 7th!
We are giving away hundreds of dollars of prizes!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Making Money at Home

Sweet Kasey over at These Five of Mine Plus Two

has shared her kind review of Wise Woman Consulting (our blog consultation service) and how she is on the path of earning money at home. So if you have wondered whether blog consulting would be helpful or not, her post might be helpful to you! Thank you, Kasey!

If you'd like to read more testimonials, click HERE.

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Fathers and Daughters

The father and daughter relationship is a very special thing. It is special bond that needs to be nurtured and cultivated with special care. Sometimes that can be hard with a working schedules, but we definitely need to find time to invest into it.

One of the things that the Fuentes family likes to do is take part of an annual lovely Father-Daughter Banquet. Here is a picture of my daughters:

This photo was taken on my husband's cell phone and not as clear as I would like it to be!

The winding staircase where portraits are taken of each father and daughter

The stunning dining hall

(A friend of playing harp music in the background)

If you are in the area, I highly recommend you sign up for this event! They have a delicious, gourmet meal, speakers, games and dancing (optional). In inspiring, memorable event to build the bonds of husband and daughter(s). This years speaker is Todd Wilson of Family Man Ministries (he is known for his hilarious comic homeschool books.)

You can click HERE to register.

If you cannot attend, here are some of our favorite resources for Fathers and Daughters:

True Beauty: Cultivating Christ-Centered Father-Daughter Relationships

Explores topics such as how to build the father-daughter bond, true feminine beauty, the Proverbs 31 woman, how to transition from beautiful girlhood to noble womanhood, and how to prepare daughters for marriage.

Fathers and Daughters: Why Every Father is Leaving a Legacy

Every father leaves a legacy for his daughter whether good or bad, whether by design or by default. Daughters watch carefully what dads prioritize as well as what they neglect, and then form their own ideals—including the kind of man they look for in a mate—in response to this. Dr. Voddie Baucham explains this powerful influence that fathers have on their girls as well as the destructiveness of male abdication. His charge: Dads must set aside selfish pursuits and lovingly lead their daughters. (now one sale)

And remember to continually pray for the strengthening
of your daughter's and husband's relationship.

Have a blessed day building up your sacred homes!

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Friday, January 27, 2012

How's Your Atmosphere?

I have been in some of the most beautiful homes, with the finest of furnishings and decor, and found the atmosphere to be lacking, filled with stress, strife or anger. Other times, I have been in the poorest of homes, that lack in adequate furnishings for the family, and yet felt the atmosphere's sweetness, cheerfulness, love and relaxation. It truly does not matter what your home looks like, as much as how your home feels!

The atmosphere in a home is not created by the physical beauty of its belongings, as much as the emotional energy it holds. As mothers, we often are directly responsible for that atmosphere! We need to be pleasant, sweet, and loving, perseverant even under trials, in order to have an atmosphere that blesses all those that enter it. We are able to do this, as we lean into God, who loves to love through us..

I found this lovely encouragement on Facebook the yesterday from Above Rubies. What a wonderful reminder about the importance of atmosphere in the home!

You can get Above Rubies Magazines free HERE.

May you be blessed as you build up your sacred homes for the Lord!

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Worth of a Homemaker

Valuable read over at my other blog, Raising Homemakers.

Sweet Lauren of My Corner Pillar is sharing:

A Homemaker is Worth How Much?

Enjoy!

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Precious Daughters and Link-Ups

Daughters are precious and in the Fuentes household we have three! We are always on the look out for great resources to put in front of them and thought we would share a few with you. Some books that my older daughters have enjoyed are:

Before You Meet Prince Charming-now on sale for $10.50

This is a wonderfully inspiring book about saving yourself before marriage and preparing yourself with lots of biblical reference. Sarah Malley is the same author of Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends.

Beautiful Girlhood Companion Set

The book deals primarily with the Christian character development, moral virtues and manners of pre-teen and teenage girls. It is one of the best-selling titles in the homeschooling community.

What’s a Girl to Do about Boys Set (2 Books 3 CDs)

is now on sale for 41% off and only $39!

This package provides young women and their parents with an even more comprehensive overview of marriage preparation and godly womanhood.

This set includes:

If you don't see anything you like here you can
also visit my list of recommended books here:

Book Lists for Daughters

Now onto our linkup!

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home is a place to be encouraged in your high and noble calling of role of wife and mother and daughter to the King and we want to encourage each and every single reader out there to build up strong Christian homes to the glory of God.

If you have a post you would like to share regarding the topic above or that has to do with building up your home, homemaking, character, hospitality, femininity, family, tea, New Years goals, organization,etc. we would love to have you share it with us!

When you link up here please use the image below to let others know that you have linked up here so that they might join in the fun and be encouraged as well:

(It's easy--just copy and paste the code in this box!)

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Truth About Discontentment

"If only we could have a bigger home, a bigger salary, an extra car, better appliances, obedient children--then I would be happy. It seems like everyone else has these things, why can't I?"

The young mother grumbles under her breath as she attempts to clean her tiny home. She has rehearsed this in her mind so many times and now she is entertaining these thoughts:

"If only my husband would work harder"

"If only I had married someone else"

"I can't stand being around the children"

"Why is my life so hard?"

Then she becomes depressed and discouraged, often crying herself to sleep at night.

Her husband comes home and they argue about money and she is quite irritable with children too.

But the truth is that this dear mama needs to guard her heart.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23

And she needs to take captive her thoughts:

"and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

We have to check our discontentment---is it leading me to do good and change my life and behavior for the better or is it causing me to sin in my own life, against others and my God?

And when materialistic discontentment rears its ugly head in our lives, we also need to ask ourselves the hard questions..

Am I discontent with what the Lord has given me?

This is a hard truth to wrestle with, but at the end of the day, do I pass the test of thankfulness?

Because if ultimately everything I have is because of Him, I need to acknowledge that. Whether it is good or bad. I also need to acknowledge that if I am discontent and unhappy with what He has provided that day then that is sinning against Him. Is He and His grace not enough (2 Cor 12:9)? Am I not thankful with the food and shelter He provided (Matthew 6:25-34)?

"Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6

Sinful thoughts in us can lead us to tearing down our homes and wives, Satan as well would love to steal the joy from us and our flesh is weak. He would love for the root of bitterness to grow in our lives. We can become prime targets aiding his attempts to destroy the our homes--and know that he will try to sneak his way in their somewhere! We cannot and should not allow it.

So next time, dear ladies, when you find yourself in the seat of discontentment, ask yourself if you are thankful with what He provided that day.

Examine your hearts to get to the bottom of the motive of your thinking and ask the Lord to shed His light and truth on your situation.

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Monday, January 23, 2012

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Trailer

Last week I had announced on Facebook that I was working on a special project--I was actually working on a video trailer for this blog so we could spread the word about it over at YouTube, Facebook and on your blogs!

Well now it is all done and I am happy to share it with you!

We also have a new trailer for our eBook True Christian Motherhood:

Let me know what you think and feel free to share them too!

Have a blessed day!

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Love Around the Block Facebook Party

Since Valentine's day is around the corner we are having a virtual party with five other bloggers to celebrate on February 7th so be sure to save the date!

Love Around the Block Facebook Party

The Hostesses and Topics

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home - Love of Hospitality
Like a Bubbling Brook - Loving the Body of Christ
Far Above Rubies - Loving Your Home
The Modest Mom - Loving Your Children
Raising Mighty Arrows - Loving Your Husband
Under the Golden Apple Tree - Homeschool Love

Watch the video:

The ladies and I will share insightful tips, answer questions, have fun, AND giveaway
HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PRIZES ON OUR FACEBOOK WALLS AND BLOGS!

Some of our many sponsors include:

Vision Forum
Dayspring
Doorposts
Adorabelle Designs
Wise Woman Consulting
A Great Impression

and much more!

You can join us and view details of the event by clicking HERE.

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Wise Hearts, Wise Tongues

Do you struggle with anger towards your children?

Nancy Wilson of Femina shares some wise words on anger:

"Now how can a sweet Christian woman get angry and say “evil” things to her children?

Does that mean she has “evil” in her heart?

Unfortunately, that’s what it means.

We all have evil in our hearts.

No one is good.

So we all need gospel grace day in and day out..."

Read her article on 10 ways to have a wise tongue.

You can find great books by her HERE.

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Friday, January 20, 2012

Warrior Mothers-Guarding Home

Kelly over at Generation Cedar wrote an important reminder today:

"The home is a concentrated point of attack from an enemy who seeks to steal, kill and destroy.

In battle, a known point of attack would be heavily fortified and guarded. I find it no coincidence that “keeper” as in “teach them to be keepers at home” from Titus 2, is translated from a Greek word meaning “to guard”.

Sadly, our enemy has done a stellar job at offering all the right decoys, blinding us to the very NEED to defend home.

We are warriors in the greatest, spiritual sense. Fighting for our homes, our marriages, our children and our own integrity as women of God.

This isn’t about “well, good for you but I’m not made for that sort of thing…it’s not my calling”.

If we have homes, we are called."

Read the rest here:

Warrior Mothers-Guarding Home

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Need more encouragement as a mother?

Get our eBook- True Christian Motherhood

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Blog Design On a Dime Review

How many of you know sweet Jacinda from Growing Home?

She has the prettiest little blog that you should visit:

Jacinda sent over her new ebook for me to review, Blog Design on a Dime:

Since I am a blogger AND an experienced blogging consultant, I was really looking forward to reading this ebook! Can I just say that this ebook really delivers? When I first got it I pored over its pages and read it from beginning to end. Here are my thoughts...

This is an invaluable book for any blogger beginning or seasoned. She covers the basics of how to design headers, buttons, social media images, installation and more while teaching us several tricks on the way. The best part? She teaches us how to do this for FREE! Yes, FREE. Not a penny, no fancy software, just through her simple tutorials and creativity. This is wonderful because now anyone can have a pretty blog and not have to pay expensive designer fees to get it.

I also want to add that her tutorials are very simple. You won't get lost trying to understand technical jargon, Jacinda teaches us simply using every day language that even my daughter , who is just fourteen and interested in designing, understood everything.

The best thing is that it is not a long and drawn out book. I am a busy mom and don't have time to read long books as much as I'd like or have in the past, I appreciated the fact that it was an easy read PLUS puts valuable skills into any blogger's hands in a quick fashion. No fluff, no wasted time--just getting straight down to business! That's my kind of book!

I highly recommend this book for every blogger---as a consultant I advise bloggers to have a beautiful, eye-catching blog for their readers. It is important, as you only have a few seconds to impress and if you don't you can lose new readers. Get this book and change that!

You can get this book here at the low price of just $4.99!

That is a steal!

AND---

since I am talking about blogging I am also going to extend the Wise Woman Consulting: Learn to Make Money Blogging in 2012 sale for ONE MORE DAY! The sale is for 15% off and now just $85, you can read about the details or sign up here. We were overwhelmed with the response to this sale and want to thank everyone for signing up! We look forward to consulting with each and every one of you!

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

On Slowing Down and Link-Up

Hurry is a pace of life

that is seldom conducive to godliness,

to relationships,

to anything

that ultimately matters to us.

-Nancy Leigh Demoss

Mothers, sometimes we need this ever important reminder
to remind us to slow down

and evaluate what is really important.

Now while you are thinking about that we would love for you to link up with us.

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home is a place to be encouraged in your high and noble calling of role of wife and mother and daughter to the King and we want to encourage each and every single reader out there to build up strong Christian homes to the glory of God.

If you have a post you would like to share regarding the topic above or that has to do with building up your home, homemaking, character, hospitality, femininity, family, learning, how-to, etc., please share it with us!

When you link up here please use the image below to let others know that you have linked up here so that they might join in the fun and be encouraged as well:

(It's easy--just copy and paste the code in this box!)

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REMINDER:

Don't forget that today is the last day for our Blog Consultation Sale
on learning how to make money blogging in 2012
- it ends at midnight!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Learn to Make Money Blogging in 2012

**UPDATE: THE SALE HAS BEEN EXTENDED FOR ONE MORE DAY-NOW ENDING AT 1/19 AT MIDNIGHT!**

I love the New Year.

It is a time for fresh starts.

It is a time for all things NEW.

Amazing things have happened here on the blog and one of them was learning how to make money to help my family by bringing in some supplemental income. We have 8 children and it is *such* a blessing, I cannot even begin to tell you.

This past month we made six times more than we did the previous December--God allowed us to earn over $3000 in just one month. I hesitated to share here, not wanting to seem as if I were boasting (we only boast in the Lord) at all as it is easy to get that impression when you can't hear the tone our voice of a person through their writings--but it is the truth, we couldn't believe it ourselves! When I asked good friends their opinion on sharing this information they told me I definitely should share it so that people so that people would really know what the possibilities are to be made blogging. The truth is, there are bloggers out there making even more than me! Some make a six digit income a month!

I had always thought you needed the "right connections" etc. to be able to do it, but you really don't. I am now teaching women all over the globe how to make money blogging and would love to teach you too! Will 2012 be the year you start earning some part-time income from your blog?

Is your blog making what it could?

Could you help to bring in money from the comfort of your home while doing something you enjoy?

Are you daily blogging away with little traffic, growing discouraged, not earning a dime and ready to throw in the towel with the whole thing?

If you have thought of any of the above, I would love to consult with you!

My heart is to see moms being able to help moms make money at home. I know that especially in these challenging times with the economy not looking good that this information can be very helpful so I would love to help everyone to be able to do the same.

.
My normal fee is $100 but I am having a sale now for just $85
(everyone keeps asking when the next sale is, so here it is!)

Services will include:

-personal critique of your blog/or how to start one

-how to build/grow traffic to your blog

-1 personal phone consultation

-how to advertise and do giveaways

-how to charge advertisers and rates samples

-private consulting through email, instant messaging or phone (optional)

-access the private site for my personal notes

-other ways to earn income through your blog

-1 week worth of corresponding via email after phone consultation to help answer any extra questions

-valuable tips and resources

-and much more!

If you are interested you can contact me at: wisewomanconsulting@gmail.com or leave a comment with your email address below. Or checkout here:

I am also offering payment options so if you would like to pay half now ($45)) and half later ($40), whenever you can before our phone consultation) you are more than welcomed to, just contact me and I will send you an invoice.

Here is what a satisfied client had to say:

"Mrs. Fuentes gave me clear and precise instructions on how to advertise on my blog. The information she shared with me is invaluable. Since implementing a few simple tips, my blog traffic has increased by 50%. Mrs. Fuentes consulted with me via telephone and email. The services I received was well worth the money I paid. By the end of our time together, I knew exactly what to do to begin advertising. I highly recommend Wise Woman Consulting to any woman looking to work from home. It is hard work, but effort and diligence will pay off in the end. Wise Woman has successfully proven that making money from your blog is profitable and rewarding."

- Mrs. Jasmine Cucuta, Far Above Rubies

Note: After a few short weeks, Mrs. Cucuta has already begun successfully advertising as well!

Read more testimonials here.

I would love to consult with you!

If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them!

(Sale ends 1/18 at midnight)

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Monday, January 16, 2012

"Men, Will You Vow to Lead?"

I love when godly men call on other Christian men to lead:

Pastor Mark Driscoll share his thoughts here and
also has a free downloadable poster--

Click here to get it.

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A Home for the Homeless

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

--James 1:27

One of the things I really want to do this year is showcase different ministries to get the word out here of different needs and how we can all help in some small way. One ministry I wanted to share was

AdoptUSKids.org

for adoption that apparently allows you to adopt children for free and give you a listing by state of every child that needs to be adopted (just click Meet the Children on the site to view the many children who need a home). I read through some of the children's profiles and it was really hard to hold back the tears.

On the subject of adoption, I also wanted to share a story of a Christian family who is currently trying to raise money to bring their daughter, Kayla Joy, home. They are having a fundraiser along with Paula Ramm of Lilla Rose AND a wonderful giveaway full of beautiful things to win.

Please read the rest of their story HERE.

There are several ways to help out this family--you can donate, spread the word by sharing on Facebook, blog about it, tweet, email, about this, enter the giveaway, etc., please consider and be prayerful about how you can help in some small way.

Also be sure to grab their button and put it on your site:

Please share this post using the social buttons below so we can get the word out
remember it takes one person to help change the world.

Let's bring this daughter home!

THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts and

have a blessed day!

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