There are a lots of summer weddings going on right now, and one that is creating some buzz is the one of Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The media is covering everything from the secrecy of the wedding details to Chelsea, raised Methodist, marrying a conservative Jew. There’s also talk that the wedding may cost $1 million on upward.  Rumors are that Chelsea’s wedding gown will be designed by either chic designers Vera Wang or Oscar de la Renta.

Some reports say that guests may include Oprah and Steven Spielberg – but not President Barak Obama, who said he wasn’t invited and that two presidents at a wedding would be one too many. (I thought this remark was hilarious.)

Reporters are supposedly going on private properties in Rhinebeck, NY, where the wedding is located, and a Norwegian photographer and a newspaper editor have been arrested for trespassing on Astor Courts estate, which may be the location of the wedding.

Really, I can’t imagine starting off a marriage with this kind of media frenzy!  It reminds me of sharks feeding, and blood everywhere.  Weddings are stressful enough as it is.  This isn’t helping them to start off on the right foot!

Marc and Chelsea will have the usual challenges, no doubt – working through the (BIG) male/female differences, adapting to each other’s personalities, learning to communicate well and how to handle disagreements,and  balancing work and family.  They also will have to adjust to married life with the pressure of  paparazzi, the scrutiny of the public eye, and their differences of faith.

I’ve certainly never been a fan of the Clintons, but I do hope for the best for this young couple and that they can endure the course, finishing the race well – not wind up another sad statistic.  Marriage is a marathon, not a sprint.

In the weeks ahead, I’ll be sharing more about marriage, from some things God is putting on my heart, so stay tuned. 

Below is a cute video of a couple just pronounced husband and wife…in this social media era.

Whether you are just starting out or you already enjoy a thriving, profitable business, God is interested in every aspect of it. God loves you, He cares about you and your business, and He wants to bless you – in ways you can’t even begin to imagine!  (1 Corinthians 2:9).

My friend Laurie Neumann asked me to write an article for her website Christian Home Business Connection.  Here is her blog post with the link to my article.

While you are there, be sure to check out Laurie’s website. Her site is a wealth of information on having a home business. She’s a wonderful, giving person, an anointed writer, and she has great, practical resources available to encourage you and to help you in your home business. I just love Laurie!

Want to go even deeper with your business?  I especially recommend Laurie’s membership site, The Christian’s Guide to Starting a Home Business. It is packed with wonderful info for your home business – AND for the first month’s resources, Laurie interviewed me, so I want you to hear it!      This membership site will truly bless and encourage you with all of Laurie’s goodies – even with bonuses from experts like Jimmy D. Brown, Alice Seba, and Kelly McCausey.

PS:  Don’t forget to check out my article at Laurie’s site here. I also love her site’s newest article on business success for introverts.

God created all of us differently – men are different from women, we all have different personalities, we have different learning styles, we love different things. It is the same way with our interests.

Some of us are interested in traveling, seeing new places, meeting new people, trying different ethnic foods. Others love sports, internet marketing, gardening, crocheting, running, getting more education, painting, writing, or just staying at home, loving on our families. Whatever it is that you enjoy, God created you that way.

Maybe my ebook Walking With God or my 7-audio devotional series is not for you. You don’t have time to listen to seven different audios, or even want to!   But a webinar that is as short as a lunch break may be just the thing for you!  It will encourage, refresh, and inspire you to draw closer to God, to discover and fulfill your purpose, and to leave a godly legacy to your children.  In other words, you’re not in the mood for spaghetti, but you might just love the duck l’orange!

This week check out Tara’s website. You will just LOVE her. (While you’re there, fill out her survey as  a favor to her.) This lady is classy, anointed, and will encourage you about Biblical parenting.  If you’re not already registered for our webinar on Tuesday, July 27 at 11 a.m. CT, sign up today as space is limited.  With this webinar, you will be sure to dine with your destiny! 

To register for our webinar, just click here.

Let me know what you think. If you have any comments or questions, email me at elizabethdjones@gmail.com.  Just click on the link and enjoy!

Video tour

Whether you are a first time visitor or a faithful reader and/or subscriber, I want to welcome you to my website Tablet Of My Heart. I am so glad you are here!  There are so many websites online, and they all navigate differently.

I LOVE WordPress and believe it is simply the BEST, but I wanted to give you a tour of my home on the web which includes screenshots (my newest learning curve!). This article can help you understand how to more easily navigate my website – a more personal tour guide.   

Just click on the link below for your pdf article, and enjoy!  If you have any questions, email me at elizabethdjones@gmail.com.

Tour of my website

It’s so hard to believe because it seems just yesterday I was holding her as a newborn in her soft, white blanket. The years have flown, and as I look back in retrospect, I ask the question that haunts all moms from time to time when we’ve had a bad hair day and have been too impatient:  Have I been a good mother?  Am I a godly example to her of a wife and mom?

I fear that sometimes I am much more in need of being taught by God, than me being able to teach her anything.  And so many times Leah teaches me profound things that come straight from the throne of  God.  ”Of such is the kingdom of God.”  

There are times that I fuss too much about trivial things like her wearing the Panda shirt too often (her favorite shirt she’s had for over a year and won’t give up) and that I don’t tell her nearly enough how wonderful, beautiful, and great she is. (I do tell her these things – just not enough!)

That I need to smile, laugh, and relax with her and my family much more, and work less sometimes.  My family is my greatest treasure, but do they really know it?  Or am I sometimes too absorbed in other things?

That I don’t want my tombstone to be engraved with, “She liked a clean house,” but instead with, ”She loved  others like Jesus did.”

That I remember soon, all too soon, Leah will be grown – as her older sisters are –  and the house will be much, much too quiet and my regrets much too loud.  What then? 

As I lay in bed tonight, my heart filled with love for her and my eyes wet with tears, I am amazed that the years have passed so fast. My baby is driving now. My prayer is that with the rest of the years I have her here at home, I will consistently “ponder these things” in my heart, as Mary did, and BECOME by the power of Christ in me the great, godly mother she needs and I so desire to be.

And that one day –  by some miracle of God, by my own willingness to be completely broken and transformed before the Lord – yes, that one day, Leah and our other daughters will be able to look at me and say, “I’m so glad you are my mother, and that you have shown me how to be a woman of God” – before driving away to her destiny.

Our oldest daughter Heather is about to do a  missions trip at the end of this month in Nashville, TN.

From Eagle Creek Church’s website:

In May of 2010, middle and western Tennessee experienced the worst flooding in it’s history. There were 33 people who were killed in Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee due to the flooding, and nearly $2 Billion in damage was done. It was Tennessee’s worst disaster since the civil war. The national average for media coverage during this disaster was 15 minutes, so people outside of the affected areas have little idea as to the scope of this disaster.

From January to May of 2010, Nashville had 18 inches of rains in a 36 hour period.  Beginning May 1, they received 18.4 inches. Many people lost everything and few had insurance to cover the loss. In what’s being called the “Katrina of the Midwest,” the disaster will take months and even years to clean up before life returns to “normal” for many of the people there who have been devastated by this disaster.

Eagle Creek Church in Lee’s Summit, MO, is partnering with Anchor Christian Fellowship Response to reach out in support of and minister to people affected by the flood. There are two ways that Anchor Response works with flood victims:

1. Takes teams into houses that have flood damage and works at ripping out all affected materials (drywall, carpet, etc). These teams are strictly demo and don’t do any construction, so there isn’t a need for volunteers to have construction experience.

2. Anchor Response has a warehouse that collects and distributes goods to families that have need. The warehouse literally distributes everything from toys to toothbrushes. Workers help organize and distribute goods that are donated.

So whether you can  go or not, you can definitely be a part of helping those that are in desperate need of help. Here is the website for more information. 

From Beth:  Please keep our daughter Heather in prayer as she leaves July 29-31 with a team from her church, Eagle Creek Church, to help in Nashville. I will be helping to babysit her two girls, Annabelle and Violet – and praying a lot!   There will likely be mold and mildew in these houses, so please pray protection over the health of Heather and the team (they will be wearing masks, gloves, and heavy work boots as they are ripping out materials of drywall, carpet, etc.), as well as for traveling mercies .

Thank you so much for your prayers.  Below is a brief video that was on Eagle Creek’s site to give you an idea of some of the damage in Nashville.

Nashville Flood Relief from Mike LaBerge on Vimeo.

Are you experiencing purposeful, passionate living for Christ – and passing it on to your children?  Join Tara McClenahan and Beth Jones for an exciting, fun webinar coming up on Tuesday, July 27, 2010, at 11 a.m. Central Time!  This is Module #2 of 3 P’s in a Pod: Prayer, Purpose, Passion.

Tara is an anointed speaker and writer, and is a Christian Parenting/Life Coach associated with Ibloom, an organization dedicated to inspire Christian women to allow God to have an impact in and through their lives.  Tara’s focus is helping Christian moms have an impact on their children’s spiritual development by being a Godly example and nurturing them as God gives us guidance in His Word.  Her website, Live Your Legacy Today, is  at http://taramcclenahan.com/.

I am SO excited Tara will be joining me for this event! I am also thrilled that this time, attendees WILL be able to chat during the webinar. Now I have my own webinar room at Christian Women Affiliate, which has great webinar features.

Now, why should you attend this webinar?

• It’s fun! You will make new friends and be able to network!
• You will be encouraged and empowered to discover and fulfill your purpose, pursue your heart’s passion, and intentionally pass on a Godly legacy to your children!
• You will learn something new!
• No expensive costs! (It’s free to attend.)
• No hassles, no crowds or waiting in line, no parking places to worry about!
• You get great bonus goodies just for coming!
• You will both see and hear the speakers on video and be able  to chat with the speakers and attendees in real time during the webinar presentations!

It’s going to be great.  Are you excited? Well, I am. I can’t wait! 

To learn more, just click here.  Listen to the video testimonials about my first webinar, 3 P’s in a Pod: Prayer, Purpose, Passion, which was the launch-off for this July 27 webinar and more to come.

But hurry!   Space is limited for this webinar, so be sure to sign up today.

Do you have a consistent, daily quiet time with God?  Are you fulfilling your purpose?  Are you pursuing your passion?  

Well, my webinar encourages and empowers you in all three of these areas. I want you to live your passion out loud – to really enjoy your life and to fulfill your great destiny in Christ. 

The ladies who joined me for this event and I had fun. If you missed it and are disappointed, don’t worry – it’s now available for sale!  And there are more webinars coming up in the months ahead!  Just stay tuned.

If you are not already on my personal mailing list, be sure to go to the top of the page on the right hand side and get signed up today. That way, you won’t miss any new updates about the upcoming webinars.

To learn more about how you can get your copy of my webinar, click here.

Beth Jones

HD t.v.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day. I was at Walmart awhile ago to pick up toothpaste, and there were last-minute, Father’s Day shoppers, looking at large, cotton t-shirts with humorous slogans or Spiderman  on them, fishing poles, 47-inch plasma HD t.v.’s, etc. 

For other people, the idea of a father (dad, daddy, papa) brings up either sadness because their dad has passed away and they deeply miss him, or because of bad childhood memories -  fathers who were workaholics, emotionally or physically MIA, cold, distant, critical, or even abusive verbally, physically, or sexually.  Father’s Day is a painful day for these sons and daughters, one they would just rather forget.

If your father has died or wasn’t a good dad, I want to encourage you that we have a heavenly Father who is always there for you and me, a good Father who deeply loves and forgives us. (John 3: 16)   His love is unconditional, his mercy new every morning.  (Lamentions 3: 22-23)  He will never leave or abandon us.  (Hebrews 13: 5)

God is not like your earthly father, but one who cries over the things that hurt your heart, even putting your tears in His bottle (Psalm 56: 8).   He delights in you, and even sings and dances over you with His love.  (Zephaniah 3: 17)  God made you, and thinks your face is beautiful and your voice is sweet. (Song of Solomon 2: 14)  In fact, God sees you as his piece de resistance - His showpiece that He desires to display for His glory!

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2: 10, New Living Translation)

Tomorrow, as we celebrate Father’s Day, thank all the men in your life who you wish to honor as fathers. It’s not an easy role.  And be sure to tell God “Happy Father’s Day,” too!   He’d rather hear that than even have a big, HD t.v. 

Beth Jones