Rosilind Jukic's Blog, page 80

What Is Your Default

We all have thinking patterns and attitudes that point to what we default to in times of adversity. Insecurity, low self worth, anger, disappointment, worry, anxiety, bad habits, addictions...

What is your default?

These defaults also reveal the identity we relate to. Is it our old identity or our new identity?

For the believer, we should only ever identity with Christ! Our new man who has died, been buried and risen with Jesus Christ.

This week we start the Ephesians Challenge. Ephesians is all about finding our identity in Jesus Christ.

Will you join the Ephesians Challenge? The Ephesians Challenge walks you through 4 weeks of examining what the Bible says about who you are in Christ. It teaches you to intentionally look at your new identity and associate yourself with that identity and not the old identity you had before you were saved.

If you would like to join the Ephesians challenge, subscribe below to F. Dean Hackett - Foundational (my dad's blog) to receive our articles, and you will receive The Complete Study Guide for Discovering True Identity.


With The Complete Study Guide you will receive:

Study Questions for each chapterYou will receive The Ephesians 4-Week ChallengePrintable memory versesA full reading plan andPrintable Graphics




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One Healthy Thing Fridays - Exercise

I don't want to be skinny.

My  heart goes out to the girls of this generation. There is such a double-standard and dangerous emphasis on size and appearance.

On one hand we are told "Be true to yourself" and "Be who you are", and yet the acceptable image of beauty is a size 0 with no cellulite.  It's not healthy and it's not normal.

I don't want to be skinny. I don't even want to be thin. I just want to be healthy.


I know that healthy means I need to take off another 20 pounds, so that's what I'll do.

Healthy also means I need to move around a bit more.  Okay - a whole lot more.




Judith from WholeHearted Home inspired me this week with 50 Marvelous Reasons to Workout. So here I go!



Sooo - I did my one healthy thing from last week.  My hand is a little better, but not completely. I go back for a check back next week. While there, I will talk with my doctor about scheduling a full checkup. 

Did you do your one healthy thing from last week? How did it go?



 
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3 Sites That Will Pay You to Write! - Work @ Home Blogger series + A Little R & R Wednesdays - a linky party #45

In our quest to earn money while blogging, we have examined
A program that helps us build and market a sellable product onlineHow to take advantage of ads that generate incomeHow to successfully use affiliate advertising
But did you know that you can get paid for writing.

Oh yes, it's true!! Do what you love to do and get paid for doing it. It sounds like the dream job.

And that dream job can be yours.

1. One way to use your writing skills to generate an income is through Social Spark

With Social Spark you partner with companies to write posts that advertize their products. You can choose which products you wish to write about, so that the products you advertize fit your readership.

I am just now starting to use Social Spark, but here are a few articles that will help you understand how it works:

How to Use Social Spark

How to Use Social Spark to make money on your blog





2. Another way is through PayperPost - this is the same concept as Social Spark

3. Lastly, you can use Sverve. Many people swear by Sverve as a great income generator. Again, you accept leads to write posts advertising products that you feel would interest your readership and get paid per post.  Like these other sites, I have not used Sverve for long, and I've only recently learned how I can use it to grow my readership and income. I can't wait to get over there and start taking advantage of all Sverve has to offer: income possibilities, relationship building, and partnership with other great bloggers.

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TODAY ONLY! Hostgator Discounts on Hosting Packages and Domains! EXPIRED!

EXPIRED!!!!
 
Did you know that March is American Red Cross month?
Have you been wanting to start your own website or self-hosted blog?
You have only 24 hours to jump on this amazing deal with HostGator.
Today only, in support of the American Red Cross, HostGator is offering:

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TODAY ONLY! Hostgator Discounts on Hosting Packages and Domains!

Did you know that March is American Red Cross month?
Have you been wanting to start your own website or self-hosted blog?
You have only 24 hours to jump on this amazing deal with HostGator.
Today only, in support of the American Red Cross, HostGator is offering:
50% off of all hosting packagesDomains for only $4 They will donate $1 for every new sign up to the American Red Cross.
Isn't that amazing??

I use HostGator for my website Missional Call and I love it! I have not had any problems with my hosting and the really great thing is that if you don't have a lot of cash on hand to pay for an entire year up front, you can pay month-to-month.  I love that!

Plus they have GREAT customer service.

Be sure to check out their Sales FAQ page  here if you have any questions.


4cafb0d094c7291cf2e142a99848dc02abae61ca5edd576c20Receive more articles like this by email here: http://eepurl.com/B1WDf

The Glorious Freedom of a Renewed Mind {Discovering True Identity Book Study Chapters 6-7}

We have begun to build the structure of a new identity in our lives, as we identify with Jesus' life, death, burial and resurrection we see our own path following that same journey. We learn to die to sin, be buried with Christ and realize that this same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead quickens our mortal bodies by His Spirit who dwells in us!

This week as we wrap up Discovering True Identity, we do not wrap up the study. You will see that the study guide for chapter seven gives you challenges for the next 4 weeks, taking this 4 week study to a complete 8 weeks.

Next week I will reveal a special gift for you that I am putting together. I hope you will stop by next Monday to see what it is, and receive your gift for joining me on this journey to discovering our true identity in Jesus Christ.

The verses we are reading this week are Galatians 5:22-23 & Philippians 4:8
  Now, check out this quote:


"The  Apostle was urging the believer to not be shaped or controlled by the philosphies, culture an ideologies of the world around them. Their life must reflect the clear will oGod. this happens when the transforming power of the Holy Spirit renews the mind...Rather than responding to people with rejection, jealousy and low self-worth, they accept themselves in the image of Jesus Christ."


Stop on over to my dad's new blog to download the discussion questions and view a special video interview I did with him and my mom.
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One Healthy Thing Fridays - The Introduction

Last year I lost 20 pounds.

Tired of the extra weight from having two big boys in less that two years, plus the other "extra" that was there before hand, I decided to take a new approach.

You see, weight loss has never come very easy for me. My dad and I were the only "bulge battlers" in a family of skinny minnies.  We were forever doing contests to see who would lose 20 pounds the fastest and win the $50 we had put up as the "prize". I don't recall that either of us ever won anything.

I have tried numerous diets (including Jenny Craig and Adkins), and have always managed to drop something..... only to pick it back up later on.

I was my best when I got married.  But it didn't take long before I slowed down, and started gaining again. 5 years and two kids later, and I had ballooned out to what was probably my heaviest ever. I was not happy. Not satisfied. Sleep deprived. And not very motivated to do what it would take to lose the pounds.

Last year I made a very wise choice. I decided to cut down on grains and increase fruits and vegetables. I had read an article about "low carb/volume eating" as a lifestyle and while I liked the idea a lot (it just sounds so healthy!), I was really sad about not being able to eat those lovely carbs - like muffins, tortillas, and fresh bread soaked in butter and honey.

But I decided that losing weight was more attractive that hot buttered rolls. The first few days were painful. Yes, I literally did mourn my banana bran muffins. But the "volume" eating part is eating as many fruits and vegetables as you want. So, that's really, really super healthy.

I was hungry. Non-stop, 24/7, for two whole weeks...and after that I felt great !

The pounds literally melted off as I allowed myself only one small helping of grains a day. Grains - in any form: wheat, corn, rice...you name it. This required more than discipline, though. It required a lot of concentration on my part.

And by fall I lost concentration, fell back into old habits and while at the tail end of that amazing journey I looked like this, I have put some of that weight back on. Sadly.

My goal is to lose 20-30 more pounds (the remainder of what I need to be healthy - not skinny, just healthy) by fall. I know I can do this. I just  need to motivate myself.

Since January I have been trying to motivate myself, with pretty much zero success. So I decided to do what I've avoided doing until now - take to my blog and find some accountability. Thus my new Friday series: One Healthy Thing.

My goal with One Healthy Thing is to find one healthy thing a week that I will start doing. I will record a short video with the one healthy thing I've chosen and share it with you.

I hope you'll join my journey to becoming more than thin - to becoming healthy!


(Please forgive the massive "up-speak" - I was so nervous making this. I am waaaay more comfortable writing that speaking...so here's me out -- way, way out -- of my comfort zone!)




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I Get Around + iParent.tv Subscription Winner

This is about the time when the Beach Boys are singing in my head.
It's that time of year, folks. I just logged in 2 hours of yard work while the kids played outside. We're getting serious about our garden and I planted some flowers, too. So exciting!!

But, that's not all I've been up to.  I've gotten around cyberspace quite a lot this month.  But before we get to that, we have some exciting business to take care of.

Jane M. You are the winner of the one-year subscription to iParent.tv. They have been notified (and you have, too). so they should be contacting you really soon.

This month I shared at Marriage Motherhood and Missions  about the one of the fears missionaries face - the fear of being forgotten. Have you forgotten your missionary? Here is a quote from my article:

"I truly believe that loneliness affects missionaries to a greater degree because they are so isolated from family and friends. While the Internet bridges that gap in some ways, it can never replace a written card, a shoulder to cry on, or a hand to hold on to when you feel like you’re losing your grip on thing called “life”.   ==> Read more here



 I really shared from the depths of my heart at Missional Women this month. My post "When Ministry Doesn't Go the Way We Plan" really laid my heart bare as I shared some of my own failures as a missionary.  Here is a quote from the article:

"During my time here, I have struggled to hang on my those selfish dreams, been forced to let them go, cried tears of loss and disappointment, considered myself a miserable failure, and come to peace with the fact that I cannot -  must not - live. It must be Christ who lives in me..." ==> Read more here


I was honored last month to be invited to join a great team of writers for the devotional blog Coffee for the Soul. Pop on over there and check them out. I am sure you will recognize many of the contributors. These are some of Faith-Bloggers' finest, and believe me, I am honored (and humbled) to work along side of them. This month my first post went up: The Limitless Grace of God.That is my life story! Here is a snippet:

"[Grace] removes the  need for all other atonement. We could spend the rest of our days trying to atone for even one sin we’ve committed and it would never be enough. But God’s grace is enough to atone for them all; because God knew that on this journey from our salvation until we reach the pearly gates, there will be much need for atonement." ==> Read more here 


Can I just say that I am still in awe of the fact that the humble offerings I present here are picked up by a magazine I read as a kid? It is really humbling, because I am not a professional writer. I simply bare my soul - and the fact that there are people out there who consider it good enough to read is really astounding to me. I really mean that sincerely. I really do find it amazing.

This month, SpiritLed Woman picked up two articles. First of all, they made my son a star (isn't that just cute??)  and posted a portion of my article on how to teach your children to memorize God's Word.

Just yesterday they published my article "When Ministry Doesn't Go the Way We Plan".



One more thing. Look at that down there! Isn't that just beautiful???? I am really excited about this new book "Tidbits from Help Meets' Hearts", not just because I am a contributing author, also because I teamed up with an awesome bunch of wives to offer bits of wisdom from our hearts. Be watching for more information and a giveaway of this amazing book!!







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5 Things You Should Know about Affiliate Advertising - Work @ Home Blogger Series + A Little R & R Wednesdays #44

I am reading a really good book right now that is simply a must read for every blogger who is looking to monetize. I am only 3 chapters in and am making notes at a furious rate.

This is the book!

There are five things you should know about affiliate advertising.
1. Map out your vision and purpose. Why do you blog? Money should only be an aspect of your act of blogging. It shouldn't be your vision. Your vision needs to be far deeper than that.

The vision of A Little R &  R is to help women discover contentment in what they are created to be. A part of that vision is to provide resources that meet the needs of the whole woman: single, married, retired; homemaker, career woman; mother grandmother...and the way I go about meeting those needs creates categories that help me to organize what I blog about and how I go about advertizing.

2.  Know your audience. Your vision should answer this question. Who is your audience? If your audience is foodies, and your blog a cooking blog, don't become a Lila Rose affiliate, because likely your audience doesn't visit your blog to find out how they can accessorize with hair do-dads.  You'll want to do some research to find resources that meet the cooking/baking needs of your audience: cookbooks, equipment, utensils, magazines, etc.

3. Be an active affiliate. This is something I have recently realized (although it should have come to mind much sooner...). You can't just place ads in your sidebar and rake in the cash. Wouldn't that be so easy??? To really make affiliate advertizing work, you need to be willing to make some room in your editorial calendar to review the products you advertize.

Are you a home school blogger? Review a supplemental printable pack by a blogger, like this excellent March Printable Pack for kids by Little Natural Cottage. You could also host a giveaway as a part of your review and during the giveaway, feature the affiliate graphic in your sidebar.

Once you've done a handful of reviews, gather then on a landing page and feature it in your tabs and sidebar so that your readers can easily find the reviews you have done.



4. Don't be afraid of big ticket items. I really wish I could take credit for this piece of advice. Last week while Skype-ing with Sunu from Clothed in Scarlet, she shared with me that she had recently read that affiliate advertisers should make $1 per mailing list subscriber per month. That is pretty amazing!! Think about it. How many subscribers do you have on your email list? 
This really only works if you are advertising big ticket items.  Simply put, smaller ticket items such as ebooks, will not give you a big commission. If a printable pack costs $2.99 and you receive 40% commission, you will receive $1.20 per item sold. Will you sell to every subscriber? Would that it were so!   At first you may not even sell to 5% of your mailing list - which equals only pennies per person each month.
Believe it or not, people will actually invest in a big ticket item if you are able to sell them with an honest and glowing review. 
Marketing experts predict that blogging will only increase as a means of advertising and they are recommending companies to invest in bloggers as affiliates. This is great news for us! This is not a flash-in-the-pan fad that will go away soon. So take deep breath, follow steps 1-4 and then...
5. Give it time.  You wont make money right away. You may not make much your first year. But keep plugging away at it. There are 3 things you need to do in the meantime:  Collect reviews, diversify and be willing to make adjustments.
We already talked about the reviews. Diversify - Don't pick just one merchant. Be wiling to become an affiliate with many merchants, and even for a wider range of products that meet the needs of your readers. 
Be willing to make adjustments - Try different review styles. Try YouTube. Take great pictures. Write a review from your child's perspective. Have a friend try a product and interview them. Place your ads in different areas on your sidebar, header and footer.

You can visit the merchants I advertise for here.

When I first planned this series, I had planned on talking about Amazon today. As I did more research on Amazon, I got really, really excited! There is so much to know and learn about Amazon Affiliates that I decided to dedicate an entire post just to that. I have also decided to extend this series another month, because there is so much more to share. I hope this is helpful to you in planning or organizing your blog motetization.

Additional Reading at AmyLynnAndrews.com




Read my introduction to this new series here


And don't forget to enter my giveaway for a 1-year free subscription to iParent.tv!! A service that helps monitor what your children do online
**********

 And now for the party!!!!
Here are the "rules"

1. Link up as many posts as you'd like (even giveaways!)
2. Link up old posts you wish would have received more attention!
3. Link back here by posting my button in your post or sidebar - or with a link
4. Visit the post just before yours

The party runs through next Tuesday evening!
So have FUN!

Click here to receive a weekly reminder about this party!






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Free Slaves and Identification (Discovering True Identity Chapters 4 & 5)

We have laid the foundation for who we are in Jesus Christ and have examined the enemy's strategy to keep us from living according to the new life received at salvation.

This week we look at two very important factors every Christian must know in order to recognize and fully embrace their proper identity in Christ.
1. What true freedom really means for the believer

2. How we stop identifying with our past


Please take some time this week to listen to a podcast of my dad's message from February 9, 2014 called "Authoritative Living".  In this message he addresses the very topic that we are reading about this week.  You can find the podcast here where you may listen online or download the Mp3 for free.

Check out these quotes:

"Living in the power and freedom of that new life will come through identification with the full work Jesus Christ accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection."

"The victory Jesus Christ won proclaims the individual a new creation."

"The source of victorious Christian living if found in identification."

"A person's future and their destiny do not have to be determined by their past experiences or former lifestyle."


You can download the questions by going to this link.

And don't forget to enter my giveaway for a 1-year free subscription to iParent.tv!! A service that helps monitor what your children do online

Don't forget to link up:
A Little R & R Wednesdays - a linky party weekly link up
All Things Spring link up party for your springtime posts


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