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Motherhood from Every Angle | Guest Post

How to Find Joy in the Midst of Chaos

There Will Come a Day

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm Ashlie, a Mississippi girl living in Nashville, a lucky wife who's married to her high school sweetheart, and a boy mama x 3. I get through each day with help from Jesus, lots of coffee, and tons of snuggles from my boys. Here you'll find me living out motherhood and sharing things I love. Everything I am and all that I create is southern made. Read More…

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He’s been mine for TWENTY YEARS! Two decades wor

He’s been mine for TWENTY YEARS! Two decades worth of loving this man. It seems like yesterday that he was introducing himself the first day of our senior year in high school. Crazy how time flies.

I prayed for him and the Lord was so faithful in allowing our paths cross. He’s our rock, my baby Daddy and the hardest working guy I know. Through all the highs and lows of life, he’s been my constant. Always encouraging, supporting and loving me no matter what season we faced.

I remember the moment we stepped out of the church sanctuary after being announced as husband and wife. We couldn’t contain our joy and excitement after 6 years of waiting for that day.

Cheers to 14 years of being married, Babe. Thank you for all that you do and for loving me and our boys fiercely. We love you so much! Here’s to many decades more!

📸:Shout out to our oldest stud for snapping this picture today.
1st pix: today
2nd pix: engagement photo
3rd pix: one of the happiest days of my life

My whole world in this little square frame. ♥️

My whole world in this little square frame. ♥️

Mamas, do y’all ever get out from behind the camera? I’ve struggled over the years with being mindful to jump in the photo with my family and boys.

I know you girls can relate to how quickly the years fly by as your kids get older. I’ve found myself scrolling through old photos on my phone and wishing I had been in more pictures with my boys. That was the point I decided to get beside them instead of looking through the lens. Regardless if I looked put together with hair fixed/makeup on or if I had a messy bun with a bare face.

Our families are going to look back at photos, us moms included, and want to see the ENTIRE crew in the frame. Make those memories. Take the pictures, but make sure you find a way to be in them.

Get in those frames with your sweet family! Tag me so I can see and cheer ya on! ♥️ Who is going to join me? #getyourselfinthepicture

I went for a walk this morning before the storms h

I went for a walk this morning before the storms hit us from the Hurricane. Towards the end of it, I looked up and saw a rainbow. Just a simple, beautiful reminder that God is faithful. No matter what is going on in this world, he is faithful.

I don’t know what kind of week you’ve had or what you turn to during the storms, friend. But I just want to speak a little truth into your life this morning. Know there’s a God who is good and loving and faithful despite our current circumstances. Nothing is a surprise to him. He has already won this war and overcome this world. It’s in the quiet moments like these that I’m reminded of that.

I’m so thankful I have hope in HIM and don’t have to rely on people and things of this world. 💙 #heisfaithful #darknesstolight #overcomer

We’re finally coming to the end of this 5-6 mont

We’re finally coming to the end of this 5-6 month “summer”. Some days it seemed like it would never end and then looking back, it seemed to fly by. Was it like that for you, too?

We soaked in all the sweet, fleeting moments like this one that I captured on my sweet boy’s 5th birthday. I looked at my husband today while Finn was running past us and realized he is closer to 4 now than 3. Harper started his third week of second grade. No matter what is going on in this world, the days keep passing without fail.

Every season is bittersweet. There are high and lows to all of it. When they’re babies, you soak up the smell and sweetness, but long for a full night’s sleep. When they’re older and in school, you miss them and wish you could have them home with you.

After the year we’ve had, I’ve craved some sense of normalcy and I’m finally getting a taste of it. I’ve tucked away all the memories we’ve made and now I’m happily anticipating my boys thriving at school, learning, and being surrounded by friends. Then we’ll continue that memory making as the holidays roll around.

Now onto the next season. Here’s to ending 2020 better than how we started it.🤞🏼

When you have a legit date night for the first tim

When you have a legit date night for the first time in ages and get all dolled up...ya take the freaking picture! 😜

I told y’all I’m all about cute, adorable fashion! 💃🏻 Well, this little black dress is that @walmart find I was talking about on stories yesterday! It was perfect for a summer date night!

And...I ADORE these pretty earrings from @theexclusivelook! I usually keep it simple with jewelry but love statement earrings or a necklace. These tortoise ones are definitely a fave!

So, y’all tell me! Who else has been lucky enough to sneak out for a date night recently?

📸: my hunky hubs - thx babe 😘

Hey, girl! Heyyyy!! I would LOVE your input pretty

Hey, girl! Heyyyy!! I would LOVE your input pretty please! 🙏🏼💕

With school starting back, this Mama is going to have more time to work and be creative. That means more time to write (which I LOVE to do) and put together content for y’all, but I want to know what you love to see the most.

I put some polls up in my stories and photos of past content. If you didn’t see those, I also added a few in this post’s carousel so just swipe to see it.

✨Here’s a little peek into things I love to share✨
1. Affordable, easy & classic fashion
2. Daily motherhood (the beautiful, raw & messy parts)
3. Recipes (most likely from my mama and Memaw’s kitchen)
4. Home Decor
5. Cake Decorating
6. Mental health - my experience with postpartum depression & anxiety
7. Speaking truth & advocating for those that don’t have a voice
8. All things JESUS. I will always use this space to share my love for Christ. He’s transformed my life and I can’t be silent about it. Everyone is deserving of His love and the freedom He brings! 🙌🏼

👉🏻 So, please tell me!
What do y’all want to see more of when you come to my account? How can I serve you better as we’re all a part of this amazing community of women?

✨God has always used really unlikely people to d

✨God has always used really unlikely people to do really unlikely things in really unlikely places. ✨

I love this quote by Christine Caine. When I first read this quote I thought of Mary in the Bible. She was a young, poor girl who God used for the most important job in history. I bet she was thinking that the angel had surely mistaken her for someone else when he came to bring the news. How could she be worthy of such a task? But God knew her worth and he used her to bring JESUS into this world. Her son that would become a light in the darkness and bring us hope and freedom!

Even in the most mundane season of life,
God can use us. Even in a world that seems impossible for our voice to be heard, God can use us. We need only be available and willing to be used. Listen to your heart and for his still, small voice, for gentle prompts as he’s directing your steps and your words.

It could be one morning when you’ve got messy hair and a coffee stained shirt while you’re with your babies. Maybe it’s during a rushed morning on the way to work when you pause to give a smile and a hello, or when you speak what’s on your heart and it’s just what someone needed to hear that day. You were placed on this earth for a purpose, friend. Be open to being used by the Lord and watch how your obedience can make an impact. ♥️ #livewithpurpose

I’d love to hear your stories! How has God worked in small or big ways to impact your life or others?

If summer was a picture, this would be it. Bathing

If summer was a picture, this would be it. Bathing suits, sunscreen, empty snack bags, fun with friends and family, and lots of sweet memories. ☀️

If I’m being honest, summer break brings mixed emotions for me and a little bit of anxiety. Noise is my trigger and y’all, boys are LOUD and they wrestle 24/7 which in turn means I’m always refereeing to make sure we don’t end up in the E.R. I love my boys and the fact they are home and we get more time together. But, I also know that I thrive as a mother, wife and friend when I have time for me. Time for self care. Summer makes it a little hard to get that. So I went into the Spring nervous about where my mental state would be in the coming months.

When Covid hit, I pulled out my useless 2020 calendar and saw what would’ve been our packed schedule and you know what? I kind of breathed a sigh of relief. I felt like God was saying, here is your time to slow down and be intentional. Focus on what really matters. So I started praying for patience and that he would turn fear into peace.

I’ve realized over the past few weeks that he did just that. I’ve had more patience in the past 5 months with my boys than I can ever recall. Our family has made some pretty amazing memories. We started family bike rides, had more meals around the table, played in the rain, Harper and Rohen learned how to ride their bikes, we’ve had movie nights, we stayed up late to catch fireflies and play hide & seek in the dark, Harper lost his first tooth, we buried a chest full of goodies just to watch their excitement as they went on a treasure hunt to find it, Finn got completely potty trained, and the list goes on.

What a sweet time this has been. It’s amazing what calling out to God and a shift in perspective can do.

#wherearethechildren The time for silence and “c

#wherearethechildren
The time for silence and “comfortable” Christianity is gone! It is time to 👏🏼WAKE UP👏🏼 and 👏🏼SPEAK UP👏🏼 for those who can’t. Be their voice. We can’t be worried about what other people may think. Have the courage to be disliked.

Majority of us have been in a bubble. We knew it was happening but had NO IDEA to what extent. When I started learning more about the stats on sex trafficking I was shocked. It rocked me to my core, especially as a mother. There is such evil in this world. Why isn’t the media talking about this?!

Here are some horrific stats for you:
* Sex trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.
* It generates approximately $150 BILLION each year.
* 30 million people are enslaved around the world. 13 million of those are children and 2 million are forced to be sex slaves.
* Children as young as 6 months old have been rescued from sexual abuse and trafficking.
* 90% of child abuse victims know their abuser.

These facts are hard to swallow. If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.

Here’s how to help:
* Educate yourself.
* Watch @ourrescue’s Documentary Operation Toussaint
* Text “HELPTHEM” to 51555 to get text messages on ways to get involved and help raise awareness.
* Complete the free training on @ourrescue’s website. This course teaches how to spot and report sex trafficking. (Link in bio)
* Use your voice! Start a conversation. Share to social media.
* Donate to organizations that fight for the cause.
* PRAY! Pray for the victims and that they are rescued! Pray that their abusers are brought to justice. Pray for the organizations and law enforcement who are in the dark places fighting to rescue people and children. Pray for an end to sex trafficking.

Organizations making a difference:
@ ourrescue @projrescue @childrescuecoalition @hopeforjusticeint @exoduscry @ijm @justicemercyinternational @a21 @rights4girls @polarisproject @enditmovement @savinginnocence

Let’s get LOUD and stay loud! #riseup
Let 2020 be the year we make a dent in ending sex trafficking! I’ve listed several other women in the comments who are taking a stand alongside me.

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