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5 Activities to Keep Christ in Christmas

5 Activities to Keep Christ in Christmas

by | Dec 10, 2023 | Mollie, One Blessed Momma

Christmas time is upon us

The holiday season has descended upon us like a blizzard in the mountains. I don’t know about you, but I already feel weary and tired. I really DO love this time of year. However, it is incredibly easy to find myself overbooked, exasperated, and completely missing the whole point of this joyous season.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

This is the time of year when most of the world is more willing to hear about our loving Savior. Spreading His good news should always be our focus, especially during this particular time.

Here are five fun activities to help keep your and your children’s focus on what is really important this holiday season.

Christmas Caroling

Many of our “Christmas carols” share the good news of our Savior’s birth. Take this time to sing about this blessed event. Get a group of friends, or head out with your kids to your local nursing home, hospital, shut-ins, etc.

Baking Christmas Treats

Teaching our kids to serve like Christ and to put others first is so important. Everyone loves a goodie basket (or plate). Gather your children in the kitchen and have an afternoon of baking. You can add in some extra learning if you so desire. Check out my post on practical homeschool tips here for some ideas on how to incorporate math into baking. My family likes to bake gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, fudge, no-bake cookies, and brownies. Be sure to check the printable section for Aunt Nette’s famous fudgy brownie recipe.

Go Look at Christmas Lights

This super easy, fun, and FREE activity is a golden opportunity to slow down and re-focus our minds on Christ. Use this time to talk about how Jesus is the light of the world and how we, as Christians, should be shining his light through our actions, words, and attitudes.

Give a Gift to Someone in Need

My children truly love to give. It warms my heart so much to see their generous spirits shining through. One thing we like to do is go through toys and clothing that are still in good condition and gift those items to someone in need or someone who would be blessed and enjoy them. If your budget allows, you can also set an amount for each kid to spend picking out new gifts for those in need.

Read and Talk About Jesus’ Birth

Last, but certainly not least, read the story of the birth of Christ from your Bible and talk about the mighty power, endless love, and eternal blessing that our God freely gave to us in the form of a newborn baby. What a mighty God we serve!

May you be blessed this holiday season. Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Friend,

If you’re reading this and you don’t know our God. If you haven’t been covered by the blood of Jesus and been given his Holy Spirit as a comforter, please reach out! He is waiting for you and wanting for you to accept his FREE gift of salvation. Don’t wait. It is THE most important decision you will ever make. Make it today.

With love,

Mollie

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Meet Mollie

 

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.

Learn more about Mollie and her family

Overcoming Insecurities

Overcoming Insecurities

by | Nov 13, 2023 | Mollie, One Blessed Momma

The Ultimate Farmer

I love this time of year! Planting vegetables in the garden and watching the plants powerfully push their tiny heads through the dirt is truly a miracle to behold.

Did you know God was a gardener? Oh yes! The ultimate farmer!

God is a Husbandman and Shepherd

 

Indeed, there are many references in scripture to God being a husbandman (gardener) and a shepherd. Our Heavenly Father is the husbandman who prunes the branches (us) on the True Vine (Jesus). John 15

Jesus is also the Good Shepherd who watches over his sheep. He protects us, guides us and feeds us spiritually. John 10 

Farm Lessons

I truly believe God uses all sorts of circumstances and events to teach us more about Himself.

One such event happend yesterday.

As a cattle rancher’s wife, I have a thing for cows. You will find cow prints all over my house.

For example, my AMAZING mother-in-law just made Trevor and I the most incredible quilt for our bed. It has our brand in the middle of it surrounded by embroidered flowers with our kids names in them and bordered by lots of cow influenced fabrics. I LOVE it!

Additionally, instead of a stick person family on my suburban’s back window I have a cow herd! I have cowprint everything from coasters to earrings. I even have a pair of cowprint leggings!

My love of cows spills over into what we watch on T.V. Westerns are big around my house along with “Ferdinand”. We also enjoy a YouTube channel called “The Hoof GP”. This guy works on cow hooves for living. 

Where is the spiritual application in some guy trimming bovine feet?

Yesterday I watched him trim a cow’s hoof that, from the outside looked pretty normal. He knew something was wrong because of the way she was walking so he dug a little deeper. Without warning, pus began to shoot out as he chipped away at the poor girl’s foot. 

The infection had apparently been caused by trauma to her toe and had spread all the way up to her heel, creating a large cavity where the hoof horn was no longer connected to the corium, or fleshy part of the foot that produces new hoof growth.

In order to help this cow he had to remove all the detached hoof horn so that the corium could heal and grow new, healthy, attached hoof horn. 

After that, he glued a rubber block onto the other side of her hoof to help take the weight off of her injured side. 

Spiritual Application

The lesson I gleaned from this video was one that hits a little close to home. Insecurity. We all have insecurities. Some recognized, other’s hidden.

One thing all insecurities have in common is they are rooted in pride, fear or shame.

Much like that cow’s hoof, we allow some form of trauma to our pride fester and create a chasm, disconnecting us from our source of life-Jesus Christ. 

Oftentimes we don’t even realize we are acting out of pride, but if we are willing to take an honest look at our hearts, we will find most insecurities stem from our fear of feeling inferior.  

 

Scripture Talk

So, what is pride and what does the scripture say about it?

Pride is a conceited sense of one’s own superiority.

  • I John 2:15-16 tells us pride is worldy; not of God.
  • It causes self deception. Jeremiah 49:16
  • Pride leads to destruction. Proverbs 16:18
  • It also hinders us from coming to God. Psalm 10:4
  • Pride gives an inflated sense of self. Proverbs 26:12

Wow! If pride is so bad maybe we should look at the opposite behavior. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about humility. 

  • Christ was the ultimate example of humilty. Philippians 2:5-16
  • We are told to only take pride in our Lord. I Corinthians 1:10
  • We are to put other’s needs above our own. Philippians 2:3-4
  • God will reward humility. James 4:6,10, Matthew 18:4

 

Lean on Your Lord

Just like the hoof GP shaves the infected hoof horn away to expose the underlying problem, our God chips away at our yucky and, through His Holy Spirit, heals our injuries. Much like the block the doc glued on the injured bovine’s hoof, Jesus tells us to lean on Him for strength and support.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.          Matthew 11:29

Conclusion

To wrap up, I encourage each of you to pray with me that the Lord will open our eyes to the hidden source of every insecurity we battle and then allow Him to clean and heal our wounds while we lean on Him.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through him. Colossians 3:17

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Meet Mollie

 

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.

Learn more about Mollie and her family

Five Fall Activities for Kids That Teach About Jesus

Five Fall Activities for Kids That Teach About Jesus

by | Oct 8, 2023 | Mollie, One Blessed Momma

Fall is a beautiful time of year!

It is definitely one of my favorite seasons here in gorgeous SW Colorado. I love being outside in the cool, crisp, autumn air enjoying the vibrant changing leaves and the bountiful harvest God has provided.

Everywhere you look the creativity of God is evident. The vivid red, blazing orange and glittering gold leaves exhibiting one of the many dazzling masterpieces painted by our Creator’s own hand.

As I spend time observing this miraculous time of change in nature I have discovered many teachable moments and examples to share with my children.

Here are five of my families favorite fall activities that point back to our Lord.

Hand Print Leaves

These are easy and fun to make and can used in a myriad of ways. Such as: on a dish towel or apron (use fabric paint for this option), decorate a window or glass door (window/glass paint here), or on a piece of paper as a pretty art piece to display.

Another option is to use a chalk marker to color your child’s hand then decorate a chalk board or the sidewalk outside!

 

  1. Paint your child’s hand with choice of paint and color (reds, oranges, browns, yellows and even turquoise and purples look great, too!)
  2. Press your child’s hand on the paper (or other material as desired) to make several  clear-ish hand prints. The leaves will still look great even if the prints are a little smeared.
  3. Use a sharpie to outline the “leaf” and draw the veins and stem. 

Biblical connection: Talk about how Jesus created the world and specifically designed trees to lose their leaves in the fall so that they don’t freeze and die in the winter. God cares about His creation from the people all the way down to the plants. Matthew 6:28-30

 

 

Acorn People

This fun activity is a good one if you have access to acorns. All you need is acorns, hot glue and a sharpie.

  1. Glue acorns together
  2. Draw faces with sharpie
  3. Voila! A whole, happy acorn family!

Biblical Connection: Ask your child to identify some similarities in the acorn people then have them name some differences (different sizes, shapes, colors, etc.) Talk about how God made each of us unique and different and He loves everyone. Acts 10:34

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip  Muffins

Make a batch of muffins and deliver them to a friend or neighbor. My mom’s famous recipe for these delectable delights is below in the FREE printables section. You’ll wanna try these!

Biblical Connection: Talk with your child about thinking of others and their needs.    Philippians 2:4

The Pumpkin Gospel

I love this creative idea for using pumpkin carving to tell The Gospel!
I just presented this at my kids school for our annual “Pumpkin Day”.
Check out this link to get the full script, book and more!

Plant Flower Bulbs

I love gardening, especially flower gardening, so this is something I truly love! You can either order bulbs online or find them at your local hardware/gardening store.

Biblical Connection: This connects nicely with the Pumpkin Gospel activity. Tell children that when we share The Gospel it is like planting seeds (or bulbs in this case). We don’t always see the results right away. But like the bulbs we have planted in the ground, God’s word can grow in a person’s heart. In the spring, when the ground is warming up we start to see the little sprouts popping out of the soil and we look forward to the beautiful blooms that we know are coming. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

Download Free Printables

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Meet Mollie

 

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.

Learn more about Mollie and her family

Living My Happily Ever After

Living My Happily Ever After

by | Aug 14, 2023 | Mollie, One Blessed Momma

“Once upon a time there lived a beautiful maiden. She met her prince charming and they lived happily ever after.”

We’ve all read the fairy tales and seen the Disney movies. Many of us have hoped something like this could happen but never really believed it would. I am a hopeless romantic and always flip to the “How We Met” love stories in any magazine and, yes, I love the hallmark channel.

If you love a sappy romance as much as I do then keep on reading!

Early 2011 I found myself in a very negative relationship. When that relationship ended, I spiraled into a deep depression. At the age of 19 I wanted nothing more to do with men and had told God that I was happy to be an old maid.

One of my best friends was really great about trying to get me out of my funk. She invited me (and insisted that I go) to a birthday party for one of our mutual friends, Seth. I didn’t know it was also a birthday party for my future husband as well. Seth and Trevor had been best friends since childhood and often celebrated their birthdays together since they were only 8 days apart.

I had heard some about this Trevor guy. In fact, I had even seen him once. It was at another mutual friend’s graduation party. I vividly remember sitting off alone and, with all my 14 year-old self esteem, thinking, “A handsome cowboy like that could never like an ugly girl like me.” We never said a word to each other until 5 years later.

After the birthday party Trevor drove me home and we talked about everything from our love of homemade ice cream to church and family. We exchanged phone numbers, but I still wasn’t interested in a relationship. He was working in Texas at that time and had to leave Colorado the day after we met to go back to work. I certainly didn’t expect to hear from him the next day, but, as I would come to learn, when he makes up his mind he doesn’t beat around the bush.

He called me that evening and we talked about how neither of us were looking for a relationship, but if we were… We both laid out our list of the most important things to us and what we would want from a spouse. We ended up talking for 10 hours straight!

Little did I know that Trevor had told his best friend after we met at the birthday party that he had found the girl he was going to marry. I wasn’t quite as impulsive-it took me four days of talking over the phone to decide he was the right one for me!

One week after we met, he came back to Colorado and asked me to go help him move cows for his brother. As we were driving there he started singing the Randy Travis song “Forever and Ever Amen” to me. Then, as we were riding horses pushing cows he turned to me and said, “This is how I’ve always imagined it. Me and my girl riding and working cows together.” To which I replied, “I didn’t know I was your girl.” Now, in all reality I DID know I was his girl BUT every girl deserves to be asked!

I think my comment threw him off guard so it took him a whole 4 hours before he asked, “Well, will ya?” He really is a romantic guy even though that wasn’t his shining moment.

He continued to work out of town and we continued to talk on the phone every night. He would get off work and call me and we would talk until I had to leave for my job as a breakfast waitress the next morning. Trevor would drive back to Colorado every Friday night and then head back to Texas every Sunday night, sometimes just getting there in time to be at work Monday morning.

We feel like having most of our relationship develop over conversation really expedited our feelings and true connection with each other. But, as you can imagine, the extreme lack of sleep took a toll on us. My health was not good from an illness I had been fighting for several months. We both knew we wanted to get married but we thought we needed to wait a bit longer for our families to get to know us. However, we realized that with the stress it was putting on both our health and our finances (Trevor’s fuel bill was astronomical) we should just get married.

So, after knowing each other for 2 months he asked my dad if he could marry me and was told he could as long as we had a short engagement. Happy to oblige, we set the date for 2 months later.

Although we had many people who told us we were “ruining our lives” and greatly protested our quick decision to marry, our families were both completely on board and supportive.

Remember when we vowed the vows and walked the walk.

Gave our hearts, made the start and it was hard.
We lived and learned, life threw curves.

There was joy, there was hurt.

Remember when.

                             Alan Jackson

 

On August 20th, 2011 I married my best friend. We are celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary this week and are still completely crazy about each other!

I wish I could say it’s been “happily ever after” but, in all honesty, we have been through some very difficult and stressful times. Dickens’ opening phrase of “A Tale of Two Cities” is most fitting, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

It hasn’t always been easy but one thing has definitely always been certain; we are always there for each other 100% of the time. When you KNOW, truly know, that you have someone who will never betray you and who tries to put you first you can go through hard times with a smile. I have come to more fully understand this in the past year especially.

So, I say, go ahead and believe in fairy tales. Believe in love at first sight. Believe that God is in control and his perfect plan of two committed christians working together in a marriage is a beautiful picture of His love for us. Believe in happily ever after. Maybe that is what I am living after all.

I thought it would be fun to have Trevor give some of his perspective on our story.

Trevor: I got back from the oilfield in Oklahoma Friday 4-1-11, I had 2 days off and had to drive to Texas Sunday, 4-3-11. I spent all day Saturday working on my truck and showed up to my birthday party in a sleeveless shirt. Us guys were in the back grilling when I looked through the glass door and saw the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, yes, I did think that right then and I certainly do now. I had to get inside and find out who she was. I found a nicer button up shirt and we went dancing, one of my favorite things. I ended up driving her home and we talked church. By the end of that conversation I knew this beautiful girl had to be my wife. She is the best person I have ever known and the best decision I have ever made.

Meet Mollie

 

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.

Learn more about Mollie and her family

Building an Altar for the Lord

Building an Altar for the Lord

by | Jul 10, 2023 | Mollie, One Blessed Momma

“Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.” Genesis 13:18

This scripture tells us that Abram (later known as Abraham) built an altar for God. These altars were used for sacrificing animals as a form of worship. Abram wasn’t the only one from the bible that performed this ritual. In fact, this was often done after a victory in battle or some other blessing had been revealed.

Building an altar and subsequently offering sacrifices seems like a thing of the past. Most Christians (none I know of) don’t build altars in their backyard and slaughter goats, sheep, cows, birds, etc.… God doesn’t require us to offer blood sacrifices anymore. Not since he sent his only begotten son to live a perfect life, die on the cross as payment for our sins, and rise again on the 3rd day-conquering death and revealing his power to do so. Praise his holy name, Jesus!

The scriptures tell us that the Old Testament was given as an example to us and a foreshadowing of things to come (1 Cor. 10:11). Like so many things from old testament times, we can glean much knowledge about our spiritual lives by looking at their physical lives.

I have spent the last several years reading through the whole bible every year. This has been a tremendous blessing to me in my spiritual walk, and one significant benefit I have noticed is seeing a more complete picture of scripture.

One of the things that has stuck out to me is how many parallels we can draw between the physical and spiritual.

As I pondered Genesis 13:18 through this lens, I began to see a parallel here.

We all have so much freedom under Christ, and what a blessing that is! However, just like Galatians 5:13 warns- let’s not use our freedom to let the flesh rule our lives. This is a trap cunningly set by our enemy. And I, unfortunately, have fallen into it many times.

It is so very easy to go along with the culture and society without even realizing it. We almost all have some form of social media, some video streaming app, and some form of audiobook/podcast app. I am not saying there is anything inherently wrong with having, using, and enjoying these things. I am, however, warning against slowly allowing ourselves to be desensitized or hardened to the evil parts that are so prevalent in these areas of entertainment.

How much is “too much” cussing? Is a movie with one cuss word enough to take it off our watchlist? Or is the magic number 5? Or 10? Or does it depend on which cuss word is used? What about sex scenes? Is one ok? Only if it doesn’t show total nudity? Violence? How much violence is ok?

There are any number of qualifiers we use to determine if something is ok to allow into our minds or the minds of our children. These are all decisions we must make for ourselves. My encouragement to you is to be careful how you make these determinations and don’t be pressured to allow anything into your mind or your child’s mind that you feel is wrong or could cause you to say more is ok next time.

As I mentioned earlier, I have fallen into this trap many times. I have also fallen into the trap of going to one of these avenues for comfort when life is hard (which has been A LOT lately). It is SO much easier to let my mind wander to some fictitious place than to have to think about my life problems. How wrong! I have placed my trust in some worldly devices rather than the one who can truly deliver me.

I always thought it was ridiculous that the Israelites put their trust in graven and molten images—mindless objects. But friends, we do the same thing!

As I came to the realization that I had allowed myself to fall prey to one of the enemy’s traps, I prayed. I prayed for forgiveness. I prayed for deliverance. I prayed for guidance.

That is when Genesis 13:18 came along. Seeing how Abram went and built an altar, I began to think, “How can I build a spiritual altar? What does that look like?”

My conclusion is that we build altars by forming habits. Both good and bad. Just as an altar takes time to build one stone upon another, so do habits take time and intentionality.

When we stop and pray before every meal, that is an altar on which we sacrifice to wait to dive into our food to be thankful.

Another example would be reading scripture. Build that altar (habit) and sacrifice that time. A very important altar would be to take time. Stop. Shut down the noise and listen. Listen to what God has to say. Take time to thank him, To ask him for guidance, To read his word, and get to know him.

Build your altars, friends, and go there daily to sacrifice to the One, True, and Living God!

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds:) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; ” 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Friend,

If you’re reading this and you don’t know our God. If you haven’t been covered by the blood of Jesus and been given his Holy Spirit as a comforter, please reach out! He is waiting for you and wanting for you to accept his FREE gift of salvation. Don’t wait. It is THE most important decision you will ever make. Make it today.

With love,

Mollie

.

Meet Mollie

 

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.

Learn more about Mollie and her family

Taking Fun Seriously

Taking Fun Seriously

by | Jun 12, 2023 | Mollie, One Blessed Momma

The Most Magical Place on Earth

Is your home the most magical place on earth? No, I am not asking if you live at Disney Land. How seriously do you take having fun with your kids? Do you even know what they consider fun?

I recently read a short devotional about taking fun seriously and being intentional about taking the time to enjoy life with your children. This really convicted me. 

Generally, my idea of fun is pulling weeds from my garden, planting a new flower bed, or trying out a new bread recipe. Anything that is still accomplishing a beneficial task that I can check off my never-ending to-do list. Somehow, I don’t think those things always align with my kids’ ideas of fun. 

Give Yourself Permission

As a mom, I have struggled to allow myself to take the time to do “meaningless” activities. I always feel the need to be efficient. Work. Get things done. Don’t waste a second. 

I am learning that, like all things in life, there is a balance. One can play too much, as we see a lot in today’s society. However, one can also be so focused on accomplishing tasks that they cease to enjoy the abundant blessings the Lord so graciously bestows on them each day.

Mom Stress is Real

Being a mom has its stresses to be sure. Are we raising our kids right? Teaching them everything they need to know? Protecting them, but not over-sheltering them? Feeding them the right foods? Taking them to the right Dr.? Immunizing or not immunizing? Public, private, or homeschool? Sports? 4-h?  Youth group? The list goes on and on.

With everything we have to decide every day, how could we possibly take time to play with our kids?

When we take the time to laugh and enjoy life, it really is a testament to our faith in God. How can you laugh if you’re worried? How can you stay stressed if you’re thanking God?

Scripture Says…

The scripture has a lot to say about laughter and enjoying life. I just chose a few to share here. 

Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

Being happy has a physical effect on our bodies. Consider it a daily dose of vitamins.

Proverbs 31:25 “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.”

The ancient proverbian is speaking about a godly, virtuous woman here. One that we would do well to aspire to be like. He says, “She laughs at the time to come,” Some versions say, “She smiles at the future” or, “She is cheerful about the days to come.” Can we be cheerful about the future if we are stressing about money, health, jobs, etc? 

Psalm 126:25 “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; they they said among the nations (non-believers) ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ “

Our cheerfulness can be a great witness of God’s goodness to others. We have a greater chance of telling others about the Gospel (the good news of Jesus) if we show how good we believe it is!

We have an enemy that would make us feel life’s weight every moment. He would love to keep us in the miry pits of stress, doubt, and insecurity. 

Fight this battle with a joyful spirit!

Golden Opportunity

As moms, we have the opportunity every day to show, teach, and mold the minds and hearts of future generations. What do we want them to learn from us? How to doubt and worry? or, how to trust God and truly hand their lives over to him; living life with a cheerful outlook? I know which one I choose!

In this demanding occupation called motherhood, we often take life and mothering too seriously- failing to enjoy the journey!

The Proverbs 31 woman didn’t rejoice in the days to come because she knew some special secret. No, she rejoiced because she trusted in the One who is in control. Her creator. Her God. Her Savior. 

Be At Ease

We can be at ease knowing that the God who holds our future- our children’s futures, our grandchildren’s futures- also holds our hands today. He is the ultimate power, none can even compare to Him! Let us remember that who He is changes who we are.

I encourage you to join me in my journey of intentionally (that means planning) having more fun with my kids. Play a card or board game, ride bikes or horses together, find funny faces in the clouds, go for a walk, watch a movie together, and then quote funny lines to each other later on.

I am striving to create a haven of joy and peace that my kids want to be in!

So give yourself permission to join me on the “fun challenge”. Leave a comment on one way you plan to have fun with your family this week. 

Thanks for reading, and, as always, be blessed!

Friend,

If you’re reading this and you don’t know our God. If you haven’t been covered by the blood of Jesus and been given his Holy Spirit as a comforter, please reach out! He is waiting for you and wanting for you to accept his FREE gift of salvation. Don’t wait. It is THE most important decision you will ever make. Make it today.

With love,

Mollie

.

Meet Mollie

 

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.

Learn more about Mollie and her family