Hello

Hello my friends. Its been a busy week so far and although I have made time for my devotions, my workout and some special time with a friend I have not been able to pencil in my blog time.

This is the final week at the office so I have been trying to get everything ready to turn in the keys by Friday. I am gonna miss going to that office building, it was such a great location. However having worked there alone since April 1st I won't miss the loneliness or having to wear a sweater in the heat of the summer because the people who control the thermostat has too many windows.

My son has been gone for the past two weeks and returns on Friday so I am very much looking forward to having him home again. I don't necessarily have a favorite child, they each add something special to my life, but Nick, I don't know how to explain it, just has my heart in a different way. I have really missed him.

Well ladies I hope you are having a good week and that you all are well.

Gentleness......

Happy Monday Ladies! I trust that you all had a wonderful weekend, mine was really busy.

Last week I was a little slow on finishing my Fruit of the Spirit - Gentleness, but I am glad I waited to write about it cause this was also Greenhouses Fruit for the week.  Pastor Ryan Beacher did a wonderful job talking about Gentleness. Gentleness is not a word you hear very often. Instead you hear words like kind, benevolent, courteous, compassionate, and merciful, which are Gentleness in action. Gentleness has three important aspects: submission, humility and teach-ability. These three components make up a gentle behavior that can only be obtained through complete surrender and faith.

One of the biggest things that makes it difficult for the Spirit to develop this Fruit in our lives is our Pride. We tend to have more experience with gentleness' evil twin which is displayed through anger, rudeness, sarcasm, unkindness and lack of compassion.  Gentleness is an ability and desire to treat and deal with others in a manner that is better than what their behavior or actions deserve.

 When it comes to showing gentleness to others it is necessary to be relative, relational and relevant. Which is exactly what Jesus did with the woman at the well. Jews and Samaritans did not think much of each other and they did not talk to each other either, and here is Jesus asking a Samaritan woman for water. Confused that this Jew was speaking to her and asking for water, she did not realize that the water she could provide for Him was nothing compared to the living water He could provide for her. As Jesus connected with her and told her all about her life, He gently helped her to see that there is something better for her life. He spoke truth, but not in a condemning way, as we as Christians have been known to do.

It's not always easy to practice gentleness, but the Fruit of the Spirit, all of them, are what set us apart. These are the evidence of Christ in us, because the more we surrender to His will, the more we become and appear to others as like Christ. Gandhi once said: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ".  Sad, but true in many cases. Sometimes as a  Christian we get a taste of God's grace and goodness, we surrender our sins but not ourselves. We are so concerned with being "saved" that we fall short of what being a Christian is all about and that is allowing Him to do the  necessary work in  us to help us become more like Him so that we can be His arms extended to this world.

The Fruit of the Spirit is the heart of God that He wants to develop in  us, through His Spirit, if we willingly surrender our control, all of it. I know this is not an easy task for any of us. We are always in control or managing mode, and some of us like it  that  way,  but if we could begin to allow Him to work in our lives, it would be nice to have someone we can trust to control and manage us.

Definitely more to gentleness than I expected. Have a nice day :) Attached is the link for the Message by Ryan Beacher on Gentleness: Gentleness - Ryan Beacher @ Greenhouse Church

Running......

As some of you know, I have been working on the Couch to 5K (aka C25K), and when I say working, I mean working. I am not a runner, matter of fact, I hate to run, or so I thought. If you have never tried the C25K then you don't know what I am talking about so let me explain.

The program consists of at least 8 weeks. You download the app on your smartphone and as you play your favorite music mix (mine is Amy Grant) you start the app for the week and day you are on and begin. Each week is meant to strengthen your legs and breathing and increase your endurance. It starts slow and builds up from there. For example week one you run for 60 seconds week two 90 seconds week three 3 minutes and so forth until you get to week 8 which is running/jogging for 30 minutes or until you get to 3 miles. This is my second time trying the C25K plan as 3 minutes was as far as I got before I gave up.

The first two weeks were pretty easy, I mean I got out of breath but I kept going and felt like I was gonna die at the end of each one, but strangely enough I survived to run another day. When I got through with week three I thought there is no way I am ready to move to a 5 minute run so I decided to re-do week three but on the third day of week three I wanted to see just how long I could run so instead of using my app I turned on the treadmill and warmed up and then began running, I was just trying to see if I could do 5 minutes of running, but when I got to 5 minutes I felt like I could go a little further. Needless to say once I got to 8 minutes I noticed I was already past a mile of running and was determined to make it to 10 minutes, so I just kept running. Well I did make it to 10 minutes but I was huffing and puffing  those last 60 secs, cheering myself on the whole time, saying "you can do this" , "don't quit!".

I was pretty pleased with this accomplishment considering my fear was that I would not even make it 5 minutes.  Funny how you have no idea what your limits are until you surpass them. Now I am wondering how in the world I will be able to run for 30 minutes if I barely made 10 minutes. I am gonna stick with the program and trust that in the end I will be able to do it. I will let you all know when that happens cause the 8 week program is already gonna take me 9 since I repeat week 3.

I wanted to share this with you because we have talked about positive self talk a time or two and this has been very helpful to me. I always thought that I needed someone else to cheer me on with challenges such as these but I am learning that I DO have it within myself to cheer myself on and if I fail or quit it is all on me. During in my life I have taken pride it trying not to let anyone down that is except for myself. I would like to say that this is all me but the truth is as I have allowed the Spirit to grow me I believe it has also allowed me to grow in other areas.

This workout time has given me time to worship while trying to meet my physical goals. It is a super natural boost that takes me out of the gym and into some quiet time. I am not sure I love running or that I will ever be great at it, but I do love how I feel physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally when I am done. This is not just my "me time" but has become my daily meeting place with my Maker and that I have come to love!!!

Well ladies I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Those of you coming tonight to the Canvas Painting, I am looking forward to spending some fun time with you all!! Be Safe!

Change is coming......

It is bitter-sweet that we will be closing the office at my job as of July 1st. Although I have always entertained the idea of working from home, I will miss the office that I have been in for 8 years. The location was great, right next to the high school. I have mixed feelings about working from home, and I am sure there will be an adjustment period, but I think it will all work out for the best eventually. 

The worst part about closing the office is the moving. I do not particularly enjoy going through 20 years of files, deciding what to keep and what to toss, especially when I am just not certain. My former boss was old school and keep everything! Emails and correspondences as well. How different his generation was from what we now have come to enjoy about digital filing. 

I consider myself fairly flexible, but there is something about fixed routines and such. However I am  realizing that not just my job location is changing, my whole life is headed into a new season. Now that Allie has her own car, and Nick not too far behind her, their needs of me will change too.  Where did all the time go? Seems like just yesterday their were totally dependent on me for this or that. Such is the tale of growing up and preparing to leave the safety of the nest I guess. 

We all know that this did not just happen over night but I am pleased with how each day has helped to prepare me for roads that lay ahead. Little things here and there have helped pave the way for gradually adjusting to the coming changes that are and should be inevitable. Things are as they are designed to be, seasonal and temporary. 

Let it be know that out of all the things I have ever done, I have to say that being a mom has been my most favorite adventure yet and I look forward to all the adventures we have yet to share as well as the ones we will experience separate from one another. 

Change is not just coming it is here.

More than anything.......

As my children grow older I have many wishes for them in their futures. I wish for them to find love in a healthy relationship. I wish for them to find careers that do more than just pay the bills. I wish for them to find happiness. But, more than anything, I wish for them to have a personal relationship with God. 



Like many of you, I have raised my children in church. They have attended youth groups and camps and they have learned many things about Jesus and the many other people mentioned in the bible. I know they believe in God and that they know right from wrong, but do they own their own faith? 

Many parents believe that going to church is enough, but can we ignore recent studies that show that college age students and twenty-somethings often leave their Christian faith behind once they leave the nest, in spite of strong levels of spiritual activity during their teen years? Church involvement alone doesn’t often translate into an active, vibrant relationship with God. Nor can bringing them up in a faith based environment. Just because you have a relationship with God does not mean that your kids do, many times they are just following the rules of the faith, or trying. I took me years to understand what it meant to own my faith. Because being a Christian is personal it has to become personal for our kids. It is important for them to know what and why they believe, its not and never will be enough that they were raised that way. 

Your teen might be asking tough questions, like: Why can’t I feel God? What do I really believe? Where is God when things fall apart? If they are asking these questions, they aren’t alone. Even the disciples—guys called to hard core ministry—wrestled with these uncertainties. God knew that we would have questions, and He provided many answers to those questions in His Word, but there isn't an answer for every question we might have and for them there is faith. I have learned, as my relationship with God has grown, that two things happen as we develop in our relationship.  Some questions no longer matter and the questions change. 

I was not prepared to face the world alone in my faith when I left the safety and comfort of my home. I was unable to answer why I believed in God and that shook me to the core so badly that I walked away from the faith of my father, into a dark and scary world, filled with possibilities, where I eventually realized that my faith was more than just that of my fathers. In my doubts and unanswered questions He was always there waiting for me to realize that the relationship was real and personal. 

I want my children to have that relationship with God, the one that is personal for them because they sought God and found Him, because they developed a relationship with Him through prayer and reading the Word. That they allowed His Spirit to grow inside of them making the necessary changes that gives peace to the unanswered questions and doubts and encourages them to walk in and by faith, trusting that, no matter what He will always be there for them. 

Glow don't Glare......

Early morning is my favorite time of day. There is just enough daylight that I can effortlessly see what I am doing. It's such an inviting time of the day.  However by the time I leave for work the sun is so bright and positioned just so that sometimes it is very difficult to see ahead of me even with my shades on. During these times I have to be extra careful and even slow down a bit so that I don't find myself in a dangerous situation, like running a red light.

As I thought about this it made me think about our light, as Christians, and how we are called to let our light shine. When I recall Jesus' approach He had a way of drawing people to Him that was so gentle and non-condemning that they could not help but desire to be in His presence even if they felt convicted regarding His words.

You may have heard the saying "glow don't glare"  or "shine don't blind" and I think this is valuable advice for us as Christians. We have gotten a bad rap over the years trying to shine our light so brightly that we make it difficult for anyone to see Who and what that light is. These are times when people complain that we, as Christians, are trying to force feed the non-believer, which sadly makes them more inclined to find no interest in what we want to share, especially people who know us. People have no desire to change their lives based on the words we share if our lives do not reflect them. If Christ lives in you then He is the light that shines through you, like the early morning sun that does not obscure what is necessary for us to see, people are drawn to that. 

I want to be the kind of light that allows others to see that the best part of me is not me at all but Christ who lives in me. I want my light to be bright enough to notice that there is something about me that they would like to know more about, but not so bright that they never see Who or What makes the difference in my life because they hear it but don't see it.

Your light shines because of the changes that happens when we invite Jesus into our lives. He comes in and begins to transform us from the inside out as we surrender to have more of Him and less of me. This is the beauty of having a relationship with Christ, HE makes those changes, without us having to worry about the list of do's and don'ts of being a Christian. That is the light they need to see and not the glare from our words that often times makes people run the other way because rather we mean to or not, some Christians have a tendency to project a "better that thou" attitude, forgetting that we are all sinners, and all fall short and His love for us is not dependent upon our acceptance of His truth, He loves the sinner and the believer period. His love is the light. 

When we allow Jesus to be that light it is like a batch of fresh baked cookies or apple pie, where the aroma of His love in you draws others to you, hoping  that you will be willing to share this goodness

with them and that's the kind of glow I want!

Pencil in some "me" time.....

As women today, we live in such a great time in history. We have more freedoms and opportunities that women in the past did not. As a result, we also wear more "hats" than ever before, too - employee/employer, mother, companion, chef, housekeeper, taxi cab driver, the list goes on and on. Sadly we can get so wrapped up in all this that we don't stop to take time to care for ourselves.


If you have ever flown on an airplane you may recall that as the attendant goes through her spill about safety one thing she talks about are the oxygen masks. Interesting enough she instructs the adults to put their oxygen masks on first and then assist the children. As a mother we would automatically do just the opposite. The safety and care for our children is such a priority in our lives that we tend to care for their needs first and if we have the time and energy, ourselves last. I guess some of us think that by doing that this makes us a great mom. What happens is that we end up running on empty most of the time and what we see as 'loving sacrifices' are stressing us OUT!

A hundred years ago the main cause of illness what infection. Today the main cause of illness is STRESS. Stress can and will reek havoc on your body causing all kinds of health issues physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Constantly being on the go was not the plan that God has for us even He created a day of rest!

If your like me, you probably have some sort of "to do list" each day. Run kids to soccer, grocery shop, finish a project, work. You rush here and there taking care of all things that matter most; family, jobs, friends, church....and everyone and everything makes it on that list except the one person who is working that list - YOU!

I have to admit that when I do take time for myself I often feel guilty but how effective can I be taking care of everything and everyone if I am not taking care of me?  Even a car runs great as long as you maintain it and keep gas in it, but if you don't, that thing that you so depend on to assist you in all you do for others will eventually break down or run out of gas. The same is true for you and I.

We are all different and have different needs and it is important to put ourselves on our list of things to do. Rather its taking time to sit quietly and read, engage in our favorite past time, take a bubble bath, exercise, whatever it is that gives you time to recharge.

This concept can be difficult for Christians because we are taught to be self-less, but let's be honest most moms are the least selfish people in the world, we are always giving of ourselves to others in some form or fashion, from the time we wake up till the time we lay our heads on our pillows, our minds are in constant overdrive of what needs to be done and who it needs to be done for.

I have come to a place in my life where I feel a little burnt out. I have done for so many, for so long, that I am having a difficult time adjusting to some scheduled "me time". However, what I am finding is that when I do take that time to invest in my personal needs I am in a better place to serve the needs of others. There is always an adjustment period involved with changes, the biggest adjustment for me will be in overcoming that self inflected feeling of guilt that is so common among women today. But as I look through the scriptures it is very clear to me that God expects us to take care of ourselves in addition to taking care of others.

So ladies pencil your selves in on those "to do" lists so that you are physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually fit to accomplish them, without the stress that running on empty can cause. Spend sometime this weekend thinking about your personal needs and how and what you need to do to have those met, at least the ones that are within your power.

Have a great weekend!

GOODNESS

Good Morning Ladies, and what a steamy morning it is. I don't know about you but I am NOT looking forward to the summer! I am a Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer type of girl, in order of most favorite to least favorite.  First thing in the morning it's not too bad, but by 10am, wow! In addition to not caring much for these HOT summers I am also a sweater (one who sweats) so sometimes fixing my hair is such a waste of time! Anyway, enough of about my love for the summer heat.


As you all know I have been studying the Fruit of the Spirit. Greenhouse has also been doing a series over the last few weeks on this same subject. This past Sunday was on goodness, which was a great start to my week five which also happens to be GOODNESS!

Doing good or causing good to be done is something that can bring much joy to not only us, but for other as well. Acts of kindness are a nice way to show goodness. Goodness and generosity go hand in hand. Although this can involve money, such as giving to missions, sponsoring a child,  church building funds, or even tithing, generosity is not about the money but about the condition of your heart when giving.

Goodness seeks out ways in which to show goodness to others. Rather it is saying "thank you", asking forgiveness, helping someone out, volunteering, the list goes on and on. Serving others is a wonderful way to allow the Fruit of Goodness to produce in our lives. Now I know it is not easy to always be in a state of giving and in our human form it is not a natural thing to do for many people. The bible tells us to "be a cheerful giver" to  "do not store up treasures here on earth" to "give and it shall be given unto you",  and goodness is the result of a giver.

I am finding in studying these Fruits that they are all connected and each Fruit helps us grow in other fruits as they build on and within one another. We tend to put an actual fruit with each of these Fruit of the Spirit, imagine what the Fruit of the Spirit would look like if all the fruits we attach to these were grown into just one fruit, and what would it be called? Well for us it would look like Jesus and be called Heritage. It has and will always be God's desire for us to allow Him to develop in our lives. God so lovingly gave us an example - Jesus but made certain that we would not have to do it alone and so He left us with His Spirit. That's God's goodness.

I get a little excited when I think about what I will become as I allow the Spirit to grow me into the likeness of Jesus and I know the more time I spend focusing on that goal, the easier it will be for me to break the strongholds this world has over us and be free to become all that God intended for me to be.

Goodness sakes I have to scat I have a coffee date with a friend and I don't want to be late. Until next time, be good to one another!

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday Ladies! Well this is like my mid-week Friday so I get a little excited about not having to work tomorrow. Today I just wanted to remind you of five truths that we can rely on in our daily lives, this is much a reminder for me as it is for you so take it all in ladies because our Father wants the best for us.

* God is good.

Often, when we are having a bad day and things aren’t heading in the direction we planned, we are tempted to believe that God is not good. This lie seems to be confirmed after just a few moments of watching the news or reading the newspaper. Bad things happen to God’s people and it can be difficult to understand how a loving God would allow it. But the truth is that God is good. His Word makes this clear.

Psalm 136:1 encourages us, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.”

You can absolutely trust that God is good. He has always been good. He will always be good. Despite our circumstances, He remains a good and loving God. He is able to provide good things for us, even when our world is spinning in a direction that makes us dizzy. He is the Giver of peace and comfort and wisdom. He gives us good and perfect gifts. When we are tempted to fall for the lie that He is not good, we can rest in this truth.

*It’s not about me; it’s about Him.

In addition to claiming the truth that God is good, even when things don’t go our way, it is worth reminding ourselves that our will should not be the ultimate guider of our actions. The truth is that we should not be the primary focus of our lives and our circumstances. It is not about us, it is about Christ.

Romans 11:36 states 

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.”

He is the source of all things and our lives are to give Him glory.

* God loves me and wants me to have His best.

Are there times in your life when you feel far from God? Does it ever seem like He is hard to reach? Do you ever struggle with a pattern of sin that seems impossible to break? During those times, do you wonder if God really loves you?

I’m not sure that I would ever have the courage to say it out loud. After all, I am a Christian. But, have been times when I wondered if God really loved me. What’s more, I mess up a lot more than I get things right and I am tempted to put God’s supernatural love for me in a box that fits my human experiences. But, God’s Word doesn’t allow me to wonder. It clearly spells out God’s love for me and His desire to give me His best.

Romans 8:38-39 assures us that we cannot be separated from the love of God.

 “I am sure that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

It certainly can be difficult to understand why God loves us, but the truth is that He does.

*God created me a masterpiece.

Do you have fat days? Are the times when you look in the mirror and wonder what God was thinking when he gave you that nose or that skin or that hair? Do you acknowledge that God did great work when he created sunsets and seashores, but secretly wonder what He was thinking when He crafted you? As women we are especially prone to believe the lie that our appearance is flawed. We are prone to believing lies that we are ugly or fat or supposed to look like someone other than ourselves. But, these lies are shattered by God’s Word.

Psalm 139:13-14 says 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Did you catch it? The description of your creation includes words like fearfully and wonderfully. You were knit together by a loving God and He doesn’t describe that event as a mistake or an accident. You are the wonderful work of a loving God.

* God’s grace is enough for me.

We have a limited view of our lives. As a result, it can be tempting to become overwhelmed by a problem we are facing and begin to feel like it is more than we can handle. But God’s grace is able to cover all circumstances. He is able to provide all that we need to handle every situation.

2 Corinthians 12:9 assures us that God’s grace is enough for us. 

“He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

How wonderful are these truths? I love how God shows us His heart. Have a great day!

Everyone is talking.......

Everyone is talking about it, fighting about,  feeling pain about it, and some even rejoicing about it, so I figured I would talk about it too.

What a terribly tragic incident that happened in Orlando over the weekend. It does not matter what  the motivation behind this was, loss of life by the hands of anyone is never a good thing.  It should not even matter where, what, when or why. Bottom line is human beings were killed. My heart breaks for the families and friends of those killed and injured. I know it  can be  easy to not feel affected by this when it was not in our town and it was not someone that we knew personally. Regardless of how one might feel about that life style, we are called to love and with love comes a sadness when something like this takes place.

For some of us these types of events are not surprising, sad but not surprising. I believe, as many of you may as well, that we will see more and more of these types of incidents and perhaps even worse as our world continues to push the much needed spiritual component out of our nation. We call this the United States of America, but the only thing that unites most of these states is the borders around them. It has been a long time since we have felt the bonds of being a united nation and I am sure that you, along with myself, can hypothesize to all the reason why, but ultimately when you start to chip away, little by little, over hundreds of years,  the foundation on which this country was built,  what could possibly sustain the structure of our nation? Without the spiritual accountability, moral decay is inevitable, and I am not talking about sexual orientation I am talking about everything that creates moral decay. The character of this country is fractured, with no thoughts to repair or rebuild what was once considered one of the greatest nation in the world. I love America, I love what I believe America stands for, I believe in the foundation on which our founding fathers established this great nation, but that America is fading quickly and soon I fear will be but another chapter in a book covered in our school systems.

Well I have ranted enough for one day but I urge you to always be in prayer for our country and its leaders, and please pray for the families of those who lost a loved one this weekend.  

Birthdays.......

Today begins my son's 15th birthday celebration and it's hard to believe he is already 15! Time flies and it does not even matter if you are having fun or not. I have always wanted to be a mom, but nothing and NO ONE can fully prepare you for motherhood. Actually motherhood isn't so bad it is parenting that can be tough sometimes. I wouldn't change being a mother for nothing in the world though.

I don't know why birthdays are such a big deal to me, but they are. My parents did not celebrate birthdays as I do, but for one time a year I think it is so important to celebrate, not them getting older, but the moment they became a part of my story and me theirs. At least this is why I celebrate birthdays. I don't think my kids will ever know how thankful I am that God made me their mother. I have taught them many things over the years, but I have also learned so much too. I never fully understood unconditional love until I became a parent, it is the closes thing I have to compare to how my Father in heaven loves and feels about me and why I am so special to Him.

Well I am gonna keep it short, there is much to do today. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Stay safe!

Thanks......

Larry just stopped by the office and now my heart is heavy and my anxiety is high and its taking all I've got to hold back the tears as I try to process him being let go from his job at the hospital. Truth is, and they had enough information to know this, he just did not have that hands on experience they were looking for having worked as a transport paramedic for the last 15 years. Now what?

Well a loss is a loss and there will be some grieving and all that goes with it but more so for him than me. I have shared with you all before that Larry is bipolar and struggles with depression, so please keep him and our family in your prayers as we face this fork in the road. I just don't want him to sink so low into depression that its difficult to climb out, I told him to stay busy and find whatever work he can I don't even care if its at McDonalds, anything is better than nothing until something better comes along. The point is for him to stay busy so that he does not beat himself into a dark hole!! 

I have  that "elephant on my chest" feeling right now, and I need it to go away right now! I  keep telling myself , over and over, "this too shall pass"  trusting that God will sustain us as He has always done. I so love that He is my Rock and my Fortress. I love that He is my Provider. I love that He is always present in the good times and the bad. I love that He is faithful. Mostly I love that He loves me and carries me through the storms of this life , my Strength , my Comforter. I love that while writing to you all, in this moment, I can feel the weight of this elephant becoming lighter and lighter. God is so good to me. 

Thank you all for being apart of my life. I thank you for your friendships and I could never thank you enough for all your prayers. I believe there are many different levels of friendship, but whatever placings we have in one another's lives the best way to value these friendships is by praying for one another, especially when a friendship faces a rocky road for whatever reason. Prayer is so powerful that it touches and blesses the one praying and the one being prayed for. It grows the love between us and it heals  hurts between us too. Praying for one another keeps us soft at heart so that anger and bitterness cannot grow there. It's not always easy to pray for someone who has angered or hurt you, but I can assure you that is when we need to pray for them the most, for our own emotional, mental and spiritual health as well as theirs. 

The best friendships are those grown in the fertilized soil of our prayers for one another, so pray for me as I pray for you and may the fruit of our friendships produce a sweet and bountiful harvest.

Have a great day my friends!

The Thief of Joy........

Sorry I am late.....today was one of those days that did not go as planned and most of my "to do" list has gone undone. Don't you just love it when life steps in and throws you a curve ball? Yeah me either!  Life goes on and  most of those things I intended to do will just have to wait.

I slept a little better last night, even with the dream, so thanks for the prayers! Matter of fact I slept so well I over-slept! It all worked out though, I am off today and the kids arrive to school just as the bell rang!

As you know this weeks fruit of the Spirit is Joy and today I would like to share with you the Thief of You.  

Comparison is the thief of joy. And comparison is one of the easiest traps to fall into. I do it all the time. Oh, I justify it and write it off and often sit in a heap of denial, but comparison has held too much control over my life in times passed.

It can happen at any time and look many different ways. 

Comparison is believing the lie that we are unequal and of different values to God. Comparison is ranking those made in God’s image according to worldly standards. Comparison steals your joy and denies your identity. Comparison leads to no fruit.

This verse is one I am trying to memorize and one that has resonated in my heart these past few weeks. It is from The Message, which is a poetic paraphrasing, but it shares the heart of God so well.

“Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Do not be impressed with yourself or compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.” 

Galatians 6:4-5

But how do we fight the lie and trap of comparison? 

First, put the lie in the light. Problems continue to rule us when we pretend they do not exist. Satan only has power when we keep our struggles in the shadow and try to handle them on our own. We have a God who is already victorious! Let him equip us for battle and lead the way!

Second, combat the lie with truth.  Memorize scripture. Print it out, write it on a sticky note, put it in your car or on your mirror. Wherever you find yourself struggling with it the most, put God’s Word in arm’s reach or have it ready in your heart and head. In the New Testament with Jesus was tempted in the desert, He refuted the devil with the Word of God.

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well!” 

Psalm 139:13-14

“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work. God’s instruments to do His work and speak out for Him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made for you- from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted!” 

1 Peter 2:10

Third, know your identity in Christ. Know it and believe it. He is the one who assigns your worth and value. And He calls us worthy and valuable. He paid any penalty and cost by sending His Son to the cross.

The only person we should compare ourselves to is Jesus, and His opinion is all that should count. If you struggle with this, pray for God to teach you how to see yourself in His eyes, read His word, cause no one loves us more, or wants more for us then Him.

Tired........

Lately I have been really tired about 7pm. Sunday night I decided I would just go to sleep but that proved to be a bad decision cause then I woke up at 11pm and had a very difficult time going back to sleep. Same issue on Monday night but I decided to make myself stay awake so that I would not be wide awake again at 11pm.  In addition, I have also had a very active dream life, which is not normal for me. If I dream I don't normally get awakened by them and it is not those dreams that affect you in a physical way, you know rapid heartbeat, waking you up kind. I would not say that these are nightmares or anything, just really intense, like you have to question "is this real or am I dreaming?" Needless to say I feel very tired today after 5 days of this night life in my head!

I believe dreaming is normally just a way for our brains to process the day. However, I also believe that they serve other purposes.  Our dreams are affected by our daily lives, especially regarding the feelings attached to them. Stress and worry can affect the contents of our dreams. Certain foods can as well. I found that if I drink orange juice right before bed my dreams are very vivid! Low or high blood sugar can also affect them. Then there are those God given dreams of encouragement or warning. I read somewhere that dreams are the perfect way to hear from God, because when we are dreaming, we are quiet and undistracted and basically all ears for about 7 hours every night. God spoke to many people in the bible through their dreams and there is no reason to think He is not still doing so today.

It is possible that stress is causing these disturbances. Truth be told, I am not a surface worrier. In other words, if something is worrying or stressing me out, it remains internal with very little if any external evidence. Yes sort of the “never let them see you cry, or sweat, etc”.   But trust me when I tell you that if my emotional or mental stresses are not dealt with my body will fight back and perhaps that is what is going on with my sleep.

Whatever is causing my increased dreaming I want it to stop!  For now I am going to attribute it to stress and food and make some changes to see if that helps. I won’t totally dismiss the possibility of this being God so I will also be in prayer concerning this. Some of you have been in these dreams, so I will begin praying for you as well as my thoughts and feelings towards you or how your life directly or indirectly affects mine.

As you have your quiet times with God today, please say a prayer for me that whatever is causing this will be made known to me so that I can once again find some rest in my slumber. 

Have a great day everyone!

Joy! Joy! Joy!

This weeks Fruit of the Spirit is JOY!  This is one of my favorites, cause who doesn't like to be around a person who is just a happy and joyful person? 

Finding joy is not a challenge for me. I’m naturally an upbeat person; sunny side of life kind of gal. When I talk about joy, I’m not doing so from the perspective of a generally peppy person who never seems to have a bad day, because we all do from time to time.

Joy does not mean feeling good all the time, that’s pretty much impossible even for the most upbeat person. So what is Joy?

Here is the definition I’ve come up with from studying Scripture:

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.

You’ll find nothing in that definition about happy feelings, because, as we all know, happiness is fleeting and temporary. That is not to say we do not feel joy, because you can’t have happiness without joy, but you can have joy without feelings of happiness.

Joy in most people’s minds is synonymous with pleasure. However, joy is not pleasure. Pleasure is a rather short-term, short-lived emotion; it appears in flashes, coming and going fairly quickly. Joy cannot be bought or sought externally and does not give instant gratification. Joy is also not contentment. Many of us think we’ve come to a place of joy when we feel momentary peace or simply just a lack of trauma-drama in our lives. Yet merely settling for a life that is ‘good enough’ or ‘okay,’ but not ‘great,’ is not joy. Pleasure and contentment can also bring their opposites: displeasure and discontentment. These are fleeting and complacent emotions which, unfortunately, we confuse with joy much of the time.

Joy, on the other hand, has no opposite. When we are going through pain, joy still remains,(after pleasure and contentment are long gone).

We tend to think that life comes in hills and valleys. I like how Rick Warren describes life as train tracks. Every day of your life, wonderful, good things happen that bring pleasure and contentment and beauty to you. At the exact same time, painful things happen to you or those you love that disappoint you, hurt you, and fill you with sorrow. These two tracks — both joy and sorrow — run parallel to each other every single moment of your life. That’s why, when you’re in the midst of an amazing experience, you have a nagging realization that it’s not perfect. And while you’re experiencing something painful, there’s the glorious realization that there is still beauty and loveliness to be found. They’re inseparable. If you look down train tracks into the brightness of the horizon, the tracks become one. You can’t distinguish them as two separate tracks. That’s how it will be for us, too. One day, our parallel tracks of joy and sorrow will merge into one. The day we meet Jesus Christ in person and see the brightness of who he is, it will all come together for us. Then it will all make complete sense.

The joy of His Spirit exists no matter what is going on in our lives, it is not swayed by the ups and downs of this life because with this joy there is always that silver lining of hope that remind us we are not alone and that everything we deal with, good and bad, is as temporary as our time on earth.

The children’s song, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart” said it best. Joy is deep, like the roots of a tree and even if you try to dig it up there would still be some roots. I like this joy, I need this joy and I wish this joy for all of you too!

SPIDERS!

Let's talk spiders. I am not really afraid of spiders, especially when they are in their own environment. I leave them alone they leave me alone. However if they break into my house they risk the mighty shoe of death, cause when I swat, I swat HARD!



Now Nick, he is very afraid of spiders and it does not matter if its the size of the tip of a pen or as big as a golf ball, fear is fear! I can't help but laugh (under my breath of course), especially when its one of those tiny ones, cause good heavens he is 1000 times bigger for goodness sake and should be able to manage the death penalty from time to time, but no instead he is yelling "M O M"! He goes all Al Capone!


I am not sure how or when it happened that I would be the designated spider assassin, but I am, cause no one else will do it, and Allie, wwweeeellllllll.... she wants to always save the intruder and place it gently back outside so that it can try to find yet another way inside my domain! Mind you most of these intruders are the fast and furious sort that looks like a brown recluse but probably is not. And you should see what I look like when I swat one of those with a baby sack, I feel like I am playing wack-a- mole, but I promise you there are NO survivors!

Last night while I was out in the garage doing some laundry, I spotted on of those fast and furious types and it made me a little paranoid. Think about it. I have lived in this house for almost 14 years, and in those 14 years I have killed A LOT of spiders. Well like all creatures these things communicate somehow, and I am pretty certain that in their weekly Spider Gazette my photo has been plastered on the front page more than once as a warning to all other spiders. To the spider world I am considered the Fuji Forest because they have been warned that if they come into my home that it will be a suicide mission, cause if I see them or Nick, the penalty will be DEATH!

If you have watched that show ZOO, you know why I think this is possible. If we evolve, especially intellectually (debatable) then I must assume they do as well and one day they just might decide to seek revenge on this spider assassin or at least try. Let's be honest I could very easily be considered an expert as a spider assassin and I am not afraid to use my hand if that thing lands on me either.

Anyway, for you animal loves of all shapes and sizes, my apologies, I love animals too but I have boundaries and they should as well, there will be many questions I will have to ask God about when I meet Him face to face, insects will be one of the top 10.

Have a great weekend everyone and be safe!
Cheers!

Priorities: So Much to do....but what's most important?

When it comes to time management, the greatest principle for us as Christians is truly a liberating one: In the final analysis, I have only one thing to do. Does this principle sound strange? It comes straight from the mouth of Jesus.

Do you remember when the two sisters from Bethany, Martha and Mary, gave a dinner party for Jesus and His disciples in their home? Martha was busily doing dozens of things that "needed to be done"—or so she told herself. Mary, meanwhile, was taking the opportunity to sit at Jesus' feet and enjoy His company. Martha got uptight because there was so much to do and so little time. She finally confronted Jesus with her resentment toward Mary for spending time with Him instead of helping her serve the meal. We can imagine Jesus gently placing His hand on Martha's shoulder as He said:

Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:41-42)

The passage says Mary chose "what is better" or literally, "the better portion." The word is used normally of food, and it sets up an interesting contrast. While Martha devoted herself to preparing physical food, Mary devoted herself to receiving spiritual food. She was a hungry soul, single-mindedly devoted to the spiritual meal served by Jesus.

The time we spend with God determines the direction and the quality of all the rest of our time. Because of this, the more stress we're under and the more pressures we face, the more time we need to spend with God in order to face them properly. Martin Luther did what at first glance seems senseless to most—on days when he had more to do he spent more time in prayer. Yes I realize this might seem more stressful to make more time, but I too have found how much more smoothly the day goes when it starts with some Jesus time.

It is important for us to learn to discern between the urgent and the truly important. Serving the guests seemed much more urgent to Martha than listening to Jesus. But she failed to realize that it was also far less important.

Every woman's day is filled with things that are urgent—appointments, housework, homework, phone calls, carpools, shopping, and checking the Facebook pages of family and friends.  All of us feel the urgency, but if we don't spend time with the Lord or read to our children or call our parents, life goes on. These things are not emergencies but in neglecting them we don't neglect something urgent, we neglect something important.

At the end of our lives, when we look back, most of the seemingly urgent things will be long forgotten. What we will thank God for—or regret—is what we did about the important things.

Makrothumia (mak-roth-oo-mee’-ah)

What a word! This is the Greek word for long-suffering.  Like most, when we hear this word, we think of patience. But in regards to this fruit it is specifically about the patience we have with others, how we treat people.  This fruit is inspired by mercy and mercy is fueled by forgiveness. In the reference section of my bible it describes long-suffering as having patience with others like God has with us. I don’t know about you but I do not have that much patience!

Yes, long-suffering is the fruit I am studying this week.  There is patience with our circumstances (sickness, money, crisis)  and then there is patience with people and when it comes to people I am sure you can completely understand just why this particular type of patience is called long-suffering and why it is one of the fruit of the Spirit.  This patience requires a LOT of forgiving.  There are people who come to mind as I go through this, but you know what else comes to mind how much I must come to God’s mind because He has certainly shown me mercy and forgiveness time, and time, and time again.

I have been blessed in my life with the right people at the right time. People that God has placed into my life to sharpen me and to be honest I may not have thought so at the time when wounds were fresh, but I have learned that God has a purpose for everything we face in life, the good, the bad and the ugly. I have also learned that I have to be willing to let go of the personal pain in order to allow the Spirit to grow me spiritually. We are called to relationships and sometimes we might rub each other the wrong way but eventually, if we allow the Spirit to guide us, things will be smoothed out, either the situation or our attitude regarding the situation.

We need each other and because we need each other we need the fruit of long-suffering. It's easy to walk away and give up on a friendship when things get rough but conflict plus commitment prompts change. That may mean that God is working life in one person and death in another in certain areas. I know there are people who drive us absolutely crazy Beth Moore says, sometimes they bring out the worst in us, sometimes they keep us from thinking to highly of ourselves and sometimes they bring out our pretenses, and the truth is we need these people in our lives to help bring about necessary change within ourselves.  I wonder what our relationships would look like if we started asking right up front, what is it that God is wanting to teach me through this relationship. We tend to treat our assets with high regard, but rarely stop to realize that the people God places in our lives are the most valuable assets to helping us become the person God is trying to guide us to be, vessels of grace and mercy.