have you been in a pit lately?

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up and out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth-praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:1-3 When we are in a pit we dont feel like waiting. We want things to be better right now. I have learned from my pit, and I can say I did feel that way. I wanted the Lord to move right now, and move in my way. That isn't how it works. When things are done in God's time all works well. It works for the good of the kingdom. I can be honest and say I don't like waiting, but since I have learned that God's way is the best way, I have waited and have seen Him work through me and others in such amazing ways. We can feel at times we are walking in the mire and our feet are stuck, and walking becomes so hard. I have learned to walk in God's way and to seek His will. That road may be narrow, but its much safer than the wide, curvy road with bumps and turns at all sides. When we wait we learn, when we wait we grow, and God places in us His love and teaches us to be patient in all we do. Today many want to seek the fastest way, for they think that is the best. The fastest way doesn't mean your going to get to the right place where God wants you. You may infact be going just where satan has planned for you to go, farther away from Christ in a pit that you drown in. When we are stressed we can feel as though all is lost, nothing can possibly get better. It can, with God. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 God will set us upon a rock and He will give us the strength we need to overcome any adversity. Satan wants us to stay in the pit, he wants us to suffer and feel alone, well God has a different plan for us, He does not desire us to be in the pit. He wants to teach us and mold us. He wants us to call out to Him in all times. We will find that when we stop trying to do all things on our own, and let God do them through us life is more simple. I don't mean we won't have trials, but through those God is with us. We can learn to hear Him when He speaks to us, and through others. When we can make His word our life, we can really learn to live. Are you in a pit today? You don't have to be there, you can reach up and Christ will take your hand, He will pull you out, place you upon a rock and give you all you need. Let His love cover you, let His peace wash over you, and allow His words to live in your heart today. Don't get discouraged from the things of this world, get encouraged from all the things that are possible with God...

We share a bond together..

When we are living for Christ others can see Christ. As women we share a bond together in praising Him, serving Him, and living for Him. It is a tie that binds us as sisters in Christ, and sisters in life. We have sisters we can turn to in times of trial, and sisters we can reach out to lift them up, sisters who we can laugh with, and sisters who we can learn with. What is better than knowing you have a group of women who are praying for you and your family? As I have been on Facebook I have been amazed at how God has put christian women in my life, and has lead me to others who have been teaching me so much. My homepage is full of christian sisters who are writing and sharing about their walk with Christ. Sharing pieces of their struggles, encouraging with God's word, and sharing bits of laughter for our soul. Life is a struggle, life is just sometimes hard, and to go to my homepage and see I am not the only one helps to add strength to my day. When we can encourage one another through our experiences, and through sharing God's words of wisdom it is a rich blessing. I have to say at first I wasn't so sure about Facebook. I didn't think it was something for me, but I think it all depends on how you use it. For me, it has been such a gift daily, a place where I can go and talk with other women who love the Lord. We each are on our own walk, we each are learning different things, we learn at the pace God is leading us, and to be able to do that with other women is amazing. As women we share such a bond that brings us together no matter what our careers are, where we live, rich or poor, what beautiful color God has made us, we can all come together through Him and His love. This is something we should cherish, and this is something we can keep spreading across the land by reaching out and taking a hand, praying for another, and simply sharing a favorite verse to touch others. We all come from such different walks of life, but one walk brings us together, and that is the walk we share in Jesus. Today I am so thankful for the women God has placed in my life, in my path. I could have never imagined anything so wonderful as sisters in Christ. "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another descerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 What amazing gifts from God, all different gifts, but all from the same God. The God that binds us all together gives gifts to each of us. For if we can all come together as christian women, just think of the impact we can make on the world, and in each of us. We have a God who loves His daughters with a passion. May we join in that passion for each other and walk together in Him who has great plans and purposes for us all..

Biohazard headed your way

Have you ever just waken up and started out with an attitude for no reason other than you just felt like you hated the world? I believe there are many who feel that way on a daily basis, and it just doesn't effect them but all who come into their path. As I am driving along I can see the looks on peoples faces as they seem so full of anger. We can enter a restaurant and see those around us and you would think the world was ending, and it very well may seem so for them. We can be at a park and hear someone saying a mouth full of words that they know they shouldn't be saying. I have learned that whatever I say, where ever I am someone always hears my speech. Those words can either lead them to Christ or move them farther away from Him. We are an example wherever we go. We all make mistakes of saying things we shouldn't, and we can look at ourselves and know that with God we can change our speech, and we can change our attitudes. In our world people have gotten the idea that the world revolves around them, and no one else matters. People have the idea that they are more important, and no one need to get in their way. We live in such a "Me" centered world that people have forgotten the simple word of "Grace". We want all those around us to understand why we are mad, why we can treat others badly, or why we are so important. We tend to forget about others and their feelings, and we forget who we are representing. We are representing the King of Kings, Christ Jesus. For others to see Him, they must be able to see Him through us. If we are walking around with a bad attitude, what are we showing others who are lost? Is the saying,"Words speak louder than our actions really true?" In some cases yes, but we can speak that we are a christian, but are we acting like it? In that case, our actions at times speak volumes over our words. I have fallen into this trap just as others have. We get angry and words slip out of our mouths before we can think. In that case I need to think before I speak. We need to keep our attitudes in check, and our speech as we are followers of Christ. See this verse with me. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14 Our words and our actions speak what our hearts are full of. That is a hard pill to swallow at times when we know just what our words have been. If we are meditating on Christ and keeping Him the center of our lives we will be the examples He wants us to be. When we are totally focused on Him, our actions show that. When we are far from Him our actions also show just where we are. There are hurting people everywhere we look, this world is in need of Christ. The people in this world are searching for something to fill them, and many are searching high and low. We need to be those who are showing them Christ through our actions and words. If the christians in this world are not acting as such, who is going to show them? We all slip and fall, but we can turn to Christ for His strength to overcome and be acceptable in His sight. Our words and actions should be bringing glory to His name. We need to take ourselves off the shelf we put us on, and realize its not about us, its all about Him....

where do you find your strength?

Today is one of those mornings I am waking up, and I am so tired. I am tired of my pain,I am tired that my husband is not working, I am tired of my mom being so ill, I am tired of being tired. Have any of you felt like that? Today as I am up and trying to do things it just seems so hard, and the more I try the more I find to do. At times it just seems never ending. I had to take my mom to the E.R a few days ago, and now to the doctor today. I know my mom is in so much pain, she is losing her sight, and now something new is attacking her. To hear my mom tell me she is waiting for heaven and just wants to go home breaks my heart. She is running out of strength. She is tired, I know my husband is tired of hearing "Your just what we need but your overqualified!" There are so many around me battling cancer, so many who are as we are out of work. The world is hurting, and the only cure is Jesus. On my way to the hospital I found myself crying, I wasn't just crying I was crying out to God. Along the way I felt this pure peace wash over me, and I no longer was crying,I was praising God for being there in our time of need. Even though all may be falling apart around us, God is standing tall, He is our Rock and our Strength. Listen to this verse. "I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer; My God,my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:1-2 Even in our times of trouble, and trials, God is always there. He is there to see us out of the storm or to walk with us through the storms of life. Some of those storms can seem like a never ending hurricane, we can see them coming and take precausions, or they can be like tornados and hit us without any warning. Whether we have warning or not,God always knows what is headed our way and He will see us through anything we must meet. When we are tired we must learn to let go, and just let God wash over us and give us His strength. When we so want to give up, we must allow God to fight for us, and trust in Him with all we have going on in our lives. If it is sickness, or being without a job, or trials to hard to speak of, nothing is too hard for God. He is bigger than anything we must face, so why not just put our faith in Him? When you are scared all we have to do is cry out to God, and He will answer. Today as you seek Him, I pray that you will find your strength in our mighty Savior and trust Him with your situation. There is nothing to big for God. Crawl upon His lap, and speak to Him, allow your ears to hear His words, and grab on to His comfort.

cleaning out the dog pen

While my friend and neighbor goes to the lake, she asks if I will take care of her dog. Ofcourse I will, you do anything for a friend,right? She has the sweetest little dog named Daisy, although she is not sweeter than my little Daisy! I go over and carefully take care of her. I give her fresh water, fill her food bowl, and yes, clean her pen of all the doo! For me, this is the part that is not so grand. To get the hose and start cleaning, I have learned from my first time not to get too close, and let it spray up on me,ugh. That first time I came home with poo on me, and I smelled like a wet dog. I shot straight for the shower to wash this smell off of me. But as I do this more and more, I learn how to do it correctly, I learn to stay away from the poo, and I still come home and jump in the shower. I wash all the smell off, and the dirt from the pen. Just what if I didn't? What if I decided to go over, clean out the pen, and leave all the dirt and smell on me? Pretty soon, I would get used to it, and I wouldn't smell myself, but others sure would be able to. They would tell by my appearance that I liked dirt, and by my smell they would know I had not showered in awhile. Our lives are like this too with sin. At first we can dabble in it a little, we may not get too much poo on us, atleast not enough for us to notice,but others will. With sin in our hearts, we must head for the shower, and scrub with all our might to get the dirt off, the smell and clean our hearts pure. When just a little poo on you, it smells like the room is full of it, just as with sin, we may think just a little wont hurt,but the smell and stain is there. With sin if we are not in check with our hearts daily, we too can build up dirt, and we can seem like "Pigpen" from Charlie Brown. We have our own little whirlwind of sin around us. Others can sometimes see it before we can, and if we are not careful, we get use to that whirlwind, and as it grows, it becomes harder and harder for us to get out. But all it takes is us looking at our hearts daily, keeping them clean, and asking God to forgive us of our act of sin, and go near it no more. We must pray for strength to stay clean, and not get too close to the poo.The greatest thing is we have a God who understands, He is a God who loves us, and will clean us. He will clean out our pens, He will water us, feed us, and care for us when we are in need. We can be washed clean with just asking forgiveness of our Father. He will clean us up, and He will make our pens shine, no smell, no dirt, only grace....

from the girl I was to the woman I am now..

As a child I loved the outdoors, I loved playing outside, I loved my family and life was pretty great as a kid. When I became a teenager life seemed to spiral downward. My father was dieing, and there was no way I wanted to believe that could happen, so I denied what was facing my dad, and my family. I pretended nothing was wrong, and was placing all in my life as things to keep me busy and my mind off what I knew deep down inside what was happening, but as I did this these things became obtstacles, and I was on a course that I couldnt find my way out of. My teenage years were the worst for me. Its a time when you are finding yourself, but I felt like I was losing myself and all that was important to me. I was not a christian at this time, so I placed so many things in my life to for what I thought was going to bring me happiness only brought my parents shame. Life is just hard at times, and when we are young, we make wrong choices, and the mistakes seem like they are never ending. Today Christ is in my life, He is the center of my being, the one I look to daily, and now as I know Christ as my Savior, I can see He was in my life when I didn't even know. He was there protecting me, watching over me, and leading me to where He wanted me to be to accept Him into my life. Today I have a sweet walk with Him. I can praise Him for all He has done, and is doing in my life. We tend to carry our hurts with us without even realizing it until we are flat on our faces and need help getting up. The hurts we carry hurt others in our lives, for while we are carrying, we are sharing them in our daily life as we go from place to place and person to person. It is when we finally realize what we are carrying and allow God to take all the hurt and the burdens is when He really brings us life. Its like a butterfly with wet wings and they cannot quite get up to fly, but when their wings dry, they are free, they are light and they can feel the breeze under them and they can take flight. Today in my life I have learned nothing is ever as bad as it seems and nothing is ever quiet as good as it seems. We have to learn to balance ourselves. Knowing Christ is always with us, leading us, loving us, and guiding us, but as He is lifting us up, satan is there trying with all his might to distract us, to trip us up and make us think the worse of a situation or the best of one that is bringing us temparary happiness. I have to face each day as they come, not worrying about tomorrow, but just embracing today, each moment, and learning God teaches me in many different ways. My life as been full of blessings, and many trials. God has showed me, He has placed His spirit in me to have joy in all situations in my life. At times a minute feels so long, but others it feels as though it passes way too soon. Christianity is a process, it is a daily walk, a life that we fill with Christ in all. We learn from each mistake, we grow from each pain, and we learn to laugh at ourselves. We learn to trust Christ with all we have. We open our hands to Him, giving Him our husband, our children, our friends, our finances, our illnesses, all that touches our lives we open our hands and give all to God, allowing His will to be done in our lives. We learn to walk not just thinking of ourselves and our wants, but we open our hearts to all He has for us, and His will in our lives. We may not be able to understand all, but we can trust in a God who knows all, and wants the best for His children. Sometimes we have to take walks in life that are not so fun, they hurt and they are painful, but with each tear, with each prayer, with each one we give to God, we learn, we understand grace, and mercy. We begin to forgive, and want to love all those around us. We will not be perfect until heaven, and until then we are learning and growing into the person God has made us to be. Wherever you are today, whatever you are going through, God is there, He is stong, and He is courage, and He is a mighty love like no other. My life as done a 360, I am not the girl I once was, I am becoming the woman God wants me to be each day. Although I stumble daily, I will not give up, for I know God created in me something special, and I love Him so, I want it to shine through. Life is a gift, it may not be wrapped pretty at times, the bow may not be on, but there are those days where we look at the gift and all we can say is wow. God is good, God is great, and He can change our lives, the choice is ours. I pray today is a day you will meet Him, because He will meet you where you are, and bring such joy you have never known before. All we have to do is call out His name, for we are His, and He always answers....

Happy Birthday to my sweet friend....

God has blessed me with such amazing friends, friends that I call my sisters in Christ and in life. Sunday will be one of my friends birthday. I am so blessed that the Lord has brought her into my life, for the more we find out about each other, the more we learn just how much we have in common. She is a woman who loves the Lord with all her heart, she is a mom who gives all she has to her children, and a wife who loves her husband with a great passion. She has taught me so much, she has given so much to my life. It is great to laugh together, to share God's word together, and to walk this path with one more blessed sister. She can fill a room with laughter, she can bring you to tears with a story that comes from her heart. She is open and honest, and is a friend that you want to have sitting on your porch together sipping sweet tea. She has a talent that amazes me, and with each piece she makes of her jewelery, she prays over each one and for the woman who will wear it. Yes, she has a past just as we all do, she has scars that are still healing, but she has the grace and forgiveness of Christ with her. She carries herself as a woman full of love, filled with the spirit, and walks with such confidence, not in herself, but in the Lord, and He shines forth through her. I am thankful I have another friend to celebrate her life, to celebrate all she is in Christ. Today I pray you will fill her with your spirit, touch her with your mercy, heal all that is in her heart, and bless her until her cup in running over. I am blessed to be called her friend. Happy Birthday honey, I pray it is a day for you to remember always. What would we do without the special friends in our lives? Life is so much better when you are surrounded by such beautful women, sisters that will be with you through all, and forever.This one, she is pretty special, and I can't wait to see all God is going to do through her as she continues to grow with You Lord. Today is a day to be praised, for God indeed did a great wonder in creating her....

Just sharing a praise...

Last week our church had camp for the little ones, and then the youth. It is always a great time. Camp was one place I have enjoyed so much, sharing,laughing and getting to know the kids so much better. Sharing Christ with them is a blessing. I can no longer go to camp, for my little body can not take it any longer. So for me, I stay at home and pray for everyone. When my son came home he was full of stories, telling us about each sermon, and the laughs and the fun he had. He also shared is heart with me. This year at camp my son rededicated his life to Christ at 17. He was saved when he was 6, and has walked with Him each day since. But he knew in his heart something was wrong, he wasn't following Christ as He should. He had allowed other things to come in and take His place. For me to hear my son speak these words to me was a rich blessing. Sadly in our world today its hard to find christian young men living for the Lord, but my son humbled himself before the Lord and opened his heart to a new walk, to a new day of love, sweet love of Jesus. As his momma I have to say I was so very proud. He takes a stand for what he believes in, and he shares from his heart with others. I am blessed with a son who as his sister loves to talk to all ages of people, he too follows in that same spirit. He has a gift of everywhere he goes he can start up a conversation with anyone. He has a heart as big as the world. It is a blessing to wake up and see his blue eyes shine, and know behind those eyes is a young man growing, growing with Christ, and learning as he takes each new step. We can learn so much from our children, as I learn so much from mine. I am thankful for camp, I am thankful for all the men and women who go and give their time to these young kids, and open their hearts to what life is really all about. We can all fall away at times, we can all get off track, but the amazing thing is we were made to worship, and we were made to love the Lord. He is forgiving, and He gladly takes our hand and teaches us when we stop wanting to be our own compass, He will be the compass our life and lead us home. To Jake, I say, I love you, and I am so joyful to watch you grow into the young man Christ has called you to be..

sing along or just listen?

Today was my daughters 19th birthday. My husband, son, and myself were blessed to take her out to lunch, and to her new nursing school. It was such a beautiful day to be with our daughter, just to spend a little time with her, just talking, laughing and having a great time. She really is a special young lady, words cannot express just how special she really is. She is beauty, and she has the voice of an angel. It has been awhile since I have had the pleasure of hearing her sing. You know those voices in church of the woman sitting behind you, and instead of you singing along, you just close your eyes and worship to the sound of her beautiful voice. Thats my daughter. Today as we were driving home we had the radio on the christian station. As I sat in the front I could hear her singing along to every song that played. At first I sang along quietly, but then I just had to close my eyes and take it all in, just listen to the young woman behind the voice, praising God through singing. It blessed my heart to hear her sing again. She sings when she is happy, and today I could really see joy in her eyes, and through her voice. You know those few people that really bring out the best in you, those that light up a room just by entering, those few that everyone wants to be friends with? That is my sweet daughter. As we were at home my son came to me as we were just sharing and asked,"Mom did ya hear Whit sing today, didn't she sound amazing?" I had to answer him,"Oh yes, I heard and she blessed my heart."Sometimes God gives us special moments to enjoy. On a day as today, being with my daughter and hearing her sing, it was one of those days that just fill your heart until the joy is overflowing. Just a quiet whisper of a beautiful young woman singing praises, singing along with the radio was my little moment today.Lord I thank you for the time I shared with Whit today, I thank you for the 19 years I have been blessed by her life. Today I celebrate her, I celebrate the young woman you created, the sweet daughter with the voice of an angel. Sometimes in life, we get to enjoy a moment in time we will never forget, and today hearing her sing was one that my family will forever hold near, for we can close our eyes, tune out the noise and hear a sweet voice that touches us and fills us with joy...

Hope

H is healing, O is optimistic, P is possible, and E is everlasting love. The definition of hope is: Trust, reliance; a desire acccompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment; expectation of or success; someone or something on which hopes are centered; something hoped for. And the definition of hopeful is having qualities which inspire hope; full of hope; and inclined to hope. God is hope, and we are hopeful. We have a God inwhich we can hope in, and we have a God inwhich all hope begins. Our victory is won with our hope in our God. Without hope what would we have? God lives of hope, God speaks of hope, and God gives of hope. We cannot have God without hope nor can we have hope without God. Hope brings life to our days, hope brings courage to the weak, hope brings blessings to those who are seeking. We cannot place our hope in anything in this world, but we can place our hope in God. All other things will let us down, but the hope we have in Jesus saves, lives, and gives such praise to His name. With God all healing is a touch away,with God all is optimistic with His love, with God all is possible, with God we have everlasting life. He is what hope is all about and hope is all that God is about. What an amazing word to have to share with our Savior and with all others who walk in our path. Aren't you glad we have hope today?

When there are no words to say..

So many times things happen to our family, to our co-workers, and our friends. We find ourselves at their sides at a funeral, at a trial in their life, as a moment when the earth seems to stand still, at a hurting moment in their lives when no words seem to be like the right ones to say. We find ourselves standing not sure what to do. I have heard others say in the past,"Well all we can do now is pray." I have a problem with this twist on words. Since when is praying all we have left to do? Should it not be the first and foremost thing we should be doing? Should it not be the first words off our lips, and the words on our hearts to the Lord? Is there ever really a time to give up? Is there really ever a time when God cannot move? Prayer should be so in our lives that if we couldn't pray,then all may be lost, but with prayer to a mighty God all is possible. When we find ourselves in those moments when there are no words, we can stop and pray, stop and lay that friend at the feet of Jesus, and ask Him to hold them, to give them strength, to lift them up as no other can. Christ can do all things, and He is waiting for us to come to Him with prayer, with our hearts open. When the time comes for words, He will give us the words to say, and maybe no words are needed, but a prayer and a hug, for someone just to know that we are there for them anytime they need us. I have often felt that I have said the wrong thing, or did the wrong thing when someone was hurting. I have learned to tell them I am praying, and just to hug them, sharing in God's grace. We have had such hurt at our church over the past year or so. Although I cannot share these personal hurts of others right now, I can share that they are loved, they are in the hands of Jesus, they have strengthened their faith, they have turned to the God of all God's. He is a God of miracles, and a God of wonder. I have seen Him bring healing, to bring a new friendship, and to bring the right thing at the right time of need. Although we may not understand those hurting around us, we may have no idea of their pain,their pain is very real, and we need to lift them up daily, ask God to give them strength when they are weak, to give them faith when they feel as though the world is crashing down around them. To pray without ceasing to a God who hears all, and knows all. He knows each need, and just what each hurting person needs. There is always something we can do. We can pray. When the rain is pouring, when we are blinded by our pain, when we are scared to death, we can find comfort in the Lord. We all have special gifts. We can make a call, send flowers, send a card of love, make a dish of their favorite food, or maybe just sit with them as they shed tears that never seem to end. But we can saturate them with prayer, and they will feel God's presence, they will feel His love as they go through the trials in their lives. We must not leave them in the dark, we must not leave them to find healing on their own, but lead them to the love of God with our prayers. The next time you feel as though you don't know what words to say or how to help, get upon your knees, go into your prayer closet, or just sit on your bed, your special place, and lift them up in prayer. Prayer is a healer, prayer is a gift, prayer is redeeming, and prayer is the best gift we can give to our hurting friends...

What will you do when you see His face?

This question was asked in Sunday School as we were studying our heaven book and I really had to put some thought into it. The question,"What will you do when you see His face?" is not such an easy one to answer. You would naturally think you would just bow down, and be in awe of Him, but we all celebrate life in different ways. Maybe I will look at His beautiful eyes and see all His glory, maybe I will bow down and sing holy, holy, holy. Maybe I will dance around as if I am a child in a field of flowers, maybe I will jump up and down and say praise Jesus. Just maybe I would touch His garment, wash His feet, bathe Him with perfume, sing a song of praise to Him, say all the thank you's I haven't said, kiss His feet as I know they walked on water and were scared for my life. Would you hug Him, take His hand in yours? Will we bring a gift, and what kind of gift do you bring your Savior? Will we touch the face of our Redeemer, will be stand back in silence? Will we climb upon His lap, and tell Him just how much we love Him? What could we give Him that He doesn't already have? What words could we say that haven't already been said? We can give Him our hearts. We can say I love you now, and not wait until we are face to face. We can look all around and see His glory, His wonder, His grace. To see Him face to face, His nail pierced hands and feet, to see Him in all His glory will be the day we have looked for forever, every since we knew that His spirit was within us. To feel the strength of His hands, the softness of His touch will be one of such love and giving. On that day I can only imagine what it will be like. Will we all be there taking turns touching His face? Will we just be so humble in His vast glory of love for all His children that we all take hands and sing together? At the end of every service in our church we all take hands and we sing a song together,it is a beautiful thing to see and to hear. For all of us joined in together singing praise to our Father. Whether we are all together or if we are alone for that first meeting, that first glimpse of His face it will all be glorious, it will be praiseworthy, it will be a moment in time that we have yearned for, to see our Savior face to face. I don't really think any of us can say what we will do until that perfect time happens, until we are in the moment with our God. To see Him, to touch Him, and to finally say to His precious face,"I love You" will be worth all to us. We may stand or we may bow, sing or be quiet with a still heart. Can you just close your eyes and imagine? We see such glory now, we feel such love now, we hear His voice now, He is with us everyday of our lives, blessing us, teaching us, and molding us for that meeting. This will be the most important meeting we have had or will ever have. This one we must not miss, we must not be late, we must have our R.S.V.P to see Him face to face. Are you ready? Are you watching? Are you waiting? It is a day I can only imagine, but will one day come true. Our hearts will finally meet Him and we will be as a bride waiting on her groom. The most special day above all days, will you be there with me? What do you imagine it to be, that first time we see Him face to face? Glory be to God for that date that He has set to surprise us, to call us home, to hear the trumpet call will be the most beautiful orchestra we will ever hear, and we will have front row seats...

Are you an Ironman in progress?

I have such deep respect for those that are part of the Ironman. These men and women are from all across the country, some old, some young, some in great health, and some with challenges,but all are there for a reason, although their reasons are different, they have one goal in mind, to finish the race they have begun. They don't just wake up and get ready to run the race, they train for a year. They work at it each day, building their strengths and working on their weakness'. For each goal they have they want to finish the race, and finish it with all their might. Training is not easy as we can see, they get up each day and sweat, trying to achieve a personal goal in themselves. Whether they are swimming, biking, or running they have such stamina, they use each muscle for its purpose, and their minds must be ready for each moment to come. They prepare themselves, they learn and grow. They take it seriously, and with the mindset that they can make it, just not make it but it will be their personal best. Those who choose to do the Ironman are those who find something special deep within them, they tap into that and use it for strength. They are role models for others, they are examples for us to follow. Each striving to win the race, each striving to do their best, and each striving for a goal. What is your goal today? What are you striving for? Are we putting on our best each day, and training with presision with each step? Indeed we are running a race, we are in this battle, and we have a goal to obtain. With each step we take we are either moving closer to Christ or farther away in our race. Do we have all we need to make it? Do we have all the gear we need, the water, the strength, and the power? Are we waking up with the knowledge we need to grow? Are we taking this race seriously or are we just going at our own pace, our own way? As I search the bible, God's word, He tells us many things about the race we are running. "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. Ane everyone who competes for the prize is temperate n all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 "But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:5-8 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily insnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2 As we run today, as we run the race for Christ may we take each step with His strength and His love before us. May we run for Him and run to Him with all our hearts. Our christianity is a race for Christ, we must not race against ourselves, but run with Christ with a deep faith. Where are you today? Are you running towards a goal of fellowship with Christ or are you running for your own set of goals? Today seek Christ, and allow Him to lead you in this race we are running for life....

Taking time to clean..

Today I need to do much cleaning. One thing I need to clean is my fridge. How do they get so dirty? I am in wonder of how dust can move upon and stay on a ceiling fan that forever stays moving. If you are like me, and you have to admit that maybe sometimes you turn the fans on just so you can't see the dirt! So much I need to do, the bedroom, the bathrooms that are forever dirty. I thought it was hard cleaning with three girls at home, but having only boys now, including my husband I think its even harder. Although my husband helps me with all I have to do. Today the man is canning pickles. He has taken care of our garden with such a happy face. He loves gardening and giving the fruits of it away to bless others. Is it ever hard for you to get motivated to clean? I have the christian radio playing, the music is up loud and I am still wondering,"Okay,is there any way to get out of all this work?" As on Mary Poppins when she snaps her fingers and the rooms clean themselves,what a wonder that would be. But as I look at all this work ahead of me, it can be overwhelming. You begin to think which room should I begin in,which is easier and which can I do tomorrow. I am only being honest here, for there seems like there could be so many things much more exciting than to clean. A clean house feels so wonderful, you can see the hard work you have put into it. Once you clean out the fridge, do you not stand back with a smile and think,"Wow,that looks so great"? Instead of sweeping the dirt under the rug, we must get out the brooms and the vacuum out and begin cleaning away all the dirt that at times we cannot see. The kitchen may look clean, but all the germs that are there we cannot see need to be cleaned well,not just wiped over with a rag. All that dust starts to build up, laying there growing by day. We can't just run a hand over it, we must clean as to get the dust from the bottom up. We cannot just rinse the dishes off, we have to scrub at times to get the deep baked food off.We can't just walk into the house with our shoes on expecting no dirt to get on the floor, we take our shoes off at the door as not to get more dirt tracked in the house. We don't just clean our clothes, our home,the garage, and the yard, we must also clean our hearts with an enthusiasm that only Christ can give. As we take pride in our home, we want a clean home, a home that feels warm and has love overflowing. Are not our hearts more important than our homes? Yes, they are, and to clean our hearts is what God wants us to do daily, at times minute by minute depending on what dirt is being left on. If the inside is not clean the outside can not be truelly clean. What we see as clean is not always what is lying beneath. We must get out the cleaners and our muscle to do a good job, when we clean our hearts we also get out the best cleaner known to man. He can see dirt that we were not able to see. He can make us shine as the tables shine before us after cleaning. If we want our hearts to be clean before Him, we must allow Him to do the cleaning not ourselves, putting our weakness in His strengths. Just as we stand back and see our clean homes, He stands back and sees the clean that only He placed in our hearts by removing all the dirt. Just as you see a truck in the parking lot with a fingerprint that has written "Wash Me", we too need Christ's fingerprints written on our hearts that are so dirty they shout "Clean Me". Cleaning is all part of growing, it may not be fun, but it is refreshing when we have been touched by His hand..

The great "I am"

"And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel,'I AM has sent me to you'." Exodus 3:14 "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God" Isaiah 44:6 "And Jesus said to them,'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:35-40 "Then Jesus spoke to them again saying,"I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." John 8:12 "I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." John 10:9 "I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." John 10:11 "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." John 11:25 ""Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me."John 14:6 That is alot of "I Am's" and it should change our thinking of when we speak. We so often start out with I am this or I am that. We are so focused on "I", can we really see and know the real "I AM"? We begin sentences with I am so tired, I am so hungry, I want that new dress, I want to go on vacation, I want, I want , I want, and I am, I am, I am, is what is coming from our lips daily. We are so focused on ourselves, do we really ever think about the great "I AM" and who He is and all He is doing for us? For me to think back at yesterday or the day before and think of how many times I said,"I am" is unspeakable compared to the times I was speaking of the "I AM of my life. He should be the first thing we want to talk about, the first thing we want to share, and so many times in conversation He is not. We can change the way we speak, we can change our thinking, and we can place our minds on the "I AM" and share all He is and all He does. He should always come before me in all I do. For me as a christian I can do better, I can share HIM instead of me.For without Him, there would be no me. We have the "I AM" as our Savior, as our God, and our Redeemer, shouldn't we be speaking of Him much more, for without HIM, we would be nothing.His story never gets old, never changes and is always there, why do we not share His story before we share ours? May His name be glorified today throughout all of earth, may we speak boldly of His name, and of His power, and of His works. Let today be all about Him..

Can we even fathom holy?

"The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" Revelation 4:8 "Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" Isaiah 6:2-3 "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you aslp be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:13-16 We can search throughout the entire bible for scripture about God's holiness, and here in 1 Peter we can see He is calling us to holiness. I cannot fathom just how holy Christ is. For Him to create all before us, for Him to come as man and crawl upon a cross to save us, and to walk here as a man without sin when faced with temptation, for Him to rise into heaven to stand as the Father's side, and to make a place for us is knee bending, face covering, and forever praising in His name. For me I am so undeserving of Christ's love and redemption, but He gives it freely to those who come with willing hearts and minds. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Revelation 22:13 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Romans 3:23-25 God was here before a word was ever spoken, He was here before the earth was formed, He is here now, and will forever be here. God's glory is so unfathomable to me. I cannot understand all His ways, nor am I capable, but I do know He is worthy to be praised,He is worthy of all we have and all we are. I want to live for His glory, to give Him my best, to love Him each moment of the day. I want to stand behind Him so He gains all glory of anything I do for Him. I am speechless at God's greatness. To see Him face to face someday will be the ultimate gift on top of all He has already done. To see God's beauty all around me, so vast to even understand, so big to fathom, I know without a doubt He is God and He is so deserving of my love and praise. For God to be so big only makes me smaller. For God to be holy, only makes me undeserving. God is perfect without blemish, so my life should be a reflection of His, and I should strive to be holy in His sight, anything less would not be good enough for a God as ours. Lord, I lift up my hands to you, I give you my praise, and I am thanking You for Your gifts I am so underserving of. Today as I see all Your glory around me, I am in wonder of such a God as you.

Our last game...

Tonight we played our last game of softball for our church league. It was so much fun. It was raining, it was muddy, and it was a time full of laughs. I think it was one of the best ones we have played, and ya know which ones those are? The ones we play for fun. Some take it really serious, and winning is what it is all about for them,for us it is about fun and fellowship and if we get a win from playing our best,then that is just an added bonus. I have to give my thanks to our coach Bob. He is the greatest, and he is our pitcher. He as do all the other men who play work all day and then come out and play with all their hearts. We have Dave who does the books and puts us in our position, and he and I have so many laughs together. It is always sad when the last game comes, for we have such a great time.It awesome to see Matt at first, and me make a mistake and throw the ball fourteen feet above his head, to watch Nathan play short-stop and play with all his heart, Matt over on third or my husband trying to get the ball to first in time, Jake out there in the field making great plays or falling to try to get one, Brad laughing in the outfield and us cheering him on when he makes a great play, Dave making all the noise in the field getting us fired up, and Bob making all those pitches with trading places with Randy. What would our team be without Randy to make us all laugh. We had new players this year, and some old, some like me coming back from injuries, and we made a great team. We have to give Andrew trouble since he's the newbie, and for the games the girls were there, they were fun to watch. Its always amazing to see someone hit it over the fench, or make a homerun just by hitting it in the infield! It is great to meet new people and laugh with those you usually do not see. We had great kids on our team this year. I got to play with my son and husband and what a gift that is. When all our kids were at home we all got to play together. Softball brings people close together, it brings families closer, and it leaves memories to last forever. This was the first year I have ever played that I did not get hurt! That is awesome in itself, and I am so thrilled I have no injuries. A field full of dirt and grass, a few bases placed around, gloves in hand, and a bat near by, who knew it could be so fun, so awesome, and such a blessing? When I began playing quite a few years ago, we had an ump named Don. He was a ball of fire, with a sweetness only God could give. He was the best ump ever. He stood with a smile, a laugh and a kind word each time you went up to bat. He made each game worthwhile, and he gave each play his attention. He gave me lots of trouble and we laughed together a many times. We lost him a few years back and I have missed him every since. It just isn't the same walking up to bat without seeing Don standing there. To Don, I say job well done, and we will forever miss you. Thank you to our ump this year. You did a great job, coming each game and giving your time. I would list all our players but I know I would forget someone. It has been so great getting to know some of our youth better, and getting to laugh with them. There is just something grand about a game that brings you together to bring glory and honor to God. I love picking up my glove,putting my hand in it and running out to second base, feeling the hot sun bake on your face, or in the cool night air as tonight was. Whether I was on second or catcher it was a blast and I pray that we can have many more games of fellowship and laugher together. We should be able to add such laughter to life, to get together and show love for one another in our everyday lives. Softball can teach us great lessons,lessons to last a lifetime,it not about winning or how great you are. It is about friendships made while having fun and being the best that you can be. Lord, I say thank you for allowing such great fun on Tuesday and Thursday nights, they are nights that we will always remember. So for now I will put up my glove, put my tennis-shoes away,place my shirt in the drawer until another year...

I am convicted...

Okay, I may lose some people for this entry. This has been placed upon my heart, and I feel as though I cannot write anymore unless I am obedient to the Spirit. The Lord convicts us in different ways, and shows us and teaches us through others and in many ways. So many people read Harry Potter and the Vampire series now. I know these are not true books, and many enjoy them. I am one who has always stood out and said these books are not for me. I cannot read anything that is not christian now. I feel that if I am going to give my time to a book it should be something I am learning from or bringing glory to God in. Our world keeps watering down what is right and good. The world keeps telling us everyone is doing it, so we too should enjoy the same. As we allow a little in, more and more comes forth into our lives and if it is not blessing God should we be doing it? I have had to change my music as I have been convicted of this. All the music I listen to does not glorify God, and I shouldn't be listening to it.As my ringtone went off a few days ago at a friends house and her little one heard it, she loved the beat,but I quickly turned it off, for I was so ashamed that I had allowed this little one to hear that song. I believe as we grow as christians God convicts us more and more of the things in our lives to change us to look more like Him. We are not all going to be convicted of the same things at the same time. There is scripure that shares how we are to stay away from witchcraft, demons, and sorcery. This is where I take my stand, and look at scripture to show me. "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on." Proverbs 4:14-15 "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galations 5:19-21 There are stories of sorcery in 1 Samuel,in Acts also. Sorcery, witchcraft, and demons are all through the bible for us to see and to learn from .I am sure those in Sodom and Gomorrah didn't know just how far they were moving away from God by the "little" things everyone was doing. In God's word He tells us to stay away from all, so does reading books about it belong in that catagory? I know many of these stories are exciting to so many, they have a story line, but its the content that the Lord convicts me of. "When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. for all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of the abonimations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers, and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you." Deuteronomy 18:9-14 We can read all through the bible, even in Jeremiah how sorcery is wrong and should be turned away from, so how then can I sit with a book in my lap that is all about the things I know God does not want for me? We can read in the Old Testament and the New Testament and see where it is wrong to follow, so does that mean reading about it or seeing it at the theater is wrong also? If we allow a little in, than a little more, where is our boundary line? I think that is where I seem to go wrong is finding my boundaries. Is a book okay but not music? Anything that turns us away from God into sorcery is not His will. I cannot get away from that. No matter how much the world is saying it is great, for me, I have to follow Him, and stay away from it. If I take a stand against movies that are taking God's name in vain, why is watching a movie about witchcraft okay? They both go against all God intends for us. Now, there are no words about vampires in the bible that I could find, but does it fall into the same catagory? That is between you and God,not for me to judge and please know that I am not judging in any way at all. I am trying my best to share what has been layed upon my heart. For someone who loves to read, I know just how easy it can be to fall into things that sound great, just as we cannot judge a book by its cover, many times the cover is what is attracting us only to deceive us on the inside.Could it be a wolf in sheeps clothing trying to trip us up? We are to fill our minds with what is pure, and holy. "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue adn if there is anything praisworthy-meditate on these things." Philippians 4:8-9 This goes for anything that we allow in our minds whether it be books, movies, music, any temptation that takes our focus off of Christ. Keep your minds open to God's word, keep your heart open to God's blessings by listening to His whispers to you. We are always growing, always changing, and if we are obedient we will reap His blessings.

Are you your own punching bag?

I remember as a kid watching boxing with my dad. He loved to watch and boy did he get excited. To watch these men give it their all and go into a ring knowing someone is going down is as our lives as christians. We are stepping into that ring everyday facing what life is throwing at us, and its how we respond that makes the winner. We step out of bed, and sometimes sooner than that and we have already a nasty attitude. We haven't even said goodmorning to anyone, and if someone passes us, watch out because we might just take their head off. Have you had a morning like that? I have to say I have, sadly I have to admit that. Don't you love watching movies or television and the woman is always stepping out of bed looking beautiful. What is up with that? I do not wake up looking refreshed, I wake up looking as if I have been in a battle all night and I did not come out the winner! Many times we face trials daily, we face old wounds, new ones, and many times we just simply face ourselves. I think that is one of the hardest things to do, is face yourself head on. So many times we use ourselves as punching bags. We spar with ourselves on a daily basis with the thoughts of,"Why did I do that, why can't it be this way, I can't believe I said that to my child, I didn't try very hard, I could have done better, why is my husband making such a mess, why do I have so much laundry, its breakfast time, its lunch time, its dinner time again, and I havent prepared anything,its time for school, its time to get ready, my house is never clean, my car is dirty, the kids need a bath again, who wants a snack now, there is mud on the floor, the dishwasher needs unloaded, we are out of everything,someone has to go to the store, and its gonna be me. I DONT HAVE TIME TO READ MY BIBLE, I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO. Do any of these sound familar to you? We create within us this place that we feel like we just cannot do anything right or good enough. We set such a high standard that we can never meet. And with that standard comes the feeling that we cannot achieve what we need to get done each day. We wake up tired and we go to bed tired. Our mistake in all this is not making time for our Creator, not giving Him the time we need with Him, and the time He needs with us. This is such a special, important part of our everyday lives and we leave it out, thinking we will have time later,well, later never comes because there is always something more to be done. The mess on the floor can wait, if the laundry isn't done today, your not going to run out of clothes, turn off the television, and have the kids help with all the chores, put all the games away for awhile, along with television, the internet,along with the phone and we have much more time than we think. We put pressure on ourselves to be perfect moms. I am here to tell you, no matter how hard you try, your gonna make mistakes, things are going to go wrong, and its what we do with that, that matters. We have to stop using ourselves as punching bags, and start looking at the face of Christ and really really knowing He loves us no matter how much we accomplish in a day. When we choose to give Him our time, spend time reading His word, spend time in prayer for His will,not ours, He is going to bless our days and fill us with a kind of joy that sets us for the day no matter what happens. When the snacks are spilled along with the milk in the floor,don't fly of the handle, just stand back and realize, its only milk. When the floors are dirty, the walls have paint on them from the little ones, the smudges are all over the windows, and then you find hair in the floor from Suzie giving herself a cut, and you want to scream, stand back and try to look at things through the eyes of Christ. Are we to be a Mary or a Martha?Martha was all about the tasks that needed to be done,she wanted things perfect,but Mary was all about Christ, sitting at His feet learning, knowing the tasks would get done after she spent time with Jesus. Mary had the right attitude although many times we try so hard to be Martha. Each day has 24 hours in it, we need our sleep to be the best we can be for our kids, and our husband. When we let ourselves go,when we don't take time with the Lord, not only do we pay, but those around us pay. Stop seeing what isn't done and begin to look at what is done. Take pride in each project of the day as though you were doing it for the Lord, make a schedule for the week, prepare your needs for your weekly meals, make a chart for the kids to do the chores, and set a specific time to be with the Lord. Many times we are so busy we can't seem to do it all, but we fill our schedules with the things we want, not alwasys with the things we need. We have to learn to say no, I am too busy and I cannot fit that into my day. Life is so amazingly short, even though at times we think the day is never going to end. But when our attitudes are poor our actions are poor. When we wake up crabs for no reason other than the sun is casting a shine on our face, we need to take that time and just allow the Lord to speak to us, to refresh us, just as if we had cold water poured upon our faces. We cannot do all tasks alone, when we need help we must learn to ask for it, and tell our family and friends when we indeed need prayer. Prayer is stronger than any antidote we can find. We have to find Christ's forgiveness, we have to forgive ourselves when we make mistakes and let it go. Those are some of the most amazing three words in our lives, and the hardest to do. Stop thinking we have to do it all, and all has to be perfect, it doesn't and it cannot be,if it were so we wouldn't need Christ, and we so much need Him that our desire for Him should be so strong. Stop sparing with yourself about things you cannot change, stop beating yourself up for mistakes you have made, and stop sweating the hard stuff and let it go and let God. When we stop sparing with ourselves, God is the winner and we receive His blessings..."For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;I will trust in the shelter of Your wings."Psalm 61:3-4 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." Psalm 51:1-2 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

Okay girls,have you ever asked the question,Do you think I'm Fat?

Okay girls lets be honest.Have any of you ever went home from a day of trying on swimsuits,looked at your husband and asked the horrible question he dreads,"Do you think I am fat?" I have to admit, I too have asked my husband this, and ofcourse we all want them to say,"Ofcourse not honey, you are perfect,wouldn't want you any other way!" Some have even asked the question,"Do you think I am prettier than her?" "Do you think I am smaller than her?" or the best yet,"I'm not as big as her am I?" If we can get real for a minute girls, what are our husbands suppose to say to those questions? We have already trapped him. He can't really answer that question the right way. Is there really a right or wrong answer? Ofcourse we think there is, and its,"No your not fat,and yes you are smaller than she is." I have had my husband come out from getting dressed and he will turn around and look at me and say,"Do these pants make my butt look big?" He gets a real kick out of that, and boy, does he think he is funny,but to us girls it doesn't seem so funny when you have gained weight, when you have just had a baby, when we are getting older and our bodies are changing, when we have to take medication, and yes, when our thyroids are way out of wack. There are many reasons we gain weight. But why do we torture ourselves this way? Why are we always looking at magazines, seeing celebs on television, or just plain old seeing old pics of ourselves and thinking I want to look like that, or why dont I look like that anymore? Why do we bring this on ourselves? My size 2 daughter went for a modeling interview and was told at 5'6 she was too fat for modeling! I was outraged someone would say that about my daughter. They said they needed her to be half her size. Well at that rate, they might end of with just part of a body! We as women allow television and magazines to tell us we are fat, we dont look good enough, and we all need to be on a diet. To that I say, "No". The only reason any of us should be losing weight is to be healthy, to be in shape and to feel great. That may be a size 14, 12, 10 7 or a 2 for some. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT SIZE YOU ARE! What matters is, are you healthy? We are not here to impress others, we are not here to out do others, we are not here to bring glory to ourselves. We are all shaped different, we all look different, and we are all made different by a loving God. A God who created beauty in us all. When we can wake up and feel great, feel the love of Christ, and be confident in who we are, then we have arrived at being a woman. Ladies we have got to give our husbands a break here, we shouldn't be asking those questions to them, it puts them at a spot that they are lost for words. They love us, they think we are beautiful and they love us. What more do we want? We have got to take our focus of ourselves and put it back on Christ. In highschool I was a size 2, that will never happen in a million years, those days are past, now at a size 7 I still fall into the sin of thinking am I good enough. Why do we struggle with these thoughts? Why do we feel as though we have to compete with other women? Why cant we just come together and love one another? We know we all struggle with these feelings. I have friends who are smaller than me and bigger than me, and to me they are all beautiful. They are all unique with their very own styles, the colors that make them glow,some wear pink, some love red, and some are really into brown! The most important thing that makes us shine, is our love for Christ. Its not about what we are wearing, its about how well we are wearing Him. Its not the woman that makes the clothes, or the clothes that make the woman, its Jesus Christ that makes us who we are, and we should all stand with our heads held high as His daughters. Can you really fathom that? We are daughters of the King. It doesnt get much better than that. There is no size chart for the entry of heaven. Its a signature of our name written in the book of life. That should excite us all. Whether we are 14 or 72 we all want to look our best, and that best is what God created. And for the body He created, we should take care of it, and do that to our best ability. We should be able to look into the mirror each day, and say thank you Lord, thank you for all you have given me. We are all created in His image, that is an image that has beauty all of its own. Lets stop comparing to other women, and lets cheer each other on as we walk, as we run, whatever our exercise is,and be cheerleaders for one another to take the best care of our bodies that we can. Your mirror just as mine should be a reflection of Christ. "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." Psalm 139:14 God doesn't make junk, He doesn't make mistakes, He made each of us with His very own hands, with all the love He has to give. Beauty comes from God. When He lives in us, He shines forth and we begin to glow with beauty that has come from His love. Ladies it doesn't matter what size your jeans are, what matters is are we taking care of the bodies that God gave us? Let us allow our husbands to love us as we are. If we will, our love can only grow stronger. Don't look at magazines that have been touched up, and girls have been in make-up for hours. Let us be real ladies, girls that love Christ and are not focused on how we look. May we not be vain, but may we shine for Jesus. Tonight don't ask your husband if he thinks your p.j's make you look fat. Tell him you love him, and cherish who God made you to be, a Godly woman...

Are you running close to empty?

My husband always tells me to keep my car on full. He says, "You never know what could happen or where you will have to go,so you need to be ready!" I kinda run on empty sometimes, thinking with the little I have in the tank will get me there. This has caused me trouble before. As I was driving I thought our truck was breaking down, had to call a carhauler, and my husband. Turns out, the car wasn't breaking down, it was totally out of gas. I seem to do this in my life as well. I keep running and running thinking I can make it there on my own,but in the drive to get there I run out of fuel. This happens to us all. The wear and tear on our tires is going to cause a blowout soon if we do not learn to slow down, get a tune up and stay focused on our meters infront of us. I remember when our children were all in sports, diapers, doctors visits, the store, the house, it all starts to pile up and we get overwhelmed as moms. Its okay to say no, when we say no, we are not saying no to just one thing,but we are saying yes to another. Its okay to stay in your p.j's, and just have a day of fun. When we put too much on our plates, we don't know where to begin. We learn to wake up, praise the Lord for the day, and ask Him for His strength. We learn to count on Him for our support, and those He has placed in our lives. We don't have to do it alone. Life is precious, and each day is a blessing that we can take to heart. We must learn to enjoy our moments, let things go, and just love those around us. We don't have to be "Supermom", and think we have to do it all, when your a mom, your already super, and God is on your side in all you do. He is there for those late nights, those nights where there is no sleep, and in those days where so much is crowded in your not sure how to get through. We cannot run on empty, we have to stay full as my husband says,for we do not know what each moment to moment will bring, so we must be prepared. We have to know when our tank is getting low, and get in gear for more fuel. God is our fuel, He is our help, and He,before anyone else can fill us up with all we need. Dont run your engine until something breaks, God will take care of you and all else in your life when you turn it over to Him. "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night,while they continually say to me,"Where is your God?" When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. for I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgram feast. Why are you cast down, O my soul? And whey are you disquited within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance."Psalm 42:1-5 Just as a deer cannot go on without water, we cannot go on without Christ. As the water quenches the deer, so too shall Christ, our Living Water quench our thirst, and fill us with His spirit. Just as the deer rests, we too must rest. Never think you are alone, Christ is always there, and too are those He has placed in your life to help lift you up.Hows your tank? Do you need more fuel? You know where the best fuel station is, go there and He will fill you with all you need...

Treasure boxes..

Do you have a treasure box? My daughter keeps a treasure box. She had put it under her bed, and she kept everything ever given to her by love,cards, pictures,letters,all that had touched her in some way. For me, I have a treasure drawer. I have my little drawer jam packed full of cards,letters,little trinkets that mean the world to me. Its funny how we keep things for memories. We keep things to hold in our hands, pictures to look at and remember a special day. Gosh, I have baby shoes from all three of my children, overalls that they all wore, even their little pacifers. Yes, to some that might be extreme, but we tend to keep things that have some kind of meaning. Love has so much meaning. Love is the one word that all over the world it has the same meaning, and all know just how special it is. Love is all throughout the bible. It was for love that Christ gave His life, and love that He is coming again, and preparing a place for us,His children. We reach others with a love that is in our hearts, we can reach them with a special card, a gift to cherish forever,whatever your treasures are, they are treasures of love. God has much to say on treasures also. In "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."Luke 12:34 How much of our treasures are we investing in God? All that we have here will one day be nothing, so why not build our treasures where they are forever safe? Our love for Christ and His love for us cannot be kept in a treasure box, it is to be shared and shown forever. It is the most personal, special gift that will have the most impact on our lives. We can build treasures out of love or personal gain,treasures can be of great impact, or they can take us away from our real treasure we have in Christ. Our treasure box, should be full of Him, it should be near our heart where He wants to live and abide with us forever. As I have my special treasures, I also know where my true living treasure is, He one word spoken away from me at all times. Where are your treasures? Do you know the real treasure that will last forever? Call out to Him today, and He will show you the greatest love of all...

Are you finding joy in the morning?

"God, You are my God; Early I will seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked to You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You." Psalm 63:1-3 In our times of trouble we can seek God and He will be there. We should seek Him early in the morning,all throughout the day, and at night before we lay our heads. The beautiful thing about seeking God is that He is always there. He is waiting for us to seek Him. Just as on this cool day, we again slept with our windows open and I can feel the fresh breeze blowing in, the fragrance of flowers outside, and the humming of all the little creatures. This is what it feels like for me to seek God. I can feel His love, His peace, His comfort, His wisdom, His glory. To feel the presence of God is as though you just want to open your arms up as wide as they will go, and just take in all the love from our Savior that He has to give. Some love the evening best, the sunsets, and the feel of the day ending on a beautiful note, others like me, love the first of the morning, the sunrise, and the sweet sound of the birds chirping. Whether you love the evening or the morning God can be there for each or for both, if we just call out to Him. We all have that special time that we sit back and say awe, this is wonderful. Even if we are going through a trial, we can still have those feelings when we reach out to Christ and take His hand. He can take us on a lovely walk through the forest,if we just enjoy the moments we have with Him. He is our joy, our true joy, nothing else can bring joy as He can. So, are you ready for some fresh air? Open your window to Christ and let His light shine in..

Is satan at your back door?

We always use our back door for those special to us, those friends who know they can come on in the back door yelling out,"Hello guys,is anyone home?"I have friends who are like family to me, and we always enter in the back door so to speak. Now, we know those who love us are a blessing to us in more ways than we could ever put into words.We cherish them coming in the back door and are excited to hear their voices. But what about satan? Do we allow him into our back door without even knowing? Yes, we do. As we have those around us blessing us, we too have attacks from satan coming right in our back door, the door we use for love,he uses for his purposes. He can sneak right in without making a sound. Once he is in he will do all he can in our daily movements to bring us down and move us away from our Lord Jesus. Satan is full of tricks, lies and deceptions. He tells us this one drink wont hurt you, this one pill will make you feel much better, this movie is one everyone is seeing, you should come also. He tells us to be angry, don't let go of our anger, and we can begin to think all is against us, no one understands me, its just one word,is it really that bad to say? We can find ourselves into so much denial, that we soon think we are right on just about everything, and those around us are wrong. We can begin to take what is meant for love,into hurt by letting our feelings get the best of us. We begin to allow our feelings to overtake our faith. Our feeling change so much, and we can begin to make excuses for our feelings and our attitudes. We tend to begin blaming all others on our trials and hurts. We can even sit in the pews at church and start thinking,these folks here are not really my family, they gossip about me, they dont really like me and why am I not involved in more things like Jan is? Satan can get our minds set on our pain, and give in to the pain instead of trying to overcome. I once sat under a wise preacher who does not have a television in their home. Do not misunderstand me, and think I am telling you not to have a television. But this pastor chose not to. He was convicted of not allowing trash into his home. He knew that if just a little came in, more and more would soon follow and it happens when our eyes are closed or open. We took a stand and said no more rated R movies in our home, so we went to PG 13, and still yet were there things wrong and not bringing glory to God. We can even now bring in a PG film, and it will still take God's name in vain. It can be books, movies, magazines,and not to stop there, we can add our thoughts, our fears, are anxieties,the computers, our telephones, our test messages. I could keep going on the things that can bring satan right in our back door, and attack all we believe in and all we trust to know is true.He can attack not only from those who do not follow the lord, but other christians as well. If we do not keep our eyes open fully to God's word daily, he can sneak in an use his plan of attack. He knows all we struggle with already, he knows our faults, our desires and the good we want to live out for the Lord. He can be so deceiving he can change all those good and beautiful things God created for His glory into sinful lusts, desires of the flesh, and all the temptations that follow if we are not careful. We must now learn to keep that back door locked at all times. We must first see through the peep hole of who is there knocking. We must not allow our back door to swing open any longer without first knowing who is there. For all the beauty and all the good in this world, there is just the same lies, hate, deception, and ugliness that comes along in broad daylight and can sting like a wasp,and all it did was come in from the back door. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the ruleers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."Ephesians 6:12 Here in God's word He tells us what we fight against, what we should be on the lookout for. He doesn't leave us empty handed. He gives us warning and also gives us His wisdom on what we should do. "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."Ephesians 6:11 and then again in verse 13 it says,"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand".There is evil all around us, and it can come in the night, the day, but when it comes if we are not ready we too can fall into the darkness of the pit that it leaves us. Be ready, be watchful, and be careful who and what you let come in your back door...

Walking in the light of a new day...

As I woke this morning with the windows open, the breeze blowing in, and the smell of fresh air on my blankets I knew today was a wonderful day. As I sit here at my computer tonight listening to the frogs and the chatter of the night I feel so overwhelmingly blessed. As I walked today hand in hand with my husband and my son at my side through the park,watching the fish,and seeing the quick stream of the waterfall, I knew God had touched the day with His love. I can see, hear, taste and smell God all around me. He is in everything, and He made everything with His hands. He gave us our senses to really experience who He is. Today He just showed Himself to me through all I had the pleasure of seeing, and seeing it all with my family made it even more blessed. If I had to wake a day without God I wouldn't want to wake at all. I cannot even fathom not having Him in my life. I am nothing without Him. He is in all that is good. I cannot reproduce what He has done. No man can. As I walk I need to watch my steps, keep my eyes open at all around me, and look beyond myself and look at all God is doing. He has given the greatest gift of all, Himself. With all the sounds around me, all I really need to do is close my eyes, listen and be still. Its amazing when we see a new light in Christ, when He shows Himself, and we are able to stand back in awe at just how glorious He is. I want to walk a new way, I want to live a new day, I want to know God in a passionate way. I want to see what He has set before me, I want to hear all He has to say, I want to touch all with a humble heart, and I want to taste life in a new way. If we want to walk a different way, we have got to change our step, let go, and wake up to all His glory around us...

Do you know who you are?

This is a question I have been struggling with. Do I really know who I am? I cannot be who the world wants me to be. I cannot be who my parents want me to be,nor my husband,my friends, nor my family itself. I have to be who God created me to be. In order for me to become that person I must first let go of myself. I must die to myself and follow Christ and Him alone. I cannot live life wondering who likes me or who doesnt. The word of God is offensive to the world. No one wants to hear that someone else has control over their lives, no one wants to hear what they are doing wrong, or need to change. No one wants to hear they need a new set of friends, or they need to give all they have away. In order to really know myself I first have to know who God is, His love for me, and His plan for me. I am not the same person I was at three, nor at eighteen. I am now 42, and still stumble over who I am. I think it takes us a long time to really let go of ourselves and grasp that God has a higher and a better plan for us. I think it takes time to grasp that Christ died a horrible death because He loved a person like me. Being a christian is not easy. Christ never said it would be. When we choose to follow Him, we must die to ourselves, our being, and allow Him to live in us. The more we know God the more we know ourselves. The closer we are to Him, the closer we are to being who He wants us to be. When we choose to follow Christ we are going to go through changes, we are going to go through trials, our lives can be turned upside down in order for us to begin to grow closer to Him and know and learn that we can do nothing without Him in our hearts and our lives. What I write in my blog I cannot worry if someone is going to be offended, if someone isnt going to understand, or if they will just leave altogether, for they didnt want to hear the word of God, or think upon it. I have to write what is upon my heart. What God lays upon my heart to write. I am not yet the person that He wants me to be. But I am getting closer with each breath I take toward Him. When we sit back and look at our pasts, let them go, take a look at now, and let it go, and stay focused on the future we have with Christ, we begin to change our actions, our deeds, and the words that come out of our mouths. With each trial, with each sickness, with all that is happened in my life, I am now beginning to see the picture that God is painting before me. We all grow at different levels, and at different times in our lives. Some are still on milk as new christians, some are moving on to meat, and learning with each mistake and each step toward Christ. I cannot expect another to understand all I can understand, nor can another expect me to understand all they have learned. God molds us and shapes us with His hands in His time. With each step of the molding process, we become new creatures in Christ. A few days ago I shared my mom bought me another violet,well, this one I do not yet know what color it is, for it hasn't bloomed yet. Just as a new christian coming to know Christ doesn't know the full impact of what Christ has instore for him. The more He grows and stays closer to Christ He will begin to bloom and you will see the colors of Christ through him. We all have different personalities for a purpose. We all reach other people, but even before we reach others we first must reach out to Christ and know all He has for us. So who are you? Is it a question you have been pondering? Christ knows who you are, just as He knows who I am. May we grow closer to Him to find out our real colors, our real self, and watch each other bloom into the beauty He has designed in us...

Discipline...

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who are trained by it." Hebrews 12:11 I remember being small and being disciplined by my dad. I only had two or three spankings when I was young. It always made me feel sad that I had disappointed my dad. As I got older in my teen years, the discipline came more, and although then I thought my parents were wrong, didn't understand and was so caught up in my own thoughts, today I know just how right they were. Even though I didn't grow up in a christian home, I was still taught right from wrong. As a teen I thought I knew it all, I thought I want to live my own life, and no one had the right to tell me different. Oh, how wrong I was. My parents loved me, and only wanted the best for me, only wanted to protect me, and guide me the best they could. Did they make mistakes? Yes, we all do, but for the most part, my parents were never wrong in teaching me. No one likes to be told what to do, how to live, and be disciplined for not doing so. I disobeyed my dad when he told me not to ride my bike across the road. He knew the dangers, I thought I could overcome them. When I took the car as a teen for a drive with my cousin I was disciplined. I disobeyed my mom, and therefore hated it at the time, but she knew what was best for me, she knew the danger I could be in. We often think our parents are wrong for teaching us about Christ, about life, and really anything. We don't really realized just how smart and wise they are until we ourselves have children, and then it all comes rushing back, every time you disobeyed, everytime you lied, everytime you saw the look of pain in your parents eyes. Today as a christian woman, I am disciplined by Christ when I do wrong. He shows me in many ways and I hear Him speak to my heart. I can only imagine the look on His face when He tells me to go one way and I go the opposite. He disciplines us out of love, out of passion, and out of honor to Him. Often when we point out the sins of others, those are the very sins we are doing. Often when we point the finger, the Lord soon points one back. His word is our teaching tool. It is the book to guide our lives forever. It is the compass that leads us straight to Him. We can either learn the easy way and follow Him now, or we can learn the hard way, and stumble over living our own lives without His guidance. He sees what is ahead for us, He sees what we are facing today, and He is pointing out in His word how we should live, what we should do, and how we get there. When we choose to walk our own way, He may allow it for awhile, even months, He will give us enough rope,and we will soon stumble and fall. Then we can only blame our situation on ourselves. The blessings in all this disipline is He loves us, He forgives us, He calls us, He wants to have a relationship with us daily,not on our terms,but His. We can often try to make lists for ourselves or others to follow. The only list of love to follow is God's. When we do follow, all else in our lives comes in its place,under our love and respect for Christ. We are nothig without Him, and with Him, we are everything. If we love Him, we will obey Him. If we love Him, we will follow Him. Disipline is hard, and its not fun,but a mistake is only a mistake if we do not learn from it, and learn to walk that narrow path. If we choose to ignore discipline of any kind, we must face those consequences, and be responsible to our own actions and not blame others for the stumble we have made. Good comes from discipline, it helps us to grow into who God wants us to be, and through it He molds us, and beautifies His creation in us.

Who is your biggest cheerleader?

I was always a football fan with my dad. I loved watching football. My favorite team was the Steelers. We would sit by eating chips and dip watching, and cheering them on with each down they got. We were their cheerleaders in our living room. My dad was a big cheerleader of mine. He always cheered me on no matter what I was trying to do. I know my dad was proud, I hope as he looks down today he is proud. We have all had cheerleaders in our lives, or we have cheered others on. My husband and I have cheered our children on as they played sports and went for their dreams. I cheer my husband on each day as he is searching for work, I cheer my son on with each step he takes, I cheer my daughter on as she begins her new path in nursing school. I cheer on one of my bff's as she begins her jewerly company of her own, and brings glory to God in all she does. For another bff, I cheer her on as she raises her little one now with four other children, and is making the most beautiful cards I have ever seen. I cheer on another as she sings for the Lord and sings my favorite song. We can cheer others on with our love, with prayer, with cards, with notes of love, with little gifts, and with hugs. We each have our own gift of cheering others on. What a blessing it is to have amazing people in your life to cheer you on as we walk this road together. As we cheer, we have a much greater cheerleader than any, and that is Christ. He is the best and the biggest cheerleader we will ever have as we walk with Him. He is watching, He is praying, and He is so proud when we do as He plans for us. He gave each of us a purpose that only we can do. Each one of us has someone in our lives to cheer on, that others will not have the opportunity to do, we all have different people in our walk, and we need to reach out to them and cheer them on, for them to be who God made them to be, to never give up, and as we do, we are reaching out a hand of God to those in our reach. God cheers us all on, and what an amazing cheerleader He is. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have great tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33 Whatever we are facing, God has already overcome and He is cheering us on, as we overcome through Him. We can have confidence and courage knowing God is on the sidelines, in our lives, and all around cheering us on with all His might. Be a cheerleader to someone today, touch their lives by being yourself and just sending them love, which is love from our Savior passed to us with His great gifts.

My Path

As many of you know I love to write, and I want to write a devotional. I believe God has placed that upon my heart, and has given me a gift to use for His glory. In my walk, I have been so confused on which way I am to go. I know Christ never confuses us, the world does. In writing a friend, she shared with me her struggles also and her blessings about writing. It was such a blessing to hear from another sister in Christ who is having some of the same struggles I am. We get confused because we get in the way. For me, I have been on the internet trying to learn more about writing, I have been contacting others about the process, and its hard to know who to trust, and what direction to go. For me, I now know its not time to write a devotional. God is teaching me and molding me into who He wants me to become. I have been concerned with many things, including is my writing blessing others, is my writing good enough, how many people are following my blog, and is it going to continue to grow. The Lord has spoken to me, and I am losing sight of what He has for me, because I am getting in the way and seeking too many things to make me feel worthy. I don't even know how I have fallen into this struggle,but it hit me when I wasn't watching. I never want to gain from God's glory. I want Him to be pleased, I want all honor and glory to go to Him and to Him alone. He told me I must not worry about others,only Him. I must not worry about tomorrow, trust in Him. I need my focus to be on Him and not those around me. I need my focus to be so on fire for Him, nothing gets in the way of His glory. I haven't let the dream go of writing a book. It is still there, plain as day for me, but it has to happen in God's timing, not mine. It doesn't matter if I have ten followers or twenty thousand, if one is blessed by God's word, then that was the purpose and the plan. I am not here to get gain from His blessings, I am not here to gain from His gifts before me. "Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires ot come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." Matt. 16:24-27 All any of us do here on earth for the cause of Christ, He will bless us, it may not be blessings in money or profit, but the blessings that God wants us to have. For me, I am still learning each day to die to myself, and pick up my cross. I want the Lord to be the center of my focus and the Leader of my walk. Whatever you are struggling with, know that God has a plan, we just have to open our eyes, and see His plan for us. We must die to our worldly flesh, and live for Him with all our desires He has put in us.For His glory is what it is all about, and His gain for His kingdom..