I had no idea when I wrote my last post what the Lord had in store for us that week.

That night we had a pipe burst under our driveway. We didn't know it was under the driveway at first, but after a week and a half of digging and insanely high estimates from plumbers we figured out that we needed to just replace our waterline in a new place. My wonderful husband and some family and friends were able to run the line into the house via a different route, so that none of the pipe is under concrete now.

So, after staying with friends for a week and a half we have running water again with no leaks. A few things in our lives were delayed due to this, but God was so good to us along the way. Friendships grew and some were reestablished.

Praise the Lord!!

"God says there is no darkness in Him, and while I don't know completely what that means, I'm reminded of what Scripture says in Isaiah 45:3, "I will give you the treasures of darkness." Could this be what God means when He says that the darkness is as light? Could it mean that sometimes the lessons we learn in the dark are the truest and the brightest lights of revelation of who Jesus truly is? I do know that the lessons I've learned in the dark this year have enlightened me and have allowed me to know Jesus in a new way."

I read this this morning on a blog and wanted to share it with my friends. It seems like there has been so much darkness in people's lives lately. So much sorrow, grief, disappointment, and the list goes on. I hope that when those things have happened in your life that you have seen The Light of the World shining through.

Pay close attention to the part that is highlighted in red. I think that is very true. I think when we are in our darkest moments Christ's light shines even brighter. Light seems brightest when there is total darkness as its backdrop. In those times we are not trying to fix the problem on our own because we've most likely given up. And it is at those moments we can rest assured that it is truly and purely Christ shining. Step back and stop trying to figure things out on your own. God knows the way.

Jer 29:11-14
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 'I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'"

Are you allowing Christ to fully shine in your darkest moments and following that light to greater and better things? Or are you sitting back and cowering in the corners too afraid of what may lie ahead?

Take the hand of the Savior and follow His light. "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. " John 12:46

I haven't been on much lately, but have a few posts floating around in my head which I hope to share this weekend. For now, I wanted to share the best sign I have ever seen:



I absolutely LOVE chocolate dipped strawberries and enjoyed the one my husband bought for me from this wonderful little shop in Dahlonega - Paul Thomas Chocolates. More pictures to come from our trip to the North Georgia mountains last Friday. We had a blast!!

Disclaimer - I am not sharing this for pity, just wanting to share some background to get to the lessons I am learning right now. Our God IS Great!

Some of you know of the struggles I have had over the last few years that kind of peaked this summer. For those of you who don't - here is a "brief" synopsis:

Almost 4 1/2 years ago I found out I was pregnant with our first child. At my first appointment I found out I had had a missed miscarriage and needed to have a D & C. 5 months later I found out I was pregnant again. Once again I had a missed miscarriage and needed another D & C. Decided to take a break on trying and focus on figuring out what was wrong with my body that it couldn't sustain pregnancies. That is when I was diagnosed with PCOS and started to be treated with medication. 7 months later I found out I was pregnant again. With much fear and trembling we proceeded. I had to take hormones for the first trimester b/c part of the problem we have definitely figured out is that my body does not produce enough progesterone on its own. After the first trimester I'm good to go. Anyway, on with the journey. 7 months into the pregnancy I was put on bedrest due to high blood pressure (this I believe was totally caused by job-related stress, cause it was back down by the time she was born). At that time we also found out she was breech and we started to plan for a c-section. A week before the scheduled c-section she turned around, but could not 'engage', so we proceeded with the c-section. 2 months after she was born I started my medication again and continued on my journey. Things were quiet for about a year and a half and then I started having bad cramping and pain every month. My doctor suspected endometriosis and suggested we start trying to get pregnant again. After trying for about 6 months and with the pain getting worse and worse he decided to do laprascopic surgery to take a look and ended up removing some endometriosis. A month later i was pregnant again. At 7 1/2 weeks I had a spontaneous miscarriage - this time twins. I had already miscarried some and went to the dr - he did an ultrasound and found that there was still a baby there, but 2 days later I miscarried that one as well. That was in July of this year. And now we are at the present.

I have struggled so much over the last couple of months. Mainly with fear. Fear of getting pregnant. Fear of not getting pregnant. Fear of endometriosis returning. Just plain fear. As a result of this fear I have at times been distant from my God, my husband, my friends, and the list goes on. Its been an up and down struggle. Every time I think I've gotten 'there' (wherever that might be) I realize I am still afraid and have picked up the burden that I thought was at the foot of the cross.

This weekend I found out 3 of my friends are pregnant and spent an evening with someone who talked a lot about abortion, at times lumping miscarriages in with it. I was so sick to my stomach I didn't eat but 2 bites of the $20 meal I was paying for. That is when I realized I had picked up my burden again.

Searching for some encouragement the Lord kept leading me back to Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." I've heard these verses so many times before and often quoted them to others, but hadn't thought to apply them to this situation. In the Proverbs 31 devotional yesterday, When Healing Never Comes, Wendy Blight described her inward battle as their family deals with her daughter having scoliosis. In that devotional, she paraphrased these verses and personalized them to their situation. Here is mine:

Julie, trust Me with all of your heart. Do not depend on the knowledge of doctors, pharmacists, friends, or even yourself. Do not lean on your fears. Acknowledge Me. Depend on Me, Julie. My Timing. My Power. My Omniscience. My Strength. My Love. I promised to direct your path, and I have. This is the path I have led you to follow. Trust Me. [bold taken directly from Wendy's paraphrase]

It's the part that reads "This is the path I have led you to follow" that I struggle with the most and begin to ask "Why?". Why would you do this to someone, Lord? And then I hear His gentle voice reminding me that that isn't for me to know right now. It's just part of His perfect plan. Trust Me. Such a simple phrase, but I can almost audibly hear God whispering that in my ear.

I encourage anyone who might be reading this to also paraphrase these verses. As I wrote that I could almost feel the peace wash over me. God is in control.

I am also taken back to Philippians 4:6-8:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

When we leave our problems at the foot of the cross, according to these verses, God will guard your heart and your mind. The definition of guard is to keep safe from harm or danger; protect; watch over. He will protect you. Sometimes being protected means not having all the answers. Allow God to protect you by not taking back what should be left at the foot of the cross. Let Him keep control and watch over you.

Well, this post seems to be plenty long, so I won't keep your attention any longer. If anyone reading this has something similar that I could be praying for, please leave a comment. If you don't want your story to be public, just put a note at the beginning that you don't wish for it to be published.

God loves you, my friend. Lean into His everlasting arms and relinquish control of whatever your holding on to.

Trust Me.

I don't know about you, Scripture memory is something I always struggle with. Earlier this year I was following the LPM blog and keeping up with their scripture memory plan for the year. 2 verses/passages a month for the entire year. 24 verses/passages tucked away by the end of the year. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. I 'tucked away' my verse cards and haven't touched them for quite a while. I saw the reminder that it was time to pick verse 19 and definitely feel the need to join in again. So, I will be picking a new verse today and 'untucking' my verse cards for some regular use.

I'm memorizing I Corinthians 1:26
"For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;"
I chose this verse because this whole passage (v.26-31) really meant a lot to me from Monday night's Bible study - Esther. I plan to memorize the whole passage verse by verse.

If you already participate, or would like to join me, please leave a comment and let me know what verse you're memorizing.

This prayer was in my Bible study book this week. The 3rd paragraph really spoke to me as I have been consumed lately with some pain that I have been feeling. God is in control of that situation no matter what the outcome is and if you would, please pray for me tomorrow at 11 while I am at the doctor. If there is someone reading this with some pain of your own, I would be happy to pray for you and lift you up to Jehovah-Rapha (also spelled Rophi and Rophe ~ God who heals). Just leave me a comment.

We all have someone we admire who has an exceptionally sweet spirit. Let's pray for the Lord to use us in that way to others.

This is a really long passage to post with some mixed commentary, but its something that's been on my heart for a while, so please read.

James 4

"What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?" So often our own selfishness gets in the way of our relationships with other Christians. Too often with those that love and care about us the most (and vise versa). Don't look to the problems in others to solve a conflict - examine your own heart. Make sure you are right with God and let Him take care of everyone else.

"You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask." Keep reading - this isn't some magical sentence that gives us a big Santa in the sky. Our heart must be in the right place in order for what we ask to be part of God's plan, not our selfish desires. It is very sad to hear so many Christians take this out of context.

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." Always keep in mind the simple children's acronym - JOY: Jesus, others, you - in that order.

"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." If you find yourself wanting to be more and more like the people you know that don't have God, you're in trouble. We all need to examine our hearts constantly and constantly check our motives for what we want and what we want to do. The more we look like the world the more our hearts change to be like the world. BE CAREFUL!

"Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?" God is a jealous and according to the Bible He always wins. Personally, I would not want to be on the losing side of that battle.

"But He gives a greater grace Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.""

"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom." Repentance. Praise the Lord for his unfailing, always available, forgiveness! When we put ourselves under God's authority and turn away from the lies Satan feeds us, we can such an amazing peace in our lives. God blesses those who obey Him. Resisting the devil is not something we can do on our own. We need God's help. Memorize scripture in areas that you struggle with; read God's Word everyday; pray for His help to resist the temptations you easily succumb to; be careful with what you watch/listen to and make sure it is pleasing to God. It all must be genuine. God will punish those who don't keep their hearts pure before Him.

"Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you." As there is punishment/consequences for wrong-doing there are also rewards for right behavior. Not always getting something you want, but blessings.

"Do not speak against one another, brethren He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?" We are never to play God. We are just as sinful as the next person. Who are we to put someone down b/c of their sin when we all sin every day? And our sins don't have levels in God's eyes. My disobedience is just as bad as someone who has committed murder. Don't put yourself on a pedestal and certainly be careful of saying that you would never do something. That is a vulnerable area that Satan is sure to attack. "Guard your heart with all diligence" (Proverbs 4:23)

"Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." Take advantage of every moment God gives you. I am the world's worst procrastinator and am trying to work on that. Make the most of life - I've heard many times, "Live each day like it is your last". If we all did that we would be much more prepared to meet the Lord than most of us are today. (I hope that makes sense)

But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Not much more to add to that. Don't put yourself on a pedestal for anything.

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. The Holy Spirit convicts all of us of different things along our walk. Follow the Holy Spirits prompting and only worry about yourself.

I know this ended up being a running commentary, but I hope it was an encouragement to those who read it. God's Word is the best place to go - not man's words.

Have a great day!!

Finances.

What first pops into your mind? . . . Numbers? Security? Fear? Trust?

My guess is that especially in today's economic times most of us immediately think fear. My husband and I have been struggling a bit for the last 2 years. Until recently fear is exactly what I thought of. After losing a total of 3 jobs and some bad decisions in between, along with having a baby, we have definitely been thinking fear.

We recently started the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University and are in the process of getting Baby Step 1 accomplished.

Let me start by saying that my husband has been a Dave Ramsey fan for a couple of years, but I was hesitant to jump on board. Mostly because I manage the finances and who was he to try to tell me how to do it? So, I never listened. I never read the book. I realize he was trying to help and appreciate the effort, I really do (especially now). I also didn't do it because from what he showed me it was way too complicated and I had my system (I still kinda think that, but know it is going to be well worth the effort).

Now my system is in the process of transforming to Dave's system. I am budgeting and somewhat using the envelope system and most importantly I am starting to change from thinking fear to secure. The more money that gets saved, the more secure I feel. Amazing, huh?

The change that is taking place is not just in our bank account, but also in my heart. I am learning more about trusting the Lord. He truly meant what He said about "supply[ing] all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19) The key phrase in that verse is 'according to His'. So often we take verses like this out of context and assume that whatever we think we need we will have - like the Prayer of Jabez fad. That is not the case.

God knows what we need. Sometimes we need a big fat 'NO!'.

Paul says earlier in that passage that he "know[s] how to get along with humble means, and [he] also know[s] how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance [he has] learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (vv.12-13) God was with him in all of those circumstances. He didn't leave him when he had humble means - He taught him lessons and grew Paul's faith.

We need to learn to do the same thing. After a time of abundance are we truly thankful when a time of 'humble means' comes along? When we are 'suffering need'? We need to be.

Take the opportunity to open your eyes and learn what God has for you to learn. Pray about just what he would have you do with your finances right now and take the opportunity to grow closer to your God and your family.


You can purchase the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Kit here.

This morning on the radio I was reminded that my husband is a hero. The radio guy was sharing a story about a man he met who was working 2 jobs. He commented that that guy was a true hero because he was willing to do whatever it took to support his family.

So often I don't appreciate my husband enough. For almost a year and a half now he has been working 2 jobs to support our family. Lately, I have been so consumed with schedules not working out and insurance information being wrong that I haven't stop to tell him how much I appreciate what he is doing for us.

My husband is my hero.

Who is yours? What amazing every day person is making a difference in your life right now? Be sure to let them know how much they mean to you.

Today I am having a lot of trouble with this particular topic.

Has God provided for me in the past? Yes!
Has God always been there for me and brought the right people when needed? Of course!

So, why am I having so much trouble believing that He will do it again?

Today I am going to post a bunch of verses on this topic as a reminder to us all that we need God. Period. Nothing else can satisfy us. People and things will always fail us.

Dueteronomy 1:29-32
"Then I said to you, 'Do not be shocked, nor fear them. The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.' But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God,"
As Moses pointed out to the Israelites, we need to remember what God has done for us and believe (trust) that He will take care of us even still.

II Kings 19:14-20
"Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, O LORD our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God." Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.' "
Hezekiah took the information that all these other kingdoms have been destroyed and their gods couldn't save them directly to the Lord. How often I fail to take my discouraging news to the Lord and fail to ask Him to show His greatness and His power. If you are struggling with some discouraging news, as am I, I want to challenge you to pray like Hezekiah did and watch God work in your life. The Lord will hear you.

II Chronicles 14:10-12
"So Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You." So the LORD routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. "
Such complete trust in the Lord!!

Job 39:10-12
"Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes, Or will he harrow the valleys after you? Will you trust him because his strength is great And leave your labor to him? Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain And gather it from your threshing floor?"
I am often guilty of trusting in the things of the world to get me through. I trust in my job or my husband's job instead of trusting in God. We can't trust in animals . . . or people or things to sustain us. Only God can do that.

Psalm 9:9-11
"The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble; And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; Declare among the peoples His deeds. "
The Lord is the strongest of all strongholds. We need to put our trust in him when we are going through times of trouble.

Psalm 56:2-4
"My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me. When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid What can mere man do to me?"
Sometimes our foes aren't literal people. What foes do you have in your life? What are you fighting against or what is fighting against you? We can and need to put our trust in God because nothing else can harm us if he is on our side. Romans 8:31

Psalm 143:7-12
"Answer me quickly, O LORD, my spirit fails; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will become like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul. Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; I take refuge in You. Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble. And in Your lovingkindness, cut off my enemies And destroy all those who afflict my soul, For I am Your servant. "
A good prayer for all of us who are struggling with this issue of trust.

Jeremiah 17:6-8
"For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit."
I, right now, am like that bush in the desert. Ironically, my memory verses for the first half of this month are Jeremiah 17:7-8, so when this came up in my trust word study I felt like this was the Lord hitting me with a 2x4. I definitely need to learn to trust in Him completely and turn my desert into a meadow.

Ok, I think this is getting long enough. I have thoroughly 'enjoyed' my study on trust this morning. I really needed it. Thanks for joining me. I hope that these verses are as much of a blessing to you as they are to me. I purposefully stuck with the old testament because of the poetry and stories that we don't often remember when we go through tough times.

Psalm 56:3 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."

Fear. An ugly 4 letter word that encompasses a lot of all that we do.

I have had a lot of fear in my heart lately and have not been trusting in the Lord as I should. I keep trying to find my own ways of fixing things without even considering where God is and what He would have me do.

This week my Bible study chapter is titled "Fearless Beauty" and on Friday an email devotional I get was about fear. I'm thankful for the way that God surrounds us with the resources we need at every stage of life exactly when we need them.

At the end of the Bible study chapter she mentions Jeremiah 17:7-8
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
"For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.

This passage is my memory verse for the first half of this month (The LPM Blog). The thing that I struggle most with being afraid of is the 'year of drought'. Finances seem to always be an issue in our house. I am always anxious about the possibility of the drought. According to this verse when I am anxious about that I cannot yield fruit.

Finances are not the only thing I worry about. I have also been afraid of some physical issues that have been going on lately. My previous memory verse included the phrase "who heals all your diseases"(Psalm 103:3). I chose that verse specifically to remind me to put my trust in the Lord and bless Him at all times no matter the circumstance. Only God can "pardon all our iniquities" and "heal all our diseases". "Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

Those are two of the most specific things I fear, but I also have the daily anxiety that needs to be turned over to the Lord as we are reminded about in Matthew 6:34.

Pray with me about relying on God - ALL THE TIME!! I encourage any who read this to find scripture to bring to mind when the fears of your life overcome your mind.

We can yield more fruit and be effective for the Lord when we trust Him completely.

This last week I was wondering why our Bible study chapter wasn't affecting me so much. It was called Mind Control, so you would have thought that I would have gleaned something from it. But, unfortunately, it seemed like there was a 'road closed' sign between God and my heart.

I was bothered by this, but didn't take the time to sit and pray and read the Bible to see what I needed to get rid of in my life to get past the road block.

On Monday night while we discussed the chapter I felt like my heart was not in it. I didn't know exactly why, but the obvious reason was there was something sinful in my life separating me from God.

On Tuesday I was talking to a friend on the phone and we started talking about something that we have both been going through. The longer we talked about it the harder the Lord hit me over the head with the knowledge of exactly what I had been doing. I was being controlling and planning to manipulate.

That evening I put my daughter to bed and sat down with my Bible and prayed and read and cried for about 30 minutes. Thank God for His amazing forgiveness that is always available. I prayed with David:

"Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me."(Psalm 51:1-3 NASB)

I continued to pray through Psalm 51 and was hit really hard when I read v. 8.
"Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice."
What I was struggling with was in direct connection to a diagnosis I received in September. I needed to have joy and gladness and rejoice in the way God made me and what He was doing in my life through the way that I am seemingly 'broken'. That is the exact term that I have used many times to describe myself.

I continued to pray that God would
"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You." (v. 10-13)

2 weeks ago in Bible study the chapter was about having a willing spirit. I need to be willing to let God do whatever He knows is best for me. Another very powerful word in Scripture - let. 3 little letters that are so very hard to say. Especially for someone who likes to have control over every situation.

So pray with me as I continue to work on 'letting' God work in my life and giving Him complete control.

I must also say that I am very thankful for the forgiving spirit that God has graciously given my husband. He very sweetly listened, forgave and prayed with me.

Praise the Lord!!

My husband showed me yesterday morning some goals that he wrote out for 2009. The format that he has followed is one suggested by Dan Miller. In Sunday school he challenged all of us to do the same. So, yesterday I sat down and wrote out the following goals. All are attainable, realistic goals.


Spiritual
5 year: Be more like Christ; Overcome "Approval Addiction"; Have more Scripture memorized; Be more humble; Have read entire Bible 5 times; Share the gospel
1 year: Read Bible chronologically; LPM Scripture memory plan - 24 passages this year; Pray fervently; Have all Christ-centered relationships; Continue weekly Bible Study; Look for the opportunities around me to share the gospel with others and take advantage of them

Family
5 year: Be closer to John than ever before and for our relationship to be centered around Christ; Me at home with children; At least 2 more children; Clutter-free; Emma to love God and know Him; Have begun homeschooling Emma
1 year: Respect John unconditionally; Go on dates more frequently; Be pregnant; Emma potty trained; Organize house; Have regular 'devotions' with Emma before bed

Personal Development
5 year: Grow in Christ; Take better care of home; Be stay at home mom; Be more involved in community; Start a book (novella); Healthy weight range
1 year: Have personal devo's every day; Review books regularly; De-clutter bedroom; Read at least 6 'spiritual' books; Be open to God's will around me - serve others, help needy

Social
5 year: Christ-centered relationships; Not be jealous of others relationships; Keep in touch with far away friends; Don't get too close; Pray regularly with friends; More involved in community
1 year: Continue weekly Bible study; Take initiative to contact friends and pray with friends; Establish boundaries; Pray and eyes open for community; Grow satisfaction in Christ through prayer and bible study

Financial
5 year: Debt free; Me at home; John with only 1 job; Stability; Retirement/College savings plans in place and growing
1 year: Budget and stick to it; Start Emma's savings; Have a month in savings; Pay off 2 accounts

Physical
5 year: Be a healthy weight; Hormones under control (PCOS and Endo); Have a couple of children; Be fit - healthy heart/lungs/etc.;
1 year: Make exercise routine consistent; Eat more fresh fruit/veggies; Prepare for pregnancy; New glasses/prescription; Dentist catch up

Career
5 year: Stay at home mom who has begun homeschooling her children
1 year: Organize office; Set up in new building (haha); Catch up job evaluations; Figure out and do things to save the company money


I hope that this can be a good place for you to start in making and reaching some goals in the future and not just making resolutions. If you have some that you would like to share, I would love to see them!

Through an email devotional today I was prompted to read Psalm 139 this afternoon. The author of the devotional only focused on verse 8, but I would like to focus on many of the verses in this wonderful Psalm that can only point you heavenward.

David is writing this Psalm about just how much God knows us. A comforting thought when we are right with God; a terrifying thought when we are trying to hide from Him.

There are so many times that we think we can hide from God. "Surely God would never go there" we think. However, if we have truly invited Christ in as our Savior we are the one taking Him there. When we think about it, we are taking God there because He knows our thoughts. Have you ever heard someone say, "Oh, I never thought about that"? Whatever that was, your thought planted in their mind takes them there.

God knows all of our thoughts. Verse 2 says "You understand my thought from afar."

Not only does God know our thoughts, but he knows our actions. Not only does he know about them, but he 'scrutinizes' them. He searches us out and is not only familiar with us, but He is intimately acquainted with all of our ways. Wow! Me?!?! Why? Because God sent His only Son to Calvary for me. (John 3:16-17)

David acknowledges in verse 6 that this knowledge is too much for him - with our human minds we cannot fully understand this.

Verses 7-10 :
"Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me."

God is there. Right where you are. Right now. Does that encourage you or does that scare you out of your mind? Be encouraged. God is there.

God is so good to answer our prayers above and beyond what we ever expect. We may not be able word everything just right or know exactly what to pray for, but He does.

Romans 8:26 "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;"

It is awesome to me to see how God works in our lives. As most of you will agree he doesn't just show us something once and move on. He usually incorporates things into our lives over and over again. I had a note to start writing a blog about a certain topic and the devotional I read yesterday had a link to a blog with a story that totally went along with what I was going to write. It's also been something that the Lord is teaching me first hand how to live.

What am I talking about you may ask?

Praying with Christ "Thy will be done."

In the book Experiencing God the author talks about how God's will is happening all around us. We need to take our selfishness out of our daily lives and stop praying for God's will for us
and to pray for discernment to see His will that's happening around us everyday. If our hearts are in tune with His we will be able to join Him in His work here on earth.

The story in the blog mentioned above shows this by her response to the needy woman she met in the laundromat. It may not have been her immediate response, but she was aware of a need and allowed the Lord to use her to meet that need.

I currently have the opportunity of leading a ministry of "Christmas Blessings" to some families that have some needs this year. I am so excited to see God working in the lives of those around us.

If our hearts are in tune with God we will be able to see the needs around us and allow God to use us as He sees fit. When we take our selfishness out of the equation God is able to work in our life.

So, please join me in praying for God's will to be done. Open your spiritual eyes and see what God would have you do to further His kingdom.

What an amazing way to think of this time of year! Christ's purpose for living was to die. He came to this awful sinful world because of the love that God has for us. His purpose in being here was to save the lost. Will you surrender to God this Christmas? Will you put aside all of the busyness of the holiday season to focus on the One who gave up the most in order to give us eternal life? Take a few minutes to meditate on the words of this song:

On the night Christ was born just before break of morn

As the stars in the sky were fading

O'er the place where He lay fell a shadow cold and grey

Of a cross that would humble a king.

Jesus knew when He came, He would suffer in shame

He could feel every pain and sorrow.

But he left Paradise with His blood He paid the price

My redemption to Jesus I owe.

From His throne Jesus came,; Laid aside Heaven's fame

In exchange for the cross of Calvary.

For my gain suffered loss, For my sin he bore the cross

He was wounded and I was set free

Dearest Lord ever more May thy Cross I adore

As I follow the path to Calvary.

Of thy death I partake; My ambition I forsake,

All my will I surrender to thee.

Chorus:

Born to die upon Calvary, Jesus suffered my sin to forgive.

I can be owned by God, I can have Christ as Lord, I can be In Christ, I can be a servant of Righteousness, I can walk in the Spirit, I can be saved by the power of God, I can have eternal life, I can have heaven as my home, I can enter into His rest, I can live for others, I can have spiritual vision, I can believe in my heart and be born again, I have made Him the end and scope of my life, I have sought God with my whole heart, I have decided to obey unto righteousness, I have decided to love God with all my heart, I want to love others to tell them about Him, I will hold the truth in the Word of God, I can be free from sin, I don't care if I lose my life because I will spend eternity with Him, I will repent of all my sins and give them up for the Lover of my soul, I now see my sin and how awful it was to nail Jesus to the cross and how vile and corrupt I am, I will accept Jesus with all that he is, Savior, Lord, Master, my all in all, I want to have that type of love for others as I follow Him to the cross, I don't care if I lose the World, I will be saved and live forever with Him in Heaven.

The above add was to the side of a website I was viewing today. Do you see the most obvious problem with this before/after besides the obvious more than 12 lb weight loss?

I was catching up on some blogs today and came across this post. Starting in the 3rd paragraph the Lord really started to grip my heart. I have always struggled with allowing my husband to lead our home. I have often prayed that God would help him to be a better leader. That's the right thing to do, right? Not so much the way I was going about it. My idea of a good household leader was that he needed to be more outspoken and take charge. So, often my prayers led to my telling God that He needed to change my husband - never really crossing my mind that I was the one that needed to change. I have spent so much time criticizing him instead of being the supportive wife that God has called me to be. My husband is a very quiet man (when he's not playing with children/teenagers). He doesn't like confrontation or arguments. So, I often wrongly interpret his silence as him being a bad leader. The more I've thought about it today, the more I've thought about who he is. My husband loves to mull things over. He thinks about things for days before making decisions. I, on the other hand, often make very hasty decisions in order to not miss out on things or just plain, ugly, impatience. I am realizing that I really need to sit back and allow him to take the lead. I hear the Holy Spirit telling me to get out of the way!!

The part of her post that really gripped me was the 6th paragraph. She lists some examples of decisions that she has supported him in and even though she was scared she stepped back so he could lead. She specifically mentions job changes. We have had so much of that lately and I have always had my ideas of what he needed to do and not trusted that he could make a decision on his own. That often led to many disagreements because he of course does not like to be told what to do or be constantly checked up on. Who does? Why would I think that he wouldn't mind? That's where the problem lies - I didn't consider him in the situation. I started to worry right away and thinking about the situation from an earthly perspective forgetting the God of the Bible would take care of us.

A very ironic twist is that we have been doing the Love & Respect workbook by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. (Maybe I should have titled my blog 'The Ironies of Life) I thought I had learned it all cause I read the book last year, but I am learning that I have so much more to learn as the crazy cycles continue. We are in week 3 of the study and I look forward to continuing with my husband on this journey to learn how to better meet each others needs.

- This is in no way a contrast to my "Peace From the Saviour" post. I know that God will take care of us, but I was not trusting Him to use my husband as the leader of our home.

The more I have thought about the Christmas season the less I have looked forward to it. . . until now.

I was getting so bogged down with all of the financial messes we are seeing around us and in our home. For some reason I had it in my head that we had to have gifts in order to be happy at Christmas. Kind of ironic since my husband and I have talked about and decided to make Christmas more about Christ and doing more for birthdays to celebrate the life of those we know. Still, in my heart, I was carrying around a HUGE disappointment knowing that we couldn't do anything for Christmas this year. Yes, I would love to get gifts, but I really like to give gifts. So, that made my sulking ok, right? Wrong. Last night I was encouraged to find other things to give to people that don't cost money. I must admit that inside I laughed at the thought. Not so funny, though. It's actually a great idea. I plan to make a list this week and pray for the Lord to show me what I can do for those people.

The next thing that was holding me back from truly enjoying this wonderful time of year was that I had to be with my family. I was extremely disappointed when my husband lost his second job and knew we would have to use the travel money for bills and groceries. Then, my dad suggested they come down here to see us. I was SO excited about that. I have lived in GA for 6 years now and my parents have only been here twice (I'm originally from PA). I found out yesterday that they will not be able to come now due to being robbed while they were away for Thanksgiving. This could still change, but I needed that to happen to show me just how much I was relying on them to make Christmas special.

Christmas needs to be a time that we take to reflect on Christ. We all look forward to going to heaven to get away from the things of this world, yet Jesus left heaven to come to this world to save sinful souls such as mine. How humbling!!!

I encourage all who read this to challenge your family to truly focus on Christ this Christmas. Yes, the decorations are pretty, the gifts are great, and families are nice to spend time with (most of the time), BUT let's remember and take in the reverence that the wise men had for baby Jesus - the King of Kings.