Check out this worship song by Natalie Grant titled "Your Great Name". It's a beautiful song and will bless you richly.
Blessings,
Friday, July 22, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
God Cares for Us
Picture with me, if you will, walking around with a heavy, loaded suitcase, one that we can barely move.
We all have cares that we carry around with us. The suitcase signifies cares and burdens that we carry.
A few years ago, I received a devotion which got me to thinking about what burdens was I carrying. At the time, my brother was facing surgery where he was diagnosed with having an early stage of melanoma and he is not a Christian. I then listed two other cares that were on my mind. They were not life and death but rather stuff. I had not thought that these “cares” could be slowing my walk.
I asked my children to name some cares. They came up with secrets, peer pressure, and family. These could indeed become cares. Can you come up with a few more?
So often we think of “cares” as being pretty major stuff – not everyday stuff perhaps dealing with our job or our family. Maybe we think of God wanting us to cast our big cares on Him and we can handle the small ones – like dividing up what we can handle and what God can handle. Perhaps we feel as though it is our personal responsibility to carry our own burdens and maybe everybody else’s as well. Just like carrying the suitcase signifies carrying our cares around with us everywhere we go, so we carry our cares around with us everywhere we go. We tend to think that they are manageable, that we can handle them. But our cares could hinder or stop us from using both hands to work, to do for the Kingdom of God. We only can do things halfway, not fully. We cannot dance, jump, embrace because we are tied to the small suitcase filled with our cares. We continue to think that what we are carrying around is manageable.
All along our Father is there calling out to us to come to Him.
Take a moment and read the following scriptures:
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 6:25-33
I Peter 5:7
Psalms 55:22
Philippians 4:6
Are you heavy laden? Are you carrying a load that seems overwhelming?
We need to:
• Go to Jesus
• Learn of Him
• Exchange His easy yoke and light burden for what you are trying to carry in your own strength
• Ask Him to teach us His ways so we can learn to find rest for our soul
I also asked my daughter if she thought if we could dwell too much on our cares and of course she said yes. In those times when our cares consume our thoughts, we need to recognize it and then turn our thoughts onto other things. The bible says “whatsoever things are pure…to think on these things”. And the bible says that if we keep our mind on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace.
I want you to take a moment to think about what cares you are carrying right now. How are they affecting you and your walk with God? Are they hindering you from doing what you need to do? Are they hindering you from embracing someone or reaching out to others to help them in their time of need? When we are bogged down, we are not able to be the eyes and hands of Jesus. Take a moment to write down one or more of cares that come to your mind.
Now take a moment to pray about these cares.
Father, we ask You to help us – help us to exchange Your easy yoke for our cares. Help us not try to make it our personal responsibility to carry our cares but rather turn everything over to You. Help us to think on good things as the scripture tells us. Thank You Father for your help and for caring for us. We love and appreciate You. We declare that there is none like You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
We all have cares that we carry around with us. The suitcase signifies cares and burdens that we carry.
A few years ago, I received a devotion which got me to thinking about what burdens was I carrying. At the time, my brother was facing surgery where he was diagnosed with having an early stage of melanoma and he is not a Christian. I then listed two other cares that were on my mind. They were not life and death but rather stuff. I had not thought that these “cares” could be slowing my walk.
I asked my children to name some cares. They came up with secrets, peer pressure, and family. These could indeed become cares. Can you come up with a few more?
So often we think of “cares” as being pretty major stuff – not everyday stuff perhaps dealing with our job or our family. Maybe we think of God wanting us to cast our big cares on Him and we can handle the small ones – like dividing up what we can handle and what God can handle. Perhaps we feel as though it is our personal responsibility to carry our own burdens and maybe everybody else’s as well. Just like carrying the suitcase signifies carrying our cares around with us everywhere we go, so we carry our cares around with us everywhere we go. We tend to think that they are manageable, that we can handle them. But our cares could hinder or stop us from using both hands to work, to do for the Kingdom of God. We only can do things halfway, not fully. We cannot dance, jump, embrace because we are tied to the small suitcase filled with our cares. We continue to think that what we are carrying around is manageable.
All along our Father is there calling out to us to come to Him.
Take a moment and read the following scriptures:
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 6:25-33
I Peter 5:7
Psalms 55:22
Philippians 4:6
Are you heavy laden? Are you carrying a load that seems overwhelming?
We need to:
• Go to Jesus
• Learn of Him
• Exchange His easy yoke and light burden for what you are trying to carry in your own strength
• Ask Him to teach us His ways so we can learn to find rest for our soul
I also asked my daughter if she thought if we could dwell too much on our cares and of course she said yes. In those times when our cares consume our thoughts, we need to recognize it and then turn our thoughts onto other things. The bible says “whatsoever things are pure…to think on these things”. And the bible says that if we keep our mind on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace.
I want you to take a moment to think about what cares you are carrying right now. How are they affecting you and your walk with God? Are they hindering you from doing what you need to do? Are they hindering you from embracing someone or reaching out to others to help them in their time of need? When we are bogged down, we are not able to be the eyes and hands of Jesus. Take a moment to write down one or more of cares that come to your mind.
Now take a moment to pray about these cares.
Father, we ask You to help us – help us to exchange Your easy yoke for our cares. Help us not try to make it our personal responsibility to carry our cares but rather turn everything over to You. Help us to think on good things as the scripture tells us. Thank You Father for your help and for caring for us. We love and appreciate You. We declare that there is none like You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Blessings,
Friday, July 15, 2011
William McDowell - I Give Myself Away
My son loves to listen to black gospel. One day he and I were in the car listening to black gosepl and a song came on that I just fell in love with. I told my husband that we just had to learn it for church, and we did. The song is by William McDowell titled "I Give Myself Away."
Listen to the words and let it be our prayer today, that we give ourselves away so God can use us.
Blessings,
Listen to the words and let it be our prayer today, that we give ourselves away so God can use us.
Blessings,
Friday, July 8, 2011
Mercy Me - Beautiful
"No matter what others think of you...say to you...or say about you....You are beautiful and worthy in the eyes of Jesus...Never forget..."
Recently my son and I seen Mercy Me in a concert and they sang "Beautiful". "Beautiful" is a beautiful song, so inspiring, so encouraging to girls of all ages - and boys too.
Remember today that you are beautiful. You are sacred. You are His.
Recently my son and I seen Mercy Me in a concert and they sang "Beautiful". "Beautiful" is a beautiful song, so inspiring, so encouraging to girls of all ages - and boys too.
Remember today that you are beautiful. You are sacred. You are His.
Blessings,
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Hiatus
Hiatus
a: an interruption in time or continuity : BREAK; especially: a period when something (as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted
I know. I have been gone a long time. I guess you can say I have been on a hiatus. The only thing is that I have not done anything during this hiatus for my blog. Rather, I have gotten bogged down with life – the kids, the church, the job.
I am back now and have even made some changes to my blog. I hope you like it. I am still playing with it and will be adding some things later.
You know, I think I had thoughts of what I would do next here and when that didn’t happen, I just didn’t do anything. Have you ever been there? You thought your life was going one way and when it didn’t, you got in what felt like a holding pattern. Sometimes the holding pattern lasted a week, a month, several months and maybe even a year. For me, it’s been a couple of months. I think I can point to a couple of key things that kept me in that holding pattern. One pretty big key point is out of the way which feels like a load has been lifted. I feel like I am out of that holding pattern and can now move forward with several things, including this blog. I am excited and have several ideas for future posts.
I hope you will join me on this journey of becoming the woman God has created us to be!
Until next time…
Blessings,
a: an interruption in time or continuity : BREAK; especially: a period when something (as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted
I know. I have been gone a long time. I guess you can say I have been on a hiatus. The only thing is that I have not done anything during this hiatus for my blog. Rather, I have gotten bogged down with life – the kids, the church, the job.
I am back now and have even made some changes to my blog. I hope you like it. I am still playing with it and will be adding some things later.
You know, I think I had thoughts of what I would do next here and when that didn’t happen, I just didn’t do anything. Have you ever been there? You thought your life was going one way and when it didn’t, you got in what felt like a holding pattern. Sometimes the holding pattern lasted a week, a month, several months and maybe even a year. For me, it’s been a couple of months. I think I can point to a couple of key things that kept me in that holding pattern. One pretty big key point is out of the way which feels like a load has been lifted. I feel like I am out of that holding pattern and can now move forward with several things, including this blog. I am excited and have several ideas for future posts.
I hope you will join me on this journey of becoming the woman God has created us to be!
Until next time…
Blessings,
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
February Part II
Terry had a great mission trip. A guy from our church went with him this year. In five days of ministry they seen 46 people accept Jesus as their Savior, had a pastor’s conference with over 80 pastors and leaders, and had a youth rally with 200 youth in a theater with no.heat. No.heat.at.all. In February. Where it snowed every day from Tuesday to Friday and there is still snow on the ground. No.heat. 200 youth. Don’t you find that just amazing? I am not sure we would have something like that here in America. In Romania, people of all ages are hungry for more of God in their life. The guys had many prayer partners which is such a great blessing. One night Terry was coming back from preaching. It was normally a 2 ½ hour drive through the mountains and the roads there are not like ours. Well, it was snowing. The roads were covered. They came across a truck that had jackknife. He sent out a tweet asking people to pray and pray they did. With the support of prayer, they made it back safely to the ministry base. People can be involved in missions even if they cannot actually go overseas. They can be involved in two ways: prayer, and giving. Without those two components, not much will be accomplished.
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| Pastors/Leaders Conference |
 |
| Theater where Youth Rally was held |
 |
| Snow in Romania |
 |
| Terry (center) at Youth Rally |
Other significant things went on in February. My two children had major birthdays! Stephen turned 13 and two days later Sarah turned sweet 16. We had a big family party and of course went out to eat for their birthdays. I now have two teenagers! It doesn’t seem possible. I am so very thankful for my two precious gifts! It’s definitely not always perfect, but it is all worthwhile. I shared with you that a lady in my church, Mary, did some cooking while my husband was out of the country. One night I had warmed up our dinner that she had made and Stephen says to me, “Mommy, Mary sure does have a servant’s heart. She does for people and never complains.” You know that blessed my heart! And it blessed Mary too when I shared it with her. I am very proud of my children. They are overall good kids and more importantly they have a heart for Jesus! When Sarah heard her daddy was going to Peru, she did not hesitate to say that she wanted to go to. Who knows what all the Lord has in store for her – and Stephen too!
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| Stephen - 13th Birthday |
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| Sarah - Sweet 16! |
Blessings,
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
February Part I
February came in like a lion and it left like a lion. February was absolutely nonstop for my family.
Basketball for the kids started in December but for some reason, it was in full swing during February. I think it was because early on we had games that were cancelled due to the weather and all the makeup games fell in February. There were some weeks that were back to back that Sarah had four games and Stephen had three plus a couple of practices. There were some weeks that they both had games on Saturday. There was one week towards the end of the season that Sarah had five games. Needless to say, the girls were getting very tired by the end of the season. Needless to say that mom and dad were getting tired by the end of the season. Our away games are like an hour and half away. We had a lot of late nights.
I am proud as punch to share that Sarah’s JV girl’s team had an undefeated season! They were the season champs!! They really did so great and I was very proud of them. By the time the tournament came the girls were slammed out. They were exhausted because of the crazy schedule of the last couple of weeks. The first game of the tournament they played hard but lost by two points. It really was not pretty at all. It was crazy and so intense. And so the girl’s season ended. But they were the season champs! The coach shared with the girls that this season was the best one in five years and did more for the girls program.
I am also proud as punch to share that Stephen’s Middle School boy’s team only lost two games – and it was to the same team. In one conference they were undefeated and in the other conference they came in second place. One of the last games they played Stephen had some really sweet plays and of course I and his dad were not there. The coach shared with Terry that he actually jumped out of his chair and ran part way down the court to see the play. It was that sweet! The boys won the first game of the tournament by a lot. However, they lost the second game (if they won they would have played in the championship game) by two points. It was not pretty. In the last seconds one of our boys put up a shot that would have tied us but the refs did not count it. And it was off before the buzzer sounded. They then went on to play a third game for the consolation and won by like 25 points – and that was playing our second string in and out. So they came in third place for the tournament.
Also during February my husband went on a mission’s trip to Romania. Yes, and it was during tournament week. Thankfully my mom and her husband were there to help me during Sarah’s first and only tournament game as well as Stephen’s first tournament game. Then a friend, Missy, came up late Thursday night and stayed with me until Saturday. And thankfully a lady in my church did some cooking for us. The kids were thankful for that as well. We had some very late nights and it was so nice to just come home and warm something up rather than going through a drive-thru or having to cook something myself. I truly was blessed by all of their help during that week. It’s hard for me ya’ll when my husband is gone because he does so much around the house and especially in the mornings getting ready for school and work. He loves mission work and God spoke to me several years ago that this was part of His plan for Terry’s life. I have accepted that and am very grateful for any kind of help I can get when he is gone. I am not shy about desperately needing help!
Tomorrow I will share more about Terry’s mission trip and share what else happened in February. It was a crazy month ya’ll!
I will leave you with a verse I shared with a friend yesterday. I love this verse and I cling to it over and over.
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Basketball for the kids started in December but for some reason, it was in full swing during February. I think it was because early on we had games that were cancelled due to the weather and all the makeup games fell in February. There were some weeks that were back to back that Sarah had four games and Stephen had three plus a couple of practices. There were some weeks that they both had games on Saturday. There was one week towards the end of the season that Sarah had five games. Needless to say, the girls were getting very tired by the end of the season. Needless to say that mom and dad were getting tired by the end of the season. Our away games are like an hour and half away. We had a lot of late nights.
I am proud as punch to share that Sarah’s JV girl’s team had an undefeated season! They were the season champs!! They really did so great and I was very proud of them. By the time the tournament came the girls were slammed out. They were exhausted because of the crazy schedule of the last couple of weeks. The first game of the tournament they played hard but lost by two points. It really was not pretty at all. It was crazy and so intense. And so the girl’s season ended. But they were the season champs! The coach shared with the girls that this season was the best one in five years and did more for the girls program.
I am also proud as punch to share that Stephen’s Middle School boy’s team only lost two games – and it was to the same team. In one conference they were undefeated and in the other conference they came in second place. One of the last games they played Stephen had some really sweet plays and of course I and his dad were not there. The coach shared with Terry that he actually jumped out of his chair and ran part way down the court to see the play. It was that sweet! The boys won the first game of the tournament by a lot. However, they lost the second game (if they won they would have played in the championship game) by two points. It was not pretty. In the last seconds one of our boys put up a shot that would have tied us but the refs did not count it. And it was off before the buzzer sounded. They then went on to play a third game for the consolation and won by like 25 points – and that was playing our second string in and out. So they came in third place for the tournament.
Also during February my husband went on a mission’s trip to Romania. Yes, and it was during tournament week. Thankfully my mom and her husband were there to help me during Sarah’s first and only tournament game as well as Stephen’s first tournament game. Then a friend, Missy, came up late Thursday night and stayed with me until Saturday. And thankfully a lady in my church did some cooking for us. The kids were thankful for that as well. We had some very late nights and it was so nice to just come home and warm something up rather than going through a drive-thru or having to cook something myself. I truly was blessed by all of their help during that week. It’s hard for me ya’ll when my husband is gone because he does so much around the house and especially in the mornings getting ready for school and work. He loves mission work and God spoke to me several years ago that this was part of His plan for Terry’s life. I have accepted that and am very grateful for any kind of help I can get when he is gone. I am not shy about desperately needing help!
Tomorrow I will share more about Terry’s mission trip and share what else happened in February. It was a crazy month ya’ll!
I will leave you with a verse I shared with a friend yesterday. I love this verse and I cling to it over and over.
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Blessings,
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