Encourage each other daily!

Hebrews 3:13 - "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness".

Good morning ladies.

I really love that verse. For the most part, I stay in my own little world, never really seeing any of you unless I am at work or at some school function of unless you go to church with me, I get to see you on Sundays and Wednesdays. But I think that God puts it very plainly in the verse above, it is one of our jobs to make sure that we are continuing to encourage each other everyday. Whether it is a phone call, a letter or a simple e-mail just to say I am thinking about you. You never know when just a simple word of encouragement can make a bad day turn good.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe day!! I love you!

I know just how my life needs to be. I need a wonderful man in my life. I think that I am really a marrying type of girl. I have no doubt in my mind that I am suppose to have a little white picket fence, nice home and perfect man. I need my kids to make straight A's cause how else are they going to get into a good college. I need a new car because mine is probably on it's last leg and I also need a little used car for Brianna to drive. I need my patio redone because I just want that and I REALLY need to win the lottery because I hate stressing every month on which bills will get paid and which ones won't. I mean seems logical and fair right? And I pretty much (if I was to be totally honest) live my life with that kind of attitude. I know exactly what I need, how I need it and when I need it so I don't understand why God doesn't see it like that?

I think (well I know) that God does not work on our time. The things we THINK we need right then, the way we think our lives are suppose to be, well, it may not be in God's plan as of yet so it is not going to happen no matter what you do. Case in point: I HONESTLY believe that I am meant to be married. I mean I loved being married, loved being a wife, loved taking care of the house and I honestly believed that it was meant to me. So much so that after I divorced my ex husband the first time, when I moved back from Texas, I married him again. I get ragged and talked about alot because of that. People seem to have thought I was clueless and a bit ignorant. But my perception and the way I looked at it was that God wanted my family together and whatever I had to do to make that happen, I would. Well, it was not in God's plan and He quickly showed that to me this time. And so it was.

We cannot MAKE god do anything He is not good and ready to do. I don't care how much you want a person, how much you want stuff, how much you want whatever it is you want. And we cannot get over on God. Like seriously... do you actually think that you can do whatever you want and think God is going to be pleased and then give you your way? Hmmmmm....

The moment we decided to give our lives totally to God, to surrender our every thought to Him, the moment we realize that our lives are not for our personal pleasures, but that they are to be used to spread His message and share with others, I really think that things will work our better than we could have ever imagined. And those things that we THOUGHT we needed and wanted, we will be so glad we didn't have the control we thought we had.

I pray that you all have a wonderful day. Until next time, Lord willing....

A Christians life should be Christ-centered. We have to give up what we feel we need and want and concentrate totally on Christ and His word. I think most of the times, we think we know exactly what we want and need and expect God to basically just listen to our request, fill them and be happy. But how can we really expect God to do anything we ask and we are not following His commandments like we are suppose to? There is no tweaking it to our advantage either, we can't half do it, it's either all or nothing. No in between.

So Sunday as I sat in church, Greg said something once again that will stick with me a long time: " God wants full custody, not just visitation right". What can I say, I love it!

God expects us to live the lives we are suppose to live. He does not just want to see us on Sunday mornings and Wednesday night Bible Studies. He doesn't want us just talking a good talk, but really striving to walk the walk Christ did while He was here on earth. None of us are perfect, no one will get it right all the time, but our goal is to daily continue to try.

What a wonderful weekend I had. It didn't hit me until last night that I got to spend my weekend with people I love dearly. I think from the time I got off Friday until last night, I was with all of my friends and loved ones. It was great and I actually had a little separation anxiety last night when I finally settle down BUT I do know how blessed I am to have all of them in my life. God is good!

I pray you all have a great Monday and Lord willing, we will talk again soon!

I am a fan of the NIV version of the Bible but every once in a while, I look at the Message version and just love it.

Proverbs 3: 5-12 - "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this. "

Yesterday we (that would be my ex husband and I) took our son for a vision test because he said his eye was "hurting". I figure since everyone in my family has glasses, he would just fall right in line to get some too. He has perfect 20/20 vision in one eye, but the other one.. well he referred us to a specialist on the 7th of July. Seems he can't see at all in that eye, it's all a blur. No scratches, nothing that he could see was wrong and he seems to think that maybe something is going on with that eye that just doesn't make since. To look at him though, he's fine. Still running and jumping and talking like nobody's business, but last night I prayed hard! It's like a parent's worse fear I guess to possibly have something wrong with their child. But I look up Proverbs 3 last night and I know that God has my back on this one. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, don't try to do it on your own."

Say a prayer please for my little man!

Other than being close to 100 degrees today, it's gonna be a good day. We're here, how can it not be?!?! I pray you all have a wonderful weekend and until next time,. Lord willing

Stop being bored!

Last May I joined the gym (for the umpteenth time) and started working out. I was doing good too: SPIN class every Thursday morning at 5:30, and on Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri, I worked out every morning from 5 until 6:30 or so. I felt great! As I worked out more, I began to eat a little better too (it all just doesn't happen over night contrary to popular belief) until I got to the point where is was just habit. I was losing a little weight, feeling good and my mind was clear to tackle the issues dealt to me.

Months passed and I don't know, I got bored. Boredom is a problem for me. If I get bored, it's a sure bet, I will start to do stuff I don't need to be doing and sure enough, my five days a week dwindled to 3, then 2, then none. And all the work I had put in was pretty much wasted and I was at a stand still. It wasn't until recently, like the past few weeks that I have been building back up to my 5 days a week. Trying to get back on track. I don't dream of being a size 6 ever to be honest with you, but I like the good feeling I got from just feeling good.. know what I mean?

Isn't it like that with the way we feel about Christ sometimes too? Let's be honest, when we get baptized, we are all fired up for Christ, wanting to do and be everywhere we can for Jesus and then, as time passes, we get a little burned out, a little bored and we slowly the excitement goes away. Sometimes never coming back. But we need to build our spiritual lives back up, from the beginning if we have too. Remember the things that had us on fire way back when and start fresh. Things don't have to be going bad for us to want to do better. So what your church is not out feeding people at the homeless shelter this week? YOU go out and find someone in need of food and take it to them. So what there is not a big revival going on in town? Gather some friends up and have a at home personal Bible study. No mission trips to go on? Bet you can still find someone to serve right in your own hometown.

Satan is walking around here on earth, looking for us to slip up. Looking for opportunities when our faith may be slacking a little to snatch us up. We need to be on guard, need to stop being bored and get back on track.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday! "Be blessed and be a blessing".. until next time...

It's going to be okay

I heard someone say one time that people are always talking about having issues, and then picking up a Bible and opening it and it just falling to the exact thing they needed to hear. They didn't believe that could happen, or at least not as much as people said it did. I am here to tell you that it DOES happen and not only does it happen, it happens more than not in my experience. I think that when you are asking God for help, He really does give us quick answers sometimes. I went to bed last night pretty much not knowing what way to turn, definitely not knowing what to do about the situation and pretty much at my wits end. I prayed and fell asleep and this morning, the devotional I get in the mornings said this:


"Despair is pretty simple. It is the absence of hope. Despair knows of no way to go on or even any point in doing so. When events crush us, we realize we are totally out of control and without resources. Despair is one of the most debilitating emotions we can feel and it's a very hard pit to dig out of, especially without help.

Yes, but there is help. God understands how we feel and allows (even encourages) us to express ourselves honestly. The Psalmist sings: "O my God, my soul is in despair within me" (Psalm 42:6) and then goes on to provide an antidote.

Therefore I remember Thee from the land of the Jordan, and peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar." You may wonder: what kind of a solution is that? I'll explain. The land of Jordan was the land promised by God to the Israelites who took possession of it after a forty year walk in the wilderness.

Jordan represents fulfillment and promises kept. Though the Israelites endured a season of great difficulty there was an end to it - a good end! Remember: an end will come to every hard season and God's promises will always be fulfilled.

What about Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar? Those are the high places that lift us out of our circumstances so that we are above them instead of under them. Mount Hermon was snow capped year round and provided nourishment for the land below and water for the Jordan River. When you start to feel despair, look up. There is a mountain you can climb in the Lord which will supply your need.

Are you struggling with despair? Remember God's promises and starting climbing. Embrace hope. It will not be in vain."

I have been told I am a fixer. I don't like people having issues and if I can figure out a way to help, well that's what I do. I'll take that. I do that alot as a matter of fact. All out of love though I assure you. And if they can't figure it out and I can't figure it out, well, my brain goes into overdrive because there IS a solution, I just need time. But this time, there is really nothing I can do but pray about it. I think that God sometimes allows us to get into situations that NO ONE can figure out. I think that is to make us realize who is really in control, especially when we think we have all the control. I also think, like i said yesterday, that if we have issues in our lives that are blocking our prayers, it is not until we get those fixed that things will begin to start working out.

The one thing to remember though is that no matter what route you decide to take, the long or the short one, there is no way of getting around God's promises and how they will be fulfilled. You can't compromise and He's not going to let you. We say all the time that we believe and trust in God's power and wisdom but then go off half cocked doing whatever it is we want, getting upset because things don't go our way and mad when we think God has let us down when the whole time, it's our faults anyway for being hypocrites. Go figure... and I say this from my own experiences. It's about time we just stop SAYING what sounds good and really start living and believing it.

I love how I open up e-mails and God speaks to me. Believe it or not.

I pray you all have a blessed day. Pam and Jay.. LOVED your blogs, they made me laugh and cry and that's a good thing. I will be praying for you both!

Until next time, Lord willing..

Lots going on in my brain right about now!

I have been thinking and praying alot about some things that have been going on in my life. I would have to say probably more thinking than praying if I were to be totally honest. I sit outside, wonder why things are happening like they are and pray for a change. And as you know, sometimes it's a very slow process before we actually see any change, which for me, is discouraging. Now I realize that things don't happen overnight (although they can), and all things are in God's time and not mine, but I still have a really hard time with that.

You ask people to pray for you, and people ask me to pray for them and I got to thinking about that. Do you realize that as easy as it sounds, praying is really hard for some people? I was reading a devotional I got recently she said in it" reality of prayer is that is is more talked about than practiced." She also said that prayer was "hard, sometimes boring and a mystery " and because of us maybe not understanding completely how God works, we tend to get discouraged.

I know according to scriptures (1 Peter 3:7, James 1:8 and Psalms 66:18) there are so many things that can hinder our prayers. Things that we are doing in our lives, not forgiving others, praying with the wrong motives, being double minded and sin, that can keep our prayers from being answered. So I guess then, it becomes a matter of finding and figuring out what you need to change in order for God to actually hear and answer our prayers. None of us are perfect. I really believe that most people wake up and strive to do what God wants them to do even if they are not thinking about it. We have to remember though, that Satan is roaming the earth daily, waiting for us to slip up, giving and putting things in out path that will cause us to stumble. But praying for discernment, actively seeking God daily, well Satan hates that. So that's what we have to do.

It may not be going the way we want it to be right now, time may be moving slow but keep praying. Do not give up mo matter what is going on, no matter how discouraged you get. I really believe in my heart that prayer makes a difference. If that means getting up 30 minutes earlier to have your coffee outside and watch the sunrise with God, do it. If it means staying up 30 minutes later to talk to God about your day, do it. I mean whatever works for you. We have no issues when its time to go to ball games, when it's time to take the kids on the weekend getaways, or when we need send the kids away so we can have out time alone. When does God get His? And I'll admit, I am just as guilty, so why question when things are not going right ya know? How can you expect them to when God has given us everything and we cannot even take time to give back to Him?

Lots of things going on in this brain of mine. All I can ask is that you just keep praying for each other, seriously. There are so many things we have going on in our lives, just between the people who read this e-mail and no one knows. And you know what, you really don't HAVE to know all the details, God's got that part down. All you have to do is realize that it really is NOT about you, that there are so many people right in the towns you live in, people you work with, that have things going on in their lives and all they need is a little relief. That's where you and the praying come in....

I really hope that you all have had a wonderful week so far. I think our mission team will be flying back in soon so please pray for safe travels home. And as always, Lord willing, we will talk again soon. Love ya!