~ Time With God ~

Last night before we left for church, Caleb told me that he had already read his devotional for today so when he woke up this morning he wouldn't have to do it. He said he could just pack lunches and get ready for school. He was so excited because he thought he was ahead of his "to-do" list.  Well, I explained to my son that spending time with God is not just an item to be checked off our list. Spending time with God is such a necessity that we need everyday just as eating and sleeping. Spending time with God is an honor to behold and should be a priority in our daily lives.

How many times to we do the same thing? We get so busy with our daily tasks that we think, "well, I went to church on Sunday, so I'm good for a couple of days" or "we had group devotions so I don't need to do my own". This is where we are just, excuse my bluntness here, flat out WRONG! Every day we need to spend time with God in his Word and in prayer. We can't build relationships with others if we don't spend time with them. By spending time with people we know their likes, their hurts, their needs, their heart. The same is true with our Father. When we spend time with him we get to know His heart and his desires. But more than that, we get to know His will for our lives, His beautiful promises, and His love for us. Spending time with God strengthens us for this journey called life.

Today, I urge you to stop and spend time with the God of the universe. What an honor and privilege to be able to open His Word and gain nourishment, to bow before him and offer praise, and to sit at His feet and bask in His glory! Wow! What a priceless gift! Any time, any place, He is there ready to spend time with YOU! Hallelujah!

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

Psalm 25:4-5

~ Day 24 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Days of Thankfulness"

Day 24

Today I am thankful for Christmas traditions! Matt & I had traditions in our families growing up and now to have our own family traditions is wonderful! We kicked off the Jordan family Christmas traditions today by putting up our tree as we always do the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Making beautiful memories for another year! Love it!  

~ Day 23 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Days of Thankfulness"

Day 23

Today I am thankful for family movie nights! I love gathering all my family (and, tonight, our sweet little neighbor, Leah) in my room for a good Christmas movie and laughter! Good times! :)

~ Day 22 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Days of Thankfulness"

Day 22

Jesus, I thank you!

~ Day 21 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Day of Thankfulness"

Day 21

Today I am thankful for sinus medicine, Advil, and vacation days to rest.  Woke up yesterday with a sore throat and has progressed to aches congestion. Even though I feel yucky, I am thankful for a day at home to snuggle up with my kiddos watching Christmas movies. Praying I feel better soon to celebrate Thanksgiving with all our family! So much to be thankful for!

~ Day 20 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Day of Thankfulness"

Day 20

Today I am thankful for vacation days from school! Looking forward to celebrating thanksgiving with my family and enjoying some much needed rest! Counting our blessings together!

~ A Memorable Bowl of Cereal ~

I sat at the breakfast table this morning, just me and Caleb, enjoying our bowls of cereal together.  What an amazing blessing it was to just sit and listen to my 8-year-old son talk about everything! The mind of an 8-year-old boy at 7:30 in the morning is really no different the mind of an 8-year-old boy at 7:30 at night. Lol! It goes 100 mph and doesn’t ever quit! I love it! He is such an awesome kid and he blesses my heart with such sweet innocence. He talked about his favorite shows, what he is going to build with his Legos, and how excited he is that we are putting up our Christmas tree today. I think he even mentioned another occupation he wants to be when he grows up but in all that conversation, he didn’t allow much time for breath and my still overly congested head is not retaining a lot of information at this point.  So, I’m not exactly sure what that occupation is at this time.

No matter how bad I feel or how busy I am, I never want to miss a conversation with my son. There will come a day when the conversations will be fewer and farther between so I will cherish every one of them now.  No technology needed. No iPods, no phones, no TVs, no computers, just good old-fashioned conversation between an amazing boy and his mommy. What a blessing this morning!

I encourage every parent to take some time away from busyness of life and spend some time alone with each of your children. So much can be learned by just a few priceless minutes of undivided attention. They are minutes we can never get back but minutes that will last an eternity!

“But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Like 18:16

~ A Break From Tradition ~

For those of you that know me well, going out on Black Friday shopping is a tradition. Not that I like buying a lot, but I love it for the sport of it. I know it sounds crazy but I actually enjoy getting out in the wee morning hours with my hubby and sisters, in the cold, standing in line talking to perfect strangers about what they are waiting for. The excitement buzzing through the stores as everyone looks for that perfect Christmas gift for their loved one.  Yes, there are always the crazies out there that give Black Friday a bad rap (like the ones in Walmart in our short 20 minute life-risking trip) but we make it fun! We laugh at the organized chaos, applaud as people get a good bargain they've waited for, and work as a team so everyone can get what they came for. We really make it memorable!

But,  this morning however, I sit here in the bed beside my exhausted hubby, and watch him sleep. Wow! How incredibly blessed I am that God brought him into my life 23 years ago. I love this man so much! This has been such a challenging year in a lot of ways for our family with Matt's extremely difficult work and travel  load, the health issues I dealt with, and God calling us into new directions in many areas.  It has been a year of surrender like never before! But I sit here and praise God for it ALL!

You see, if you've never experienced a valley, how can you ever truly appreciate the mountain tops? The valleys will come and it's during that time we can either draw closer to God and grow in him or we can turn away from God and succumb to the valley itself. Well, our family chose to draw closer to God and grow in ways that only God can receive the glory! The growing process is difficult, don't get me wrong, but oh so worth it because the end result is a deeper, sweeter relationship with our God! Hallelujah!

I chose, this year, to give up my traditional Black Friday shopping adventure as a time to focus on the blessings around me.  Our family has chosen a year of simplicity this Christmas. Yes, there will be gifts, but not as they usually are. We want to focus on the precious Gift that has been anchor for our family this year! I cannot even begin, on this blog post, to describe the amazing things God has inscribed deep into my soul this year! A year submersed in his Word and in deep prayer has been the greatest gift! He is doing a mighty work in our family and we want to exalt his name this Christmas!

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”1 Corinthians 2:9

So, in the absence of traditional Black Friday shopping this year, I just want to
praise my God for the blessings around me. My wonderful husband who is truly the other half of me and leads our family in Christ;  my son, Ben, who has become a man this year in so many ways that I praise God for; my daughter, Callie, who inspires me with her insight and love for God;  and my sweet Caleb, who's perseverance over life's challenges encourages me to draw closer to God.

I love my family and I praise God for each one of them! I believe this Christmas will be one of our greatest because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. There has been a huge work done, and still more to come, but I am confident that my God will receive all glory, all honor, and all praise because He alone is worthy! Wherever you lead, God, we will follow.......

"You're my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb. Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide. Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you. I've put my life in your hands. You won't drop me, you'll never let me down."Psalm 31:3-5 (MSG)

~ Day 19 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Day of Thankfulness"

Day 19

Today I am thankful for praise and worship music! Oh, how I love lifting my voice in praise to my God! Whether I'm at home, at church, walking through the hallways at work, driving in the car or wherever I am, I can worship and praise my God through song. There have been many days when hearing the message of a song can brighten my day and turn my focus back to the glory and splendor of my God! What a beautiful means of worship!

"I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." Psalm 104:33 (NIV84)

~ Keeping Our Minds Steadfast on Christ ~

I've spent a great deal of time this month focusing on things that I am thankful for. It really has been great! When you put your mind and focus on something it makes you more aware of everything around you. Sometimes the smallest gift that normally would have been overlooked suddenly becomes a moment of gratitude to God. As we shared together yesterday as a family, the things we are thankful for, it was so refreshing to see our children focus on gratitude.

What if our minds were focused on things that were not gratitude-provoking? I think so often we underestimate our thought life. We stress about finances (or elections), we worry about our children, we keep mulling over that argument we had with our spouse, we stay focused on the Christmas presents we need to buy for our kids that will make them so happy, or we can even fantasize about all those relationships we read in novels or see in movies that "if only" we had. Do you see what can happen?

Satan is very cunning! He likes to play with our minds. We can't depend on our own knowledge alone to protect us from his evil schemes. We need protection from the One who is able to win this battle of the mind. It is imperative that we keep our minds steadfast on Christ!

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

Isaiah 26:3 (NIV84)

When we surrender our thought life to God, we are safeguarding our minds against the depravity that the deceiver can bring. Daily, hourly, we need to surrender our thoughts to God and allow him to bring comfort and peace. I want a mind so focused on Christ that no matter what comes my way, that I see through his his eyes. To stay focused on him I have to be in His Word, I have to converse with him in prayer, and I have to allow him to be the watchman on the wall of my mind.

Today, put your focus on Christ! See through his eyes and allow a new and exciting world of gratitude emerge. What beauty there is in him!

~ Day 18 of Thankfulness~

"30 Day of Thankfulness"

Day 18

Today I am thankful for this crazy family of mine! As I type this, they are all being silly and laughing together. I am blessed to have an amazing husband who still melts my heart,  3 fabulous kids that love each other and get along, and a big sweet dog that loves his mama. We laugh together, cry together, learn together, pray together, walk in faith together, trust God together, and love each other immensely. We are family! Looking forward to what God has in store in the next step of our Jordan family adventure! All glory to God!

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

~ Day 17 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Day of Thankfulness"

Day 17

Today I am thankful for God's timing. He never ceases to amaze me by sending sweet reminders of his calling on my life. When questions arise, he is always faithful to whisper comfort in my ear. Taking a leap of faith when God wills doesn't mean you have all the answers. It just means that you trust the One who does!

"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." Proverbs 3:5-6 

~ Day 16 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Day of Thankfulness"

Day 16

Today I am thankful for date nights! I love and cherish every second with my husband and even after 20 years of marriage I still get butterflies when he picks me up for a date! Love you, babe! 

~ Be Careful Little Eyes What You See ~

For months I have been deeply concerned with the many books and movies that our world is producing and even Christians are considering as "just entertainment". I know my view is not popular and may even spark some controversy. But I, in no way, will ever believe that books and movies that deal with vampires, witchcraft, zombies, and demons will ever be considered "just entertainment". We, as Christians, have to wake up to the fact that Satan is using "entertainment" as a way to deceive our minds and I believe it grieves the heart of God. I pray that we put God in the forefront and be careful as to what we think is harmless. 

I saw this sermon by Mark Driscoll and he really brings this situation to light. We are in a day when we need to saturate our thoughts with the Word of God and seek him wholeheartedly. We need to guide our children to the truths of God's Word and not the ways of man. It's time to take a stand, and our family, will stand for Christ! 

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things."Philippians 4:8 (NIV84)

“Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive." 1 Corinthians  10:23 (NIV84)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkHl0MK_ZdY&sns=em

~ Day 15 of Thankfulness ~

“30 Days of Thankfulness”

Day 15

Today I am thankful for my sweet 16-year-old son.  After his whole day at school and 2 hours of basketball practice he gets in the car and as we were riding down the road, asks me how my day was.  I praise God for the young man he is and being so thoughtful of others. He truly has a servant’s heart and I know God has great plans for his life!  I love you, Ben!

~ My Comfort Today ~

This morning I woke up with excitement about the privilege before me today to speak to our Moms Need Moms group at church.  Anytime the Lord places an opportunity in front of me to share about his greatness, well, I jump on it!  As Christians we should count it such joy and honor to speak about our Savior and Lord.  So, today I go with such anticipation and share from my heart what God has placed there.  I pray that it touches their hearts in such a way that God would be honored and glorified! Please be in prayer for me as I share what God has placed on my heart to these precious moms.

My life revolves around my devotion for Christ!  I can’t go a minute without thinking about my Lord or talking about him.  He often redirects my focus to His Word as I pray for direction, He reminds me of his promises when I feel discouraged, He reassures me of his calling on my life when insecurity creeps up, and He reveals himself to me at just the moment I need his loving arms wrapped around my longing soul! He is my life!

I don’t know where you are today. You may be waking up with fear of what today may hold or wanting to roll back over in the bed unprepared for the day ahead. Please let me share this encouragement with you today:

The God of the universe loves you!  He adores you!  My friend, he longs to be at the forefront of you heart, your soul, and your mind today.  No matter what you face, know that He is there and desires to be King of your life. You don’t have to carry your burdens because he wants to take them from you. You don’t have to face this dark world alone. He is the Light and there is no darkness in him. He wants to hold you in his arms and tell you how much he loves you!  Dear friend, crawl up into your Daddy’s lap today and let him comfort you. Let him tell you how much he loves you and draw from his strength today! What a glorious day it can be as your Daddy sends you out in this world covered in his love! 

I want to leave you with this familiar passage today as encouragement for your soul:

Psalm 23

“The Lord is my shepherd; 
I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; 
He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; 
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil; 
For You are with me; 
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; 
You anoint my head with oil; 
My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life; 
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.”

~ Day 14 of Thankfulness ~

“30 Days of Thankfulness”

Day 14

Today I am thankful for the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I continually pray that God would soften my heart for those moments when the Holy Spirit nudges me to be obedient. Now, don’t get me wrong, it isn’t always pleasant but it is always needed. Being obedient when He calls doesn’t always make me comfortable, it sometimes leads me straight away from anything comfortable, but it always is an area that needs changing and redirection back to his heart.  I praise God that He showed me an area today that is need of redirection!

“For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

1 Thess. 4:7-8

~ Day 13 of Thankfulness ~

"30 Day of Thankfulness"

Day 13

Today I am thankful for special days! Every day is a gift from God but there are those "special" days when you drop everything to celebrate a life and the blessing of those you love. We had that today! I praise God for my sweet daughter and the wonderful years he has allowed her to enjoy and I also praise God for my husband and his selfless love for our family! All of this contributes to many "special" days in the Jordan family!

"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."

Isaiah 25:1