~ Walking In The Confidence of God ~

My prayers are with everyone returning to school today. Anxieties are high and fear is great as we begin a "new normal". Though my kids are already out for Christmas break, my heart goes out to those that have to return so quickly after such a horrific tragedy. Today I am thankful to spend the day with my kiddos and their cousins but I'm also reminded that no matter where they go, no matter what they do, they will never be immune to the evil of this world. Shopping at a mall, going to the movies, going to church, staying home....all are places where evil has struck and it is only in the power and strength of Almighty God that we can go forth in peace. 

These verses were brought to my heart this morning:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

 Ephesians 6:12 (NIV84)

"For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground  on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.   Stand firm therefore, by fastening  the belt of truth around your waist,  by putting on the breastplate of righteousness,   by fitting your  feet with the preparation that comes from the good news  of peace,   and in all of this,  by taking up the shield  of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.   And take  the helmet of salvation  and the sword  of the Spirit, which is the word of God.   With every prayer and petition, pray  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end  be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints."

Ephesians 6:13-18 (NET)

Remember, God is in control. Don't walk in fear. Don't let the enemy steal your joy, your peace, your confidence in our God. Fear is not of God. 

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

Celebrate life today! Celebrate every second with your kids, your spouse, your family and never lose sight of the big picture. This world is not our home. It is temporary! God will prevail and return for his children. Lets be vigilant! Let's be ready! Lets walk in the confidence we have in Christ!

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (KJV)

~ December 15, 2006 ~

 

On this day 6 years ago, Matt and I received the wonderful news...."It's a boy"!  This news wasn't delivered to us as we watched an ultrasound of a growing baby in my womb. This news was delivered to us over the phone as our growing  3 year old boy was waiting in a Chinese orphanage. I will never forget rushing home from WCA, where I received the call, to open an email and get the first glimpse of our precious little miracle. These 3 little pictures popped up and that was it....I was in love! Our son! 

Thank you sweet Father for the precious gift of life you entrusted to us. Caleb has brought so much joy to our heart and home and I cannot imagine life without him. Thank you for giving us the courage to say "yes" when you put adoption in our path. Even though it made no sense financially, we put complete trust in you and took a giant leap of faith in your will. Your plan is perfect! You guided our steps and paved the way to bring our son home! All for your glory!

"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 

~ Heartaches Need Prayer ~

I woke up this morning counting down the hours till our Christmas break officially began and now it is here. And though I am so grateful to have this time with my kids, to love on them, hug on them, laugh and have fun with them, my heart is so heavy for the parents who had that privilege tragically stripped away from them today. Young, innocent lives slain in the hands of evil and my heart aches. From this day forward, I will hold my children tighter, love on them longer, and pray over them more often. Precious Lord, put your hedge of protection around those sweet blessings~

Lord Jesus, comfort the brokenhearted, heal the sick, and awaken the souls of the lost. We are in desperate need of YOU!

~ Raising a Generation ~

For most people, going to the grocery store is not the most exciting thing in the world and to be honest, it really isn't for me either. But, I do enjoy being able to shop for my family, plan meals, and be able to teach my daughter the art of shopping on a budget. This past Saturday I had the opportunity to go to the grocery store alone. I decided to take my time and just try to enjoy the experience. (Yes, I know it sounds pathetic! Lol!) I walked through the aisles checking labels and looking for the best bargains. I watched as people hurried through frustrated to be in there. I heard children screaming and saw moms exhausted looks on their faces. All in all, it was a typical modern day grocery store experience.

As I went down each aisle, I noticed all the new products that offer less work for the finished product. By that what I mean is, there are more and more products offered where there are less steps to reach the end result. We already know we are in the "smart" generation. There is a gadget for every situation that makes things more convenient. Now we are able to accomplish so many more things in our fast paced world and don't even have to put a lot of effort into it. We even have our Bibles on every phone, iPod, iPad or tablet and can just tap on the book we are looking for instead of flipping through those beautiful pages and know where each book is.

Now, I enjoy things that are convenient. I have a Bible on my iPhone and iPad that I use quite often and during the basketball months when we are seldom home, quick fix dinners are a necessity. But something that came to my heart during my shopping excursion was some sadness that as fast paced as this modern world has become, are we missing wonderful opportunities of teaching our children key life skills?

In raising my daughter, I want her to be able to know how to make dinner for her family one day. By "make dinner" I mean to be able to take real ingredients and measure, chop, sauté, and cook to come to the end result. Not just "add water". I want her to be able to read a recipe and follow it. I want her to be able to fix a thanksgiving dinner instead of order it. I want her to be able to enjoy those priceless moments of teaching her own daughter how to cook one day as I cherish with her and enjoyed with my own mother.

In raising our sons, I want them to be able to take care of their lawns, change the oil in their family cars, fix things around their homes, treat their wives with gentleness and love, and be the man of the house. I don't want them to have to call and pay someone to do those things for them just because we didn't take time to teach them. My husband had a wonderful example from his father that he is passing down to our sons and I am so grateful for that.

As God burdened my heart for this generation, I stopped and prayed. I prayed that we, as parents, would choose life skills instead of convenience. That we will teach our children that convenience is not always the best option. Doing MORE doesn't always mean being more productive. I want my children to know how to turn through those magnificent pages of scripture to find God's promises. I want my children to enjoy the process of doing something great for their families. I want my children to know the satisfaction of good, hard work.

I am thankful for the example in my mom and all that she instilled in me to take care of the needs of my family. I praise God for the blessing of children. What an incredible privilege we have to raise up this generation to be men and women of honor. We get to raise these precious children in the Word of God and instill in them a love for their Savior and the desire to care for their families. What a blessing!

I urge you today to make time and enjoy teaching your child a great life skill. Let's put convenience aside for a time and show our children how rewarding it can be to put some work into doing something in the home. In return, we get priceless moments with our children and something that could never have resulted by just "adding water".

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Proverbs 22:6

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."

Proverbs 31:27

"The one who works his field will have plenty of food, but whoever chases daydreams lacks wisdom."

Proverbs 12:11 (NET)

~ Pray Continually ~

This morning I sit here in total awe of my amazing God! Yesterday when Matt called me in tears sharing the wonderful news from Caleb's doctor, I think I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in a fog. After years of praying and believing God was going to heal Caleb, the news finally came in! Today, I rejoice! Our God is Healer, our God is faithful, and our God is always on time!

What are you praying for today? Maybe a loved one that has turned from God, a spouse that is in need of a Savior, a job to provide the needs of your family, healing from an illness, school stress, work stress, financial stress. Whatever you are praying for, don't give up! God hears each prayer and is working. Have faith that God is in control and believe in him! His timing is perfect and his plan never fails!

On this day 12-12-12, praise our awesome God, commit this day to prayer, and give him thanks in every situation! He is so worthy!

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB)

~ Nothing is Impossible With God ~

"For nothing is impossible with God.”

Luke 1:37

Straight out of scripture this morning, this passage makes me want to shout! I will, however, refrain from shouting because my entire family is still sleeping at this moment and I don't know if they would share in my excitement at this very early hour. Lol!

I love reading the Christmas story! It is so dear to my heart but this particular passage shows just how powerful our God is. Let me back up and share a little more of it with you.....

"In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God.” “I am the Lord's servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her."

Luke 1:26-38 (NIV84)

So here you have the sweet young Mary finding out that she is going to carry the Messiah. She is not even married yet and is learning the news that she will give birth to the Son of God and that her relative, Elizabeth, who is on up in age and barren is also going to give birth. This is a big day in the life of this young girl!

What I love is how she doesn't argue, she doesn't doubt. She answers this way..."I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." Wow! What faith and trust that if the Lord said it was to be, then it would happen. She believed that what was IMPOSSIBLE for man was POSSIBLE with God!

I want that kind of faith! I want that kind of trust!

Today, no matter how impossible your circumstances appear, God can turn humanly impossible into divinely possible! He is in control! He knows our needs and will take care of each and every detail. Have the faith and trust as Mary did that nothing was impossible for her God! I believe we will see miraculous things happen when the people of God stop doubting and BELIEVE! What an amazing day this is going to be! Hallelujah!

~ Not of the World ~

I was meditating on these passages of scripture today as I find my heart burdened by what I'm witnessing seeping into the lives of Christians and also in churches. It's time to reexamine and allow God to reign. We are to set our eyes on godly things and be set apart from worldly desires. Our focus should be Christ-centered! It is time to wake up and make sure we don't compromise God's Word. Be in the world but NOT of the world!

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

1 John 2:15-17 (NIV84)

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)

Reexamining my own life today. Praying that my life be a living testimony and that the world sees Jesus in me. Set apart to do HIS will! Praying these scriptures today:

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

Psalms 19:14 (NIV84)

"But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess."

1 Peter 3:15 (NET)

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

James 1:22 (NIV84)