Living Well Wednesday - Mirrors

I am in a very introspective mood today, so beware! I have not reach the point in my journey toward better health where I have claimed many victories. Many defeats, where I have honestly said "at this point and time I just don't care". Afterwards of course there is a sadness over not overcoming! But the good thing is I don't despair to the point of giving up! I so appreciated Darlene's post today! Aren't you all amazed at how they speak to right where you are at that time, I am! I so needed to read her post! And she even quoted back to me the very verse I put on my post last week! Humm.... could God be asking me "Kim, have you taken that thought captive yet?!" This morning he brought the word "mirror" to mind. Not only the physical mirrors that we women detest, but the mirror of the soul. What does that mirror say of me?!

1 Corinthians 13:12

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

James 1:22-24

22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

This week has been a struggle on more then just one front! The thing is when I look at those who suffer tremondously around me I think "girl you have absolutely nothing to be crabbing about!", but alas that does not stop me from having my very own pitty party! I feel that I am coming to a crossroad, and I honestly do not know what God wants me to do! I have never been one to enjoy conflict, struggle or stress, and that is right where I feel I am! What does God want me to go through in order to bring him glory, or am I being called out from where I am to something else he has for me! Could someone just tell me! I don't want to just give up, even though I feel completely overwhelmed at times! I want to be a faithful servant, used by God to bring glory to him in Word and in what I do! That old pride thing always comes back to haunt me too! When you look in the mirror your soul you see your heart! Here is are some verses that hit me with the plank in my eye this morning too:

James 3:13-15

13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.

Hebrews 4:11-13

11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

So I persevere in my walk because I want no other way! I Choose today to trust Him and to know that I can claim:

Philippians 3:12-16

Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
13I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
15So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.
16Only let us hold true to what we have already attained and walk and order our lives by that.

Have a blessed day and remember to pray for all the lovely ladies over at CWO who are desiring to Live Well also!

Hummm.....

Really can't argue with this test! It is me! I just can't figure out how I fit into a world that is changing so fast! It is fun to take these tests though.



ISTJs are responsible, loyal and hard working. They have an acute sense of right and wrong and work hard at preserving established norms and traditions. Because of their deep sense of duty they are dedicated to everything they do and are very dependable. ISTJs care deeply for those closest to them.

About the ISTJ
Expert Quotes & Links
"ISTJs are often called inspectors. They have a keen sense of right and wrong, especially in their area of interest and/or responsibility. They are noted for devotion to duty. Punctuality is a watchword of the ISTJ. The secretary, clerk, or business(wo)man by whom others set their clocks is likely to be an ISTJ."
- ISTJ Profile (TypeLogic)"ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are "good citizens" who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings."
- Portrait of an ISTJ (The Personality Page)"...characterized by decisiveness in practical affairs, are the guardians of institutions, and if only one adjective could be selected, "super dependable" would best describe them."
- The Portrait of the Inspector Guardian (Keirsey)
"...private, does not appreciate strangeness, not adventurous, not spontaneous, follows the rules..."
- Jung Type Descriptions (ISTJ) (similarminds.com)"At work, ISTJs get things done on a timely basis. They honor deadlines, and they believe in thoroughness. A half-finished joy is not a job well done. They established procedures and schedules, and are uncomfortable with those who do not do the same. ISTJs put duty before pleasure. As long as they can fulfil their responsibilities, they feel useful and thereby satisfied. Their work does not have to be fun, but it has to count toward something productive. ISTJs believe that vacations are something that one takes only when work has been accomplished; thus, at times they do not take vacations even when they could and should."
- ISTJ - The Reliant (Lifexplore )

Start out your week listening to The Voice of Truth!

So many times we all battle that little voice that says we have failed, we are not worth anything! God cannot love us! All of these and so many more are totally false! They come from satan, and we cannot give into them! When you are faced with statements such as these, run, pursue the Voice of Truth! God sees you in such a different way! You are loved! Two passages that I have always cherished because they speak truth to me are:

Zephaniah 3:14-17

14Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice, be in high spirits and glory with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem [in that day].
15[For then it will be that] the Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, even the Lord [Himself], is in the midst of you; [and after He has come to you] you shall not experience or fear evil any more.
16In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion. Let not your hands sink down or be slow and listless.
17The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.

Psalms 18:16-19

16He reached from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy and from those who hated and abhorred me, for they were too strong for me.
18They confronted and came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay and support.
19He brought me forth also into a large place; He was delivering me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.

Be Blessed and be a blessing!

Tears!

Some of you may go over to Linda's blog so you may have already seen this, but I just needed to post this blog address Bring the Rain! You need to read this family's journey and how God is using it. Angie recently wrote a letter to her Daughter Audrey Caroline that received over 700 comments. Linda mentioned in her post how so many at Blogger were ministered to because they actually froze her blog because they thought it was spam! Linda says it so much better then me! God is so amazing! This family's testimony is inspiring, and please do not watch it without a box of tissues!

Be Blessed and be a blessing!

Sing to our Great God! Blessed Sunday to you all!

Super Word Saturday, and yes we are alive!

Zingerbug on imikimi - Customize Your World

Sorry the blogging has been sparse this week! It's been busy, and my brain has not had enough time to formulate thought worthy of (paper) posting! Today we have some very interesting words for you, and I am even throwing in an extra that we learned in Evangelism Explosion this past Wednesday! Aren't you all excited now?!

Jeremiah's Word - Gesellschaft - a rationally developed mechanistic type of social relationship characterized by impersonally contracted associations between persons; also : a community or society characterized by this relationship

Jeremiah's Sentence - The two were gesellschaft in their college dorm.

My Verse - Joshua 9:27
That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the LORD at the place the LORD would choose. And that is what they are to this day.

O.K. that was hard to find a verse for! I think I did O.K., but not sure! I love being stretched, don't you!!!

Bekah's Word - Stumble bum - a clumsy or inept person; especially : an inept boxer

Bekah's Sentence - My brother is a Stumble bum! (touche'!)

My Verse - Proverbs 14:7
Stay away from a foolish man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

The word we learned the other day is: abeyance - a lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom a title is vested 2 : temporary inactivity

They used it in this sentence: If you don't mind, would you hold it (meaning that question) in abeyance until we finish what we are talking about.
We all looked at each other and said "huh". So now all you who read my blog and go to EE will know the meaning of abeyance. Aren't you glad!!!

I promise to do better at blogging (O.K. Judy (smiling) (Thanks for the call, I appreciate your addiction!

Still much to do before day is done! I post my week later!

Living Well Wednesday!

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Well I am not making much progress in the weight loss department! I continue to notice the HUGE stronghold that I have allowed satan to continue to try and use against me! I told my mother last week that I even realize when I am eating something I shouldn't (duh), but I say "Well God at this point I don't care!" Self destructive - OH YEAH!

I am not discouraged though! I will continue to seek God, Flee Temptation and pursue righteousness! I love Darlene's article today! So true and definitely what I needed to hear!!!

As the first says at the beginning of this post - "I demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and I take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ!

I need to find this sheet I received a the fast I went to in October, it had some truths on it that I know will benefit me and you may be encouraged as well!

Have a great day everyone, and check up on the other ladies who are choosing to Live Well at

Living Well.

How to make Friends!

What is a girl to do when she does not live in a housing development, but is very social! She recruits her stuffed animals to be her buddies! Check out our little peanut as she and her "buddy" play in the back yard!

Also here is a picture of one of our favorite things to do! My sweatshirt smells of campfire! I think they should bottle that in a Cologne!

Worship for the Creator!!

Super Word Saturday!

Zingerbug on imikimi - Customize Your World

After a short Haitus we are back!

Jeremiah's Word - Nizam - one of a line of sovereigns of Hyderabad, India, reigning from 1713 to 1950

Jeremiah's sentence - The dude was a Nizam.

My Verse - Ezekiel 23:22 & 23

22 "Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side- 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.

(This was a hard one! When I put the sword sovereign in Bible Gateway there were over 300 hits! But do you know what came immediately after sovereign? LORD!) He is the ultimate sovereign! The most entries in one book were in the book of Ezekiel too! In the King James it is translated LORD GOD! I just found this all an interesting side note!)

Bekah's Word - Degage - 1 : free of constraint : nonchalant 2 : being free and easy 3 : extended with toe pointed in preparation for a ballet step

Bekah's Sentence - When I play on the tire swing I am Degage!

She picked this word because that is the name of the ministry she gave the money to last week!

My Verse - Hebrews 13:5

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Get out there and enjoy your Saturday now! Hey before you go I have a quick question - If your child received an invitation to a sleep over birthday party, and she had never mentioned this girl before, and you didn't know her parents and it was a Saturday to Sunday - What would you do?

Give me Jesus!

This morning I went looking for a video on the Creation Song by Fernando Ortega. He just happens to be one of those Performers before Christ that I love so much! I could find it, but I did find this video. It is a tribute by Fernando of Ruth Bell Graham. I have always admired Ruth so much for her devotion to Christ, her fierce protection of her husband and her love for her children! She was an awesome poet and all around role model to me! I hope you enjoy this video, I myself am in tears right now! "You can have all this world, GIVE ME JESUS! May that be the cry of all our hearts today and everyday!


One final note. After I found this I looked over and saw Creation Song! Ya think God wanted me to hear this one first....hmmmm.... I wonder! One of these day's I post Creation Song!

I am a Labrador! Good thing they're my favorite Dog!

Mari had this on her blog and since I love doggies I thought I would participate! It was fun!

Labrador Retriever
The Caretaker
Your family is what makes you tick, and you never "flea" from an opportunity to hang out with the whole gang. A family picnic complete with hot dogs, deviled eggs and a refreshing swim in the lake is hard for you to stray from. Your sparky temperament and dogged intelligence mean you are not only a blast to hang out with, but great to work with as well. Your close pals appreciate your patience and forgiveness, knowing you'd rather let sleeping dogs lie than dwell on the mishaps of the past. Your dashing good looks may one day lead to a modelling career, if only you can tame the unfortunate clumsiness that sometimes causes you to go flailing from the catwalk. Learn more »

Thankful Thursday!

My Thankful Thursday post today is the devotional from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening from last night! This just touched me, so I wanted to share it with you!

“And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”
Exodus 17:12
So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discomfited the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. So, in the soul’s conflict, force and fervour, decision and devotion, valour and vehemence, must join their forces, and all will be well. You must wrestle with your sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God. Prayer, like Moses’, holds up the token of the covenant before the Lord. The rod was the emblem of God’s working with Moses, the symbol of God’s government in Israel. Learn, O pleading saint, to hold up the promise and the oath of God before him. The Lord cannot deny his own declarations. Hold up the rod of promise, and have what you will.
Moses grew weary, and then his friends assisted him. When at any time your prayer flags, let faith support one hand, and let holy hope uplift the other, and prayer seating itself upon the stone of Israel, the rock of our salvation, will persevere and prevail. Beware of faintness in devotion; if Moses felt it, who can escape? It is far easier to fight with sin in public, than to pray against it in private. It is remarked that Joshua never grew weary in the fighting, but Moses did grow weary in the praying; the more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it. Let us cry, then, for special strength, and may the Spirit of God, who helpeth our infirmities, as he allowed help to Moses, enable us like him to continue with our hands steady “until the going down of the sun;” till the evening of life is over; till we shall come to the rising of a better sun in the land where prayer is swallowed up in praise.

I am so thankful that God cannot deny his own declarations! I've never been promised a life without pain or struggle, after all look where we live, but God promises to be there with me, guiding me, loving me, disciplining me until I reach heaven and will praise him forever more! Prayer is such an amazing tool, but for me it seems so hard to do! I struggle in my private prayer time! I get overwhelmed by the vast amounts of concerns that I don't know where to begin! I am reminded to just be there with God! Let the Spirit guide me!

I'm also thankful my husband made it home from Pittsburgh early this morning!

I'm thankful that God showed a lesson to my children yesterday when they were praying for a friend at school! This time he provided miraculous healing! It was great to point that out to them, and then discuss how sometimes God heals but in different ways. Ways that may not be the way we would want it, but this time he chose to show those doctors a thing or two! What is so great also is so many kids wrote on this child's carepage that they were praying! My son called me from school and I got to pray with him over the phone!

I'm thankful for the army God is raising up! May we as parents be prepared through living our lives in accordance with God's word, KNOWING God's word, and TEACHING it to our children!

Have a blessed day today!

Living Well Wednesday!

Just a short report this week. I continue to struggle and take a step backwards, but the thing that is different is I am strangely calm about it! I am not defeated! I know that this is a huge stronghold! But I also know that my God is patient! He loves me and does not want me to feel like it can't be done! That would give satan to much control! He gently teaches me, even in my failure, that he is beside me and there to pick me up! I know that I will have victory! The verse that keeps coming to my mind the last couple of day is:

Philippians 3:12-15

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 28:7 says: The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

So both Champ and I are going to go for a walk right now, and sing a song of thanks, because he is my strength!

Go over and see some of the other ladies desiring to live well at CWO-Living Well .

Affirmation!!

I just needed to post the little blessing I received today! Lately (again) I have been feeling unsettled about my work! Getting frustrated at my lack of ability to do the things I feel God wants me to do! Not feeling up to the task, etc... etc...! (You know the drill). Anyway today I get home and in my mailbox is a card that said the following:

Kim,

Thank you for all the heart you put into Children's Ministries.

I have loved getting to know you. I really appreciate your open heart & the love you have for sharing God's word.

I pray today you feel a special touch from the Holy Spirit. I pray that He affirms your calling and strengthens your resolve. I pray that your fountain overflows with his blessings!

Wow! Isn't God amazing! I don't need the praise and thanks for what I do, I just want to please Him, but OH my goodness! I have been praying today that he would show me that (again) I am where he wants me to be! Boy I love how he works!

Just thought I'd share my blessing with you!

Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Ephesians 6:6-8

6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

Look what just came and other blessings!

Hey I was just now busy putting a load of laundry in the washer and heard my "Great white Miniature Door bell" go off! I don't usually pay attention because he will sometimes bark at his reflection, and if it's people he gets that high pitched irritating bark! This was not that, just hey there is something that is bothering me bark. So I think maybe the mail came so I go out in the garage and guess what I found! Two boxes! One had the video I needed for Sunday school in a couple of weeks, and the other held my winning prise from After A Cup of Coffee. This was made by Sweet Pea Cakes Etc. Isn't it cute!

Did you happen to notice the Roses behind the gift! Well they didn't come in the mail, but yesterday after coming home from school, Dad and the kids has a surprise for Mom! Yep, you guess it Rose! I don't get them very often. Not because my man isn't romantic and doesn't love me, but just because he doesn't think about thinks like that all the time! But when he does I sure appreciate it! Aren't they purrtty!!! Also in the picture you will notice my Precept training manual. Saturday I drove down to Indiana (in the rain, in the dark YUCK!) to go to Precept Ministries "Precept upon Precept" leader training. Except for the drive down it was wonderful! I don't know exactly how God is going to use this I just know he is. I so desire for people to know the word of God, and to live with a biblical world view, that I know this is part of His plan! I am excited about it, and feel a plan coming together to begin to disciple some of the people who have come to Christ through Evangelism Explosion! I have to talk with the Pastors, but I know that people who come to Christ need to know what they now means. What from here! The only way they will know this is through knowing God's word! I am so excited!!!

Lastly, this morning I began my study of the book of Ephesians! Chapter one is awesome! Below is 2 verses that stood out to me, and I thought of the our children when I read them! Pray these scriptures for your children! May they continue to grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus everyday!

Ephesians 1:17-18

17[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,
18By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

Oh good grief keep reading from there it is so great!

Well back to the laundry now!

May God bless you REAL good!

My Wonderful Awards!

My very first award, given to me by Mari

Happy Birthday Bekah Wekah!!!

Today our little peanut turns 9 years old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone! It seems like only yesterday she was a little peanut curled up on my chest!
A few things about Bekah Wekah you should know:

• She has always been a happy little girl! Happy and content! Her daddy always says give her a stick and a box and she's happy!
  
• She is ga ga for animals! Especially Dogs and Horses!
  
• She has a gizillion stuffed animals and knows the names of everyone! She remembers "Casey" whom we believe was left at one B.C.'s house never to be seen again! She has multiple Build a Bears, a few webkinz and still wants more!
  
• When she grows up she wants to be either a Vet, or a Dog groomer
  
• She has a very big heart and feels deeply!
  
• She loves her friends so much and most of all she loves Jesus! YEAH!
  
• Bekah is a little blessing from heaven! She has her dad's temperment! They are both really mellow and easy to please! That's good because Jeremiah and I are cut from the same cloth so they have to put up with us!
  
• Father thank you for blessing our family with this little Ray of Sunshine!
  
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEKAH WEKAH!
  
• MOM, DAD, JEREMIAH AND THE MUT LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!
  
  Fresh and brand new!

Here with her big brother who she alway's call's "brother". Still to this day we all do it.
I think she's about 1 here!
One of my favorite pictures from Silver Lake!

One of my favorite pictures of Bekah and the Mighty Mac!

Bekah's best buddy "Repo" This was not long before he died. The kids still talk about him! He was a good ole doggy!

Sleeping beauty!

Bekah and the "Great White Miniature Mut"

On the beach on Mom's birthday!

Here name in Stones!

Too Pooped to Post Super Word Saturday!

Hey, I just got back from my Precepts Training in Indiana! Sorry no Super Word Saturday today! I'm sure you're all sad!!! Anyway check in next week for more brain cell expansion! The training was great! Learned alot! Hope to go to more training in September! Right now I am waiting to see where God wants to use me with this! He has ideas swimming around in my very tired head right now! Just drove 2 hours there and 2 back and I'm bushed!

Have a blessed day tomorrow!

I think I survived!!!

Well it's Friday morning! The morning after the slumber(?) party! I say that with a question mark, because I don't know how much slumbering the party did, including me (sorry Jennifer)! If they could just bottle the energy of children our energy crisis would be non existent! Oh my goodness! Finally I had to tell the dear ones that I cannot make you sleep, but you need to talk, laugh, and giggle in a whisper! They had alot of fun last night (I think)! We tye dyed shirts that will be going home today with further instructions! They carved into the Mermaid cake, but not alot was eaten! Here are a few pictures from their evening. We would have taken pictures of the tyedying, but both Steve and my hands were covered in dye so we didn't want to touch the camera. I'll post Bekah's shirt and my skirt later if they turn out! Funny, My dear sweet husband had to go into work today with multi-colored hands! Well at least it proves he's a hands on dad! Today we are decorating cloth bags for them to take home! I'll post a picture of that later too! This is one tired Mom going for her 2nd cup of coffee!

I am a colon?!

E-Mom tagged me to do this quiz! I am always just amazed at how these things come out!

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

O.K. I know some of you have already done this, but take a stab at it and let me know what Punctuation you are! Even you anonymous dears!

Thankful Thursday - Kindness!

It seems like I just wrote my last Thankful Thursday post, but alas another week has sped by and I am here to reflect on the Lords goodness in this past week. Iris at Sting my Heart focused on Kindness today and that fits right in with one of the things I am thankful for!

Proverbs 28:27

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing,

but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.

• This week being spring break around here, I finally made the time to take my dear sweet daughter down to a local homeless shelter to drop off the money she raised, ummmm, last summer for the homeless! I know I know why so long! I have no excuse!!!! But isn't it better late then never?! Here is a picture of my sweet girl giving the money to a woman at Degage Ministries! I am thankful for Bekah's giving heart!

My friend Diane had a post the other day about hardships in Haiti and other countries like Haiti! The cost of everything there is so exorbitant and here we sit in our vast wealth! You may say vast wealth, what! Yes compared to many, many other countries and even areas of the U.S. we are wealthy! We need to give of that wealth and be so grateful to God for what he has given us! I'm thankful for what God has given me and pray to use it wisely for Him!


• I'm thankful for Spring break and the relaxing time we have been having. The weather has not been to warm, but that is O.K., not being on a schedule is wonderful!
• I'm thankful for the study of Galatians I just finished and the power packed chapter 6 that just ended it on an awesome note!
  
• I'm thankful that I have been able to walk 3 mornings this week! Getting started with a little David Crowder, then finishing with Alistar! Ah nice morning walks!
• I'm thankful my son has somewhere to sleep tonight when I have 5 girly's over for Bekah's Birthday Party!
• I'm thankful that right now the Mermaid cake is somewhat looking O.K. (I'll post pictures later, MAYBE!)
• I'm thankful for my job where I have flexible hours so I can work at night and not have to get a babysitter for my kids!
• I'm thankful that for the most part there has not been much arguing!
• I'm thankful that this weekend I get to go to the Precepts Bible Training! I am so looking forward to how God is going to use this!

Have an Awesome week!

Living Well Wednesday!

I continue my journey! I thought I was doing better, but the scale doesn't show it! I need to keep on keeping on! This wonderful old song has been on my heart all week. The group Selah sings it so well, it just touches my heart today because I can get discouraged, but I will not be defeated because God will give me victory!

Why do I feel discouraged

Why do the shadows come

And why does my heart feel lonely

And long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion

A constant friend is He

His eye is on the sparrow

And i know He watches me

Chorus:So I sing because I’m happy

And I sing because I’m free

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know He watches me

So I sing because I’m happy

And I sing because I’m free

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know He watches

And I know He watches

And I know He watches me

Deuteronomy 31:8 says:

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Romans 8:1-3 says:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man

Deuteronomy 30:4 says:

For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

Psalms 108:13 says:

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.

Just a small sampling of encouraging verses! I choose today to believe God! I will not be discouraged for Jesus is my PORTION!

Go to CWO-Living Well be encouraged and to encourage others who desire to be free!

Can it be April - 8 in 2008?!

Oh my goodness, time does just speed on by doesn't it! I wish I could slllloooowww ttthhhiiinnngggsss ddddoooowwwwnnnn! I choose to go back to "Little house on the Prairie" Day's! They seened to have so much time didn't they!

Oh well time marches on! Time to be accountable for my month of intentional living in 2008!

• To learn to wait on God - This is a wonderful work in progress! God has me in a hold position of sorts right now because I don't know why he has me going to the Precepts training which is this weekend. Sometimes I try to figure out what he's going to do. Well you know where that goes! He alone knows the future and I like that!
• To practice better hospitality - humm.... I am trying to get better at sending out cards. I haven't gone to the Nursing home yet with Bekah. I really want to do that!
• To speak truth in love and to stop gossip before it happens - Truth in love has taken a hard hit. This deals with issues that I have always had a hard time with. Currently there is an "elephant in the room" in a very close relationship of mine. What is hard is finding the time to sit and talk it out. That is another thing I've never really learned successfully how to talk things out. I also don't want to do it over the phone. So I sit and wait for the appropriate time.
• To pray for others more. To pray for the salvation of my family (extended) - I think this is about the same as last month. I'm not going backwards.
• To take better care of God's temple - I'm feeling better in this area. I joined the accountability group over at CWO-Living Well. The women are all so encouraging and supportive. Steve and I have started walking again. I am journaling (somewhat). I've never been really good at that, but I must keep trying. I am focusing more on God and what he wants for me. So all in all even with some set backs I march forward.
• To study 8 books of the bible - I just finished my study of the book of Acts. It was great! I received so much instead into Paul, but also saw how God sometimes chooses to work. Here are just a couple of things that stand out in my mind:
• Persecution will happen when you follow Christ.
• The gospel is spread through persecuted people.
• Edit: I just wanted to explain a little more about this. Not that anyone has said anything against it, but I feel I need to. God works through all his people, but I noticed in the book of Acts that the gospel was spread through persecuted people scattering to other areas and speaking about Christ. I don't want anyone to think that the gospel is only spread through persecution.
• God has a plan for each one of us that he will accomplish in His time.
• You cannot forever "kick against the goads".
• God's plan will advance. He will get you to where he wants you. I love how he could've just told Paul to go to Rome, but instead Paul had to go through alot of hard situations before getting there. God says to Ananisis in Acts 9:15-16 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Isn't that cool! The thing is too Paul knew that he would suffer and went willingly, even desiring to suffer for Christ! WOW! Needless to say I so enjoyed my time in Acts. Now I am studying Malachi (with our small group) and Galatians.
• To memorize 8 verses - This is going well. I am involved in Evangelism Explosion so I am re-memorizing verses from my youth there.
• Last but not least To Organize all the closets, bookshelves ans storage areas in my house. It took me until just last week, but I finally cleaned out my bathroom closet! (no picture sorry). It was in major disarray. It looks so nice and neat now. Right now I am working on our storage room down stairs. It is a mess! My sister and I are having a garage sale on May 1st or 2nd, so I am down there pulling everything out that we will be selling. Then it's on to the bedroom closets starting with mine and Steve's.
• Well that is the full report. It's funny I love structure, so this so keeps me in line. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it's effective!
• Come see others who are being intentional and cheer them on over at Extravagant Grace!
• Have an Awesome April!

Super Word Saturday!

Zingerbug on imikimi - Customize Your World

This week we have a couple of interesting words for you!

Jeremiah's Word - hypothalamus - a basal part of the diencephalon that lies beneath the thalamus on each side, forms the floor of the third ventricle, and includes vital autonomic regulatory centers

Jeremiah's Sentence - Why did my word have to be Hypothalamus?

My Verse - Ecclesiastes 2: 23

All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

Bekah's Word - Wamble - 1 a: to feel nausea bof a stomach : rumble 12: to move unsteadily or with a weaving or rolling motion

Bekah's Sentence - When I get out of bed in the morning I wamble.

My Verse - Psalms 107:27

They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end.

Thankful Thursday!

Welcome to another installment of looking back and seeing God's faithfulness over this last week! It is so good to be able to do this each week, seeing God in the big and the small things! This morning before I read Galatians 3 I prayed that God would help me to understand this book! I don't know about the rest of you, but Paul's letters are hard to follow! You need to just about take it sentence by sentence! There is so many wonderful things that he teaches us through his letters though that I want to make sure I fully understand. Well God showed me a verse I needed right of the bat! For those of you that commented on my Living Well post yesterday, I am so grateful for your encouragement! That is one of the things I am thankful for this week! The accountability and encouragement I receive, not only from women in blogland, but the wonderful women at church who do the same thing for me! I so appreciate the support! Anyway this is the verse God gave me this morning:

Galatians 3:3

Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

I do not, nor can I do anything in my own strength! I need to rely on God every second! He will give me what I need! I so appreciate those that reminded me of scripture I could turn too! Thank you!

Now other things I am thankful for:

• SUNSHINE AND 50 DEGREE WEATHER!!!!!


• My mom is home from the hospital with a pic line. She needs to be given antibiotics twice a day through that, but she is home, and her doggie and her are happy! (If you would pray for my sister Rachel. She lives with my mom and has the brunt of the work with this pic line. I can't even tell you what to pray, there is so much, but please remember her in your prayers)
  
• Lessons learned this week by us and our #1 child. It was a hard week of wrong choices, but we worked through them and thank God for patience and eventual understanding!
  
• Jeremiah had a doctors appointment on Tuesday with his Cardiologist and everything looks good there. He no longer has to take antibiotics before dentist appts and such! He has MVP(Mitro Valve, Prolapse), so he just needs to be checked once a year.
  

God is so good! Go to Sting my Heart to see what others are Thankful for today!

Living Well Wednesday

This has been a difficult week stress wise! I was doing fine until yesterday with the stress eating, but one more bad decision made by the eldest child pretty much did me in! I went straight for anything that would help, that I found in the house (Jelly Beans where about the only thing I could find!!!! Not the good colors either). I have to admit I am frustrated with myself on many levels.

I have not kept up with my journaling. I find I keep leaving it either at work or home, so it is never around when I need to write in it. I think "well I'll remember what I ate". How many times have I said that to myself.

I haven't been drinking enough water.

I don't really have a set diet or idea that I am using. I have some old Weight Watchers stuff that I consult occasionally.

Steve and I have not walked this week yet.

I need to remember to not give up! I need to realize and remember it is not in my strength that I will accomplish anything! I need to continually give it to God! So that is what I am doing again! I will not be discouraged!

Deuteronomy 31:8

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

I do have a question for you all! What are you doing to eat healthier? Are you following a set diet? Is there any advice you can give me? O.K. that's 3 questions, sorry!