I say rejoice...

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.
Philippians 4:4

After praying with the kiddos tonight before bed, I realized how much children rejoice through prayer. Thank you for this, thank you for that...

How often do we forget to be rejoiceful? Instead, we ask, ask, ask... or at least I do! God gives us so much to rejoice about. Just the fact that we are here and know that we have a way to get Home is enough to make me rejoice!

Lord, thank you for all the blessings you have given us. Thank you for sending your son for us to follow. Thank you for loving us no matter what. Thank you for giving us children to remind us how to have a loving heart and spirit. Thank you...

Do you hear me? Do you trust me?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5,6

Do you hear me? Yes. Do you hear me? Yes. Do you trust me? Yes. This was a conversation between a father and son in the movie Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith. What an amazing and humbling movie. A man that put all of his being on the line for his success as a broker. He took leaps of faith and chances that most would not take. He took his son along a very challenging path to be able to provide him complete "happiness" in his life. The awesome thing, his son always had complete trust in him... no matter the circumstances.

What an example we should take into our spiritual journey in life. We should have complete trust in our father. No matter where our path leads us, he will always provide a way. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths." What more has to be said...

Lord, please help me to have complete trust in you. Help me to be confident, never doubting, your guidance and paths you clear for me. Help me to remember the ultimate path I am on... the pursuit of "happiness"... eternal happiness.

Honoring God

And my God will supply all you needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Tonight, I watched a group of young men Honor God and trust Him to supply their needs in a challenging situation. The Prattville Christian Academy Panther's Football Team played the number one ranked team, Fort Dale, after coming off a 41-6 win against Autauga Academy last Friday night. Last weeks game was the first big win they had ever had. The guys were pumped, ready to face Fort Dale, but never for second gave the glory to anyone but God.

Tonight, they faced a team that is ranked number one for a reason. They are a great ball team, and after the final score of PCA 6, Ft. Dale 52... the guys still held their heads high and gave God the glory. It was amazing to even see the young men huddling to pray on the field. What great examples to have in young people. Young people, honoring God and being confident that God WILL supply all our needs.

Lord, please help me to follow the example of these young men. Help me to honor You in all I do and always know that You will take care of us. Help me to lift things up to You even when I am down. Please be with these young men and their awesome leaders. Allow them to continue to Honor You and be examples to so many watching. I know Satan will attack in situations like these, but please help them, their families, their leaders, and their supporters to fight against those temptations and always HONOR YOU.

Hurry up and be patient...

Hurry up and be patient... how many times do I feel like this is what I am asking God to do? Hurry up and give me patience! I have always prayed for patience. Even though I know God gives us patience through trial, I never remember that in the moment... only after the opportunity has passed. At this point in my life, where I lose my patience is typically at home. In the mornings when Amberlee won't eat her breakfast without me standing over her saying, "eat your breakfast or else...", or when I have to give the same directions over and over again to a 9 year old boy, or when Drew is being loud in the morning when the baby is still sleeping, or when I have to chase mom's dog around the neighborhood because he got out the door twice (yes, all of these things happened this morning). Why? Why do these things cause me to be so impatient? I know I will miss these moments when they are gone. I know I will look back and wish I was just having breakfast with Amberlee or having Jacob there to give directions to.

Lord, please help me to slow down and be patient. Help me to remember the purpose you have set before me... to be a woman of Christ, a wife, a mother, a friend. Help me to remember my responsibility is to teach my children your way and the way to live in the footsteps of Christ. Help me to remember that patience will teach them more than the affects of impatience. Please remind me of the patience you have with me each day as I continue to fail you over and over again. Help me to show love and tolerance to others like you do to me. Please forgive me and please give me the strength and wisdom to again... slow down and be patient.

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:36

Words of Light...

Hooray! I'm so glad to be here... I couldn't log in for several days. So, here we go again =)

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…" (Ephesians 4:29, 30)

So, is it just me or do others feel like some days are so overwhelming they forget to listen to God? I know He knows I want to do right and serve Him, but I so often just don't get it right. I know He knows that. And, I know that if I will take the time to stop and listen... He will lighten the load.

However, instead I let the overwhelming nature of being a mom, a wife, an aunt, a daughter, etc. take over me and I fail... I fail God daily. Instead of stopping in the moment of irritation and keeping my mouth closed, I speak harshly. Instead of stopping and praying, I speak of my irritations to others instead of God. God wants me to take them to Him, talk to Him about them. He will always give me the strength to do what I need to do as well as build others up with words of light, not darkness.

Dear Lord, please help me to be wise enough to stop and talk to you in all aspects of my life. Help me to speak words of light that will benefit myself and others and will lift You up. Help me to not get so overwhelmed in my day to day life that I forget the purpose of my existence on this earth... to serve You and teach others Your way. Help me to allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in me so that I may be righteous in Your sight in all I do.

blast from the past

I sat down to open my Facebook page and ,WOW, there was one of my long lost childhood friends. I couldn't believe it. Then, I began to look and there was another, and another, and yet another...

Childhood memories and friendships are so cool to think back on. I am so thankful that God blessed me with a happy childhood with lots of happy memories with lots of awesome friends. I pray that my children are able to look back on their childhoods and think of happy thoughts. I pray even more that they will look back and see that God was working in their lives even then... starting to build their faith at a young age. And what comes to mind, "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world..."

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. Matthew 19:14

faith

Whatever comes of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our Faith. I John 5:4

About 18 months ago, I lost a nephew to Leukemia. He passed away on April 5, 2008 (on my birthday) at the age of 16 months. At 8 weeks of age, he was at his well baby check-up and they discovered he had Leukemia. Before Ben and Becky could turn around, they were being med-flighted to Memphis where they spent the next 14 months of their lives. It was such a surreal day. I flew (in my car) to Memphis and met Becky and Ethan at St. Jude Hospital. What an experience. I had never been there before and it is definitely not like any other hospital... it's a hospital full of very sick children.

This was a true test of faith for me. Why? How? However, through this I witnessed God using Ethan to save the souls of so many. In his short life here on earth, he brought more people to Christ then many of us will in a full lifetime. There are so many stories to tell and to share. I have more faith in God now because even though Ethan is sorely missed, I know that God had a purpose for Ethan's life... and He used it. Ethan is now at home with our Heavenly Father... he finished the race before we did, little stinker! I can't wait to be there with you Little e! I still BeLIeVe and love you with all my heart! I'm so glad that Mason Isaiah is blessed to have your name. I pray that he will impact as many lives for God as you did in your life here on this earth... and still today.

listen, please just listen!

Proverbs 1:5 Let the wise listen.

Oh, how many times do I "hear" my kids, but don't "listen" to them. If I as a parent am too busy to listen, how are Jacob, Amberlee, and Mason (and even myself) going to understand that God always listens? I need to teach my children to be confident in their relationship with me through listening and communicating, so they will become confident that their Heavenly Father is always listening to them. My how powerful just "listening" to your children can be... it can impact their entire faith! I challenge myself to stop and listen to not only my children, but anyone who converses with me.

Dear Lord, please help me to slow down and listen to my children when they speak. Please help me to encourage my children to talk to me and to have confidence I am here for them always. Help them, through my example, know you are always here to listen to them... in hard times and in times of rejoicing. Please also help me to not only hear You, but to listen to You. Thank you Lord for caring and loving us so richly, that you listen to our every word...

my refuge

Tonight... exhausted after a day full of fun -- getting two kiddos off to school, a sick and needy 3 month old, 5 or so hours of work, several loads of laundry, cleaning, getting Amberlee to gymnastics, cooking for 6 kids and 4 adults, and nursing... I almost slipped on day number two. Thankfully, I didn't. Instead, I sat down and decided to open my Bible and see what was there. It was an amazing read from one of my favorite Bible characters, David.

2 Samuel 22 -- David's Song of Praise

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock , in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior -"

What is a refuge? Webster says it is a shelter or protection from danger or distress. How often to we feel we need this place of refuge? Sometimes for me it's not true danger, meaning physically, but it's emotional danger. I pray for God to help me through the day... to stay calm, remain patient, and have a smile. And what happens, I get so tired and so frustrated that one little thing causes me to let my guard down -- I snap! Why can't I just remember to go to my place of refuge... He will deliver me and be my rock. Hopefully, one day, I will have the wisdom and strength to stop and go there... before I snap, not after!

Lord, please help me to allow you to be my refuge. As David says in his song of praise, help me to remember 'that Your way is perfect and Your word is flawless'. Help me remember that if I allow You, You will 'arm me with strength and keep my way secure'. You will 'provide a broad path for my feet so that my ankles will not give way'. Give me the strength to find You always.

2 Samuel 22:47 -- The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!

Trust God With the Impossible

So, I'm not the most avid reader. Because of that, I'm not the best at being in the word daily. However, I know how desperately I need to be. So, I am challenging myself to be spiritually fed every day by God's word. Today, I began.

Psalm 9:10 -- Those who know your name will trust you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Just like other things in life, being a mother can get you so bogged down in worries. Why is it that I continue to make the attempt to take care of things on my own. God can handle it all, if I would only have the faith to give it all to Him and leave it there! Ha... easier said than done. I always want answers. And you know, He gives them to me through His word.

1) God gave me my children... He knows them better than I.
2) God always sees my children.
3) God loves my children more than I (that is hard to believe, but I know it's true).
4) God considers my children His own.
5) God knows and wants the very best for my children
6) God urges me to pray for my children.
7) God promises me He is listening and hears my words.
8) God provides me wisdom through the Holy Spirit.
9) God reminds me that hard times build strength and that He gives us strength and peace in any situation.
10) God tells me to lay my worries at His feet.

Dear Lord, I know that as a mother, You expect me to take care of the possible and to trust You with the impossible. I pray You will give me the strength to put my trust in You always and to leave my worries at Your feet. Please Lord... help me not pick them up again! Help me to show my children the ulitimate example of complete commitment to You and the blessing of peace that will come with total trust. Amen

new adventure

Well... I've never had a blog. However, I love to write. So, as a wife to one, a mother to three, a facebook addict, and 40 hours a week of work (from home, but still 40 hours)... we'll see how this goes. I hope to be strenghened by writing my daily strengths, struggles, and goals and by the words of others. I hope others will be strengthened as well. What a mighty race this is we are running... thankfully, we are not doing it alone. I'm thankful for my Father and all those He gave me on this earth for carrying the bulk of my load. I long to be with Him. Praying for words...