Thankful Thursdays

“… Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5



Today I am thankful for the following:
• For God’s provisions in my life, both spiritual and physical
• For the indwelling of His Holy Spirit and for the power, counsel, and guidance He gives through His Holy Spirit in my life
• For my new (to me!) mini-van!
• For the beauty and majesty of sunrises
• For soldiers who serve our country and for their safe return home!
• For warm summer days and for air conditioning
• For peaceful moments throughout my day, not matter how fleeting they are, at least I have a few!
• For friends old and new and the times of fellowship we have
• For my family
• For coupons for free milkshakes from Chick-Fil-A!

So what are you thankful for today?

For more Thankful Thursday posts head on over to Sting My Heart.

Word-Filled Wednesday

I just love the wording of Psalm 23 from the Amplified Bible and wanted to share it today. May God's Word minister to, comfort, and encourage you!


Psalm 23

The LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.

He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.

He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the path of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him - not for my earning it, but] for His name's sake.

Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.

Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

For more WFW posts visit 160acrewoods.

Wordless Wednesday #16

Unexpected Desire Fulfilled!

Last month I wrote a post about Desires.I shared that God had spoken to me regarding which desires in my life were driving me. Were my spiritual desires or my earthly desires driving me? While I have many earthly desires, I honestly do not feel driven by them the majority of the time. I have tasted of the things this world has to offer, and I have tasted of life with God at the helm, and life with God is tremendously better and more fulfilling.

I also shared this post as a devotion with some of our ladies from church at one of our ladies nights out. I asked them what some of their desires were, earthly desires, and I gave the example that I would love to have a mini van; that it wasn't a necessity or really something I had to have, I just would really like to have one, to be a "mini-van mom!"

Well, I just wanted to share with you what a personal God we have, and how sometimes He will provide for that earthly desire we have just because He wants too! My husband works for Drivers Way and cars are frequently traded in there and he watches for a good deal to come through. Both of our cars are in need of replacing, mine has 241,000 miles, and his has around 150,000, so he has been watching closely. The Lord sent a great Camry across his path that we were most likely going to buy, which would have been great, but... I currently have a Camry (we both do), so it wouldn't be very exciting to get the same type car, with the same basic body style, and the exact same interior. However, I told him that it would be fine, I would be happy with it. And I really would have, it just wouldn't have been "exciting" and it wasn't my hearts deepest desire. I never complained and I never grumbled, I just thanked God for providing for us.

While the car was being worked on, God sends a mini-van across my husbands path that catches his eye. It is a one-owner van, in great shape with only 75,000 miles. And it is now mine!! Parked in my garage, got the tag for it today. I am so excited and my boys are loving riding in it! And we are most likely going to get the Camry also, to replace his car! Isn't God just amazing in how He provides! We both get "new" vehicles, and we still will not have a car payment!! Now that is a God thing and another answered prayer I can mark off in my prayer notebook!

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Gentleness

“Let your gentleness be evident to all...” Phil. 4:5

My Lord has been speaking to me through this verse for about a week now. It all started last week when I saw a gorgeous picture put to this verse for a WFW post. It seemed as if my Lord spoke to me so gently and said, “Is your gentleness being seen by all, but more importantly is it being seen by your children and your husband?”

Ouch! My God was asking me if those that see the real me inside my house are seeing my gentleness. My honest answer was “Not all the time Lord, and lately not much at all.” It is not that I have not wanted to be gentle, but I have had a huge struggle with letting the gentleness out and keeping the frustration and irritation away. It is like Paul says in Romans (I think), I do what I do not want to do, and that which I want to do I do not do (my paraphrase).

So I have struggled the past couple of weeks with wanting to be gentle with my family (during those times where it is soooo hard to be gentle) rather than reacting out of frustration and irritation. I do have 2 4-year olds! And they definitely are testing their mommy right now and trying to help God develop some character in me, with all the disobedience, backtalk, and disrespect!! However, God would not have given them to me to raise if He had not planned on equipping me to be a Godly mother.

God convicted me that I was trying to do it all myself. I was trying to be supermom and superwife out of my own power. I do not think I was consciously saying “I can do all this myself.” I just wasn’t taking the time to stop when the difficult times would arise during my day and call on Him for help then and there. I was having my quiet time in the mornings very faithfully and consistently, but then I was forgetting to call on Him in my times of need throughout the day. So for the past couple of days I have made a conscious effort to call on Him when the difficulties arise, when one or both of my children have a fit, when they respond to me disrespectfully or with a bad attitude. I have asked Him to fill me to overflowing with His precious Holy Spirit, for wisdom in knowing how to deal with the situation, for a gentle and quiet spirit, and for understanding of my children (why are they acting this way). And God has answered! As He always does if we acknowledge Him and call upon Him! God has given me a gentle and quiet spirit with my children, wisdom in knowing how to deal with them, and He has given me peace instead of strife and frustration.

And just today while I was doing the dishes and thinking about all of this, it is as if my Lord spoke to me ever so gently again and said, “If you will just find your contentment in Me and not in how well your children behave or act, then you will have peace and will have a gentle and quiet spirit, and your gentleness, which is a fruit of my Holy Spirit in you, will be evident to all.”

Isn’t our God just awesome? Have you heard Him speak to you lately? Are you listening?

The Invisible Woman

I found this to be so encouraging, may it encourage you as it has encouraged me!

Thankful Thursdays

Philippians 1:3-5
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,”


Today I want to give thanks for the people God has used mightily in my life to encourage me in my walk with Him and to help me grow spiritually…

Marisa – a Godly woman who loves the Word of God, she lives it and breathes it! God used her to teach me His Word, and to give me a hunger and thirst for His Word and for more of Him in my life! She is also a powerful prayer warrior who guided me in the beginning stages of my prayer life.

Charles – a Godly man who prays as if he knows God inside and out! He taught me soooo much about prayer and about boldly approaching the throne of grace. I spent many hours praying with him in the prayer room, and what a blessing those hours have been to me!

Denise & Kim – Two Godly single women whom I spent many hours and weekends with during my single days. We would get together and spend our time digging into God’s Word and spending time on our knees in prayer about anything and everything going on in our lives. Those were some of the best times, we really had no worries and no huge responsibilities; we could just spend hours “soaking” in the presence of the Lord. How wonderful those times were!

Craig & Jamie – a Godly couple who love Jesus with all that they are! Craig prayed over my first date with my husband, and then he and Jamie became our “unofficial mentors” as we dated. We spent many hours in prayer with them in the prayer room at our church on Sundays. It is very fitting that he was the one to marry us and pronounce us “man and wife.” We were the first wedding ceremony that he performed!!

Elaine – another Godly lady God placed in my life for a short season, but meaningful none the less! Elaine was the first teacher I sat under after having children, and boy did I need to learn what she had to share! I thank God for teachers of His Word who speak the Truth with boldness and without fear! The words she spoke pierced my heart and helped me to allow God to work on me to make me a better wife and mommy.

DeeDee – a precious Godly lady whom God is currently using in my life! I have sat under DeeDee’s leadership for several Bible studies now, and God always speaks something to me through her that draws me to Him and makes me hungry for more of Him in my life. DeeDee shares from her heart and from her life, and her love for Jesus is so very evident in how she cares for her family and for others. She has taught me countless things, and I am blessed to have her in my life!

So, who has been an instrument in your spiritual life that you would like to give thanks for? I would love to hear from you!

For more Thankful Thursday posts visit Iris over at Sting My Heart.

Word-Filled Wednesday

"Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
Psalm 51:7

I thought this was a great visual of how absolutely filthy we are from our sin when we come to Christ, but praise be to God that He can wash us and make us whiter than snow! And I also praise God for waterhoses, soap, and water!!

For more Word-filled Wednesday posts go to 160acrewoods.

Wordless Wednesday #15

Are you willing to be inconvenienced for God?

Melanie, over at Fruits of the Spirit, has written a post about being willing to be inconvenienced for God. I would encourage you to stop by and read it, it has really made me think and examine my willingness or unwillingness to do what God calls me to do when I feel I do not have time to do it.

I tend to be selfish with my time, my schedule, and my agenda. I am a list maker, I am organized, and I like to consider myself productive. But sometimes God, the creator of everything, has different plans for me than what is on my "to do list". Imagine that, the God of this universe wants me to take time away from "my plans" to do something that He has planned for me. He wants me to take part in His bigger plan!

I am sad to share that sometimes I choose my plans over His... Why do I do this? I know that the times that I have chosen His plans over mine, I have been so fulfilled and energized because I have participated in what God called me to do. And you know what else, all those things that I thought would not get done if I did what God was calling me to do, somehow got done. God always provides, and He always gives us time to do all that He has planned for us.

So why do I often choose not to be inconvenienced for my God. I am inconvenienced for my family all the time without it really bothering me. I cook for my family when I get to have a night out and don't have to cook for myself, I wake up in the night when my children need me, I bathe my children 2 or more times a day because they get so dirty playing outside (not everyday now!), I do things to help my husband even when I don't always want to because he needs me to, and on and on. I do these things out of my love for them.

So why is it hard to put down my plans and follow what God is calling me to do? I say I love God more than I love my family. Sometimes it is the uncertainty, sometimes it is pride, sometimes the fear of man, sometimes it is feeling unequipped or unprepared, sometimes I am just tired, and sometimes I just want to do what I want to do (I get that from my kids:)).

Thinking about this reminds me of something I heard Beth Moore teach about at a conference last year. She spoke about what drives us... do the comforts of this world drive us, or are we driven by the love of Christ? After that conference I really began praying for God to reveal to me where in my life I was driven by comfort rather than the love of Christ. God opened my eyes, and he gave me boldness to step out and do what He was calling me to do; and when I did what He was calling me to do, I had overwhelming joy, a lasting peace, newfound strength, and encouragement.

Somewhere along the way these past few months I have forgotten to continue to ask God to show me what is driving me. So I am going to start asking Him that again. I plan to consciously choose to be more inconvenienced for God and to be driven by the love of Christ rather than the comforts of this world and the things that are just convenient for me to do.

Father God, Please reveal to me the motives in my heart, whether I am driven by the love of Christ or by what is comfortable to me. Please alert me through your Holy Spirit and through Your Word when I am allowing "the comfortable" to drive me rather than the love of Christ. Give me the desire, the energy, and the strength to be willing to be inconvenienced for You, to take part in Your plans, and to share the awesome love of Christ with others. Thank You, that You, the God of the universe, even considers having me come alongside You in Your Kingdom work! What an awesome privilege! In Jesus name, Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:13-15 "For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."

Happy Mother's Day!

Kisses for Mommy!!



Me and my mom!

I hope all you mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Boys, Dirt, & Love!!!

Since it rained A LOT yesterday, we had a wet and rather muddy backyard today. I had planned to not let the boys play out back today so they would not get filthy, but after a few hours stuck in the house with some miserable kids I decided to let them go have fun out back so I could have a few moments of peace!! As you can tell from the photos they had a blast. At one point David was absolutely covered in mud; I had to wash him down with the water hose.

We had lunch on the porch, (I wasn't about to let them in the house!!), and then they played out there for about another hour before nap. It was after lunch that they discovered the water hose! I almost told them NO!! but decided they needed to be washed off anyway, and they were having more fun washing each other off than I would have had washing them! They had a blast, enjoy the pictures!









These are some precious cards the boys came home with from 3-K on Thursday.


Paul's said: I Love You Mom! I love my mommy's light and long hair, and blue eyes. I love my mommy because she prepares good food for me like chicken. I like to help mommy by pushing the buggy to find flower that like the hot. My mommy is 10 years old and she weighs 30 pounds.

David's said: I Love You Mom! I love my mommy's black hair, and blue eyes. I love my mommy because she prepares good food for me like chicken and muffins. I like to help my mommy by buying stuff at Wal-Mart. My mommy is 8 years old and she weighs 10 pounds.

I just LOVE my boys, DIRT and ALL!!!

Thankful Thursdays

"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18




Today I am giving thanks to God my Father:

• For answered prayers!!
• For the fact that my God is the God who works wonders! (Ps. 77:14)
• For the fact that God gives us of His Spirit without measure! (John 3:34) (I know that I desperately need an unlimited supply!!)
• For the wonderful ways that my husband provides for our family!
• For the way God works in my life through trials and hard times...
  
• For the pure joy that my boys find in just simple everyday things... Last night David went on a short trip to Wal-Mart with me, just me and him, and he had the BEST time! He was so excited to be all by himself with mommy!!
• For our wonderful home!
• For my roses that are blooming! They were previous gifts for Mother's Day and birthday, and they are the gift that keeps on giving! I love cutting them and putting them in vases around the house!
• For modern conveniences like dishwashers, washers, and dryers...
• For good books to read...

So, what are you thankful for today? I know you can find something to be thankful for!

For more thankful Thursday posts head on over to Sting My Heart.

Word-Filled Wednesday

How wonderful that the Word of our Lord stands forever!!

We can always have hope in His Word, we can always find peace in His Word, we can always draw strength from His Word, we can always receive guidance and instruction in His Word, we can always find Truth in His Word.

God's Word is a treasure, have you dug through it today?

For more Word-filled Wednesday posts go to 160 Acre Woods

Wordless Wednesday #14

Awana Awards!

Sunday night Paul & David participated in the Awards Night for Awana. They have been in the cubbies class this year and have absolutely loved it! You can see their cubbies vest in the picture above; they achieved their badges by memorizing scriptures. I am so proud of my boys, they memorized 31 verses this year!! Isn't that great for 4 year olds!! They got an award for completing their book for their class.

It really amazed me that they could memorize scripture so easily. We really did not have to spend lots of time working on their verses before they knew them. They just picked it up really quick!

My goal for the summer is to review all of the verses they learned, in hopes of keeping them in their heart. I also have plans to work on memorizing a larger portion of scripture with them, either Psalm 23 or the Lord's Prayer, I haven't decided which one yet. Who knows, they may do one so quickly that we will be able to do both, haven't thought about that until know.

So, do you have anything you plan to work on with your children this summer? I sure hope I stick to my goal; pray for me that I will be diligent and will follow through with my intentions. We all have these grand plans but sometimes they never come to fruition because we don't make steps to make them happen. I don't want to look back at the end of the summer and say, "Wow, that was a great idea, I sure wish I had followed through with it."

Thankful Thursdays

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"
2 Corinthians 9:15




Today I am giving thanks for:

• My salvation and my relationship with my Lord & Savior! I am so glad that He knows me and I know Him, I just long to know Him better, deeper, more!!
• I am thankful for the help, love, and support of my Lord and Savior; "Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, 'My foot is slipping, ' your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." from Psalm 94
• The fact that I won the blog design contest hosted by Blessed! I can't wait to get my new look!! Keep checking back so you won't miss it!!
• For our screened in back porch, for the nice weather that allows us to eat our meals out there, and for the fact that my kitchen table and floor stay much cleaner when we get to eat on the porch!!
• For my sweet husband who just called to see if we could eat lunch together!! (the boys are at 3-k right now!!)
• For precious friends who leave sweet comments on my blog that make me cry!
• For the opportunity to exercise outside everyday before my husband leaves for work, and the motivation and energy to do so!
• For my children, for their abundant love, hugs, and kisses!!
• For all the artwork on my refrigerator and everywhere! (They can tell if one is missing so I do not dare remove one without their permission!)
• For Publix!! My favorite grocery store!

Don't forget to be thankful today! It just does something for your heart to sit and think about all that you are thankful for, and to acknowledge Him who gives you all things for which you are thankful! For more thankful Thursday posts head on over to Sting My Heart. What are you thankful for today?