Thankful Thursdays

"Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked." Jeremiah 20:13

Today I am thankful for:

• God rescuing me from the bondage of sin; He lifted me out of the miry pit and set my feet upon a rock!
• The hope we have in Christ Jesus!
• That what is impossible with man is possible with God!!
• For air conditioning... it is sooo hot outside!
• For my children, even though right now I am yearning for some peace and quiet, or at least a break from their constant fighting with each other... it is so nice when they get along and play so well together, but yesterday and today have not been one of those days :)
• The power of praise music... I think I need to go turn some on and let it fill our home!
• For things to look forward to... we have friends coming to visit for the weekend, and we even get to go on a double date without the kids!
• For a friend offering me her dining room furniture to "store" in my dining room at my house, and for my husband saying "yes" we can get it!! I am so excited, it will be delivered on Saturday!
• For my children's silly questions and statements: "Mommy, I hope I never have to be in your tummy again!" "David, come play upstairs with me, I don't want to be lonely." "Jesus woke me up to go potty so I could keep my pull-up dry but I didn't get up." "I didn't sleep good, my bear kept waking me up."
• For my husband's job and the way the Lord provides for us financially through it.

Don't forget to stop and take time to give thanks today. It really helps to put your thoughts and mind in the right perspective, focusing on our Lord, the Giver of all good things, rather than on the trivial things of our day that seem to distract us from Him.

For more TT posts visit Iris over at Sting My Heart.

Word-Filled Wednesday

God's glory... we can't really describe it, it makes me speechless quite often. And I imagine that when I get to Heaven and can really experience His glory I will fall on my face before Him in worship, awe, and adoration. Take time today to notice the glory of God present in our world, and don't forget to take some time to read His Word, it will make you more aware of His awesome glory.

For many, many more encouraging and uplifting WFW posts please visit our host, 160acrewoods.

Wordless Wednesday #24

I was tagged...

I was tagged by Sharon over at Quiet Reflections. I have just recently found her blog, but have really enjoyed reading her posts. I can tell she is a lady who loves Jesus and His Word! I am supposed to tell 6 random things about myself...

Here are 6 random things about me that you may not know:

• I had dreams of being a ballerina or a veterinarian, and became neither. I am a wife, mommy, and used to work as a speech-language pathologist.
• I went to a military school for the last 2 years of high school, and graduated as valedictorian of my class.
• I love to cook and experiment with recipes, although I do not have as much time to do that in this season of my life.
• I worked as a camp counselor at Camp Skyline during one summer of college. I loved it but the pay was terrible!
• I have never traveled outside of the United States.
• I have never cut the grass in my entire life! My dad always loved doing yard work and my husband has never asked me to do it!!

So there you go, if you are reading this you can consider yourself tagged! If you don't want to post a post on your blog, just leave me a comment and let me know something about you that I do not know. I can't wait to hear from you!!

A Question I have been pondering...

This question just popped into my head during one of my quiet times this past week and I have been pondering on it:

Was Jesus organized and on a schedule or was He spontaneous and flexible?

I am a very organized person and like to have a schedule, but lately I have felt like I am a little too tied to my schedule. When things have come up to throw me off schedule or to mess it up altogether, I have found myself getting extremely stressed and irritated, which is not a response consistent with what God would have me to have.

I am a list maker. I make a to-do list for the week and for each day, with chores I need to get done around the house and just other stuff. I find great fulfillment from marking things off those lists! Sometimes I even add things I have already done that weren't on my list just so I can mark them off! Does anyone else do that? It makes me feel like I have accomplished something to mark lots of things off my list (like today I have the dishwasher running already, I have stripped all the beds of their sheets, and I have a load of laundry going).

But back to my question... I do think Jesus was somewhat organized and on a schedule, he was about His Father's business and had a mission to accomplish. I think He knew what steps He needed to take to get there and did what He needed to do to accomplish what His Father sent Him to do. But I also think He was available to those things that may have thrown Him off schedule a bit. He was available for those divine appointments God sent His way, He did not let them stress Him out and He did not run from them or ignore them.

So I think there is a balance there... we can have our plans and our schedules, but we need to lay them down at the feet of our Savior, offer them to Him daily as our sacrifice to Him, and see what divine interruptions and appointments He sends our way, and then we need to welcome them into our lives, not fight them off or do them grudgingly.

I did this last week. Every day during my morning devotions I would offer the Lord my life, my time, my agenda and my schedule. And do you know what happened, he sent many divine appointments and interruptions into my life, all of which were a blessing. At times I had to remind myself to joyfully and willingly accept God's plans for my day over my own, and when I did the stress and frustration would leave, and I was able to enjoy doing what my Lord and Savior had for me that day. And do you know what else, because I sacrificed for Him, He provided the time I needed for me to get many things done on my to do lists, but the things that did not get done really did not bother me or stress me out.

So what about you? Do you think Jesus was organized and on a schedule or was He spontaneous and flexible? I would love to hear what you have to say!

Thankful Thursdays

"I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart..." Psalm 9:1





Today I am giving thanks for:

• Time spent with friends this week, what a blessing true friends are!
• My boys enjoying playing together...
• The rain! We have received some much needed rain the past 2 days!
• Leftovers and a husband who does not mind eating leftovers!
• The awesome sunrise I was able to witness yesterday! Our Lord really outdid Himself!
• The fact that I am still running every morning and that I have the desire and motivation to do so...
• God's Word and the guidance, encouragement, comfort and hope it gives.
• My home and all the modern amenities it has, a dishwasher, washer and dryer, air conditioning, running water...
• Our cat, Bootsie...
• And last but definitely not least today.... Mother's Day gift cards to the spa,which I am using today!!! I am getting a massage, manicure, pedicure, and eyebrow wax. A good friend is coming to watch my boys and I get some mommy time to relax!! I can't wait!

What are you thankful for today? Take some time to think about your life and find something to be thankful for, and then thank God for them! For more TT posts head on over to Sting My Heart!

Word-Filled Wednesday

Isn't it wonderful that even in the midst of trials and tribulations, if our trust is in the Lord, He will cause us to lie down and sleep in peace. There is nothing like the peace of God!

For more WFW posts visit 160acrewoods.

Wordless Wednesday #23

Encouragement from my quiet times...

The Lord has really encouraged me during my quiet times the past few days and I just thought I would share the scriptures that ministered to me in hopes that they will minister to some of you...

This is a quote from a book of devotions I am reading, the author quotes Oswald Chambers in the following, and it absolutely jumped off the page and into my heart, I was meant to read this today...

"If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in... We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we obey God, he will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all consequences with him."

This encouraged me to continue to strive to obey my Lord and what He speaks to me through His Word, even though sometimes it is terribly hard. I do not know about you, but I definitely do not want to be a grief to my Lord and Savior.

The following are scriptures that the Lord spoke to me through...

Numbers 11:23 "And the LORD said to Moses, 'Is the LORD's power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.' "

Praise God that His power is not limited!! Amen to that!

And from Isaiah, chapters 43, 44, and 45, these messages are continually re-occurring:

The Lord is:
The LORD, Your Redeemer, who made you, who formed you from the womb, who will help you...

I am the LORD, and there is no other... there is no Savior besides me...

The Lord has:
Wiped out our transgressions- for My own sake I will remember them no more (for the Lord's sake, isn't that good!)

Wiped out your transgressions like a heavy cloud and your sins like a heavy mist...

And from the Psalms this morning...
Psalm 5:3 "In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart]."

This led me to ponder whether or not I prepare a sacrifice daily for my Lord. The sacrifice should be my life, my expectations, and my plans for the day. I was convicted that I need to lay down my agenda, and my plans for my time, and offer my day and my life as a sacrifice to my Lord, to be used as He would desire for me to, for His honor and glory.

I was further convicted that I am not just to go through the motions of offering myself and my life as a sacrifice to my Lord, I am to watch and wait for Him to speak to me, to give me guidance; and then through the power that He provides in my life through His Holy Spirit, I am to be obedient. So I will be doing things a little differently in my quiet times now, thinking of how I can offer myself to my Lord daily in a sacrificial way, and watching and waiting for Him to speak to me and give me guidance and direction.


One more bit of encouragement came from Proverbs 21:30-31

"There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the LORD. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory are of the LORD."

Isn't God's Word just so good, so rich, so full of treasures, encouragement, hope, and comfort? I encourage you to take some time to open His Word and allow Him to speak to you today... and let me know what He tells you, it may just be something I need to hear too!

Be Still...

My Mission...

The Mission of "It's All About Him" can really be summed up in the quote that I have on my sidebar by Jim Elliot, "May my life be an exhibit to the value of knowing God." That is what I desire for my blog to be, an exhibit to the awesome privilege of personally and intimately knowing my God and my Savior.

I desire for my posts to draw others to the Lord, to share with "whosoever" the love, grace, and mercy of our Lord and Savior through what He is doing in my life and through what He is teaching me. I desire to impart to others a hunger and thirst for righteousness, a deep desire to know and spend time in God's Word, and a desire to follow hard after the things of God rather than the things of this world.

Becoming Me is hosting a blog mission tour... drop by to check out the mission of other bloggers. And a special thank you to Becoming Me for hosting all of us!

So that is my mission for my blog, what is yours?

Holding On...

Bearing A Grudge or Extending Forgiveness?

Eph. 4:32 AMP “And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.”

Luke 6:37 AMP “…acquit and forgive and release (give up resentment; let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and released.”

Why is forgiveness so hard sometimes? And why is it that life sometimes catches you off guard and you find yourself instantly in a situation where you know you need to forgive – but your flesh desires to nurse the offense and hang onto it just a little while, just long enough for that bitterness to start to well up…

That happened to me this week…

To read the rest of this devotion visit with me at Holding On....

Thankful Thursdays

“My lovingkindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer; My shield and He in whom I take refuge;” Psalm 144:2

Today I am giving thanks for:

• God’s lovingkindness
• The fact that the Lord is my fortress, my stronghold, and deliverer, my shield, and my refuge…
• Friends whom I can call or email to pray for me and they pray for me right then!
• Family, young and old…
• Chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream!
• My grill and the yummy things I cook on it…
• My husband and his love, support, and forgiveness…
• Good reports from the doctor for friends and family…
• My home
• The transforming power of our God to transform my attitude when it is not what it should be…

Don’t forget to stop and give thanks to our Lord and Savior today. He deserves more praise and thanks than we could ever give. To be blessed by more TT posts visit Sting My Heart.

Word-Filled Wednesday

Do you wait for God's Words? Do you rejoice in His Word? If not, pray and ask Him to give you a hunger and thirst for Him and His Word like you have never had before, and He will do it! He did it for me, and I am always hungry for more of Him!! Go spend some time in His Word today and allow Him time to speak to you...

For more WFW posts visit 160acrewoods.

Wordless Wednesday #22

An Award...

I have humbly received the Arte y Pico (meaning “Peak of Art”) award from Tracy over at My Cup Runneth Over. Tracy's blog has truly blessed me and I am honored that she finds spiritual encouragement here at mine. She shares from her heart and is transparent about what the Lord is doing and teaching her in her life. If you have never visited her please take some time to stop by and give her a visit.



As a recipient of this award, I have been asked to share it with five blogs that bless my life. I have chosen:
Praire Prologue
Krista's Kronicles
Tea with Tiffany
Sting My Heart
Fruits of the Spirit
All of these women are Godly women who encourage me and spur me along in my Christian faith. They share their heart with us and allow God to speak to, encourage, and even convict us through what God lays on their hearts to share. One of them I know personally, and the others I would love too! Maybe one day we will have a live, in person, blog reunion of sorts and all meet each other face to face. I think that would just be glorious!

Congratulations friends! The “official instructions” follow. Now go forth and share the love!

To the recipients of the award...share this with five blogs you consider deserving of this award, whether for creativity, design, interesting material, or contributions to the blogging community, no matter what language.

Name each nominee and link to his/her blog. Show the award and include the name (and link to his/her blog) of whoever presented you with this award. Link to the Arte y Pico blog so everyone knows the origin of this award. Post these rules.

Quotes to ponder...

I have finished reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I highly recommend it... it will definitely cause you to take an indepth look at your walk with Christ and challenge you to make some much needed adjustments. Now I will probably go back through it and study and ponder on the sections that I starred and underlined, there are sooo many!

Just wanted to share a couple of quotes that really jumped off the page at me during my last few nights of reading...

(from page 164) "I urge you to consider and actually live as though each person you come into contact with is Christ." Wow! What a difference this would make in the way we treated those we come in contact with everyday... in the grocery store, at Wal-Mart, at the post office, in our homes, at work, at church! It definitely gives me something to think about, but more than that I desire to try to do this, but how quickly I get caught up in the ordinary things of my day and forget... I pray that the Holy Spirit would constantly bring this to my mind and remind me.

(from page 165) "We have a God who is a Creator, not a duplicator." Amen to that!! I found this to be very encouraging and very freeing. What this spoke to me is that I do not have to strive to have a prayer life just like the prayer warrior I so admire, I do not have to teach the Word of God in the same way as the teachers I admire and look up to, and I do not have to live my Christian walk trying to copy the walk of others. God created me unique, one of a kind, and with a special plan and purpose in mind that is just for me! I am to seek Him, worship and praise Him, have fellowship with Him, and He will lead and guide me into exactly what He has created me, and only me, to be!

What do you think? Do these quotes speak to you at all? If you haven't read this book it is a must read, go get it!!

Be Still...

A Visitor is Coming...

Grandfather is coming to visit for a week, the house is clean and homemade banana bread is baking in the oven... James is on his way to pick him up right now... the boys are so excited! They haven't seen Grandfather since Christmas, I just hope they do not wear him out too much or make him want to go home sooner than planned! I am praying for God to show us ways to bless him while he is here, we want him to enjoy his visit.

James plans to do lots of work from home this week, so my computer time will be limited... I am going to try to go ahead and get a few posts ready and do the delay posting, isn't that just a wonderful feature?

I have added music to my blog, what do you think? Is it distracting or do you like it? I will probably change up the playlist occasionally. I could not find lots of songs I wanted... I guess since it is a free thing they have limited Christian artists available or something.

Have a great weekend... and don't forget to spend some time with our Lord and Savior! He longs to be with you!

I have decided....

James 1:2-3 "When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance."

We sang these words in church this past Sunday… isn’t it funny how such a simple song that we sang as children, when you sing it as an adult it takes on a whole new meaning.

Following Jesus is not always easy, it is not always convenient, it is not always the thing that makes others happy, and at times others just do not understand why you do what you do. So for me, while I am going through a deep and dark valley in an area of my life, this song spoke volumes to my heart and soul. I am following Jesus, no matter what, and no matter how hard it gets, He is worth it!

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

So are you committed to following Jesus, the world behind you, the cross before you, though none go with you? It is not always easy…

1 Peter 4:12-13 "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed."

Thankful Thursdays

“Bring my soul out of prison, so that I may give thanks to Thy name; The righteous will surround me, For Thou wilt deal bountifully with me.” Psalm 142:7

Today I am giving thanks for:

• The freedom that Christ has brought to my life and my heart! Freedom from the bondage of sin, freedom from having to conform to the ways of this world, freedom to be who Christ created me to be and not who others say I should be, freedom from the pit!! “I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free!” Psalm 119:32
• The lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and that they endure forever…
• The gift of the Holy Spirit and the fruit He produces in my life that I could never produce on my own…
• The Word of God and how God speaks to me so sweetly and personally through His Words…
• Flowers from my yard adorning my house, hydrangeas and roses!
• Slow days with my children and their laughter…
• My husband doing the dishes last night!!
• Babysitters! I had a babysitter Tuesday so I could go to the dentist and run some errands… I even had time for a nice lunch all by myself at Panera Bread! It was wonderful!!
• Fun outings with friends… Monday we went bowling and out to lunch with some dear friends from college, the type of friends who are always there when you need them, what a blessing their friendship is!
• The hope that God has placed in my heart!

Don’t forget to stop and give thanks to our Lord and Savior today for all He has done for you, He deserves more praise and thanks than we can give. For more TT posts visit Sting My Heart.

Word-Filled Wednesday

How thankful I am that God is the Rock eternal!! And I can testify that if you keep your mind fixed on Him, He will give you His perfect peace!! He has done it for me countless times....

Don't forget to spend time in His Word, it is a treasure worth digging into over and over again! For more WFW posts visit 160acrewoods.

Wordless Wednesday #21

Your Very Great Reward!

"I am.... your very great reward." This is what God spoke to Abraham after he refused to take "goods" in exchange for "people" as offered by the king of Sodom. He refused this because he had "sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abraham rich.'" Genesis 14:22-23;15:1

I am doing a Bible study entitled "No Other Gods, confronting our modern-day idols" by Kelly Minter, and she poses a question that I wanted to pose to all of you: Is God enough? Are you satisfied with just God Himself and nothing else?

Or do you need

• God plus the nice big house and the nice new car...
• God plus the perfect Godly husband...
• God plus the always obedient and respectful children...
• God plus the latest fashions and home furnishings...
• God plus lots of friends and social events...

Are you, and myself included, so satisfied and content with our relationship with God that we do not need, or can I go so far as to even say, want, His blessings that He showers us with so graciously?

Dear Heavenly Father, May you make us desire You more than anything else in this world, more than the blessings You send our way. Make us so hungry and thirsty for You that nothing else satisfies and nothing else lures us. May we find all of our satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment in our relationship with You. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Thankful Thursdays

“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness is everlasting… Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Psalm 136:1-3, 26

Today I am giving thanks…

• For God’s Word, “for in His Word do I hope.” Psalm 130:5
• That “with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption” Psalm 130:7
• For this country that I live in and for all those who have served and fought for our freedom – thank you!
• For sitting out back with my husband last night, watching our children play and have fun…
• For a wonderful getaway with the girls last weekend, and for the sound biblical teaching we sat under…
• For the happiness seen in my husband’s face and heard in his voice when I surprised him with a surprise date Sunday night without the kids!!
• For a slower week, we have had no plans any night this week and it has been absolutely wonderful!!
• Seeing my boys give Daddy goodbye hugs every morning…
• For having a husband who desires to pray with me in the mornings before he leaves to go to work…
• For sweet tea, swimming pools, and ice cream!!

“I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods.

I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.

On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul.

All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD, When they have heard the words of Your mouth.

And they will sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD.

For though the LORD is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly, But the haughty He knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.

The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalm 138

I read this Psalm this morning and it brought me great encouragement. May God’s Word encourage you as it has me today. Don’t forget to give thanks to the LORD of lords, the God of gods, and the God of heaven today! For more TT posts visit Sting My Heart.