Wordless Wednesday

Loneliness... Longings...

It seems that the deeper into the things of God that I go and that I desire to go, the lonelier I feel in this world. I honestly do not desire or long to fit into the world - I long for eternity and the life I will have there - and I long to find people here in my sphere of life, in my season of life, who are like-minded, who also long for eternity... yet they seem so hard to find, why is that?

I long for the things and people of this world to have no affect on my emotions or mental state. I long to be controlled by the Spirit in every single aspect of my being...

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Eccl. 3:11

Just some thoughts from my heart which I had written in my journal recently... I felt led to share these today, maybe someone else can relate...

Lessons learned while being still...

I have been on a journey these past few weeks of seeking to be still...

I have been intentional about slowing down and focusing on my relationship with my Lord and with my family... I have been carefully considering and praying about how to spend my time daily rather than let activities and plans of others dictate my schedule and my calender. It has been absolutely wonderful and very freeing!

I am learning several lessons during my quest to be still more often and wanted to share them here, in hopes they may help some of you.

I am learning that being still is not just a lack of physical activity. In fact, I am learning that you can be still while in the midst of physical activity. In many ways being still is more about our minds and hearts being still and focused on the task at hand rather than being divided among several different tasks. My Lord has shown me that often times my heart and mind are not still, they are running off in so many different directions that I can not effectively do the task I am currently working on because I am too distracted. So I am learning daily to still my heart and my mind. If I catch my heart and mind wandering ahead to future tasks I try to reel them back in so I can have an undivided focus on what it is I am currently doing.

I am also learning that in order to have a still mind and heart, which enable me to more effectively fulfill the calling God has on my life, which at this time is being a wife and mom, I do not have to take part in every single "good" activity that comes my way. This has been hard for me, because I like to take advantage of all the "good" opportunities that come along. However, I am learning to take them to God, and allow Him to reveal to me if they are what He desires for me to fill my time with at this time. I came to the realization that many things that are good are not good for me at this season in my life... they take me away from my family, which is God's priority for me right now. Not only do they take me away from my family in person but they occupy much of my thoughts, causing me to be distracted and divided in my time with them. Instead of having time to have a teachable moment, to spend extra time loving on my family, to make a nice healthy meal for my family, or to spend the extra time needed on a discipline problem, I was having to rush and run out the door to get to this activity or that activity. So I am learning to say "No" to those things the Lord leads me to say "No" to rather than yes to everything... and I can I say it has been very freeing. And I can definitely say it has helped me to quiet my heart and my mind and to have a more undivided focus of the things the Lord would have me to focus on right now.

I am also learning that being still, having a quiet heart and mind, open up the door for me to hear my Lord's voice more clearly, more consistently, and more frequently. I am more aware of the promptings of His Spirit, and more able to quickly obey those promptings rather than waiting until things slow down... which often when I would wait for things to slow down I would forget about the promptings of His Spirit and not follow through... In focusing on having a quiet heart and a quiet mind I have been able to reach out and minister to others, really in rather simple ways; whereas before I would have been to busy, physically and mentally, to take the time to do such things. Also, in taking time to be still and enjoy life with my family, the Lord has brought opportunities for ministry along our path, nothing big or huge, just little things done for others in the name of Jesus. I know in my life sometimes the little things others have done for me spoke volumes more to me than big things... a timely card sent in the mail, a phone call at just the right time, a smile or word of encouragement, a hug, just the fact that someone noticed you were there...


So this journey to be still has been and is a good one... I plan to continue on it. I long to sit at His feet, Hear His voice, and follow Him in those things He has for me to follow Him in, and I long to do all this with an undivided heart. What about you? Do you take time to be still, to quiet your heart and your mind so that you can more effectively hear our Lord speak to you? I enjoy you to do so...

Thankful Thursday

Today I am giving thanks to the Giver of all good things, my Father in Heaven.

I thought I would share my thankfulness in pictures this time...

Hope you enjoy, and are also encouraged to give thanks yourself...

I am thankful for the beauty of God's creation!
Waterfalls always make me think of "streams of living water"...
I pray that He would cause "streams of living water" to flow in and through me...

I am thankful for precious time spent with my family
and the memories we make being together...
The boys thought this was such a grand adventure!

I am thankful for summer fun spent with friends...

I am thankful for the blessing of my children...
and the joy they add to my life!

I am thankful for the excitement and anticipation
of a new season of life...
we are soon to begin homeschooling!

I encourage you to stop and take time to give our Lord thanks for the many ways He has blessed your life...

Our curriculum is here!!

We received 2 BIG boxes from Fed-Ex today...

with all this "STUFF" we get to use for school!!

The boys were so excited to see so many new books!
And even more excited to learn that they are ours...
and we do not have to return them to the library!!

I can't wait for our new adventure to begin...

It is going to be lots of fun for ALL of us!!

Still here...

I just thought I would let those of you who read my blog know that I am still here! I have just been enjoying the summer with my family... the past few weeks have been absolutely wonderful. I have had time to be still and enjoy my life as a wife and mom, to enjoy lazy summer days with my boys, and to enjoy our weekends with dad...

The computer seems to have lost its hold on me!! I am not as drawn to it as I once was... actually there are some days I wish I didn't even have one! I am finding that instead of spending time reading blogs and looking at stuff online I am wanting to spend my time with my family and seeking my Lord... it has been and is very refreshing.

I am also in the throes of getting ready to homeschool. I have been studying curriculum as I try to decide what we need to order and what we do not need... I have been going through and cleaning out our file cabinet to make room for homeschooling files and record-keeping... and I have a couple of closets to re-organize so we can have an orderly place to keep all our homeschooling books and supplies.

So I am still here, and I will be back with more regular posts soon... but for this season my posts may continue to be a bit sporadic as I spend more time with Him and with my family. I hope you all are having a wonderful summer!

Wordless Wednesday

Encouragement from my Lord...

Today the Lord encouraged me greatly during my time with Him. These past few weeks I have been seeking to be more still... more still with my Lord, more still with my husband, and more still with my kids.

The world does not always understand our need to be still. The world tries to make us go, go, go and do, do, do. At times in my quest to be still I have felt a bit like an alien, like others do not quite understand my desire and my need to be still, especially with my Lord. And I have wondered if I am going over the top in my quest to spend more time with Him and with my family rather than doing other "good" things.

God always knows our thoughts and He knows what is going on in our hearts... and He knows when we need words of encouragement - He sent me some today!

As I was reading my daily reading in a little devotional given to me by someone dear (you know who you are), the Lord spoke directly to my heart! Here is the devotion for the day... may it encourage someone else out there who longs to be still with the Lord.

I am your Father-God, listen to Me! Learn what it means to be a child of the everlasting King. Your richest duty is devotion to Me. This duty is such a joyous privilege that it feels like a luxury. You tend to feel guilty about pushing back the boundaries of your life to make space for time alone with Me. The world is waiting to squeeze you into its mold and to crowd out time devoted to Me. The ways of the world have also warped your conscience, which punishes you for doing the very thing that pleases Me most: seeking My Face. Listen to Me above the clamor of voices trying to distract you. Ask My Spirit to control your mind, for He and I work in perfect harmony. Be still and attentive in my Presence. You are on holy ground. (from Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, page197)

I pray this encourages and speaks to someone as it did to me today... may you do what you need to do to make time to be still with Him. You will be eternally thankful that you did!

Happy 4th of July!!

This song always moves me to tears... I am so thankful to live in America where we have so many freedoms. And I am so very thankful for the freedom I have found in my Savior, Christ Jesus.

May you all have a wonderful 4th of July weekend... celebrating not only our freedom here in America but also the freedom from sin and death that can only be found in a personal relationship with Christ Jesus.

(pause the music on the sidebar before listening to this video)

Order is good! God told me so...

My Lord so encouraged me this morning during my time with Him. His encouragement really did fill my heart with joy and brought me great comfort...

Lately I have been wondering if I am just too organized, too structured, or too schedule oriented. I have a place for everything in our house... it makes it easy to find when someone needs it, and it makes it fairly easy to clean up, you just put it back where you got it from. I am also a planner. I usually plan our days and our week, whether it is just time at home together or fun outings out, or appointments or such that we have to take care... by planning things out I find that it helps me to be more productive with my time and I am able to tackle the big things that I really need to get done rather than pushing them to the back burner...

But people have made comments about my organization...

• I can not believe you plan out your meals for each week (well, how else do you know what to buy at the grocery store)
• Your kitchen is so organized, I would hate for you to see mine, it is just chaos...

So I have been a bit down on myself, wondering if I am over the top... but the Lord blessed my heart this morning by showing me that I am not!

I am doing the Bible study, He Speaks To Me, by Priscilla Shirer, and today's lesson was on priorities! She mentions that in Exodus 25-27, when God was giving Moses very detailed instructions on building the tabernacle, that God required Moses to give great attention to detail! Then a bit later in the lesson she quoted this statement from her pastor, and it just made my heart soar...

"A focus on divine order always precedes an infilling of His divine presence." When we want God to show up and reveal Himself to us we have to plan and prepare to place priority on the things that are important to Him. page 34

I know that at this point in my life, it is important to God that I do my best to be a Godly wife and mom, taking care of my family and my home. So I feel He is pleased that I am orderly and in control of our home. Since I am structured and have a cleaning schedule and everything has a place, I do not have to spend lots and lots of time cleaning. I just have to maintain weekly and do big cleanings when it is required. This frees me up to spend more time with my family and with my Lord... during rest times each day I am usually able to spend more time with Him rather than running around trying to get stuff done around the house.

I actually find that being organized and structured is very freeing... it helps me to use my time more wisely and efficiently, and allows me more time to seek Him, and to be the wife and mom that I long to be. I have more time to try that new recipe that looked good, more time to play games or read books with the boys, more time to go for bike rides with the family after dinner... I also find that when my home and life are in order that my thoughts are more orderly and peaceful rather than chaotic and frazzled.

I am so thankful that today my Lord saw fit to encourage me and to let me know that order is ordained by Him! After all, our Lord is not a Lord of confusion or chaos put of peace! 1 Corinthians 14:33.

Thankful Thursday

O God, Thou art my God;
I shall seek Thee earnestly;
My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water. ...

Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise Thee. ...

My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
Psalm 63:1, 3, 5

I am truly blessed each week by taking the time to think about the many, many things I have to be thankful for... some are big and some are little; but they all are things that I owe Him great thanks for blessing me with. This week I am giving thanks for the following:

• For having time to "be still" - with my Lord, with my husband, and with my children. It has been absolutely wonderful, and I intend to make sure that my life does not get so busy that I do not have time to be still with my top 3 priorities! I will be saying "No" to those things that steal my stillness...
• For the preciousness of God's Word and how it is a healing balm to a wounded soul...
• For the calling to homeschool my children... it is a challenge and an adventure that I am looking forward to! I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for all of us through homeschooling!
• For the privilege and opportunity to be able to pour my heart out before the Lord - and that He is a refuge for me...
• For the love of my children and my husband...

I have much, much more to be thankful for... but that is all I am going to list today. I encourage you to stop right now and make a short list of just a few of the things you have to be thankful for... and share them with me! I would love to hear what you are thankful for today!

For more TT posts you can visit Lynn...

Word-Filled Wednesday & Scripture Memory Verse

Since the 1st falls on a Wednesday I thought I would combine my Word-filled Wednesday and my scripture memory verse for the first half of July. I will be committing Isaiah 26:8-9 to memory for the first half of July... I have been reading "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper, an excellent book and one I highly recommend; he tells how this verse was the mission verse for the passion conferences and the "268 Declaration"... it just jumped out at me and I knew it was the next verse the Lord wanted me to work on hiding in my heart.

Here it is from the NIV:

Isaiah 26:8-9

"Yes, Lord,
walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you;
your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.
My soul yearns for you in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for you..."

Is there a verse or passage of scripture that you are working on hiding in your heart? It makes such a difference to have His Word tucked away in our hearts... I would encourage you to make it a priority...

Wordless Wednesday

By Faith... Tuesday's Together in the Word!

Welcome to Tuesday's Together in the Word. We are a group of women reading through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs using the same reading plan and holding each other accountable. On Tuesdays we share what we have gleaned from our time of study in the Word. To join us and to read what others have to share visit DeeDee, we would love for you to join us! You can find a link to our reading plan on my sidebar.

I want to share the thoughts I really wanted to share last week but didn't get a chance to... I never had the time to sit down and get my thoughts into a presentable form, so now I am giving it a try.

So since my thoughts are from a week ago, the passage of scripture is from last week's reading... but I have really been thinking on it for about a week now. It is from Hebrews 11, the famous faith chapter.

In verse 1 the writer of Hebrews tells us that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," and then in verse 2, that "by it the men of old gained approval."

A little further down in verse 6 the writer tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

Then he begins to expound on the things people have done by faith, we have all read these accounts countless times... this time I noticed something different... by faith they endured struggles and hard times. It was their faith that sustained them and carried them through... it was their "assurance of things hoped for" and "the conviction of things not seen" that allowed them to go through hardships in a way that made them noteworthy enough to be mentioned in the scriptures...

By faith they:

• choose rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; (verse 25)
• considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; (verse 26)
• conquered kingdoms,
• performed acts of righteousness,
• obtained promises,
• shut the mouths of lions,
• quenched the power of fire,
• escaped the edge of the sword,
• from weakness became strong,
• became mighty in war,
• put foreign armies to flight, (verses 33-34)
• were tortured in order that they might receive a better resurrection, (verse 35)
• experienced mockings and scourgings and chains and imprisonments
• were stoned, sawn in two, tempted,
• put to death with the sword,
• went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted and ill-treated... (verses 36-37)

Always when reading this passage before I noticed the good and pleasant things people did by faith... this time God opened my eyes to the hard and sometimes horrific things His people by faith endured...


What hard things are going on in your life right now? By faith you can endure them!

An empty cup... slowly being refilled...

Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to Thee,
when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For Thou hast been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
Let me dwell in Thy tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Thy wings.
Psalm 61:1-4

I have been a bit moody and irritable the past few days... which is why I have not posted, I just did not feel like it.

Today I think I realized what has been wrong with me... my cup has been sapped dry; not a drop to be found anywhere. I have given and given and given some more, so much so that I have absolutely nothing left to give. I have been longing for some extended time with my Lord, but "stuff" has gotten in the way and prevented me from some much needed prolonged time at His feet. Today I was able to sit at His feet, for almost an hour a half, uninterrupted, no phone calls, no interruptions from the kids, no doorbells ringing, just me and my Lord... and I can tell my cup is beginning to be refilled.

I honestly do not know how it got so drained, other than the fact that I really have not said "No" to lots of things that maybe I should have said "No" too. Don't get me wrong, they aren't bad things, they are all good things. But they are not good when they prevent me from getting my cup filled, or when they drag me away from precious time with my family and from my personal time with my Lord... I need to take time to be refilled so that I can give out of the abundance of my cup. So this week I have said "No" to every night-time activity that would have taken me away from my family... and I have made the boys nap every day so I could get some much needed rest and spend some much needed time sitting at His feet... it has been wonderful!


I have been able to spend some time reading a couple of books that I have really felt the Lord leading me to pick up and read, but haven't had time due to "stuff"... I just wanted to share a bit from "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. These quotes really made me stop and think... and I am still thinking and praying on them...

We waste our lives when we do not pray and think and dream and plan and work toward magnifying God in all spheres of life. God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that he really is. (page 32)


We were made to savor God - and savoring him, to be supremely satisfied, and thus spread in all the world the worth of his presence. Not to show people the all-satisfying God is not to love them. (page 33)


The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. (page 33)


God loves us by liberating us from the bondage of self so that we can enjoy knowing and admiring him forever. (page 35)

So I encourage you to make sure you take time to stop and spend time at His feet, allowing Him to refill your cup so that in all your giving you do not run dry. I am not committed to be much more careful in committing myself to things that are going to take me away from my primary priorities at this season in my life... being His child, and being a wife and a mom. This week has been proof to me that I have been over-extended and I do not intend to allow that to happen again... I want God to stretch me and not the world...

Word-Filled Wednesday

I am going to the beach to be still... with 6 other ladies!! It is going to be wonderful... no cooking, no cleaning, no washing lots of loads of clothes, no vacuuming or mopping, no breaking up fights between 2 brothers, no tattling, no whining (I hope :) ... I can't wait!

The ocean always makes me think of the vastness of God's love. The constant waves rolling in and out remind me of His faithfulness...

May you have a wonderful week. I pray that wherever you are you are able to find time to be still and spend with Him! For more WFW posts visit 160acrewoods.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday's Together in the Word!

Welcome to Tuesday's Together in the Word. We are a group of women reading through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs using the same reading plan and holding each other accountable. On Tuesdays we share what we have gleaned from our time of study in the Word. To join us and to read what others have to share visit DeeDee, we would love for you to join us! You can find a link to our reading plan on my sidebar.

Life continues to be busy here... but I am bound and determined to get this post up! My schedule is all messed up for the summer and I am a very structured and schedule oriented person, so I have really felt a bit out of sorts as I get used to our less structured days of summer.

I have had trouble getting up as early since I do not have anywhere we really have to be... therefore, I am later exercising and it is really hot. So I have asked the Lord to help me adjust my schedule... and today He gave me an idea that I think will work just wonderfully for this new season!! He woke me up early and I went to run in the coolness of the morning, about 6 o'clock... then I came home and had my quiet time on the porch. So even though everyone was up and about I still had quietness and peace on the porch while I spent time with my Lord!! Wonderful!!

This week I wanted to share what the Lord spoke to me yesterday as I was running, and then how He confirmed it to me in His Word later that morning. I was out for my run, contemplating doing my normal 3 mile route or cutting it a bit short (as it was very hot), when the Lord spoke to my spirit, He said, "Do not take short cuts with Me."

This brought many thoughts to my mind... like, do not cut short your prayer time with Me; take time to listen for My voice as well as sharing your heart with Me; do not cut short your time in the Word; take time to meditate on It and allow God to show you truths and to speak to your heart through His Word; do not forsake taking time to worship and praise Me...


So, I ran the whole 3 miles and committed myself to making sure I am not taking short cuts with God. Then later as I sat down to read His Word, this was what I read and it jumped off the page at me!

Hebrews 6:11-12
"And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (bold my own emphasis)

So I am committed to be diligent in my walk with my Lord, in seeking Him, and in listening for His voice. I do not want to be considered sluggish, but as I talked about last Tuesday, I desire to be an imitator of Him. What about you? Will you join me in being diligent and not sluggish in this walk of faith?

Memory Verse

Here is my scripture memory verse for the second half of June... I did not do one for the 1st of the month. Life was just crazy busy when the time came around to post it and I did not get to it; so I have been working on reviewing the ones I have been memorizing this year...

Here is the new one I will be hiding in my heart; and it is what I so desire to do this summer... wait on the Lord, and hope in His Word...

Psalm 130:5

"I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His Word do I hope."

It is short, so I really should not have trouble committing this one to memory :)

What about you? Do you have a scripture or a passage you are working on committing to memory?

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

• A day to just BE at home!! It has been wonderful!
• My boys enjoying each others company today and playing so well together all day long!! They have played wonderfully with no arguments or fights!!
• The many things I have gotten accomplished today... I have done several small projects around the house that I just have not had time to do lately; it feels great to get them done!!
• A wonderful visit with a sweet friend this afternoon... we were able to sit and visit for a couple of hours while sipping on some sweet tea! My boys did not even bother us... they were in their rooms resting!
• David feeling better - we were in the ER with him on Tuesday evening as a result of double ear infections. Boy, was he in some major pain! I am thankful for my dad being willing to go with us to the hospital even when he had to be up early for work the next day... (we were at Granny and Paw-paw's house visiting)
• Being able to get one more haircut from my favorite hairstylist before she moves very far away...
• That in only 6 days I will be leaving with some ladies from church to go on our ladies beach retreat! No kids, no husbands, just us doing whatever we want to do! Thanks to those of you who gave me birthday money... I have saved it to use to pay for this beach retreat!!
• I am thankful that God is in control and He has my life in His hands... and for the fact that He has all my days planned out for me, I just have to follow Him...

What are you thankful for today? I would love to hear from you!