Diligence, Perseverance... for the Lost

Yesterday I had a wonderful example of how our Lord is diligent and how He perseveres in finding His lost sheep. 

My husband was able to leave work a bit earlier than normal and join us at the park for some play time with friends... another dad was able to be there also, so they struck up a soccer game between the kids and the dads.  Sometime during the game my husband took his wedding ring off and put it in the pocket in his pocket... he thought it would be secure there.  Later during the game he had a bad crash, and down he went... well, unbeknownst to him,out went his wedding ring.  He noticed as they were preparing to leave. 

Friends stayed and helped search for a bit, but eventually everyone had to leave.  The boys and I helped of course, but 9 pm rolled around and I brought the kids home to shower and go to bed; they had a big soccer game the next morning.  My hubby had planned to stay and search till 10... 10:05 he was not home.  I texted him, he replied back he was still searching and staying until at least 11:30, he wanted to sweep the entire field. 

He was very diligent and very precise in his search.  He had the field marked off with cones and a rope.  As he finished a section he would move the cones and rope so that he would not research an area already searched, and so he would not miss a section.  It was dark, so he was searching by flashlight. 

As I thought about him out there at the park, by himself, in the dark, searching for such a small item in such a huge field, I was reminded of our Lord's diligence and perseverance in searching for His lost sheep.  It reminded me of the following scripture passages:

Luke 15:4-7
^4-7 “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

Luke 15:8-10
 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

How thankful I am that my husband treasures our marriage and his wedding ring and what it represents!  My heart is blessed that he would work so hard to find something so little, but yet means so much! 

How wonderful that our Father in Heaven treasures each of  His sheep, and that He is diligent and persevering in finding the one that is lost!  Do you know some lost sheep that need to be found by their Father?  Don't give up in praying for them... don't stop loving them... their Father is still searching, and one day He will find every single one that is His own! 

Can you find the ring in the picture??

It only took my sweet husband about 5 hours!!

Honor and Respect

In my current Bible study we are studying through the book of Malachi... the last book of the Old Testament.  Since this past September we have been studying the Israelite's return to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple, and the reconstruction of the walls around the city. At this time in the history of Israel, in the book of Malachi, sacrifices have resumed at the temple.  But the Lord is not pleased... and He uses Malachi to get His point across...

" 'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?' says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name.

But you say, 'How have we despised Your name?' 7 "You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, 'How have we defiled You?' In that you say, 'The table of the LORD is to be despised.' 8 "But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts. 9 "But now will you not entreat God's favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts.

10 "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of hosts, "nor will I accept an offering from you.

11 "For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations," says the LORD of hosts. 12 "But you are profaning it, in that you say, 'The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.' 13 "You also say, 'My, how tiresome it is!' And you disdainfully sniff at it," says the LORD of hosts, "and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?" says the LORD. 14 "But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King," says the LORD of hosts, "and My name is feared among the nations." Malachi 1:6-14

God is not pleased... The people are not giving Him their best, they are not respecting and fearing Him for the Great King and Lord that He is.  His name is to be feared among the nations.  Instead they are offering him their "leftovers"... they are saving the best for themselves.  He longs for someone who will close the door to these unacceptable sacrifices and tell the people to quit wasting the trivial amount of effort they are putting forth.  They are going through the motions... they have no heart and no mind in their sacrifices.  

What does it tell the world when we give our Lord a small window of our time?  What does it tell the world when we save the best for ourselves and give away our "leftovers" to those in need?  What does it tell the world when we would rather our kids see all the Disney movies than know the Word of God?  What does it tell the world when we spend the bulk of our time on things that have no eternal value?  What does it tell the world when we allow the filth on tv and in movies to influence our minds and our children's minds more than the Word of God? 

Does that communicate honor and respect for our God? 

God wants our best.  He wants us to live in a way that shows the world that He is a great King and that His name is to be feared.  He wants us to live in a way that communicates His great love for us.  Read God's Word and be astounded and awed at what He has done for you.  Dig deep into His Word and learn of His lavish grace and His lovingkindness that is everlasting.  Do this and your life will become a life of worship to Him... and others will be drawn to Him through you, and He will be honored and glorified through your life of worship. 

Go and read your Bible... then go and offer our great God a sacrifice of praise for all He has done for you! 

(If you do not have a Bible and want one, message me or leave me a comment and I will make sure you get one.)

Sunday Take Aways

Real Jesus

Real Gospel

Real People

"And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."  Acts 5:42

The above is our focus and our theme verse at church for the next year and a half as we study through the book of Acts.  I plan to "journal" here my take aways from our services, so I can look back and remember, and in hopes that I may somehow encourage and spur someone else along in their walk with Jesus.

 

Take aways from our time of worship:

• His wounds have paid my ransom!!
• Hallelujah, What a Savior!!

 

Take aways from preaching from the text of Acts 4:14-31 (you should stop and go read it)...

We desperately need to pray because the world will shake us.  We should never be afraid to pray the name of Jesus.  God allowed Peter and John to be shaken so they would know their foundation was firm.

 

 “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. Acts 4:16-21

We pray because our God is unshakeable.  

And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

 

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

26 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

 

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Acts 4:24-28

We need courage that can not be shaken... this courage can only come from a personal, intimate relationship with God the Father through Jesus His Son...

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, Acts:4:29

When God shakes us we will shake the world...

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.  Acts:4:31

I am so very thankful His wounds have paid my ransom... my heart is singing "Hallelujah, What a Savior".  I am thankful that I can come to my Lord with my prayers, He can not be shaken.  Through His Spirit He will give me courage that can not be shaken, and as I submit and surrender He will use me to shake my little world, and maybe even beyond the borders of this little world I live in.

Go, love, and serve in His name...

Be. My. Witnesses.

Acts 1:8
"but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

At church our pastor is preaching through Acts... I can't seem to get his message from a few weeks ago out of my mind.  He preached on Acts 1:3-11.

 My heart wants to share my "take aways"...  sometimes it is good to get things down on paper... or rather on a computer screen.

In Acts 1:8 we see 2 things.  We see POWER... and we see PURPOSE...

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit.  That power is given for a purpose, that purpose is so that we shall be His witnesses.

Be.  (not do)

Being involves the totality of our lives.  It is not about doing but about being - the rule of Christ is to BE over everything.  Being a follower of Christ should change everything in our lives, it is not something that we add to our to do list or check off our bucket list.  It is not something that we turn on or off.  Once we have a personal, real, private relationship with Christ He begins to change every area of our life.  He infiltrates everything that we are... and we start to BE different.  We become His witnesses...

Our pastor shared quite a list of things that he can personally bear witness to.  His list prompted me to think about what things I can bear witness to, so I decided to come up with my own list...

What can I bear witness to??

I can bear witness to:

• The power of Christ to redeem me from a life of sin.
• The love of Christ which meets the deepest needs of my heart.
• The comfort of God which brings peace and hope to a broken and hurting heart.
• The healing power of God to physically heal me completely from debilitating pain and sickness.
• The power of God to safely bring twin boys into this world, 8 weeks early and with a battle with pre-term labor for 2 1/2 weeks prior.
• The joy that Christ can give, even in the hardest and darkest of times.
• The strength that Christ provides when I am so very weak.
• The wisdom that can come only from God that enables me to be a wife, mom, and homeschool teacher.
• My Lord's faithfulness that all seasons and times.
• The power of forgiveness to wash a heart clean.
• The mighty power of the hand of God, which has provided protection and provision for our family.
• The shelter to be found in Christ in the midst of a raging storm.
• The help that God provides when I lift my eyes up to Him.

If you would like to listen to his sermon, you can find it here (click on the word here and it will take you there.)   If you do not have time to listen to the entire sermon, yet want to hear what he can bear witness to, which I would encourage as I found it very moving and very heartfelt, go to about 29 minutes in...


What about you?  What can you bear witness to?  Will you??  He gives us the power, for that very purpose.


 

A day of lasts...

Today is a day of  lots of lasts... So I am trying to slow time down, savor every moment, and linger and enjoy these boys the Lord has entrusted to us.

• The last morning to get Good Morning hugs from a couple of 9 year olds...
• The last day to hear 9 year old little boys giggle and laugh...
• The last day to fix breakfast, lunch and dinner for 9 year old appetites...
• The last day to snuggle and read with my 9 year old boys...
• The last day to teach these 9 year old boys, through all the wiggles and questions that interrupt our days...
• The last day to get a picture of them being 9....
• The last day to savor 9 year old smiles, hugs, and grins...
• The last day to "ooo" and "ahhh" over 9 year old Lego creations....
• The last day to tuck in my 9 year olds and say their bedtime prayers...

For tomorrow they will be 10!  I do look forward to all the new beginnings that come with 10, but where has the time gone? We have passed the halfway mark... I have less time with them now than I have already had with them... Less time before they can leave our nest and go where the Lord directs them. It makes my heart ache a bit and my eyes a bit watery.  It truly is overwhelming... so much we want them to know and to learn, and time is slipping away.  We must be diligent, we must be intentional, we must live with purpose and passion to raise them as our Lord would have us to...


Lord, I thank you for one more day with the blessings you have given us... I ask for many more days with them.  Help us to disciple them for Your glory and for Your purposes.  May they grow up to be mighty men of God, mighty in prayer, mighty in the Word, mighty warriors for Your Kingdom.  I am humbled and in need of your abundant grace to be their mom...

Decrease... Increase...

I know many who seek the Lord for their "word" for the year.  Something for them to focus on and strive towards as they go through the new year laid bare before them...  Something like JOY, HOPE, ENDURANCE, PEACE... something good and spiritual sounding...

This has never really been something that I have done, or pursued...  I didn't want to "force" myself to come up with a word.  Maybe I was afraid that I would not get a word, and then I would be left feeling left out...

However, in my lack of pursuit for a word for the year the Lord has laid one, or rather two, on my heart anyway!  Here they are...

Decrease...

Increase...

Real exciting aren't they??!

There are things in my life I feel my Lord would like me to decrease this year...  
For one, time spent on facebook... I have really become convicted of what a time waster fb is.  It causes me to waste time on trivial things; it can cause feelings of discontentment, jealousy, pride, and selfishness; it can lead me to be judgmental; and it can even cause me to feel offended.  So time spent in the fb world will be decreasing significantly! 

Less time on facebook means more time to read the Word, to pray, and to read spiritually nourishing books.  It means more time for real one on one fellowship, whether that is through a phone call to a friend or a visit.  It means more time to minister to my family, friends, and neighbors.  It means more time to get things accomplished around the house, more time to exercise, more time to cook for my family... and maybe more time to blog again!!

There are other things I will be decreasing... the amount of clutter in my life, the amount of "stuff" I spend money on, the "stuff" stored away in closets and drawers...  Through the power of His Spirit I hope to decrease selfishness, decrease self-sufficiency, and decrease the desire for the approval of others...

And then there are things I feel the Lord would like for me to increase:

More time in the Word and in prayer...
More time reading spiritually nourishing and encouraging books...
More time actually discipling my children...  (Less time getting frustrated and irritated,  hopefully!)
More quality time with my husband...
More time spent on His purposes, His plans, and His agenda...
More dependence on Him...



So hopefully this year I will be decreasing and increasing... in the right areas... in the power of the Lord...

John 3:30
"He must increase, but I must decrease."

Immanuel... God With Us!

"And she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.  Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which translated means, 'God with us.'" 

Matthew 1:21-23

This Christmas season there seems to be one thing that God keeps impressing upon my heart as I reflect upon Christmas and what it means, and that is the fact that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. It seems to be in every devotional that I read, it stands out to me in many songs that I hear, and it keeps jumping off the pages of scripture as I have my quiet times in the mornings.

What a wonderful truth this is!!  God, the creator of heaven and earth and of all things, is with us.  He left the glories of heaven, His divineness was wrapped in flesh, and He, the sinless Son of God, dwelt with us, sinful man.  He is with us now, in our everyday moments... He is with us in the good times as well as the bad.  He is with us in the valleys, on the mountaintops, and all the places in between.  This is a great comfort and encouragement to me...

Yesterday at church, guess what the sermon was on!  God with us!!  I just love how God works and how He drills a truth in from many different sources...

GOD with us...

God WITH us...

God with US...

Think on that for a bit, those 3 little words are powerful.  Think about who He is and what He has done for us... it should cause you to worship and your heart to fill with joy!

And then watch this video, our pastor ended the service with it yesterday and I thought it was wonderful.

God With Us by Charles Spurgeon


God with us... O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Merry Christmas!!

We wanted to share our Christmas picture and our annual Christmas letter here... It would be way too costly to send it out to everyone we know, but we do want to share it with many other dear friends...

  

Here you go… Our annual Christmas and New Year’s Letter!  

We pray 2013 has been a year of love, joy, and peace… and hope each of you have experienced the love, grace, and faithfulness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ throughout the past year.  As has become our tradition, here are a few highlights from our year, each from our own perspective…

Tricia:  As I reflect over the past year I am humbled and in awe of the blessings the Lord has brought into our lives.  First and foremost are the rich friendships He has blessed me with, new as well as old.  Friendships which I know have been fashioned and created by the hand of God.  What a blessing to have friends… friends who pray with and for me and my family, friends who help out in times of need, friends who understand the frustrations and weariness of homeschooling demands, friends with whom it is safe to be transparent and real, friends who live out selflessness before my eyes and encourage me to walk with God more intimately and serve others more selflessly.  

Another tremendous blessing is my Moms in Prayer group.  What an inspiration and encouragement this group is!   We meet twice a month and spend 1 to 1 ½ hours in prayer for our children.  Have you ever heard another mom pray passionately for your child using scripture as a guide for those prayers?  It truly is a powerful, humbling and heartwarming experience!  We always leave our times of prayer together encouraged, refreshed, and renewed.  Praying with other moms creates a bond of friendship like no other.  It is a priceless treasure.  

And yet another blessing for our entire family is that after months of prayer, and following our Lord’s leading, we are worshipping and serving with a new church family, Hunter Street Baptist Church.  What a blessing this has been for our entire family!  Even though it is a large church, it does not feel large.  We have been welcomed, loved on, and ministered to from the first day we walked through the doors.  The Hunter Street family is intentional about preaching the Gospel and loving people.  They are passionate about making sure the Bible is taught… clearly, thoroughly, and in depth; and to all ages.  James and I attended an in-depth 12 week study on “Understanding Your Salvation”… Wow!  The riches of the grace of God, words could never adequately describe what God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit has done for us.  My salvation was costly and provided me with so much more than I could ever even begin to deserve.  This change has led to one thing that has truly humbled and blessed my heart… God has answered a prayer I have prayed for at least 8 months now!  I have been asking the Lord to provide each of us (all 4) with Godly mentors.  James and I have just started a mentoring program in which we have been paired with a wonderful, Godly couple who have been married 50 years!  What a blessing they are!  Our time with them has been encouraging and refreshing, and I am humbled at how our Lord has moved to answer this prayer!  

I had to say goodbye to my beloved Bootsie this year.  She had been a part of my life for 20 years… it was a hard and sad time.  I still look for her in the mornings when I go to get my coffee.  I miss her meows and her sweet little face peering in the porch door window.  She is irreplaceable; she was a cat like no other…

I continue to homeschool, the boys are in 4^th grade this year!  I still love being a soccer mom and pace up and down the sidelines cheering for my boys!  We continue to attend Community Bible Study and are blessed by friendships there and strengthened through the study of God’s Word.  I continue to run for exercise and to clear my mind, although I have not done as many races this year.  Life is good.  I am thankful for my health, my family, my friends, and my Lord.

James: Tricia pretty much covered it.  The boys and I enjoyed helping a friend resurrect a foreclosure so his parents could live closer to family.  What a transformation!  Several years worth of no attendance to the yard required that the boys and I tackle it over three weeks, including removal of a tree that had grown through the eaves of the garage.  Plumbing, electrical, framing, and lots of painting… all for another sweet couple that just celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary.  Riding bikes and playing soccer with the boys rounds out the rest of my “spare” time.

David:  2013 was an interesting year.  First on January 22, 2013 we got a Wii for our birthday; it came with 3 games and we really enjoy it.  In February, I ran the Kids Mercedes Marathon, my time for my race day mile was 7:20; even though I was inhibited by some hop-scotching girls from a different race set, I was one of the fastest there.  We also helped some friends by bagging eighty-two 55 gal. bags of leaves, it was very hard work and although we were doing the work out of love, Paul and I both received some surprise green backs and a Bachmann N gauge train set.  In September, we went to the beach with some of Mommy and Daddy’s friends, and while there saw some of our homeschool friends; even though they were girls, we had a blast!  While we were there we rode our bikes to the ferry and went to Dauphin Island.  Then we almost didn’t make the ferry back! Daddy told me to try to make it to the ferry, so I took off like a rocket for the ferry.  Daddy had to ride after me so I didn’t get on the ferry by myself.  He said I was like a mile ahead of them.  We all made it there while it was still loading the last vehicles.  A few days later we were back at home playing our favorite sport- soccer.  Again, we made it to the tournament and again we lost: 3 to 2.  We were sad that we had lost but not as sad as Daddy.  This would be the sixth championship to lose to the same team.  This year I took a sudden interest in college football and some guy named AJ.

Paul:  Here are some interesting things that happened this year.  I pulled my tooth out with pliers.  The tooth was not pushing the baby tooth out, so I had to pull it or Daddy was going to do it for me.  I made a Lego city with a police station, bank, fire station, forest, an airport, and river with boats.  Mommy takes us to art class once a week and I really enjoy it.  We have learned to use several different drawing tools including a compass and smudge sticks.  We also have learned different techniques–blind drawing, perspectives, and vanishing points while also using different textures.  As a family, we like to go to Oak Mountain State Park and ride our bikes.  Mom only does the family trail with us. Dad, however, took us on an epic ride- 4 1/2 hour, 22 miles of rugged off-road terrain with 1600 feet of evaluation change on our 16in steel Academy bikes. Dad made a promise we’d get real aluminum mountain bikes after completion of this challenge. We’re hoping we won’t have to wait much longer-hint, hint!  David and I also enjoy helping work on our cars. We normally enjoy doing tire rotations but last month we dropped the fuel tank on the Windstar to replace the fuel pump, that was hard work.  As tools go, I got my own pick axe because it’s nearly impossible to dig under our fort because we’ve gone so deep into the earth.  Just a couple days ago we found a kitten in the garage.  It had snuck into the garage while Daddy was parking the car before he put the door down.  Mommy was leaving to spend some time with friends, when she stepped out she found a cute little gray surprise. She thought maybe Daddy had brought it home for all of us.  We kept the kitten for 3 days before we found its owner.  I did not want it to go back home.

May 2014 be filled with blessings from the hand of God, with good health, and with lots of love!  “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24-26 

Love and Blessings,  

James, Tricia, Paul, and David

The Wonder of Christmas

This past Saturday I got to hold a sweet, newborn baby. A very dear friend had just given birth to her firstborn, a daughter, on Friday. So I took the opportunity to go to the hospital for a visit while my kids were expelling lots of energy at a Laser Tag birthday party!

We had a nice, but short visit (I couldn't stay too long, I had to pick the boys up from the party, couldn't leave them there all day!). I held her sweet, precious baby while I was there. She was so tiny... so light... so fragile. I was reminded of how dependent little babies are upon their parents, there is nothing they can do for themselves. They can not even communicate effectively yet, we have to guess what their cries mean until we can learn to discern their different "cries".  They are dependent upon us to meet their every need and provide them with what they need to grow and to thrive.

When I left there, I began thinking about Jesus and Christmas... about how and where He was born. And it struck me with a new wonder, a wonder I don't think I've ever really had before... Jesus came to earth as a baby! I know this, have known this for as long as I can remember. But on Saturday my Lord gave me a tangible, visual reminder of what He was like when He came to earth.

He left the glories of Heaven, He left the constant fellowship of His Father, He left a place of righteousness and glory, to come to dwell in a world that He had created, that was now full of sin and full of sinners... And He came as a helpless baby, dependent on his parents, who were sinners. He came for you and for me, to save us from our sins, to redeem us, to clothe us with His righteousness, to adopt us into His family, to justify us, to sanctify us, to love us and show us the Father. What a gift! If Jesus could trust completely in His Father's plan of salvation and redemption for all mankind and come to earth as a helpless baby, I can trust Him with my life.

How about you? Think about it, is your trust in Jesus? Do you really realize and understand what He did for you? Do you have the "wonder" of Christmas in your heart? Trust Him... He left everything for you. He alone is worthy of our trust, our praise, and our worship! O come let us adore Him, Christ The Lord.


And for my sweet, sweet friend... What a precious daughter you and your husband have! God has already used her, on the 2nd day of her life, to reveal to me in a new and marvelous way the wonder of Christmas! I look forward to watching her grow into a Godly young lady, just like her mom. God's hand is upon her, He has great things planned to do through her life, which will bring Him great glory and praise! Much love and blessings to your sweet family!

Reflections... Reasons for Thanksgiving

 Psalm 52:8-9

"But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the loving kindness of God forever and ever. I will give Thee thanks forever, because Thou hast done it. And I will wait on Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy godly ones." 

For the past few years I have participated with the daily giving of thanks on Facebook. However, this year, The Lord has me "considering my ways", which is something The Lord has spoken to me from the study of His Word, from the book of Haggai. In considering my ways, the way I spend my time and what my priorities are, I have been led to significantly reduce my time on FB. So, rather than the daily thankful statuses, I am going to list here 42 things I am thankful for... 42 because that is how many years The Lord has blessed with me so far.


 I thank my Heavenly Father, my Lord, my Savior, and My Redeemer for the following: 

 1. The free gift of salvation from my Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ. Thank you Jesus, for taking every single one of my sins upon yourself and receiving in full the punishment for every one of my sins so that I could have eternal life and be set free from the bondage of sin. 
2. The riches of the depths of His grace. My husband and I were so blessed to take a class this fall on "Understanding Your Salvation." We studied in detail every aspect of salvation... We have been elected, called, chosen, redeemed, justified, adopted, and regenerated. We are being sanctified, preserved, and we will be glorified. If I had nothing else to be thankful for this is enough! 
3. I am thankful for my husband... He takes his role as husband, father, and spiritual leader of our family seriously. It blesses my heart immensely to see him reading the Word in the mornings, to hear him listening to sound biblical teaching online as he works on the computer, and to pray with him each morning before he leaves for work. 
4. The privilege of participating in a Moms in Prayer group. What a joy and a blessing to pray with other moms for our children according to scripture. It has been a blessing to labor together with these moms in prayer for our children and our families, and it has been a joy to witness answered prayer. Praying together creates a bond of friendship that is deep, meaningful and priceless. 
5. For the quiet early morning hours, and time spent in prayer and in the study and reading of God's Word. 
6. For the multiple copies of the Bible that we own, and the fact that we can carry them with us wherever and read them anywhere. 
7. For the privilege of homeschooling my children, and the empowerment and equipping of the Holy Spirit to do so. It is a joy and pleasure to teach them and to see and watch them learn, although it is the hardest and most trying task I have ever attempted! 
8. For our home... For shelter from the weather, for cozy beds, for screened in porches, for back yards with cool forts, for a garage to park in, for a place where we all are wanted and belong. 
9. For our sweet Bootsie... We had to say goodbye to our kitty this year. She was a blessing I had for 20 years, she was the boys 1st pet, and she had my husband catering to her every need and desire... She is dearly missed. 
10. For occasional nights out... The breaks from constantly being needed and constantly being bombarded with questions were often needed, and my husband graciously provided me time for those without a complaint. 
11. For my health! It feels absolutely wonderful to be healthy! 
12. For my husband's handiness... From fixing things around the house, to working on our vehicles, to creating cool stuff for our boys... He can do almost anything! 
13. For my parents and my sister... 
14. For a closet full of clothes and shoes... I have way more than I need... 
15. That we always have plenty of food to eat... 
16. That my husband likes and enjoys my cooking, even if my kids don't... 
17. For all we have learned about healthy eating and how much healthier we are as a result... 
18. For vacations and trips to the beach... 
19. For neighborhood swimming pools... 
20. For journals and the blessing of looking back... For the ability to remember... How horrible it would be to not be able to remember. 
21. For good morning hugs from my boys and my husband. 
22. For a van to drive and money to put gas in it. 
23. For warm cups of coffee on cold, rainy mornings... 
24. For snuggles on the couch while reading with the boys... 
25. Finding David curled up on the couch amidst all the pillows, absorbed in a book... This is a daily occurrence. 
26. For the masterful, detailed, and creative creations Paul builds with Legos... It is his passion and he is great at it! 
27. For the joy of watching the boys play soccer! They are passionate about the game and put their whole heart in the game. I love to watch my David fly down the field with the ball, he has some speed! I love watching Paul make his calculated and thought out moves! And I really shout for joy and they work together to score a goal, they are a dynamic duo!! 
28. For our homeschool group... We are blessed with a group of wonderful families to go through the adventure of homeschooling with. I am so thankful for the good friends the boys have made, and I am blessed more than I can say by the friendship of some godly moms! 
29. For good friends... I am blessed with wonderful friends from all seasons of my life. A true, loyal and faithful friend is a wonderful blessing! 
30. Modern conveniences! I am thankful for the many household helpers I have, the dishwasher, the clothes washer and dryer, my vacuum cleaner, my iron, stove, oven, refrigerator... The list really can go on and on!
31. For our new church family... The Lord has led us to Hunter Street and what a blessing it has been for each member of our family. Their desire to have the gospel preached in all that they do, the fact that everything is done with the purpose and intent to point to Jesus, and that all is done in excellence because we serve an excellent God brings us great joy and excitement. We look forward to serving our Lord with them. 
32. For godly mentors... We have been blessed with the friendship of a sweet and dear couple who love The Lord and have been married 50 years. We are so excited that our Lord has brought us together and we eagerly look forward to growing our friendship. 
33. For music... 
34. For the ability to run... And the desire and motivation to do so. 
35. For roses and hydrangeas in our backyard... And sweet little boys who cut them for surprises for me! 
36. For good books to read that inspire me in my walk with Christ. My favorites this year are all from Lamplighter Publishing. I highly recommend them.... Excellent, excellent books! 
37. The giggles and laughter of my boys... It is a much nicer sound than their fighting and arguing! 
38. For time to rest... For bathtubs and my homemade "calgon"... 
39. For my husband's willingness to help those in need, even if it is inconvenient... 
40. For ears to hear with, eyes to see with, arms to hug and hold with, legs to run with, a mouth to talk with...
 41. For this life my Lord has blessed me with... I am humbled by what He has done for me... 
42. For my Heavenly Father, who is the giver of all good gifts... And for His Son, Jesus, who has given me the greatest gift of all. 


It has been such a blessing to sit and compile this list. I would encourage you to take some time to be still, and sit and reflect on the many blessings in your own life. We all have more blessings than we could ever number... 


 

The LORD of hosts... and Emmanuel...

In our Bible study these past few months, the thing that has continued to stand out to me and speak to my heart  is the fact that our God is "The LORD of hosts"...

What a powerful name!  What a mighty image this conjures up in my mind... what comfort and peace this name brings to His children.

I found the following from the lexical aids to the Old Testament regarding the meaning of the name LORD of hosts. 

The Lord of Hosts is a special name for God.  It occurs 62 times in Isaiah, 77 times in Jeremiah, 14 times in Haggai, 53 times in Zechariah, and 24 times in Malachi.  This expression depicts Yahweh as the mightiest Warrior or all-powerful King of Israel.  Although it has military overtones, it pointed directly to Jehovah's rulership over the entire universe.  He stands ready to intervene for His people at any moment.

There is also another name of God that has ministered to me lately.
It is the name Emmanuel, God WITH us...

Our God is The LORD of hosts, and He is Emmanuel, God with us!! And He is ready to intervene for us, at any moment!!

May this bring comfort, peace, and encouragement to those who need it... today, and in the days to come...

"God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 
2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. 
5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 
6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. 
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold." 
Psalm 46:1-7 

Remembering...

 September 9th... This day will forever be a day that I will stop and reflect and thank and praise my God and Savior for what He did for me in  the year 2010. 

My memory verses for this week fit perfectly with this...

Psalm 145:4 
"One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts."

Psalm 103:1-4 
"Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits;
who pardons all your iniquities;
who heals all your diseases;
who redeems your life from the pit;
who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;"

On this day 3 years ago, my Lord and Savior was merciful and gracious to me, in that He healed me completely from the most intense, excruciating, and debilitating pain that I have ever experienced in my life.  He lifted me out of a very deep and dark pit.  He revived me and restored me.  He made me useful again.

I learned that I can always trust Him, no matter how hard and dark things are.  I learned that He holds His own in the palm of His hand, and we are safe and secure there.

I love Him for saving my soul, I love Him for Jesus, and I love Him for healing my body and giving me even more to praise Him for.  


If you have time, you can read my story here.  I pray that God uses it to encouragement someone today... never give up, there is always hope and healing in Jesus.

My weaknesses... for the sake of Jesus...

Our pastor preached a powerful message this past Sunday, I wanted to share it here.  I think it will minister to anyone who has something hard going on in their life, which is pretty much all of us. 

It is entitled "For the Sake of Christ, Then, I am Content with Weakness"   (click on the title to hear the sermon)

He is currently preaching through 2 Corinthians, and for this sermon he was in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.  He had 3 points to go along with his sermon, they are:

1.  God will use my real life to display His glory.
2.  God's grace is always more than enough.
3.  Therefore, for Christ's sake I will delight in my weaknesses.

 These were some points that I jotted down that spoke to me...

• My weaknesses are not a barrier to serve Jesus, they are a break-thru to serving the real Jesus...
• 
  
• God wants to use the weakened me, the wounded me...
• 
  
• Thorns hurt... thorns reduced and weakened Paul to a constant need...
• 
  
• Will I allow the deepest hurt of my life to be used for the sake of Jesus?  What is the deepest hurt of my life??

I pray that this ministers to someone, that it will encourage you to persevere through the hard stuff of life, and that you will let the world see Jesus in you, through your real life, through your weaknesses... for when we are weak, He is strong....

Bootise... Our Beloved Cat

Bootsie

Our Beloved Cat

1993-2013

 

Bootsie… 

Our beloved loyal companion and treasured friend, yours was a life well lived. 

You always were the consummate encourager, whether someone was recovering from back surgery, or just feeling blue and wanting someone to listen; you were always there.  

You were a skilled mother of two litters, both of which you potty trained yourself. Never mind the fact that you had them in Tricia’s parents’ bed, yet did not leave a mess.

You tolerated many a move to different homes, and then there were those boys that would come calling for your master’s hand. You helped weed them out and comforted me when they broke my heart.  You always knew when I was lonely and would snuggle in my lap with loud, comforting purrs.

Then it finally happened, a man who loved us both, whom you were sure would treasure both you and me, and you gave him your hearty approval!  You were thrilled when he cut holes in homes to accommodate your nightly wanderings, and built you walkways so your little feet did not have to touch the wet morning grass.  He became your hero when he rescued you from the neighbor’s roof, and then from the top of our porch umbrella!

 You never met a stranger.  You loved every human who entered your path and thought they all should love you too.  You used to be on the neighborhood welcoming committee, and enjoyed finding your way into people’s homes as they unloaded their groceries. 

You went against the grain and didn’t belong to the cat union of self aggrandizement. You would come when called, and you’d follow along to be where the action was taking place. Even at the vet, while you hated being there, you were grateful for the care; so much so, that your motor would hum and drown out whatever had derailed you.

You loved being loved on and sought out love and affection whether it was convenient or not.  You would knock and scratch on doors until they were opened for you.  You would lay on the newspaper or a book, not caring who was reading it, as long as their attention was diverted from their reading to you.

 

As time passed, you were subverted by a couple of small and stinky noise makers. Yet you learned to love them, and they loved you, too. Paul and David were their names and they kept you busy and on your toes. What fun we had together. Love, giggles, and hugs we shared. Happy days and sad… you purred and snuggled us through.

  

  

You were our boys’ first pet.  And oh how they loved you, and how tolerant you were of their antics!  You allowed them to learn to brush you before they even knew what “gentle” was.  You never complained of their roughness, you knew it was their way to love.  

  

  

 

You learned how to dodge tractors, dump trucks, and soccer balls.  You enjoyed just hanging out and watching them dig to their hearts content.  You even loved to come in and learn right along with us when we started school.

 

 

You were such a big part of our family.  You were and still are dearly loved, and will be greatly missed… your early morning meows and your persnickety requests for fresh water 2 or more times a day, only from a glass bowl, and preferably served on the floor in the bathroom.  

Our hearts will have a hole that can never be filled by any other kitty.  We love you and miss you… thank you for loving us so well!

Your humans… Tricia, James, Paul, and David