On Saturday, my husband and I attended a Sunday School Leadership Conference at our church. There were many great things the guest speaker talked about, but the following is what really stuck with me.
If you are lucky enough to get 8 hours of sleep each night, then you are awake for roughly 16 hours of the day or 112 hours a week. That sounds like alot doesn't it! Now, how many of those hours are you spending in the Word and in prayer? If you only attend church once a week and never pick up your Bible any other time, you are getting about 40 minutes of spiritual nourishment versus 111 hours of being in the world. That is 111 hours of non stop, spiritual attack.
I had never thought about it like that before. If you do read your Bible and spend time in prayer everyday for roughly an hour, that still leaves about 15 hours a day. It makes me step back and ask myself, am I strong enough? Am I covered? Is my armor on and ready for battle? What are you doing to protect yourself from the evil one? He is there watching and waiting whether you know it or not.
Everyday about 10:30 in the morning, I will get hungry. It doesn't matter that I ate breakfast, what matters is that my body needs more nourishment to keep it going. If all your doing is going to church every week, its not enough. Your spirit (and your Heavenly Father) desperately hungers for more.
Deuteronomy 11:18-20 says, "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates..."
Do you pray throughout your day as every little frustrating event happens? Do you praise Him for the blessings you see around you? Are you being faithful to Him by what you put in your body; by the things you watch on TV and the music you listen too? More importantly, are you mindful of His presence in your life and are you using your talents and your gifts for His glory?
Go today, and begin to live out this verse! Make satan say, "Oh no-she's awake!" when you fall out of bed tomorrow morning!
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I wanted to share with you my exciting news. The editor that I sent an article to, many months ago, emailed me a contract this morning to sign and I will be an official, paid and published author by the end of this month! God is SO good! It is not by my own merits, but by His grace that this was accomplished! I know what article I'm to submit next, we'll see what happens...
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Memory Verse Monday
Week 6, August 18-25, 2008:
"Therefore, confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayers of a righteous man
are powerful and effective."
James 5:16
This has always been one of my favorite verses. It is proof that prayer really works! So often I want to help someone or do something and I realize that praying for that person is often the most important thing I can do. How easy it is to forget that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence and that He will help us and those we are praying for!
Friday, August 15, 2008
So Many Choices
Should I buy the red one or the green one?
What should we do with our stimulus check? Should we buy new furniture? Pay off Visa? Maybe a new TV?
Where should we go on vacation?
Should I try and find a new job?
Are we ready to have another baby?
What school should my children go to?
Should I let my daughter wear that?
Where do I want to be in 20 years?
Should we get a dog?
Is it time to move to a bigger house?
We all have our reasons; our reasons for why we do the things we do. Some people work because they love what they do, others do it purely to put food on their tables, clothes on their backs. We decide what we are going to wear each day, maybe based off of what happens to be clean that day, or what our boss told us to wear or what makes us feel good. We eat because food tastes good or to give our bodies the nourishment it needs.
Everyday, we make a hundred decisions, and at times we don't even realize we are doing it. We choose which color shirt to buy at the store, which brand of apples and which grocery store to go to.
Other decisions are much larger and we are much more conscience of them. For instance, deciding to quit your job and find a new one, to buy a new house, to try and have another baby, to go back to school etc. Some of those decisions we agonize over, lose sleep over and have a million "what if's" running in our heads.
How do we decide when there are so many choices? I can't even go to buy toothpaste anymore without it taking 5 minutes to find (and remember) which brand I usually use. We are bombarded with information, statistics and advertising. Who do you call when you find yourself in a pickle and you can't decide? Who do you go to for advice?
The house you live in, the balance in your checkbook, the car you drive, even the children you send off to school, none of it is really, truly yours.
None of it.
What should we do with our stimulus check? Should we buy new furniture? Pay off Visa? Maybe a new TV?
Where should we go on vacation?
Should I try and find a new job?
Are we ready to have another baby?
What school should my children go to?
Should I let my daughter wear that?
Where do I want to be in 20 years?
Should we get a dog?
Is it time to move to a bigger house?
We all have our reasons; our reasons for why we do the things we do. Some people work because they love what they do, others do it purely to put food on their tables, clothes on their backs. We decide what we are going to wear each day, maybe based off of what happens to be clean that day, or what our boss told us to wear or what makes us feel good. We eat because food tastes good or to give our bodies the nourishment it needs.
Everyday, we make a hundred decisions, and at times we don't even realize we are doing it. We choose which color shirt to buy at the store, which brand of apples and which grocery store to go to.
Other decisions are much larger and we are much more conscience of them. For instance, deciding to quit your job and find a new one, to buy a new house, to try and have another baby, to go back to school etc. Some of those decisions we agonize over, lose sleep over and have a million "what if's" running in our heads.
How do we decide when there are so many choices? I can't even go to buy toothpaste anymore without it taking 5 minutes to find (and remember) which brand I usually use. We are bombarded with information, statistics and advertising. Who do you call when you find yourself in a pickle and you can't decide? Who do you go to for advice?
Now, let me remind you of a very important fact that I SO OFTEN forget....
everything you think is yours...
really isn't.
The house you live in, the balance in your checkbook, the car you drive, even the children you send off to school, none of it is really, truly yours.
None of it.
Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."
Leviticus 25:23 says, "The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are...my tenants."
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" Luke 16:10-11
"So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." 1 Corthinians 4:1-2
Every decision we make, should cause us not to ask ourselves what do I want to do, but what does God want me to do with the things, people, resources, etc. He has blessed me with? When you look at your belongings from that perspective, its easy to see just how many blessings we do have!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Saturated
Last week my sweet Aunt Kay gave me some Gerbera Daisy's. They were the prettiest I had seen. I was so excited when I saw them! This year, in an effort to save money, Wesley and I opted for planting flower seeds versus actually buying flowers at the store. I haven't had many "real" plants to enjoy and I've missed them! The Lord has been teaching me patience, as the seeds I planted two months ago are just now about to bloom! Wesley keeps kidding me, saying they must really be weeds because they have been green stems with no flowers, for so long! After a few days of enjoying my flowers in the house, I decided to take the plant outside. I knew that Gerbera Daisy's require lots of sunshine. We were gone most of Saturday afternoon and right when we pulled in the driveway to come home, I saw them. My beautiful flowers were completely wilted and looked like an upside down "U" shape. I was SO upset! I ran and got them and immediately brought them inside and watered them. I checked the card in the plant and it said that they were supposed to be in the full sun, just like I'd thought. My husband said, "There must have been too much dry heat." It was then that I realized that I'd forgotten to water them before placing them outside.
That night when I went to bed I made sure the soil was wet and I prayed that as silly as it was, that the Lord would revive my plant.
The next morning I walked into my kitchen and there they were, standing right up, flowers opened and beautiful, smiling back at me! I was amazed at how something so small could make my heart so happy!
The more and more I thought about those flowers, the more I realized that I am just like that little plant. So often my roots get dried out and life's heat beats down on me and I crumble and become wilted. Yet, the mornings I start my day off with God's living Word, my roots are planted in the living water. I am instead able to raise my face to the Son and take on what the world throws my way. If my roots are saturated in Him, no matter how many punches satan throws, I'll be able to fight back!
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Monday, August 11, 2008
It's Not About Me
This morning I woke up, sleepy, but excited. Today we begin another school year. I made sure to wake up with plenty of time to soak up His word and pray before my children woke up. I knew that to make it through any homeschooling day, I need to rely on His patience and guidance! The Lord has really placed a few of my friends on my heart. Some of them are sending children off to school for the first time, others are sending their children to a new school in a new city; all of them excited, but like me, a little apprehensive. This morning I was lead to read in the book of 1 John. The Lord reminded me of an important fact that I already knew, but had forgotten. 1 John 1a and 3 says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!...Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
God loves not only me, but my children more than I ever could. I must hope in Him, not just wish things would happen, but have unshakable confidence in His promises. That confidence in Him will keep me pure of losing my patience, getting frustrated, losing my temper and on and on my list goes of the daily sins I give into! It is so hard as a mother to understand how anyone could love your child more than you do, but God does. How comforting as a mother to know that the God of the universe is watching over and protecting my children when I cannot be there.
Yesterday I was also reminded of an old verse my heart needed to hear. Galatians 2:20 says, "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives with in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me."
I sat and repeated that verse over and over again, letting it seep into my soul until tears threatened to come. It puts everything in perspective. This life isn't about me, it's about Christ. This day isn't about choosing the right textbooks or signing my children up for the right activities; it's not about grammar and addition facts and all those things I get so wound up in making sure I teach my daughter. Today is also about teaching my children about His love and His grace and about building their character. It is about preparing them not just for the college, working world, but for the kingdom of God. Knowing that it is Christ that lives within me, enabling me to do it all, (its not just Marion trying to figure it all out on her own)...makes the task sound a lot easier!
Stand on those promises and feel His hugs today. Let Him lavish you with His love and lead you as you put your hope in Him. I promise you, the road will be a little straighter and the load will feel a lot lighter!
God loves not only me, but my children more than I ever could. I must hope in Him, not just wish things would happen, but have unshakable confidence in His promises. That confidence in Him will keep me pure of losing my patience, getting frustrated, losing my temper and on and on my list goes of the daily sins I give into! It is so hard as a mother to understand how anyone could love your child more than you do, but God does. How comforting as a mother to know that the God of the universe is watching over and protecting my children when I cannot be there.
Yesterday I was also reminded of an old verse my heart needed to hear. Galatians 2:20 says, "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives with in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me."
I sat and repeated that verse over and over again, letting it seep into my soul until tears threatened to come. It puts everything in perspective. This life isn't about me, it's about Christ. This day isn't about choosing the right textbooks or signing my children up for the right activities; it's not about grammar and addition facts and all those things I get so wound up in making sure I teach my daughter. Today is also about teaching my children about His love and His grace and about building their character. It is about preparing them not just for the college, working world, but for the kingdom of God. Knowing that it is Christ that lives within me, enabling me to do it all, (its not just Marion trying to figure it all out on her own)...makes the task sound a lot easier!
Stand on those promises and feel His hugs today. Let Him lavish you with His love and lead you as you put your hope in Him. I promise you, the road will be a little straighter and the load will feel a lot lighter!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Just a Bunch of Rambling
It has been over a week since I've logged on here; over a week since I've read anyone else's blogs. I have been recuperating and catching up and its taking me a lot longer than I ever would have thought! My husband has a conference in Jekyll Island, GA every year and we make a family vacation out of it. I have now been home for as many days as we were gone (5 days) and I'm still feeling behind! I am amazed at how a few days away can mess up my routine when I get back home. It's totally worth it, but I'm just now getting back in the swing of things!
The few days after getting home, I was rushing to order my textbooks for this upcoming school year. I cleaned out cabinets and book shelves to get ready for our 2008-2009 stuff, all the while contemplating where the time went and how it could be time to start school again. I have been making lesson plans and copies and lists and all the things my organized, planning brain does to get ready for 180 days of teaching. I am so excited about everything we'll be doing, I just pray that I do it justice and teach my daughter what the Lord wants her to learn. This whole homeschool thing is a daily reliance of faith. There are days I wake up and wonder why I'm doing this; if I'm smart enough, patient enough and giving enough. Then He'll show me, remind me, that this is a calling and that I am to stand on His promises, He'll never give me more than I can handle, He leads those who have young and He's never far from my cries for help! There are so many days I come up short, but luckily He gives me another chance to start all over again. Tomorrow is the LIGHT Homeschool Luncheon. I look forward to it every year. There are booths set up for all kinds of activities you can sign your child up for, there is a freebie table, good food, a devotion and meeting great new friends who can support you when you need it most. I always come home with a renewed sense of excitement and anticipation for the upcoming year.
In my crazy brain, I have surprisingly not forgotten that today is "Memory Verse Monday". I hope yall will excuse me, but for the next week or two, I'm taking a break to go back over the past few verses. My brain needs to be reminded and refreshed. I'm afraid if I keep adding more and more, I'll slowly lose what I started with!
A few fun things I wanted to share, because I'm in a conversational mood I guess. An editor for a magazine that I submitted an article for, emailed me letting me know that he's starting to review articles (one of which was mine)! I'm not holding my breath that mine will be chosen, but just the thought of a real-live-editor reading something I wrote, is so exciting! I have been feeling the itch to submit more articles, but haven't found the time. That email gave me the excitement and motivation to finish a few writing pieces I had started on and to finally submit them.
My husband surprised me tonight with a huge bag of Peanut M&M's! Some women like flowers, but I'll take a huge bag of Peanut M&M's any day! When I was pregnant with my son Foster, I craved those things like nothing else. It's a wonder I didn't gain 200 pounds with as many as I ate! Those cravings have lessened since I'm no longer pregnant (thankfully!), but they do still come. It will be late in the afternoon, I'll be waiting for my husband to come home, the kids are cranky, restless and I'll go eat a small handful of peanut M&M's...and suddenly life feels so good! OK, I exaggerated a little, but you women out there know what I mean!
Sorry for the rambling, I'll try and write something a bit more constructive and useful next time! I pray you are all doing well and that I still have a few people who check this blog, even though I haven't been one of them in a while-I'm hoping for new inspirations and new postings very soon!
The few days after getting home, I was rushing to order my textbooks for this upcoming school year. I cleaned out cabinets and book shelves to get ready for our 2008-2009 stuff, all the while contemplating where the time went and how it could be time to start school again. I have been making lesson plans and copies and lists and all the things my organized, planning brain does to get ready for 180 days of teaching. I am so excited about everything we'll be doing, I just pray that I do it justice and teach my daughter what the Lord wants her to learn. This whole homeschool thing is a daily reliance of faith. There are days I wake up and wonder why I'm doing this; if I'm smart enough, patient enough and giving enough. Then He'll show me, remind me, that this is a calling and that I am to stand on His promises, He'll never give me more than I can handle, He leads those who have young and He's never far from my cries for help! There are so many days I come up short, but luckily He gives me another chance to start all over again. Tomorrow is the LIGHT Homeschool Luncheon. I look forward to it every year. There are booths set up for all kinds of activities you can sign your child up for, there is a freebie table, good food, a devotion and meeting great new friends who can support you when you need it most. I always come home with a renewed sense of excitement and anticipation for the upcoming year.
In my crazy brain, I have surprisingly not forgotten that today is "Memory Verse Monday". I hope yall will excuse me, but for the next week or two, I'm taking a break to go back over the past few verses. My brain needs to be reminded and refreshed. I'm afraid if I keep adding more and more, I'll slowly lose what I started with!
A few fun things I wanted to share, because I'm in a conversational mood I guess. An editor for a magazine that I submitted an article for, emailed me letting me know that he's starting to review articles (one of which was mine)! I'm not holding my breath that mine will be chosen, but just the thought of a real-live-editor reading something I wrote, is so exciting! I have been feeling the itch to submit more articles, but haven't found the time. That email gave me the excitement and motivation to finish a few writing pieces I had started on and to finally submit them.
My husband surprised me tonight with a huge bag of Peanut M&M's! Some women like flowers, but I'll take a huge bag of Peanut M&M's any day! When I was pregnant with my son Foster, I craved those things like nothing else. It's a wonder I didn't gain 200 pounds with as many as I ate! Those cravings have lessened since I'm no longer pregnant (thankfully!), but they do still come. It will be late in the afternoon, I'll be waiting for my husband to come home, the kids are cranky, restless and I'll go eat a small handful of peanut M&M's...and suddenly life feels so good! OK, I exaggerated a little, but you women out there know what I mean!
Sorry for the rambling, I'll try and write something a bit more constructive and useful next time! I pray you are all doing well and that I still have a few people who check this blog, even though I haven't been one of them in a while-I'm hoping for new inspirations and new postings very soon!
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