My New Position!

Man, I cannot believe how long I go in between blogging! And to my good friend Christy, I am not ignoring your awards, I just can't figure out much more on this site than just posting and reading as you can tell from my boring homepage, but it is all the time I have some days! But thanks so much!

Today I am just really caught up in some thoughts I have had lately! I have been learning about who we are in Christ and I have been meditating on it a lot! Just telling myself over and over that I am in Him and He is in me! Over the last 7 years, I really dug into the Bible and studied and went to Bible studies and they were all so good and I am so thankful for everything and everyone that has taught me! But lately, I am learning to take some of that knowledge and wisdom and realize that all those things are true in Christ. Sometimes this truth, just becomes knowledge and without Him attatched to it, it is just knowledge. I hope this makes sense! I would sit on the floor with a couple Bibles, my Strong's concordance, and a dictionary, and I learned so much! And all that is good, don't misunderstand me! But lately I am taking the knowledge that I have already obtained and asking Him to show me that it is mine because of HIM!!! Sometimes we confess and confess and try to convince ourselves, or memorize, but without knowing it is all in Him, only thenI will I obtain anything! Whew, it is a lot for me and I am trying to learn to relax and let it all settle! I have picked up my Bible very little, but when I do, I go to Colossians and meditate on one more thing I have in Him and today it was that very subject, wisdom and knowledge, and all the mysteries are found in Christ. (Good, very good!)

This summer has been good for me and my kids, we have had fun together, mostly because I am learning to relax! We have had a vacation (dream come true), a new dog (the love of their lives), and lots of family time! When I first got saved, I was in church all the time! We had Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evening service! Now, I pretty much go on Sunday morning and try to fit in some fellowship! I am a single mother who works full time and it has been so freeing to be at home more now! Sometimes I am lonely, but I love my home and when you work a lot, you want to come home, so it is nice to focus on my family more than I ever have. Some days we only have 2-3 hours at night together. God is here with us at home and wherever we go! And I have stepped out and fellowship with some old friends and realize I can touch all of them. The Christ in me is wherever I go! Today I am thanking God for the new level He has taken me to and different is good!

Good cries!!!

This morning I sit and read so many blogs I haven't kept up with for a while and I just find myself crying when I read the impact my God has had on so many people! Lately, I feel like I am so energetic in God, I just feel him taking me to a new level! Like he does in His own fantastic way! The past few weeks have been hectic, I have been exercising again and I asked God to help me, it does take work for me and much motivation. I feel so much better when I do it, so He is helping me, or I wouldn't be there! I had back surgery about 4 1/2 years ago and it pays for my body to stay in shape and not be too overweight and I have let myself go a little!

This morning I was reading a fellow bloggers blog and if any of you are not hooked up with ...another chapter by Tyson Aschliman, you need to do it, he lost his wife almost a year ago and the things God has done in the man's life, helping him with his child and renewing life is amazing! He is in the redeeming business, you know! Anyway, I think of another way me and my children will be blessed, we are gonna take over Tyson's dog, Jack, at the end of this month. He is a chocolate brown labrador and my kids are so excited. It really works well for us, because I am a working, full-time, single mother and my kids have begged for a dog for a long time! He is 7 and he is potty trained and loves kids, 2 things one always worries about with dogs! I had friends say, "Dogs are a lot of work, are you sure you want to do that!" Well, I am reminded, God knew when he created me, that he would be working a lot on me, he still allowed me to be, so I could be here, a mother, friend, daughter, cosmetologist, sister-in-Christ, and so on. All the joy of having a new being in your life... it is a prayer of my children and I want them to experience all the joy out of life they can. I know there will be work, but it will be worth it to see the love from my children. I teared up when I thought of how God gave us Jack, people who want a pet and want to love it, when someone can't take it on anymore, they love him just as much, so God made something good out of what seemed to be bad.

Some friends from church are going to a conference this weekend and I would love to be with them, they are going to have a great time and a wonderful experience! It is amazing how people can grow or get one huge powerful revelation from spending a weekend with a bunch of people seeking the same things you are! I thank God they will come back and share with me the things they have learned. When I sit here and think of all the people God has put in my life to affect me, I am blown away, (tears again), and the people he is putting across my path for me to affect. I am reminded of my pastor's teaching (Good old Andy Brown, wait he is much younger than me, anyway) OVERFLOW!!!! He talked about getting a glass of water every night, which a lot of us do, and the next day that water is stale, dust mites from the air have gotten to it, gross! So each night we get a new glass of water. We don't want stale water! And if we keep filling that glass up instead of emptying it, it never is empty and it is there when we need fresh water. But Jesus is living water and if we abide in him, it is like being a glass sitting under a running faucet, and it overflows, and what comes out of us, just spills onto others, we are not trying to give others a drink of ourselves. When we do that, the glass runs out of water and they get a big dose of us to drink. And that is not good! I thank God for simple truth!

An Arising!

I had a great time at a co-workers cookout tonight. I met some new friends and my kids made friends very easily. I often wonder how all the wonderful works of God has brought me to the place I am in my life right now. I am so happy, and just serene, I guess would be the word for it. I used to find myself searching for friends or people who would accept me, but I am finding myself to be a person who can relax and enjoy myself, just watching my wonderful kids interact with others and enjoy themselves. Life is good, and it wasn't for a very long time! Actually, it is so much easier to relax these days, and know that the life and power of God resides in me and my kids that I love going around people and am excited to see what kind of effect we have on them... this is the result of resting in Jesus, and I have just begun to do that! I can't wait to see what we will see!

What a Glorious Day!!!

I sit here on what is going to be another beautiful day! My kiddos are still sleeping and I am sitting here after done reading some friends blogs and have windows open listening to birds chirp! I can't help but think about God in the springtime, when life is budding all around us and another season of life is passing us by. I have reminded myself this morning that just like when I am out taking a walk, that if I don't look around I will miss all that life that is budding around me! I have realized from many friends or Christians that I have met, that all too often we don't notice the life all around us in our journey, just like one day when we walk those streets of gold, it will be so beautiful, we can't imagine, but the beauty here is amazing, I mean just amazing. I say this to maybe hope that some people can see this in their journey with the Lord. We all are hoping for something from God! Sometimes we get our eyes so fixed on that one thing that we cannot see all the amazing things he is doing along the way. And in those moments the gift of life is being stolen from us! The "big" thing is certainly there but all these small things are huge when you think about it! The way you look at trees budding, grass growing, flowers blooming, all so beautiful, and you cannot deny God's creation. To just not enjoy all this and wait for heaven to come, would be kinda silly! He gave us all this to enjoy. Just like he gave us each and every day to enjoy! I used to be one of these people that couldn't focus on much else, but what I didn't have, and it prevented me from seeing what God was doing in my life and had already done! When you see what he has done, how can you deny he won't do the "big" thing?! I get kind of frustrated when people can't see the God in my life! But that is really just an indication that they are not aware of the power of God in their life, or that he is the one who has given them everything anyway! My Lord is my peace, and peace, my friends, is priceless! I wouldn't trade it for any big package in the world. And my peace I have as I watch my Father unfold every promise he has for me! And there isn't a day that goes by that the enemy doesn't try to steal my peace, and sometimes I fall for it for a bit, but every day, my precious Jesus comes to my rescue! WHAT DID I DO BEFORE I KNEW JESUS???

Learning to walk in the joy of life!

God has truly been speaking to me lately, just in small things. I think sometimes we look so hard for him in the BIG things that we miss the small things. I had asked God to help me not too long ago because I knew I was experiencing a problem with looking at other people's lives and feeling like something was missing from my own. He is teaching me that my life is mine, that he has given me, and he doesn't have someone else's life for me, he has my own, and my own is the very BEST he has for me. I would not be satisfied with someone else's! I sit here today, so satisfied, and I know sometimes it is a feeling, but I know this is not, I am so satisfied with this life, I have beautiful children, a wonderful family who loves me, an awesome church family, a more than great job, and friends galore. And those friends are not all Christians, but God is showing me that my life will affect theirs. He is in me and I am in Him, how could I not affect them. (thank you, Pastor Andy!) I am finally becoming the woman I have always wanted to be, I am happy to be home, as a matter of fact, I long to be here, cook for my family, and do some chores, I have just learned to love it here! My workplace is a place of peace also, God is working in every person there also! Just when I think it couldn't get better, with Jesus, it will! Today, I know that the little nuggets of truth I have been learning bring about this perfect peace and it makes me that much more eager to learn more of what he has for me and my family! I pray everyone could have this!!!

Oh Happy Day! (Oh, Happy Day)

That song just keeps ringing in my ear today. Oh happy day, oh happy day, oh happy day, oh happy day, when jesus washed, when jesus washed, my sins away. That song is just with me today. I am reminded of a day not too long ago when my sis showed up at church. She loved that song and just sang and danced. I remember the first time I went to church I was kind of uncomfortable with the music, and over time, it is my favorite part. I used to just think, get to the message, I need a good word! Oh, but I have grown so much more than I ever thought or knew I would. I get to praise God for everything he has done in my life! And whoa has he done a lot. Which brings another song to mind, "can you believe what the Lord has done in me?" I never knew songs stuck with me so much. But he has turned my life around. Well, my sister, God showed me, I don't have to worry about her, he has her taken care of too! If I will let him and believe him! I have many friends who are in struggles right now that I am praying for, and sometimes, I feel as though, how can I help them and say anything encouraging at all! Well, I have seen Jesus do amazing things in my life, and I mean AMAZING! I would be a fool to think he can't do things completely. Thank you God, today, for the wisdom you have given me, and for the wisom you will continue to give! It just makes me love you even more! My peace is the most precious thing you have give me. And I will never give it up!

Getting Wisdom!

I am following a daily bible verson on facebook and I realized today how thankful I am that God has put me in a place where I am truly learning Grace!! Without grace, reading the scriptures sometimes can feel overwhelming! I am studying Prov. 4 today and it is all about getting wisdom and understanding and keeping His commandments! With the Holy Spirit residing in my heart, this is easy, in my own strength it would be very hard to understand. Long ago, when I first became a Christian, Grandma Polly would tell me to ask the Holy Spirit to help me understand what I read in the bible. I really had no idea what she meant or that it was even possible, but as much as I love her and know she loves me, I knew there had to be something to that! This morning when I read Prov. 4 I realized that all these things are possible through Jesus. In this Proverb, verse 9 goes like this, (talking of wisdom) "She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." I am gonna see myself walking around with a crown of grace and glory that has been given to me because fo the divine wisdome Jesus has bestowed unto me!!! Wow, wisdom isn't hard to receive at all, we may read a scripture and God will spend our lifetime explaining them all to us. That is our relationship with him. Just reading without the Holy Spirit to reveal things to us, would be useless! I am so thankful for the wise people God has put in my life! Memorizing scripture really can be pointless, meditating on it and asking the Holy Spirit for revelation= you will never forget it!!!!!!