Romans 12:1-2

Here is some words from the Word, in the form of The Message by Eugene Peterson. Romans 12:1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life- your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life- and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well informed maturity in you.

Great passage! I love the embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. How awesome is that! I feel like sometimes I wear myself out thinking if I doing the right things and if God is pleased with me. Pleased with how I am raising my kids, being a good wife, getting into the word, all that.... but how great that this passage is saying when you embrace what things that the Lord does for you and recognize Him in every aspect of your life, that is what is pleasing to Him. Nothing fancy, nothing hard... just embracing the Lord your God.

 So today take some time and sit and think in quiet about the things that God does for you. Embrace Him, cling to Him for answers when you have questions, turn to Him and not the cultural norm when you have troubles. God is there for you, ALWAYS!

been a while...

yes it has been a few days and i have been aware of it each day. just been having a hard time sitting down to type my feelings and thoughts. ok so let's talk about what i heard at church on sunday. it was all about the inner self. no matter how great of an education you have, if you don't change the heart, the inner self of who someone is... you have nothing. you be the smartest person yet if you have no heart, then who are you as a person. i think there is so much stress over education and choices between what is best to do with your children but something extremely important to remember to focus on is how are you shapping and molding your children's hearts. How are you investing in your children to help them develope a sense of care and love for others... think about this today and pay attention to this. When you hold the door open for someone.. they see that. That is showing them how to care.. lil things like this make a big difference in how your kids will reflect your actions. and these actions will help define them as a person. who do you want your kids to be.. what kind of hearts do you want them to have?

Matthew 16:23

But He turned and said to Peter, " Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's. "

Matthew 16:23

What are your stumbling blocks? Satan is always pulling at us to get God out of the picture. And sometimes He succeeds in doing this and we have to turn away back to the Lord and focus on His guidance, not Satan's. Try to be aware of when Satan is leading you astray.

Try to jump over your stumbling blocks!

Romans 2: 1-2

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.

Romans 2:1-2

So when you begin to judge someone for the wrong that they have done, you are sinning. God calls us not to judge. We are no better than any one else, especially when you are judging them for their wrong doing. When you feel like you are beginning to judge someone, Stop! Be encouraging, be helpful, and pray for them. This will help them and yourself.

Don't go around judging others.... you are no better than them! You sinner...

Psalm 62:5-6

My soul, wait in silience for God only,
For my hope is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

Psalm 62: 5-6

Isn't it awesome that when you trust in the Lord and have Him in your heart, you shall not be shaken. You shouldn't worry, you shouldn't stress; God is your stronghold and He is going to take care of you. Even when we question where in the world He is, He is there. Holding you up; and he always will be. So put your trust in Him, and wait in silience for Him to answer you.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

WOW, I think that these verses are so easy recited by people and are never really put into thought. Never taking the time to really dig deep into what it is saying. What God is telling us that love it?

I think that love can so easily be just taking for granted and thought to be this warm fuzzy bear. The fuzzy bear is so cozy, there when you want it, doesn't talk, isn't annoying, doesn't disagree if you want to take it outside and throw it in the grass. This is not love.

Look at all the harsh words used to describe what love is not: envy, arrogant, rude, irritable, resentful... and what love is: patient and kind.

What is your definition of love? Are you representing patience and kindness with those who you love? You should be- because that is what God calls you do be doing.

Life Changing Decisions...

So first I want to say that I haven been fairly strict on my children's diets as far as feingold says. They say it take 2-3 days for a child's body to filter out all the dye that they may ingest. Well today is day 3 and my child is a different child. She doesn't talk as loud, isn't near as hyper, can focus on going to potty when she needs to, and hasn't had a blown out fit the whole day. I am in awe. Seriously, had lunch with family this afternoon and they asked me if I gave her medicine to chill her.

The truth is, she is either getting sick or feingold is right. Dye's really do counter act on some kids. Pretty crazy.

Ok so on to today's verse... it is familiar one to all parents.

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

So my second life changing decision this week: besides our new family diet switch, is to homeschool my children. Wow, that feels weird to say but really weird to type and read. Been going back and forth for a while and thought we had it figured out the past few months to start Corbin at a private Christian school everday next year. But no, didn't have it figured out. I have decided I need to give this a try.

Truthfully was very stressed about having my kids at home with me all week long but it has been so great. I have been enjoying the days with them so much. And I am really pumped about teaching them.

I must say that when you trust in the Lord to lead you and guide you, He does! Never would I have approached this week of no school with excitement and joy in my heart if you would have asked me a week ago. I was really stressed. But then God has given me wisdom and guided my decision making and this week has been awesome. I know that changing the diet- which has brought down the noise level and crazyness at my home alot - has really changed things! That has given me hope that this homeschooling business can work. And I am super excited about it!

Apart from me not having my free time, I can pursue a bigger and better desire of mine that I have always longed for: which has not necessarily ever been to teach, but it has been to do what is right for my children... And "training them in the way that they should go" is what I am called to do as a parent.

I couldn't be more happy about this decision: and I know that the Lord is happy also :)

James 5:7

Be patient, therefore brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

James 5:7

Oh I needed this verse today. Been potty training and man o man is that fun. Sometimes I am just like " Are you kidding me...." With that said, I need to be patient. I know that eventually we will get this down. I need to wait and wait patiently.

I like how this plays out in every aspect of my life. I am such a go getter. I right then n there kinda person. When I have an idea, I am ready to jump on it. This is def a verse I need to memorize and work on my patient level.

Lord, I pray for patience today. Through stressful situations with my children, excitement about the future and big decisions, I pray that I will be patient today. Patient for what is ahead!

1 corithians 6:19-20

" Do you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?... therefore, honor God with your body."

This verse today because I have been doing a lot of research on the Feingold diet. This has to do with cutting out dyes and additives in the foods that you feed your family. I feel like as a mom, I run into other moms and hear a lot about what different ways people are feeding their children. You hear the organic mom, the mom who doesn't care and think it's all made up, or the mom who is just confused ( me). I really want to make the best choice for my family and def feel stress when it comes to trying to make the right choice at the grocery store without it blowing my budget out the window. Reality is, you want to feed your family right, then you better figure out a way to add more money to your grocery budget.

I found out this diet plan from a great friend of mine. It has caught my attention bc it focuses on children who are hyper active. As many of you know, my daughter is an extreme pistol. Always has been. One blog I have been reading is the all natural mom. She gives her full story on her son and how changing his diet has completely changed him. Not only is he not hyper active any more but less dramatic and less emotional. WOW, if this isn't enough for me to just try, I am nuts.

So reading along her blog I came across this verse. Which is awesome and true! Why should we be feeding our kids things that are damaging to their bodies. This makes me what to be sick to my stomach. She states, the problem with the food industry is people are trying to be God themselves by creating foods in bulk and artifical things making them less real but be able to feed more people.

Anywho- I am starting this diet for my children. I am interested to see what it does to Kenzie but I can tell you that it has been one day and she is less hyper today that two days ago. Maybe it is working.

Remember- your body is a temple... you decide what is right? do some research- Feingold diet!

Philippians 4:8

Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

Had this song in my head today so I wrote down this verse. If you don't have these cd's for your children, you should get them. Seeds family worship.. here is the link..
http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net/
this is a great way to memorize scripture for you and your children :)

My thought through this verse is why "whatever." I love this.. here is the meaning of whatever in the dictionary: anything and everything. How awesome- all these things described are from God. Anything and everything: true, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise... think about these things :)

Trials

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let your steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2

I love this verse. It always comes to my head just when I need it. That is why we should memorize scripture.

What a hard thing this verse is telling us to do though. Count it joy when you face trials. When you have troubles to be happy. What? Yes, that is right! The truth is when you understand suffering from the vantage point of our confidence in God's sovereignty, you then can experience the joy. This involves trusting in the Lord through it all. Giving everything over to Him knowing that everything is designed for a purpose.

Watching today on the news about the earth quake, I can't help put have the thought cross my mind as to "why" these kinds of things happen. People around the world have this question numerous times a day. But really, we have to step back and look at the big picture. We are so small and so not in control. God is in control and He knows the evil in the world, and the awful natural disasters that happen. He knows this already. It isn't new to Him. We just need to trust. And most importantly be confident that you are right with the Lord. Be confident that you know where you are going.

The trial we face on earth are just splinters to God. He will pull them out and heal us. We will go on, and we will have confidence knowing that He protects us; Knowing that He is holding us up daily and He will get us through everything.

Sickness

Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness amoung the people.

Matthew 4:23

Praise the Lord today for healing you and making you a healthy person. And pray for someone who is sick, that God would be working in them to make them better, and they would seek the Lord for strength.

Spiritual Highs N Lows

Have you ever heard people talk about being on a spiritual high? Typically means that something that person has done or heard is making them feel right with God and loving being a spiritual person. Can happen after a camp, Sunday message, or just a random time in a person's life that they decide to change something to become more spiritual.

Well, really we should be a spiritual high all the time. If we are constantly living for the Lord and getting in the word every day, we will always be lifted spiritually, and emotionally.

When you accept Christ in your heart, that is the beginning. Your new life then should be a reflection of the decision that you have made. You then must continue to follow His leadership and grow with Him. This is through prayer, growing through understanding scripture, and fellowship.

Colossians 2: 6-7

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

Don't let your life be full of ups and downs of being spiritual. You are called to be a changed person. You are called to be built up with Christ, established in your faith, and overflowing with gratitude.

Proverbs 27:1

Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Proverbs 27:1

boast: speak in excessive pride, talk in a self-admiring way

This is a scary verse about boasting. Obviously the word is telling us that this is not a good thing to do. For you do not know what a day may bring forth. So don't go around bragging about yourself and your status is what I take from this. God warns us that a day can change everything.

It is clear that the Lord gives and He also takes away. So be prepared for whatever comes your way. And be confident that you will trust in Him through it all.

Worthy Woman

An excellent wife, who can find?

For her worth is far above jewels.



The heart of her husband trusts in her,

And he will have no lack of gain.



She does him good and not evil,

All the days of her life.



She looks for wool and flax

And works with her hands in delight.



She is like merchant ships;

She brings her food from afar.



She rises also while it is still night

And gives food to her household

And portions to her maidens.



She considers a field and buys it;

From her earnings she plants a vineyard.



She girds herself with strength

And makes her arms strong.



She senses that her gain is good;

Her lamp does not go out at night.



She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her hands grasp the spindle.



She extends her hand to the poor,

And she stretches out her hands to the needy.



She is not afraid of the snow for her household,

For all her household are clothed with scarlet.



She makes coverings for herself;

Her clothing is fine linen and purple.



Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sits among the elders of the land.



She makes linen garments and sells them;

And supplies belts to the tradesmen.



Strength and dignity are her clothing,

And she smiles at the future.



She opens her mouth in wisdom,

And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.



She looks well to the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.



Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:



"Many daughters have done nobly,

But you excel them all."



Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.



Give her the product of her hands,

And let her works praise her in the gates.



Proverbs 31 Woman



Proverbs 31: 10-31



WOW, how do you feel after reading that. Usually after ever time I read that I feel like I need to go plant a garden or get out my sewing machine and get to work, right? One thing that is so awesome about the passage is that it never mentions what this woman looks like. In our society where we put so much stress on how attractive we are, it is interesting that this woman described is so very attractive not by her physical appearance, but by her character. I love that! Wouldn't we be such better moms if we took away the importance of what we look like and exchanged if for focusing on the importance of our character. Who we are toward our husbands, children, and who we are as a representation of Christ.

Think about it...

Maybe even take up a challenge: Give up something that benefits your physical appearance and instead replace it with something to boost your character.

Example:
Don't go buy that cute shirt you saw last week, instead pray for an opportunity to give the money to someone who is in need.

Matthew 1:23

" 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 1:23

Kenz has been going around the past couple of days asking people if they know "Mary." Pretty cute although she does think that Mary is a princess ( every girl in her eyes is a princess). But she does know that Mary is Jesus' mommy. I think it is really neat that she is learning and is very interested in knowing more about Jesus. I love that she goes around asking people this.

I put this verse in all caps because that is how it was in my bible. This was the angel speaking to Joseph and clarifying to him that Mary's child was conceived by the holy spirit and would be a son. Since Jesus was God in flesh, his name was "God with us." Because when Jesus was born, he was God with us, God living amoungst His people.

Even today His name still holds its meaning, God with us. Through the holy spirit, God is with us each and every day.

Busy Day

What a day, and finally getting a chance to sit down and be with the Lord.

Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

I am truthfully so tired tonight that all I can do is sit here and meditate on this verse. What comfort knowing that God gives me rest. He knows how much I can handle and He gives me a time of rest when the day is done. The kids are all in bed; the house is quiet.... thank you Lord that I can come to you in my time of weariness.

Slow N Anger

Here is a verse that really digs deep with raising children.

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

Proverbs 14:29

folly:// lack of good sense; foolishness

There are times during the day that it is very hard to stop and breath before I react in certain very frustrating situations. This is def a time when this verse needs to be embedded in my brain and I can remember to step back, BREATH, review the situation, BREATH, then react.

I think that is why super nanny always stresses you put your child in a time out. That gives you a time to think and clear your mind instead of reacting out your anger onto your children. So maybe go super nanny in this aspect.

I def struggle with this though: sometimes a stern reaction seems like all that can get through my hard headed ( loving) daughter. My husband and I were just talking about the tone of our voice toward her. She will only react when a stern, loud voice is used after she has done something disobedient; And then here we are after the fact thinking, good gollyness are we being to harse.

I love how this verse says. you have great understanding when you are slow to anger. Isn't that just so true. When we take time to review the situation and think about possibly what has caused our children to react in disobedience then we are trying to undertand "why" they did what they did. Then we can talk to them about what other choices they could have made or even we can help them avoid a certain situation to begin with.

So when you understand this first, you then react without anger, without a temper. You react with love and controlled discipline.

There will def be times that we loose it, so come on, don't be hard on yourself about it. Just try to be better. Remember this verse because it will help you; and BREATH.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11



The exiles have just been sent to Babylon where they are in exile and told to stay put. God tells them that it is here that they are going to keep their faith strong and prosper.



I went through this passage in my bible study last night. I was sitting there thinking about how for me, we have just moved down south and are still trying to get familiar with the way of life and adjust to being out of our comfort of the city that we have had for several years.



The comforting aspect is that God knew we would move down south and He knew that we would be questioning if this was the right choice. But just as he tells the exiles, He knows the plans He has for us... He knows our future and gives us hope.

1:17

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

James 1:17

Take some time to recognize every good and perfect gift that you have. Your husband and chidren, food, a bed, a car. When you recognize it, give thanks to the Lord because He is who has provided it to you.

We have trust in God that He does not cast shifting shadows and has no variation. He doesn't hold judgement against those who trust in Him with everything. Today be thankful... maybe even look up into the beautiful sky and be amazed with the clouds and the birds and every living thing that makes up this world. Be thankful...

Oh I love James

Over the past year we have wavered back and forth over where we should live (even though we just moved), and me feeling like we just keep out growing our homes. Truthfully I do struggle with this. I keep telling myself, there are people out there with more kids than me that live in a much smaller home than me. I should be thankful and appreciative of the roof over my head and stop pursing bigger and better dreams. Why do I struggle with this when I know that in God's timing He will provide for our family; He always has so why do I have doubt in my current situation. I heard someone once say that God knows the timing and the birth order of your children. He already knows how many kids you going to have before you decide to stop, and He knows exactly when to open the door for opportunities for your family.

So I go to the lovely James passage:

But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.

For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

James 1: 9-11

I feel like writing this makes me feel like a spoiled lil girl who is whinning about her humble circumstance ( how rediculous right, my circumstances are not bad). But really I think that people read this and immidiatly associate these verses with the brother in humble circumstances (the poor living on the streets) and the rich ( those living in million dollar mansions) But wake up... this scripture is about each and every one of us. It is about us in this world. It is about our earthly possessions and status of this world.

God wants you to place your reason for living on what matters to Him and what will last forever, our eternity with Him.

So what do I take from this,

Stop spending so much time wondering and worrying about when I get my wood flooring, my new counter tops, and even where my 4th child's room ( who isn't even conceived yet) is going to be considering I am already maxed out on bedrooms.

Instead of all these concerns of earthy possessions, I need to have concern for my neighbors; for the moms I sit with at dance every Monday. I need to have concern for the exact same young woman that checks me out at Target every week. I need to have concern for everyone; that I am representing the One True God, that I am sharing with them the awesome power, freedom and Grace of our Lord.

That needs to be my concern.