Thankful Thursday

-The first and biggest thing I am thankful for this week is that my hubby is coming home Friday, August 1st. He left for training for a new job on July 6th. This was one of the circumstances that I have mentioned in the last couple of weeks, but have not gone into detail about... So many awesome things have happened during this time that I have to post about it in the coming weeks.

-To go with this, my in-laws have supported me and my hubby through this time in so many ways... I am so grateful!!!! I love you both!!!!!

Other things I am thankful for this week
- Currently, my Fwend is experiencing Freedom in her walk with Christ through some exciting and challenging life circumstances. I rejoice with you... Praise be to our God!!!
-Another sweet friend that I have come to know in the last few years experienced a major answer to prayer this week. She has been going through one of life's difficult circumstances that many people face, but in the last couple of weeks things have been happening that look so promising... God is moving...He is always moving, even when we don't think so :)
-Another friend is going through an experience with her family that has caused her to count on God for basically everything. God is moving, and she recognizes Him even in the midst of difficult circumstances...

I will end here, but am so glad that this week I can rejoice with my friends that are experiencing God's presence in their lives... Blessings All!!!

Living Proof Simulcast

Hey Ladies/Siestas,

I am going to the Living Proof Live Simulcast with Beth Moore this weekend. Beth will be live in Kentucky (I think), but the event is going live via simulcast all over the states... Any of you going this weekend? What are you looking forward to the most?
Blessings, and I am sure I will have a post or two in me after this weekend :)

Wordless Wednesday

I miss you honey...

At the Well...

I came across this meme of sorts, and today's topic was on raising boys...Boys that love Jesus, I had to give my 2 Cents worth, or at least my penny's worth. Plus, I have enjoyed reading some of the posts of the women that participate in this meme. Their posts are deep, challenging, and encouraging.

So here are some of the questions for this week...

As a woman at the well, you'll be meeting women who are trying to raise Godly men. These boys they are raising will grow up to marry your daughters or become leaders in your community.
What advice would you give to them? Lead them to Jesus... Let your (and your husband's) life be an example to them of one that seeks Jesus' face above all others and things this life has to offer. Be authentic with your boys, let them know that the Christian life is not easy, it is a road of self denial (something I am just learning), but that there is no other life worth really living... And pray for your boys... As I have learned there isn't really anything I can do in my own strength to change the lives of my boys...It is Jesus in them now (and one day when they accept Him) that will give them the power through the Holy Spirit to be the salt and light to our dark and dying world. Again, it is so easy to answer these questions, but it is entirely a different thing to live out the answer, but God will give us the strength and power to live out His truth :)

If you are raising boys, what areas concern you most? If don't have or haven't raised boys, what is your concern for boys in today's culture? The pleasures of this world... They are so alluring, and the sexual temptations that our boys (and girls) have to deal with is alarming... Our American culture is so counter cultural to what God's plans are for His children... I find myself daily battling with the "temptations" of this "me-centered" culture, and I fear that it only is going to get worse as my boys grow up...

I could have gone on a bit more today, but I will end things here...I look forward to visiting the other bloggers who participated today, and blessings to all who visit here... Visit Lori's blog today to participate.

Cafe Chat

July 26th

What would be the title of a book about your life?

I love this question because one simple phrase really can give you great insight into a person’s life. When I agreed to host the weekly meme at the Café I had to write a quick bio for the site. I began the bio with what I would name a book about my life. See below…

If you asked her what would be a good title for a book about her life, she would quickly reply, “Former Pharisee…A different kind of testimony”. Kim made a decision for Christ when she was nine years old in a Small Baptist Church, but honestly, she would tell you she didn’t have a clue about a relationship with Christ until her late 20’s.

Kim could so relate to the Pharisees in the Bible. She had a lot of head knowledge about God, and she could easily rattle off her top ten list of the things she never would do, but she was spiritually blind and dead to the life changing love of Christ. A sinful nature and a heart full of pride would lead her toward a road she never planned for her life. After several bad choices and wrong roads traveled down, Kim hit her spiritual rock bottom, and that was the best thing that could have ever happened to her. It was at the bottom that she finally started to look up, and there she found her Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus began a work in Kim’s heart that has led her to where she is today…(to read the rest of the bio click on link about the writers at the Café).

I can’t wait to read your titles this week...Blessings to all!

Happy Birthday Terminator (My baby)

Happy Birthday to my baby boy who is not a baby boy anymore... You are 5 today, but you will always be my little baby boy :) Love, Mommy

Thankful Thursday

I have so much to be thankful for this week...honestly I have so much to be thankful for everyday :)

Presently, I am in some circumstances that are stretching me more than I had expected. I will talk about the details of the circumstances very soon on my blog, but for now I will speak in general about the things I am thankful for during this time.

-Provision in so many areas (finances, help from others, support)
-Opportunity for spiritual growth in my walk with Christ
-A renewed and unexpected rebirth of love for my husband (A total work of God)...Soon I will share the details
-I feel like God is opening my eyes to many Truths found in His Word
-A chance to get my eyes off of me, and try to focus on God first, and then others (this is a struggle for sure)
-An awesome VBS week with my kids
-A chance to "KNOW HIM" more...Love Him more too

Blessings on this "TT"... We do have so much to be thankful for :)

A Simple Exercise with Profound Effects...

My soul is stirring... I probably have about 10 posts in my heart right now, but I am trying to process what to do with all the "stuff" in my heart and head... For now, I came across this little "exercise" in a book I am reading, and it really got to me in a good way. (I want to quote a whole chapter from this book, but need to find out the legal issues with doing that...stay tuned).

I bet most of you are familiar with chapter 13 of Corinthians... Many of us may have had this chapter read during our weddings. In case you are not here goes a portion of the chapter...

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...faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 ESV

The little "exercise" is a challenge from Francis Chan, and is found in his new book, "Crazy Love". He says..."But even those words (referring to scriptures above) have grown tired and overly familiar, haven't they? I (Francis Chan) was challenged to do a little exercise with these verses, one that was profoundly convicting. Take the phrase Love is patient and substitute your name for the word love...Do it for every phrase in the passage.

OK, so I will stop here although Francis Chan really sums up this exercise so well. I will post my version below. (By now many of you know my first name, so I will use it)

Kim is patient and kind; Kim does not envy or boast; Kim is not arrogant or rude. Kim does not insist on her own way; Kim is not irritable or resentful; Kim does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Kim bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends...faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 ESV

Conviction fell upon me pretty quickly when I said my name in place of love. I don't always love the way that God wants me to love, and I finally am beginning to realize that through God's Power I can love supernaturally. I want to stop making excuses for myself, and be challenged to seek God, and through Him He will release His power in me to love in a way I could never love on my own. I am utterly helpless without Him, and I am OK with that :)

Maybe this exercise will help you today too... Blessings!!!

Wordless Wednesday

July 4th Fun...

Cafe Chat Meme

July 19th's Question
Name what you think should be your first 5 priorities in life? Then order those priorities the way they actually are at present in your own life. Do they match up? Why or why not? If needed, what is one thing that you can do today that will help your two lists match up?

I am back from vacation, and so I can think a little more about the questions I ask each week. I am finding a pattern here; a lot of my questions seem to come from situations in my life where I was in sin. UGH, but actually I am very thankful because I have learned so much from God because of my past sins and struggles.

About four years ago, my husband and I were having one of those in-depth conversations that couples sometimes have. If I remember correctly, this conversation was a calm one, and not one of those heat of the moment conversations that spur from a difference of opinion (that makes it sound so much nicer, huh?). We were talking about priorities, and I asked my husband what he thought my priorities were. Boy, did I open up a can of worms. He replied that he felt like he was about number 7 on my list of priorities. WHAT? I don’t even have 7 things on my priority list. I could go on and give you more of the story, but I will just end here by saying that my husband’s answer was a wake up call for me, and very soon God would change our circumstances so that this priority problem would undergo massive reconstruction. Simply put, God helped me work on and get my priorities in order. I still struggle at times with keeping my priorities in the right order, but I would not feel as afraid to ask my husband that same question again today.

Blessings all, and I hope that today’s question may be used as a wake-up call for you if you need it, or if you are doing well with your priorities at present, I encourage you to keep pressing on in your journey.

My short answer... Seek Jesus first and foremost and I truly believe your priorities will fall into place...

Thankful Thursday

Hey "TT" community!!! Here is my list for today.

-The last couple of weeks I have been in a situation that is causing me to evaluate what I find my security and peace in, and I have realized that it is not always God. So during these last couple of weeks I am in the process of changing the way I think, and realizing that God needs to be my number one source of strength and security. In the end, He is the only one that I really can count on 100%.
-My kids have been free from any major illness for a very long stretch of time... I am just so thankful for that :)
-My husband is doing well with his new job.
-As stated several times before, Fear is one of the biggest things I struggle with and during the last couple of weeks, I feel like God is helping me to see how deep Fear is rooted into so many areas of my life, and I am seeking God to help me overcome my Fears.
-My mother-in-law...she recently helped me in some major ways... A woman a virtue is she!!!
-Financial provision for the kids school supplies and school clothes for this coming school year...
-Friends that care and help in tangible ways :)

Well, today I think I could go on and on which is a good thing, but I will end for now. Blessings to all!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Out of the mouth of babes (or my Pre-K son)

Backdrop: Me reading from Terminator's kid bible as we get ready for bed...He chooses the story of Jonah. I finish reading...

Me: So what does God want us to do?
Terminator: Obey
Me: (Thinking...wow, he was listening)...What happens if we don't obey God?
Terminator: We're gonna get a BIG STORM! (If you heard him say it this would be ten times cuter)

Thankful...

I grabbed this video and words from another sweet blogger... It has kids singing, but that just makes it more cute. The tune is great, so turn up the music and sing your heart out to Jesus...the One who is worthy of our thanks :)



I like to think about the goodness of the Lord
He gives me everything I need and so much more
So I just wanna lift my hands and say that I love Him
I just wanna lift my heart in praise

I wanna be thankful
I wanna be grateful
I wanna remember everything that the Lord has done!

I wanna be thankful
I wanna be grateful
I wanna be
I wanna be
I wanna be!

Cool Quote...

I have two natures that live inside of me... One I love, and one I hate...The one I feed will dominate...

(I just heard this on a Christian series...I don't remember the name of the man that said it, and I may have changed a few words, but the main point is there in the quote)

Thankful Thursday

I sure do love the "TT" community... I need reminding several times a day to be thankful to God for the wonderful, and sometimes not so wonderful things He allows in my life everyday!!!

-I am thankful for 4 nights of peaceful sleep :)
-I am thankful for God working through a difficult situation with some friends to bring about restoration and healing (however, so small)
-I am thankful for my husband's new job after about six months of being unemployed!!!
-I am thankful for the spiritual growth of my husband during those six months
-I am thankful for the financial provision during those six months :)
-I am thankful for the continual work of the Lord in my life, especially as it applies to revealing the hidden sins of my heart...Hard to handle at times, but so needed to become more like Christ.

Blessings to all on "TT"

Vacation Shots...

Fun at one of Florida's parks...that is until an unfortunate evacuation (another story for another time :)

Fun at the Shell Factory

This is what you get when you ask a bunch of young boys to show you their best Kung Fu Panda Karate moves :)

A stop at a random rest stop... Any place is the right place to take a picture of your kids :)

Thankful Thursday

See post directly below for today's "TT". I am thankful for all 4 of these women that have encouraged me in my walk :)

Lovers of His Word

Hard to see, I was way up in the boonies at this conference... Beth, Kay, and Priscilla at the Deeper Still Conference.

Beth at a WOF conference.... I think...

Me and Fwend while I was vacation...

Me and Net... I will have to do a post later on with pictures from our childhood... We have had lots of pictures together.

I have added pictures, so now you kind of know some of the "who they are" before you actually read...

In yesterday's post I said that I would tell you about 4 people that inspired me (and still do) to go deeper with & in God's Word. At first, I had only 3 people on my list, but then another person came to my mind. The first 3 people I will talk about have influenced my life over the past 7 years or so. The last 7 years have been my rebirth spiritually, and so the first 3 people popped directly into my head easily. The 4th person came to me when I realized that she was one of the first people I saw that loved God's Word. Are you tired of all the ambiguity of who the people are? The funny thing is that some of the people will still be ambiguous to you after I tell you who they are, because you won't have a clue who they are :)

OK, my 4th person, but really the 1st person is my sister. Let's call her "Net". Net is my adopted sister that is only 9 months older than me, but we acted more like we were twins when we were growing up. We both came to know Christ around the age of 9 years old. As I thought back, I remember Net having some sort of a "quiet time" even before "quiet time" became buzz words in Christian circles. I do remember she would read God's Word, and she memorized God's Word as well. I know that I read my Bible back then, but Net just read it differently than me...She read with desire to know more, and I think I may have read the Bible back then because it was what I was suppose to do. I could really make this post very long if I went into details about each person, so I will try to just highlight the most important things...Even today, Net goes back to the Bible when she has a question about anything that has to do with God's Word. She loves God's Word, and she is passing the legacy of going to God's Word for just about everything to her young daughter, and will do the same for her son as he gets older. I love you Net!!!

The 2nd person I will talk about, and I will be brief because I could write a book (or at least a small pamphlet) on how God used her in my life is Beth Moore. I bet a few of my regular readers knew I was going to name her as one of the people that inspired me when it comes to loving God's Word. I think the thing that I will take away from Beth is that she was the first person that I was exposed to that really, really loved God's Word. Not that my sister, and many others in my life didn't love God's Word just as much as she did, but she was the first person that I saw express her love for God's Word in a way that I could relate to...Beth is passionate, and an extrovert much like myself. I don't think I realized that all that passion could be directed at God's Word. I surely know you can be passionate about another person, or a wonderful hobby, and even if you are like myself, chocolate, but God's Word??? Beth often says that she caught the fire of loving God's Word from one of her Bible teachers... I think his name was Buddy. She saw in Buddy something that she lacked and wanted, and then God did the work of lighting a fire in her soul that burns ever so hot even today (Of course, Beth tells her story much better than I do, but hopefully you caught the main point of the story). Plus, if you have ever done one of her Bible Studies, the woman goes deep into the original meanings of the words in the Bible, and the Bible comes alive with even deeper meanings than you originally thought were there... So, Beth inspired me in the fact that I realized it was possible, and even Okay to love God's Word so passionately. God used her in my life, and now He will do only what He can do by lighting that small fire that is in my soul. I pray that that small fire becomes a blazing inferno (sooner than later)!!!

The 3rd person, and she is quite recent to me, is none other than Kay Arthur... You know the "Precepts Lady"? I think I always stayed away from digging deep into God's Word because I just thought I wouldn't understand, or probably more often I didn't want to take the time to dig deep into God's Word (laziness). I just wanted to read through the scriptures and then have truth jump into my lap. I saw Kay at a Deeper Still conference not so long ago, and her love of the Word came alive on stage. Man, did she know God's Word. Not only did I see that, Beth Moore told a story about staying next to Kay at a hotel, and as Beth was listening to one of her worship CD's, she overheard the Bible on CD next door in Kay's room. Cool, huh? Recently, I purchased a book by Kay, called (don't laugh, especially if you read yesterday's post about my book thing, and the"how to" thing) "How to Study the Bible in 28 Days". I know, I know, but listen this time I didn't pick up the book to learn about a quick fix of how to study the Bible, but picked it up because I knew that Kay would be able to give me tools that I could use to go deeper in God's Word, and that she did my sisters (or any lone brothers that may read this). I have so enjoyed going through God's Word with her study methods, and something I did not enjoy doing in the past seems to be something I am enjoying now... I have to give that credit to God... I believe He is enlightening me when it comes to viewing His Word. I am excited about this new journey, and am looking forward to see where this new journey into God's Word will lead in my future.

The 4th person (and I bet she knows that I will say her name, don't you Fwend?) is my best Fwend. If you have read my posts before, or see that cute little picture of us on my sidebar you will know that my Fwend has been a huge inspiration to me in my Christian walk. I have called my Fwend (and others have too) a lover of Truth, and a lover of God's Word. She gets so excited about reading God's Word. I think when we first became friends I was blown away about how much she knew about the Bible, and I think I probably might have been jealous (and maybe not the bad kind of jealousy) of how she really loved being in God's Word. It seemed that whenever life threw her a curve ball, or a circumstance that she did not foresee she always had some scripture that related to her situation. Recently, the girl is obsessed, and I use obsessed in the best way possible (SERIOUSLY) with God's Word. God has been speaking to her in so many ways that her head is spinnin, or at least mine is spinnin for her. The neat thing is that I am seeing God's Word come alive in her, and out of her if I can say that. I told her that I think she has spent a lifetime of sowing God's Word into her heart, that now she is reaping the benefits of God's life altering, changing power coming into her life, through His awesome Word (Fwend, I didn't say it that way to you, but that is what I meant :) I think I mentioned this in another post, but she was the most recent person to challenge me to get into God's Word, and out of all my other books. Fwend, if this was the only thing you ever gave me it would be enough, and I know I will be able to say that, and really mean it more as God moves in my heart and circumstances through His Word. Love ya so!!!!

I know grammatically in this post I probably would get a C...especially the fact that I only had 1 paragraph for each person, but go with me on this because all of this is spilling from one very talkative lady with a lot of energy right now. Blessings to you, and I am not sure what I will title my next post yet :)

Wordless Wednesday

Moose the oldest, begged for me to paint a smiley face on his tummy after seeing me with a painted pregnant smiley face belly on some old family videos. I obliged, and Snake and Terminator asked to join in.

What is Truth?

Today, I continue where I left off in my post yesterday...

I mentioned in my last post that I feel God has been highlighting the word "truth" for me in the last month or so... Whether I would come across a verse with the word "truth" in it, or hear a sermon at Church, or on the radio about "truth". Once in a conversation with a friend I think I quoted the verse about the "truth will set you free". After the third or fourth time the word "truth" in some form or another was highlighted for me, I took notice. I took that as God trying to get my attention, and I decided to pray about it. If I remember correctly, and I say that because my memory seems to fail me a lot at this stage of my life :), I recalled praying to God and asking Him to show me what "truth" was, and I think that is what God is trying to do with me now.

For now, I feel like God is revealing to me that His Word is truth...Jesus is truth. So if God's Word is truth, why have I been struggling for so long... Simple, I didn't expose myself to God's Word. Yes, I have read the Bible my whole life, I even read through the Bible with one of those "read through the Bible in a year plans", but not on a consistent basis, and not always with the right motives. Bible reading became more of a checklist thing that all mature Christians should do. I know that there were times that I read the Bible, and gleamed truth from God's Word, but again those times were so few and far between that it didn't seem to make a lasting difference in my life. I needed to go deeper, but was really unsure how to go deeper in God's Word.

My best friend recently challenged me, kind of inadvertently (she wasn't specifically talking to me at the time) that the Bible should be our (Christians) number one resource to read. If you knew me, I am the Queen of reading the latest Christian book. Books about how God worked in others lives...Books with lots of how to's ...How to Pray, How to Love, How to not Blow it on your Kids, How to Respect, How to be a Godly wife, and even How to read the Bible, and although I would tell you all of these books helped me in my walk with God, I still feel like there is this huge void inside, and I am not getting "something" that I believe God wants me to understand. My friend also said something that stuck with me, although these books are helpful, they lack the power of God's Word that enables me to really change. She was right...she is right.

I say all of this to tell you that is where God is leading me right now...right into the pages of His Word, and although I still feel like I don't quite know what I am doing, I also feel that this time things will be different. I don't feel like reading God's Word is going to be a checklist thing for me, and I my attitude of why I want to read His Word is different than it ever has been. To tell you the truth, there is an excitement in my heart about reading God's Word, however little that excitement is... I'LL TAKE IT :) Recently, I have been in His Word, and I just feel something is different... I will press on...

As stated yesterday, I think God is rebuilding my whole belief system, and what better tool to use as a foundation than His Word. Oh my prayer, is that His Word becomes my only truth!!!

Praise be to God who awakens a soul in slumber...a soul that deserves to sleep on, but He in His mercy wakes that soul up...That soul is Me.

In my next post, I will talk about 4 people that have inspired me when it comes to getting into God's Word... Blessings to all!!!