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625 – It is just too much!!
August 21, 2008 By 13 Comments
Lord Jesus, I just don’t know how much I can handle. You know me best, but this is just more than I can bear!!! Living in Charlotte for 12 years and loving just about every minute of it. Giving me friends that I would give my life for. Sharing with us your House that has an unbelievable school to educate my kids. Then you ask us to leave.
You start me in ministry in Charlotte and it is incredible. Probably more than my family could really handle. I find myself starting my own ministry and things are hopping. You ask us to leave all I have ever known about ministry. You take from me contacts, networking, and platforms.
Now we are in Southern Illinois. VERY small town, no private schooling, no big churches, no Target, no shopping. This year alone has been quite a year. We redo a house and after a bit of controversy move to the next town over and my kids start ANOTHER new school. Then we go through a summer of tests on my little Sarahjane just waiting for a diagnosis of JRA.
Then this week I find myself nearly confined to a couch just because I was trying to be funny and have a good time. 2 boots and no walking! What more could go wrong…………
Yes, oh yes, that certainly could be the perspective! But no way!!!!!!!!!!!! I do miss Charlotte and the convenience and miss terribly all my soul friends, but He has provided!! Beautifully provided! I now have a small town that reaches out and loves on those that live there just because they live there. I can walk to most places around town. I can count on seeing someone i know at every store I go in. (I happen to like that.) I can leave cash in my dry cleaning clothes by mistakes and know without a doubt that it will be pinned to my order when I come back to get it. I love that I can walk into the flower store and ask them to deliver flowers to so and so and many times they know where they live and will gladly just send me the bill in the mail. Those are just a few of the blessings. Blessings that overwhelm we with His goodness.
Ministry is different, very different, but very good. Now He has given me a team of ladies located all across the US and one incredibly talented ministry partner – Ginger Moore. He is sending me to Florida and then back to Alaska! But then He still allows me to go down the street to minister to churches of all kinds of denominations. Blessings – they overwhelm me!!
Now as i find myself with these boots on, unable to really walk, and kind of left to depend on everyone else all i can think about is blessings. People have called almost on the hour to offer meals, laundry, cleaning, kid towing, taxi-ing for me, just everything!!! Flowers have been delivered, friends have stopped by, food unexpectantly delivered, cookies left in the kitchen (cookies to DIE for i might add), etc. The body of Christ is loving on me in a way that I am overwhelmed. I just don’t know how much more I can handle. It is as if I want to tell the Lord to stop the blessings flow. I know I know I know I do not deserve this. But His love through His people is just incredible!!! I am truly overwhelmed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and now this……………
If it wasn’t enough listen to this………..you better sit down as i was when I received this call…………………………………… Sarahjane’s doctor from Cinn. called and said that they do not have her biopsy results back yet, but that all her labs were NORMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, you read that right!!!!!!!! Every lab was normal. Even her labs that were JRA indicators that NEVER change in a person…………………….they changed and all are normal!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When the nurse called me yesterday in tennis practice (yes, I sit on the sidelines and yell commands!) I just cried like a baby! I told the nurse it just couldn’t be. It couldn’t be normal. She reassured me over and over and over it was normal!!!!!!!!!!!! All of it was normal!!!
Oh friends – do you see it? It is yet another blessing that is overwhelming me. He has done it again in my baby’s life!!!! It was all normal, all the test were normal… I just can hardly contain myself. I am so overwhelmed by His blessings in my life. Oh Lord – your goodness and grace – oh Lord – how could I ever doubt…………..oh Lord – me of little faith………..Oh Jesus I just want to stay face down and worship!!! oh Lord – thank you thank you thank you!
Everything that may be seen like a mess, disaster, tragedy, or even curse – It is not to harm me… ever!!! No not ever. And the same is true in your life too!
So now I am off to my own doctor. I am doing much better, i think. Hard to really know. Then tennis pictures and practice this afternoon. My friend’s mom, Helen, is going to take me to a meeting tonight in Mt. Vernon. Some kind of coaching rules meeting. That will be neat spending time with her! Just another blessing!! Oh Lord, this is just too much!! Thank you!
566 – Thank you Jesus
April 8, 2008 By 7 Comments
Good Morning – the first thing I would like to do is introduce the first – far from the last – invited speaker to Speaking Thru Me Ministries. Dr. Leah Adams!!!!!!!!! What an incredible woman. She is a pharmacist by trade, but a speaker by heart. She lives in Georgia and I assume DOES drink sweet tea! ha! Leah has been teaching at her church and speaking for quite some time now. God confirmed her calling this past November at a Leadership Conference in Nashville. She is the Women’s Ministry Director at her own church and can be found here http://www.thepoint-leah.blogspot.com/. Leah’s schedule is filling up as I type and God is blessing her efforts. She wholehearted endorses the commitment of STMM as being a fee free speaker as God has led us for 2008 – and beyond possibly. Leah is a details woman and for that we are praising God!!! Please, please stop by Leah’s blog and say congrats and welcome. We are trying to make more speaker decisions as we go – thank you for your patience if you are one that is waiting!
“Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” 2 John 8.
Oh Lord, I think about the times in my life that I have been so close to a goal and then I just could not get over the hump or achieve the top of the mountain so to speak. Like losing weight. I get within 5 or 10 realistic pounds of the goal and i guess become satisfied! I am not sure what it is, but get so close and then cave, give up, or just get stale. Honestly there have been many times in my most recent past of like 5 to 10 years where I get 5 pounds from the goal and then I get pregnant again!! Ugh!!! Precious child, but not precious pounds to start all over with again. Or what about the times as a tennis player that I would get so close to being on top of whatever goal and then just could not get past a certain player or could not find it to practice just a tad bit harder to achieve that level… What about getting into an awesome routine of quiet time and then something changes – summertime, spring break, moving, sickness, etc. I lose what I have work so hard to gain!
This verse in 2 John warns us to not lose what we have worked for. According to the scriptures in Phil. 2:12 we are to “work out our salvation”. We are not working for our salvation – there could never be enough done that we gain our salvation. It is just like it sounds – we are giving our faith a workout to confirm it is real and that it stays strong. Keeping it honest! Having been an athlete pretty much all my life I can attest to the fact that it is so hard to get in shape, but so easy to get out of shape. We can work out for 3 weeks before we see any kind of improvement, but can miss 1 week of workouts and totally lose a good foundation. The same is true of our faith. We can be growing in our faith – usually due to a tragic or at least tough event or circumstance – and then things begin to get better. In that easier time we begin to slack off and lose what we have worked for.
2 John is a book to a church of that day telling them to be wise about all the deceivers and antichrists. An antichrist is anyone that claims he is God and/or demands to be worshipped. In the end of times – that is now! – there will be many antichrists – we must be aware. Yes, there will be the final one, but up to that point there will be many. But John does not want them to lose the ground they have already established or worked for. Keep working it out he implores them. I have to tell myself the same thing. Don’t get stale or stagnant! Don’t believe everything you hear – test it with the scriptures.
Just like with those diets or tennis workouts, when I do go the extra mile and achieve that goal there will be a reward or as the scripture states I will be “rewarded fully”. There are times that the reward is the reward itself – an achieved goal, less weight, accomplished feeling a routine followed affords, etc. But when it comes to my Jesus rewarding us fully it goes way past just a temporal reward. Not only the peace He promises us and gives us fully, so many other things as well – many things i can not speak of because they are too wonderful for earthly words. You know what I mean if you have expereinced His blessing or rewarding. Thank you Lord and praise you!!
The following verse in 2 John, verse 9, also warns us to not “run ahead”. Oh how even as a follower of Christ do I do that. I begin to think I do know something or am something and try to run ahead of what He wants, has planned, or has for me. I begin to do things on my own power, in my own timing, and on my own will. And what do times like that look like or promise – destruction!!! I just don’t want to go there – not ever……again! Thank you Father for keeping a tight reign on me. Lord, keep me from me! I am my worst enemy. Keep me close to you and longing to be more and more near! Help me to wise to the deceivers and the Deceiver! Oh Lord, I love you and thank you for your Word! It is holy and You are holy. Refine me!
496 – Bless the Lord
December 14, 2007 By 2 Comments
The Psalms say, “Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me Bless His holy name.” That is my heart this morning. I feel the blessings of the Lord falling down on me and I just want to sit and give it all back. I feel so wonderfully blessed and happy. My feet are barely touching the floor just because I can feel His breath and approval around me at this time. I usually do not want to say anything when I am this way in fear of making another feel left out if they are not “feeling” such love and approval – for whatever reason – at this time, but I can not hide it today. I don’t mean I try to hide my blessings, but at times I do think it is appropriate to share them with just a select few. I am constantly reminded of the story when Joseph tells his brothers about his dream of them bowing to him one day – and he happens to be standing there in his special coat of many colors that his father made him since he was the beloved son! Not a good time to be sharing about the blessed feelings he was experiencing to his older brothers!
I had a great purse selling day yesterday – at the school was incredible and at Rachel’s was not so good. Maybe we got a bit too late in the season to have a party. But we didn’t have that many show up. Who knows – it is different every time! It was awesome as usual to sit around and be with their family. Incredible people. I love them more and more the more I am with them all. Yesterday was so wonderful getting to meet all the school teachers – this is where Sarahjane will go to school. As i was leaving that afternoon the secretary called me into her office and lo’ and behold they were on my blog – looking at purses, nevertheless on my blog. It absolutely blows me away the extent God goes to reach people with this thing. And while I was there yesterday another school in that area called me to come by and set up for them on Wednesday. Thank you Father – Thank you Jesus!!
More than anything I think there is just a quieting of my spirit and restfulness in my heart. My ministry partner and I are really feeling the leading on a particular area of ministry and just can hardly wait to expose everything. It is so exciting. It is all about walking in obedience!! I think that can explain the feeling i have of walking on air right now. We are taking a plunge into deep faith and it is so incredibly exciting I just can not stand it!! I can not believe God would trust me enough or have faith in me enough to ask such things, but He is. I am just blown away and so excited!! Freedom is the best word I know to describe everything. And with that freedom comes laughter and joy…………. oh my word – such joy. To the world and to many Christians it will be complete and utter craziness, but we are so sure and confident of His leading!!
Our ministry website is just about up and running. The awesome guys at www.netministry.com have given us our first preview of the template. We loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just a few changes here and there, but awesome!!!!!!! If you are looking for a website to do anything this is the place to go. All that they are able to offer would cost you at another place, thousands of dollars. I am not kidding. But they are like the wal-mart, supercenter kind of place, of website instrumentation!! and are able to offer things at a very discounted rate. Let me know if you have any questions.
I am coming up on 500th entry of blogging!! Wow – what an incredible thing. What should i do – any suggestions??????? Please tell me. I would have never dreamed I would have stayed with it this long. Thank you Father!! It has given huge amount of accountability and consistency in my quiet time. I think over the holiday break I will break too! I need to spend the times in the quiet morning having my Jesus time and then writing the messages for the next series I will use in January at Wisconsin, Tennessee, and ALASKA………………… I still can not get over that I am going there!!
Oh Lord – again bless you!! My heart is so full and excited. Thank you for these times right now. Thank you for the celebration and quietening of my spirit! Thank you for Christmas and holidays. Thank you for the guys working so hard on the house. I know we are going to experience another lull soon due to the holidays, but may they come back and get after it!! Thank you Lord. Protect Clay as he travels home this morning! Thank you for his confidence in me and his support of the ministry! I love you Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bless YOU Lord!!!
399 – He Remembers!!
July 24, 2007 By 3 Comments
Dear Lord, It has been hard to post lately in conjunction with my Believing God series. We are in the part of deep introspection and that requires that I am only thinking about me. Well, I am pondering all that He has done in my life and those that He has brought in and out, but still it revolves around me. So I struggle with my words, etc.
Lord this morning we discussed the fact that You do not forget. But another interesting characteristic about You is that when you remember it causes action or one can assume You are going to move in some way in relation to that remembering. You remembered Noah in Gen. 8 and therefore started the winds and rain. You remembered Rachel and therefore opened her womb for pregnancy. You remembered the Israelites fighting and then rescued them from the enemies in Numbers 10:9. The other mind boggling thing Beth Moore stated was that God remembering is not the opposite of Him forgetting. It was not like He forgot about Noah, but rather just waiting for the perfect time in His plan to put the next action into motion. I love that! Could it possibly be that actually God remembered the next action plan instead of so much remembering His loved one he was about to do something with??? I am not sure – it says God remembered Noah, Abraham, Rachel, His covenant, etc……………. Anyway He remembers and I love that.
I feel so terrible even stating it, but there have been times in my life that I have felt forgotten. In college the coach that recruited me left the college for another university pretty much after i signed the promise papers or letter of intent. All throughout high school I was always the one searching for a date to the big dances. I only kept boyfriends for very short amounts of time because I was so scared of them and because i was not very willing – if you know what i mean. I guess i should have had better timing on when i got a boyfriend – like around dance time! As my best friend in Charlotte announced her pregnancy, Ginger, it was not until about 1 year later until i had my first child. I can not tell you how many times we have had our neighbors sale their houses in weeks and it usually takes us months… Many days here in Norris City I wonder if He remembers. In ministry I hear of this and that going on in various lives and wonder if He remembers. I better stop this sounds like such a pity party!
God remembering is not so much the fact that He does something or not – usually He does, but it is more important my perspective. Whether God moves in a situation or whether He makes a change is not as important as my perspective and being able to praise Him because of who He is and not what He does. Oh yes, there is time and “appropriateness” to praise when He does something in our lives, but regardless of that movement we are to praise. I can praise now because the Lord brought me to Union to strengthen my faith and meet the love of my life, Clay – tennis was just the avenue to get me there, not my focus as i would have thought. I can praise now that I don’t have memories of nights with so and so and the guilty feelings and consequences that stay with you for years and years. I can praise Him now because He gave me a big healthy boy at just the perfect time. I learned so much watching Ginger be the best mommy of all. I can praise Him now because during the day when i wonder where everyone went and am I the only stay at home mom here in Norris City, etc. i get that call from Andrea reminding me of our run that night. (Please don’t look too deeply in that statement. I am happy here, just a little bored and missing my Charlotte activities.) I can praise Him now because of all He has already allowed me to do in ministry and the CRUISE coming up!!
See, Leigh, He remembers – it is just my perspective!!! He has so much of a better plan for me than i can conjure up! Lord, forgive my impatient heart. Forgive my heart of wanting now. Lord, forgive my heart of thinking I could do things better. Forgive me for thinking even one time that You ever forgot!!! Jesus, thank you for the times You have held off. Thank you for the times you have said, “not quite yet.” Thank you for the times You have just purely protected me from this and that. Thank you for constantly remembering me! Forgive me moods, my selfishness, and MY forgetting all you have done in my life. Lord, I praise You – yes because of all you have done, but more because of WHO YOU ARE!!! Amazing Lord, Savior King Father Protector Creator Redeemer………………Oh how I love YOU!!!
Please be in prayer for my friend Rachel as her father in law has passed away. He had a very short fight with cancer. Off to the doctors and then swimming. Oh yeah – I went over to my new neighbors house in Carmi yesterday, Noel, and had a blast – thank you, Lord.
www.girlvillegetawaycruise.com
395 – Bless You
July 17, 2007 By 8 Comments
Up and at ‘em today. It is early, well not so much now, but when I started. Got a BUSY day ahead of me and had to make sure I started it with Him! Oh was it so good too!!
This morning i learned about the Lord Almighty blessing us. Oh Lord, can i just tell you thank you right now? Thank you! Wow! I learned about the word eulogeo which means “to have God speak a good word over us. to bless to speak well of.” Another definition, more complete, was “Of God toward men, to bless, to distinguish with favor… When the subject is God, His speaking is action, for God’s speech is energy released.” Are you with me or have you done a complete dance and are just coming back to the computer. I am with you – just dance girls!!
Lord, I can hardly believe what I have learned this morning. You speak behind our backs and it is blessing over us. On Wow – if i can only do the same thing for all those around me. Lord, I know there are many days when you have to search to find a good thing to speak over me, but thank you that only you can see my full potential and what the end will be. Oh Lord, I just want to praise you. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. You speak and it energizes – you speak life to the very marrow of my bones.
J. Vernon McGhee says that the providence of God can be described as “the way God leads a man that will not be led”. Now how cool is that. A quote from Beth Moore, “Part of God’s blessing over our lives involves the following: ‘to act in man’s life and accomplish His purposes instead of allowing men to have their own way.’” Now that is worth really cuttin’ a rug. He not only has the power to control my steps, but it just takes His spoken Word to do so and it involves a blessing to make that happen. I don’t mean to infer that we are getting something like some trinket in that blessing. The very blessing itself is the act of stopping us from doing something out of His will or even destructive in our lives. SO when God does not allow something in our lives it may not be that we have been disobedient it could be that He actually has spoken a blessing over our lives instead of allowing us to follow our own ways. Oh yes, I love that!!! Speak it Lord, protect me with You blessings!! I soooooooo need it!!
Lord, I thank you for so often speaking blessings over your women of God – your go to girls. Thank you for keeping us from our own destructive ways. Help us to take your lead and do more blessing of one another than tearing down. Let all those that come in contact with us leave with a blessing of SPOKEN word. May they never leave wondering if we want the best for them. Oh Lord, our families and husbands – Lord, help us to bless them. Lord, may we give and give and give until we are blue in the face – that is exactly what you have done for us and still speak in our lives!! Thank you! I need to write my hubby a love note today!
I want to bless you Father! Bless your Holy Name. Oh Lord, from before creation you were good – you have always been good. You spoke and that is all that has to happen. Thank you, Lord for your control of this world and the control you have over my life. Lord, you are awesome and I stand in awe of you! Lord, you are so highly esteemed and just absolutely gorgeous in your creation. Thank you for the beautiful creations in my house that are such a joy. May I appreciate them more and more. Oh Lord, Savior of all and over all – you are it! You are my Rock and fortress. You are my salvation and my Redeemer. You are my glorious one to brag about and to. Lord, you are it!! I am so in love with you, but Lord I want more! I want to know you more and I want to love you more. I want to be more of a blessing to You. Oh Lord, do your thing. Speak over me and bless me from those things that I need kept from. Oh Lord, I am ready to go to the outer edge with You – let’s go! Lord, I give you my life and i give you my heart. Let’s go Lord. Take me to a place with you that my desires cease. I know we have such a work to do on my heart – do it Lord. It will be miraculous and I can not wait to tell others about it. Bless you Lord, my encourager, my strength, my shield, and my all!!! I love you!
Kids are going to Big Time Tuesday today. I think they are going to Evansville again. Elleigh and I are not going to go since i have so much preparation to do with speaking tomorrow. I fly out to Charlotte tomorrow and speak that evening. I am really excited. This time Tisha is going to pick me up and we are going to either eat a Carraba’s or Zaxby’s. Neither one of those are over here so I can not wait. I am so excited to hug her neck. Then I leave Thursday morning at 6am. That is a true friend to take me to the airport at 4:30am!!! Oh I have so much to do. Thank you Lord. I want to hear you today!
PS – if you didn’t read the blogging challenge – please read the post below. thank you
388 – We are Blessed
July 6, 2007 By 15 Comments
Phil. 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Wow, Lord, the house is silent. What a blessing. This morning I have studied the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh. It was one of those switcherooskies – he blessed the second born more than the first. It was not deceptive as it was in Jacob and Esau, but it still was not the norm or liked by others. It would cause some friction in days to come. Gen. 48
When I think of blessing or having some one’s blessing it is like having their approval. But really it is so much more than that. When we have some one’s approval it is like them saying I agree with what you are doing and wish you well not really knowing the outcome of anything future. But to me from what I understand, having some one’s blessing or having them bless you is a bit different or maybe just a bit deeper. It is like saying I not only approve of what you are doing, but I esteem it and see it as worthy to do extremely well. I see a future in it or in you and I want to bless you, pray for you, commit to you, or even do things to help it happen. That is different.
Lord, remember that lady at my old church whose blessing I craved. There was no way on Your green earth she was going to give it to me for one reason or another. Oh it hurt me so badly, but I just had to accept and move through and passed that pain and disappointment. She may have not been right in withholding her support and blessing, I don’t know. But I was wrong in working, doing, living to get her approval at best, but longing for her blessing. The more I did to try to gain this approval the worst it got. I found myself having ill feelings for her and wanting to quit all activities I had done or started in my church. I was done – BUT i was wrong. It was not my place to judge her for not approving me – she could have had very good reasons even though they were not communicated to me. But my responsibility and my struggle as a people pleaser is to please Him as hard as that may be. I at times get more concerned with so and so being proud of me or pleased with me than I am with the Father being pleased. One of my greatest struggles. If people think that I can just do His will (when it hurts others feelings or disappoints) with no struggle at all – they don’t really know me. I pray I will bend the knee to His will, but many times it just about kills me at least in thought struggling with others feelings, etc.
The scripture above gives me great relief and comfort. As a child of God – whether I follow Him closely or not – says that He has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in Christ. To me, for example, that means even though I appear to have no patience in the “waiting” I have blessed with it and He will see to it that I come through (or the “wait” may never cease)! It is more than just approval, it is something He will see to completion!
Lord, thank you! I don’t quite understand or know how to receive and use all the blessings that I am afforded because of Christ. Lord Jesus, will you help me to come to that knowledge and be responsible in doing my part? Lord, I want to be full in Christ and I want to be full of Christ. I don’t want a lack of knowledge to stifle or quench the Spirit within me. I want You to work to the nth degree and more. I want to experience Your power and blessings flowing through my life so that I can do nothing more than give it all back to you – praise You through those blessings. Lord Jesus! I am so in awe of you! I thank you for your awesomeness in my life, but I want to see more. I want to see You more fully manifested in my life – Your righteousness, love, compassion, heart, joy, etc. I love you!
Not too much planned today. Kids and I went to the movies yesterday. It is so awesome to get closer and closer to days of being able to do everything with all 4 of them. Going to work out, but then pretty free today! Thank you, Lord!
383 – Blessings + Update
June 29, 2007 By 10 Comments
Oh Lord, thank you for last night. My Bible study group – Believing God Gals – came over last night and had such a great time. I almost typed fun time – it was fun, but so much more when you add ladies, the Word, and Beth Moore – it was incredible. WE did have one sweet, precious, cute as a bug in a rug girl finally ask – so how do we do this, how do we know if we are to believe and it is His will. When I went through this study the first time it took me until week 7 or 8 to ask that. I was just stunned at all of it that i just sat and didn’t know what to ask. I am slow at times – no joke!!! This is cool that she is asking already – that means she is ready to believe just wants to know what to believe. The other cool thing is how we all chimed in trying to answer her question. I think the more and more we talked possibly the more confusing it got, but the bottom line is that you just have to do it – believe – and leave the rest up to Him. That was a neat time and then our prayer time on our faces before Him in my nasty carpet was awesome too!!! My favorite time!!
I have been stunned again, unable to express the neatest thing. My new friend in the blogging world, Dori, feels like a sister to me. Kind of like a twin. Our hearts scream the same desires and we laugh, struggle, and are convicted over many of the same things. It is such a breath of fresh air for me. And to think we have never met and we just recently talked over the phone. Now Dori is an accomplished singer – at least in my eyes – and was asked to sing on a worship team for Angela Thomas at one of her speaking engagements. ***Angela Thomas is pretty big time so this was a big deal.*** She told me ahead of time about this event she was doing. I told her that I had always wanted to talk with Angela because she is in speaking and has 4 kids. I knew Angela lived in Knoxville where my parents live and wanted to go ring her doorbell. The only thing stopping me was the thoughts of police driving by to pick me up for stalking. That would not go over too well in the ministry world! So after the event I got an email from Dori that something was coming in the mail and it was cool!! On Wednesday I received an AUTOGRAPHED book by Angela Thomas!! That was T-Totally special – i was wigged out in my tiny little post office… But even more special was the sweetest card Dori wrote me with the book – my treasure!! All this and Jesus, too!!! God you are so good! Thank you!
My next blessing is really cool as well. As a speaker you always dream, or at least i do, of someone really taking notice of you and wanting to help you get there – wherever that is… Side note – If i ever get there, still don’t know where that is, but if i ever get there in ministry, I am going to try to help whomever I can to come along side of me. It is hard wanting to just have one conversation with an accomplished speaker and not be able to. I know I know I know – everyone wants to and there are crazies out there that would stalk (not me), but I just want to glean from what they already know………….Maybe that doesn’t make sense! BUT ANYWAY… My friend, Iris, at Sting My Heart thought enough of my ministry and all to give me a shout out on her Thankful Thursday post. Then to top that off she has ordered a purse and now has ordered another one to have a give away…………………….I could not be more blessed. I mean this girl has a huge ministry herself in the blogging world. On any given day she might have 30 comments on a post. That is huge because most people do not even post comments – why, I don’t know, but they don’t! To me that means that she believes enough in my ministering abilities and blog posts, etc. to promote all of it in hopes of generating more funds for me to do more… I am blown away… She has not had the drawing yet so go sign up.
OK – the experiment I did, or you did, yesterday was great. Remeber the clicking on Adsense… I am not sure how many of you clicked on things, but the report said that I had 30 clicks which resulted in $7.81. Now I think that is amazing… I am not sure how that is all generated (apparently i like that word today) because it doesn’t seem like that many clicks for that amount of money… But anyway – If you were interested in that I say go for it. It worked or at least it works as long as peeps click on things. Kind of cool! and it is free! Thanks if you clicked – I guess i owe you!! Here is a hug (()).
Tucker is such a trooper. He is already riding his bike – one handed. Played baseball yesterday and hit a double – this was in the yard. He has had tennis lessons before and so his backhand is coming in handy now. ha ha! He isn’t complaining and just being such a blessing!! Love him! One of his sweet friends and momma came by and brought cookies and playing card deally things. Tucker says no one makes cookies like Ms. Courtney. I know that melts her heart. They are so special and thoughtful. Why can i not think of those things… She is one of those that always does!! Here is Tucker and Elleigh – she has to be in all pictures – it IS an issue!!! And no – those are not morning boogers, just where he “ate” the ground in his fall. He wanted me to make sure everyone knew that. He also asked who would see the picture – I said just a few of my friends…………. on the World Wide Web. I whispered that WWW part… ha ha
Life is good – oh so good, but God you are so much gooder!!! Have an awesome day!
346 – You Will Be a Blessing
May 29, 2007 By 3 Comments
Heavenly Father – the last couple of days have been very rough with the kids. I remember from years back the first few weeks of summer are always kind of tough because the kids are used to doing something 24/7 even if it was school. So just to be at home is no fun, boring, and “you never let us do anything”. Well, all that complaining and arguing with me and one another gets very tiring and draining. So now that school is officially out around 8:30am this morning after we pick up report cards, I am already ready to start school again. This can not be!
Lord Jesus – I know part of this is just me. Hormonal time and i am just slap worn out. We have had a very busy weekend and did lots of stuff at the church and all. BTW – the Freedom Rock event at the church was a huge success. It was wonderful and all those involved just blew me away with their generosity and positive attitudes – incredible. Each of the “vendors” or tents or booths whatever you call then – they all paid for their own supplies. Some had hotdogs, hamburgers (one person brought 3000 hamburgers) fresh lemonade that was the bomb, french fries, candied apples, icecream, cokes, fritters, elephant ears, kabobs, tenderloin sandwiches,……………………………… I mean awesome!! I was so proud of our church coming together like that and blessing the “city”. There were also 2 other churches that joined us. It was another glimpse of the Nehemiah Mission. Oh praise you Lord. Maybe next year more churches will feel an urgency to join in as well.
So anyway back to my spoiled rotten kids. I know that part of it is my attitude and just feeling yucky… I was praying yesterday asking the Lord to give me an idea of something I could for the kids or with the kids this summer that makes it not all about them. I want them to be a blessing – yes oh yes to me, but to others as well. This morning it was the first thing on my mind when i jumped (yeah right) out of bed. Lord Jesus, you led me to Gen. 12:1-3
“1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
This is a time when God is calling Abram out of a life of mediocrity. He is calling him to live a life different than all those around even those of his own family. He is calling him to not only a different location, but a different way of living. He was taking him on a journey to a place Abram was unsure of. He just knew it was God telling him to go and he was going to obey. The promise that God made over Abram’s life is incredible. At this point he had no kids, not even a “love child”. The part that I sense the Lord leading me to this morning is “you will be a blessing”. I have this idea of having my kids or maybe just one kids a week think of something special to bless another person. Like if we go into the Dollar General and the check out lady is really down and one of the kids senses that – you know they sense are sorry attitudes – then maybe, hopefully, prayerfully without much coaching we can come back and bless that lady, kid, neighbor, bank teller, teenager, – whatever the Lord leads us to that week and whom we pray for under His leading.
I so don’t know if this will work and I so don’t want it to be something we start and by week 3 it is history. But at the same time I don’t want it to be something we just haphazardly throw together either. I think it will be great by allowing us to pray more together, more than just bless the food, or good night Jesus. Oh Lord, will you lead us. Will you show me if this is it – something we can do as a family this summer. I want my kids to be a blessings. I know many things we are to do in private and that will be interesting how to teach that as well. But this is about the kids, not me – Oh Lord, teach us, lead us, mold us!!!
Today we are going in to get report cards and then straight home – I guess we can start out by blessing the teachers with a small “thank you” for a great half year! Then Lord, the rest of the day is up in the air. Guide me, help my attitude, help me to be creative. I love you, Lord.
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