365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 97

As I met with my bible study last night and we discussed the chapter on fear of death, my thoughts were with my friend's family and how they are doing. I found out it was a very unexpected stroke that took her to Jesus. We ended up discussing what we think is on the other side. What do you think will happen when you die? A few of them actually had some real life stories of family that died and a bright white light that was seen. I think when people acutually experience this or something like it that is God letting them know it's okay. I am praying that my friends family although they may not have seen the white light or witnessed anything that was profoundly of God, that they keep the hope that they will see their mother, wife, daughter again. When something like this happens, you really take heart of your own life and how much you are loving others and how much you are sharing about God. There is always room for improvement! So first we take our prayers to God to help us let go of the fear so that we can reach out in love. Is there a fear of something that is keeping you from reaching out in love or being all God wants you to be? Seek him out and be freed.
Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 96

A few friends were over yesterday to make cards for my monthly Project Playground. It's always a delight to just spend time with them talking as we create our projects. As I walked out a lovely lady, she quietly said, I love coming to your house because it's nice to see that it's okay that things don't have to be perfect or something to that affect, you know my memory! It's always refreshing to hear this kind of comment about my house. I have always had the philosophy that I was not going to be a cleaning machine mom and let the time with my family slip away as I vaccumed. I want my family to feel they are the priority. So although Faith's stuffed animals, school papers and whatnot seem to be everywhere to me, it's only for a season and we are slowly but surely working on her being more responsible with her things. So, a spotlessly clean house may come in the future when the kids are moved out but for now I am happy to just keep things real. Thanks to my friend for opening her heart and sharing her feelings that in the end validated my own.
Ecclesistes 8:6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 95

My first thought to praise for today was on laughter. I have been so angry and frustrated because of work that it's been seeping into every aspect of my life but I am choosing to not let that happen. Surround yourself with positive things was the advise in a book I read recently that I have taken to heart. I have been in devotionals, in the bible and praying and do feel a sense of peace for a time. But what I really needed was a good laugh. So, here I was sitting on the toliet and I pulled down a Reader's Digest with the title "Oh, Cheer Up!" Okay, top 10 jokes in America is what they had for me. I can't say I would have voted for all of them but this one tickled my funny bone and helped at least again for a time let go of the anger and frustrations I have been dealing with. Here's my #1 from the top ten:
A priest, a minister and a rabbi want to see who's best at his job. So they each go into the woods, find a bear, and attempt to convert it. Later they get together. The priest begins:"When I found the bear, I read to him from the Catechism and sprinkled him with h oldy water. Next week is his First Communion." "I found a bear by the stream," sasy the minister,"and preached God's holy word. The bear was so mespermized that he let me baptize him." They both look down at the rabbi, who is lying on a gurney in a body cast. "Looking back," he says,"maybe I shouldn't have started with the circumcision." So, I was thinking of this joke when I got on my email this morning and heard that a friend from my MOPS days who attended my church unexpectedly passed away. Wow, I am still reeling from that piece of news. Her husband is an anathesiologist who did a surgery of mine way back before Faith was born and they have 3 kids the youngest at 11. That's always been one of my greatest fears; dying when my children are still young. Thankfully I know my friend is with Jesus right now and that God will bring good out of this tragedy but it's still a tough thing to even contemplate. I thought this scripture was appropriate because things can happen on a dime at any time. So today I am thankful to God for being alive so I can lavish love on my family and share another day with them. Who can you love and laugh with today?
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 94

After putting my daughter to bed every night, I leave her room and there is my son waiting for me. Sometimes, we play around and he blocks the doorway so I can't leave so I have to wrestle with him to get out which is not easy these days as he's bigger than me now. Other times, I will run around and try to fake him out that I am going to try going out through the bathroom. In the end, I get out of the room and we always have a wonderful long rocking side to side hug. It's not a moment that I have ever captured on film although the creative side to me will probably figure that one out but it's something I have to document in my scrapbooks. It's one of those everyday moments with my son that is so precious and I will always cherish those moments even after he leaves home someday to be on his own. We may not be able to have those precious moments with our sons, daughters, husbands and family every day but we can have those precious moments with God. Have you ever been reading scripture and you get this warm fuzzy feeling or get the good chills feeling? I am going to think of those moments as times when God is giving me a long wonderful rocking side-to-side hug. The more often you are in the Word the more hugs you get! So, what are you waiting for? Go, get a hug from God.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 93

I have been letting the lack of appreciation, the feelings of being under-valued, the lack of communication and all the changes at my workplace get to me. I have always taken in feelings and let them bottle up too much to the point where they explode. Steam has been coming out of me the last couple days at work because the workload is entirely too much for one person. I woke up this morning and my first thoughts were negative thoughts about my job. After letting off some more steam to my husband who is a very good and patient listener, I thought enough is enough. I am going to let this all go and get back in my bible and get my focus on God. I have encountered a detour sign on my journey of faith and took the detour but I am getting back on the right road today and will write up a little pray card for work to help me let go of the negatives and just do my job the best I can and remember I am called to be a light in the world. We all encounter these detours or speed bumps in our road of faith. Are you on a detour like I was? Look at your heart, pray and get yourself back on the right road.
Psalm 107:6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 92

One of my new responsibilities at my job is to call back alarm companies that call in with questions, etc. Most people that know me, already are aware I am not a phone person. It may be because of what I think is an audiotory processing issue I have that is fairly common. I have always had a fear of the phone. But I have been steadily gaining more confidence especially at my job because I have been there for almost 3 years and pretty much know my stuff and if I don't, I know where to get it. Yesterday morning I had to call a man who had a very thick accent, possibly French who seemed very frustrated so I wasn't so sure how this phone call was going to go. So, I started off the phone call with a casual easy-going what can I do to help you out? That set the tone very well as he said later in the phone call that he felt like he was talking with a real person rather than a robot. It turns out the guy was not very good with computer stuff and just needed someone to listen to him and to give him a little guidance on what he should do. Although I was initially a little wary of what this phone call was going to end up being like especially because of the thick accent, I was happily delighted with the outcome. The man was very happy and professing today is turning into a great day. I am really thankful to God for giving me a sense of peace in doing this phone call, patience, understanding and compassion which really ended up helping this man out. Is there a frustrated or angry person in your life that could use a showering of kindness?
Romans 11:22 Consider therefore the kindness and sterness of God: sterness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 91

I went to a new networking group meeting last evening. It was not my ideal situation in a bar, mingling around trying to meet new people but despite the pain in my foot, I stayed longer than I intended because I was meeting some new people that I was enjoying talking with. In the end, it was a blessing that I stayed longer as I met a lady that wanted to be helpful and actually asked if I had approached her church about my ministry and to make the evening even more delightful, I won a $25 gift certificate for jewelry from a Cookie Lee consultant. I love jewelry so that was awesome! I left limping off to my car with severe pain in my foot but a smile on my face. Thank you God for opportunities like this to meet new people, start new friendships and visit with existing friends.
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 90

Today I am pushing past the pain in my foot and will focus on being alive. Thank you Lord for another day to love my family.
1Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 89

Ever heard of fog in the brain? It is a symptom of perimenapause or menapause when you are in a non-thinking, doing anything kind of mode. Your brain just can't engage in anything. I had it yesterday and ended up wasting most of my day because I couldn't think. It's one of my obstacles in reaching my goal of having a successful faithbooking ministry, along with all the other symptoms my body likes to throw at me like migraines and naseau. It is these kinds of times when I feel the most discouraged and down about things. I feel like giving up. But because of my master mind group, I was reminded about the power of affirmations and that I need to create one that would help me get through these down periods. I thought about God and a couple of character traits he has: perserverence and patience. He didn't give up on me. He perservered and kept at me until I finally saw the light. And that didn't happen overnight, so he had to be patient and wait for the time to come. So, with God's help I can perservere through the down times and be patient and wait for the blessings that God has in store for me and this ministry. Keep laying the foundation... I will perservere and be patient for God's timing.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entagles, and let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 88

Have you ever felt like a person was an angel? Of course you have. We have all experienced at one time or another a person who is in our life at the right time, right moment and gives you exactly what you needed. I encountered an angel the other night when I went shopping for a specific kind of shoe my foot doctor recommended. This angel was previously in the medical profession and could tell me the name of my foot problem which I could not remember. He was perplexed at why the doctor would recommend this particular shoe and showed me how it worked and how it would not be good for my foot issue which is called Morton's Neroma. It's a swelling at the nerve between the 3rd and 4th toes and is caused by consistently putting too much weight onto the ball of your foot or in other words, high heels. It can also be caused and aggravated by shoes that are too narrow in the area around the toes. This particular shoe the doctor recommended actually rocks forward onto the ball of your foot. "You don't want to do that", the angel told me. He showed me more of what kind of shoe I should get and recommended I be my own best doctor. So, I went home without buying anything and did some research. Sure enough, all the sites I have visited about this say you just need some comfortable shoes with a wide-box toe. So, I am thankful for this angel who helped me avoid buying something that wasn't going to work and guiding me. God was definitely working through this kind man. We can be that angel to someone everyday if we look beyond ourselves and focus on serving others. Who can you be an angel to today?
2Peter 1:7 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perservereance; and to perserverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 87

Change it is something that can wreak havoc but in the end can be a very good thing. Changes going on at my job are making things feel a bit out-of-control but I am trying hard to ground myself and keep in mind that I can only do the best job I can and if it isn't enough than perhaps more change is necessary to get to all the work I have to do at optimal. I have a friend at work that is going through some stuff. She had a move recently to an apartment that did not go well, money issues, husband issues and now car issues. We try to cheer her up and talk about when it rains it pours and you must have a dark cloud over you right now. But if you look at it from God's perspective, he is working on changing her heart, growing her closer to him and changing her from the inside-out. Changes can wreak havoc but know that God is working within it on you and that is a good thing.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

365 Days of Praise Day 86

I think every child out there at one time or another or for some more often than not experience the unrealistic fears of the monster in the closet, the fear of clown dolls or fear of the dark. My daughter had some fears that had her waking me up at 3am last night. Turns out this time it is a fear of the hand that comes out of the closet. Her friends are telling her scary stories about the headless horseman and hands in closets. I crawled into bed with my daughter and she curled up, closed her eyes and said "I feel safe when your hear." I cuddled with her for a little while and than started to get out of bed. She, of course, popped her eyes open and lifted her head up asking where I was going. "I am going back to bed, you have to close your eyes and remember God is right here with you." So, she did and fell back to sleep for the remainder of the night. She told me this morning about her fears and that she made her fears do something funny together in a dream. Her dream was in the bottom of the Ocean in Sponge Bob's pineapple house. I was there with a bunch of other stange people and the headless horseman and the hand and we were all on a dance floor dancing together. I said God is using your own imagination to help you conquer your fears. All of this really made me think about choices and how if we have the holy spirit within us it us up to us to call on the holy spirit to help us. We can conquer our own fears by calling on our helper.
Psalm 91:14-15 I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer.

365 Days of Praise Challenge Day 85

My husband and I began a class last evening at our church called Jesus in the Movies. The premise of the class is that Jesus is portrayed in a variety of ways through out history including movie-making history. We will be seeing clips of a variety of movies to see how Jesus is portrayed. The pastor teaching the class spoke about how each of the gospels gives us a different portrayal of Jesus like Luke's gospel has much more details and stories about healings which shows a diffent side of Jesus. She explained that is how it is important to be reading from each of the gospels because they can show a different Jesus than any of the other gospels. The movie clips we saw last night were from a 1927 Cecile B Demille movie called The King of Kings. Yes, this was before movies had audio. It was interesting to see the cultural aspects that were brought into the movie simply because of the times it was created which was the roaring 20's and interesting to note how the director's perspective has an influence on the creation of the movie. I am praising God for this class and how we can learn more about Jesus and see how he's been portrayed in movie making history. Are you taking any classes that can help with your growth in your faith? I would love to hear about them.
James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 84

You have probably done this before and felt something similar. I was in the spa last evening relaxing after a stressful day at work and after the lights automatically went out, the sky darkened and my eyes adjusted and I started to see a multitude of stars. Not just those really bright ones that always seem to be there but the more distant ones that need a very clear sky without lights affecting it. I just stared in amazement. It reminded me of a time when my family went camping in a desert somewhere in CA and we got to sleep out under the stars. If you have never been in the desert at night, you need to get it on your list of things to do. I was probably elementary school age and because my memory is so bad, the fact that this stayed with me is a testimony to how powerful an experience it was. You want a good idea of how great our God is take a nighttime look at the universe he created. Wow! Our God is so great! Our God created this huge seemingly unendless universe and yet he is right here with us, loving us, caring for us, giving up his son to save us. I am in awe and will seek out that nighttime sky full of stars to remind me often of how much we are loved by the One true God of the universe.
Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 83

At my bible study last evening, we got off on a 'bunny trail' and ended up talking about negativity and how it can affect us. My first inclination was to pray about it everyday. If anything is bothering you or making your life not all it can be, pray about it. My second thought was keeping the focus on Jesus. It seems to be the major theme throughout the bible study Fearless by Max Lucado. How do we keep our focus on Jesus? Prayer, being in the Word as much as possible, being around other believers and more prayer. This morning I read from my email called Words of Wisdom from Crossing Your Bridge about change and peace and found this so 'right on' with the negativity discussion I had just had the night before. God provided a scripture that can be the focus of our prayers. Here's that little snippet I read:
2 Thessalonians 3:16

May the Master of Peace himself give you the gift of getting along with each other at all times, in all ways. May the Master be truly among you!

INSIGHT:

People who irritate, that happen to be in our lives, are there so we can activate God's peace. God's peace can help us see them as He sees them and allows us to not have them bother us. We can't control them but we can control how we react to them and how we allow them to bother us. People can't bother us unless we let them.


ACTION:
Activate God's peace in our lives when we are faced with someone who is irritating us.

Thank you Lord for bringing your Word to me that can help us change our outlook on the negative people that are around us.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 82

My daughter asked me yesterday if I could have a million wishes or a million and nine wishes which would I choose. "The larger number", I said. What would you wish for if you had a million and nine wishes? Wow, where do I start? My first thoughts were health, peace on earth and Jesus. It was facinating to hear my daughter's top three wishes and it was wonderful to tap into a child's perspective. Her top three wishes were: Her Girl Scout friend to be the owner of Water World so they could go and play there whenever they wanted, Dad is President (LOL), a pet cheetha that could play in the backyard. The cheetha got changed to a baby saber tooth kitten. Now those are some wishes!! I can imagine that each of us as children had some grand detailed wishes like that. Somewhere along the line, life seeps in and puts a damper on those dreams but anything is possible with God. We went on to discuss heaven since a baby saber tooth kitten here on earth where they are extinct wouldn't be very likely but she said after giving Jesus a hug she would go look for the baby saber tooth kitten. Dream and dream big! No matter what may come for us on earth, our dreams in our hearts will be filled when we get to heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 81

I attended a women's day retreat this weekend at a different church than my own. Although it's always a bit nerve-wracking at first because it's a new place, people you have never met and you don't know what to expect, I found it to be very refreshing after getting past the initial gitters. One of the ladies was awesome and probably could see the anxiety in my face as I just have that kind of wear everything on my sleeve kind of face. She got me introduced to a few people at a table and my anxiety started melting away. They are just people for pete sake. I can't seem to remember that. The main message for the day at the retreat was about connections which I was a bit giddy about since it's been part of my mission to make connections with other Christian women through faithbooking. Did I meet my new best friend? No, but it was nice to be reminded of how similar we all are. We all have fears and we can all call on God to help us overcome our fears, to be courageous, to take initiative and seek out other sisters in Christ. I've made the connection with this church and look forward to meeting and building some relationships with my fellow sisters.
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 80

I purposely do not watch the news on TV because most of it is negative. They do occassionaly have the feel-good stories but it's not their primary news segment. When you are trying to keep positivity in your own life, watching the news just doesn't work. But you have to keep up on current events somewhat and so can't avoid it altogether. I found a website where you could get the news with a Christian perspective called Worthy News. There a some others as well that I will check into and let you know what I think. I want to surround myself with positive stuff so I did a search for websites with Christian stories of hope and found one with lots of poems and stories. I am thankful to God for all those good hopeful stories out there in the world and pray that each of them can find avenues to share their stories and touch those with a bit of hope and encouragement. I found this poem about hope on this website. See the links in the resources section.

It’s magic and it’s free
It’s not in a prescription
It’s not in an IV.

It punctuates out laughter,
It sparkles in our tears,
It simmers under sorrows,
And dissipates our fears.

Do you know what Hope is?
It’s reaching past today,
It’s dreaming of tomorrow,
It’s trying a new way.

It’s pushing past impossible,
It’s pounding on the door,
It’s questioning the Answers,
It’s always seeking more.

It’s rumors of a breakthrough,
It’s whispers of a cure,
A roller coaster ride
Of remedies, unsure.

Do you know what Hope is?
It’s candy for the soul,
It’s perfume for the spirit,
To share it makes you Whole.

Psalm 62:5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 79

Reassurance. What a comforting word that is. There are often times in life when we need reassurances. Are we doing the right thing? Should we do something new? Am I a good person? and the list can go on an on. We need to be reassured on a daily basis of a variety of things that life has on our plates. Because of the new ownership at my place of work, it has been thought by several employess that our days are numbered. I got myself worked up with it a bit, getting my resume printed so I can get it updated and keeping my eye out for any opportunities but I was letting worry creep in on what if I lost my job. Worry is a monster that would love to eat you alive if you let it. I decided to kill the worry monster and put my focus on my Savior and by just doing the best job I could do which is what I have always done. Yesterday reassurance came straight from the big man himself, no not God but the new owner of the company. This is second hand as I didn't witness it myself but I believe it. He said he has no intention of closing this office that if he did he would have already told us so! I killed the worry monster and got the blessing of reassurance. I never needed to worry in the first place. Worry needs to become a distant memory of what I use to do. No more worrying about anything! Take this postive affirmation for yourself or create your own: I know God will take care of all my needs.
Matthew 6:25 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lillies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothes you, O you of litle faith?

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 78

I am singing praises today for my church and the guidance they are providing for Tristan. He was encouraged and decided to attend a leadership class so that he could be a camp counselor. I guess when you come from to Type A parents it's not suprising he would gravitate towards the leadership role. The wonderful part we witnessed last night happened as we went into the classroom my daughter was in to pick her up. Most of the kids were sitting within groups around the room. I spotted her and than saw next to her the back of my son's head. He was leading this little group of 3rd graders. I was able to get up and take a quick picture as he began a prayer for his group. I couldn't be prouder. What a beautiful thing to see your child doing something that Jesus loved to do. You know this is going to become a scrapbook page, right?
Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 77

Yesterday I tried out a thing called TPN or Trigger Point Needling. I heard about it at my physical therapy appointment last week when I came in with too much pain to work out and I was feeling desperate to try anything. It's very much like acupunture which I have done but the needles go in deeper at the trigger points of your muscles. I am praising God for bringing this therapy to my attention as it costs a lot less than an acupunture session and really turned out to be pretty painless. It just makes me think of how many who are afraid to try new things. That thankfully has not been a big fear of mine. I am willing to try new things although I will have to confess that trying new foods is more of a challenge. I remember eating some scray looking thing at a sushi bar on a date once a upon a time. It took some serious amount of saki to have courage to do that. Yuck! In any case, I am praising God for the willingness to try something new. Is something new calling out to you to try it?
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 76

It's another morning. I am alive and kicking and though it's not the ideal start to my morning with my fragmented sleep patterns I am going to focus on the fact that I am alive and healthy for the most part. I have been reading a book compiled with stories in it from Reader's Digest. It's humbling and really helps put your own life into perspective when you read about the suffering and challenges others have faced or are facing. There's always someone worse off than you. So, I am grateful to God for those challenges he is giving me and will keep praying for strength, wisdom and guidance on pushing through those life challenges I am facing and are yet to come.
Romans 8:10-11 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 75

If you watched the Superbowl, you ended up watching one of those white knuckle game endings when the score is so close and all it takes is a touchdown to win the game but you have to do it in less than 57 seconds. Well, nothing is impossible but it didn't happen this time for the Patriots. Those extra 57 seconds they had to try to score that touchdown didn't result in what they wanted. They didn't win. I thought about this concepting of winning later after the game and was very comforted by the thought that though my everyday life may not go as I wanted or hoped for that in the end Jesus already scored that winning touchdown for me. I have already won! So, when everyday life gets you feeling a little down and discouraged, when your play in the game isn't going as you hoped for or wanted; look at the bigger picture and realize your game has already been won and your plays have already been called into account by God. Keep running your plays for God but know that the game is already won. Thank you Jesus for scoring that touchdown for me!
Phillipians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 74

As I was cuddling with my daugther in her bed last night, she commented "you're the perfect mom". When an opportunity presents itself like this to talk about Jesus, I take it. I told her nobody is perfect only Jesus is perfect and we just have to keep trying. Her response, "you're perfect to me". But than she added that we aren't perfect because we have sin. That's right our sin pulls us away from the Lord but thankfully we are forgiven. She finished it with "because Jesus died on the cross". I was immediately impressed with how much our teaching with the help of our church has sunk in. The sin that I am sure that my daughter thinks of and confessed to me last year, was that she secretly got into the Splenda packets downstairs and ate them. What pulls us into sin? For her, at this point in her life, it is her sweet tooth. There are two broad-termed ways we are pulled into sin: Temptations and Fears. Does one of these strike a cord with you? I know for me at this time in my life, it is fears, especially the fear of what others think of me or what I am doing. It is a constant battle but being in the word everyday, praising God everyday, praying everyday is helping me conquer my fear. The encouraging words that my daughter said to me last night are just another way of God telling me you are loved just as you are and you are doing what I want you to do so do not fear but strive for perfection. My prayer for you is that your heart will be open to hearing what God is speaking to you today.
Proverbs 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 73

Friday was my 16th wedding anniversary. Thanks to the snow we didn't do anything as planned but I told my hubbie we have Valentine's Day as our back-up so our dinner out will happen eventually. I was looking at this scrapbook page I created on God's love and contemplating what my journaling would be. I chose a photo of my hubbie and I that was taken with my iphone this last Thanksgiving and the connection of the day came to me. We met on the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1994. At that time although I believed in God and Jesus in my head, I did not have them in my heart. Our marriage didn't begin with God in it but it has certainly grown to be that way. God is now a central part of our marriage and has made it stronger and better than ever. God first loved us and it's because of his love that Nathan and I are truly able to love each other. Without God, we never would have been here and never have been put in each other's path. So thank you God for loving us and creating us and bringing us together to live out your love through loving each other.
1John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 72

Snow is upon us in a big way. I find it funny how snow can be so good in ways like no school for the kids but so negative as in car accidents, shoveling, stressful driving conditions, etc. I have always said that a job and the money I would make in one day is not worth the effort and potential for disaster that driving on snowy roads with blizzard conditions would bring. So, it looks like it's a snow day for me, too. Since the stories of 911 of people that said they should have been in the twin towers but they weren't for various reasons like they missed the train or the alarm clock didn't go off; I have always felt that we are exactly where God wants us to be. So, if God wants me at home today staying safe than I will accept whatever may come from that and will pray that those out on the roads will be safe.
Psalm 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 71

Sleep. It hasn't been so good lately but instead of going into the easy cranky negative mode from lack of sleep, I am going to praise God that I have a bed and home to sleep in. It is one of those things that we very much take for granted but there are so many around the world living on the streets, using a cardboard box for cover and their own dirty clothes for any warmth. My prayer is for those without a home and a warm bed to sleep in that hope will be sparked in them and that God will use people to reach out and help them. Here is a link to a local shelter See how you can help!
Psalm 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 70

My son lost his retainer. To me it almost seems like inevitable that this would happen. It's just not something you are use to doing and distractions happen. So some poor guy cleaning our table up at Jason's Deli probably saw and wondered 'what the heck', into the trash I am sure is where it went. My hubbie was fuming at this loss because he thought the cost to replace ran around $250. Ouch! In the scheme of things, I certainly don't want his teeth to get messed up and ruin all the work and money already put into them but at the same time I feel like we have to focus on the fact that we could give him braces in the first place. We have much to be thankful for and yes an extra $250 will hurt and probably mean no mini trip during Spring Break but I am going to pray and keep my focus on the positive and know that in the end God will provide as he always does.
Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds?

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 69

I can see the doors opening! Day by day as I keep to His word and focus on my God who loves me I am finding mile marker posts keep coming up showing me I am on the right path. I spoke with a friend who happens to be pastor at a church and she passed onto me another church possiblity where I can possibly get in a workshop or series of workshops. Working within your own network of people can help get you further out there to new people. I am feeling very blessed for these people that get what I am trying to accomplish and I know in the end when this minisry is successful and thriving I will be able to look back and see all the wonderful people who played a part in it's journey to success. Thank you Lord for those people you place in my path that are really angels in disguise.
Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyon hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.