365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 169

We saw a movie called The Impossible on DVD. The movie is based on a true story of a family who experienced the tsunami in Thailand in 2006 that killed over 30,000 people. Now I don’t want to spoil the movie for you but the title kind of gives you that hopeful feeling that the family will survive. They do survive but what they endured and went through to survive and find each other was intensely heartbreaking. You will definitely need a Kleenex. The love, determination and persistence they demonstrated was a beautiful earthly example of how the Father feels about us. When everything is stripped down to the bare bones of what we want most, what we see is people wanting to be with their loved one/s. That is how God feels about us. He so wants us to want Him so much that we will search Him out and find Him. God is not passive about this. He lays the breadcrumbs that when are eyes are opening will start to follow. Ultimately, He gives us the choice but he created in us a need to find Him. And like the reunion of the family in the movie, it is a glorious and joyous celebration when we find God and choose Him. Though we don’t see Him, he is crying with joy and smiling with celebration that you and He are finally together.  

Luke 15: 31-32 ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 337

I watched the movie, The Five-Year Engagement last evening. Definitely some very funny moments in the movie! The theme of the movie was about how we are imperfect  and how life will happen.  This couple finally learns, after their five-year engagement, that they aren’t the perfect couple and life will throw things at them. Love is what brought them together and will keep them together if they keep their focus on their love. The movie has a happy ending. This movie reminds me of the story of Jacob in the bible. This guy must have really loved Rachel because not only does he wait 7 years to marry her but it ends up getting extended another 7 years because he marries the sister Leah by deception. Jabob has to 14 years before he can marry the woman he loves. They are finally married but does the perfect life start for them. No, God has his plans. Rachel can’t get pregnant and watches as her sister and each of their servants gets pregnant by Jacob. It is a long and I am certain heart-wrenching struggle for Rachel but she does finally get pregnant and has a son, Joseph. Rachel and Jacob’s life story ends tragically with Rachel dying in childbirth with her second son, Benjamin but they do indeed have a happy-ending forever together in Heaven. We have to make the most of our days here on Earth, love the best that we can, strive to follow God’s ways and path and in the end our treasure is togetherness forever with the God whose love for us is beyond our ability to comprehend how great it is. Praise to the God who gives us the choice to have a happy ending.

Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 223

We celebrated 4th of July yesterday and yet it was the most low-key 4th of July ever. Because of the fire, all fireworks shows were cancelled and because the fire fighters are still busy taking care of the fire, the 4th of July parade was postponed. What to do? What to do? My first thought was to take the kids up to Elitchs and suprise them but the expense and day out in the heat kept us from going that route. I googled what to do for July 4th and didn't find much but got the idea to head out to Manitou Springs and help support the businesses out there that had to be closed for a few days during their peak season. We had a great lunch at a place called The Keg which has some great burgers and philly cheese steak sandwiches. There are some really fun and unique stores out there that made it fun like the store that is all about rubber ducks. The boys were troopers in dealing with this window shopping adventure but I will have to go back sometime with just girlfriends and do some Christmas shopping. We kicked back the rest of the day with our typical movies, dinner and spa time. No crowds, no fireworks but just this peace and quiet that seemed so odd. In the end, we were thankful for the time we spent together even though it was not like other 4th of July's. Praising God for just another day where we could be together, share laughs and love each other.

Deuteronomy 6:6,7
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 154

Conflict is not may favorite thing to be in the middle of but I found myself exactly smack in the middle of it on my trip to San Antonio. My sister had gone into her more quiet moody mode and though it didn't bother me, it bothered my mom. She ended up blowing up mostly towards my sister but like I said I was right there in the middle. It turns out I was the problem. My sister, at first, denied there was any problem but my mom persisted and it came out. She was thinking that mom loved me more because she thought my mom was talking with me more during our trip. Funny thing is I have felt that way a bit here and there with their relationship in the last couple of years because it seems to have gotten closer and I have felt left out but I have been quickly able to put it in the proper perspective and let it go. It was spiraling out of control so I suggested we do a bible study together as I had my notes from my workshop recently about John 16:33. We had done a bible study kind of thing together on our trip to Phoenix a couple years ago and it was wonderful. To me it was a common link that could bring us together. Our love for and faith in the Lord. My sister didn't respond at first but when I got up and stood in front of her I gently told her that we needed to bring the Lord into this and let him help. She came and sat down with us and we started the bible study that eventually led to other topics that helped show us that we are all the same, we all feel alienated or like we don't belong. We all feel like we aren't loved as much as someone else. We all feel like we have no friends. In the end we were laughing and saying we need to do a bible study at the beginning of our trip instead of at the end. The Lord helped bring peace into each of our hearts and brought us together as one body. It really was a beautiful thing to see unfold before me. Thank you Lord for my mom and my sister and for bringing us together as one in you. Col 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as memeber of one body you were called to peace.

We always get something for each of us to remember the trip by. It's always been jewelry. You see crosses everywhere in San Antonio and because of our conflict and the Lord bringing us back together again, it seemed very appropriate that we get crosses. So, we found a shop with lots of cross jewelry and we each picked our own cross. This is a photo of us in the airport to head home where our crosses.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 147

The Lord has been giving me scripture after scripture to help me let go of my idealistic thoughts on how my workshops should be and what faithbooking should be for everyone. He has been working on me and letting me know that what I am doing is for His good purposes. So, again I am praising the Lord for bringing me these scriptures in my inbox that are so speaking to me about my own discouragement and expectations. This scripture he brought to me tells me that just bringing believers togehter to do something in His name is a wonderful thing so I will perserve and look to the Lord to be my guide. Has discouragement about something got you down? Look to the Lord for encouragement and truth and be set free from your own discouragement.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 132

Have you ever made up your own word? I think each of us has at one time or another. It may not become popular and evenutally get in the dictionary but our creative nature makes us want to make up our own words. Last night we were to have left overs for dinner. Faith came down and was directed by Dad to look in the fridge. He jokingingly said you could have the spaghetti. This was because the spaghetti was the noodles and sauce together. She's a plain noodle eater so sauce is a big no-no. She very matter-of-factly says "it's been saucified!" How stinking cute was that! Now this food togetherness issue has been going on since about age 2. We certainly had hoped she would have grown out of it by now but I think she will be like I was, a late bloomer. In any case, when I think of this issue of togetherness with her food, it reminded me of our togetherness with the Lord. Are we trying to control our life and saying hold the sauce? or are we gratefully adding Jesus the sauce of our life to our noodles? How much better spaghetti and life is with Jesus being in it! We have to choose to put on the sauce of Jesus to our naked noodle life each day. Praise God for this silly kind of analgoy that came through the not-so-good issue with my daughter. I pray she will eat the spaghetti with sauce some day but thankfully I know that when it comes to Jesus she is living together with him. How about you? Have you been saucified? Pour Him on.
John 17:26 "I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."