Hey everyone!! I cannot begin to tell y'all how much fun this weekend was. Even more than fun, it was just so very special. It truly would not have been the same without Veronica here. And let me tell you, she is just as beautiful, kind, sincere, genuine, fun, and loving as she is on her blog. Everyone absolutely loved her. And, she has EXTRA special status around here because Lily totally would talk to her and around her....that is a huge deal for Lily! I will be back to tell you all about our weekend and my baby shower, but for now, we did a really quick vlog before leaving for the airport this morning. No time to edit or anything, so it is what it is, but it was fun! And goodness gracious, I do have a Texas accent.......or country.....or something. LOL!
Veronica just sent me a text saying she landed in El Paso and was headed to California, so pray the rest of her trip goes well. I know her family is going to be so happy to see her again. I was having a really hard time saying goodbye today. I wish I could keep her here forever! :) But, I know she's excited to see her precious girls again and her hubby. She is one special person and I thank the Lord every day for the incredible gift of her friendship!!
There are never any Sundays that I go to church and don't get something out of it, but I just can't stop thinking about yesterday's sermon. Not only was it a great message, but we also had a band there yesterday for the music and they were so AWESOME!! Morgan was fishing, so it was just the girls and I who went, and then we went out to eat afterwards at a yummy mexican restaurant. It was a great Sunday! Oh, and another neat thing that happened......one of the ladies at my church who just had a little boy not too long ago gave me a huge box full of little baby boy clothes!!
Here is what I learned at church:
Are you sometimes or often:
Unloving? Depressed? Worried? Impatient? Rude? Sinful? Harsh? Unfaithful? Self-Indulgent?
We all struggle with these sometimes. Each of these things are the exact opposite of the fruit of the spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23
So how do we remain these things? How do we remain connected to Christ? Jesus told us how. He said, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5
Just like branches, we need to remain to our life source, Jesus. Spiritual fruit comes from remaining in Him. To remain, means to stay, abide, dwell. There are promises for those who remain in Christ:
1. You WILL bear spiritual fruit. If you want to be a better parent, spouse, friend, stay connected to Christ. We often pray for things that we would have already if we were in Him. They are automatic and already ours if we remain in Him. My pastor used a great analogy to explain this. He said it's like praying and praying that you will get a tan here in Texas. You don't need to pray for a tan.....you just need to go outside! It's the same as a believer who is disconnected from Christ who is praying for love, joy, etc. It's already yours if you remain in Him! We see this all the time with families who start out having it all......they are in Christ, serving in the church, and then over time their priorities change, they get too busy and they become disconnected, and their family begins to fall apart.
2. You will possess spiritual POWER. Jesus said, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." John 15:7 We must not confuse this with the prosperity preaching that is out there, that says "speak it and it's yours". That's not what Jesus said. We aren't to pray for selfish things. When we remain in Him, we will now have God's mind. The things He desires are now what you desire. When you ask what He wants, it will be given and you'll never ask why He won't answer your prayer.
So, how do we apply this? How do we remain in Christ? It's not about being moral. That might be a by-product, but that's religion. We aren't saved by earning it. If that was possible, then Jesus wouldn't have had to come. Here are some different ways that we remain in Christ:
1. Remain in God's word - You know as much of God's word as you want to. It's so easily accessible. Some of us spend time religiously on facebook every day. Which do we spend more time on? Is it more important to update your status than to check on God's? Take inventory. How does the way you spend your time reflect what is more important to you?
2. Remain in Christian fellowship - It is so important to be involved with other Christians. That is where real life change happens.
3. Remain consistent in prayer - Prayer should be a part of our daily attitude/routine. We should stay connected to God in prayer. It's not about the length of the prayer or the way you do it. It's about knowing that God is always there and sharing with Him.
4. Remain amazed by God's creation - Open your eyes and acknowledge the beauty He's created.
5. Remain faithful in service - Find a place and serve. Amazing things happen when you commit to serving others.
We aren't naturally inclined to do these things, so we have to remain in Christ. Jesus issued a warning to those who didn't:
"If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." John 15:6
He's not talking about salvation......it's about your life. Like a pruned branch that dies, it takes time, but it begins to weaken and die, turns brown and brittle, until there is no sign of life. We may feel dried out spiritually because we have become disconnected from Christ. Go back and do the things you did at first......remember what God has done, repent, turn to God, and remain there. When we stop producing fruit, we need to stop and take inventory and see where we've gotten off track!
I just loved this message! And I LOVE this new Leeland song! It goes along with this message too. I cannot wait until their new CD comes out! Leeland is a brilliant songwriter......I have yet to find another artist who can say better what I feel!
Okay, so we decided on a baby name! We went through list after list and we always came back to Matthew. When I think of this baby, I think about what a gift he is. God knew better than us (He always does!) what our family would look like. When we thought we were done having kids, He knew better. And when we never in a million years dreamed we would have a boy, He had something up His sleeve! There just doesn't seem to be a more perfect name than the one that means "gift from God" and so Matthew William Myers, it will be!!! I'm SO excited!
William is Morgan's middle name and it was his Dad's middle name, so it only seems fitting to pass that down to this little one. I also loved Christian for a middle name, since that was my Mom's maiden name, but I'm already named after that and I think it will be special to pass down the name William. It's what Morgan wanted and I think he should get top say in this one! I love that Matthew William is a strong name. Matthew sounds cute for a little boy, but still strong for a grown man. And the other day, my Aunt and I were saying whatever his name is, it has to sound good for sports. Ha! We were like, "And now up to bat........Matt Myers". LOL! Love it!!
Everyone said God would help us pick the perfect name. After all, He knew before the beginning of time everything about this little one. And in all the years of picking baby names and going through lists for both genders, I never ever had Matthew on one of my lists. Yet, when I read it off the other day, it was just perfect and I knew that would be his name!
I thought I would take a few pics today. I feel way huge today! But, these pics don't look too bad. Ha! You can tell more in this one! The girls spent the day swimming at Grandma's house on Sunday, so I decided it was about time for me to go find some cute little things for this baby! I felt so weird and out of place looking around the boys' section! Ha! I found some great deals though.
This was only $3.70! It's 3-6 months, but I figured that's probably best anyways because typically everything you get at a baby shower is newborn or 0-3 months. And this little outfit was only $2.70! I couldn't turn that down! It's a 3-6 month one too. And can this be any cuter?!!! Awwwww......a little star on his bottom?! Ahhh!!!! I love it!! This 3 piece set was on sale for $10. Another great deal! It has a little short sleeve onesie that says "Daddy's Rockstar". And a long sleeve one that says "Mommy Rocks!" So cute!! I still have several onesies and cloth diaper/burp cloths left over from when I had my business, so I can't wait to get in there and make some cute little boy things! That's one thing I've realized.....if I do end up opening my business back up, I think making little boy things would be a must! There are very few handmade boutiques out there that do little boy things, it seems!
Anyhow, here is the video of Madison's lyrical class dancing to "Hope Now". Each girl had ribbons that represent the different cancers. I just loved it. Madison is the 2nd one to go onstage. That song is one of the very first Christian songs I ever heard and so it's always been a special song to me......it's been kind of like my theme song, so I tear up every time I watch this video. Hope you like it too! (Even if you don't watch the whole thing, make sure you watch the ending......it's so neat!)
Oh my goodness......where has the time gone and what happened to my little baby?!! Today, I registered Lily for Kindergarten!! I'm not one of those emotional moms that cries when their kids go to school, because I honestly love seeing them spread their wings and becoming independent. But, it is amazing to see my little shy Lily grow up!
I went to register her while she was at school. I didn't realize they do things differently now and that they like to talk to the kids and screen them at registration. So, I told them that I could bring her back after school. I was so nervous at the thought of them testing her without me there, because Lily does not talk to strangers AT ALL. It has been 2 years and she still won't talk to our friends at church and will barely talk to her teachers at school.
I'm not worried about her being socially disabled or anything like that because at home she talks non-stop. It's just her little personality quirk. Her teachers at school say she plays and has fun with her friends. I have been talking to her off and on all year about how she is going to have to talk when she gets to Kindergarten. I've told y'all about how Kaylee was almost labeled special ed because she was the same way.
So, as I thought about how to approach this to Lily, I decided to go with the bribery technique. She's been really in to milkshakes from McDonald's lately because she loves that the new cups they use look like Starbucks cups and have whipped cream and a cherry. LOL! I knew that this isn't really a fear issue.......she just doesn't want to talk and it's become almost a game to her. So, luckily she was in a super good mood when I picked her up from school and I explained to her that we needed to take her to talk to the teachers so that they could see what she knows and what class to put her in. Then, I said if she would talk to them and answer their questions, we could go get a milkshake! Well, that was all it took and she was super excited!!
Today was literally the first day I've seen her respond to adults that she doesn't know! And it was the principal who ended up testing her too. She was saying "thank you" in response to compliments and she told her what her sisters names are. Then, she took her back to test her. Lily said they asked her what some letters where, had her draw a picture of herself and write her name, and then asked her a few other questions. They asked her when you go swimming and she said "summer". She also said she asked her what time winter is and Lily said she didn't know so she just said "wednesday", because you know, she said, "it's windy in winter and so wednesday", like winds-day. LOL!!!!!! Hey, her thinking was pretty smart, right?! Haha!
I was just so proud of her! And I could tell that she was very proud of herself too! So, she is ready to go to Kindergarten in the fall!
It was super windy here today, and Wednesday/Winds-day. Haha! I took a video of the waves crashing in. I just love watching them!
Last night, was the Relay for Life here in my town. The girls were set to perform their poms routines, but they weren't going on until 11:15pm! I wasn't sure how they would do, since they also had dance class from 5:30 - 7:30, but they were so excited!
It was at our local raceway park and it was so neat! There were tons of booths, a Christian band was playing when we got there, and our church had a booth out there too, so my friends came over to watch the girls and they loved that! Kaylee's teacher also happened to walk up right before her performance and I was so excited, because I knew Kaylee would be thrilled that her teacher got to see her!
The girls did so amazing and I was SO proud to watch them perform! It was a lot of fun! There was this huge light shining, so the quality wasn't that great on these videos, but you can still see the girls.
Here's Kaylee's video. She's the one on the left.
Here's Madi's video. She starts out 3rd from the right. Watch her leap at the beginning and then her pirouette (double turn) near the end. She was so excited that she did them perfectly and I totally noticed that she landed them!
We ended up getting home around 12:30, but we had a great time. Sometimes, these dance classes every night really can wear us out, but these performances make it all worth it. They just shine up there on stage and I was so proud of them!
I got these books in the mail today. I LOVE craft books!!! And this dolly one is so cute! I'm still working on my dolly pattern. I'm almost there, hopefully! I'm trying to make her different than what's already out there, so she's been through a bunch of major FAILS. Ha! The girls and I died laughing one day when her "wig" flew off and then when another one looked like a body builder. :D
This is my favorite song right now!!! Love it!!
So, is everyone out there in blog land snowed in right now? We started out in the 70's today and we're now in the 30's, with possible sleet/snow on Friday. That is just unheard of in this part of Texas! Should be fun! Everyone was talking about stocking up on stuff and so it made me think I wasn't prepared enough. I didn't buy any extra food, but I did buy a big jumbo pack of toilet paper and some paper towels. LOL!
Earlier today, I was flipping channels and caught the end of the movie "Fireproof". I just love that movie. Morgan and I watched that movie when I first found out about it, before we started going to church. I really think it was the beginning of a change in us. And today, when I saw the ending, and they got re-married and the pastor said that now their marriage was built upon the strong foundation of the Lord, it just really hit me!
I mean, in that moment, I realized just how important it was for our marriage that we got ourselves in church and started to build our foundation upon the Lord. Just like in the movie, He has changed us both dramatically. So many pieces had to come together in order for us to end up here........pieces that no doubt the Lord helped to fall into place.
I laughed when Caleb is holding his bible and they're on their way to church at the end and the neighbors are like, I just don't understand that boy! I saw us in that picture. I thought, oh my goodness, my Mom would be absolutely amazed that we go to church now and that we have made it a part of our lives. She would be so proud of us and she would say that she knew we could do it! It's not even about going to a church building every week. It's about the changes that have happened as a result of giving our lives to God.
Anyways, I was just thinking about how the Lord showed us that movie and then he took us and acted it out in our own lives! That's pretty amazing!! Here is a clip from the end of the movie. It's such a great movie......if you haven't seen it yet, you must watch it!!!
Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments on my Blogiversary post! I was a day late on drawing a winner for my giveaway, but that just gave a few more people a chance to enter. :) Congratulations to the winner.......Mahina!
I haven't had much time to blog lately, because I've been addicted to playing "words with friends" on my iphone. Haha! If you play, let me know your name on there so we can play!
Is everyone ready for Thanksgiving?! I am!! I am so excited to have the rest of the week off from school and dance! We don't have to travel either, since my MIL only lives 15 minutes from us. Yay!
I took these videos last Friday when the girls had their performance team parent's watch night. I was so excited to see what they've learned and it looked like so much fun dancing with their poms!
Aren't they so cute?!
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!! We all have SO much to be thankful for!!!!
I have had so much fun being a "dance mom" this week! I still have tonight and tomorrow night to watch more of their classes too! They have amazed me this week with their skills and how much they have improved in just a few short months! Most of all, they really seem to love dancing and that is what matters most!
Here are some pics from Kaylee's ballet, tap, and jazz classes:
I love her look here.....sassy! :D Here are some pics from Madison's jazz class: This is something that she could not even come close to doing in September when they started dance! I guess 3 nights a week of stretching and dancing has really helped! I am really excited to go and watch their performance team classes on Friday, since they have been learning a routine using their poms.......I will definitely video that and post it on here!
So much has been going on and I just haven't felt like blogging! :( This might be the most random post ever!
I thought y'all might like to see this video of Zoey.......she's so funny! Pay no attention to my crazy voice!
This week is parent's watch week at dance. Last night was Kaylee's classes, tonight and tomorrow are Madison's, and then Friday is their performance team classes. I already have tons of cute pics and videos from Kaylee's class last night that I need to post!
Tomorrow, I can finally go get my iphone. Yay!
Friday is my 2-year Blogiversary!!! Wow! I need to think of some kind of giveaway or something!
Morgan is going back to school in January to get his engineering degree! I think it might feel like I'm a single mom there for awhile, with him working full-time, going to school, and trying to build a house! I know he can do it though! And I'm going to try and help take care of everything around here so he doesn't have to worry about anything. Except mowing......I'm no good at mowing. One time Morgan had surgery on his foot when we lived at our other house. I mowed one time for him and our yard was pretty tiny too. Yep, the next time he had a neighbor come over and do it. Hahaha!!! No mowing for me. :D
This past month has been so crazy/sad here in my neighborhood. One day, I was coming home from taking the girls to dance and lifeflight had landed outside my neighborhood at the airport that is right by it. It turns out it was our neighbor! He's around my age! He had fallen off a ladder in his garage and hit his head. He is still in ICU. They had to take off part of his skull to relieve the swelling and it will be a long recovery. Please pray for a full recovery for him and for his wife and girls.
Then, the following week, I came home and an ambulance was at my other neighbor's house. I got out and ran over to check on her and she had found her husband unconscious. They took him across to the airport and lifeflighted him out too. Sadly, he passed away a few days later. He had a stroke. Please keep his wife and family in your prayers too.
So, all that went on and we have been so busy with just normal stuff, and I haven't been to church in almost 3 weeks. I am just going to reset and start all over! Lily has been sick too, but I'm hoping she'll feel like going to school tomorrow. Then I can get my iphone, celebrate my blogiversary on Friday, go back to church on Sunday, and just start all over just in time for the holidays!
Yay!!! I love the holidays! I can't wait to eat turkey and start getting ready for Christmas!
I wanted to show everyone Malena's story that was the top news story last night here in Houston!!! I couldn't believe it was the feature story! Way to go, Malena! There's nothing I love more than to see a Momma fighting for her child (and other children)! I am SO proud of her! It was such a great story they did too!
By the way, you can go here to see the actual news page/video on the website, but I recorded this with my flip so that I could actually post the video here on my blog :)
Remember when you all helped me raise money for my little cousin, Zach, who was born with CMV (cytomegalovirus) with my "Notecards for Zach"? Well, like I was saying last week, his Mommy is on a mission to make sure that other moms and doctors know about this virus and are educated about it. So, she contacted a Houston news station and they decided to do a whole story about it!! Isn't that awesome?! It will be airing tonight at 10pm and I will try to get a link to the story to put on here as soon as they've posted it. I did record the commercial they showed with my flip camera, and I thought y'all would like to see it! I know as bloggers, we are bombarded with so many different people asking for money for different things, most of which are all great causes. I just wanted you all to know that your help did make a difference, not only for Zach, but for all the other babies that Malena has made it her mission to fight for!! I am so proud of her!
Yesterday, I was looking at Angie's blog and noticed on her twitter, she had mentioned a video. So, I clicked on it and it was this guy, Tim Hawkins. I had never heard of him before, but I was laughing SO hard that literally tears were streaming down my face. You HAVE to watch this video! It was so funny!! Morgan was like, are you crying?!! LOL!!!!!
There's just nothing better than laughing hysterically! The one Angie tweeted about had to do with hand sanitizer, which was just as funny, so you'll have to click on his youtube links and watch some of the other ones too!
Another funny thing that happened today was that I took Lily to the mall, just me and her, to get a Halloween costume. She wanted to be batgirl. So, we're walking into JC Penney's and she's like, "LOOK MOMMA!!! BRAS!!!!! YOU CAN GET A CHEETAH ONE!!! OOOOOH......THEY HAVE A HOT PINK SPARKLY ONE!!!!!" I was dying laughing :D Mostly because she said it SO LOUDLY!!!!
The girls had lots of fun at their dance lock-in last night. Morgan, Lily, and I went to Red Lobster and ate dinner, which was nice. However, Kaylee has had a fever all day and she's just not feeling well. Can y'all please say a prayer for her? I just hate it when my girls are sick :(
I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone for your sweet comments the past few days, on here and on facebook. I started out the days so sad and then they ended up being great days, because I just felt so loved. The one thing I missed more than anything and the Lord sent it right my way. So, thank you so, so much!
I just saw on facebook today that JJ Heller just premiered the official video for "What Love Really Means", so I thought I would share that. How funny since I just posted it the other day!
It's amazing how much things have changed in the past six years. I know I've said many times that my Mom dying is what led me back to the Lord and if that hadn't happened, I don't know how things would have turned out. That almost sounds like she wasn't close to the Lord or something, like she was keeping me from Him, and that couldn't be further from the truth. In our house growing up, talking about the Lord and faith and how His plan is always perfect.......well, that was just second nature. There was no option not to believe. There was never any other way. And I am so glad that I grew up like that. Yes, we drifted away from the "church", but we never drifted away from having a relationship with the Lord.
When I say I was led back to the Lord, what really happened is just that I started yearning to understand truly who He was/is. I grew up knowing what I believed, but not really understanding why I believed it. I had just gotten to the point that I had let life get in the way and hadn't made Him a priority in a long time. I didn't even realize what I was missing. It wasn't until a friend told me that she didn't believe Jesus was the only way that I began to wonder why I truly believed that He was.
So, I simply asked Him. The awesome thing about prayer is that you can ask Him anything and He will answer! I just asked Him to show me who He is. I just wanted to understand why I believed, and why He is the only way. I found that sometimes asking the Lord such a simple question can change your whole life!
From that moment forward, I began to experience a love like I had never experienced before. It was as if Jesus Himself was taking my hand and leading me to every single book, scripture, article, blog post, song lyrics, TV show, etc. that would answer my questions. It wasn't "like" He was doing that; He truly was. There is such truth to the scripture that says seek and you shall find. The Holy Spirit was always there, just waiting for me to listen and follow. And JJ's song is so true.......He loves us for exactly who we are, no matter what we have done (thank goodness!).
The interesting thing about it is that this absolute truth that I was being shown, that Jesus is the only way, it wasn't something that I was brainwashed into believing. It wasn't something that someone I admired said and so I believed it. It wasn't something I learned at church, because I wasn't even going to church at the time. It was something I was intimately shown through Christ Himself. I just learned that without a doubt, Jesus is the key. You can believe in this God that sits up in Heaven your whole life, but if you truly want to know Him, the only way is to know Jesus. I am no bible scholar. I just know what I know because I have experienced His love firsthand.
It was so amazing how much my heart and my desires changed during that time. I used to totally make fun of people who listened to Christian music all the time. And I thought those people who always had to talk about Jesus were just annoying. I thought all church people were just hypocrites who lived one way on Sunday, and a different way the rest of the week. I thought that because I had experienced it firsthand and I still experience it. But, I have learned that we can't give up on God just because His people sin. People will let you down, but He never will.
It's so funny to me now how much I love Christian music. I had no idea that Christian music could sound just as good as popular music. I thought all Christian music was slow, gospel music. I began to love it though, because it was the best way I knew how to truly express the love I was feeling for the Lord at that time. I just felt this overwhelming love and the only way I knew to communicate that was through singing praises. I know that might sound so corny, but it's true. It took me by surprise too. I can assure you that I don't listen to it because I think I should, or for appearances, or anything like that. I just truly love it. And that's a lot coming from a girl who used to listen to Tool and Marilyn Manson every day. I say that I never drifted from my relationship with the Lord, but I guess now that I think about it, I did drift pretty far away there for awhile.
The other thing I began to have this overwhelming desire to do was to read every single Christian book that I could. I wish I could say that I had an overwhelming desire to read the bible. But, I found that if I could read books where someone could take scripture and interpret them for me and help me to understand them, it just was much easier for me than going at it alone. I think I have read 40-50 Christian books, all non-fiction, in the past 2 years. I have always loved to read, but that is crazy. I don't know what the Lord is trying to show me or prepare me for, but I haven't lost interest yet, so I'm still going at it.
And when I started going to church, the enemy immediately started with his lies about how I wasn't doing anything worthwhile and there was nothing I could offer. And driving down I-10 one night, as I was asking the Lord to show me what I could help the church with, my thoughts were completely interrupted as the Lord Himself spoke to me. Now, before this, if anyone had told me that I would hear the Lord speak to me, I would've laughed in their face. But, I can say without a doubt, that I know it was the Lord. It wasn't an out loud voice, but it was a voice I heard and I knew Who it was. And it said, "Your Mom would be so proud of you. I am proud of you." I will never forget that as long as I live. And no, I'm not crazy and I don't hear voices in my head!
So, after six years, I know that my Mom would be so proud of how far I've come and how far our family has come! I know without a doubt where she is. I know that she would not choose it any other way, given that she is with Jesus right now! And, there is no point in wondering if she can see what's going on down here or if she watches over me or can look down on me, because my life is just a vapor. The years I have left on earth will pass in the blink of an eye, compared to the eternity that we will all have together in Heaven. So, I shouldn't be sad and feel like she just left me, because she knows that it will just be a moment and we will be together again.
I know that I am still here on earth because I am still a part of the Lord's plan and I still have work to do. I am not here to carry out my own plans and hope that the Lord will bless them. I am here, standing in faith, and knowing that the Lord has His own plans for me and I am praying that I will be obedient in carrying them out!
Today, I have been a little sad because it would've been my Mom's 62nd birthday today. Tomorrow will be 6 years since she passed away. She died the day after her 56th birthday. Although I have grown so much over the past six years, there still isn't a day that I don't miss her and I don't think there ever will be. I know that one day I will see her again. I can honestly say that there is no way I would have made it through all of this without Jesus in my life.
But, even though I have the Lord, sometimes I tell him that I just need a best friend who can physically be here with me. That is what I miss about my Mom. I miss talking on the phone, going shopping, hanging out doing nothing at all, and most of all, she was the one person I could just be myself around (besides Morgan). Speaking of Morgan, I definitely would not have made it without him. He is my very best friend, but he doesn't like to talk much or go shopping. :( Ha!
I just love this song by JJ Heller right now. It's about how Jesus will love me for me, not for what I have done or who I have become. That's what I miss about my mom.....her love.
Yesterday, our sermon at church was such a great one. It was called "One Thing". We looked at Isaiah 43:18-19, where God is speaking to His people and he tells them to forget the former things. Often, we rely on the good ol' days. Sometimes we are paralyzed by our past and the bad we've done. In verse 19, God says, "See, I am doing a new thing! Do you not perceive it?"
Sometimes, we don't see the good things God is doing today, because we're still living in the past. God brings hope to the hopeless and life where there was none before. We are here to take His gospel of new life to where there is death. We are to accept his gift by grace through faith. The temptation is to try and do a million things, but we should focus on that one thing we can do right now. We can change, one thing at a time. Matthew 6:33 says to seek God and everything else will fall into place. Most of the time, we seek our own kingdom and then ask God to bail us out later.
There are 4 questions we looked at that were so thought-provoking!
1. What one thing do you desire from God?
Maybe your passion is gone, maybe you need healing, maybe you want to know Him better, etc. We pray about the little things and we pray safe prayers. We pray prayers that when they're answered, no one even notices. We serve a big and mighty God. Pray for that one thing!
2. What one thing do you lack?
In Mark 10:21, Jesus revealed to the rich man that his riches were where the treasures of his heart were. He desired and loved things. Jesus told him to sell everything and he couldn't do it. What step are you afraid to take that He is waiting on your obedience for? He still wants you to take it; it hasn't changed. It says that Jesus looked at him and loved him. But he told him that "one thing you lack, go sell everything you have....and you will have treasure in Heaven."
One example is tithing. Giving is a personal thing that God has entrusted to us. It's a control issue. We trust God for everything else, but not with our financial stuff. That's just one example.
3. What one thing do you need to let go?
Philippians 3:13 says to forget what is behind and press on toward the goal. Sometimes we are still holding on to the past. We spend time worrying about what happened and what might happen again.
4. What one promise do you need to claim?
Our Pastor listed many verses that list God's promises to us: Phil 4:19, 1 Corinth 10:13, Eph 1:7, Rom 8:28, Heb 13:5, Psa 46:1, Isa 40:29, Psa 32:8, Phil 4:7, James 4:7, Rom 8:39. I'm thinking one day I will do a post and list all of those verses. They are powerful promises!
Psalm 56:9 is where David says, "This one thing I know; God is for me!" Don't you LOVE that powerful truth?!! Maybe we need to cling to God's promises!
One of my all-time favorite songs is Kari Jobe's "You are for me". I can't listen to it without being completely moved by that promise. No matter what you're going through, what you're feeling, how much the enemy tries to convince you of his lies, God is for you!!!!!!!!!!! He is doing a new thing......do you not perceive it?!!!
I'm sure most of you know and read Amy's blog. They just brought Elijah home from Ethiopia not too long ago and I wanted to share their video with all of you, just in case you haven't seen it yet! It is such a beautiful story and at the end, she asks, "What story will you allow God to write through you?" That's such a powerful question!
I can't remember if I ever shared this on here before, but if you watch at the end, you can see the shirts I got to make for their airport homecoming. :) I was so honored to make them and to be a part of such a wonderful and amazing thing! I am looking forward to watching Elijah grow up and seeing how many other families are led to adopt because of his story!
Today was week 3 in our "Can you see Him?" series.
Is there such a thing as free choice? Could it be that Jesus is the only way? What about those who've never heard about Jesus? The bible was written by men - how can we trust them? Innocent people are dying - where is God? Why does He allow this to happen?
These things don't fit into how we would do things, therefore we don't understand it.
You don't have to understand everything to believe in something.
We looked at the story of the blind beggar who was healed by Jesus in John 9. This man had been blind from birth and he was healed by Jesus so that God's glory would be revealed. Sometimes what we view as setbacks (being blind from birth) can actually be setups (to reveal God's glory). God will use people with the odds stacked against them, so that others will know that it can't be anyone other than God. Just look at the story of Jesus. His followers didn't know what to do when He was killed, but in 3 days, God revealed His glory.
We just don't get Him alot of times and we don't see how this can bring Him glory. Our Pastor quoted J. Vernon McGee again: "This is God's universe and He does as He pleases. You may have a better way, but you don't have a universe!"
Love that!!!
Our Pastor told us an example that really made sense to me, about how just because we don't understand God's ways, that doesn't make them any less true. He used the example of a pet grubworm. You feed your worm, you love him, you take care of him. Then you decide one day that you will teach him math. So, you tell him that 2 + 2 = 4, but he's just not getting it. No matter how much you try to teach it to him, he will never understand. But, that doesn't mean that 2 + 2 doesn't equal 4, it just means that our level of understanding that is so much higher than the grubworm's will ever be. It's the same way with humans and God. Just because we don't understand His ways, does not make them untrue. It just means that we are sometimes incapable of understanding His ways. Just as we cannot equate the grubworm on the same level as us, we also cannot pretend that we are on the same level as God.
So, back to the story of the blind man. Jesus literally made a mud pie out of His own spit and placed it on the blind man's eyes. He washed his eyes and came home seeing. Jesus did this on the Sabbath. That shocked people........you just didn't do that and it was a big deal. The religious leaders were asking him what happened and he just said that he once was blind, but now he can see. They just knew this man who healed him was not from God, because they didn't think God would ever break the rules of working on the Sabbath. In other words, it didn't fit their understanding of who God was, so it must not be legit.
We can be prideful and limiting just because we've never seen God work that way. God sometimes does the most when we see the least. The blind man didn't understand, but he just knew that he could see now. There is so much we don't understand, but there's also so much that we can't deny.
Either someone created all of the universe or it came from nowhere. If we were to be on a beach and found a rolex just lying there, we would assume that someone left it there. We wouldn't assume that it just appeared and fashioned itself out of nothing. The odds are better that the ocean spit out a rolex than the odds that we just are here by chance.
No one disagrees that Jesus existed and died. The question is whether He was who He said He was. Simon Peter denied Him, but then was crucified for Him. Mark was drug behind a horse to his death. James was beheaded. Only 1 of the 12 disciples didn't die. Those 12 were the ones who were there and saw what Jesus did and who He was and they knew the truth. John was even dipped in boiling oil and he did not recount. No one would do that for a lie. It is undeniable. There are some things we will not understand, but we cannot deny them.
In verse 37, after the blind man was healed, he said, "I believe." He knew enough to believe that Jesus was the son of God. Every person has a spiritual discontent. Everyone has a God-shaped hole that cannot be filled with anything else. We try to fill it, ignore it. It is undeniable. There's got to be something more. The only thing that will satisfy it is God. He created you to have a relationship with Him.
Maybe we need to open our eyes and see. He gave His life because He could not bear to live without us. There is nothing we can do to be good enough. It's not about us; it's about Him. His grace offers hope. We have to quit with the pity party about the setbacks in our life. We must believe and place our faith in Him. Maybe it's a setup!
We started out church Sunday by singing this song:
Goodness gracious, I love me some bluegrass music! And wouldn't you know that my throat was hurting so badly that day, that I just could not barely sing. Boo! (By the way, this is not the first time this video has appeared on my blog) :D Does anyone else out there like bluegrass, or is it just me? I'm laughing right now because if you ever saw me at church, you would never suspect I enjoy music as much as I do. I am so serious and I rarely show emotion, but I guarantee you if you saw me at home, you'd see me dancing around like a crazy woman to this song.
Anyhoo.......our sermon was continuing in the "Can You See Him?" series. Life is one decision after another. God sees all the time. He sees every move and what you're going to do. We have a choice to listen to ourselves (who can only see a couple of moves ahead) or to listen to Him (who sees every move).
We were looking at Acts 9 and the story of Saul (who later became Paul). Saul was a Jew, a Pharisee, a religious person who studied higher education. He was the best of the best in this area, but he despised followers of Jesus. He got rid of the followers in Jerusalem for the glory of God. He was going to Damascus to get rid of more. But what happens there ultimately leads to Him being one of the main people to spread Christianity and he wrote much of the New Testament.
We don't even know what true persecution is here in America. There are still places today though, where they do face persecution for believing in Christ.
Those we think will never see the light are often the ones God will use to do great things. They might just be one step away from it. Those you think there's no hope for, you may be wrong. That's what happened in Saul's life. He went from proud to being blinded by the light. God always makes the first move to initiate salvation. As Saul was nearing Damascus, a light from Heaven flashed around him and it was Jesus. Jesus didn't reveal to Saul how influential he would be as Paul..........He just told him to go. Acts 9:6 - "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
God works in baby steps sometimes. We want to know the whole plan, but He tells us just to take the first step. He won't tell us all of the plan, because we can't handle a lot. God says, "You can't handle the truth." If we're obedient, we'll end up there, but we have to trust Him to get to where we want to go. We'll be too scared to take those steps if He tells us everything upfront.
It's like a light that we can see right in front of us. When it's dark, a flashlight will help us see a few steps in front of us. We can't see all the way across the room, but we can see each step and if we take each step, we'll make it there.
God is often silent when we're being disobedient. We don't like the next step that He's asking us to take, but He's basically being silent and saying, "What I told you to do.....it still hasn't changed." And He will be silent as He waits for us to be obedient. We want to take an alternate route, but that's not happening. We are to walk by faith, not by sight.
When Saul saw the light, he got up but was blind. He was blind for 3 days. The men who were with him led him to Damascus. There was a disciple named Ananias there, who the Lord spoke to. Ananias recognized the voice of the Lord and he knew about who Saul was (a murderer). He was like, "You don't mean that guy?!" But the Lord tells him to "Go!" (Acts 9:15) He was supposed to go see Saul and tell him that the Lord had sent him. "He has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again." (Acts 9:17-18a) And Paul went on to do great things.
The difference between where we are and where God wants us to be, is often the painful move we're unwilling to make.
God picks the move, not you. Maybe it's time to get current on your assignment that He's given you. Maybe we said "I'm done" and we need to trust Him again. You will never reach the finish line without taking the next step. No race is won with just one step. Too many believers are satisfied with mediocre. God gives us the mountain, but we stop half way up. The view from there is great, but it doesn't compare to the view from the summit. Go and do it!!
Today, we started the series "Can You See Him?" at church. We were looking at chapter 24 in Luke.
Sometimes, we look for God and He doesn't seem to be there and sometimes we find Him in the mundane where we least expect Him. Sometimes we look at things, but we don't really see, even though it's there all along. Our Pastor showed us some of those pictures that look like one thing, but if you look at it again, you see something different that was there all along. This was one of the ones he showed us: Do you see a duck? Now, look closer. Do you see the rabbit too?
In Luke 24, it's the story of two guys walking along this road, talking about what had just happened and the fact that Jesus was not in the tomb. The women had went to the tomb, expecting to find the body of Christ and He wasn't there. These guys had been hearing for a long time about this coming Messiah. They believed when Jesus came that they were getting to see the beginning of the actual coming of the Messiah. They became convinced Jesus was Him, but then he died and they weren't expecting that. As soon as they were convinced, their dreams were shattered with His death.
That wasn't how it was supposed to happen. Don't we often feel that way too in our own lives? We end up not where we expected, our hopes get shattered, and things have not played out like we hoped for. In verse 15, Jesus comes up along these guys and starts walking with them, but they didn't even recognize that it was Him. Sometimes, when the truth is right in front of us, we don't even see it.
In verse 17, Jesus asks the men what they are talking about and they look at Him like He's crazy. They are amazed that He had no idea what had just happened with the coming of Jesus and his crucifixion. It's like they are thinking, where have you been the past few days?! All the while, Jesus is probably like, Hello!! Look!! I'm right here!! Here these guys were walking with Jesus and didn't even realize it was Him.
In verse 21, they tell him that they had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah. They thought what they'd hoped for would not happen now. Maybe we're at a place where we think what we hoped for is just not going to happen either. In the present, we cannot always see Him working, but looking back, we can see how He was there all along in the midst. We just don't realize His presence.
So, they're walking along and they still don't know this is Jesus, but they invite Him to stay with them. When they get there, in verse 30, they sit down at the table, and Jesus took bread and broke it and gave it to them. It was at that point that their minds were triggered to the events of the past few days and their eyes were opened to who He was. They recognized Him, like one of those things where you flash back to the past events, connect the dots, and they realized it was Him.
We do the same. When we are going through trials, it's not that He caused our heartache, but He allowed it for some reason. He redirects our future that would've never happened otherwise. He uses those trials to call us out and direct our path that we never would've chosen otherwise. He takes our eyes off of ourselves and asks what He desires of us instead. He never left us......He was always working out the good for those who love Him. It's about His plan and not ours, even when pain is involved. He's always there and working. When you look back at those times, you can connect the dots and see that He was there all along.
In verse 45, their minds were opened up so that they understood the scriptures now. We've heard the story over and over, but maybe we haven't really heard it and we don't see Him. Maybe we need to look again and see His lead of love. Maybe He's walking all along, but your eyes just weren't opened to the truth. How do we know the truth? It's about a choice. It's not about a moral code, a church, or being good enough. The only one who can clean your hands is Jesus.
Don't just look, but see. He is there - will you see Him?
When I started this blog seven years ago, I wrote my story. So much has changed since then. The Lord has taken my story and filled it with hope. I can't wait to see how the story unfolds! I don't know how many chapters it will hold, but because God has written it, I know for sure that it will have the perfect ending!!
I love her look here.....sassy! :D
Here are some pics from Madison's jazz class:
This is something that she could not even come close to doing in September when they started dance! I guess 3 nights a week of stretching and dancing has really helped! 
I am really excited to go and watch their performance team classes on Friday, since they have been learning a routine using their poms.......I will definitely video that and post it on here!
