Planting & Transplanting

I have gotten into the habit of saying that I have a “brown thumb”. Truth is, I have had a LAZY thumb. Yes, you heard that right.

It’s a matter of discipline. Remembering to water, feed, and weed these plants. It’s a choice. To watch them grow to their full potential or let them starve and die. Before my girls were born and even when they were tiny, I used to love planting and taking care of my yard. Then….I gave it up. Weeds started to grow. Flowers died or either went out of control. It’s really quite amazing to me..how God can take something like gardening and turn it into a teaching moment for me.

Weeds taking over.

 The things the I choose to care about are the things that I spend the most time taking care of. The things that I choose to nurture will in turn produce a beautiful harvest.

I CAN have a “green thumb” if I CHOOSE to! It isn’t a matter of being naturally good at it. It is a deliberate choice. Water, fertilize, feed, nurture, protect….and I will see growth.

I am 2 years into reading and studying the ENTIRE Bible from Genesis to Revelations. TWO years of self-discipline. The reward is KNOWING my Savior like I have never known before. My roots are growing deeper. I LOVE it and I already have a plan in place to read it all the way through again. I am in Ephesians now and when I finish with Revelations, I plan to use my Chronological Life Application Bible next.

I tell you this not to boast..because it is only by the power of The Holy Spirit in me that I have kept at it. As I begin each day reading through, making notes, and studying it, I pray and ask to read it through HIS eyes and not mine. I also pray that HE would give me the desire to be obedient and the time to do so. If I can do it..You can too!

Gardenias from our yard

In my previous post, Cutting Loose, I talked some about change… and one thing that I am changing is my LAZY thumb. I planted another gardenia bush in my yard yesterday…Gardenias are my absolute FAVORITE flowering plant. I also planted several other pretties in our yard. Then…after getting the “fever” for mint from my precious friend (she knows who she is), I planted mint and hot oregano and a cucumber plant! ME! The self-proclaimed plant killer. The woman whose husband asked her not to buy any more plants to kill,  for the front porch.

Why? Because I know that I can keep these plants alive. It’s a choice. (if you feel like praying for those plants, feel free )

I encourage YOU to step out of your comfort zone and commit to something that you’ve always wanted to do. Just take that step. You CAN DO IT!

Philippians 4:13 says it best, “I can do ALL things through HIM who gives me strength.”

Until Next Time,

My Family <3

I think it is extremely important for us to remember that ANYTHING or ANYONE that we put first in our lives…becomes an idol. So, if it isn’t God that is first…then we have to re-adjust..re-order the things in our lives. With that being said….

Do you have too much on your plate? Are you loaded down with “things” that get in the way of what should really be your top priorities ? You know…Too many activities, things that take away from God and family, too much social media, too many clubs, too much volunteering. That is just to name a few.

We shouldn’t let our lives speed out of control. We should live intentionally. Keeping our priorities in order helps make this intentional living possible.

Psalm 39:6 has this to say about living lives that are too busy and filled with too many distractions: “We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.”

I am working on simplifying my life. Eliminating certain things from my life…one of those things being my personal Twitter account. I LOVE Twitter..I love Social Media. It just distracts me. So..I am changing it to my “blog Twitter” and no longer a personal Twitter account. I have removed a few more social media distractions as well. I am also being more intentional about the quality in the time that we spend with our little family…Making sure that my family is first after God. Another thing that I have been doing is reading a book called The Excellent Wife. It is written by Martha Peace. I highly recommend it. This book has really made me look at my role as wife in the way that God wants me to view it. Convicted to say the least.

Is there SOMETHING or are there some things that YOU may need to cut loose of for a time?

Here are a few signs that you may have too many distractions or things out of order:

~ Stress (no brainer)

~ Irritability.. because you feel rushed all of the time.

~ Never seem to be able to finish a task.

~ Complaints from husband/wife/children that you never have time for them..or if you are with them they say you are distracted.

~ No time for bible study or quiet time.

~ No time for quality family time.

~ Exhaustion (mental and physical)

~ Feeling the “need”  to check your multiple social media sites throughout the day ..but never feeling the need to open your bible app or open your bible .

There’s got to be balance. If you give a majority of your time to volunteering, social media sites, friends, etc.. and find that your time with Jesus and your husband/wife/kids is less than the others, it’s time to refocus and get things (people) back in the correct order.

In “THE EXCELLENT WIFE”, Martha Peace writes: Wives are also to love their husbands as their closest neighbor. The Lord Jesus made it clear, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). Compare how hard you work at showing love to your girl friends with how hard you work at showing your love to your husband. He is your closest neighbor. He should come first.

(This goes for husbands as well…)

So, I invite you to join me in taking a look at your life and praying about what God wants you to do so that you will glorify HIM. There is freedom in surrender. True peace and joy comes when we have our lives in the right order. The alternative is stress and feeling all out of whack. I hope you’ll join me in looking deep within and seeing what you need to change..who knows, you may not need to change a thing. Chances are, somebody that you know may need to. So, share this post if you think it could help someone.. There are also several links to other posts that I placed in this one. (Hoping that one will help even just one person.)

             Until Next Time,

I decided to start posting these “Thankful Thursdays” again. See, it is easy to get out of the habit of practicing thanksgiving, and I need little reminders from time to time. Maybe you do as well.

While doing one of my morning daily devotions, One Thousand Gifts Devotional by Ann Voskamp, I just really became convicted of my lack of daily thanksgiving. I mean, it’s easy to give thanks in the exciting and good things that occur on a day to day basis. Yet, we are commanded to give thanks for the not so good stuff too.

Believe it or not, I actually found myself thanking God today for the not so great things that I face …and it wasn’t that hard after all. When we thank HIM for the yuck, we realize that HE is greater than any circumstance that we may face. We are truly TRUSTING God to be enough. And, isn’t HE really enough?

These words in my devotion today really stuck out to me:

I’m not sure how my life stands. How my inner and outer walls stand, how I make a home. Unless we make it a habit to give thanks, we habitually give our family grief. Unless we consistently speak praise, we consistently speak poison. Unless we are intentional about giving God glory throughout the day, our days unintentionally give way to grumbling. ~ Ann Voskamp (One Thousand Gifts Devotional..Devo 40)

It takes being intentional in order to bring God glory. Gratitude must be continuous. Our words are either pleasant or like poison. POISON. Convicted.

Matthew 12:35-37 really hit home this morning..and really made me want to be more intentional about my giving of thanks to God. Read it and really think on it…This is JESUS talking..

Matthew 12:35-37 (NLT) ~ “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgement day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

May our words be words of grace…and thanksgiving..bringing glory to God. May we always give thanks in everything..even the yuck. May we think before we speak..and not use words carelessly.

 I am thankful for the sweet friends that God has blessed me with..who send me random messages and let me know that they love me and are praying for me. I am thankful for the gift of prayer and that I can pray for others and talk to God anytime and anywhere. I am thankful for healthy children.

What are some things that you are thankful for today?

 Colossians 4:2 ~ Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

              Until Next Time,

No spirit of fear here!

Philippians 4:13 ~ I can do everything through HIM who gives me strength.

Isaiah 40:31 ~ but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Psalm 34:4 ~ I sought The Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

I have something really amazing to share with you today!

I have just returned from an awesome weekend retreat with 60 something women. We feasted on HIS Word and lives were changed! I am so blessed by new friendships made and old friendships being strengthened. GOD is GOOD!

The story that I am sharing today, is not my own. I asked this sweet woman if she would allow me to share it. Why? Because….I want you all to see that there is POWER in prayer and that FEAR has no hold on you when you fully trust God. THIS IS HER TESTIMONY..all glory to GOD. ALL GLORY TO GOD!!

Thank you, Tawanna, for allowing me to share your story…I love you and I am so very proud of you!

In her words:

The Bridge

Every year, our church holds a women’s retreat at Epwroth by the Sea on St. Simon’s island. The retreat has been a blessing to me and my family because every year, I leave something on the island, and bring home something new that I have learned about the goodness and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I look forward to this yearly ritual that we have come to have where we spend the weekend in fellowship and worship. We sang, we prayed, we danced, we laughed, we cried. Trying to put the weekend into words is a bit challenging but if I had to chose one word, I would chose the word blessed because that is how I feel every time I am on that island.

The one struggle that I have is crossing that bridge that connects the island to the actual town. The first year that we went, I was riding with 2 of my dearest friends. As we started to near the bridge I looked to my left and at first I didn’t know that it was an actual bridge. From a distance, it looked like a big building, I thought to myself and said out loud, “Hey guys, check out that bridge. The blue is so beautiful it almost looks like the color of the sky. As we got closer to the turn my friend in the back said, “That’s not a building it’s a bridge.” As I burst into laughter, I told my friends that I was so glad that we wouldn’t be going over that contraption. I then started to laugh and make comments about the courageous people that went over it daily and I started to thank God that we were not amongst them. The more I talked the more my friends became quiet. They had no idea that I had a fear of bridges, being over water, and certain high places. As I am talking and laughing and talking and laughing, I realized that the turn that I was making towards the left, led me right towards that bridge. Well I started to yell and scream and panic. I started to drive in the middle two lanes, so the people behind me and the people that were trying to come down on the opposite lane, had to merge into one lane. As they honked their horns and yelled at me, and some made obscene gestures and said obscene things, I panicked even more started yelling back and telling everyone that I am on a retreat and that they cannot yell at me. You see I was like Peter in Matthew 14:29. We were all doing fine as we were driving and God was leading us, but I took my eyes off Jesus and started to let fear abide in me. This caused me to panic and to start driving in the middle of the bridge.

On the very last day of the retreat, our beautiful pastor’s wife Lanelle Rogers, asked that the ladies of the retreat pray for and with me, that I may conquer my fear and successfully cross that bridge. I crossed it, but I wasn’t trusting God. I allowed my friend to drive while I sat in the backseat sobbing with a huge sweater wrapped around my head. I placed the garment over my head as soon as we left Epworth by the Sea and did not take it off until I was told that we were well across the bridge. I didn’t want to see what was going. That weekend I had learned so much and was filled with so much love for Christ but I still was not trusting in him.

This year I was blessed to go back. I was so excited that I was able to attend. I asked my girlfriend and fellow sister in Christ Kim Wade to drive as I started to speak fear into my life. I told her that I just knew that I wouldn’t not make it on my own and made her drive. We had agreed that I would sleep the entire way there, and I had gotten up at 2am that morning so that I would be tired and would want to sleep. Kim and I have not seen each other in months so we did what ladies do best. We talked, and talked, and talked. Before we knew it, my phone rang and it was the member of the church that we were following, Lisa Colburn. She called and said that we were approaching the bridge and that she wanted to warn me because she knows of my fears.

We were approximately 5 minutes away and I allowed fear to take over my body. As we crossed the bridge I pulled my shirt over my head and started to scream and holler. The more I hollered the more I panicked. I started to hyperventilate and then before I knew it I was unable to breathe. In the midst of me trying to catch my breath, I became nausea. I closed my eyes, open the car door (not knowing that we were going 55 mph) and started to vomit until my stomach was empty.

I then spent the first night of the retreat staying up until 2am trying to find alternate routes off of the island so that I could avoid the bridge on the way home. While staying up I missed the fellowship that was going on downstairs right beneath me and later discovered that there was only one way off of the island, and it was over that bridge.

This weekend we learned how to abide in God and to allow Him to abide in us. I really paid close attention to the messages that were brought, the testimonies that were shared and on the last morning, once again, my sisters in Christ wrapped their hands around me, surrounded me and prayed on me and for me. Prior to leaving God sent an angel in the form of Heather Dawkins. As she hugged me she prayed for me and that I would not only make it over the bridge, but that I would open my eyes and look at the beauty that God has created all around me. As she prayed, I thought to myself, “how could I be afraid of God’s beauty?” It was then that I started to think about the bridge and what it represented. That bridge and my fear of it, represented the chains that had me in bondage. I then wrote down things that had me in bondage on several slips of paper and folded them into little pieces. As my friend and I crossed the bridge, I cracked the window. Although nervous in the beginning, I started to quote the scripture 2 Timothy 1:7, for God did not give us the spirit of fear. And I just kept reciting that scripture as I threw the slips of paper out of the window. When I looked at both sides of the bridge, I became humbled by the beauty that surrounded me, and how awesome God’s works are. That bridge no longer represents my fears, but the relationship that I have with Christ as his daughter. I am set free, no longer bound, no more chains holding me.

2 Timothy 1:7: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

WOW!!! Isn’t GOD good!!!!???!!!! So many people were praying for Tawanna…and they never ceased to pray and care… The BODY of Christ lifted her up…and allowed God to use them in her life. Please feel free to comment on this post and tell Tawanna what you thought of her awesome testimony…and share it with others..so that GOD can receive the glory that HE so deserves.

Until Next Time,

    Colossians 4:2 ~ Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

   Why is it, that we tend to look at prayer as a last resort? Oh…come on..don’t tell me you always think “let me pray first.” We like to think of ourselves this way. We like for others to think of us in this way. BUT..let us be real..TRANSPARENT..for just a minute.

   I pray all day long.

   BUT…

   There are times when my prayers reflect my wants…not necessarily my “trusting” and “thanking” HIM.

   Sometimes, my prayers are selfish.

   Sometimes, my prayers are not first.

   Sometimes….I freak out and THEN…I pray. Or, I get down and blah…and THEN, I remember..to pray.

   Anybody else do this? Or, is it just me?

   I have come a LONG way. I am so thankful that I am NOT who I once was…and YES, I am very thankful that GOD is NOT finished with me yet.

   Philippians 1:6 ~ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to       completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

   Every single minute of every single day, we are battling self and the enemy. We have the CHOICE…. to walk closely with GOD. We have the choice to choose HIM. We …I…MUST keep my eyes FIXED on HIM…FIRST!

   Prayer is a privilege. I just don’t see why…so many times, it is seen as a last resort.

   I’ve heard this before: “Well, I have done everything I can..so, I guess I will pray about it.”

   Look at that statement. I…I…I…I…

   See the problem?

   Where is God in all of that? Left out…seen as a last resort.

   Prayer changes more than things…Prayer changes PEOPLE! 

   Sometimes, we will get an answer to our prayers right away. Other times, it may seem like an eternity. We have to remember that God’s way..HIS timing, is not ours. Sometimes, the delay, is GOD’S way of working out HIS will in and for our lives. I do know this, HE always provides. HE never leaves us..and HIS ways are right and better than ours. GOD is ONLY good.

   ”I have never met anyone who spent time in daily prayer, and in the study of the Word of God, and was strong in faith, who was ever discouraged for very long.” ~ Billy Graham

   ”Have you ever said, ‘Well, all we can do now is pray’?…When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.” ~ Billy Graham

   Oh what a beautiful thing prayer is. That sweet time with my Jesus. The fact that I can even come into HIS HOLY PRESENCE.. ME, a sinner, but saved by HIS grace..it is just amazing and beautiful.

              Until Next Time,

Do you ever have days where you are just in a “funk”?

Days when you question your decisions….

Days when you ponder your future choices…

Days when you are constantly battling that negative voice…

I do.

Those days are the hardest.

Those days are when I have to fight..fight..fight..the enemy. Fight myself even…

My GOD has already won. But..that doesn’t mean that the enemy won’t try to attack me..or you..

That is why putting on SPIRITUAL ARMOR is so important.

Ephesians 6:11 (NLT) ~ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

Truth is…those days usually occur when I haven’t BEGAN my day with my normal and regular “quiet time”.

My QUIET TIME is part of my SPIRITUAL ARMOR. If and when I neglect to “put it on”... I am less prepared to fight the negativity that may pop up during the day.

Make sense?

IT IS MY FAULT, if and when I neglect my Jesus. HE never neglects me.

Do you have a daily quiet time? (being still, praying, and also studying the Bible)

Do you notice a difference in your day on days that you neglect that time with God?

Do you realize the importance of a DAILY time with Jesus?

If you don’t currently have a daily quiet time with Jesus, will you commit to at the very least…10 minutes a day..to begin with?

(If you have decided to commit to a daily quiet time, I’d love to hear back from you after 3 consecutive days, of how you have noticed a difference in your day.)

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. (Psalms 34:18 NLT)

There are things in this world that happen, that I’ll never understand. I won’t claim to understand.

This I know, My Savior.. My Redeemer, is GOOD.

The truth is that this world that we live in is broken and sinful. So much so, that God sent His one and Only Son, Jesus… Immanuel.. To save us.

John 3:16,17 ~ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Jesus means, The Lord Saves.

Immanuel means, God With Us.

When trials come.. And they will…

When circumstances are sometimes awful.. And that’s a guarantee…

When bad things happen to good and innocent people and children, we can rest in the fact that this is NOT our home. If you know Jesus, and most importantly, if HE knows you… This broken and sin-filled world is only temporary. Our real home is HEAVEN.

John 16:33 ~ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

While we are here though… Let’s live right. As my father in law shared at Granny Shiver’s funeral; When asked if she had any advice for us on living our lives.. She said : “Just Do Right..Do right.”

That’s pretty good advice if you ask me.

Just do right. Just forgive. Just live. Just let bygones be bygones. Hold the ones you love close. Tell them you love them.. Show them that you love them with actions. And.. JUST DO RIGHT.

Even when you don’t understand the why’s… Just Do Right.

And remember… We are just passing through. There’s two final destinations.. Heaven or Hell. Although those are great words of advice.. “Just Do Right” won’t get you to Heaven. Truly knowing and following HIM will. So, do you know HIM and as Granny witnessed.. Does HE know you?

See, when asked if she knew for sure about her place in eternity, she said “oh yeah, I know Jesus and HE knows me.“

Trust HIS promises that are found in The Word. Rest in HIM. “The Lord Saves” AND “God With Us”

Hebrews 13:6 ~ So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

We don’t have to understand.. We just have to trust God.

Until Next Time,

Heather

When do we normally give thanks? Not just praying..but when do we normally say Thank You or I’m thankful for… ?

Think about it for a second.

It is usually AFTER a blessing. Right?

After we’ve had an answered prayer.

After we’ve seen a beautiful sunset.

After.

What if we gave thanks to our Father before the blessing?

Jesus did.

Look at these two different passages of scripture and then tell me what you notice… They are lengthy..but PLEASE read them..

John 6:9-13 (NIV) ~ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

There were ONLY five loaves and two small fish. There were about five thousand men. Jesus GAVE THANKS and then….fed all who were there and still had food left over!

John 11:38-44 (NIV) ~ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

WOW! Can you just imagine this!!! Oh how awesome it would have been to have witnessed this first hand. I sit here now just imagining his voice..LOUDLY saying: “Lazarus, come out!” And then..to see the looks on their faces when lo and behold Lazarus came strutting out! Well, maybe he didn’t strut..I bet he was amazed and awestruck. Woah! Blows my mind.

They took away the stone at Jesus’ command and before Jesus even commanded Lazarus to come out, Jesus thanked God out loud for hearing him. BEFORE…not after the blessing..the miracle.

So..after reading and studying these passages, I am really reminded that we are supposed to give thanks BEFORE the blessing or miracle. That requires faith.

My gratitude list for this week’s post:

1) I am so thankful and blown away at how my God provides..He is so good to us!

2) I am thankful for photography..I’m thankful for those who allow me the privilege to photograph their families..and capturing those special moments..

3) I am thankful for being able to see and hear and taste…Being able to see the beauty around me..and even seeing the loneliness so that I can reach out. being able to hear the voices and laughter and music. Being able to taste good food.

4) I am thankful that my GOD will provide all of my needs.

Share with me…What 3 things are YOU thankful for this week …that have already happened? Then..what ONE thing are you thankful for that you are having faith that will happen?

Psalm 100:4 ~ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

              Until Next Time,

Maybe you’ve heard of Dr. Gary Chapman’s book, The 5 Love Languages. The first time I heard of it, my husband and I were on a church couples retreat. Wow, it was eye-opening. Basically, I learned what my husband’s and my own love languages were. {You know, like what makes you feel loved by your husband/wife.}

Acts of Service
Words of affirmation
Receiving Gifts
Quality Time
Physical Touch

Here is the website that you can go to at your convenience and take the quiz…
www.5lovelanguages.com

It says to give yourself 15-20 minutes to take it. May not take you that long..

My primary love language is WORDS OF AFFIRMATION . Makes sense.. Because even though it shouldn’t matter, words of affirmation ARE very important to me. I hate to admit that.. Let’s be real clear though..I am not talking about empty words or words that you know are not sincere..I’m not talking about flattery..

I love to GIVE them and yes, it makes me feel good to receive them.

It’s one of the reasons why writing words are important to me. WORDS.

It’s one of the reasons that hearing that I’ve done a good job at something makes me feel good.

Words.

It’s one of the reasons that I’m compelled to encourage.

Words.

Why does it even matter, though? Why does it hurt sometimes?

Isn’t God enough? (YES)

Why is it important that I “hear” the words of mere man?

I don’t know the answer to all of those questions. I do know this.. One of my spiritual gifts is encouragement. And because words of affirmation mean a lot to me, I “love” others in this same language. Or, I try to. I still fail. I do need to listen more and talk less.

So, maybe my love language goes along with my gifts. WE ALL HAVE A SPIRITUAL GIFT if we are authentic believers in Christ Jesus. He didn’t skip over you. But, that’s another topic for another blog post on another day.

I really do believe that by knowing your spouse’s and even children’s and friends love languages, that you are learning how to make the ones you love actually “feel loved” by you.Makes life a lot easier and helps you to understand why you are the way you are and why others are the way that they are. Helps you to tune in to the needs of others. Doesn’t mean that you have to walk on eggshells, but it will make you aware. Who doesn’t want to feel loved? We all do…

Yet, we must remember that GOD is enough. GOD IS LOVE. HE really IS enough for me. Abundance of WORDS or a lack of WORDS is NOT where my JOY is found. Sure, they make me feel loved ( when they are sincere)…and sometimes happy..But, I don’t depend on them to bring me the JOY that can only be found in HIM.

Happiness and JOY are not the same.. Happiness is based on circumstances but Joy is based on the LORD. Happiness is like exchanging gifts and having fun at Christmastime..Joy is really GETTING and knowing what Christmas is all about. Happiness is if the line is short in front of you and JOY is finding peace even in a long line of waiting. Happiness is not falling in a mud puddle and JOY is falling in it and brushing yourself off and not letting it ruin your day.

Philippians 4:19 ~ And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Even if others aren’t meeting our love language needs..God can and does! God never changes. He’s the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. People are fickle. People DO change. But, GOD NEVER DOES.

Hebrews 13:8 (NIV) ~ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

God created us to be relational. Relational with HIM first and then relational with others. To do this, we have to know how to relate to others.

Ecclesiastes 4:9,10 ~ Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

So…if you want to..take the quiz.. You can even comment on here and let me know what you discovered about yourself! I would love to hear from you!

                 UNTIL NEXT TIME,

I must admit, some weeks are more challenging than others. Some days it is more challenging to find the joy in the yuck. Those moments when we choose to find the joy in the yuck..those moments define us.

Earlier in the week, I had a day of inconveniences and little aggravations. I caught myself feeling aggravated and stressed out because I couldn’t get something simple taken care of…simply. Ever had a day like that?

Roadblocks.

Detours.

People are watching us. They are watching us to see how we handle the “yuck”. Our kids, our friends, our families, and strangers..Yes, strangers..are watching to see how we (Christians) are handling those things.

I’ll be real honest with you.. It was quite a battle. Fighting self. Wanting to whine and complain. Whining and complaining. Stopping myself from whining and complaining. Feeling guilty. Repenting. Starting fresh.

See, Jesus instructs us to NOT grumble and complain. Being “human” isn’t an excuse. As Christians, we have The Holy Spirit in us..so we aren’t just human.

Philippians 2:14 (ESV) ~ Do all things without grumbling or questioning

Romans 8:9 (NIV) ~ You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Every day we have choices to make. We get to make those choices.. They matter. Even when it’s harder than usual to find joy in a situation that seems like NO joy can be found in it, there IS JOY TO BE FOUND.

Even when it feels like a game of hide and seek..keep seeking the JOY.

“Joy’s a function of gratitude. And gratitude’s a function of perspective. Counting gifts changes my perspective – & my LIFE” ~ Ann Voskamp from her book…One Thousand Gifts

“All gratitude is ultimately gratitude for Christ, all remembering a remembrance of Him.” ~ Ann Voskamp…One Thousand Gifts

God cares about the tiny details. HE cares and provides. HE allows. HE knows that we can’t do this thing called life alone. WE can do it with HIS strength.

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) ~ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So, without waiting any longer, let me share with you some of the things that I am thankful for today and this past week.

1) that THIS is not home. This place.. This world is temporary and my citizenship is in Heaven.

2) for conviction by The Holy Spirit, JESUS in me, that tells me when I’m not glorifying my Savior.

3) that my Jesus loves me.. HE loves ME.. And I’m not always easy to love..

4) for this wonderful group of women (Dstudy group) that I get the privilege to grow with and teach them and learn from them as well..

5) for beautiful..awesome sunsets and sunrises that never grow old..

6) for the pure JOY that my nephew expressed to me when I surprised him with a visit today..

7) for getting Lysa TerKeurst’s book, UNGLUED, for $1.99 today! (on iBooks and Amazon)

I guess I’ll stop for now… on here.. But I can promise you that my gratitude journal of 1000 gifts is continuing to grow every single day. For when we continue to look for the good and counting the joy, that is when we know what true joy really consists of. Thanksgiving. Grace. Joy. They go hand in hand.

Here is the Simple Truth my friends: There is JOY to be found in EVERYTHING…Because GOD created EVERYTHING & GOD is ONLY GOOD..HE is GOOD.

What are YOU thankful for?

UNTIL NEXT TIME,