Can I get an Amen!

WOW! What a Sunday. Yesterday was just amazing. God is doing an amazing work and I am so honored that He has called Joe and I to be a part of it. To lead these people that are so hungry to be fed and so eager to follow the leadership they have been given. What an awesome opportunity. What a huge responsibility.

When we started at this new church they were averaging a little under 20 an a Sunday morning. Yesterday we had 47 in morning worship! I am blown away by the growth we have seen already. People are visiting. People are staying. People are being fed. Lives are being changed.

I can not tell you how overwhelmed I am at this point. After such a season of tragedy, it feels so good to feel at home and to have "purpose" to my ministry again. God has replaced the weeping and mourning with joy and peace. While I still miss friends and long for restoration, God has replaced the overwhelming feelings and endless thoughts for what used to be. I am now looking forward to the future. I am moving on.

I can not wait to see what the future holds. God has big plans for our body of believers and I am holding on for the amazing ride!


My God is amazing, good, faithful, trustworthy, loving, forgiving, merciful and long-suffering.

AND I LOVE HIM. He is so real to me right now. I cannot put into words how full my heart is and how amazing my God has proved Himself to be.

A New Day

I have been having trouble with getting things done, not so much for lack of time or due to fussy babies. It is for lack of discipline. It is lack of motivation. I have lost focus of why I do what I do day in and day out. I started seeing the repetitiveness of it all and started falling into the trap of

"Why?"

"What does it matter?"

"It will be here tomorrow."

Isn't Satan sly? He can take the very thing that we have dreamed about our whole lives, for me being a wife and stay-at-home mommy, and turn it into a chore and drudgery. This morning during my quiet time I thanked God for another beautiful day and He spoke to me and said yes, another day, another opportunity to do what matters. Another day to be productive. Every day is a gift from above. How are we going to spend it?

Lamentations 3:22-24

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

He has given us another day. Now what will we do with it? Will we spend it in idleness focusing on the "greener grass of other's lives" or will we apply ourselves to the life we have been called and find joy in it. The mercies are new, the day lays before us. What will our attitude tell those around us? Will it speak of our overwhelming gratitude to God for another day to serve Him, or will it show them that Christians are always griping, always unsatisfied and always longing for what they can't have?

How can God use your day? Can He use your time to teach children of His love. Can you touch a co-workers life with His peace and understanding? Can we sing His praise as we work where He has called us?

I pray that as we go throughout our day today, we will be mindful of the blessing that it is in and of itself. God has called His people to work for Him. Now He has given us another day to do it. Let's do it for His honor and glory with a cheerful heart and a diligent attitude, applying ourselves fully to whatever job He has called us.

Jeremiah 31:16
Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD

Refocusing

Galatians 6:7-10

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

I have come to a season in my life that God has been dealing with me heavily on. I am not here for my pleasure. I am not here to accomplish what I think needs to be done. I am here to sow the seeds God places in my heart and to labor for the harvest as He sends it.

There are so many things that I want to do. I want to blog, I want to have lunch with friends, I want to restore broken friendships, I want to have time for myself. While none of these are wrong, if this is not what God is placing before me then I need to labor well and without grumbling. It drives me crazy when my children grumble about their chores. I want them to work with a cheerful heart because they are a part of this family too. But what kind of example am I?

Do I work and labor with a cheerful heart or do they see me with a discontented face and a spirit of resentment for the work in front of me?

This is the "chore" that God has given to me. The field and seeds that I am working and planting right now are in the hearts of my children. Is that anything to grumble about? How can I expect my children to want to work as a family and be cheerful about the chores that I give them if I can't be cheerful as I labor here where God has called me?

I have decided that I must refocus my thinking. What is important? Helping my husband, my children, my ministry, and my walk with Christ. What is "extra"? This blog, my time with friends, my "mommy" time and returning emails. If I focus on what is important than I will be happier and the work load seems lighter. If I have all these other things pulling on me I tend to be much more resentful of my work. I see the work as hindering the things that I want to do. But when I put into focus the important things and allow everything else to fall in where it may my attitude changes. I begin to enjoy serving my family. My heart is lighter and my spirit more joyful. When I am more joyful, the children want to work along side of me. They have better attitudes about their work as well.

So, my goal for this week? I want to focus on my work, on the important. I want to have a cheerful heart and right spirit. And I am confident that if I continue to strive to put into focus the work God lays before me than everything else will fall into the proper perspective. I know that I might not blog as much as I want and I might not have time for myself, but those things won't matter. If I am about the work that God has laid before me I won't feel so weighed down with "extra" expectations that I put on myself. My life could be simple, serve my family and my Lord. That is it. Everything else should be "extra" not the focus. They can eat up way too much time.

What do you have to do in your own life to "refocus"? I have made a list of chores, daily and weekly. I have done this in the past but had gotten away from it when Kate was born. I have set a routine in place that I might be more effective with my work and time management. I would love to hear how you keep your life in focus and any other thoughts you might have about this topic. It is one that God has been laying on my heart for awhile and I am striving to get to the place where He is leading.

Service with a right spirit and cheerful heart. Focus on the "important" things and laying EVERYTHING else down as "extra".

What Happens When.......

The other day Maggie was feeding Kate for me and then she sat down to eat her lunch. She sat the bowl down on the highchair tray without another thought. I came back into the room a few minutes later to find this mess. Kate had cereal in her hair and her nose and in her lap and every where else. What a mess!

Kate was doing so much better and now things are getting bad again. She is waking up more. She is fussing during the day and is over all more crabby. We haven't changed anything. I am so frustrated. I don't know what else to try. She is now starting to gag all everything I feed her. She has been eating cereal like a champ for weeks now and over the past four days she has started gagging on every bite I put in her mouth. What is causing this? Why does she seem to be regressing after the medicine seemed to be helping for awhile. I mean, she slept for almost 10 hours straight through a couple of nights. Then one night she slept 12 1/2 hours with only waking once to nurse. Now she is up 4-5 times in a six hour time period.

Any ideas would be welcome.

All prayers would be appreciated.

True Contentment...

True Contentment.......

Isn't that the way our life should be? It doesn't have to be anything fancy. We shouldn't be ashamed if we don't drive the newest car or don't wear designer clothes. Our kids can wear "hand me downs" and still feel loved. If we have the nicest "STUFF" in the world and don't take the time to feed our spirit, or to train our children, or to love our neighbor, what good is it? Christ didn't even have a home to go to every night. So why are we choosing to not be content with what He has given us. We need to strive for true contentment. When our heart is right and we are following the will of our Father we will find true contentment. I have found that, for now! It is a daily choice, an hourly choice, a moment by moment choice. I choose contentment. I desire true worship. True worship doesn't come without true contentment. I don't care that my children don't always have new clothes. I don't care that my van is getting old and has now topped 100,000 miles. I don't care that my house isn't the biggest and that there are things that could be updated around here. My God loves me. My children are loved and know that God loves them. My husband is following God and leading our family in His ways unashamedly. I am so blessed.

True contentment. What does it mean to you? Where do you struggle to find it. In your clothes? In your home? In your vehicle? Does the company that you keep help you to find contentment or do they leave you feeling less than content. Do you focus on what you are wearing or how your home looks when you see your friends? Or can you focus on the heart of your company and having a place that their spirit can rest and find refreshment in your company?

I would love to hear your thoughts about contentment. Where are you in your journey to find it? What struggles do you have? What sacrifices have you made to find it? Any thoughts would be great.

Leave a comment or email me if you would rather. I look forward to hearing from you all.

An Easter Service

What a busy weekend. It has been a good weekend spent with family and friends. Saturday we spent the day fishing, picnicking, and visiting beside the lake with friends. It was nice weather and such a good day. Sunday started very early with breakfast with my in-laws and their church family. Then it was on to Central. I was really anticipating the outpouring of God's spirit on our little body of believers.

Today was the first time that I taught my new class. I had been teaching when Kate was born but had not been able to start again because she was just too fussy and not sleeping. I now, with her new medicine and diet, felt that I could take on a class again. I am teaching 3rd-6th grade. I have learned to really LOVE this age. They are ready to learn and at the age where they love a good challenge. So, I was ready to get to know a new bunch of kids. Well, the lesson went well and the kids were great. After that came the part that I couldn't wait for. My God has never been more real to me than he has been in the last few weeks. He is moving in my life and in my heart and in my church in ways that are breathtaking. I couldn't wait for worship this morning.

I started with a heart so full of love and gratitude for my Saviour's victory over the grave. The worship leader did an amazing job, through the leading of the Spirit, with the song service. Even with four children in the pew with me I was able to worship in an amazing way. The sermon was amazing and just what I needed to hear. What an Easter service! It wasn't anything fancy. There were no Easter lilies, no cantata, no special music, just God's people worshipping Him and standing in awe and appreciation for the sacrifice and victory we have through Him.

What an Easter service! How was your Easter Sunday?

WOW! What a week

I am so sorry that it has been so long. A lot has been going on since last Friday. We were gearing up for our first Sunday at my husband's new pastorate. I was spending time bathing the transition in prayer and getting myself ready to jump in with both feet into the hectic life of pastoring. I had prayed about it, I was trusting God to ready my heart, and He superseded my expectations
Ahhh, nothing compares to my experience on Sunday. I was nervous, a little sad (for the loss of my past church home), and excited all at the same time. Words do not express how overwhelmed I was at the outpouring of God's spirit within my heart. I felt such peace all day. It was like nothing that I had felt in a long time. I felt such love through God's people. So nice to be loved and accepted. They made us feel welcome and respected as the new leadership. This church body is so excited about what God is going to do. They welcome our leadership and yet want to help us in whatever way they can.
This week has been a full one. I have been basking in a peace that is overwhelming. I can honestly say that I have felt God's hand on my life in the past week. He has shown me that this is where He was leading us. The moving on had a reason. Did it hurt? Immensely. Was it hard? Definitely. Did I learn things? YES! Would I change things if I could go back? We are all humans and all make mistakes and wish we could change things. But oh, My God is good. He is so very, very good. The feelings this week that have flooded my soul are wonderful. I can't wait for Sunday. I can't wait to be a part of what God is going to do in the life of Central Baptist Church.
He is amazing and powerful and wonderful. Can you tell through my words that I am so overcome with joy and peace this week? I hope, because I am. I have never felt more at the center of God's will than I do now. He has made that so clear in my spirit.
Thank you for all your prayers during the past nine weeks. They have meant more to me than you will ever know.



Kate Update - For those that are interested, Kate is still doing well on her new medicine. She is now eating cereal twice a day and that seems to be helping as well. She is sleeping almost eight to nine hours a night now, with a few minor interruptions. A couple of nights she has slept like 12-13 hours with only one nursing session. She is now reaching new milestones quickly. My mamma's heart is much relieved and overjoyed to see her comfy and smiley most of the time.

Kate Update

Well, we went back to the doctor this week and it was decided that we will try one more thing and if this doesn't help then it is on to a specialist for an Upper GI. I am praying that it doesn't get to that point. She is now on a Prevacid tablet twice a day and Mylanta as needed. We started this on Wednesday and also decided to start rice cereal to see if it would help to thicken her stomach contents a little.

Well since we started this she slept 12 hours on Wednesday night and was only up once to nurse. Then last night she slept 12 hours with only crying out once. I didn't even have to get her out of bed once! She is feeling so much better. You can see it in her eyes and the way that she plays and interacts with us. I am so glad.

I was becoming very concerned because she is over six months old and she was still just sleeping most of the time and when she was okay she just sat on your lap or laid around. She didn't reach and grab at things like a normal six month old does. This was bothering me, along with the fact that she wasn't making many vocal sounds. But that is all changing. It seems over night she has just blossomed. She is now a normal little "octopus" and is starting to coo and blow raspberries, and smile all the time.

As a mom, I couldn't be happier to finally be able to say that my baby is comfy and full and satisfied enough to sleep through the night. What a wonderful feeling.

Another Recipe

Well, yesterday was full of family issues and obligations so my post was put on hold. But here is another recipe that my family has come to love. It is a newer recipe for us and I found it online and adapted it to my family's liking. So here it is -

Sausage and Rice Casserole

1 1/2 - 2 cups dry rice (prepare rice separate according to package)

1 lb pork sausage (browned and crumbled)

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

milk

Cheddar cheese

After the rice and sausage are cooked combine them in a large casserole dish or skillet. Add soup and enough milk to make it soupy. Top with cheddar cheese and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbly.