Pardon me for my absence...

It was brought to my attention that I have neglected my blog as of late. I apologize for my absence and promise to return in the very near future. There are some thoughts/ideas percolating in this brain of mine that I wish to share with you dear readers. (if there are any of you left)


Honestly, I truly miss blogging. I miss the things that God just dropped into my heart to share with the world. I promise to do my best at being more faithful to you my dear readers. :)


Adios for now..

Wordless Wednesday ~ Geocaching...our new hobby!

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Thursday Thankfulness ~ Low maintenance girl...

Yep, today, I am thankful that it doesn't take me long to get ready. After sleeping on the couch last night (the hubs had a tummy thing going on and I don't want it!) I woke up less than rested. Needless to say, my morning moved slow. Both the girls have awards assemblies today...one at 9 and one at 1:30. Well, at about 7:20 this morning, I realized that I needed to shower and get dressed before taking the girls to school...ha!

Well, I am happy to report that I am sitting here showered, hair (almost) dried, make-up on, and fully dressed for the day...at normal morning devotional time. Oh yeah...from start to finish, 20 minutes.

So, thanks God for making me one of those no-fuss, low maintenance girls.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Pinky and the Brain

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Romans 12:10

Thoughtful Tuesday ~ What do we do?

This post may be a bit, um, heavy. Some may agree, some may disagree. I'm not here to sugar coat things or make everyone agree with me. I'm hear to post my thoughts and the things I feel God saying to me. So, if this post offends you, you can stop reading at any time.

We, as the church, are supposed to be different, no? Romans 12:2 says, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." To me, that says that our lives should look different from those of non-believers. Well, I don't know about you, but I have seen a lot of Christians' lives looking an awful lot like the rest of the world.

Let's get one thing straight, I am NOT perfect. Nor do I claim to be. I am just as messed up need as much grace as the next person, but I do know that God is working on me...piece by piece.

At one point in my life, I lived just like the world...because I was still in the world. I hadn't met Jesus yet. At a different point, after I had met Jesus, my life looked an awful lot like the world. God shook me down to my foundation and rebuilt me with Him as my center. Does that make me perfect? Heck no! Does that mean I have all the answers? Ha! No way! What it does mean is that He shows me His grace...daily. Something that I certainly could not live without.

Many of you may know that I have a burden for the youth. You see, I made some really dumb mistakes as a youth and I went through some things that no one should have to go through. And God has shown me that I can help this next generation with my testimony...my mistakes, my trials, my hardships. What hurts my heart the most is to see a student at church living one way, and then see them outside of the church and not recognize them. To see that they are living two different lives. I always tell the students I work with that if I were to go to their school, they should be the same person they are at church...and at home.

The problem I'm seeing is that young people, girls especially, are changing who they are in order to fit in. Changing the way they dress, the music they listen to, the words they speak, the things they do or don't do, and who they hang out with. "This person thinks it's OK to dress immodestly, so I think I will dress this way when I'm around them." "This person listens to this questionable music, so I will too when I'm around them." "This person says he will love me if I just have sex with him, so in order to feel that love, I will." "This person uses foul language, so I will, but only around them."

The problem with this sort of behavior/thinking is that you can't turn it off. Maybe at the beginning you can moderate what you say/do around who, but eventually, it will consume you. It's like throwing a rotten apple into a good bunch and expecting them to stay good. It will consume you...trust me on this. I've been there.

OK, so what can we do?

1) Well, I, as a parent, know that I need to teach my girls why they should be different from the world...not just that they should. Sure, for a while they might just do what I say because I'm mom and that's what they are supposed to do, but once they get to the point where they need to figure things out for themselves, they need to know the answer to the 'whys'. It's my job to make sure that foundation is there.

2) Pray! I know it sounds cliche, but prayer is powerful. There are few things more powerful than the prayer of a parent for his/her child(ren)

3) Set the example. This is a big one. Our kids, and other young people that look up to us, are watching to see if the way we live our lives matches the way we speak. Are you the same person everywhere you go? Do you read your Bible daily? Do you talk to God daily? If the answer to any of these is no, then you need to work on yourself before you can fix anyone else.

4) Don't judge. If you see that a young person has stumbled and made mistakes, don't judge them...love them. Love is what will repair the damage that has been done. God is love. Love them like He does.

Think about it...

Thursday Thankfulness ~ No major injuries!

Today I am thankful that we had a successful soccer season with NO MAJOR INJURIES!! That's kind of a big deal when you think about it. My Big Girl had a sore achilles tendon for the last few weeks, but I've seen some games where the players get seriously injured. And considering we had just enough girls to play 6 games in the tournament, I'd say we did pretty well.

So thanks God for keeping all our girls safe and injury free!

For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Hebrews 6:10

Wordless Wednesday ~ Soccer, Soccer, Soccer!

Before the final game

Pre-game pep talk

Here we go!

Half-time pep talk.

Super tired, second place team! All the girls played 6 full games this weekend!

My Big Girl getting her trophy! Look at that hair!

Big Girl and one of her awesome coaches!

Big Girl and one of her friends from another team. They match! LOL!

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20

Thoughtful Tuesday ~ Are you a square peg?

Many of you may know that my family relocated a little less than a year ago. At first I was upset, I mean who wouldn't be, leaving a place you called home for over 11 years. But then, I had such a peace about it. A peace I can't explain except to say that while my world was being turned upside down, I knew that everything would be OK. God had it covered.

Now, He didn't reveal to me exactly why we were coming up here to the Falls, but as we've been here almost 9 months, He has been slowly revealing to me our purpose here...and it's a multi-faceted purpose! Bear with me as I try to explain a little bit of what He's been revealing to me.

The place we left (which consequently is only 150 miles from here) is a very 'religious' town. That is in the good and the bad sense of the word. God has been (and is still continuing to) lifting the 'religious spirit' that has had a hold of that city for many years. And what is left is God...and true relationship with Him. That is an absolutely wonderful thing for my family. Here in the Falls however, God doesn't really have center stage. As a matter of fact, there are times when I wonder if He's even been cast in the play.

Sure, there are churches, but many of them are dead and still others are just there for the 'box checkers' to do their thing. I have some wonderful friends here who love the Lord with their whole hearts and He directs their life. But, other than this handful of people, God doesn't seem to be a factor in many people's lives...except maybe on Sunday. And this truly hurts my heart.

One day last week, while driving my girls to school, it hit me. This town is all about outward appearances. Does it look good? is the motivation for most things. People have ridiculously large homes with beautifully landscaped yards, but do they have love? Do they have True love from Christ? Some, yes. But I would venture to say about 75% don't.

Before you think I'm just bashing this town, let me explain. In 1 Samuel 16, God instructs Samuel to go out and find one of Jesse's sons to anoint to be the next king. God's king. Jesse had 8 sons. Samuel saw the first, Eliab, and thought for sure he was the one. But it goes on to say in verse 7, "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.' "

I don't know about you, but when God looks at my heart, I want Him to be pleased. In order to achieve this, God is showing me how to live a righteous life in the midst of a godless city. To be that proverbial square peg in a round hole. To not care if I get strange looks while doing nice things for people. To not conform to the ways of the world. To stand out...and do it proudly! I am also to teach my girls to do this. I think, thus far, we have been successful...at least with my Big Girl. I think over the course of the next few years, my Angel will pick up on this. I just pray she doesn't get sucked into the world while trying to learn the lesson.

So, basically, He wants us to learn (through life experience) how to continue to be square in this round world...and to not let the things of this world round our edges.

I'm willing...

Are you?

Think about it...

Wordless Wednesday ~ Our Crazy Weekend

Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. Colossians 3:17 MSG

Monday Meditations ~ Evil

Sometimes I can forget that our fight is not of this world. The Word says that, "we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)

We go about our day to day lives and often don't think about this 'unseen world.' That is, until it is seen...or felt. I have always been sensitive to things in the spiritual realm...I just didn't understand it until about 5 years ago. This can be quite scary to someone who doesn't understand it...trust me.

Anyhow, yesterday, I began sensing something not right. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. This morning, that feeling is still there...but stronger. The only thing I can do right now is pray. Seek direction from God. Seek counsel from godly friends. And pray some more. Pray that whatever it is, isn't as bad as it's making me feel.