Thank you Jesus it's NOT about me!

Don't you just fall over when the word of God is just new and alive? I have read this verse a thousand times and know it by heart and know full well what it means, but I must be borderline prideful for it to smack me between the eyes! ;-)

No matter what all "I'm doing" for the Kingdom of God, my salvation is not earned by what i am doing and it's not a "who does Jesus love more" contest based on what they are doing.

Yes, I give all praise to Him for what He allows me to walk alongside with Him in, but the focus isn't me...it's all JESUS! It's about what He did...not me. The beauty and fascination of the cross.

Aren't you glad you don't have to earn your way into heaven? We would either all be full of pride because of what we are doing or we would be miserable human beings because we just can't measure up.

There is freedom in Christ Jesus! Praise God and hallelujah!

He just loves us THAT much and we simply believe and receive the love of Christ.

Taking care of me, us, them

Y'all...I watched the AMA's tonight and was laughing and crying over "what in the world was that mess on tv??" Then, I flipped over to the Steelers/Ravens game and saw the Steeler's uniforms and again..."what in the world was that mess on tv?!" After enough of the back and forth shaking of the head and sounding like I'm 210 years old I decided to study 10th grade biology with my 16 year old because that would seem somewhat normal to me. Ask me anything about cells and cell membranes and a whole bunch of other words I can't pronounce....come on! I dare ya! I'm feeling so much smarter now. :)

But, first....here is bless her heart....

And then there is the bumble bee team.... AKA Pittsburg Steelers:

 Biology was the only way to go folks.

Anyway...how excited are we that its THANKSGIVING WEEK??!!  I'm almost one of those people who wants to put our Christmas decorations up as well as carve the turkey all at the same time. I just can't y'all. I just can't. I want to....but I can't.  Help me Jesus. Pinterest is killing me.

What am I MOST thankful for this year?  Only one thing??  Name the BESTEST of the BEST when it comes to gratitude? Oh gosh...this is tough. However...it all boils down to one theme I have seen over and over and over since July....and it's called "provision." Our lives began to change dramatically this past July and with every big twist and turn...HE PROVIDED. He is still providing. He will continue to provide. Whew.

Thank you Jesus for carrying me, us, them these past several months. How in the world do we even begin to think we can do any piece of this without you?  I did that once...years ago...heck just yesterday I got hung up in my own provision and thought I could control and manage it all. Why, hello pride. There you are again. ;)

You are sweet to come in and remind me that this is yours to carry. Thank you again, Lord. Thank you!

Matthew 11:29-30 NIV
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

I'm letting go more and more of me every single day and picking up more and more of Him instead. He will take care of me, us, them.  And for that I am eternally grateful. He has us. All of us.

Blessings y'all...

 

He got me!

Goodness.....what a kind bunch of people the Internet can be. Y'all have been so kind when it comes to my sweet dad and his battle with cancer. You just ooze genuine care and concern whether it be here, facebook, or twitter. Beyond thankful for each of you. A prayer is returned to our Father on your behalf. I hope He is so good, full of love and grace, to you and your families. My dad finished his 2nd treatment a week ago and has battle the "post-chemo crud" this past week and hopefully turning the corner this weekend. We hold tightly to God during this time....trusting Him every step of the way. Thank you for caring for us.

 This fall season has been a challenging one and you know what? Satan LOVES to take that season and wreck some havoc. He is so stupid. I fell for it so I guess that makes him the sneaky devil that he is. Dern.

One way he has messed with me is in the area of self confidence. So many of us suffer from self esteem issues and I raise my hand with this one. Another dern. I walk around day in and day out questioning everything from the food I'm buying at the grocery store and if its good enough for the family (yes, stupid) to the ways I'm being a wife and a mom and friend and a daughter and a woman after God. Another dern. I can question and doubt every stinking aspect of the day. That adds up to a lot of stinking aspects girls. I'm so irritated and disappointed and frustrated and KNOW BETTER. But....Satan likes to do his thing when we are overwhelmed with life and feeling afraid. DERN DERN DERN!!!

 I let him win for some time and now it's time, sisters....I'm claiming my ground and my identity back and walking every single day holding onto the Word and what the bible says about who I am in Him!!!! Amen?? Amen!! You might have paralyzed me for a bit Satan....but I know your tricks and next time I will be ready...quicker.

 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in HIM." Jeremiah 17:7 NIV

Let me hear your memory verse! Can you seriously believe there are only 3 more to go?

 I truly can't imagine not knowing Him or His word....this life is full of trials and I can only walk through them with Him. Whew. Not my power, but His. Thank ya Jesus...

 

Time to GO!!

Y'all.....I read something today on twitter and for the life of me I can't find it. I searched and scrolled and searched and scrolled and I can't find it!! It was just that good and exactly what the Lord has been saying to me. Yes...the Lord spoke through twitter. ;-) He is able to use whatever He wants, right? Why, yes He can.

 I'm going to paraphrase what I think I read on twitter today that hit me in the gut.... "when we get to heaven God isn't going to ask how much scripture did you memorize, but what did you DO with all that truth you memorized?"

 BIG FAT HELLO!!!

I have been fired up about memorizing scripture because His Word is Truth and full of life when spoken over a person or situation. There is nothing like having His Word hidden in my heart. So....I have His Word hidden in my heart, but what am I doing with all this truth? Am I loving better? Am I serving better? Am I simply the same and not growing spiritually like I would hope?

 God has been telling me to GO lately. Scripture doesn't say to just pray or give monetarily. He commands us to GO (Matthew 28:19) and I don't like how I have been going. It's time to GO, people!!

The Lord has clearly been telling me to GO. I have been waiting on the neon sign in the sky and it just hasn't been there, so I have pretty much ignored Him. GASP. No more.

 Its just time to agree with Him and the infamous nudge in my Spirit and find me some ways to truly serve outside my comfort zone. How are you "going" lately?? Help me Lord. Show me the way. Make this path straight because I'm ready to GO!!!!

 1 John 3:18 " Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." NIV

This, my friends, is my memory verse and I hope that within the next month or so you will hold me accountable and ask me, "How's it going?" ;)

I sure do love y'all.

 

I believe and I have hope!

This has been a rough week. There is so much going on around our family that I sometimes just sit back and think "What in the world, God?" If things happen in three's, I'm already praying us up to receive that 3rd thing. Just kidding. Maybe. I feel somewhat assured when someone says, "He will get you through this or He must know you can handle it." I like those sentences for a split second and then my mind goes back to the reality of life. I have said a lot lately that when you hear someone talk about a divorce (which is NOT happening here) they will say...you have no idea how divorce effects the family. And the truth is...you really don't know that road if you haven't walked it. Not a news flash, but the depth of the pain and hardship is simply too hard for anyone to truly understand or empathize with you if their shoes aren't dirty from a similar road traveled. Just the way it is.

One of our family situations, that we are experiencing, just can't be shared with here. The other involves my dad. Bless his sweet precious soul...I love him. We are cut from the same cloth. And if you really know me then you now know my dad. My sweet 74 year old daddy starts chemo Wednesday for aggressive B-cell non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Yuck. It flat out stinks. Oh the thoughts that go through your mind. We would covet any prayer you offer on my dads behalf. I will update y'all throughout this journey.

My memory verse is all about having hope. I don't know who else to cling to other than the One who is the true giver of hope. I am beyond thankful for His Word and I'm thankful to the gifted bible teacher, Beth Moore, who challenged me to memorize scripture. The enemy is defeated when we start throwing around our sword. ;)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

My family needs someone full of hope. I need a ton of Jesus in order to share some of that hope....His hope. My natural flesh would be quick to sink into a pit of despair and exhaustion without Him. Dang this life is hard at times.

Praise Him for the promises and truth of scripture!! Amen? Amen!!

The roller coaster ride

Sometimes you find yourself in a season of life that you simply never saw coming. Sometimes we are blindsided by something that just takes awhile to get your mind around. Sometimes this season is a true test of what you believe about God and who He is and your only option is to buckle up and ride this roller coaster He put you on. Sometimes this ride makes you scream with complete fear and sometimes this ride makes you want to throw up and sometimes this ride even gives you a glimpse of a smile and some laughter as you throw your arms up for just a minute and experience some fun. Sometimes we ride this ride with our eyes closed and sometimes we ride this ride with eyes wide open half scared to death and are yelling "GET ME OFF THIS THING!!!!" Sometimes, life is just too much and you truly Just need to get back to the basics of your faith. A crisis will do that for ya, won't it? I have found myself asking, "Who is God and what are His promises again?" Sometimes every thing we thought we knew escapes us and the simplests of truths are not known. Sometimes we don't even know our name. It's big stuff isn't it? In several weeks time, this is what I KNOW....I mean really know.... He is FOR me...for us...for you. I walk by faith...not by sight. Plain and simple basics. Sometimes the ride with Jesus takes us back to the basics and even though these basics seems simple and routine, He may throw it your way when you least expect it and life is hard. I am recommitting myself and my TIME back to what really matters...scripture study, scripture memory, fully present for others, expecting Him more than ever, and passionate about the One who created me before the foundation of the world and loves me like no other. My memory verse this time is the shortest one I have ever picked, but months and years down the road as we celebrate the successful end of this roller coaster ride I can honestly say..."we lived by faith and not by sight and He proved Himself faithful." Praise Him!!! (2 Corinthians 5:7) Y'all....let's get back to the basics. Does anything else matter? Sure do love y'all....

He pulls us out!

I sit here on this Labor Day morning with my head full of fog and crud because of a nasty cold, but some things are very clear in this muddled mind of mine today.....(thank you Sudafed)

Before I came to know the Lord, and I mean personally know the Lord, I had put myself in a deep pit of every sin under the sun it seemed. Thankfully, a beautiful family member introduced me to a Savior who would help me out of that nasty pit. Praise God for her!! You never know when you are inviting someone to Bible study just where they are and it may be the turning point of their spiritual walk! Invite someone to bible study this fall! ;-)

One step at a time and one loving Father, who was absolutely relentless, kept guiding me out of that dark pit.

Sometimes we find ourselves, possibly someone we love dearly, or someone we casually know that is in that pit and needs a rope to hold onto. They need the One who holds the rope and can gently place their beautiful feet on solid ground again...away from that darkness. Whether we put ourselves in that pit or someone pushed us there...it's still a pit and we want out and we don't know just what to do. All we see is darkness.

This promise out is Psalm 40 is what I shout in celebration when I remember coming out of the pit and one I claim for someone else as I watch them find their way out of their pit.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand. (Psalm 40:2 NIV)

Thank you Jesus for being the One who rescues us and gives us that firm place to stand!!! I just can't do this life without You!

My hope is in Him alone! Stay in the Word sisters!