Happy New Year!

Ever been interested in New Year's Celebrations and where they came from?  Check out this link from History.com.

Have you ever wondered about the song "Auld Lang Syne" and it's tradition regarding New Year's Eve?  Check this article out and it'll give you some back story.

DO YOU MAKE RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR?

When I was younger I used to think that it was the thing to do. Then every year it felt like I was setting myself up for failure.  As I got older, and a little wiser, I realized that self-reliance is what caused failure in this case and in most cases in my life.  You see, we can't do things on our own.  We wonder why in a culture full of so many brilliant people we are all depressed.  I truly believe, besides all the environmental issues-included the food we eat, that we try too much to rely on ourselves and not enough on God in our everyday life. When we lean on Him, things tend to go smoother.  We aren't AS disappointed in our failures because we know that He forgives and gives grace when asked.  We can start fresh and pick up our cross daily.  Luke 9:23-26

I'm not saying that making new good habits is a bad thing.  Positive change is always a good thing.  What I am saying is that be realistic with your New Years goals. Most people go around stating that it only takes 21-30 days to form a new habit.  Most scientific research has shown that this is mostly untrue. You see it depends on the person, their background, behaviors and circumstances. It can be anywhere from 60 days to 250 days.  That is significantly longer than 3 weeks to a month.  We tend to give up because we rely on ourselves.  In our secular culture New Year's is no longer a self reflection point like it was way back when. It is:  What can I do to make my life better?   

Looking forward to this year, make realistic goals for yourself and your family.  Are their small things you can change daily?  Can you commit to being in the Word more?  How can you make that happen?  More over, how can you ask God to help you make it happen?

As for me?  Well, I am going to try to keep plugging away at this blog and trying to Glorify God with decisions I make on a daily basis.  Ask forgiveness for my sins against Him and others and ask for Help from Him and others.  We only have so long on this world, life is fleeting and worth living, but living well.

So come along side me as I struggle just like others to get into good habits of praying, reading my bible, reaching out to serve and truly engaging with my savior-OUR SAVIOR.

Until next time, God Bless you in this New Year and try to think daily how you can change your life to honor Him and give Him Glory that is so richly deserved.

Werewolves

Ever wonder where the Legend of the Werewolf came from?  Check out this article from History.com and you will read all about it.

Why a post about werewolves?  Well, it is October and in true step with my interest in holidays, I figured I would try something tied into the month.  In October we tend to decorate with scary things, we include harvest related things like scarecrows , hay bales and pumpkins of course, but we also include all kinds of creatures that are known to go bump in the night.  

I was talking to my daughter, who is 8, the other day about Halloween.  She asked how it came about.  Well, I have a post for that here from last Halloween. I explained about the All Hallow's eve and why we dress up today.

So, werewolves.  Are you a person who has a hard time controlling their lust for killing people or animals?  Probably not.  But there are times that our blood gets boiling, right?  You feel the need to lash out, scream and just wanna kill someone(hopefully not for real right?)

Jesus spoke about the 6th commandment. Matthew 5:21-25

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Anger Management

Gary Chapman wrote a book called Anger: Taming a Powerful Emotion.  My husband read it a few years ago and he said it really brought to light a lot of things for him.

Gary Chapman also has a nice little quiz that shows you where you are at with some suggestions that point to his book.  In an effort to be transparent this is what my results say:
   

You are doing well, but can improve
Your results are indicative of someone who likely handles your anger well in many situations, but there are still times when your anger is handling you. Recognize the areas where you are doing well in handling your anger, but also be cautious that your anger is not getting out of hand in other ways.

Think about the situations where your anger comes out most often. Is it with loved ones? At work? What happens when you react angrily? Are you a shouter, or do you turn your anger inward? What words do you tend to use? What feelings tend to come out when you’re angry, and how do those feelings find expression, in good ways or bad? Consider the following possibilities for future action:

Action Steps
You would benefit from better understanding the distinction between good anger and bad anger. Definitive (or “good”) anger, as Dr. Chapman describes it, is a normal response to genuine wrongdoing, injustice, or mistreatment. Distorted (or “bad”) anger, on the other hand, is our response to others when we have incorrectly perceived a construed wrongdoing, injustice, or mistreatment. We don’t have all the facts correct in distorted anger. Learn some other key differences between the two responses in chapter four of this book.

Some people look like they have it all together on the outside and rarely appear out of control due to anger, while underneath the façade they tend to simmer with unexamined anger. This “implosive” anger can be characterized by brooding or withdrawal, among other expressions. Dr. Chapman identifies key strategies to deal with implosive anger in chapter six of his book.

Whoops!

Looks like I should read the book huh?  I think we all could use more strategies for anger management in our lives. I'll try to get on that and give you a book review sometime in the next 6 months. No promises though. :)

In the meantime, take stock for yourself here.

Righteous Anger

This article from gotquestions.org talks about righteous anger versus sinful anger. 

The Point?

Take stock the next time your blood gets boiling and before you turn into a werewolf and have blood lust, try managing that anger in an appropriate way.  I know it's hard.  If you look at where you are at in your life and what your triggers are, there are ways to make changes so that you don't get to that boiling point anymore.

Trust that God has a plan for you and that He will come along side you if you ask for his help in this area.

Until next time, try not to howl at the moon too much.

Ephesians 4:26-27

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Thankful for Jesus as my Savior

What are you thankful for?

As Christians we are called to prioritize God in our lives.  I find this very hard most days as I get caught up in the day to day grind of just life.  That being said, I always want to make God a priority, but follow through is hard.

With November and Thanksgiving here in the states, it's a reminder of all the things we should be thankful for.

My top reason I am thankful: God sending his Son, Jesus, to save us all.  Covering past, present and future sin.

If you are reading this and haven't fully committed to your beliefs, it may be time to dive deeper and find out what's holding you back.

Part of believing in a savior is knowing your need for him.  Do you realize how far from God you truly are and how much you need a savior?  I do, most every day I realize this fact and I am so grateful for his continuing Grace.  

When you are saved it's by faith alone, not Jesus AND, just Jesus.

That being said, we are called to move away from sin, leave those sins behind. To repent means to do a full 180 degrees, turn around.  As believers we should show some type of change.  Change isn't needed to be saved(except for the repentance aspect), but it certainly is a way to show that God is sanctifying you.

This topic is a big one, and I'm not going to get into it too much.  I will give you some good articles to read if you want to dig deeper.

How can I be Saved?

What is Sanctification?

Finally, if you are saved, how to you share that with others?  Check out my blog post here about sharing your hope in Jesus.


John 17:14-19

14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.


There are so many awesome songs about being saved, but today Forgiven by Crowder really spoke to me.

Vampires

It's October, the leaves are changing and the weather here in the eastern US is getting really chilly.  Although, while I write this today it's 64 F and humid, it's a little odd, seeing that it's been 32 F the last few nights.

With October comes all things creepy right, or at least it seems that way.  The decorations go up and more than likely you will find a vampire or many among the strung up things.

Ever wondered where the legends of vampires came from, check it out here, at one of my favorite sites!

Now that you've read a little history, let talk about how to keep those Vampires around us from sucking the life out of us, and from us becoming them as well.

Don't let things suck the life out of you, and don't turn into a life sucker either.

Blood is our life force, it's what makes things work in our body.  It's what God showed us in the bible as a sacrifice to atone for sin, even before Jesus was in the picture , He showed us the necessity to sacrifice through blood.  Leading the way for the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus' blood covering all of our sins.

There are a lot of great things in life. For me, entertainment and family outings are a couple of them. But, like any great things, too much and too often can be a bad thing because then it sucks the life out of you. It's exhausting, it gets us to a breaking point and we just wanna hide under the covers and cry for awhile.  Yeah, I've done this a lot in the past, and I'm sure I will in the future. 

If we don't find a balance with all things they can become our modern day vampires.  And, if we aren't careful, we can overstep our boundaries and become vampires ourselves, sucking the life out of others.  Finding balance is a necessity in life, it is so hard sometimes and requires a lot of daily mindfulness.

It's those closest to us that tend to be affected the most, family members, spouses, children and friends.  

I encourage you today to look at your life and see if you have any vampires in your life or if you've become one.  Evaluate things, and see if you need to strike some kind of balance in your life.  

God is in control, but we need to take up our cross daily. I saw a sign on a church the other day that said:  

No God, No Peace

Know God, Know Peace

Isn't that true.  When we strive to know God and what He wants for our lives, then it leads to peace.  No one said it would be easy, in fact it often isn't, but striving is part of the journey.

1 John 6-7:

6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Ephesians 2:13

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

 

Palm Sunday 2003

I wanted to share with you a little bit about the upcoming holiday tomorrow and what it's significance means to me.

I had made a new friend at work that year and he seemed like he was always so full of joy. Back then I struggled with lack of joy. I asked him one day why he was the way he was and his straight forward answer slapped me in the face, but in a good way.  He said, "It's because of Jesus".  I had grown up in various churches and I had even been baptized when I was 10, but I had fallen away from the church for various reasons and never gave it a second thought. However, with a lot of turmoil in the previous couple of years at that time in my life, I had often prayed and thought about going back to church. I just didn't know where to start.  

So, I asked my friend where he went to church. He told me where he went when he was attending UNH, but that he was currently attending his parent's church.

That Sunday, I put on my best dress and went very early to the church.  My heart was beating in my chest and I was really nervous not knowing what the expect.  I walked into the doors of the downstairs of DEC and instantly I was calm.  This odd feeling came over me and I felt like I was supposed to be there. I hadn't felt that kind of peace in a long time in my life.  It was a bit overwhelming, like how silence can be deafening from time to time. 

I went upstairs into the sanctuary and sat in the very back row.  People smiled and said hello to me but no one asked me any questions or attempted to engage me in conversation-which I was glad for at the time.  As I looked around I realized I felt a little out of place as people started to flood the sanctuary.  I was really over dressed for the occasion. I guess I should have known this since half of the congregation were college students.  I fell in with the other half of older people who had dressed like I had when I was younger.  We always dressed up for church.

As the service started it was then that I realized it was Palm Sunday. I hadn't seen the reeds on my way in because I was so early to the service. A few minutes into service we all started singing Hosanna and the little kids had come up and were waving palms through the sanctuary. I felt myself overwhelmed and started crying, but although I was crying there was still this sense of peace and belonging.  

That Palm Sunday, which was April 13th, 2003 was the beginning of my journey back to God and what has shaped my life since. Every Palm Sunday I tear up thinking of that day and the little kids waving their palms are now mine. 

As a side note, 13 is my favorite number and always has been. Now I guess it has even more significance for me.

I also started to dress more comfortably the next Sunday for Easter and every Sunday after that.  Realizing that God wants to know our hearts, not our clothes. 

Ever wonder about Palm Sunday, here's a cool Explanation of Palm Sunday.

My favorite Palm Sunday song is Shout Hosanna by Passion ft Kristian Stanfill

If you want to know more about Palm Sunday and Easter and want a visual tool I would suggest watching The Passion of the Christ, but make sure you have a box of tissues with you.  Even if you aren't sure you are a believer, this one will tug at your heart strings a lot and if it doesn't then maybe you aren't ready to hear the Good news.

Until next time!  Always in awe of the cross and His sacrifice.

Matthew 21: 7-11
They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Remembering 9/11 among Hurricane & Fire Devastation

I felt led to write a little something about remembering 9/11 as well as the current state of my country with all the hurricane and wild fire destruction going on.

I personally didn't know anyone directly affected by the 9/11 attacks.  I do know where I was when it happened and how I felt.   I was at work when it happened, when someone ran into the office area to tell us all. We all filed into the cafeteria where the news was playing to see what was going on.  The feeling of tense quiet in the room was crazy. It felt like every nerve was on fire and no one knew what to do.  We were all waiting to see what was happening.  I had to pull myself away after a little while to pull myself together and threw myself into my work, because quite frankly I didn't know what else to do.  At that time I wasn't attending a church, I did believe in God but I wasn't actively seeking him.  I was walking in the wrong direction.  That day was sobering. It made me angry and sad, it made me pray and cry.  Back then I knew about terrorism but not at this magnitude.  I had such anger toward these people that caused the attack.  I had fear and frustration, not knowing what to do next and I was safe and comfortable and not directly affected by it.  But, I think every American can say they were affected by it in someway. It was an attack on my country.  I certainly wasn't praying for the people who did it, those left behind from their deranged group or even their people group at the time.  I didn't know the difference.

As I grew in my Christian faith (especially this year with my series on How to Pray for Muslims during Ramadan, Followup 1, How to Pray for ISIS-Followup 2 & Wrap Up on How to Pray for ISIS) I found myself understanding radicalism within different religious organizations.  I found myself no longer grouping people into people groups for this type of reason.  Rather I saw people as God see us all, as children of God-if you accept him into your heart.

My husband and I took a trip through NYC in 2014 and we made sure to visit the Memorial, this picture below doesn't do it justice.  The sheer awesomeness of the gaping whole was humbling and made me shiver with thoughts of what those people must have gone through.  We took a walking tour where they showed us the the memorial for the firefighters that gave their lives in their efforts to assist others.  As well as St Paul's Church that wasn't touched during the whole thing, where people came to volunteer after
the attacks.

In the world we live in today it's hard not to see the violence when we are surrounded by it almost daily.  If we personally aren't affected, we see it splattered all over the news. And if violence from terrorism wasn't enough, it's among our own.  Racism, hatred, division.  The video and song below: We all Bleed the Same spoke so much to me the other day about division and hatred.  Listen to the lyrics, they are amazing and full of truth.

While remembering 9/11, our country was in the midst of cleaning up after Hurricane Harvey in Texas & Louisiana and trying to batten down the hatches for Hurricane Irma in Florida and all those islands to it's South.  I do have to say through it all it's interesting how when tragedy strikes we seem to stop thinking about color and differences and pull together as a nation to help one another.  

Could it be coincidence that it happened?  Sure.  

Could it have been intentional for God?  I know some of you are cringing right now.... Yes, He could have sent those Hurricanes, we've seen destruction at his hand before in the bible.  I know that we would like to think that he wouldn't do something as devastating as this, I know I struggle with this, but the Bible is full of examples of it.  

Could it be global warming?  Sure, I am guessing that due to the fact that we trash our world on a minute by minute basis that we are going to end up with some serious consequences.

What I say though, is that no matter the cause, the result is people helping one another. We don't have time to fight with each other when we are reaching out a hand to pull people from destruction.

If you would like to help in the wake of these recent hurricanes and don't know what to do?

1. Ask your church if they are doing anything special with other local churches and maybe pairing with some churches in the affected area.

2.  There are ways of going to help if that is something you want to look into under Convey of Hope Field Teams

3.  You can donate your money and/or blood to the American Red Cross

3a. Now, here you might be saying to yourself "I don't have the extra money."  Read my blog here on making a budget before you donate.

4.  You can also donate to a Christian based Charity called Convoy of Hope

5.  Last but not least, pray for the people affected by these tragedies.  Think about what it would be like to be in their shoes and pray for them like you would pray for yourself or people close to you.

Remember 

Even though you may think your one time donation, your monthly donation, your prayers, your blood donation isn't enough, IT IS!  These people are in for the long haul. If you gave $5.00 a month to one of the above charities for a year or more that would make a difference.  Because you aren't the only ones who can't do much.  If 100,000 people donated $5 a month, that would be 1/2 Million dollars a month!!!!!!!  For a yearly commitment would bring it to 6 Million in a year.  That's a lot of help.  Pray and Think about it!

I'll leave you with this:

2 Chronicles 7:14

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Movie Review: Instant Family PG-13+

I think you all know how much I love to watch movies.  I try to watch things that I can review here, things that make me contemplate life and the world and stretch me in ways I am not normally stretched in my day to day routine.

I've never felt the tug to adopt, but I know others who have felt the desire to and have.  So, when a movie comes out that is PG-13 and deals with this subject I gravitated toward it.  Who doesn't like Mark Walberg, right? Yeah, I know, a lot of people don't. 

Anyway, I laughed and cried a lot throughout the movie.  It was funny where it needed to be and serious where it needed to be.  HOWEVER,  ....  Yeah, holy moly have some language.  I guess I should have looked up the reviews online like I do with a lot of movies whem I am unsure of it's content.  I just didn't think it would be that bad with this specific subject matter.  Here are the reviews from 2 of my favorite sources:

Common Sense Media review
Focus on the Family Plugged In Review

It really was a lot of unnecessary language in the movie.  I was a bit surprised. I mean I shouldn't be surprised seeing the state of our culture these days. Most of the time, although I am put off my bad language, it doesn't bother me.  I think the subject matter in this movie didn't warrant the types of language there was.  

My opinion is that it's a decent movie in a lot of ways, but it isn't for kids and I probably wouldn't even show it to teenagers either.  I would consider it an adult only movie.

I wrote a post a little while ago about a charity we support that works with adoption.  You can check out the post here.

Interested in a post about how I feel about movies you can check that post out here.

Adoption and/or fostering is something that we need to keep on our hearts in one form or another.  We are called to care for widows and orphans.  This will look differently for each of us.  Prayer, Financial Support, Community programs, actual fostering and/or adopting. 


James 1:26-27
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world

Movie Review: Indivisible

I have to be honest, I've had a rough summer and let my writing go by the wayside for some time now. But, sometimes when we need it the most, we need to slow down and just care for ourselves in a way that means shutting some other things out for awhile.  So, that's what I did.  I got this movie from Netflix in April.  I started watching it and it was so dramatic that I just needed to put it away until I was ready to watch it some more.  Sometimes, that means being ready for a drama in a way that you'll be able to be moved by it.

So I told myself that I wasn't going to send it back until I watched it, so I watched it in the afternoon of the first day of school. I took some time for myself that day in the morning and then after lunch I finished the movie.  I'm very glad I did.  It was a great movie about family, faith and perseverance through hard times. But, it also shows that family requires work, like any relationship you want to keep intact.

Here is a video about the movie that might peak your interest if you already aren't, labeled The Heart of Indivisible.

Another thing that really gives this movie an edge up is the acting, like a lot of Christian films the content is great but the acting is lacking, but this film has a lot of established actors who do an amazing job with all the emotion that the film needed.

This is based on a true story, which I didn't know going into the movie.

See it, it's worth it, but make sure you have tissues and make sure you are in the right mind set for something this dramatic and emotional.

When life throws you struggles it is hard but, Sometimes you just gotta have faith.....

Movie Review: All Saints

I saw the preview for this movie on Paul The Apostle of Christ movie I recently reviewed here. 

I always go into these movies with low expectations from an acting perspective because I know that often times low budget movies mean inexperienced actors.  But, with this one there were several experienced actors that added a depth to the movie.

I like movies based on true stories. They let me know only see into a situation that I don't already know about but also deeper into a situation or circumstance that I've heard of.  In this case, we hear of genocide and persecution all over the world lately, but I had never heard about the Karen people from Burma before. 

Here is the description of the movie:

ALL SAINTS is based on the inspiring true story of salesman-turned-pastor Michael Spurlock (John Corbett), the tiny church he was ordered to shut down, and a group of refugees from Southeast Asia. Together, they risked everything to plant seeds for a future that might just save them all.

After trading in his corporate sales career to become a pastor, Michael’s first assignment is All Saints, a quaint country church with a dozen members. It comes with a catch: he has to close the church doors for good and sell the prime piece of land on which it sits. While developers eagerly eye the property and the congregation mourns the inevitable, Michael and his family look forward to moving on to an established church where they can put down roots.

But when the church hesitantly begins welcoming Karen (kuh-REN) refugees from Burma—former farmers striving for a fresh start in America—Michael feels called to an improbable new mission. Toiling alongside the Karen people, the congregation attempts to turn their fertile land into a working farm to pay the church’s bills and feed its newest people.


Jeopardizing his family’s future by ignoring his superiors, Michael must choose between completing what he was assigned to do—close the church and sell the property—or listening to a still, small voice challenging the people of All Saints to risk it all and provide much-needed hope to their new community.


The main thing for me was seeing someone struggling with what God is telling them to do. As a pastor he thought that God was telling him to not sell the church and land and help these refugees by planting and selling the crops. When all his plans don't go according to his plan, what he sees at the end is that God uses this as a way to draw a community of believers together and is still standing today.

God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

My point is that movies like this make me realize that my life is my responsibility to live it well, but at the same time when I sometimes feel like nothing I do matters, it does to God and he can use the simplest thing in our lives to make the biggest waves.

Movie Review: Paul Apostle of Christ

I knew going into this movie that I had to be in the right mind set for this one.  It's a drama, but one that came highly recommended by my pastor, who is also my bible study leader. 

Dramatic movies can be hard to watch sometimes. This particular movie has come through my house a couple of times and I've passed on watching it, until now. I put it back on my dvd queue and it sat in my house for weeks before I was ready to watch it.  And, I am very glad I did.

If you have a chance to watch it, make sure to watch the behind the scenes stuff, the creators of the movie explain how they filled in much of the information in the film.  Here is one part of that.

I had to keep telling myself that Jim Caviezel was playing Luke through the whole movie, because I always see him as playing Jesus in The Passion of the Christ.

The actor that portrayed Paul, James Faulkner, is an amazing actor.  He has been in a lot of period pieces.  He's your classic English Shakespearean actor.

Unlike a lot of Christian based movies the acting was fantastic in this one.  There were a lot of known actors who used their craft to show this story in a beautiful way.  I laughed a little and cried a little.  I empathized with the characters as well.  As with all movies I watch I wanted to come away with something from it that I hadn't thought or learned before and also be in an emotional state that felt like I didn't waste the last couple of hours of my time.  This one rang true on all accounts for me.

I highly recommend watching it, but be in the right state of mind first.  Sometimes movies like these don't hit you the way they should if you heart and mind aren't open.

Until next time....
1 Corinthians 1:18 
Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Lent 2019 #40acts 10-18

Yup, I'm still behind in my blogging again.  I've managed to keep up with the acts themselves, reading them at least.  I've had some family medical/sickness stuff come up on top of my normal schedule and I feel sometimes it's the evil one's way of pushing me down when I am trying to push outward.

God is great all the time, all the time God is great.



Act 10: Drop Everything   This one was about giving things away. We have a couple of bags of stuff that we give away every couple of weeks.  It seems we are constantly cleaning out and getting rid of stuff. 

Act 11: Hidden Heroes    I often think of the trash collectors or facilities management people who clean the bathrooms. I'm glad we have them, can you imagine the world without people who clean up after you?  As a stay at home mom and wife I know what it feels like sometimes to not be appreciated in this aspect.

Act 12: Prayer Circle   Praying for your neighbors can be difficult when you don't really know them.  This is an act I didn't do but plan on trying to do weekly.  It's a realization that even if you don't know someone you can pray for them.

Act 13: Needs Must   Taking care of a chore that isn't yours.  Hmmm.  This one is a tough one for me since it's my daily job to take care of the house.  So for me this is one that is a one off for me.  I try to put my kids clothes away from time to time after I do the laundry, or I gather the trash, which is typically my son's chore.

Act 14: The Green One   We try to recycle when we can, in all honesty it's more to save money than to save the earth.  I know how bag plastic is for the world but I also know how much easier it is with it.  So, I have been trying to go without the added plastic bags from the store as much as usual.  We also tend to use them a few times a week for various things and they get destroyed after that second use.

Act 15: Leg Up    I don't really have a teaching skill.  I think lately the only thing I can share is how to make food.  I've been doing this with my oldest niece in an effort to help integrate her with a healthier lifestyle.  Eating healthy isn't always easy and it takes a lot of preparation.

Act 16:  Dirty Hands  Again, being a stay at home mom means constantly cleaning. So, with this act in mind I just kept things in sight when I went out.  If there was trash lying around I picked it up and threw it away.  If there was something out of place, I put it back.

Act 17: Mission Accomplished  We support several missionary people financially. This year when there came an opportunity for special prayer for one of them I jumped at it.  Normally I wouldn't do this because it takes commitment, which is something that is difficult for me with my schedule and temperament.  I've been finding that it's a way for me to connect more with them, even though I'm not talking or emailing, I am engaged with them spiritually and I find that refreshing.

Act 18: Brothers and Sisters    This Act is all about praying and caring for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.  The ministry that our family supports is Voice of the Martyrs.  I wrote about them here a couple of years ago.  This type of thing is something I share with my kids all the time.  When they complain about going to church or something like that I share stories with them of persecuted Christians in the world today.  It's a humbling thought for all of us.


I'm still managing to follow along with each day's act.  I like that they engage me in a way I wouldn't normally see the world and cause action when I can.  I gotta tell you though, I was super irritated yesterday when I went to several stores and I couldn't seem to go out of my way to engage like I usually do.  There were shopping carts in various places and instead of taking care of them like I have been I just left them there.  I think it agitated me more to do that.  I got a good night sleep last night and I am looking forward to a reset today.  Sometimes we have to give ourselves grace and forgiveness before we do so for others.  Thank God that He is gracious.

Show Hope - An Adoption Non Profit Organization

I'm not the kind of person who would ever think about adopting a child.  Not for lack of compassion or love, I just never felt either called to do it either due to my personality or the fact that I always felt that God had given our family all it could handle in the children department.

That being said, I've always had a heart for other people and their desire to adopt.  Whether it be a desire to complete their family or that they felt called to love on others in this way.

Around the time that I started to get to know my husband, I also started hearing about Show Hope, Steven Curtis Chapman(the musician) and his wife created a charity for people desiring to adopt but who needed help in various ways.

Due to the fact that there is so much red tape and money involved in adopting, this organization seemed like a perfect place to start supporting others in their love.

The tagline on their Your Part page states:  

NO ONE CAN DO EVERYTHING, BUT EVERYONE CAN DO SOMETHING.

I love this statement because it makes me feel like I can contribute.  Often times when I read about a charitable organization it's more about the need for money or things, and that's true of most everything in this world. 

Check out their website :  https://showhope.org/

Before we donated we prayed about it.  We also made sure we could budget it.  Check out my post here about budgeting before you donate.

When I think of adoption I think of the love the father has for us, that we can be called his sons and daughters, children of God.  When I explained adoption to my kids for the first time, this paints a clear picture of the love that others have for adopting.  How much love God has for us that he adopts us into his family.

My kids will often ask at a young age if a specific person is family or not.  I will explain to them that the definition of family is an interesting one, there are blood relatives and then there are those that we love like blood relatives, or even more so, that are considered family.  Truly love is the source of family after all. 

This is a great organization that I encourage you to read about and support in any way you can. Whether it be in prayer or financially.  

Whether or not you are called to adopt or not, we are all called to care for those who are orphaned.

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.



Ephesians 1:5  
In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

Hillsong United "Child of God" Who You Say I Am

Steven Curtis Chapman When Love Takes You In

October Ramblings...Are your leaves only half changed?

We have a tree in our yard that usually turns a beautiful red in the fall. This year, the leaves on one half of the tree have changed and the other half hasn't yet. And, they aren't as brilliantly colored as they have been in past years.  It reminds me of me sometimes.

When I came back to the church it took me a long time to recommit myself to Christ.  What do I mean?  Well, I had made a statement that I belonged to Him but I wasn't living for Him.  What did that look like?  I went to church, I attended a small group bible study and I had a passionate prayer life.  But, I still struggled with BIG sin issues. I didn't change my habits on the outside.  I still drank- a lot, I still struggled with sexual sin, I swore a lot, I basically did what I wanted and only felt a little bad about it. It was at a "Revival" type of event that God showed me that I had one foot on either side of a chasm and I needed to choose which side to be on.  I made the leap that day. I would like to say that it was an immediate change, it wasn't.  In fact, it took a couple more months for me to realize that I was still looking back to the other side of the chasm and even then change wasn't immediate, it took hard work to get there.

Change is hard!

I was and still am the type of person who likes to "stick it to the man".  In this case, I was fighting hard against giving up what I considered "freedoms" and moving to what God calls us to do. I eventually made small choices that helped with the big things in my life, all with the help and grace of God and my new Christian friends.  That meant giving up a lot of my old habits, which included a lot of my old friends.  It sucked, it really did.  I felt like I was giving up a part of myself.  And I was, because in order to take up our cross daily we have to die to self and become a new creation in Him.  It meant losing relationships I had from childhood or at least a big change in them.

Where are you at in your journey?

I encourage you today to take stock of where you are in your life, with your faith. In fact, I will be encouraging you to do so frequently this month, at least I hope to.

Look inside and see where you are.  This is something I think we need to do daily, and I try most of the time.  Lately I have to remember that His Grace is Enough.  When daily life gets to you, when it seems like you are in a holding pattern or sometimes slipping down a slope, remember that He is throwing you a rope, but you have to grab it and do some of the work.  There will be some days that will feel like you are slipping down that rope and getting rope burn, other will feel like you are just hanging on for dear life, still others will feel like you are drifting. Then there are days that burdens feel lighter and because of that it feels like you don't have to pull that hard to make progress, it just happens.  In the end just know that he is always holding that rope and he is cheering us on like a parent who loves His children and wants what is best for them.

Happy October.  Here is gets cooler and the leaves change, things look a bit brighter when the sun comes out and the air smells crisper.

Do what you need to do to get back on the right track.  It isn't always easy, but in the end, it gives you Hope.   Do you have hope?

2 Corinthians 12:6-10

Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.