Now days people can get praise and worship music from the radio or iPod or hear a powerful sermon from a preacher on TV. The bar has been set high by the new age means people use to get connected. So many church leaders feel that people come to their local Church expecting that same “high”. In the article, Wilkerson acknowledges:

Yesterday we taught the FCCS youth a lesson that focused on the cards we’ve been dealt in life. It was neat listening to them talk about their woes with friends, math tests, etc. Of course, most of them seemed like small trivial things but “big” to a teenager going through it.

The deeper perspective really focuses on the things in life we can not change no matter how good or bad they are. It got me thinking of the cards I’m holding and how each of them has molded me into the person I am today.

My Cards:

1. I dealt with abandonment from my father at an early age. —> As a result, I found refuge with my Heavenly Father & and he gave me a wonderful step-father who I adore!

2. Had a difficult relationship with my mother growing up. —> As a result, I have a deeper understanding of unconditional love & forgiveness, a connection with people going through similar situations, and a better relationship with my mother today!

3. Lost multiple friends to death. —> As a result, I understand how important friendship is (I cherish every single friend) and how significant our time on earth is and therefore I don’t waste it on trivial things.

4. Faced multiple miscarriages. —> As a result, I surrendered my need for control & trusted in God’s timing…now I have a beautiful baby boy who I couldn’t imagine life without.

5. Had a rocky first year of marriage. —> As a result, my husband sought Christ and now we have a renewed marriage in Him and we just celebrated 5 years of marriage!

My cards don’t end there of course; I have many more I could show you. It’s pretty neat to see that when I’ve trusted God, situations that were traumatic for me actually enriched who I was as a person in the end.

It’s easy to trust in God when He’s dealing you good cards but it’s hard to trust Him when you get to the bad hand in life. Because I’ve weathered storms and have sought comfort in Him – I have learned to trust in His Will. It’s not always easy but how I react to my cards is what matters. In the end, I am thankful for the cards I hold because with God it’s a winning hand.

For the past week, as I’ve waited for Caden’s bus to drop him off, I’ve taken some alone time to read through the gospel of Luke. I’ve read this book several times but for some reason, I’ve hung on every single word – I’ve been engrossed in every miracle, every parable, and every word from our Saviors mouth. As I read through the pages that serve as a record of Christ’s ministry, a sense of shame came over me like never before.

For so long I’ve considered myself to be a faithful and obedient child of the Lord. I can’t count all the times I chose right over wrong. I can’t count how many times I’ve sacrificed willingly for God’s purpose. But the words in Luke really pierced my heart as I thought about true obedience. Jesus walked the earth sharing His love. It just poured out from His body not even His power could be contained (think about the bleeding woman who simply touched His cloak and was immediately healed from 12 years of bleeding. (Luke 8:40-48)) While He was sharing and teaching the Word, He was also preparing to be faithful and obedient to it. There He was being completely unselfish during a time that most of us would spend just thinking and doing for ourselves. He knew what was to come and still He poured out his love and wonders. How awesome!

I pray for that kind of obedience. When I’m exhausted from a long weeks work, I want to still share in the Word with others. I want to be the servant He’s molded me to be. He has plenty of awesome things in store for me, I just have to surrender to Him and be obedient in my walk. I look at Caden and think about how loving he is. The love just pours out of him. It cannot be contained. (Sound familiar?) He did not get this from Eric or me. While we show love – it certainly doesn’t always come in the pure way Caden’s does. I guess I had to become a mother to really get it, to really experience that. I now understand what Jesus was talking about when He said to become like little children. I am in awe, honestly! (Luke 9:47-48 & Matthew 18:3)

It’s no longer enough to do just enough, I want to do more. I want to be more. I want love to pour unselfishly from my heart – faithfully with obedience.

Sometimes life gets so busy that I forget to just stop and take in the Word. It’s so important that we spend time in the Word and actually meditate upon it. So to help, I’m going to start Memory Monday’s. Each week I’ll post a new Bible verse to memorize. This weeks verse is:

Psalms 1:1-2
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. -

I’ve been asked several times about the following scriptures and how women in today’s society should interpret them. No matter your life situation – there are lessons to be learned here. I am a professional in society, a successful business woman, a loving wife, a caring mother and a home-keeper.

Ephesians 5:22
(22) Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. (23) For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. (24) Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

First, seek guidance from God and then search deep within. Personally, I feel it should be interpreted just as it says. God’s order of things is very specific. God intends for the man to be the head of the household. Ladies, don’t count your-selves out though! Even though our husbands are the head, the wives are the heart. God calls us to keep order within our homes and make it a safe haven for all that live and enter its doors. We have a large task of keeping it clean, tending to the children, keeping ourselves healthy (inside and out), emotionally and physically, as well as being a devoted wife who “respects” her husband. In some cases, women still earn a living and still have the great task of being the heart of the home. It is not an easy task but necessary.

Ephesians 5:33
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Even if your husband does not act as the “head”, you should pray and encourage him to be. Why? Because that is how God intended it to be – that is what pleases him. As wives, we are called to respect our husbands even with all his faults (and don’t we have many faults too and still want to be loved and respected?) I believe that men hold respect in high regard and many men would choose to live without love rather than to live without respect. When we pray for God’s guidance in our husband’s life, we actually open the door for God to restore order in our lives, marriages and home.

Ephesians 5:31
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Even if your husband doesn’t pray for you, you need to ask God to help you to not hold that against him. Pray for your husband daily, because it works and ultimately pleases the Lord. Remember, you and your husband are one flesh…you would not pray for one half of your body and not the other now would you? When you pray for changes in your husband, remember to pray for changes in yourself. It may be hard to take criticism from others but you can easily search within and find imperfections (and if you can’t, God will let you know where to start!)

PRAYER

Lord, I feel a deep need to pray for the men in our world right now. Our men (husbands, brothers, uncles, fathers, sons, leaders, pastors, friends, etc.) need encouragement and support to step up and be good examples by seeking guidance from you, listening and following. We need them to be strong spirit-filled leaders and rebuke the things of the world. Lord, give us the tools and understanding to hold their positions in higher regard and encourage them in any way possible. Help me to not hold things against the men in my life but to be humble and to be slow to anger – easy to forgive. I know this pleases you Lord and I need help. Amen.

I thought it’d be nice to share some things I’m thankful for, especially since its always great to give thanks to the Lord.

The little blessings of our last 3 weeks…

• The rain. We’ve been going through a drought but we’ve been blessed with rain everyday for the past week.
• Pool days. We always enjoy a family dip especially under the hotFlorida sun!
  
  
• Walking. I LOVE when I can actually get out for a good walk!
• Kaila, our lab who is absolutely the cutest dog and is so good with the baby. She is a protector.
• Having a wonderful visit with Caden’s nana (my mom) and my aunt who were visiting all the way from Kansas.

  

• Eric’s had some late nights at work, but we’ve been able to spend the hours he’s not working talking and reflecting before bed. That’s always nice!
• Caden is starting to venture on his own. He’s been suffering from separation anxiety but it seems like he’s getting more comfortable. I think he realizes he is stuck with us! J
• Our work. We’ve been praying for new business and when it rains, it pours. The Lord sent us a handful of new clients in 1 week. A record!Amen to that!

How has God blessed YOU this week??

Mommyhood! It is the most amazing thing ever (besides wifehood of course!) I have been employed by the best little man on this earth (maybe I’m a little bias?)

Here are a few things I enjoy about mommyhood so far:

• how he “talks” to me and his daddy
• that just holding your finger is sometimes all he needs to do to calm down
• how he laughs when other people laugh
• how he mumbles words between bites when he really enjoys what he’s eating
• how he also squints his face, squeezes his hands and shakes when mommy or daddy aren’t being fast enough
• the way he slowly leans in to give kisses
• how he’s ticklish everywhere but his feet
• how soft his back is and how he loves mommy to rub it when he’s tired
• the “quaking” sound he learned from grandpa, which he uses during dinner time and bedtime often
• his sweet smell
• how he likes to throw toys over his shoulder
• how he tilts his head to the side when he’s confused or in wonder (he also does this when others do it and when we do it with his teddy bear, he likes to mimic)
• how he likes to snuggle before naptime and bedtime now
• how he likes to play peek-a-boo out of the blue
• how he climbs up on his daddy when he wants to snuggle with him
• how he stands on daddy’s lap when he wants hugs and kisses
• how he loves to go on walks with daddy
• how he falls asleep when we all go out to walk the dog
• how he occasionally gives me hugs during the day
• how he wakes up with a smile on his face
• how he reaches out for his mommy and daddy
• his little sound he makes all the time when he wants something
• the way he crawls when he notices mommy – its like a power crawl, so cute
• his slobbery kisses
• the sound he makes when he’s about to get dinner – he loves when mommy is cooking
• the face he makes when he’s really upset, it’s a face I cannot resist
• how he likes to cross his feet when he sits in his highchair
• how he chases Tinker around the house just to pet her
• how he leans his head towards you when he wants a kiss
• how he nuzzles his feet

Today has been a tough day in our home. The stress of work has every one down in the dumps- especially Eric. Eric is the cornerstone of our business, he has a tough job and it keeps him very busy. I have always been better than Eric with handling my stress and it seems like no matter what I suggest – it just won’t work for him. (So he says!) And you know, I won’t lie it is hard to be on the receiving end of frustration but I cope by remembering the pain he’s feeling when he gets fed up. I remember the true things behind that frustration and somehow at that moment my focus is on being strong for him.

So many people ask me how I do it. The truth is we do it for each other. Giving grace isn’t always easy but sometimes necessary. There are days when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed and Eric has to be the strong one. I will be the listener and live in understanding without complaining because I know when given the chance; he’d do the same for me. A true love goes deeper than that, it isn’t about keeping score on what I do for him or what he does for me. It’s about loving each other no matter what especially through frustrating times.

No one’s relationship is perfect and no doubt certain circumstances make keeping a healthy relationship that much harder. I’ve learned that marriage is and always will be something two people have to work at. Failed marriages usually start when one person stops working. So Eric and I consider ourselves workaholics in that sense!

So maybe today is a bad day – perhaps tomorrow will be too – but it is what we make it and the more support we give and receive the easier it will be to breathe and just let it go.

PRAYER:

Lord, help me to let go and not hold any harsh words or actions against my husband. Help me to be understanding and to be there for him as he deals with this stress. Give us both the tools to communicate our needs and help us to be supportive of eachother. Amen.

An unexpected email from my first “love” got my wheels turning this week. It wasn’t thoughts of what could have been but thoughts of how truly lucky I am to be where I am. I look back at years gone by and I don’t have regrets. I’ve always understood that I have the right to make choices. When things are working I go with it. When they aren’t I make a decision to start anew. Choices are essential but it’s most important to understand that everybody has to make them. Sometimes they are easy to make, while others will have you tossing and turning all night. The fact of the matter is you’ve got to be excited about your life and be happy with who you are and define who you want to be and in order to do that, you must take charge. God didn’t place us on this earth to be passive; so don’t waste time waiting around for things to happen on their own!

I’ve been called upon to be a lot of things; a wife, homemaker, a business owner, a mother, a woman, a disciple. I take my role in this life very seriously and I take responsibility for the decisions I’ve made. For quite some time now my main purpose has been to nurture my relationship with my husband. My love for him grows deeper each day and that’s how I know – I made the right choice! Together we have built a happy home filled with love, laughter, family and friends. Yes, absolutely there have been bumps in the road and we’ve met our fair share of critics but with that we made another choice – we made the choice to know that we are the keepers of our family and that foundation can not be disturbed by such things. I’m a blessed woman because of the paths I’ve chosen and I’m so happy to know that my heart doesn’t steer me wrong.

So, let’s raise our glasses to the people we are; to the people we’re meant to be and all the “choices” we’ll make in between!

We all have needs, don’t we? Some of us are good at voicing our needs, while others are content with working toward fulfilling our needs solo. Recently Eric and I did a Bible study on Mark 11. It’s a great book in the Bible that paints one of the most stunning pictures of Jesus. Mark 11 tells us about the awesome ministry and miracles of Jesus.While the whole book of Mark would be some yummy spiritual food, I actually want to focus on a very colorful statement Jesus made in Mark 11:22-25: (Appetizer, perhaps?)

(22) “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. (23) “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. (24) Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.(25) And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

What are your thoughts on what Jesus said? Do you think the statement is metaphoric or realistic? Many may interpret this just as Jesus says it, whatever you want God will provide. Let’s re-evaluate what Jesus says:

To receive what we ask for we must 1) have Faith in God 2) believe in our hearts that what we say will happen (no doubt!) and 3) ask it without having hate or vengeance for anyone in our heart.

Wow! That’s a big pill to swallow, don’t you think? In my opinion I think God wants His children to be responsible and pray for their needs and desires. In verse 23 Jesus speaks about the mountain being cast into the sea; a very extraordinary act but as demonstrated throughout the Bible, faith can most certainly moves mountains, just like Jesus’ faith wilted a fig tree overnight. (Mark 11:12-20) And is it we who cast the mountain into the sea? Can faith in ourselves alone get us our needs and desires? No, again Jesus says, “…what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:23)

True faith pleases God and just like an earthly parent, God has a soft spot for His children. God can give you what you need without giving you exactly what you think you need. God says “No” just as much as He says “Yes”. Whatever answer we receive, we have to remember there’s a reason behind His decision. It could be timing and sometimes it takes a “No” to get to the really wonderful things in life. True?

So in closing, I’d like to remind you to take any of your needs to the Lord. He always listens and always responds (are you listening?) It may not be exactly what you want but it will be exactly what you need! God bless you!