Saturday!

I wish I had lots of good stories of all the fun we've had today but as the old folks say, I'm down in my back. I also wished that came with a good story like how I went to the gym and worked so hard I pulled a muscle. Unfortunately I apparently sneezed the wrong way and pulled something. But after some rest I know it will be better soon. I hope.

Luckily the day was somewhat relaxing. Denson took Reese hunting for the first time. Something tells me that hunting may not be Reese's thing. The fact that he cries whenever a hunting show is on is not a good sign. Before leaving he told me that if he found a baby deer that wasn't rambunctious he would bring it home for a pet. Shockingly they didn't see any wildlife and was only in the deer stand for about 30 minutes.

Bailey and I laid around for most of the day which was great considering she just had a concussion and a cold. We did manage to take a trip to Walmart and I was reminded why I don't go to the one in Leeds anymore. A video for the song " We are the people of Walmart" could have been filmed there, no question. There are no words to describe what we saw.

My Beth Moore study today was about Jonathan and David's almost instant friendship. I love it when God puts people in our lives that are forever friends. I am grateful for my friend Kona B that I don't get to see nearly enough.

Looking forward to tomorrow and feeling better.

Wonderful reminder and a Reese funny

I'm having a hard time deciding which one to start with....... I'll start with Reese. He absolutely loves Billy the Exterminator, Swamp People, Swamp Loggers etc. He never forgets anything so I don't know why the conversation we had this morning surprised me. It went like this: Reese: Momma, what is this green stuff? Me: What green stuff? Reese: I think it's snake peces. Me: What???? Reese: You know snake poop. Never short a laugh around here.

Today I got into the meat of the David and Goliath story. When Saul sent for David and was convinced that this boy was the man for the job he gave him his armor to wear to battle. But it was too big for him and he took it off. One of the questions in my study was: what pieces of armor do you still find yourself reaching for, not quite sure that God's Word and His promises are enough to depend on? At times I still try to figure things out and not rely on God. Second question was: What makes these extras and add ons so heavy after awhile? When I carry burdens not meant for me to carry, it gets heavy real fast.

Here are the points that really spoke to me. These are from Beth Moore's study on David:
We should measure the size of our obstacles against the size of our God.

We tend to measure our obstacles against our own strength. We often feel overwhelmed and defeated before the battle begins.

We need to acknowledge an active and living God in our lives.

We're often intimidated in battle because we are uncertain of our faith. But we must remember we dont stand in victory because of our faith. We stand in victory because of our God. Faith in faith is pointless, but faith in a living, active God moves mountains.

And here we go.....

Days like today are the reason I made a commitment to blog daily. I am realizing that I have to be intentional with spending time with God. I can no longer say "I'm tired, I'll read extra tomorrow." or "I've had a long day, I deserve to watch a little tv.". I have been tempted to do that today.

All 4 of us are battling chest colds and I'm trying to keep us medicated so we don't end up going to the doctor. However, after 2 bottles of cough syrup and another 40 bucks spent at CVS, I'm thinking we may be better off just to go. Oh, and then Bailey probably has a concussion. She fell and hit the back of her head. After consulting with nurse Misty and the pediatrician i knew what to look for and will be waking her every four hours for two nights. And this is when I stop before I go on a rant that could last for hours....

Today's study was on the beginning of the story about David and Goliath. Now that is a story known by many. But I learned something new. I learned that David's brother Eliab was not very nice to him. But that did not stop David. Your family can either really encourage you or do the opposite

David remained undaunted by Eliab's criticisms for one reason: David took God's Word over the opinion of others. - Beth Moore

Aim to please God and not man.

Day 3

Today we back tracked to 1Samuel 14:1-14. Jonathan, Saul's son, decided to go over to the Philistine side. Keep in mind the Phillistines are the enemy. Only Jonathan and the man bearing his armor went and no one knew they were going. Everyone else was literally hiding.

Verse 6 says- Jonathan said to his young armor bearer " Come, let's go over to the outpost of those circumcised fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few".

It turns out the Lord did save them. I liked how Jonathan knew the Lord could save them, that He could do anything. He just wasn't sure that God would choose to do so. Either way he knew God was sovereign and if he didn't help them it wasn't because he couldn't.

I think it's important for us to be able to accept God's will before we even know what it is. Sometimes his will is the complete opposite of what we want but he is sovereign. We have no idea what he could really be saving us from or how a negative circumstance could be used to make us more like Christ.

I will leave you with this- Romans 8:28-30 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For this God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to his likeness of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Day 2

I'm started to figure out I can learn a lot from Saul, or maybe how not to do things. So far though I've realized there are more similarities than I care to admit. Todays lesson was from 1Samuel 15:12-29. God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites. Everything including the livestock. But he chose to keep the best livestock to sacrifice to God. To me it's like your child stealing something from a store but telling you they really thought you would like the gift despite breaking the law and stealing.

Samuel already knew what Saul had done. He confronted him but Saul tried to justify his actions. He Said he obeyed God and kept what he did for the Lord. This is another example of being self centered. That is just like something I would do. God, I know you said to do this but I thought it would work better for me to do something else instead.

So Saul was rejected as King for being disobedient. All he had to do was exactly what God said and he didn't. Again he tried to blame the people saying he was afraid of them and gave in to what they wanted. Compromising will not get you where you want to be. Anytime you choose to please people instead of God it will not have a happy ending.

Ive learned that lesson the hard way one too many times. I am extremely grateful for God's grace when I think about how He has never given up on me. He loves us even in our sin but loves us even more to not let us remain comfortable in it. Thank you Lord!

2012

I am making a commitment for 2012 to blog every.single.day. That is going to be tough since the last post was nearly nine months ago! I want to share things God is teaching and showing me daily. I feel like blogging will hold me accountable to be more consistent in my time with the Lord. 2011 was not a good year of me putting God first on a daily basis.

I have just completed day 13 of a new bible study and I have already learned some new things. Things that have not felt so good to learn about myself. Day 11 was titled, "self centeredness in disguise". It talked about Samuel finding a new leader, Saul. Saul was like, what do you want with me, I'm from the smallest clan in Israel? Then when Samuel summoned the people of Israel to introduce them to their King, Saul, he could not be found. The last part of 1Samuel 10:22 says "And the Lord said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.". I think alot of times we don't allow ourselves to be used by God because we are hiding in our baggage. We think that God could never use us because of where we've come from, things we've done before we became a new person in Christ. Really, even things we've done after becoming new. See we/I like to hold on to the old sometimes. We hear that little voice saying I can't believe you call yourself a Christian, you need to just lay low before you are found out. But that is the enemy and only the enemy keeping you from being what you could be if you allow God to work in and through you.

So, what does that have to do with being self centered? He started off thinking he was not worthy because of the family he came from. He was either experiencing godly humility or low self esteem.

A person with godly humility looks to the master. He or she neither exalts nor denigrates self, because to do either is to make self the center of our universe. When we're really serving Christ, our reputations and abilities simply cease to be so important. - Beth Moore

In reading that I learned that I have been self centered a lot. It's not about me, it's about God and doing what He wants. I tend to worry about what others think too much. That is being self centered and I never knew it.

The other thing that stood out to me was the following lesson on people pleasers. Now I knew this would be something I needed to read because I have always been a people pleaser. When Saul finally came out of hiding and was presented most of the people were shouting for joy but a few people publicly insulted him. And you know what he did? NOTHING. He probably wanted everyone to like him. People pleasers have difficulty in standing up for what's right. They don't want to make people mad and again, worry about what others think. When we act that way we prioritize self over God.

I am excited and maybe a liitle scared of the rest of this study but I am committed! Here's to sharing my life and life lessons in 2012 :)

You can learn a lot from Johny

I just love blogging! Well, reading blogs more so than writing them lately. We have been really, really busy. Bailey is playing softball and OH. MY. WORD. it is time consuming to say the least. I am secretly (not so secret now) hoping that she doesn't want to play next year. Not looking good for me as of now. Over the last few months I have learned a lot from my kids. And really, if you think about it, all of us adults could use some child like faith. Bailey came home talking about a boy in her class who hadn't been eating lunch. The school provides a lunch for anyone that doesn't have money but the boy didn't want anyone to know he didn't have money so he carried an empty lunch box to the lunch room. Bailey gave him part of her lunch and even gave him her ice cream. It warms my heart that at 9 yo she can see a need and want to help. She has taken extra money and snacks to school to give to other classmates. I pray that she will always be so caring. Reese, sweet Reese......he is such a people person! Everywhere we go and I mean everywhere we go people talk to Reese and he is such a talker. It is like talking to an adult at times. Over the last few months he says he is Johny Cash. He talks about him alot and how he sings in prison. He told Bailey one night, "Bailey if you're not good you're going to prison!" Of course I tell them both, "The people in prison...you know how it all started??? Talking back to their Mamas, that was at the beginning of their path to prison!" I probably shouldn't take it that far but gracious, I just don't know what else to do sometimes! He has also become obsessed with cigarettes. He saw my Nanny smoking and I guess that was the first time he really paid attention. He asked her a lot of questions like "Why are you smoking? If it's bad for you why do you do it?" He says he has smoke pencils. He told his Sunday school teacher that he used to smoke but he quit. I'm sure they think we are awesome parents! Recently Reese had a new little girl join his class at daycare. She was really shy and wouldn't play with anything or anyone. When Reese came in, he sat down next to her instead of playing. Before long they were playing together and she warmed right up. However, she knew him as Johny Cash and not Reese. Very sweet that he wanted her to feel comfortable. I would also like to say that he talks with people that don't scream "talk to me". Like older ladies covered in tattoos with 20 earrings. Although he started the conversation with "You have a lot of wrinkles". I wish I could just see people as people and not have preconceptions of who they are and where they've been. He and Denson were in the grocery store and a lady dropped what she was holding. Without any question, he walked over and helped her pick up her things. He then told her he would help her plant a garden. I can and am learning alot from that little boy. He likes to pray, pretends he is having a bible study and remembers everything when you have no idea he was even listening. I will leave you with this Reese funny: Reese: "Mama, come here (bathroom)". Me: "Ok, do you need me to wipe you?" Reese: "No, I have turds and I want you to see 'em". Awesome, I felt privileged. I guess :)