Appreciation

we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

appreciation definition- appropriate gratefulness

I cannot believe how easy it is for me to fall out of appreciation. I mean, really, after all Christ has done for me. I find myself all to often entertaining thoughts that are not in accordance with being a Child of God. Mostly in little things and sometimes in the big things. What a toxic poison for my mind and Life. I remember when we first started renting our home. I could not believe that we were going to be living in such a nice neighbourhood with the little we could afford for rent and now I am ashamed of the place because it needs some new paint and various other repairs-what is that about?! I catch myself thinking, Oh I just want all areas of my Life to reflect Christ and this simply isn't good enough to glorify God. Oh, whoa is me, why don't I get to live in a nice home like other people. Well first of all I have a home to Live in (Amen) and the fact is, I believe one of the key steps to our family coming to Christ was how God allowed us to live here in the first place (years of driving, walking and busing past TLC and Holy Spirit beckoning us to come) and what else in this Life is of more value than "as for me and my house we will serve the Lord" and "you and your household shall be saved." Another line of thinking I have found floating around in my mind has to do with our computer (by the way we were GIVEN this computer from someone who worked in a government office that was clearing out there old computers because they were upgrading-so we would not even have a computer if we had not been GIVEN it). I am sure if I timed it I spend more of my computer time waiting for things to load than I do actually doing the work I need to get done.(I refuse to actually time it because then I will just get discouraged even more) On good attitude days I run and put a load of laundry in, fold clean clothes or even use the time for Scripture reading thanking God the whole time for this opportunity to practice effective time management, multitasking and patience. On bad attitude days I sit and fester at how slow this computer is. I feel my muscles tensing, I shimmy the mouse around the screen thinking that may somehow kick it into gear, or I make various frustration sigh and groan sounds. It is absolutely silly and absurd to say the least. I was totally struck studying Psalm 13 this week, "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?"
"How long must I wrestle with my thoughts ?" That is profound for me. That is exactly what I am doing. I am letting "my" thoughts rule my existence instead of what Christ teaches me to think for my protection and growth in Him. How absolutely silly is this free will I am using to my own detriment.

If I go searching through my mind I can all to easily find far too much "unappreciativeness." I remember times in life before Christ that my mind was filled with death thoughts and I was not free to live. My mind has been set FREE. I get to Live and I get to Live for His purpose and plan for my Life and how this Life will impact others through His Grace for Eternity. So when I start thinking, why am I not doing enough for Him, or why is our Life not moving forward and clearing as quickly as I want, I must remember how I actually have Life now and what a difference that is compared to the empty lostness I was living.

I could give many more examples of how I can lose sight of all I have to appreciate but this is getting too long (I need to learn how to share with much less sharing-so many blogs to cover-so little time-I will work on that)
Holy Spirit I pray that deep conviction penetrates my being every time my thoughts go astray into disobedience to how Jesus would have me think. That I will stop my thoughts and chose your Words that give my mind Life. May my actions reflect the thoughts I am choosing and may the Fruit of my Life feed all those in my sphere of influence with your Life giving ways.

Happy Valentine's Day

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

John 3:16 (msg)

Happy Valentine's Day and Christ Love to all of you.

God's Love

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. 1 John 4:13-16 (NIV)

I am so thankful that I am coming into deeper and deeper levels of knowing God's Love for me. As I surrender in Faith to Jesus, I am able to increasingly rely on God's Love to guide my Life choices. What a glorious Love that fills my heart as I do this.

I remember a time in Life when I would read Scripture and I could not understand it. I was so blocked that I would read a line over and over and I still could not comprehend what I had just read. I wonder if that is "Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized" Acts 9:18 (NIV) that the Bible speaks of. I could not figure out why I could read other stuff but every time I tried to read Scripture I would go blank.

I value greatly (to say the least) the privilege I now have to be able to digest The Living Word for it is the stepping stones out of hell toward Eternal Life. Thank you Jesus.

Sharing

Romans 5:2 (CEV)
Christ has also introduced us to God's undeserved kindness on which we take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God.

I am looking forward to the parenting series that I (and I am pretty sure Rick) will be doing. But ever since I blogged about it I have had a lingering pressure. I want to communicate clearly what I/we will be doing. I know Christ has more for our family than many of the old habits and bondage that we are currently walking. I feel Holy Spirit's conviction to work through the process of clearing these things out of our family. For this reason I want to share what we go through and our thoughts and experiences of this journey. So this is exactly what this series will be SHARING. I am not an authority. I am simply fellowshiping our experience with the purpose that Holy Spirit will help us grow, change and support each other, in a Christ like fashion, through our sharing. Actually that goes for anything I share on this blog as well and in our Family lifegroup or anywhere.

Thank you all for sharing your journey with me as well.

God Provides

Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 (CEV)

I have been praying for tangible tools to use in our family to help encourage us into more effective habits that would allow our family to function better which in turn would allow for more availability for Christs' purposes. Well God really does provide even in the basic day to day stuff. Our youngest son was invited to a birthday party. Somehow or another the topic of discipline came up. Then my friend offered to lend me her book called Growing Kids Gods Way by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo. Our other friend sent us an email with some great looking Christian parenting books, and of coarse TLC provided a parenting course called Making Kids Mind Without Losing Yours. Thank you Jesus you really do hear our prayers and provide!

This whole parenting topic is an area Rick and myself are choosing to learn more about and working toward positive change. We Love our children dearly and because of this we recognize our human shortcomings and look to Scripture to guide us into a more Christ like home. I will be doing a once a week progress report on our parenting learning. I will be using Scripture, Growing Kids Gods Way, How To Make Children Mind Without Losing Yours, Kids Are Worth It and Craig Groeschel's Parenting Series as my resources. I will share what Rick and I cover each week and how we have applied it to our family. Rick and I are not prefect parents or experts but we do look forward to learning and growing in a Christ like fashion then sharing our experiences with you. Hey, I bet Rick will even make some guest appearances on the parenting blogs too-cool!

The Last Sin Eater

We were invited by some friends to go see, The Last Sin Eater. It was really great. OK, if you like really good computer graphics then you may be a bit disappointed. If you like a movie with a (The) Message then you will enjoy it. I found that I was very emotional through it so be prepared if you are the sensitive type. Here is a review of the movie.

The Last Sin Eater is a story that takes place in the 1850's Appalachia. Ten year old Cadi Forbes feels responsible for her little sister's death, so she searches out the one man she feels can take away her sin-The Sin Eater. But in her quest for redemption, Cadi Forbes uncovers a dark secret that threatens to divide her family and community. Ultimately, Cadi shows them the truth in Jesus, reminding us that the human condition is beyond human remedy; only Christ provides for the absolution of sin. Directed by Michael Landon Jr., the film is based on the best-selling novel by Francine Rivers, which was awarded the ECPA Gold Medallion. For more information go to http://www.foxfaithmovies.com/

I pray you enjoy.

Thank you to Gary and Katie Cassidy for inviting and treating us to a lovely evening. Mostly thanks for the awesome fellowship, Gary and Katie and Mel and Judy.

Protection

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Ephesians 6:13-18 (msg)

God has provided His precious children (that's us) with all the protection we need in this Life. When we dress ourselves and our families in the armor of God there is nothing in the universe that can hurt us. If we do not wear our armor than we are open for attack. When I do not dress appropriately for the weather conditions I am uncomfortable at best or my health is at risk. No matter the reason why I may not have dressed appropriately I will suffer in some way from the lack of protection.

My husband and I have a heart for families. We struggle at times yet as Christians, we want to Live the best Life Jesus has for us. We cannot do it on our own. Christ did not design us to go through Life in segregation. We must come together in fellowship to let Holy Spirit do His work amongst us.

This is why we are starting a family lifegroup (children welcome). It will be held 7PM Friday nights at TLC. The first thing we are going to cover is the armor of God. We know that if we can learn about what Jesus has armed us with as well as how we can apply that to ourselves and our families than we will be able to see our Lives blossom and grow in all God has for us.

If this sound interesting to any of you, come on out. We would love to learn and grow into a deeper Christ like walk with you.