Jacob's Birthday Video

God is so good to bless me with the awesome gift of family. Thank you Christ Jesus.

Week # 2 Parenting

"Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other." John 13:34-35 (the Message)

This weeks reading resources:

Growing Kid's God's Way by Gary & Anne Marie Ezzo

Main points for me:

Christian values reflect the person of Christ. When shared with our children, such values trigger a child's consciousness of God and eternity.

Biblical ethics is other-oriented-not as a way to salvation but as a result of salvation.

Our goodness, is a love response to God rooted in our relationship with Christ. "We are to love one another, for love is of God" (1 John 4:7)

The duty of parents is to continually bring their children to God's standard and not lower the standard to suit the child. (kindness, patience, self-control, gentleness, humility, endurance, obedience, respect, honesty, integrity, etc.)

"Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!
Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates. " Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (the Message)
This Scripture gives us three principles of moral instruction:

1. Only one absolute God, His commandments are consistent with His perfect character and all biblical values are and extension of His character.

2. Moral training begins with the principles of moral conduct residing in the parents' hearts, we cannot pass on that which we ourselves do not already have.

3. Moral training is to be infused into all aspects of our family Lives all of the time, preferably at times of non-conflict.

Know it, live it, and share the experience with your children.

Focus on teaching your kid's the do's instead of suppressing the don'ts.

Focus on instruction in Christ likeness with encouragement in virtuous living.

Important to teach kid's how to's (moral action) and even more importantly the why for's (moral principle)

Moral why's when the behaviour deals with people
Practical why's when the behaviour deals with things

A child taking ownership of parental values depends on several factors working in harmony. Starting with instilling biblical values into the heart of a child. This process includes parental example, trusting relationships, parental honesty, security of the husband and wife relationship, the expression of family loyalty, and many more relational components. These factors encourage children to integrate mom and dad's value system into their lives.

Avoid Legalism and the abuse of parental authority- when the form of truth is elevated above the substance of truth (elevating the rule over the principle)

Important to teach our children how to act morally and more importantly how to think morally.

Continuing to practice First Time Obedience

Efficacy

same as last week

Observations in our home

the newness of First Time Obedience has worn off but like last week I find the more obedient I am to following the structure of First Time Obedience the better the success rate (still a good 75-80%) I want to continue using this tool for I find the more I use it the easier it gets and the better the kid's get at it. Then we all win.

Birthday Miracle

Those of us who attended the Unvailing Beauty dinner were given a white rose. We prayed that every petal of that rose was to represent a miracle that God is going to grant us during this next season of our Lives as we step out as Deborah's. My first miracle happened last evening just before we were about to share our youngest son's 3rd birthday.
Jacob and Ezra were coming down the stairs and Jacob fell. Our stairs are wooden-did I mention that my thoughts of our kids on stairs are not at peaceful?-in my mind the starirs and I jare not friends yet-I still often use gates and our youngest is three. Jacob was two steps from the top! I was in the kitchen and only heard the sounds of the fall (you know the kind you hear in movies -only you know it is a real body going through the fall and subsecquent bodily harm) and Elisha's scream. Elisha, Ezra and Jacob told me what happened. Jacob went flying airborn then the first bang I heard was the top of his head smashing on a stair about half way down then he went airborn again flipping up and over to land flat on his back on the bottom landing which is where he was when ran to him. He cried right away which is a good sign and he didn't even have the wind knocked out of him! I watch him carefully for any signs of head injury all evening and through the night but even though I was very scared and upset inside, Holy Spirit told me he was perfectly fine right from the time I picked him up after the fall. We sat down to Jacob's birthday celebration praying thanks to Jesus for sending His angels and carrying Jacob safely through the fall without any damage. Just like Christ carries us through our fallen state into salvation. The incicent made me question, how deep is my faith? Yes we gave thanks that Jacob was OK but I really was terrified! What kind of trust in God do I really have that I still go to such a scary place when my families' safety is threatened? Or maybe my faith was strong in Christ but I still may have feelings of fear but still praise Jesus through my fear. Anyways, Holy Spirit please give me the faith I need to fulfill your purposes in this Life. Thank you Christ Jesus for giving us another day of Life with Jacob and all of our family and the Body. Each breath you give us is such a precious gift that You have paid for in full.

So, I have been wanting to sing this song as a family with Rick playing along ever since CHRISTmas but everytime we tried to do it there was some reason or another why the timing was off. We had finally planned to encorporate it as part of Jacob's birthday celebration. And of coarse Jesus himself has given us the perfect opportunity as well as the Life to do and share it now. God is Good.


If you live in the Ottawa area or can get here by this evening come on over to The Life Centre 8pm-11pm then intercessory prayer 11pm-3am. We are going to have an amazing praise and worship evening at Refuel! Be there or be square-only joking we are all round in Christ :~)

It is oh so easy for me to be a failure, outcast, weirdo, depressed...I could go on. The messages I internalized, from the world, I have role played far too effectively. But our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus did not come to this earth and give His Holy, Precious, universe creating Life for mine, to have me live the rest of my days here on earth realizing a pack of lies!

"...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 (NKJV)

So when the lies try to govern my behaviour through old habits, lack of Christ knowledge, FEAR or disobedience; I choose Christ! He has a plan and a purpose for my Life to do His work and by gum I am going to learn, grow and walk it. Thank you Christ for your Amazing Grace.

Week # 1 Parenting

Be holy; for I am holy (1Peter 1:16) (no pressure eh? - thank God for Grace and the Holy Spirit)

This weeks reading resources:
Growing Kids God's Way by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo -Introduction
Growing Kids God's Way 1st time obedience chart

Main points for me:

The most important duty of a parent is that of nurturing the ministry of reconciliation.

"But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].
It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).
So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God." 2 Corintians 5:18-20 (Amplified Bible)

Practical holiness is not merely a state of mind but a lifestyle--a moral lifestyle established by God and one in which parents are to instruct their children, "Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4 (Amplified Bible)

The word "salvation" is the all- inclusive word of the gospel. It brings together all the redemptive acts and processes--justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification. The place where God claims lost people is at the Cross. The Cross is where Jesus died the death that we by all rights should die, and would die, apart from Him.

Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6 The Bible tells us, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto rightiousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" Romans 10:9-10

It is eternally important that you make sure it is not just head knowledge and intellectual assent your children have given to the Lord. Jesus Christ wants your child's heart not just their head.

...the goal of parenting is to raise, by way of salvation, a morally responsible and Biblically responsive child.

What is it God requires of us? "He has shown you O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

Authority of Scripture
Biblical parenting must spring forth from the canon of Scripture. It is authoritative in that it requires a response to its demands; it is sufficient in that regenerate man can participate in the full grace of God when he abides in the truth of God's Word.

Training the Heart
...the human heart requires attention....
We know that the human heart is the center of all of life and behavior. "Jesus said that all behavior and words have their origin in the heart." Matthew 12:34-35 "warns us that in the heart the impressions of a joung life are molded, and that the issues of life flow form it." Proverbs 4:23
general goal of heart training, help child gain personal self-control which in turn helps child with controlling his tongue (Proverbs 13:3, 15:2) , actions (Proverbs 14:29), handling negative emotions (Proverbs 25:28), making sound judgements (Proverbs 1:3), guides child to an honest life (Proverbs 10:9), non-offensive (Proverbs 16:7), filled with righteous deeds (Proverbs 1:3), brings peaceable fruit (Hebrews 12:11)

Two phases of moral training are development of moral behaviour and development of moral reasons.

We need to assess where our child is at and where we as parents have come from.

Avoid parenting extremes. Both authoritarian and permissive parenting are detrimental to the welfare of a child.

The duty of Christian parents to instruct their children in the knowledge of God cannot be achieved apart from His grace.

Three ways by which God communicates His grace that we need to look at are:

1. common grace-given to all mankind (eg. God brings refreshing rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike.)

2. sanctifying grace- God's grace flows to families through the sanctifying grace of believing spouses and parents. That is, when mom and dad have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, children receive the overflow of God's grace as it is poured out on their parents. The blessing is multiplied by each generation.

3. Obedience- If we want to claim for our children the blessings in God's Word, we must believe and be faithfully obedient to God's revelation. Without faith, we have no right to any blessings of promise. Without obedience, we cannot expect the favor of God nor the communication of grace on our children or on our efforts. Grace is communicated to each household when parents stay vertically aligned with the Lord. As we are blessed, so will our children be blessed. This is the power of sanctifying grace.

You cannot parent by your own strength and still achieve a godly outcome. Remember, let God through His grace do His work, while you through obedience do yours.

This week I introduced the behavioural tool of First Time Obedience.

Efficacy

great
higher levels of peace in the house
increased obedience
increased connectedness
more opportunities for positive reinforcement

Observations in our home

when I was obedient to the process of first time obedience I found the kids were about 99% successful in obedience (wow) when I was half obedient to the process, successful obedience declined to about 50% and when I was disobedient to the obedience was about 5%(yikes)

I think the steps of first time obedience are a keeper for our family. I want to practice it with my children and share in the good fruit it creates.

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.

The Bible Tells Me So

"Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14)

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature (flesh); rather, serve one another in love."

(Galatians 5:13)

Wow, God is so Good. I was on my knees last night crying out to Jesus letting Him know (ha ha, as if He already doesn't, eh- silly mind) that I could not do Life "my way." It just ain't working. Well wouldn't you know it, this morning when the kid's (Jordan, Elisha, Ezra & Jacob) and I were doing our devotions, the topic, revealed a new ray of Light into my awareness. This gift of Light is bright and when I shine it on past or present struggles of Life, I see the shadows for what they really are instead of what my human mind makes them out to be.

I see in the "tuff stuff" , I flip between a fight(control, dominate) or flight (escape, give up) response and I am learning that when I am managing things in either of these ways I am working in the "flesh" (within myself, my ways, my knowledge(yikes), my resources(yikes again.)) As I learn and grow in Christ I am discovering a new way in which every time I surrender in obedience I find Freedom and Victory.

The cool thing we came across during devotions was Scriptural terms that explained this whole fight or flight thing. Our Bible talks of legalism which I can relate to as fight and license which I see as flight. Legalism (fight) uses good deeds, rigid codes, and restrictive lifestyles to crush people/situations into what they think is right- law- which leads to condemnation and death. License (flight) has no regard for rules and regulations-chaos which leads to condemnation and death. Same result with each path-death.

I can see this pattern when I examine past and present struggles in my Life. I remember the eating disorder, the perfect eating or never eating vs. junk"o"mania or "supersize++." I see it as I struggle with keeping an orderly, clean home-sterilized order vs. tripping over everything because it is all over the floor. I see it also in the areas that hurt the most when I falter and fail. Guiding and training our Kid's- brick wall vs. jellyfish (thanks Barbera Coloroso for those terms) Well I could go on and on with eg. but this is already getting too long-sorry.

I just LOVE it when I learn something in Life and then "all of a sudden" a Bible verse will "simply appear" that deals with that very same issue. He amazes me every time. Scripture was God inspired so many thousands of years ago and yet It Truly is The Living Word- Christ Jesus is "The Word became flesh" and He calls us to Walk in His shoes. How do we do that? "The Bible tells me so."

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

(2 Corinthians 3:17)

Pray To Christ For Freedom From Negative Emotions

At our Church, for woman's nights, we are exploring Stormie Omartian's Power Of A Praying Woman. Tonight we covered the topic of negative emotions. Christ our Lord does not want us living under a cloak of negative emotions. He has Freedom for us.

" Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. " Philippians 4:6-7 (NASB)

Stormie discussed 3 things we need to pray about to get rid of negative emotions:

1. Pray to be delivered from every evil work.

"We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world." Ephesians 6:12 (CEV)

2. Pray to be set free from negative emotions.

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36 (NIV)

3. Praise God that He is your deliverer.

"who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, " 2 Corinthians 1:10 (NASB)

Here are 7 negative emotions to pray for Freedom from.

1. Be anxious for nothing. (Philippians4:6-7)

2. Refuse to be angry. (Ephesians4:26-27)

3. Refuse to be dissatisfied. (Psalms 84:11)

4. Refuse to be envious. (James4:1-3)

5. Refuse to be depressed. (Lamentations 3:21-25)

6. Refuse to be hopeless. (Romans 15:13)

7. Refuse to live in fear. (2 Timothy 1:7) So lets pray, ask others to pray for us, read the Word of God and spend time in our Lord's presence (quiet time, praise and worship) Then we will walk in the Freedom Jesus has already won for us and we can move ahead into His purpose for our Lives.

Thankful

The Spirit will show you what is true.

John 14:17

Jordan won 67 tickets for today's game from CHRI (99.1fm Christian radio) this week. So that means that Rick, Jordan, Elisha and Ezra all set out for the game at 11am this morning. As much as I do not like being away from them, especially on family day, I think I am on a mini vacation here. Holy Spirit is just blowing my socks off with His quiet whisper. I have got the floor cleared and swept, the kitchen counters, table, and desks almost all cleared, laundry closer to being done than undone, had lunch with Jacob, played a game and read some stories with Jacob, put him for his nap, put on some mint green tea and I am blogging about how our Lord is moving in my Life at this moment before I have to try and remember how Jesus was speaking to me to try and share it with you all. And mostly this time is so very peaceful, quiet and beautiful.

Holy Spirit is showing me all He has blessed me with this week (that is besides that "small" gift of Life, family and purpose in Him) ;~) I have been praying for guidance in how to fit it all in. Today He is simply bringing me to tears of joy as my heart is overflowing with His provision and His Almighty Sovereignty. He is showing me that this week I managed to throw a homemade, curried kale sweet potato squash soup into the crock pot (I have not been cooking homemade due to business-and I had the privilege of sharing some with my neighbour who had given me the lovely gift of homemade chili for my birthday) and we did get a family meal- all of us together on Thursday night (I love sit down at the table family meals) I made it to all of the interesting and teaching outings that I am investing myself in as well as lifegroup (Love you Katie and Gary), got the children's school work looked after, did groceries, even had one on one visit with my precious husband and did a few blog posts. For those people out there who are organized these activities of Life may seem very simple to you but for me it is all a work in progress.

Holy Spirit is pointing out to me that even though these things are not getting done in a perfect routine, like clockwork (which I believe we could benefit if I continue to work towards more organized structure and routine) over the whole week things are getting covered. I did not see that before. All I see in my flesh is all the stuff that is not getting done or not getting done "perfectly."

Is it perfect? NOT. But in this moment He is showing me I am FREE and HE is guiding and growing me for His works. I pray I may hold on to this thought when I get caught up in the human way of handling things again.

Oh precious Lord Christ Jesus no words can describe how I feel when You reveal Yourself in these little, humongous miracles of everyday Life that are Your still small voice.

Well, got to go take advantage of this gift and get some more things done. And start getting things organized for for Church tomorrow-Gospel Sunday woo hoo! Oh and little Jacob just woke up so we get do more stuff together too.

Christ Love to you all.

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your Love, O Lord, endures forever--do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138:8

P U!

My two oldest kids have been struggling this week with getting the cat litter done. Their struggle is also affecting the cats (who wants a dirty toilet) and us as the smell increases. I noticed that they were using their power struggle with each other as an excuse not to do the job at hand. As a parent it was oh so clear to see the problem and what was happening(in this case). Of course I shared my thoughts with them and told them both to go downstairs and I assigned which litter box they were to do (there are two -we have three cats-anyone looking for a cat?) :o) The fact that they were caught up in a "blame and complain" justification pattern struck me with such clarity. It was as plain as can be and I could not believe that they had not realized it because we had discussed not letting what others do determine how we behave.

As they were getting "the job" done the thought came to me, Is this what it is like for God? He sees us and He knows all there is to know. He gives us Scripture to guide us and all we need to do is follow it and the "stench" will not build up in our relationships, interactions, and lives. What really hit me was how easy it was for me to see the problem my kids were struggling with and a solution (get together and go do it together now) but how it is much more difficult to see the struggle in myself. I am smart enough to know that my kids do not just create their own ways of interacting. (yes they do have their own personalities) Often children are simply recorders and mirrors of what they have seen in their environments.(home,school,tv,movies,friends) So I took note of how much and in how many areas of my life am I STILL letting power struggles with the people in my life and with God keep me from His effective, protected, and blessed way of Life? I humbly see that I am still doing this and the hardest thing to see is the fact that I am doing it in the areas of life that are the MOST IMPORTANT to me and to God. It is easy for me to let go of the externals but as I come closer to the core of what is important to me the struggle is much harder to surrender into the FREEDOM of our Lord's ways. I am so thankful we have a Saviour and that we are in a period of Grace but this Scripture reminds me what I am sacrificing by not being obedient NOW in all areas. "God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient—so much love, so deeply true—loyal in love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. Still, he doesn't ignore sin. He holds sons and grandsons responsible for a father's sins to the third and even fourth generation."Exodus 34:4-5 (msg).

It hurts so much to realize that I am still letting God down and my husband and my children and that even though we all love each other and are providing grace for each other as best we can as humans that my sin still has an effect and it is such a horrible stench. Forgive me all. I do love you all as best I am able to at this point in my life but God is teaching me how to really Love you all. Holy Spirit help me to realize that I do not have TOMORROW but only TODAY and help me to choose Your Love today while I still have the breath of Life to make a choice.

Balance

I saw this graph on Craig Groeschel sight the other day. He was using it to explore the Church but it reminded me of the balance, or not, in my Life.

When I get legalistic about an issue, a plan can be put in place and I can master "the plan" and things get done. I can remember many times in my life that this was taken to the extreme and I was functioning well in whatever, getting stuff done and things were being looked after but I had no place for socializing or doing anything but the routine of life. Something was missing.

I can also remember times in life where I got caught up in whatever was presenting itself at a given moment. That" living in the moment" without God's Word to ground things, took it's tole on me and my family as well as any long term work for our Lord.

The absolutely cool thing about the moments that I am able to surrender in obedience to the FREEDOM of Holy Spirit's guidance in my Life, He brings me and the circumstance that I am dealing with at that moment to the summit of BALANCE. He just has a way of blending the natural and the Spiritual and uses them both in perfect harmony for His work.

Our God, Jesus Christ, really is an awesome God!

Scripture For Our Heart

This Scripture verse came up at OSB (Ottawa School of the Bible) the other night and it simply took my breath away and filled my eyes with warm tears of joy so I just had to share it with you all today.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:7-11 (NIV)

Is that an awesome Scripture verse or what!