life as i know it

I know life changes all the time but have I mentioned I really hate change. I just printed out the admission papers for my oldest son's college admission in January. Oh it's so unfair. I know God let me keep him for a while but why is it that the fact that our children grow up and move away hurts so much? I am so lucky to have homeschooled him all this time. I have a great relationship with him. But this part hurts.
So you college kids who might read this...call your mother! She misses you!

Prayer

As I was returning from driving my husband to the airport this morning I heard on the radio about a shooting at Univ of Central Arkansas. Apparently multiple assailants began shooting yesterday killing I think 3 and injuring 2 others. Let's be in prayer today for the families of those killed or injured, also for the students who may have witnessed this or been friends with those hurt.

But let's not forget to praise God today for the thousands of students who were not injured at all. I think the radio reported they have 11,000 students at that university. With multiple assailants it's a miracle from God that so few people were hurt.
Join me in prayer and praise today. Also, don't forget to keep our economy and these elections in prayer.

Be informed, pray and vote.

The Shack

I just finished reading The Shack. Oh my, anyone who has read this book will tell you it is absolutely amazing and recommend you read it. As I go through my life, I try and live right and follow Christ. But as I read this book, my concept of right and wrong, good and evil, and light and dark have been forever altered. My concept of who God is has been forever altered. My concept of relationship with the Creator has been forever altered.

My life has been changed yet again when I read this book. It's amazing how God doesn't expect us to change all at once, it would be far too much for us to handle. But instead He asks us to change little by little. And then a book like this comes along and you realize just a hint of who God is and how much He loves us all.

Read the book and catch a glimpse of God's love. For He doesn't simply love...HE IS LOVE!

passion and patience

Tonight I watched the Passion of the Christ movie...yes again. I felt moved to watch it so I ordered it on netflix and to my mailbox it came. I love this movie. Not only does it portray the suffering that Jesus endured...for me and for us all but it shows him as a regular person. Don't misunderstand me. Jesus is the Son of God. But He came to earth in human form. He was susceptible to all of the same temptations, pressures, and pain that we all face. It shows his mother, Mary. And as a mother I cannot imagine what it must have been like to see her son endure so much.

But it made me think. Pastor Chris said in his message this weekend (yes, I was listening) patience takes a lot of strength. To have patience takes strength and power. strength over your emotions. Jesus was so patient with so many. He was patient with cheaters, adulterers, liars, persecutors, prostitutes. To have so much patience took great strength, and He would need that strength on His journey to the cross. Before He was led away He went away to pray. He prayed with such passion and he prayed with strength. He knew what He would have to go through. He knew the humiliation He would have to face. He could have at any point lost his patience and said, Father it's not worth it. I'm done. But He didn't. Because He was strong.

Remember, he was here on earth in human form. He received this strength from God. Because he asked for it. That leads me to believe that this strength that He received is within reach for us all. The word says "ask and you will receive". The next time I'm running low on patience...I'm praying for that kind of strength. I'm praying that God's spirit will fill me with so much strength that I will be able to endure and withstand whatever He has for me.

Jesus had to endure cruel torture, he was made to carry his cross on which he would be crucified. We all have what we think is torture in our lives. We all have a cross to bear. Let's embrace the cross. We embrace the cross because this is what has been given us. As Jesus endured so much and carried his cross, through it all he prayed for those who were persecuting Him, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." I have to ask myself, how is my attitude when I'm taking up my cross? how is yours? Are we loving, patient, FORGIVING?

I long for the day when I can have it all together. In the meantime, I'm just trying to get through this life with a little bit of integrity, humility, and grace. Father, forgive me, for I know not what I do. But I'm trying to learn. As I learn, I thank you so much for your patience and grace. I thank you for your mercy. I ask that you show me areas of my life, and attitudes that you want to change. I ask for your strength in me so that I can change them.

May I never forget 1 Cor. 13: 7-8 Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails.
Thank you for that kind of love and that kind of strength.

peace

Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.

Wow! What a power scripture. This scripture has 2 parts. First it says, depart from evil and do good. It doesn't say hang around and see if you can change evil. It simply says depart. dark things are very powerful. Pastor Chris said it wonderfully today. being a Christian is hard. It's the hardest, most challenging thing you will ever do. evil, well it can be fun, it can look like the easier road. Chances are, if you stick around trying to change it, it will change you instead. This scripture says, depart from it. That doesn't mean you can't try and be a positive influence. some may argue that we can't be the light of Jesus if we are never around people who don't live right. That's true, but i submit that this scripture is telling us to keep our distance.

2nd part of this says SEEK PEACE then follows up with PURSUE IT. That is an action. now i don't think these 2 things are in the same verse accidentally. You flee from evil, keep yourself in check, make sure you are doing right and actively pursue peace.

The scriptures say whatever is pure, holy, just, honest, true think on these things. Peaceful thoughts lead to peaceful actions.

Let's face it, we are all going to be in difficult situations. We may be face with evil, we may be faced with something that tries our patience, we may be faced with hard decisions but if we are in the habit of ACTIVELY, day by day by day by day thinking on peaceful things, it will be natural for us to call upon those reserves when we need them.

Peaceful thoughts lead to peaceful actions.

Pursue peace...don't sit around and hope for it. don't be a dormat and lie around waiting for it, PURSUE it. don't be around people in constant turmoil looking for a fight. come away from that person or situation. Jesus had times when he came away from it all. He went into the wilderness, the garden of Gethsemane before they led him away. He came away from people and situations so that he could pray. He needed to pray and think on peaceful things. He needed to reconnect with His Father so he had reserves to tap into when He needed them. Let's remember Jesus was the son of God but he was in HUMAN form. Let's learn from that. He went away to pray. If you spend time in the Word each day, if you have a regular alone time with God, you will be building up your "reserves" so you have them to call on when you need them. AND you will need them.

What are you going to do this week to actively pursue peace? Share your comments with me.

Could we be more alike?

Ok, so about a week ago I was beginning to pack and I found a card that I had stuck away. I had bought it for my mother and I was a little upset that I never gave it to her before she died.

Here I am unpacking and going through some of my mother's things that I had never gone through. My husband had put everything in a large box for me to go through when I was ready. I do a little here and a little there. Well, here I am going through this box and I found a key chain and a counted cross stitch kit that my mom had purchased with a little note that simply read, "For Michelle". The cross stitch kit has a lighthouse with rocky waves and reads "Guide and Protect us through life's storms." And then a key chain that reads "A Mother's Heart-God's home" and on the back "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. Eph. 3:17"

The point of the story is that I've become my mother...or I'm becoming her. Whatever, we each bought something for the other that we never were able to give. Or perhaps my mother, knowing her time was short, bought this to comfort me somehow. I don't know. All I know is that through a few tears of missing her, I laugh hysterically because we are just too much alike.

And now, of course, since she was never able to do the cross stitch, I am faced with the challenge of finding someone who can complete it for me. I have never had the patience to sit and do one of those things. I tried, i just can't sit long enough to do it. maybe this is her backhanded way of teaching me patience. LOL She's too funny!

new home pics

Here are a few pics of my new home!