There Is A Season - Intro

"The Harvest"

Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.  For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.'  John 4:35-37

Sunday's sermon was on "The Harvest" and around doing for others.  We watched an awesome short video titled "The Harvest".  In it there's a family on a farm and the dad passes away before they can harvest the wheat.  The son prayed and prayed God would send people to help with the harvest.  The most amazing scene was when a dozen combines came over the hill to help the family.  I watched across the church as I was hoping Lib wasn't being upset over the plot and the fact that the Dad passed away in the video.  But she was doing well and I knew her giving heart was overriding any upheaval the video could cause.  It's so encouraging to see my 11yo so excited about being able to give back and ready to put those feelings to action.  I've had a few opportunities lately to "give back" and its the most rewarding experience. 

She'll be going on an out of state missions trip this weekend and I'm so excited for her. They've already been told they may see some things they've never been exposed to before so I'm praying over her heart and mind as she makes this trip.  This will be her second church trip in a month.  She came back like the energizer bunny last month and it did my heart good to have the Youth Leaders tell me what a great kid she is and how we, as parents, must be doing something right.  I'm so glad she has a heart after God and her younger sisters can see that in her!

Pray with me over these young people as they go to minister and, in turn, be ministered to themselves!  What a blessing to see our young people, my daughter and others be willing to be a part of "The Harvest".

Hope you have a blessed week and find plenty of opportunities to show real LOVE this Valentine's week and give back.

Love is......

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8



It's less than a week away from Valentine's Day and the stores are filled with all the stuffed animals, gold foil covered heart shaped boxes of candy and heart embellished apparel you can fathom! It's a "holiday" dedicated to showing our LOVE for those close to us. Kids will exchange cards and candy at school, while couples will share a special dinner. But do we really show "love" as defined by the scripture above? I can assure I most likely fail in one of those areas every day!



This morning my patience was tested as Lib alerted us this morning about an important event happening TODAY at school. I know she did not feel LOVE in my response to her. I pray my kids will see and feel love from me, more often than not. I hope they don't ever feel emptiness behind my words when I say "I love you". And I certainly hope they don't need Valentine's Day to know I love them!

Sunday Salt

I receive a devotion called Weekly Wisdom from Christnotes.org.  I'd like to share the one I received this week.  Pray you all have a blessed Sunday.  I'll be doing my usual of voice/piano lessons and choir for the oldest.  Praying hubs and his brother do well in their tournament today and are enjoying their time together!

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We want God to change our circumstances, but God wants to use our circumstances to change us.

It can be easy to think that God is obligated to make life easy for us and to remove all of our difficult circumstances. But, the truth is that during hard times God is preparing us for greater things. If He removed the difficult circumstances in our lives, we would probably never mature. 

James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." In other words, rejoice in "trials of many kinds", because they test your faith, which causes you to grow closer to God. Indeed, God assures us that something beneficial can come from the hard times in life.

If you are going through trials now, take hope in the fact that almost everyone in the Bible who did great things for God also had to endure great hardships. For example, in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27, Paul recounts many of the difficult circumstances that he had gone through: "Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked."

Clearly, Paul had suffered greatly for the Gospel. However, God used those circumstances to make Paul more mature and to give him a great love for God and for spreading God's Word. Now, Paul is widely considered the second most important person in the New Testament—behind Jesus, of course. However, we must remember that Paul had to go through many difficult trials. It was those times of testing that caused Paul to grow closer to God, qualifying him to be a great witness for Christ.

This same principle can be seen in almost every other person in the Bible who did great things for God. It was during times of testing that such people developed the strength and character for which we respect them.

Therefore, don't always beg God to change your circumstances. Instead, view each as an opportunity for God to change you, making you "mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Our Hearts

Yesterday, I shared a scripture with my Facebook friends.  So, I thought I'd re-post here.

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."  Hebrews 4:12

I'm so glad to know that in times of trial or conflict that God knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.  Ultimately, He is the only person I / we will have to answer to regarding our thoughts, words and actions.  Thankfully, He can also provide us peace in other ways and scripture to know when we are in line with His word.

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So, today we were supposed to go to a barrel race.  We haven't gone to one in a few months although Lib did have horse camp after Christmas.  The weather is just too yucky to go today even though it's an indoor arena.  We had an invite to go to the lake with hubs brother and wife and stay the night but we really need to get some things done around here.  I think C. is going to take Lib shopping for some new tennis shoes.  Better him than me - ha ha ha.  She will be leaving next weekend for another Youth Trip and she is so excited.  She had an amazing experience on the one she went to in January.  I'm so glad she has such a seeking heart and giving heart as well.  I pray she continues to just soak in God's word as she continues on through middle school and the crazy years of high school.

In other exciting news, my parents are moving just a few miles down the road from us.  The girls are so excited, as we all are.  Following Dad's bypass surgery in April and the stroke that ensued, he will not be returning to work and can now take a much needed break/early retirement.  It also appears my brother and his wife will be taking a house out here as well.  It will be great to have everyone close and for my Mom to have all her grandchildren within a few minutes!  Even living 50 minutes away, she has tried to stay very involved with the girls. And has made countless early morning trips out here when we needed her to in order for C. to leave early for fishing trips.  He knows we don't know what we'd do without her and we are so thankful.  I'm just glad to see them get close, take life a little slower and now have their own "little place in the country", ha ha ha.

In honor of my super smart but air-headed blonde daughter, I'll leave you with this joke:

"Why don't blondes double recipes?"

 

The oven doesn't go to 700 degrees!!!!

 

Praying you all have a blessed weekend!

 

Faithful Fridays

I've had these lyrics to a Praise and Worship song in my head for a few days now:

"I am pressed but not crushed persecuted not abandoned

Struck down but not destroyed

I am blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure

And his joy's going to be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night

His joy comes with the morning

I'm trading my sorrows.

I'm trading my shame.

I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord."



I've felt the pressing, the striking down and the curse mentioned in the first few lines. But I can say, victoriously in Christ, that I'm not crushed, certainly not abandoned and not destroyed. As I sat at dinner last night with my husband, who has a heart of gold, and my 3 girls who are just amazing little beings- I could see the truth in the verse that said "I am blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure".



Yes, sorrow has come for some nights but God has shown me his Faithfulness and that His "joy's going to be my strength.....my whole family's.



I've known abandonment- abandonment of a husband and am so thankful my husband is living his life biblically. Its easy to honor a husband whose role is led by scripture and prayer. There's no room for gray when it comes to the role of the husband and the wife-

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh." Ephesians 5:31



"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her". Ephesians 5:25



And for wives:

"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 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. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." Ephesians 5:22-24



I've always noticed the order of those scriptures that wives were instructed FIRST! God didn't make a mistake in the ordering of those verses and we can't pick and choose which ones suit our needs.



So, on this "Faithful Friday" I pray if you've known abandonment you feel the arms of God wrapping around you. I pray his healing touch over your heart and mind and I pray that the same forgiveness God offers would dwell in all our hearts.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Thankful Thursday

1. My husband

2. My girls

3. My family

4. Friends in real life and my

internet "friends"

5. Strength to withstand "junk"

6. Peace that passes all

understanding

7. My baby's laugh

8. My Blackberry

9. Coke Zero

10. Knowing tomorrow is Friday!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Life of Love

To date my greatest success has to be my children. I've failed miserably at plenty of other things but the girls are by far my crowning jewel. I hurt when they hurt and I am happy when they are happy. Its hard to see your children hurt or scared, probably one of the worst feelings I've ever felt.



I've had to calm some fears of the girls lately and they are unnecessary fears. They are fears and worries, hurt and pain caused by people who should love them and be so proud to even know them. Y'all know what happens when you mess with Mama's cubs.

The really sad part is the complete disregard for the fact anyone has hurt anyone. I've had to deal with the clean up of tears and looks of worry with an 11yo and 7yo and hopefully shelter them and their almost 2yo sister from further harm.



No, we aren't talking about physical harm but emotional scars can be just as bad. I want my girls to grow up as confident, honest, young women. I want them to be loving, devoted wives and doting mothers. They need those role models in their lives. Not people who aren't capable of telling the truth if their life depended on it.....not self-centered people who put themselves first and expect others too as well. They need to see respect is earned not demanded. I want them to see the love of a husband and wife as it is biblically intended and not hear words of anger that children shouldn't have to hear.



It just hurts. I hate that this is even in their lives. They've physically lost a Dad and really only need all the love they can stand in their lives. He was replaced with the. best. Dad. ever! They don't need this. They don't need the confusion and I'm so done with it.



Right now, my husband and I are doing what we know to be right before God. He is taking care of his wife and children as he's been biblically instructed. I am honoring him as we discuss next steps and were taking it day by day. But one thing is certain, my children won't be sacrificed to make this situation better or different.



(P.S. And anyone that would try to undermine a parent/child relationship needs to re-examine their motives.)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Cookies & Nuggets

This little passage was sent to me yesterday through Facebook's Christian version of a fortune cookie........except there's no crunchy cookie with lucky numbers on the back of the fortune:



On this day, God wants you to know...... that difficult people are very important, - they teach you tolerance and acceptance. If all was going your way all the time, you would become a spoiled child, wouldn't everyone? Difficult people are just one of the ways God teaches us to expand beyond our egos and accept other perspectives on life.



It came at a very appropriate time and really spoke to me. (Still would've liked the cookie though!)



Then I got this little nugget from @maxlucado on Twitter:



"See your struggle as God’s canvas. On it he will paint his multicolored supremacy."



So, I'm trying to trust the Master as He paints a masterpiece and waiting to see His finished work!



Just when I said I don't really blog, I muster up 2 quasi-posts in 2 days. And now all this talk of cookies and nuggets is making me hungry! Hope you have a great day and "enjoy" even those difficult people!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

"Nails in the Fence"

I read this yesterday and it really spoke to me in regards to some things I've been going through.  Very poignant and timely!

NAILS IN THE FENCE

  

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.  His Father gave him

a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must

hammer a nail into the back of the fence.  The first day the boy had

driven 37 nails into the fence.  Over the next few weeks, as he learned

to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually

dwindled down.  He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to

drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He

told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out

one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father

that all the nails were gone.  The father took his son by the hand and led

him to the fence.  He said, "You  have done well, my son, but look at the

holes in the fence.  The fence will never be the same.  When you say

things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.  You can put

a knife in a man and draw it out.  It won't matter how  many times you

say I'm sorry, the wound is still there."

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one

 

You can't hurt someone, tear them apart and say you love them all at the same time.  The only parallel I can draw to this is the fact that people get off on insanity pleas doing the same thing.  It just makes no sense.

 

My bible verse yesterday was

"And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

1 John 4:21

 

Love is a multi-faceted word and right now I just have to take peace and know there are times when you have to "love" at a distance.  I am at peace in that God has not called us to be victims and forgiveness does not have to mean fellowship.  People forgive murderers but it doesn't mean they have them over for birthday dinners.  Forgiveness is an act of the heart and mind.  Fellowship is a physical act, unrequired for Forgiveness.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

I am looking forward to a Thanksgiving Day with "my" family.  For several years, my family took a backseat to the other families in our lives.  There were many Thanksgiving days that I didn't see my family.  This year, my mom is bringing food for an army out to our house, I'm cooking a few dishes and we are busy straightening up the house.

Just wanted to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.  I'm so glad this will probably the least stressful Thanksgiving I've spent in years and hope yours is too.

 

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