The Perfect Gift

Last week my son, Daniel, came home from school and proceeded to give me the above gift.

Instead of being excited about it, he said, "Here Mom, I made this at school but it's got lots of mistakes in it so it's not very nice. Sorry."

I was surprised at his attitude and began to examine the gift. It was beautiful to me because he made it with me in mind. It was also precious because it was full of scriptures that I could read throughout each day.

As far as the flaws, I didn't see any of them. I've hung it in my bathroom and throughout each day I've read at least one of the verses.

I began to think about my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I began to wonder how many times I've decided that I'm not good enough, or that I didn't get it right - again. And how many times I thought I had disappointed God.

Then I felt my Heavenly Father lovingly telling me that He didn't see the flaws in my gifts to Him. He only saw that I tried with Him in mind and that was what He was looking for.

Psalm 50:8-10 "I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills."

Psalm 50:23 "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

Thankful Thursday #45

Welcome to Thankful Thursday! If you'd like to participate, just copy the T.T. button on my sidebar and paste it into your post. Next write down five things you are thankful for this week. Finally, come back here and link up with Mr. Linky. It's that easy!

Here's my list for this week:

1) I'm thankful that my husband and I had a 5 day retreat together! It was refreshing to get away from the cares of life and just relax...

2) I am thankful that I sing in a praise band at my church. There are times when I need to just worship the Lord and this gives me that opportunity every week!

3) I am thankful for the Word of God. It is light to my path and nourishment to my soul!

4) I am thankful for the Christian School that my children attend. The teachers are so caring and it made the adjustment this year soooooo easy for the kids.

5) I am thankful that last week we had over 30 bloggers sign up for this weekly meme! How exciting to realize that there were more than 30 people who stopped to give God the glory for their lives! HOW COOL IS THAT!!

A Get-away to Norfolk, Virginia

Tim and I had the chance to get away (just the two of us!) for 5 days and 4 nights to Norfolk, and then Virginia Beach, Virginia.

This picture was the view from our hotel in Norfolk. We were overlooking the Elizabeth River and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. I enjoyed watching the barge's, tugboats, and ships coming in and out of the area.

The second night we were there, we went out on The Spirit of Norfolk. This is a dinner cruise where the wait staff actually entertains you with singing and dancing! Loads of fun - great buffet, too!

This ship is so big that it didn't even feel as if we were on water until it turned around, and even that was only a little motion. This was well worth the effort for the entertainment we had.

Another great attraction is the USS Wisconsin. This is actually parked next to Nauticus and is a free exhibit. This is the same ship that fired the first shots in Dessert Storm a few years back. Here are two pictures:



On our last day in Norfolk, we went on a cruise to see the Naval Shipyard. This was an awesome tour and if you ever get a chance to come to Norfolk, VA (and I hope you do!) please make the effort to take this tour! Here are some pictures of the tour and the Navy ships we saw:



This is a picture of the USS Cole (The smaller ship in the picture on the top right) which was damaged in a terrorist attack in Yemin a few years ago. Sailors were killed during the attack. Quite sobering.

This was an awesome sight, an air craft carrier! This enormous ship cost 5 billion dollars to build and it has 2 nuclear power sources aboard so that at top speed it can soar at 55mph through the seas! Now that would be a sight to see!

We hope to come back to Norfolk, Virginia and next time with the kids.

Thankful Thursday #44

Welcome to Thankful Thursday! If you'd like to participate, just copy the T.T. button on my sidebar and paste it into your post. Next write down five things you are thankful for this week. Finally, come back here and link up with Mr. Linky. It's that easy!

Here's my list for this week:

1) I am thankful that my husband values being healthy. He wants us to be healthy (both spiritually and physically) and he is willing to let me try all sorts of healthy recipe's on him (as long as it doesn't contain peas!LOL!). I appreciate how much he values these things.

2) I am thankful that Tim and I are on a retreat and we have family who is willing to step in and house sit for us while we are away. As a couple, it is so important to take time to be together.

3) I am thankful that my kids did great on their three week reports that just came home from school! WOOOOHOOO! We celebrated with Ice cream floats for a snack. :)

4) I am thankful that I am part of a praise band at my church. If you asked me when I feel closest to God I would answer, "When I'm singing." Being a part of a praise band gives me lots of opportunities to stop and sing during the week.

5) I am thankful for the power of prayer! Recently Tim and I were talking to a friend whose marriage is in trouble and when we had no more words that would encourage, we just stopped and prayed for them. God is the one source of comfort that our words cannot compete with! He is the God of comfort!

Soothing

When you think of the word SOOTHING what comes to your mind?

How about if I asked you how you would sooth an infant? Perhaps you would consider giving the upset baby a bottle, burping the baby, changing their diaper. But if that doesn't work, you might try to rock the baby or even walk and gently pat the baby on the back.

Now your baby is 10 years old and angry because life has been hard and her world is falling apart around her. How would you sooth your baby now? It's not as easy to come up with an answer when they start to get older.

One of the most import skills that we can teach our children is how to sooth themselves when life gets tough. A great way to do this is to buy a very soft stuffed animal and rock your child while they hold and stroke the animal. Then pray and ask God to give you a blessing to speak over them.

Even adults enjoy rocking.

Now fast forward to today. You are the one who needs to be soothed - your life isn't going the way you had hoped or perhaps you are just having a bad day. What can you do to sooth yourself right now?

Here are some common things we turn to as adults: Alcohol, s#x, the computer, food.

I know that I glean great comfort from the last two on the list. But those kinds of things don't bring a lasting peace - they are only a temporary fix.

Instead, we need to turn to God. He is the only one that can heal our pain, mend our hearts, and fill the void that we often feel in our lives. And He wants us to bring our burdens to Him. He wants to hold us while we rock. He wants to sooth us.

2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.


Just last night, I was alone and feeling a little down about this or that and I sat in the rocking chair and just began to worship God with singing. I immediately felt His presence and He enveloped me with peace and love. I didn't want to leave that place, or that feeling so I lingered a while.

He is so much more satisfying than anything the world could offer.

Lighthouse

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine -- Are you all singing yet?

The Bible talks specifically about us being the light of the world. We are to live out our lives in such a way as to have God's love and character shine through us so the world may know God.

But that's a dangerous place to be! If we are truly out there in the world, shinning our lights for God, than people of the world are going to criticize us and judge us and ridicule us. Why? Because they are being driven by the enemy of our souls and their conscience's won't like it when the light begins to illuminate the darkness.

As adults there is also another issue -- In 2 Cor. 6 it talks about not being unequally yoked together with unbelievers. It doesn't actually specify what relationships so we must assume it is talking about all relationships. Now we have the issue of being out there enough to share the truth but not enough to become unequally yoked.

How does a faithful Christian handle such obstacles? Prayer, fasting, and believing. We must be in prayer constantly asking God for wisdom. We must take the time to fast in order to clear our minds to hear God speaking to us. Then we must believe that God is with us and that He will never forsake us as we walk and live for Him.

In living our lives as lighthouses for God, we are ensuring that when our time on this earth is over we can also say:

2 Timothy 4:6-8 "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. "

Thankful Thursday #43

Welcome to Thankful Thursday! If you'd like to participate, just copy the T.T. button on my sidebar and paste it into your post. Next write down five things you are thankful for this week. Finally, come back here and link up with Mr. Linky. It's that easy!

Here's my list for this week:

1) I am thankful that my husband encourages me to do the things that I enjoy. He has studied who I was over the years and he always seems to know when to push me to do something (like sing in the praise band) and when not to.

2) I am thankful for my extended family. We all live in the same town and being there for one another is great. I enjoy just hanging out with each one of you!

3) I am thankful that my new neighborhood Bible study is starting up today! I can't wait to get to know other ladies and grow in the Lord together.

4) I am thankful for coffee breaks. We all need them (even if you don't drink java) throughout the day. They are the little moments of peace and rest that we need to take each day. It's how I get rejuvenated.

5) I am thankful for this blog and all of you!! When my Dad's days here on earth were finished and he unexpectedly stepped into heaven it was so encouraging to come here and find so many encouraging comments! I was blown away by the love. I treasure each one of you and what you have to say.

Labor Day

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Happy Laabor Day!

I am taking the day to go and relax at the lake with my family. This is a day that we choose not to labor because it is a day for rest. I hope that you are also able to rest today. But even if you are at work and reading this I wanted to encourage you with the above scripture. Remember that no matter where you are or what you are doing, if you go to the Lord - He will give you rest for your souls!

The rest I will find on this Monday is temporary, but the rest I have through the Lord - that is FOREVER!

God Bless!

Thankful Thursday #42

Welcome to Thankful Thursday! If you'd like to participate, just copy the T.T. button on my sidebar and paste it into your post. Next write down five things you are thankful for this week. Finally, come back here and link up with Mr. Linky. It's that easy!

Here's my list for this week:

1) I am thankful that my husband and I complement one another. He is a creative introvert and I am a social extrovert. Knowing that we can balance each other out is a great thing. Understanding one another's differences is so important.

2) I am thankful for all of the people who have poured out love into my life over the past week. The cards, flowers, food, notes on my blog and FB and the phone calls have all been instrumental in my healing process.

3) I am thankful for a close family. It has been very healing to just hang out with my Mom and my siblings and other relatives over the past week. Family is so important, and my Dad made sure we were all close.

4) I am thankful that my kids are going to school this year. I see God's divine plan in that because I've been freed up to be with my Mom every day this week and that's awesome. I am also thankful that my kids are enjoying school. That is an answer to prayer.

5) I am thankful that I see God's loving fingerprints all over the events leading up to my Dad's leaving this world for heaven. While that is another post for another day, just know that God has shown us His handiwork in preparing us and taking care of us through this tragic event. I'm so grateful for the Cross and what Jesus did for me and my family!

To God be the Glory - Great things He has done!