Prayer for a Friend

I want to lift this song up as my prayer today. This prayer goes out to all of my friends in need. Specifically today it goes out to a special family who needs prayer, God's love, and reuniting.

Happy Birthday Princess Ellie Smellie!

Suella Elizabeth (or Princess Ellie Smellie - yes she claims this nickname) is THREE today! Hard to believe it has been 3 years since Steph and I drove to the hospital (for the 5th time, Adam just said call him when they admit me... LOL) and this beautiful child entered our world and hearts!

PRAISE GOD for such a wonderful experience of being a mother to such a beautiful, smart, and sometimes challenging little girl. I continue to pray for his guidance, and for his blessings. And for us to continue seeking him, in that we may bring our children up in his way and his glory. Amen.

Godly Wealth

I love the growth going on at The Crossing! Last night's TnT's class was  totally awesome, yet again. In a room full of ADD "kids" (20s and 30s anyways) we tend to not stay on subject.

We started on the subject of heaven. We talked about "the Lord's prayer" - which is located in John 17. This then blossomed over to Joseph being broke, and wealth. Honestly, I don't recall how we got from one to the other... :)

But pastor talked about John 17: 9 and 15 -  ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours... ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

Jesus prayed not for the world, for those God gave him. His disciples - his followers. We are his followers today. We are protected by Jesus' prayer every day. So why are we so afraid of evil? It can't touch us. It's like with Job - no matter what trials he went through he stayed steadfast in his faith, and eventually the devil just gave up. He wouldn't even touch him with a 10 foot pole.

So God protects us from the inner workings of the devil. This shifted over to the discussion of Joseph's empty wallet. Deuteronomy 8:18 - But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. God gives us the ABILITY to PRODUCE wealth! So we need to trust in him and use those abilities. If we speak that we will be broke, then moths will fly out of our pockets and wallets. We are allowing evil to pray on us by speaking these words. If we trust and speak that we will produce wealth and not be broke, we will not be. It's all a matter of perspective.

Pastor spoke about how when he was young, his mama had a 3rd grade education and his daddy died when he was young (I believe he said 10.) His mama got a check once a month, he talked about dividing a room off with a sheet so the floor heater would keep them warm... but because she never spoke the words, he never knew they were broke. We are influenced by our words and words of others. He said they always had abundant meals, and his mama always told  them God would protect them and things were going to be ok. And it was. 


It reminded me that wealth shouldn't be measured by how much money is in my pocket, how big our house is, how nice our car... we get so wrapped up in worldly wealth, we forget about Godly wealth. I feel God calling to me telling me everything is going to be okay. I feel so wrapped up in our finances right now, but I know if I trust in him everything will be worked out in the end. I need to wrap myself up with God, and let him take care of our financial situation. He is God of everything, and will answer our prayers and needs. If we let him guide our lives, our finances, our wealth, then we may not get rich, but we will have the greatest riches we could ask for, along with God's blessings.

Not Everything is the Devil...

Okay... who doesn't love the Waterboy? (Insert LAUGH here.) Now that we've all lightened up a bit... hopefully...

On a serious note, I can't stand it when people say "insert topic here" is satanic or of the devil. The only things that are of the devil are the things we ALLOW him to have. I don't allow the devil to have anything in my life. Now I don't listen to music with foul language or negative messages. They are too worldly, and not of God. But it is the WORDS in them that make them that way.

On the subject of music, I'd like to address Christian rap/pop/rock, etc. Adam and Alan put on some "rap" music once at Pine Forest, and some lady walks up to them and says "turn that off, we only listen to Christian music here." Alan looked at her and said he bought at the store where she works... LIFEWAY CHRISTIAN STORE. When it comes to praising God, he doesn't care what TUNE it is in. He cares what words are coming out of our mouths.

If a rapper decides to bump out some Christian lyrics with a beat to them, that glorifies God, whether it "glorifies" you or I or not! Same goes for other music, like country. I LOVE country. There are many country songs that talk about God. It doesn't have to be in the Christian genre to be worshipful. And to top it all off, it's not "the devil." We can listen to other types of music, enjoy it, and still go to heaven.

Some extremists go as far as saying practicing the art of yoga is satanic... well actually it's origin is Hindu... For me, it started out as PURELY exercise. I didn't know it's origin, didn't really care... still don't. Just because something originates with another religion doesn't make it bad. Anything can be made to glorify God. I recently ordered a new DVD - Holy Yoga. JJ Heller turned me on to it! It is wonderful. Instead of just clearing my mind and focusing on my stretches and nothingness, I can focus on scripture and Jesus. God wants us to take care of these temples, does he not? If I'm not choosing the traditional form of Yoga, and focusing on whatever it was Hindu's focused on, then it isn't against God. It can be made FOR him.

Anyways, I'm all about open minds, and open hearts, and I try to share this with people when I get the opportunity. None of us are perfect beings. We can't always get it right, but we can sure try. And part of trying is by learning to love as Jesus does and not knock or judge every little thing someone else does.

*Steps off soap box.*

God Guide Me to be a Better Mommy...

I'm really kicking myself today. I really need God to remove this burden I feel. Last night I got onto Andrew for messing with my props, and I went too far. I thought he had a pull up on because it was almost bed time and he was ready (and I forgot he was out...) And when he has a pull up on I have to spank a little harder to make it through the padding to have any kind of effect... so I went in full force expecting some "padded resistance" and got none... I honestly for the first time felt so terrible for spanking my child. I really hurt his feelings too. 

And I feel that I may have jumped too quickly. He had picked up the baby scale and the top pulled off... which can be put right back on, it's how it is made... and he said he just wanted to know how it worked... he was just trying to learn about it. So we sat and talked, and I apologized, and asked his forgiveness. I still feel like crap. I just wanted to go cry. He had said he just wanted to pack his bag and leave. I promised myself I'd never make my child feel that way. I know I can't always be his friend, I'm his parent and I will do my job, but I need to do it well. I need him to know he can trust me and always come to me. Sometimes my emotions get the best of me. I've never spanked to hurt my child, and it was never my intent. But he's such a smart kid, and he showed me that last night. We sat and talked about his school, and I was beyond belief at how advanced he is. I'm going to slow my hand down from now on, and just talk to him. He is at a point of maturity to where a whack on the butt or a trip to the corner isn't the only way to get him to understand something.

He's no longer a baby, he's really growing up. 

Does God Answer All Prayer?

I believe God answers all prayer. He may not always give us the answer we are expecting, but he answers. And he answers in his time, not our's.

Every time I've given something to him in prayer, he has responded. Whether it has been jobs, finances, family, healing... And I've learned if you want a more specific answer, you need to pray for it. Like when we prayed for Adam to no longer have to work on Sunday's with Cox... he got terminated. We probably should have been more specific. But in the long run, God knew what he was doing!

When he got on with Dish, and again was working Sunday's again, we prayed for a better job. And God gave it to him. When I've prayed  for him to help my nagging, attitude, etc. he answers. It is something that I still battle at times, but with God it is easier to do so.

So if you've got anything you need, give it to God. Trust in him, give him your heart. Having faith in him isn't an auto-fix. But it does make things seem easier at times, and when we go through trials he gives us the strength we need. I believe he doesn't put us through more than we can handle, and that we can do all  things through Christ. 

When You Have a Problem...

I'll never forget what Pastor Fambro says about us having problems... If you have a problem with *insert name, thing, etc.* it is YOU that has the problem. (Goes with the whole when you point a finger at someone, you have 3 more pointing right back at you!) So really, it is up to YOU to find the solution. Today I had a problem with a relationship not going where I'd wanted it to. So today I found a solution. I sent a message to my sister. 

I really look up to my sister. I always have. I missed out on really having a sister because she lived 3 states away with her dad. But I always thought she was the greatest - and still do. When I moved down here I thought this would be a great time to really get to know my sister and build the relationship I felt like we missed out on growing up.

That didn't really happen the way I'd hoped. And even though we are closer, and we do see each other a lot more than when we lived 3 states away... we only live 8 miles away, and the kid's birthdays and large holidays like Christmas is really not often enough. ;-)

Lately I've really felt God laying this on my heart, more so than normal. I determined I had a problem. I don't have the relationship I want to have with my sister. Well, I needed a solution. So today I sent her a message and we're going to lunch next week. We work within a few miles of each other, so this was an easy move. I hope it jump starts us doing more together.