Thankful

The title of this post is thankful, b/c that is how I am feeling right now...and this is why. Over the past week I have been feeling pretty down in the dumps. I cry about anything, commercials, movies, pictures of my kids (I realize how fast they are growing), homesickness, etc. I know, I know...a week ago I wrote about the joy of having a Godly perspective and I try, really I do. Somedays I do and somedays I just don't, but I remind myself on those days why I should. :) Anyway, last night before bed I sat down to do my devotion. My devotions have been coming from an In Touch magazine my mom sends to me. The devotions are short and sweet, but powerful. The last couple of days that I have done one, I wasn't focused nor was I listening to God. He was trying to speak to me in my time of feeling blah and I was not paying attention. Instead my mind was on bills to be paid, laundry to be done, etc...I read the words, shut my Bible and went about my day. Well, last night I sat down once more, opened my Bible and my devotional and saw the titles of the devotions I had been reading were: Results of Discouragement, The Outcome of Discouragement, and Spiritual Causes of Discouragement ...Hello!!! DISCOURAGEMENT! That is how I have been feeling, discouraged. So I reread them...and God spoke. No, I didn't hear any booming voice, but he spoke to me through his Word, once again. We are memorizing a verse at church, it is Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." I understand that verse now, when God speaks to you, you know it, you feel it, and you are moved by it. I sat and wept tears of joy and sadness as I finished these devotions last night. Tears of joy b/c God speaks to me, little ole me, and reassures me once again, we're right where we are supposed to be! Tears of sadness b/c He had been trying to get through to me for a few days and I ignored him and was too busy to hear what He had to say.

These are the verses that spoke to me last night. James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, b/c 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."

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 "yet now I am happy, not b/c you were made sorry, but b/c your sorrow led to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. "

This next one is the kicker, if you remember, back in my first blog, I talked about how God used the verse out of Joshua to let me know to come to SC...it says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terriedied; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Now read this verse from last night, and remember I was feeling discouraged about being here and not in Ky or not with my family...basically I was just feeling sorry for myself, but God reminded me gently through this verse to keep on keeping on.
1 Chronicles 28:20 "David aslo said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the service of the temple of the Lord is finished."

WOW! Okay God, now what is the work I am supposed to do while I am here? That is the question and my prayer!

Let's be reminded why we feel discouraged...Satan! Discouragement is one of his most effective weapons; he knows that if he can destroy our courage, we won't accomplish anything for Christ. Instead we'll be too busy feeling sorry for ourselves and miss out on some pretty awesome things!

Prayer: Dear Lord, I know without a shadow of a doubt, my family and I are where you want us to be. You have made that very clear. Help me to focus on the things that are to be accomplished for you while we are here, instead of dwelling on the past. Thank you for your many blessings and the precious memories I have from the past. But I am now focused on the present, the here and now, use me to further Your kingdom. Amen!

The Joy of a Godly Perspective

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

What an awesome verse. All to often, I wonder what in the world we are here for. I can't begin to express how much I miss living in Wilmore, Ky. I miss my friends. I miss being only 3 hours from my family and making weekend trips home. I miss our church, oh how I miss our church and family there. Just thinking about it makes me tear up. When I think like this and dwell on the past I am doubting the awesome plans that God has for us here. If you have kept up with my blog, you know, as well as I do, God wants us here. He made that clear in many ways. When dwelling on all these things He reminds me of how he has blessed us here. We have met so many wonderful friends. He has led us to a church we enjoy going to. Craig and I have drawn closer during this time. Believe it or not, even during this busy volleyball season, we see him more than we ever did in KY. Craig was pulled in so many different directions when we were there because he had 4 jobs...a realtor, a migrant recruiter, professor, and a volleyball coach. Now he is just a full-time coach and he loves it!

So, I guess my point is...I need to have a Godly perspective! Life is a journey...but there is no end in this journey, instead there is a goal! Whatever sends us running for Him, makes us embrace Him, and causes us to wholly depend on Him, is the best good in our lives.

There are times in my life that I have been so full of gratitude and awe that I haven't been able to do anything but sing praises to Him. One of those times is when I was hiking in Glacier National Park. The sights I saw were breathtaking! My friend Kimmy and I sang "How Great is our God" as we hiked along the trail. :) Then there are other times we haven't been able to see how God could possibly be there in the dark circumstances of life. Craig and I experienced something awful in May of 2004. It is a persons worst nightmare and we lived it! At this time I couldn't understand why this incident had happened. What kind of good could come from this?! I questioned God a lot. But I have learned that God always-in all things-is up to something good in our lives....and that "good" is always eternal good!

So, let's just praise the Lord!

Love you all!

3 wins for the home team

I think I may be getting a glimpse of why God has sent us here. Abouta week ago after Craig's practice 3 of the girl's on his team gave their lives to Christ...praise God! You see, Craig shared with me that he has been praying for these woman since he has been here. They are great women, but some of the team had not accepted Christ, or had accepted Christ but were no longer making Him part of their lives. I don't know these woman personally, yet. So I can only tell you what Craig has shared.


Craig has had devotions with them, he has chats with them about drinking, sexual purity, etc. He has set curfews too. He soon realized this wasn't doing any good and wasn't going to change the way they chose to live their lives. So he prayed for God to make them broken, so that they may have a heart for Him. He prayed that something would happen to bring them to their knees. Well, something did happen. I won't go into details, but something drastically changed in one player's live. As she stood there and told the teammates she couldn't be a part of the team any longer...they were broken. Craig stood in front of the 17 girls and read Hebrews 12:3 to them and shared the message of salvation. After that a few musicians came out and played worship songs. Three of them we're brought to their knees in front of our Holy, faithful Heavenly Father. God is so good!