127

Did you know that...

"He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection."  {Psalm 91:4} 

He will.  And they are.

Today has been a panic-invoking day for me.  Between all the talk of the drones used in America on Americans and a disturbing statement our president made about homeschooling today, it's been that kind of a day.

But did you also know that...

"For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control."  {2 Timothy 1:7}

He does.  He is with us.  At all times and in every situation.  

So after some time spent in prayer, I'm no longer as panic-y as I was this afternoon.  

In the meantime, I thought I would share a couple of pictures.

Can you even believe how beautiful this picture is?  I seriously love Germantown Presbyterian church...and all the oldness of it and the details.  I just love churches, in general.  And this day...oh my word!  How beautiful it was today.  I especially love the little loves walking along the curb.  :)  

Graham and Drew were in a meeting inside of here and the rest of us waited in the car until they got out.  

One more, an image that I got off of Facebook, really spoke to me:

I don't even know what to follow that with.  

I'm thankful for the freedoms we have.  I don't know how long we'll have them, but for now, I will not take advantage of them.  May God continue to be with us all, no matter what the future holds.  

I know Who holds my future.  

Do you?

If you don't, now's a good time to get to know Him.

Love to all. 

day 126, Wednesday

sunshine.
friends for my kids to play with.
a trampoline.
a basketball goal.
being able to hear my kids' gratitude overflowing from their mouths.
laughter.
prayer.
chiropractors.
lunches with Mom.
afternoon ice cream visits with Phyllis.
a phone call from a friend.
accountability.
my husband.  {I saved the best for last.}

For all these things, I give thanks.

day 125, Tuesday

I started and stopped writing this post at least two times yesterday.  That happens sometimes.  It makes me wonder if those are the times when God is stopping me from saying too much of something. 

I might never know, but I am thankful for that little fact~that the Holy Spirit does, in fact, prompt us to do or not do things.  Or say things. 

He is our friend, our advocate.  I like to picture Him wrestling on our behalf with the temptations of this world. 

It's just a little mental picture I sometimes have of Him.

I'll write more later, I just wanted to write my gratitude for yesterday before I forgot. 

Love to all.

day 124, Monday

Jonah looked at me this afternoon and said, "I wish we had church tonight."  Makes my heart all happy.

Fact about me: I cry often.  I hate goodbye's.  I spent the majority of time at church last night crying.  We've had such an amazing time at Revival at our church, I was so sad that last night was the last night.

Do you ever think of Heaven?  I do.  I think of how sweet it's going to be.  Just imagine, all the people in your life that you loved so dearly, whether it be friends that moved away {Tim and Jenny Land, the kids pastors at First Assembly when Jonah and Noah were about two}, a missionary you spent time with on a missions trip {Mike and Sheila Fitzgerald in Iceland for me}, or just people you might not ever see again on this side of Heaven {the Life Action team that left our church today}.

Think of how sweet that reunion will be someday.  I can hardly imagine.  I can hardly wait!

I love my life, don't get me wrong, but I do seriously get excited about Heaven.  I was reading about it today in Revelation chapter four.  I cannot wait to witness the creatures that are worshiping the Lord, the ones who NEVER stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come."  {Revelation 4:8}

Do you know that there will be no light in Heaven?  None is needed.  {"The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp."  Revelation 21:23}

There will be a sea of glass, and streets of gold.  

Doesn't that sound...well, Heavenly?  

It does to me.  I can't even imagine, hardly.  I also can't wait to hear the worship taking place...all the different voices singing, all the different types of music, and to hear how perfectly it all blends together in the most amazing harmonies.  

I was reading in my devotion today {the one my mom-in-love gave me} about worship...the author wrote that if we don't enjoy worship here on earth, then we can't imagine what it will be like in Heaven...or we don't look forward to it.

I do, though!  This devotional that I'm doing is called Will You Worship, and it's written by Ray Jones.  I've been convicted {and challenged} of paying closer attention to the words I'm singing while in church services.  To sing them back to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  This author suggested that we might even be ministering to God!

Little old us...ministering to the King of Kings!  But it makes sense.  Don't you think He loves to hear us sing to Him?  To fully worship Him?  

I do.  

I'm so thankful for this book that I'm going through.  {Thank you, Phyllis!}  And I'm thankful for all these nights recently we've spent in church.  For Revival.  God is up to something big...and I think we might have gotten a little glimpse of it over the past couple of weeks.  Hearts of many people have been stirred here in The Ville.  And what started at Revival, well, I pray that God keeps it going.  I pray we don't ever become complacent.  I pray that I will forever hunger and thirst for the Lord God Almighty.  I pray He makes me crave His word every moment of every single day of my life.  I pray He continues to give me the strength to memorize it, because the more I memorize, the more He recalls it to my memory when I act in a way that isn't what He desires, like if I'm being disrespectful to my husband, or if I'm tearing down with my words.

I am so thankful for these things I've written about tonight.  I need to apologize for the doom and gloom style of posts I've taken to writing lately.  I promise to do better at encouraging and no more venting.  I might be tempted...but I pray God reminds me of these words.  

Let's encourage one another...build one another up {Ephesians 4:29}!  I promise to do my best.  Will you join me?

Also...can I challenge you?  Read God's word.  It's the single most important book you will ever read.  Ruth is good.  Esther is good.  Daniel is amazing.  Or start in the New Testament, like in the book of John.  Or James...whew, I love that book.  Rules for living.  Colossians is good.  Philippians.  There are so many that are so amazing!

  If you have a smart phone, get the YouVersion app, and browse through their Bible reading plans.  I started a new one today, one that goes along with the new series on The History Channel, The Bible.  

Or you could read something that will lead up to Easter.  I plan on reading through a plan the week before Easter.  It's a seven day plan.  

There are yearly plans, 52-day plans, one week plans...you name it, they've got it.  

Pick up the Bible and start reading it.  I dare you to just try it, and see how your life will change.  See how God blesses you.  

I dare you.  

Love to all. 

day 123, Sunday

You know how we were going to look for another church?  One more similar to what we came from?  Well, it's funny how God has a sense of humor. 

We were encouraged to stay and try the Revival that was happening at CFBC.  So we did, and we've decided we're not going anywhere.  It's funny how God can enlighten you that maybe it's not the church that needs to change, but the people from within. 

The people being us.  Me. 

Between the nights/days of Revival at church and a new devotion that I'm doing that my mom-in-love gave me {titled, Will You Worship?}, God is showing me some things.  He's showing Todd some things, too. 

Not only Todd, but the majority of the men in our church.

Because it's not about the building you meet in, or the kind of church it is {as long as it's a Bible believing church}.  It's about the people inside the church...us.  Me.  And the condition of our hearts. 

Through the nights I sat and listened to the speaker at the Revival, God has shown me that what needs to change is my time with Him...something Steve called a holy hour.  I'm going back to putting God first.  Not Todd.  Not my kids. 

Not the computer and definitely not Facebook.

Speaking of that, I'm not on the computer much these days.  I get on briefly in the morning to check my email and maybe update my status on Facebook {although since Friday, I haven't even done that.} and write a blog post and maybe read some of my favorite blogs if I have time.  I might not get to all of that, though.  I'm only doing this now because Todd is home sick today and he and Jonah are watching Alaska State Troopers.  I'm letting the other boys sleep in, because a couple of them have been having issues at night.

And all of that only comes after I've spent an hour {give or take} alone with God.

He is first. 

I'm praying that what God has done at CFBC through the two week Revival keeps happening.  I pray that what He started in the hearts of many in our church continues.  I pray that we overflow from the building in which we meet into the town/city around us.  I pray that my loved ones who do not know Him come to know Him.  I pray that He uses me in some way to reach them. 

I am thankful for the fact that people at church  loved us enough to encourage us to stay and try Revival.  I am thankful for a pastor who allowed a Revival team to come and take residence and completely take over our church for two full weeks.  I am thankful for the work God has started.  I pray that it continues.

Love to all. 

day 122, Saturday March 2nd

Only in Memphis does it wait until March to snow.  And would you believe that it snowed here all day, with nothing on the ground to show for it?  Only in Memphis, I tell you.

Operation delete the Facebook app from my cell phone is working miracles.  I feel so less connected to the world, and happier.  I got on Facebook tonight for a few minutes after I got home, and I'm finding myself already getting agitated.  Why in the world do I keep feeling this way about this stupid social networking website?!!?!  Maybe it's the comparison thing.  With Facebook around, it's almost impossible not to compare your life with the lives of others.

I'm not saying I haven't ever put anything up like that...I have, trust me.  Not intentionally, but I know that some people took it the wrong way.  It's making me re-evaluate things.  I will definitely think twice about what I post from here on out.  I for sure will think about the way it might make people feel.

Maybe it's just me.  Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive.  I can't seem to help it here lately.  Have I mentioned to you that I feel like I've lost certain "friends" since I started homeschooling?  I do feel that way, still.  People I thought were my friends...turns out, maybe not so much.  There are three for sure that I feel that way about, and I feel like my kids are suffering because of it.  They're probably not really suffering...it's probably me being sensitive.  I just can't help but feel left out (for them) when I see/hear about certain groups of kids getting together... doing things that my kids would have been invited to a few months ago...and now, all of a sudden, aren't in their little group of friends anymore. 

It makes me want to scream.  Or cry.  Or both.

I feel like their group of friends is shrinking.  I'm scared that they're losing touch with school kids.  I'm worried that it's awkward for them, now that they're homeschooled.  (Just keepin' it real.)  I don't want them to go through these things!  I'll be honest and say that this is one reason I was looking forward to not going back to Collierville First Baptist.  There are so many groups of kids there from school, that I fear they will no longer fit in.  (Maybe they do fit in...hopefully they do.  Hopefully I'm wrong.)

Jonah and Noah are fine~there are lots of families that homeschool with their age group of friends.

It's the youth that worry me.  Case in point~tomorrow night is a huge event in Memphis called Winter Jam.  I want my boys to go (with Todd, of course), and preferably with a group of kids from church, but I'm not sure if that will happen.  I know Graham was texting one friend about a group of them meeting, but this was a girl that he was talking to, and I would love for some boys to go.

Again...I'm not sure if any of this will happen.  Maybe it will.  Who knows?

Just talking out my frustrations.  Venting, I guess.  (Are you sick of me doing this yet?  It seems I've been doing this a lot lately!)  I hate being emotional...I wear my heart on my sleeve, and sometimes I feel like I get my feelings hurt so easily.  :(

As I wrap this sob story up, I'm sure you're wondering what I have written about that I'm thankful for.  Well, let me tell you, I'm thankful that I can turn all this over to God.  1 Peter 5:7 says that we can cast all our cares upon Him, because He cares for us.  All of them~our worries, fears, insecurities, thoughts~He will gladly bear our burdens.

God knows how sensitive I am, and I know that these thoughts will soon disappear.  I know that a lot of what I said is unwarranted, and I know that I am most likely wrong about a lot of it.  I'm glad...I want to be wrong about this stuff!!

And on the very teeny tiny chance that I'm not wrong, then I know that whatever happens, He is there with me.  He is there to impart wisdom and guidance on how to parent these boys of mine in these days.  It's not easy...this parenting thing, but I'm thankful I have Him to lean on.

I'm thankful that I homeschool my boys, and that we will make a lesson of how to treat others...and what to say and not to say, and how to say it.  I almost can't wait till Monday morning...I have an idea for a Bible study rolling around in my brain that I am anxious to get started on.  It's on the life of David~a man after God's own heart.  I plan on starting in 1 Samuel and just working our way through.  We might make a whole school day out of it, who knows?

I'm thankful for some inspiration.

Thanks for reading/listening.

Love to all.   

day 121, Friday

I love time with my dad.  Today didn't disappoint, as usual.  I recommended Chick Fil A or Backyard Burger for lunch, but he was craving Cracker Barrel.  ;)  It was so good...we had chicken & dumplings, one kid had shrimp, one had a burger, one had catfish and the other had a pork chop.  YUM! 

My dad got coffee with his meal, and do you know how amazing their coffee is?  I took a drink of his and oh my word.  I loved it so much that he bought me a bag of it when he paid the bill!  How sweet is he?!  I'm enjoying some as we speak.

Today, I am thankful for the gift of laughter.  I enjoyed several moments of it today.  Daddy and I got to laughing at a childhood memory of mine that involves my best friend from that time, Stacy.  It was Christmas time, and we had decorated the tree that night.  We munched on sausage balls the whole time...and ate too many, apparently.  I got sick and made it to the bathroom just in the nick of time. 

Stacy, on the other hand is a different story.  The minute I laid back down in bed, she hurtled over me and starting throwing up the second her feet hit the floor.  The only reason I can explain how high she managed to get it, was because it was projectile.  I have never seen anything like it.  She threw up the entire way down the hall.  And poor Daddy and Sandy...they must have been up for two hours cleaning up after her.  It was a good thing they loved that girl so much.

Over the years, she and I enjoyed laughing over that story many times.  We still do, in fact, when we talk.

The other moments of laughter tonight consisted of my children embarrassing the daylights out of me at Costco.  They dared Drew's friend Will to eat something gross and when he did, Graham had to sing the most hilarious song I have ever heard, called, Penguin Power Team.  He looks adorable when he sings it, and I was crying I was laughing so hard...because people were staring at him.  I got a video of him singing it here at home, but gmail won't let me email it to myself from my phone.  :-(  If I figure out a way to work it out, I'll come back and edit.

Drew dared Will again and this time, Drew had to sing this song.

When he started the second chorus, he got really loud, and people were stopping and staring.  I was about to crawl under the table.  I thought it was my job to embarrass them, not the other way around! 

But it's okay.  I wouldn't trade these moments for anything in the world...embarrassment and all. 

James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with Whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change." 

Every good and perfect gift is from Him...and my boys are my gifts.  Love to all.