Worship is so nice.

Snowing really???? I am really ready for spring yes I know winter is my favorite season but the snow can stay away until a later date. I posted something like that on facebook yesterday and someone commented who are you and what have you done with Billie? I had to laugh at that. This morning I woke up with a worship song in my head and the first words out of my mouth were Good Morning God How Are You Today? I then spent some time in prayer my early morning was good. I talked yesterday about what the first thing we think about in the morning is, and challenged you all to make God your first thought so I have to say it was very pleasant to have God playing worship in my mind. I am thinking there are different forms of worship the singing and dancing for God, the quiet fellowship on our knees, and the kind that you wake up to, I feel that it is our spirits that are in worship when we have songs like Shine Jesus Shine running through our heads when we first wake up. How ever you worship God I am sure it is pleasing to Him. Anyway due to interruptions from the kids I am going to sign off have a peacefully blessed day everyone.

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

When you wake up first thing in the morning is it Coffee or God you think about?

I walked into my usual hangout spot in the mornings and was informed I was late it made me smile. It is nice to have a routine and that I am expected to be somewhere and missed when I am not there. I have been thinking about God and that little tid bit of info and realize that we should have a routine with Him. We should wake up and say good morning God how are you today? we should be eager to dive deep into His word so we can learn what He has to teach us. How many of us think about coffee the moment we wake up???? I am raising my hand here too so you are not the only one. I do quietly pray and talk to God but, I realized today I do not have a routine with Him and I bet He misses me. I have decided that I want to include Him in my morning routine. I am going to try to get up and greet God first before I do anything else...hey I have plenty of time on my hands I can find an online Bible to read or bring my own for that matter. My point is I need to make God my routine before anything else and, I admit that I do not always do that. Life gets in the way and I get distracted and reading my Bible tends to not be the priority. I do pray everyday and talk to God and I pray with my kids but, there is oh so much more I can do and I am determined to do it. I know I know that sometimes routines can get old and can make us feel like we are in a rut but, I think God may just have something else in mind God is not boring He may be the same yesterday, today and forever but in our life stability is a must to keep our sanity sane. I want to challenge you all to make God your routine make Him the one you greet first in the morning.

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

Fleeting Thoughts~

I had a really good idea for a post or a section of my book or something but alas it was a fleeting thought and I lost it, and can not seem to find it again. I started thinking about that and realized how often do we have fleeting thoughts, ideas or words? Yes I said words...so before I start I looked up the word fleeting and in the Merriam Websters online dictionary Fleeting means: passing swiftly.....Wow ok so back to fleeting words, how often do our words pass swiftly and soon are forgotten? When we say we will pray for someone or, we will stay in contact or, that we will do something, do we follow through? It also reminds me that as Believers we are examples of who God is. If we have fleeting words we are not showing God's true nature. If we are fleeting then the chances are they will think God is fleeting as well, and that is so NOT the case. In our everyday lives we face so much but, God is always there for us and He ALWAYS does what He says He will do. We are NOT a fleeting thought for God and I am eternally thankful for that so back to us......When we tell someone something we need to follow through, plain and simple whether it is our kids, friends, family or a perfect stranger whoever it is we need to not be fleeting to them. Think about this if we are fleeting with our kids how will they be as adults? I am not willing to find out that is for sure. The only thing I want to be fleeting is the ugly things in our life those can pass as swiftly as they want to and it will not bother me in the least. I want to be known as a follow througher....(yes I know it is not a word but I said it anyway) not someone who only speaks.....actually having a fleeting word in my opinion is no better than lying and the Bible says in Colossians 3:9-10 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. (NIV) When we become Believers we take off our old selves and put on new ones. I believe, if we are to be in the image of our Creator then we need to follow through with the things we say we will do so, the example we set will be a reflection of God not sin.

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

You Are God's Favorite Kid....We All Are!

I am sitting watching the school buses going by reminiscent of the days when I was on one of those big yellow statements with flashing lights begging people to see me. I miss my job I really do the time when I could say I had about 100 kids or more and the funny looks that I get from people awww those were the days. As much as I miss it I am sure that God has something so much bigger and better in store for me and I am excited and nervous at the same time but, it is a good kind of nervous. I am reminded that as we walk through life God will always have His hand in any situation we face, there are times as I have stated earlier that He may allow us to hit a low point but, only to get us back to Him. Nothing is forever here on this hunk of rock we call home and as we face everyday we can say this to shall pass. There are times when we face something that is scary and unknown, we get frustrated and worried and so tied up in knots that we tend to forget that the Master of all can with one tug of His hand untie us and give peace....no matter what we face losing a job or an illness whether it is us or a loved one God will  be there. In my own life I am still learning to let go of me and let God take the wheel and drive I have the feeling I will always be learning. I encourage you all as you walk and learn and weep and wonder keep in mind that the One who loves all, knows all will keep YOU His favorite kid in His hand and no matter what happens He is always in control whether we want Him to be or not!!!! Have a great day all HUGS to you!

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

Saying Sorry?

Today started out badly and I am sorry to say it was my choices that caused it. I talked about Faux Pas yesterday and today I do a big one. on the way to town I was praying and thinking and pondering and I felt like God was saying well apologizing is a good thing. And like I tend to do I argued for a bit....just a short bit and decided ok fine....Yes I gave God attitude this morning kinda like my daughter gives me sometimes. I am not proud of it but, I was then reminded that God loves me anyway and His grace and mercy are unending. Admitting when we mess up is never fun it tends to show people that we are human after all and, sometimes I think we almost believe we are super human. It amazes me how much it hurts our pride to actually say I'm sorry. Honestly it should be something we are compelled to say when we know we have done something that is in need of an apology. Has it occurred to you how hard it is to say those two words....I'M SORRY!? The amazingness of God is so overwhelmingly wonderful that when we do as He ask,s things tend to get easier to do. And how hard do we fight to do those things? Me? if it is not something I want to do I fight tooth and nail and I never win..........I guess the lesson here, is take what God wants to teach us and learn it. Swallow our pride, don't choke now then say and do what we have to, to get things right. Being angry gets nothing but, more anger who wants that? certainly not me. I read on a post this morning instead of filling our life with problems fill it with God and the problems will be small in comparison. When we walk with the constant reminder of our Father his name will be on our lips and His joy will be in our hearts. We may not even feel the weight of the issue because God leaves no room for it. As I have been going about my day this has been on my hear,t we are human we make mistakes but, we have a loving God who will always forgive us and send reminders of what we need to do we just have to listen.

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

Do you Faux Pas? Come Now be HONEST!

I am sitting in McD's this morning listening to the kids play and wondering what I should write about....not such an unusual thing for me except maybe the place.....As I sit here I am hearing the ummmm "older" people talking and some of the conversations are quite interesting to say the least. I think back to when my grandparents were alive and listening to them tell stories and how they spoke and today in hearing these ummmm "older" people it was very different yet they seem to be the same age my grandparents were.  So why am I finding it unusual? the generation is different. I was a child listening to my grandparents and these conversationalists were about my parents age now I am my parents age and they are the older generation. I had always presumed the type of things would be the same but, they are not. What would have been a faux pas back then is now considered acceptable. As Believers do we commit these same faux pas in how we speak or do things? God has never changed how He wants us to live, He has never changed in how he wants us to speak, act or think so what has changed to make some of what we do acceptable in the worlds standards today??? What has changed is the fact that some live by the worlds standards and not by God's. Hey now....if we were honest with ourselves we would admit that we all do it in some way or another yes I said we ALL do it. It is called sinner nature and we are all sinners saved by grace, well we are all sinners some have not been saved....yet...........We should strive to live by God's standards and not the worlds because, He never fails, Never changes and ALWAYS  loves us no matter what faux pas we may commit....can the world say that??? No, nope, nada, negative absolutely NOT!!!!!!! I have a question why would we want to try to live up to imperfect standards for an imperfect world when all it will cause is heartache and disappointment? I can not answer that question can you? I am open to discussion about it. I know I will never be perfect I do not want to be that is entirely to much responsibility. What I do want is to try my very best to live up to the standards God has set and be happy with the fact that He will not let me down or faux pas me in my life. If I do that I have the feeling that no matter what the world thinks of me I am gonna be just fine in the care of my savior my faux pas and all.

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

Got Pharaoh??? NOT!

We are going through Exodus in Church right now and, we are in the part where Moses is trying to get Pharaoh to let God's people go. Of course Pharaoh being....um Pharaoh has said NO!!!! Now oh goody here comes the plagues.....The first is all the water turning to blood and the fish among other things are dead and the smell EWWWWW! Ok moving on by the way the next one is on it's way but, the thing that stood out to me the most is my Pastor said (side note I may not get it word for word but, I think I have the jist of it) God will sometimes bring us to our lowest point when we have no where else to go but, to God......I have to say that it kinda sounds a tad scary but, if we think about it, if all of the things that happen to us are meant to bring us closer to God, and He brings us to our lowest point to get us back to Him that is a good thing. He must think we are strong enough to handle it so I say bring it!!!! But, how long we are there may very well depend on us.... (that little bit was my idea). In some cases coming to our lowest point tends to make us stay there and that can be a very dangerous place to be....yes I said dangerous we walk away from God, and we harden our hearts. By doing that I am thinking the more like Pharaoh we will become and I do not want to be where he was. I am going to guess that he did not go up when he died and he is probably thinking he should have listened to Moses when he had the chance. On the other hand some tend to be more like Job and figure there is a lesson to be learned and they wait and see what God has in store. They continue to move forward and look toward God with the faith and courage it takes to know God will bring them through...I have to say I know a few people that are going through things in their life that I can not even begin to understand their feelings and yet they are looking to God and trusting Him even though the outcome is unknown. My friends I pray we can all have that kind of trust and faith in God knowing He is walking with us no matter where we are at. If not I pray that God will send someone to you to help you and pray for you having a friend can make a huge difference. When we think the world is against us remember that When God is for us no one will be against us (paraphrasing here) and I can say even if God is allowing us to be in the low place He is still for us.

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

If You Only Knew

I wish I could take all the hurt away, and make you smile each and everyday, even when things seem to be so tough I wish I could just hold you up. I know that there is a pain you feel and I can only pray to the one who will heal, as you go though out your day I hope that you remember to stop and pray. He can give you peace and move the mountains and quiet the sea. He can touch your heart and calm your soul He can take the broken you and make you whole. All the worries, stress and fears He can and will make them all disappear, all that is required of you is to ask and let go of this worrisome task. I pray that you learn to trust in the Lord for the peace and guidance you desire. Things in your life will come and go, they will be new and some will be old, there will be lessons to learn and disappointments in life but, the joy of God WOW if you only knew, will bring new meaning into this thing called life to put an end to the hatred and strife. The most important thing you should know is God loves you more than you can see and He will bring to you life that is everlasting...so I am praying you will come to your knees with your heart full of worry so that He can bring peace Let God have your sorrow and this worrisome plight so you do not have to keep fighting with all of your might. And pray for the one who is causing you pain so God can heal them and bring joy once again.

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

P.S.
My son is going through a rough time keep him in your prayers please.

Minor hassles? Or Ginormous Molehills?

Life as we see it can be complicated sometimes and overwhelming at times and just plain discombobulating....right? Right! I believe we over think things and turn minor hassles into ginormous molehills. I was talking to my son today and sometimes I think that I do not always express what I am trying to say very well and I think it makes him feel less then adequate. I have to say it is never my intentions to do that but, I do and I feel oh so bad about it. I really would like to see both my kids succeed in their lives and my son struggles so much that he gets frustrated and then just stops trying.....Me in trying to help him and encourage him to keep trying and keep working hard even when he wants to give up I think makes him feel not so good. I know life is not easy and as they grow they will face challenges that I have not had to face as a kid and honestly it scares me but, I know that God is in control and He will guide my kids to where He wants them only if they let him.......I can not go to school for them but I can do my best to help them and I can pray for them....The power of Prayer is a mighty thing and if we utilize it like we should our minor hassles will stay just that....do not get me wrong we may very well have ginormous molehills too but they will not be our making.......and when we have to face those molehills with God as our hang glider it will be an easier trip. We will have to go down into the valley at times and learn the lessons that wait for us there but as we look to the top we will have a feeling of accomplishment that no one but God can provide and remember to say Thank You to God even if you do not feel like it. The Lord is our Shepherd we shall NOT want but to get there we have to release control. I guess my point is I have to let go of my kids and let God have them and trust that He will have His hand on their lives and not let go so that I can. Letting go is not easy and I do not want to but, I have to. I can raise my kids and pray for them but when it comes to decisions in their life I can not make them they have to so God take them, guide them and help them to go where you want them to.......

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

Embrace the Challenge!

I have to say it has been an interesting experience going back into the trailer and now finding a place to go and hang out during the day until it is time to go volunteer or go to an appointment. I got my new computer and I am so loving it and I am hoping I can start posting everyday again. As usual it is raining in the lovely State of Oregon but, that is nothing new now is it? awww well moving on like the traffic.....I am working hard on the book I started in November hoping to finish it soon, I hope I can find someone to edit it for me since, I am not good at doing that....as you may notice in my blog, punctuation is not my strength and I wanted to be an English teacher ha go figure. I have to say God is good and life is settling down as we get used to our cramped quarters once again, now let's see if we can keep the kids from fighting all of the time. I am loving the view of the bare trees and basking in Gods beautiful creation but, alas I am ready for Spring and warmer weather I want to get my shorts out and start on my tan. My hubby turns 40 this year and I am planning a surprise birthday party for him I can not wait to give him the gift the kids and I picked out for him. With the Spring comes new life and Birthdays and new promises of a brighter future I am embracing this challenge and not running from it I am facing the Rheumatoid Arthritis, the smaller living quarters and all the challenges that come with it with a positive outlook (at least I am trying when I hurt it gets hard) God will walk with me and carry me when I need it I am in the best hands I could ever be in.....embrace your future take the challenges as they come and let God see you through every step you take.....it is so much easier then running away because it is a path you have to take eventually and the sooner you start the sooner you will finish it. We always go through things for a reason let God and the ones that love you be your strength when you seem to have none....God Bless You All.

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas

Hello Again:

Hello all I have been away for a bit but, today I am checking in. The big stressful move is now done and my family and I are now again living in our travel trailer. I am looking at it as another adventure in the book of my life and leaning on God to guide us through. I am believing it is only temporary and that God has something so much better in store for my family. Where we are at now is peaceful and beautiful unlike where we were before and that in itself is a true blessing. I have to say God has provided yet again and the difference this time is I actually recognize it and thanked Him from the bottom of my socks because my heart is not quite big enough to hold the gratitude I am feeling.......now some of my feelings are a tad mixed and some frustration remains I have to admit that one but, with the grace of God I will walk through this with only minor abrasions and my head held high. God is good and greatly to be praised. Our journey will not be all peaches and cream there will be I am sure some grapefruit and and lemons but to that I say lets make cheesecake it is so much sweeter. My hubby and I are coming to the decision that we think we may be home schooling the kids with just a few classes at the public school during the day.....we are not firm on that yet but, it is in our minds. With all of the changes our days start early and nights end sooner but we are adjusting to it I think and it will really be OK as Mark Lowry says his life verse is "It came to pass" so I leave you with this be grateful no matter what you may be facing God is always with you and there will always be something to thank Him for....God Bless you all

That's my thought for the day,

Crazy for Christmas