join together..LIVE FOR HIM!

**Note-fixed the link to the post-sorry!

A wonderful, encouraging post (January 26 post), reminding us, God is not religion. God is ALIVE AND ACTIVE! He requires from us faith, love, dedication, perserverance, belief in His mighty works and love, prayer, humility, repentance...and trust...His grace is sufficient. Live free, fight for His Word!

God bless you prayer warriors! Lift up our Lord! Lift up your families, friends, neighbors, His children...to Him! In Jesus most precious name, amen!

peace...

Our day to day life brings with it joys, tears, fears, anger, guilt, sorrow, forgiveness, peace, healing, acceptance, denial, love, worry, revelation, irritations, simple pleasures...the list can go on...

But when all is said and done, we can and should bring it all to the feet of our Heavenly Father. He is the creator of all and knows the whys, how's, who's and what's that we are trying so hard to figure out. Letting ourselves fall into the worries of our own minds, or the world is something the enemy uses to steal our peace that God gives to us.

Leviticus 26:6" 'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.

Numbers 6:26the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Ezekiel 37:26I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.

Haggai 2:9'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."

Malachi 2:5"My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.

Matthew 5:9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Mark 5:34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

Luke 7:50Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Luke 10:5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.'

Luke 19:38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

As women, the Lord has blessed us with the gift of nurturing, peacemaking, serving, friendships, mothering, mentoring and the role of wife. However, with that, our sinful nature can take on the evils of selfishness, temptations, provocativeness, guilt, shame, anger, denials, persuasiveness, coniving hearts, stubborness, desires of perfection and failure to submit when He requires us to. That is much to struggle and deal with, without the loving help, guidance of our Heavenly Father.

God created us in His image. He created our children, our husbands, our families, neighbors, strangers..in His image. He created us with His love and beautiful characteristics and placed those traits in us. However, we are not perfect. (Praise the Lord!) If we were, we would be here on this earth, without our Savior, Jesus Christ, left to fend for ourselves, to die hopeless lives, not seeking Him or His strength.

God's Word is our guide, our comfort, our strength, our rock to stand on, and our shelter from the storms. We are precious and lovely to Him, not because we deserve to be, filthy sinful cloths, hearts and all, but because He, in His grace and mercy called us back to Him and paid the ultimate price for our sinful souls. He died on the cross and shed His blood to cover us, to shield us, to love us, to protect us...to bring His children back to Him, and some day home. He does not desire for us to live in the darkness of our souls and of the lies of the enemy.

He has ALREADY paid the price that we DO NOT have to live in that oppresion. WE ARE HIS, HE HAS POURED OUT HIS SPIRIT UPON US, and we do not need to live in fear or shame. We need only to cling to Him, rest in His care, call upon His name and give Him all we have, just that tiny bit of a mustard seed, that He will grow, nurture and cultivate into the precious child He knit in your mother's womb, whom He knew even before the days of time, you.

We are to live freely in Him...and every moment we stumble, we fall, we sink into those recesses of darkness, He is there to help us out, save us, give us hope, strengthen and encourage us and love the child He created.

Live freely in Him, for, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
(John 14:27)

His word is truth and His promises He gives us are solid as the rock of His house, which can never be destroyed. May you find the comfort in the peace He gives you in the storms and in the calm. REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN HIM! Amen!

God bless you and praying for you,

a sinner, saved only by His grace...

the false race...

I've had a good chuckle the past few days as it seems something the Lord has put on my heart, He confirms to me in a post done by one of my dear friends in her blog-don't ya love the way the Lord works!

So again this has happened, the Lord has revealed to me in the past couple days to enjoy the moment! I'm constantly trying to hurry (because I'm generally running late), to get this done, get in the car, get to school, get out of the car, get the laundry done, cook the meal, finish the dishes, pick up, cook another meal, do the dishes, clean up, baths (hopefully!), hurry get a story, get kiddos to bed, time with hubby, check the bank, bills, what did I forget, think about the undending list that I haven't even gotten to...sit and zone out for a minute, bed...and then start again, ALL of it, over again. The Lord showed me this race, this rush for a finish line that doesn't exist. I'm rushing through the book and not enjoying what it's about, trying to get to another book so I can get through the entire bookcase of books and when I finally get through all the books, what will I have to say about all the books...well, I read them all quickly so I could finish them but I didn't really enjoy any of them, maybe a few pages here and there, but that's it and all I have to show for it...an empty bookcase. Is this what I want to tell the Lord on the precious day I meet Him? I made it through all the days you gave me but I didn't really enjoy all that you had for me because I was rushing to the next day...and I missed your blessings in between.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. -Matthew 6:34

I am missing my days. I am running a race that doesn't exist. I am letting the enemy steal my joy in the little things, yes, even including the laundry, the meals, the dishes, oh, and the precious times of stories, bath time, tickle-time, prayers, tucking in...the filling of "love banks" with the love of Jesus (for all of us).

So today I say, no more! I shall enjoy every day You have given me, Lord (at least try my best ;0) ) I want to find joy in the little things, to treasure the days You have given me, for You have told me they are numbered. Lord, I want to be able to say, yes, through the trials and joys I saw you, Lord, and I tried my hardest to show Your love to others and to glorify you, Lord. For you are my strength, my rock and my everlasting, loving, precious Father and You pour out your grace upon me, not because I deserve it but simply because you love me. Father, please help to see you in the moments...and enjoy all you've blessed us with. I love you, Lord:)

Praying my friends, you too are enjoying the moments, finding joy in the things that aren't the most pleasant (like cleaning stinky potties-because, Praise the Lord, we have potties to clean and family to make them stinky!) May He be first in your life, make the time and commitment to Him, He surely does for us (I am so guilty of not doing this).

He gently reminds us that He is in control and how small we are when those things happen in life that completely knock our day out of whack. Thus the importance, He is teaching me, of putting Him first in my life, enjoying every moment, doing what needs to be done (for He has alloted the time to do it) and treasuring and storing up His Word in my heart, upon my lips and in my mind.

Yes, He is good ALL THE TIME...

God bless you and praying with you, as I pray you will with me also :)

1000 gifts (21-30)

21. this new little life...

22. friends near and far

23. three precious boys enjoying God's creation and natural beauty...finding joy in a small hill of snow and making it fun~being content :)

24. missing hubby & greatly appreciating his return from trip and his presence here

25. hubby grocery shopping

26. little kicks :)

27. this warm blanket

28. laundry being caught up

29. a roof over our heads

30. His grace...for it is sufficient for thee...

We celebrate with you Terri!

I am so pleased to share my sweet friend, Terri's new season with the Lord! The Lord has placed a gift in her that she has patiently waited on Him to allow her to use. We praise the Lord together in celebrating Terri's sharing in her new writings (she is also the author of this blog,) and the joy that she is overflowing with! The Lord has great and mighty plans and what an honor to glorify Him in His timing and this next step in Terri's writings and her sharing of His Word and what He has placed upon her heart! Congratulations my friend! I pray you will also will be blessed by her words and her walk with the Lord...

God bless:)

how exciting!

I'm so excited! For those who know me, I have had a "supposed" school room for four years. It has ALWAYS been a junk room, filled to the brim with books, papers, old bills, and plain ol' stuff! Well, for the first time, I've actually cleaned this room out (just waiting on a small couch that will go in the middle of the wall)! I've always tried before, had precious friends come in and help, even outside help, but it has never progressed to a finished room-a functional room! This time, my precious husband came in and cleared out half of it with the kids (donating and throwing away an atrocious amount of toys) and then he instructed me where I needed to tackle (this is something I needed or else I just stare and shut down!)

So my dear hubby is gone this week for work and I made it my goal to clean it out and finish it by the time he gets back-yay-I finished 2 days before his return! So as wonderful as this is, that I actually completed something, it gets even better! My three precious boys wandered in throughout this evening, finding some toys, playing on the keyboard, helping me put up posters, and then just looking at the posters, asking about presidents, etc. I was in awe that the room was functioning as it was supposed to---I was humbled and thanked the Lord.

We finished our evening by sitting on the floor and reading our posters that have the 10 Commandments, The Lord's Prayer and a great one that has "The 21 Rules of This House". What a blessing! We've been reading God's Word and discussing it for past three nights in the evening and what an amazing gift. This is something we sadly don't do on a regular basis, besides church.

The Lord has been using this time of my hubby being away to continue to work on my heart. He has shown me a huge heart issue of my choices and behaviors and basically what my motivation is behind me making better choices. Generally, the choices are made because my husband keeps me accountable, but him not being here has forced me to make these choices because they are the right choices, not just because "I should." What a revelation! I am SO glad our precious Heavenly Father is so very patient!

So, the rest of the home is in need of cleaning:) Tonight I will finish vanilla cupcakes with blue icing for my sweet oldest who tomorrow will be 8. Time truly does go quickly, you never believe it when someone tells you this when you're in the throws of diapers, sleepless nights, crying and spit-up. But I can say now to those moments, enjoy them while they're there because the little ones become men (in my case!) before you've even finished snuggling. Enjoy the seasons...the Lord has a season for all things and times. Choosing to follow His Word and making sacrificial choices with time...for playtime, school time, outside time or reading time are so worth the effort of earlier rising, cleaning instead of doing a favorite hobby or saying later (not never) to a ministry opportunity, girl's outings etc. This is what He is pressing upon my heart...and I desire to be in His will and seek His peace that He offers to me..and to you too. How precious...a season for all things...and for those we love and to rest in the love of Jesus.

God bless you...

Little hands...

Remembering our little ones, their gentle touches, needed hugs, just a moment of your time, a lifetime on their hearts...will you choose to take that moment, just that small moment and let the rest go...fill up a heart...and show the precious love of Jesus?

A precious post...

God bless,

2 Must reads...to begin this new year fresh in Him...

1.) article on how many books he has read...you'll be surprised!
(I linked to this article also from Ann@a holy experience, January 3)

2.) One of my favorite blogs-she encourages, shares and speaks what He has placed on her heart...a mama of 6, humbling trying to make it through the day, loving her husband, family, schooling...all on His strength! This post speaks of our morning day with the Lord (so helpful to me!)

May your day be fresh and new in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...for our days are numbered, and so are the ones of our loved ones...and others.

May HIS blessing be upon you!
Bree

the sheep...

Excerpt from Why I am a Christian by John Stott:

"The Hound of Heaven"

(excerpt from)

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears

I hid from Him, and under running laughter.

Up vistaed hopes I sped;

And shot, precipitated,

Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,

From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.

But with unhurrying chase,

And unpreturbed pace,

Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,

They beat-and a Voice beat

More instant than the Feet-

"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."

--Francis Thompson

"Francis Thompson spent a lonely and loveless childhood, and failed successively in his attempts to become a Roman Catholic priest, a doctor (like his father) and a soldier. He ended up lost in London until a Christian couple recognized his poetic genius and rescued him. Throughout these years he was conscious of both pursuing and being pursued, and he expressed it most eloquently in his poem "The Hound of Heaven."

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

...Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

-Psalm 23:4,6

'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing

in heaven over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine righteous persons

who do not repent.

-Luke 15:6-7

He never stops pursuing us. We are His sheep, the Lord our shepard. How precious to know we are His...and those we love who have wandered off, He loves so much more and He is pursuing, and will never stop until they come home...our Great and Mighty God, the Creator...wow.

Have a blessed day, for He is with you...in Jesus most precious name...