On Bended Knee

Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord, be it unto me according to Your word. (Luke 1:38)

I am not sure if all the ‘ details’ of this struggle are Your will, but, these are my circumstance right now—I cannot change my circumstances, I have tried (in vain!)

All I can do is trust You.  Wait upon You.  Oh, I could fight and thrash and fuss and whine about it. (which I have, sadly)  Or, I could rest and trust and wait.

For, YOU,  Maker of the universe knows my name and has formed me for Your very own.  You hold my fragile heart, with all its wild passions and dreams in Your hands.  You love me with a deep and everlasting love. 

Your thoughts towards me are of peace and hope.  You do all things well.  ALL things. (period)  I was created for Your glory, show me how to best represent You in my circumstances.

A love so divine . . . demands my soul, my life, my all.

We all have secret dreams, hidden struggles or difficult circumstances, right?  I purposely didn’t share the specifics of my current ‘struggles’ because they really are irrelevant.  The answer is the same no matter the circumstances, the dreams surrendered, the struggle or pain. 

He loves us. Period

We were created for HIS glory, not our comfort or wants.  Period

There is but one position, on bended knee, bowing before our King, saying, ‘behold, the handmaiden of the Lord, be it unto me according to Your word.’

The enemy may roar, but this is, by far, the safest, most glorious place we could be.

Blessings,

Michelle

Two Years Ago, Today

Today marks the two year anniversary of the Lord healing and delivering me from Severe Adrenal Exhaustion and all its hideous symptoms!

I, once again, awoke with a smile on my face.  And I remember full well how surprised I was.

He has continued to turn my mourning into dancing.

When I read over all the physical aspects of my healing, I stand amazed.  I simply cannot believe where I am in life and the things I am able to do after being so sick for so long.

When I look back over how the Lord orchestrated our every step, I am so humbled and in awe.

It was most definitely a slow fade, lies of the enemy building over the years that I believed.  BUT GOD!

I came across this video last week and was stunned at the power and truth in it.  It is a bit strong, but the message is one of strength.  I weep every time I see it.  I feel like this song/skit could be my testimony, perhaps change out a few of the temptations, but the deliverance that the Lord has done was spot on.  I  believe He does this for all of us, it just might not be as dramatic as some. 

Two years ago today, it was nothing short of dramatic.  This woman is on her knees thanking her Savior! Praise Him with me?

How Do You Make Perfect?

How does one make a perfect day?  You add the following ingredients together:

• littles scrambling to clean the house, light candles and put table cloths on all surfaces
• my favorite tea served with a long quiet time
• breakfast served in my room
• coming out to hugs and homemade cards and notes
• blue skies and sunshine and mild temps
• visit from adult children and grandbaby
• yeah, I know, beautiful
• listening to my son worship and play his new guitar
• fun family photos

• dancing with each of the men in my life

• my requested delicious lasagna dinner
• a nap with the breeze blowing on me
• a walk at a new lovely park, complete with a beautifully restored historic barn
• ‘it tastes so good it must be wrong’ molten chocolate chip cookies with chocolate oozing out and a scoop of vanilla ice cream

• a shower and favorite perfume
• sitting listening to all the beautiful evening songs from the birds

• the most amazing (but normal ) children

• this man! ( I love this picture of us!)

So many more little delights throughout the day.  Amazing grace.  Amazing love.  I so needed a day to refocus me on the most important ‘job’ I may ever do, being a mama.

I pray you had a lovely day and that your Father gave you all YOU needed today.

 

Satisfied?

I have been struggling again, with emotions, thoughts, feelings.  A universal discontent in my heart.  I know it is not really me, but the thoughts the enemy plants, but I allow them to grow.

The battle has been intense again, of late.  I am well aware that hormones play a role, as the cycle seems, well, cyclical.  I am also aware that that is no excuse to participate with the wrong thoughts, but it does make the battle that much harder.  BUT, His grace is sufficient and victory is indeed mine.

Yesterday, Brian is reading the Light and the Glory to the children, I am only partially listening.  I drift in and out, tired and my mind desperate to figure out why I feel the way I ‘feel’.

A few quotes that drift in as I sit with my eyes closed.

‘Did Christopher not see that as long as he persisted in trying to achieve his own goals in his strength God could not possibly bless him or use him?’

‘How long had it been since he knelt at the foot of his Savior's cross and asked forgiveness for going his own way in so many thing?  How long had it been since he had been willing to accept with a trusting and grateful heart whatever his heavenly Father saw fit to bestow upon him?’ (The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel)

This morning I read a quote from John Piper (I believe)

“God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”

I’ve read it before, but never has it gone so deep in my heart.

Psalm 107:9

For HE satisfied the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

‘willing to accept with a trusting and grateful heart whatever his heavenly Father saw fit to bestow upon him’????

‘satisfied in Him’??  Alone?

He alone can satisfy.  My heart longs to be satisfied, O Lord, in YOU and YOU alone.

What We Do

I have been meaning to let you all know what the Lord is doing with this little ‘business’ that I started, but it has had me hopping.

In short, I began painting furniture for fun, ended up selling it on Craigslist, painted and sold more, started teaching classes on how to paint like I paint, doing custom orders and having two huge sales a year with several open houses in between.

That about sums it up

It all began last August and has been a whirlwind ever since.  It has become a family business of sorts.  I could NEVER paint on this level without the support of Brian and the children and household tasks taking a serious shift.

When I started teaching classes we offered wonderful lunches to all the women and the whole family took part.

Brian handles all of the financial stuff, it just boggles my mind.  I’d rather be painting! 

I cannot tell you how much this has turned into family ministry as much as family business.  We have an opportunity to love on so many different women and some men.  I stand amazed at what the Lord has done.

This past weekend we had our big Spring Shop the Barn Boutique sale.  It was a huge success, not just financially, but also spiritually.  Again, so hard to put into words the magnitude of it all.

I wanted to share a little video (only about 7 minutes long) of our sale.  I start you out in the driveway and walk you through.  I am beyond pleased with how it all turned out; it was exactly how I dreamt it would be.  That’s saying a lot, because I can be pretty unreasonable and hard to please . . . just sayin’.

 

Let me know what you think.  Here is the link to my business website.  {re}imagined just for you