Around the Same Mountain...Want to Join Me?

The Lord has once again been showing me the importance of Joy, Thanksgiving, Gratitude, Praise, ect. We all know so much about these things and even try to implement them in our lives. I seem to be consistent with these for a very short time only to be swallowed up with life, and joy, thanksgiving, gratitude and praise seem so far off in the distance.

Recently I was meditating on the verse we all know and love in Nehemiah. What is it ladies, you know right?

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

(Truth be told, it's only part of a verse, but that is the part I will talk about.)

I have always thought that I had to some how get His joy and then I would have strength. I have prayed for His joy. I have confessed joy. I have meditated on this scripture.

Well, as I was seeking the Lord for wisdom and revelation on this verse, this was my thought process.

'could it be joy "in" the Lord?' ' as I am joyful 'in' You, then I am strengthened?'

I looked up the Hebrew word for 'joy', H2304 (from H2302) meaning rejoice. Rejoice! So, REJOICE in the Lord and I will have strength! (Maybe this was a no brainer for you all, but not for me)

Then I looked up 'strength', H4581: a fortified place, a defence.

Wow, it was becoming clear to me that as I rejoice/praise Him not only am I strengthened but I find myself in a fortified place. Which speaks to me of a safe place, a place where the enemy can't get to me quite so easily.

Then I came across another verse, Psalm 16:11,

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

In His presence is fullness of joy, that joy I desperately need for victory, for strength. Hmmm, how do we enter into His presence, where that fullness of joy is?? That's right, Psalm 100:4

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Are you seeing this yet? Are you lacking that strength you need for your day? Do you seem to barely be one step ahead of the enemy most days? Praise, give thanks, rejoice!!!

It has been on my heart to get more consistent with my Gratitude Journal again and now I see why. I see how that is the answer to many of my struggles. Rejoicing, being thankful, praising.
Might be a simple message, but I'm a simple woman. Isn't it so cool when He lets us peek behind the 'why' to His commands? He tells us to rejoice, be thankful, to praise, and we should simply because He says so. But how cool when He shows us why.

Woo Hoo! Sourdough Success!

I have dabbled into the sourdough world off and on this past year. I have had many failures and few successes.

I let my sourdough starter die months ago and was recently missing it. I really wanted to make the English Muffins that I used to make and just love. Well, God heard the longings of my heart and had my dear friend Cindy call me with some of her extra starter. She remembered that I loved to make the English Muffins and that I had mentioned my starter had died. Isn't she sweet? Thanks, friend!

Do you see how beautiful these loaves are? I don't want to cut into them, I almost don't care how they taste! I think I just want to leave them in a basket and look at them. Don't worry, nobody here will allow such foolishness.

This is the Sourdough Rye recipe that is beyond easy to make.

This link is for the No-Knead Sourdough version. Also so easy. I had to make them both.

Lest you think things always go smoothly around here, just Thursday I made the most perfect sourdough bricks, I mean bread that I used for quite tasty croutons on last night's salad. Never give up, that's my motto ;-)

Aggressively Pursuing Love

A glimpse inside my heart and journal this morning.

I am falling head over heals in love with You, with Your mercy, with all that You are. How can it be that I can love you more? You are enlarging my heart, increasing the capacity to love You more.

I am beginning to see myself as Your cherished bride. I love that word, cherished. It speaks of love, protection, perfect care. It makes me feel so sheltered and loved. An embrace from the Creator of the universe, my King and Lord . . . the Lover of me!

You . . . love . . . me! You . . . cherish . . . me! My heart is being stirred with holy passion for You and Your heart. I long to hear Your voice. I ache to feel Your touch.

I can feel my heart beginning to run after You, dropping the things that once held it bound. I am leaving all this behind, nothing is satisfying anymore~it's You I long for. I care less and less for the things of this world~ I can feel it deep in my very heart. Cause my heart to burn like never before with passion and love for You. I can't seem to get enough of You.

It has happened, I'm ruined! I've become so lovesick for You. I really don't care anymore if others think I'm too radical, gone overboard, too bold, talk about Jesus too much.

I'm crazy in love, ruined, I tell You. I can't get enough of You, but I am going to spend the rest of my days trying. Aggressively pursuing Love!

As Thou Hast Believed . . .

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. (Matthew 8:13)

Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. (Matthew 9:29)

What exactly am I believing? Am I believing that today is going to be the same as tomorrow? Do I believe that today just might be better? Do I believe that there is no hope, the situation is not changing . . . because if I am that might be why that is what I am getting!

As thou hast believed . . . I am challenged to look at what I am believing. What I believe is what I am thinking. Here we go with the 'take every thought captive' principle again ;-)

According to your faith be it unto you . . . Really? What is my faith (what I am believing) in? Ouch!

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! (Matthew 8:26-27)

Why am I fearful over that situation? Even the wind and sea obey Him!! When the wind of doubt comes screaming at me, or a wave of fear . . . when all I hear is GIVE UP, there is no hope . . . when I feel like I am barely able to keep my head above the raging sea, I rise up and say, "I will NOT fear, for even the wind and sea obey You!!"

Check your thoughts, what are you 'believing' for today?

I Got A Do-Over!

You remember last week when I posted about Thoughts and Words? How my words gave my thoughts away, and when I spoke the words of defeat, that gave the enemy an open door to come flooding in?

Well, yesterday I was given another chance, a do-over, a re-do, if you will. Extremely similar circumstances to the other day and there I was faced with the same choice. I felt a holy determination rise up in me. I clenched my mouth shut and went looking for an index card I had written some scripture on some time ago. I found it in my bible and I began to speak out what was on the card. Through gritted teeth at first, and rather quietly because I was really struggling to do this.

We are above only and not beneath. I will not go down or under in these circumstances. I will not give away my peace and joy. I have been given authority and power to trample over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall in any way harm us. The Lord abundantly prospers the work of our hands. He is restoring our fortunes. I will be strong and courageous and firm. I will not fear, for the Lord goes before me, and He is with me. He will not fail me nor forsake me. I will not become broken in spirit.

We are taking our life back, of course there is going to be a battle. The enemy has been exposed, but he is still trying to convince me he wins. Sorry, we win! I have read the Book. I am seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places. I am above, not beneath--God is in the midst of me, I shall not be moved!!

I then found an old favorite Darrell Evans song and put that on the computer and began to sing. (not that I was in the mood for this, you must know ;-)

I was so thankful for the grace to overcome this same temptation to 'go under' in this circumstance. I wish I could say that the rest of the day was perfect, and that the battle is now over. Sorry. The rest of the day was extremely difficult, I even had to do this one more time later in the day. This time sitting on the back deck screaming it out. But, the enemy was kept at bay and unable to infiltrate my mind with his wicked lies. This really is a huge victory and I believe part of a huge lesson in spiritual maturity that my Father is teaching me. Oh, do I have a long way to go, but I am learning and growing!

Look What I Found While I Was Organizing

Do you see all those bottles? Do you know how much money was spent on all those pills? And this isn't even all the supplements I WAS on!

I have since repented for turning to man and man's ways to find healing.

For me, the sins behind Adrenal Fatigue were, fear (as in stress and anxiety), performance, drivenness, and perfectionism, lack of trust in God, self and others. Also, a lot of self-unforgiveness and self- bitterness. Perhaps I will elaborate on these in future posts sharing how they manifested in my life.

To make a very long story short, up to 80% of illnesses have spiritual roots. Meaning, there is sin behind them and when the sin is repented of and removed many people are restored to health. No, not every case is the same nor do ALL illnesses have spiritual roots. Sickness is a curse, though. Deuteronomy 28 lists the blessings and the curses. Not one sickness is in the list of the blessings, but on the contrary sicknesses are in the list of curses.

IF YOU will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God. . .

But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you . . . (Deut. 28:1, 2, 15)

Obedience brings blessings. Disobedience brings curses.

BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!
Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-- Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases . . . (Psalm 103:1-3)

If you are suffering from an illness, it is at the very least worth it to humble yourself and seek the Lord to see if maybe, just maybe, there is a more excellent way. I had to change my mindset (as it was wrong), threw out a bunch of lies, renew my mind, and receive the truth that makes me free.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (3 John 2)

Ungodly Order in the Home

One of our children has stuttered since as far back as we can remember. In the past couple of months we have been studying out the spiritual roots to stuttering and one of them is "ungodly order in the home; matriarchal control/passive male". We began to search our hearts and pray, asking our Father to show us any areas that we needed to submit to Him.

We have certainly come a long way in 22 years, but there were still a few areas that needed to be dealt with. As we listened to teachings and studied this out, here are a few things that really spoke to me.

Fear is always behind a woman controlling or domineering in a marriage. Fear they won't do it right, or good enough. Fear they won't lead. Fear of the consequences if they don't do what we think they should. We, as women, are responders and are created to follow our husbands. Without fear, that is what we long to do. Fear comes in either generationally or in our current generation and perverts our thinking. We don't know what else to do except to take the lead. It might not be in all areas, it might just be one little area or several 'little' areas. Fear must be repented of and removed if we have any hope of submitting to our husbands and allowing them to rise up to be the men God created them to be.

No matter how strong the husband is, if the wife is controlling and usurping his authority, he simply CANNOT be the leader God intended for him to be. It's not that he doesn't want to, it is that he CANNOT! The wife essentially stands in the way of him being the leader.

A few things to keep in mind. Most men do NOT have a godly example of how to be the husbands God had in mind. They may actually come from a long line of passive males that have been dominated by fearful, controlling women. They need our mercy, grace and forgiveness, not our frustration and scorn. They need us to lovingly get out of the way, not with resentment, but with true repentance and love.

When I was really seeking the Lord on this, He began to show me little areas that I was in fear over and therefore refused to follow, and even tried (in vain) to control. It wasn't outwardly obvious. Most people who know me well would not classify me as a 'controlling, domineering woman', but it was there, under the surface.

Finally one day I threw myself on my bed and cried out to God. I repented for the fear that had driven me. I repented for taking control in certain areas. I repented for standing in the way of Brian becoming the leader God created him to be. I released him to the Father, to mold and make him into the man He created, no matter what that would look like.

I then went to Brian and repented, through tears, for controlling things, for wrong thoughts towards him, for feeling like he never did it good enough because it wasn't the way "I" wanted it done, for all the areas that our marriage was out of order because of my fear. I released him from my fearful grip into our loving Father's hands.

It felt so good to not have to carry all those things I 'thought' I had to carry. They were all lies. Brian is an awesome husband, father and leader. He always has been, I have just believed lies in certain areas and by doing so have kept him from being the true leader of this family.

A couple of testimonies that have come out of this is one, our son had been healed and delivered of his stuttering. It is so awesome to hear him speak sentence after sentence without one stutter! (there was more to his healing than just this particular issue)

Two, it seems as though Brian actually has been freed up to be the leader of this family in ways he never was able to be before because of my fears! Like I said, he has always been awesome, but something has shifted in the heavenlies and it is beautiful to behold. I keep telling him the I feel so 'shepherded' by him. I think he sometimes thinks I am crazy because he doesn't really 'feel' all that different. A very cool thing that happened while we were in Georgia was that after I told him that I felt he was doing an awesome job and we felt so 'shepherded', a stranger came up to him and told him he had been observing Brian and saw what a great job he does at being the shepherd of his family! Isn't God so cool?!

(I am speaking somewhat generally here and in no way do I think it is 'just that easy'. I am aware of some pretty horrific marriage situations and I do not intend for this to bring condemnation or come across as a light hearted fix-all. My heart truly aches for those of you who are in these extremely difficult circumstances. My prayer is that the Father lovingly show you your heart and give you grace to trust Him with your circumstances.)

Thoughts and Words

Taking every thought captive has been big in our home of late, since May, actually. That is when the Lord began to unravel many of the messes in our lives and also when He healed me of Adrenal Exhaustion.

The more we learn the more I am astounded by the scriptural principle, and command really, to take every thought captive. It is amazing the effect our thoughts have on our physical bodies as well as our spirit man.

A recent 'lesson' I had was this. I had been typing my notes up from the For My Life course we recently took and I began to meditate on the thought that Satan and his minions respond to our words. Now they are not omnipresent or omniscient so they can't know our thoughts, but our words give our thoughts away.

The day after I was thinking on this I was having an incredibly difficult day, spiritually and physically. The battle in my mind to not 'go under' these circumstances seemed pretty intense. Up until this point I had been battling the thoughts in my mind and had not spoken defeat. I finally cracked. I began to speak defeat. "Fine, I give up! I just quit. I can't take it any more, I see no hope, no way out. You win, I lose." ( I know, extremely foolish)

What happened next was shocking. Had I not experienced it I would not have believed it. Immediately the thoughts and temptations came flooding in. Up until that point there were a reasonable amount of thoughts inside my head to battle with, now, it felt like a flood! It was as if I could see them come flooding in. It felt like the thoughts were hundreds of ping pongs bouncing off the walls of my mind. It was very startling. I mean thoughts of doom and gloom around things that didn't even pertain to the day's battle!

Brian and I prayed and I was able to lie down for a rest. It wasn't until later that I had realized what had happened. It was my words of defeat that let all those thoughts come flooding in. They responded to my words! How much better had I kept my mouth shut. No! How much better had I opened my mouth with faith filled words of scripture!

While the experience was difficult to go through, I am so thankful for it. It was a huge lesson for me. One I hope to learn from.

Perhaps

When I see the weakness in each of our lives . . .
when I see the sin, sometimes so glaring . . .
I marvel, shake my head and stand in awe . . .
how can it be that the two of us would be gifted with this marriage?



Perhaps our Father is showing He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy?



Perhaps it is yet another example of free grace, totally unmerited?



Perhaps we will never know, fully, why He would choose two thoroughly broken sinful people and put them together making one 'whole'.



One thing I do know, I am humbled, awestruck and forever thankful for this gift ~ the gift of this marriage.

Happy Anniversary, my love! It sometimes seems insane, the love we have for each other, but we both know Who gets the glory for this, don't we?

Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy and loving kindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness! (Psalm 115:1)

Wow, wow, wow!

We are recovering from our 10 1/2 day journey to Georgia and back. We are moving slowly back into our routine and resting a lot!

Where do I start???

What an awesome week we just had as a family. It was so incredible in so many ways. The children have really grown and have broken free from a lot of ‘stuff’.

There were precious tears of repentance between parent and child and between siblings.

I scarce can take in all the Lord has done in each of our hearts, individually as well as a family. This whole week has been such blur. In one sense it feels like it happened in a flash, and in another time seems to have stopped.

Brian and the four younger children took part in the For My Life Children’s program at Be In Health in Thomaston, GA. Each day the children would be taught what the parents were being taught in the For My Life program and then at the end of each class the children would come in to the main sanctuary for prayer and deliverance together as a family. It was so awesome.

The children were taught some really cool praise and worship songs with dance moves to them. The songs and dances were so cool that each time I went to check on them, (which was often even though Brian was in there) I wished I was in there. You could find me dancing in the hallway to the songs. No, I am not a person who is over comfortable with dancing, but they were so cool.

It was great to see the children come out of their little comfort zones a little. They divided the children into smaller groups and each of our little children was in different groups, so they had to make friends with others. I cannot believe how many homeschoolers there were in the program. I think there were about 30 ish children this week and about 20 of them were home school children!

I was privileged to be in the For My Life classes with four of our older children. Luke, Joshua, Victoria and Isaiah were in with me. The classes were long and intense at times. There is so much information to take in and I was so proud of the children, especially Victoria and Isaiah. We have done this course before, though online, so it was really neat to be having this information go in deeper. I think, for me, the first time listening to all this material you simply cannot take it ‘all’ in. Having listened to some of the teaching up to several times have really helped cement them in.

We are so thankful for all the the Lord is doing in our hearts and our family. We praise Him for the provision to go to Georgia. My mom and her husband paid for a significant amount of our travels and stay and we are forever thankful. They were able to come up on Friday night to 'celebrate' with us and were very blessed as they saw much of the work the Lord had done in our lives.

We were amazed at how well the programs are run at Be In Health. They do an AWESOME job and the people there who pour out their lives week after week are so precious. By Friday you feel like they are family and you just want to take them home with you. We met wonderful people from many places. From Calgary, Canada to England and from many of the states. Precious people all with hearts to seek the Lord with their whole hearts, many coming at great sacrifice financially. What a gift this week was in so many ways.

I Leave You With This

We are finishing our last minute preparations for our trip to GA. God has been so faithful in the preparing, we are very organized, it seems. Thank You Father!!

You may have already seen this, but it is amazingly wonderful! I am posting all the parts as well as the short version of it. Take a break from school or whatever you are doing and watch this with your children. I am reduced to tears every time I see this and realize just how awesome our God is and how HE holds ALL THINGS together.

Here is the short version if you want to quickly see what I am talking about, but trust me, this is a MUST SEE!! Please watch it with your family, make some popcorn and make a treat out of it.

Laminin, Short Version

Indescribable Part. 1

Indescribable Part 2

Indescribable Part 3

Indescribable Part 4

Indescribable Part 5

We Are Leaving Again!

We are going to Georgia, again! Can you believe it? This time it is with all the children (well, not all, my oldest and his wife are not going, boo hoo) and Brian and I! Yes, that is right, eight children and a mom and dad driving from Michigan to Georgia in two days! Sound fun?



Okay, I am sure to some of you it seems as though we are 'world travelers' who travel all the time. Let me assure you, we are not. We haven't even been on a vacation in the last five years. I mean not even a 'local' vacation. So the fact that Brian and I got to go to Georgia and now, shortly thereafter we are all going is quite unusual for our family.



The Lord has opened the door and has provided all the finances for us to take the children down to GA for the For My Life/For My Life Children programs. When we saw one of the skits that they do in the children's program we knew right away we wanted to bring the children.



We are so excited. We are leaving early Friday morning(10/22, Lord willing). That means this week is lots of packing, organizing, cooking, planning and trying not to freak out. (oh, that is my job, not freaking out)



We are trying to do the 'food' portion of it as cheaply and healthfully as we can. That takes extra planning and space. It would certainly be 'easier' if we could just eat out at each meal, but yuck, that doesn't even sound appealing to me. We will do pre-made sub sandwiches for lunches on the way down. Breakfast will be in the hotel. Dinners will be out, but as cheaply as we can. For example, we will probably eat fruits and veggies and some cheese before we go in for dinner. That will help with how much we spend at the restaurants.



I am bringing our homemade yogurt (we already have the raw milk paid for or else I would just buy yogurt in GA) for breakfasts. We made up 11 quarts of granola this weekend to bring. We also made and froze 7 loaves of banana bread to bring. Lunches are provided for at the conference. Dinners will be brought from home, pre-made and frozen in zip top freezer bags, including White Chili, Chicken Enchilada, BBQ and Taco Meat for Nachos.



We have PB Balls, Granola Bars, Nutty Bars, Slice Cheese and Apples and Veggies for snacks the whole week.



When we travel by vehicle we use Rubbermaid containers instead of bags and suitcases. They simply stack better. Brian made his rounds all over the house this past Saturday to empty toy and clothing containers, putting the contents in boxes, in search of the perfect sizes and amount of containers. Good thing I am known as the Rubbermaid Queen.


While we are on a pretty tight schedule, we would love to meet any of you who live near the places we will be driving through. Let me know if you live near any of the following cities and wouldn't mind driving to a highway exit for a hug!!


South Bend


Indianapolis


Louisville


Lexington



( I-65 to Louisville, I-64 to Lexington, I-75 all the way through Atlanta)


We are staying in Williamsburg, KY the first night.





The second day we go through

Knoxville



Chattanooga


Atlanta


Give me a shout out if you live in or near these cities or anywhere along our path!!

Remembering . . . Please Share

All this week we have been remembering the precious little one we lost one year ago. Last year I wrote a series of posts sharing my heart and encouraging others to do the same as we remembered our babies that are now with Jesus.

( I didn't know, Let's remember, Sorrowful yet, Tears on the window)

It is sort of 'funny' this morning I felt a tug on my heart to post something about this because as I was looking over my posts from last year I saw that October 15th has been set aside as a day to remember our babies.

Yesterday, as I was out for a walk and talking to my Father, I cried tears of sadness over the babies I will not see on this side of heaven, praised Him for His perfect plans and pondered if I will ever carry another baby in my womb. Will I ever nurse another baby? Will I ever smell that intoxicating newborn smell? Will I ever kiss the whole face of a teeny one? Will I ever feel a precious little one nuzzled right up to my neck?

I don't know the answer to these questions, but I know the One to Whom I ask? I know I can trust His beautiful plan for my life. I can trust Him to distribute His blessings as He sees fit. I know that He knows the desires of my heart and holds them so close to His heart. I know when I grieve He is there holding me, comforting me. I know He delights to bless me, knowing His plan and what is ultimately the best for me. I know Him who works EVERYTHING out for my good because I love Him and have been called according to His purpose. I know Whom I have believed.

This is not a sad post, really, I stand amazed at His mercy and goodness. His faithfulness. His love. While I will never forget each of my precious six babies, there is no pain, just peace and a knowing He holds them and me in His very hands. Amazing it is, when He comes and heals. He came to heal and bind up the broken hearted, you know?

Please feel free to share your "story" by either leaving a comment or providing a link to read on your blog. And PLEASE, if you are still reeling with grief and pain over the loss of your precious little one (s), please let me pray with you. Leave me a comment, email me, or if you would like to me to pray with you on the phone, I would be honored. Please ask, let me do that for you.

Lunch Time Blahs, Part Two

In my search to beat the Lunch Time Blahs I have discovered another yummy recipe to share with you. Parts of it happened by accident, but it turned out delicious! I like to call it, Sprouted Lentil Tacos. Here is how it happened.

I was soaking lentils overnight for a lentil taco recipe I was going to try and something happened the next day and they didn't get cooked. Later that night I panicked because the lentils were still soaking and I didn't know if they would turn to mush, so I drained them and left them in the colander overnight. The next morning I had cute little sprouted lentils! As most of you probably know, soaking and/or sprouting grains, legumes, nuts and seeds make them much more nutritious, so I was thrilled when I saw they had sprouted.

You may make the following recipe with non-soaked, soaked or sprouted lentils, it is your choice. This recipe is based on a recipe I found online called, Red Lentil Tacos. Here is my adaptation of it, as you can see, it is really only based loosely on her recipe.

Sprouted Lentil Tacos


1/2 to 1 whole onion, chopped
1/2 chopped bell pepper

chopped garlic
2 cups soaked or sprouted lentils
about 2 cups chicken broth or water

1 cup can tomato product of choice

taco seasoning (homemade) to taste

salt and pepper

Saute the onion, peppers and garlic in a little olive oil until softened and slightly browned. Add the taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Saute for a few seconds to release the flavors. Add sprouted lentils, chicken stock and tomato product. You want the lentils covered with liquid but not drowning in liquid. Let simmer, uncovered for about 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed and mixture has become thickened. You might need to keep checking to make sure there is enough liquid. I usually don't measure, so the above is my best guess. Proceed with caution! ;-)

We serve this Sprouted Lentil Taco mixture in flour or corn tortilla wraps with lots of shredded cheese. It was very yummy. Healthy and Frugal!

As promised, here is my list of Lunch Ideas from my Meal Planning Notebook

Lunch Ideas


Spaghetti Sauce Pasta (Easy Tomato or Mine)
French Toast
Quinoa Burgers
Grilled Cheese
Lentil Burgers
Refried Beans and Rice
Saucy Black Beans and Rice or Quinoa
Muffins or Bars and Smoothie (yogurt or green)
Sandwiches
Lentil Chili and Cornbread or over rice or quinoa
Broccoli Pasta
Pesto Pasta
Bean Dip and Chips
Pizza Pockets
Taco Pockets
Hard Boiled Eggs and Veggies
Mock Sloppy Joes
Pizza
Fried Rice
Stir Fry w/ rice or quinoa
Taco Salad
Tacos
Taco Soup
Meatless Chili
Chili
Chips and Cheese
Egg Frittata (veggies)
Eggs and Hash browns
Goulash with rice pasta or over rice or spaghetti squash
Wild rice pilaf
Breakfast pizza with rice as the crust??

Beating the Lunch Time Blahs

Do you ever get in a rut with your meals for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner? We are in one of those ruts right now. I am determined to change things up a bit and try some new things now that life is getting back to normal. (LOL, what is normal anyway?)

Today I will share a recipe that was met with rave reviews. Please feel free to share you favorite 'go-to' lunches to give us all of some new ideas.

I have adapted this recipe from Stephanie, who wrote a wonderful Crockpot cookbook called Make it Fast, Cook it Slow.

Crockpot Beans and Rice

In the morning, by 8:00 am I sauteed a half of an onion and some garlic. (this is not necessary, but I really believe taking this step adds needed flavor.)

Into the crockpot:

Sauteed onion/garlic
2 cups brown rice (that I soaked overnight)
2 cups pinto beans (that I soaked, cooked and had in the freezer, you could use canned)
2 cups black beans (that I soaked, cooked and had in the freezer, you could use canned)
1 quart of my canned tomatoes

(that had some garlic, salt and onion, maybe use stewed tomato)
Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper
about 1 cup water to rinse our jar
Shredded cheese (add after done cooking)

Mix it up and put it on high. About 11:00, I checked it and it seemed to need a little water. The rice was not quite done and it was a little dry. I added a splash of boiling water at this time.

By noon we had delicious smelling and tasting beans and rice. We added shredded cheddar, but any flavor cheese would be great. It was different than our usual beans and rice because of the Italian flare. We are bored to tears with our standard beans and rice ;-) It was so great to put in such a small amount of effort and come up from doing school to a hot and tasty meal.

Here is Stephanie's Recipe. I suggest you go check it out and maybe follow her recipe or amounts before you adapt it like my recipe.

Helpful Hints:

• Soak and cook up huge pots of beans and freeze them in 2-4 cup portions. I do this with all my beans. The beans are far superior to canned beans, as they are prepared properly, and it is so cheap. Especially if you buy in bulk.
• Whenever possible, saute your veggies in a little oil to release flavor.
• Season as you go along, layering the flavor.

Next time, another successful lunch idea and my list of Lunch Menu Ideas from my Meal Planning notebook. Don't forget to share you ideas!

His Amazing Protection!

I imagine that there are countless times our lives have been spared and protected from things we don't even know. But don't you just love it when our Father lets us see one of those times??

Isaiah, our just turned thirteen year old loves to fish. Yesterday was a beautiful afternoon and he had gotten some new fishing gear for his birthday, you guessed it, he went fishing in our pond.

While he was talking with our neighbor, the neighbors grandson picked up Isaiah's fishing pole. Isaiah went over to encourage him to put it down when the little guy decided to try his hand at casting. In a split second Isaiah had a hook in his face.

He came into show me. Yep, it was in there good. I calmly called Brian who said, 'call the doctor, I am packing up my work right now. I'll meet you.' ( I just love this man!) I, of course, being a 'doctor wannabe' thought I might be able to get it out. Good thing wisdom from the man prevails.

Of course you have the thoughts like, 'thank You, Father, it could have been his eye'. But suddenly I thought, what happened to the string? Did Isaiah cut it? When I asked him he told me it just untied when it got hooked in his face. The string just untied???!! Seriously?

I began to play in my mind the casting motion. You fling it back and then you strongly fling it forward. Ummm, I don't fish all that often, but, that fling forward can be pretty strong. I would guess that often times whatever gets hooked from behind would tend to go forward with that fling. Which, by the way, could have been a chunk of my sweet Isaiah's face! Nope, the string simply untied!!

Some might think it wasn't tied well, or that it was a fluke. But not me! Oh no, it was my Father protecting my son! I'm not sure why it got hooked in the first place. I'm not sure why we had to sit for hours in the Urgent Care. But I do know Isaiah could have lost a chunk of his face that day and he didn't.

Ask me how ironic I think it is that this same Isaiah is the one who came to me a couple of days ago sharing his thoughts and revelations on Psalm 91.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. (Ps. 91:11)

The LORD be magnified!!!

Let's Do This Together!!

Good morning, Ladies! I have been overwhelmed with the joy of the Lord yesterday and today. As I was reading Psalm 71 today I was struck by how many times we are exhorted to 'praise the Lord', to 'tell of His righteous deeds'.
Below are various verses from Psalm 71.

My mouth shall be filled with Your praise and with Your honor all the day.

But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteous acts and of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is more than I know.

I will come in the strength and with the mighty acts of the Lord God; I will mention and praise Your righteousness, even Yours alone.

O God, You have taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared Your wondrous works.

Yes, even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, [but keep me alive] until I have declared Your mighty strength to [this] generation, and Your might and power to all that are to come.

My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my inner being, which You have redeemed.

My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; for they are put to shame, for they are confounded, who seek and demand my hurt.


You probably know as well as I do that recounting, praising, thanking and telling of His wonderful faithfulness is smattered from one end of the Bible to the other.

Let's obey that admonition. Joy truly does bubble up when we stop focusing on the 'woes' of life and start magnifying the Lord. So, let the LORD be magnified this morning! Just off the top of you head list five things you are thankful for or want to praise Him for. Don't stress yourself out, whatever comes to mind, spend the few seconds to type them in the comment section. If it is a particularly difficult morning it might feel like a stretch, but look around, there are literally tons of things to be thankful for. I'll start.

1. a beautiful day of rest yesterday
2. joy returning to my heart
3. the opportunity to teach and train today
4. one more day to glorify my God (help me, Father ;-)
5. schedules, menu plans and lists

Your turn! Imagine a day filled with 'declaring' His goodness . . . all the day long!! Join me!?

Please Be Praying!

Sweet Alex

My very dear friend and neighbor's precious grandson needs our prayers. His grandparents and parents do too. Please go over to Cindy's blog and read her story. Thank you!

Graduation

Below is a video our oldest son put together of photos from our third son, Joshua's graduation ceremony and party on September 26, 2010. Matthew did an awesome job with the photography and video. Thanks, Love!

You will see pictures of our children sharing a scripture or a word to their brother. It was so sweet. They each sought the Lord on just what to share with him, even the nine year old.

Also, there is a woman speaking to him in a few of the pictures, this was his piano teacher for years. We love this woman. She comes to our house to teach our children. She is the epitome of the perfect teacher. She inspires them, she is firm, yet gentle. She truly loves and values them. She is such a gift.

Joshua's Chemistry, Latin and Hebrew teacher is in one of the pictures also. This man is brilliant! He knows, I don't know, a bazillion languages and is a Professor of Physics at an University near us. He tutored Luke and Josh for several years. He too is a gift!

It was a beautiful day of honoring and sharing, surrounded by loved ones. Praising God for His leading to homeschool our children. It truly is an awesome, most wonderful experience. We would not trade it for the world!

Planning the School Year

My mother blessed me and took all the children for the whole day so I could plan our school year. The Lord truly blessed my time. I got so much accomplished. I started with a large decaf latte with an extra shot, a water bottle, computer, copy machine and a table full of books and binders! When I would get 'stuck' on something I would pray and He would lead. I did dip into the chocolate a little at one point though, to help the thinking. (wink, wink)

This year is a 'light' year, it seems. I only have five students and a toddler. Seems doable, really, Michelle, it does. Sorry, just encouraging myself. I am kidding. I truly am looking forward to this school year. I did not get to do the school year I had planned last year because I got sick before I could even start. It feels like a privilege to get to do school, which it should, by the way, because it is!

Here is what I have lined up for each child.

Victoria 9th grade

Algebra 1

American Literature

Easy Grammar

Apologia General Science

Sonlight 7 American History

Evangelism 101

Copy Work

Spelling Wisdom

Piano

Isaiah 7th grade

Algebra 1/2

Learning Language Arts Through Literature

Easy Grammar

Apologia General Science

Sonlight 7 American History

Copy Work

Spelling Wisdom

Piano

Sarah Grace 4th grade

Abeka Math

Learning Language Arts Through Literature

Italic Handwriting

American History (reading list)

Piano

Isabella and Josiah (grades ??)

Rod and Staff Phonics

Rod and Staff Reading

Abeka Math

American History with Sarah Grace

I am working out the 'bugs' with the schedule. I highly recommend Managers of Their Homes. I discovered it years ago and it changed my life, really!

We will be starting our day with:

Morning Circle Time

Prayer, Bible Lesson, Hymn, Scripture memory and Gratitude Journals

From there we, in theory, flow in and out of subjects, each of us having something to do at each half hour block. Maybe when I get it typed up I will try to post it.

Please feel free to ask any questions about what we are using or what our day looks like.

What Scripture Has Been Speaking To Your Heart?

There is a scripture that has been on my heart for weeks now. No matter what I am going through the Lord seems to being me back to this scripture.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me. (Micah 7:7-8)

I even quote the above scripture with attitude some days!

What scripture have you been meditating on lately. Please share your heart, we would all be encouraged by it! Don't you just LOVE the Word of God??!!

Conviction or Condemnation?

With all this talk about repentance, I thought it would be beneficial to describe the difference between condemnation and conviction.

Condemnation

. . . feels almost like badgering

. . . it is usually harsh and driving

. . . the feeling rarely leaves even after repentance

. . . could be nagging, confusing, over and over

. . . makes you feel hopeless

Conviction

. . . is a gentle nudge from our Father

. . . it is always restorative

. . .you may certainly feel brokenness for your sin, but not heavy burdened and guilty

. . .a tap on the shoulder, never a slap in the face

. . . brings hope and desire to change

So, which one have you been listening to?

Has your Father been speaking to you on an area that needs repentance?

Or, has the accuser of the brethren been hounding you?

If you recognize the accuser, by all means repent for listening to his voice

and listen to what your Heavenly Father has to say.

BTW, He thinks you're pretty special.

He loves you with an everlasting love.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

You are precious in His sight.

You are the very apple of His eye.

How Often Do You Take a Spiritual Bath?

Since my post on Repentance, I have wanted to share on that subject some more.

2 Corinthians 7:1 has been on my heart a lot and I have been studying it out.





"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."



The few verses before talk about the promises we have. God will dwell with us and walk with us. He will be our God and we will be His people. We are to be separate and He will be our Father and we will be His sons and daughters. (2 Cor. 6:16-18)



So, how do we 'cleanse' ourselves? I believe, in part, this speaks to me about repentance. Recognizing when I have sinned and taking responsibility, repenting, renouncing and removing it.



I'm not talking about the 'big' sins here. Most people recognizes those and sees a need to repent of them. I am talking about other sins that seem to go unnoticed and most likely unrepented of.



How about fear? God has not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind. "Do not fear." I wonder how many times we are commanded to not fear? I bet way more than "do not lie" or "do not steal." Yet we do fear, sometimes everyday. (stress and anxiety fall under fear, sorry)



Not loving ourselves. Doesn't the bible tell us to 'love others as we do ourselves'? Didn't God create us fearfully and wonderfully? Who are we to hate ourselves or be unloving to ourselves?



Bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment, retaliation, anger, hatred. If we do not forgive others He does not forgive us. Ouch.



Thou shalt not murder. What about 'murder with the tongue'?



Doubt and unbelief? Listening to and taking in accusations from the enemy. He is the accuser of the brethren, and we listen to him???



Guilt, self-pity, drivenness, control, comparison, envy and jealousy, shame, complaining, excessive need to be loved, perfectionism, performance, strife . . .



Need I say more?



How often should we repent? Every time we sin! Psalm 101:8



Morning after morning I will root up all the wicked in the land, that I may eliminate all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.



I think morning after morning would be a good starting point. Or evening after evening, for that matter.



When I was reading through the bible in 40 days, I was so humbled as I read through it seeing so many areas that I needed to repent of. God's word is a mirror like that.



How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed and keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to it]. (Ps. 119:9)



And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 1 John 3:3



Let's be 'doers' of the Word, ladies. Let's seek the Lord, ask Him to search our hearts and see if there is anything wicked and REPENT when He shows us. How easy it is to recognize, say, bitterness, and say, 'oh, yes, that is bitterness' and then walk away without repenting!! Ask me how I know this?!!



Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.



But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.



For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:



For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.



But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1 :21-25)



Father God, thank You for Your mercy towards us. Father, I pray that You show each one of us where we need a spiritual bath. Open our eyes, give us discernment. We want to be 'doers' of the Word. Remind us by Your Holy Spirit to humble ourselves and repent, then and there, the moment You bring conviction. And Father, help us to discern Your voice that comes with conviction from the voice our our enemy that comes in with condemnation. We love You, Father. In Jesus mighty name, we pray!



If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.



If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.



If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

(1 John 1:8-10)

I've Been Ignorant!

There are two areas that I have been so ignorant of the past several years. (I suspect there are many more, these are just two biggies the Lord has shown me of late. I reserve the right to add to this list as they come up! ;)

One being the fact that we have an enemy who seeks to kill, steal and destroy! And two, the importance of repentance.

Today I will focus on the first one. We had previously sat under teaching that felt like you were looking for a 'devil in every corner' or were rebuking demons at every turn. Having moved on from there, we sort of swung way to the other side. I think we became oblivious to the 'wiles(trickery) of the enemy'. Everything sort of turned to a more "God is sovereign, everything comes from His hand" type of mindset.

I had thoughts like, 'we just give Satan more power when we talk about him. Ummm, no, he actually already has power. Some of us have just been oblivious of it.

Brilliant move on the enemy's part, really. If we are ignorant of his schemes and wiles, how can we obey the scriptures that tell us to resist him? Ignorance is NOT bliss, trust me.

I'm not suggesting an all out '36 week study' on the enemy, but we would do well to recognize that we do have an enemy and he does seek to STEAL, KILL, DESTROY! Do you get that?

A friend recently very passionately shared with me this revelation she recently had.

She said, "the enemy comes to STEAL our children, KILL our children, DESTROY our children. He comes to STEAL our health . . . finances . . . peace . . . life, KILL our health . . . finances . . . peace . . . life, DESTROY our health . . . finances . . . peace . . . life. He comes to STEAL, KILL and DESTROY our marriages!"

It was quite sobering to hear her go through each one of those statements. Ladies, we are NOT to be ignorant of the devils wiles and schemes. (2 Cor. 2:11) Do you know he has wiles and schemes? Shouldn't we at least acknowledge that he is a force to be reckoned with? Shouldn't we be resisting him?

Ephesians 6:11 says to "put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

In 1 Timothy 3 and 4 it says it is possible to fall into the reproach and the snare of the devil, and that there are actually doctrines of devils being preached.

2 Timothy 2:26 mentions again the possibility of being caught in the snare of the devil and being taken captive to do his will. These letters are written to the church! It is possible for a believer to get caught in the snare of the devil!

James tells us to RESIST the enemy. Seems to me it might be relevant to know what I am resisting if I am going to obey this scripture.

We have been given power over the enemy (Luke 10:19) Why would Jesus give us power over the enemy if we didn't need to use it?

We are to be sober and vigilant because we have an adversary that walks around seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) This at least implies that there is a possibility of being devoured by the enemy.

I don't think for one second that we are to FEAR the enemy, but we do need to be aware of him and recognize his activity in our lives. This by no means is an exhaustive teaching on Satan and his kingdom. My desire is to share where I have been ignorant and exhort you to not be ignorant to the wiles of the enemy.

Homeschooling With Little Ones

Today I have shared some ideas on how to homeschool with little ones around. It can be very challengeing to get things done. I hope you are encouraged and get a few ideas. You can read more . . . Homeschooling With Littles over At the Well.

How To: Repentance

There are two areas in Christendom, including myself, that I have come to realize have fallen by the wayside a bit over the last several years.

One area is repentance. It seems like an obvious one. I mean, we all repent, right? Well, I have been learning just how much I DO NOT repent. I acknowledge I have sinned and feel sort of bad about it, but do I really and truly repent?

In addition to this, do I even recognize something that is a sin? For example, Fear, Stress and Anxiety is the main spiritual root (sin) behind Adrenal Fatigue/Exhaustion. Do you know how many times I read verses about not being anxious? I would read them, memorize them, post them all over the house, yet it never occurred to me to repent of it and remove it!

FEAR IS A SIN! (This is the makings of another post)

Back to repentance and a how-to. There is no formula here. No rules or have-tos, just an example, okay?

This morning the Lord revealed to me that I have once again been listening to fear and anxiety. I found myself going down the same road I used to go, almost getting anxious over anxiety instead of just repenting of it and moving on! This is what I did this morning.

Okay, Father, I recognize that I have been anxious (which really is fear) and troubled with the cares about my life.

I take responsibility for participating with this spirit of fear, including doubt and unbelief, worry and anxiety and I repent and renounce it. Thank you that You forgive me

I tell all fear (and his little buddies ;-) to go, in Jesus name by the power of the Holy Spirit. (remove)

My Father knows what I need, I am worth much more than the birds that He feeds and provides for.

I consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet they are arrayed in splendor. He, my Father, clothes the grass in the field.

I am just a girl seeking my Daddy's kingdom, and He will add all these things. He will take care of all my needs.

I will not be struck with fear, for it is my Father's good pleasure to give me the kingdom!

Simple! Recognize, Responsibility, Repent, Renounce, Remove! (Resist and Restore will be discussed further another time)

Also, if you noticed I was renewing my mind with the Truth after my repentance.

Where Do My Thoughts Come From?

Have you ever thought about where your thoughts might be coming from and what to do with them?

We are learning that thoughts come from three places. Our own intellect (something we have learned), the Spirit of God, and the enemy and his kingdom.

An example in scripture that shows the three places thoughts come from is found in
Matthew 16:13-23.

When Jesus asked the disciples who He was, their response was from what they had heard and learned from others. That is one place that our thoughts come from.

When He asked them who they say that He is, Simon Peter had the perfect answer. Jesus
replies and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. This thought is from the Spirit of God.

Later in the these verses, Jesus was explaining to them what was going to happen and Peter began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Jesus’ response was, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. This shows the third place where our thoughts come from, Satan’s kingdom.

Peter was not possessed by Satan; he just spoke out a thought that was from the enemy's kingdom.

In the verse John 13:2 we see another example of a thought coming from the enemy’s kingdom.

"And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;"

This, of course is just a tiny teaching on this whole concept, but it was revolutionary to me. It is not like this was totally new information. When I began to really understand this and began to discern where my thoughts were coming from, it was so freeing. Thoughts I assumed were my own thoughts actually were from the enemy’s kingdom! As I practice discerning my thoughts I am able to make a choice of whose kingdom I want to display in this world. Do I want to speak and act on thoughts that come from my Father’s kingdom or the enemy’s?

Hebrews 5:14 says, But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

I want to exercise my senses to discern both good and evil. I want to be able to teach my children this. Just because a thought comes into my mind, this does not mean it is from God, and I can choose to not act upon it.

I need to become a doer of the Word and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

I challenge you to begin really paying attention to your thoughts. Discern where they came from. Does it line up with the Word of God? Is it just something that you have learned or have heard? Is it part of Satan’s kingdom? Grab hold of that thought and by the power and authority you have in Jesus Christ tell it to GO! Replace it with the Truth.

As our two year old son questioned me one day, “Who’s talking to you”?

We Are Home!

Our trip to Thomaston Georgia was a complete success, I would say. We learned so much through the course For Their Life at the Be In Health campus.

We met some wonderful people while we were there. It was very hard to say good-bye on Friday night. We all just wanted to linger and hang out with each other just a little longer. It was such a blessing to be around so many believers who are all on similar paths.

There was grace to leave our children in the wonderful care of my mother. I barely cried waving good-bye to all those sweet faces waving in the driveway.

Before we left we prayed with the children and I just had such a sense that we were going to have such favor and our trip was going to be blessed. It was! I think all of our flights to and fro were either early or on time and without incidence. I am usually a little anxious about flying and leaving my babies, but once I dealt with the spirit of fear I was perfectly at peace.

The picture is blurry, but I think you can still see how pretty Elizabeth is!

Before we settled into our little cabin in Thomaston we met with Elizabeth. A sweet friend that I have grown to love from blog world. This sweet thing drove 2 hours just to meet us! We had an awesome time of fellowship. As we shared from our lives, she encouraged us so much. She has ten children and they are a little older than ours, so it was such a treat to talk to someone with very similar convictions who is a little further down the road than us. She was so sweet. She brought us a few things from Georgia. Georgia pecans and peanuts, yum! A branch of cotton for the children to see and feel. A copy of Facing the Giants, which was filmed, in part, right in their neighborhood! Love you Elizabeth!!

Our first day full day in Thomaston was Sunday. We attended Pleasant Valley Church which is affiliated with Be In Health. It was a treat to worship with believers who believe in the WHOLE bible, including the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The meeting was very much like the New Testament church, which it what Brian and I have desired for years now. It was simply very cool to actually 'see' a body operating like this.

Monday began with our first class and it was a whirlwind from there. We learned so much! It was awesome to be sitting under such scriptural teaching all day long! We could not take notes quickly enough. The Holy Spirit spoke so much to our hearts. There was much conviction, encouragement and hope all week long.

I hope to be able to share some of the gazillion things we learned, but I can some it up into one word, LOVE! The Father's love, Jesus' love, our love for one another, how to minister the love of the Father, on and on, with love. Now, don't get me wrong, there was a ton of other stuff, but this is what struck me most.

Natalieh!

We met an adorable blog friend in person. Her name is Natalieh. She is the most wonderfully sweet Godly young woman I know. She has such a sweet spirit about her. She is only 24, could not believe her maturity and love for the Lord. I told her I would LOVE to have her as my daughter, she is so precious! We got to be with her a lot, but not nearly enough, if that makes sense. I LOVE you Natalieh!

Gloria

On Tuesday, we went to Gloria's home for dinner. Gloria is a wonderful home school Mama who I met through blogging. It turns out she also had been to For My Life. When I went through it, she was able to encourage me and keep me on the straight and narrow. I was able to pass on some of the advice she gave me this past week. We were greeted by her lovely family and a wonderful simple and delicious meal. They home school and have three very precious children who are so smart and entrepreneurial minded. We were so impressed! Her daughter Julia has her own jewelry business. Her boys have written a few books, check out their Warfare by Duct Tape. The boys showed us all the 'weapons' they have created. We had a wonderful time with them. It was hard to pull ourselves away around 9:00. We were so tired, but the fellowship was so sweet.

The rest of the week was filled, and I mean filled with awesome teaching, worship and fellowship.

This is a 'short' (ha ha) recap of our week. I want to be able to share some of the very specific things the Lord showed me during this week. I am trying to keep my focus on this ministry of being a mama, so be patient with me, okay? I wish we could all get together for a whole day and just share!

Off We Go!!

Twenty minutes from right now, Lord willing, we will be on our way to the airport! So excited! Pray for all of us, please!

Amazed by His Grace,

Brian and Michelle

I'm Leavin' On a Jet Plane

We are leaving tomorrow for Georgia! Just Brian and I! For eight days! One would think I would be jumping for joy. Well, as much as time away will be wonderful, I will miss my children greatly! They will be here with my mom and her husband, who has graciously offered to care for them while we are gone. I know, I am so blessed!

As you may remember, we are going to Georgia for a 'For Their Life' conference. We are so excited. Sitting under 40 hours of great teaching, praying, being prayed for, sounds like my kind of 'vacation'!

Please pray for us and for our children. Pray for safety and peace. Pray for wisdom and that the eyes of our hearts would be opened.

Will be back here in about 10 days. I will miss you! {{{{hugs}}}}

I Am Finished!

Thursday, August 26, 2010, by the grace of God and a tremendous amount of support from my family I finished reading the entire bible in 39 days!!! One day early!! We began on July 19, 2010.

There were plenty of nights I would go to bed with tears in my eyes, feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of this commitment. Each time my dear husband and the Lord would encourage me that HE would give the grace to finish what He called me to.

Thank You, Father, for all you have taught me. Don't stop! Continue to teach and lead. I love You.

Come, Lord Jesus come!

Oh, The Fun of Blog Friends!

This past weekend I was privileged enough to have three blog friends over for our children's baptisms! Now, two of them were friends before blogging, but we had reconnected through blogging.

From left to right, Kathy, from Regan Family Farm. Cindy, from Farmgirl Cyn. Angie, from Maple Valley Farms. And me!

What fun!

As you probably know, Brian and I are going to be going to Georgia this weekend. We are going to be able to 'hook up' with three blogging friends from Georgia! Are there any others who are in the Atlanta area??

I will finally be able to meet Elizabeth, from Yes, They're All Ours. Gloria, from Gloria In Excelsis Deo. And my sweet Natalieh, from Pure Heart!!

Almost There!

As of right now I have 96 pages to read to finish the bible in 40 days!!

This time has been so amazing, I am sort of sad to see it end. I have learned more than I could ever tell, reading the bible through in such a short time.

Just a few things . . .

I am in awe of our HOLY God!

The Fear of the Lord has definitely increased in my heart.

I think, after reading through the Old Testament, we (the church) may have swung a little too far towards 'grace'. You don't hear much (or see, for that matter) about holiness. Lots and lots of teaching on the grace of God, not much on the HOLINESS of God.

The fact that young 'Christian' couples are living together before they get married and then, in church, say in their vows about being 'best friends and LOVERS' while parents and pastors just smile!!! Makes me crazy! How is this okay?

Or, 'Christian' teenagers reading the Twilight series by the millions!? Are you kidding me?

Sorry, for the rant. I'll get back to that in another post. It just slipped out ;-)

Do you know that there were sacrifices even for sins you did not know you committed?? Once you realized you had sinned you needed to sacrifice. Sounds like taking responsibility for our sins.

While we serve a God who demands and expects holiness, we also serve a God who is merciful beyond belief. Over and over again He showed His mercy to a people who continually disobeyed His commands. That encourages this sinner.

His love for His people was beautiful to behold.

I was inspired over and over again by the beautiful prayers throughout the bible. Not just the Psalms, but prayers by Nehemiah, Daniel, Jehoshaphat and others who poured out their hearts to the Sovereign God of the universe.

Reading through the Gospels and Acts was quite convicting. I hope to share more in the future, but what has happened to the Church??!! The following verse will not leave me:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (John 14:12)

What works did Jesus do? Which of those works are we doing greater? Do we really "believe" in Him?

Do you know over and over again, as I read through huge chunks of the Gospels at a time, that one could not help but notice that Jesus healed over and over and over again? He cast out demons over and over again?

Are we really obeying the whole counsel of the Word??

Do we love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, soul, mind and strength?

Do we love our neighbor as our selves?

Are we willing to sell all and give to the poor?

Do we obey Mark 16?

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Oh, we send out the missionaries, but what about the signs and wonders??? I haven't had any following me lately, have you? What about casting out demons? Speaking in new tongues? Laying hands on the sick and them actually recovering!

I could go on, but I won't right now. The Lord began stirring in our hearts quite awhile ago and reading through the Word has only excited and ignited the fire more. I think we are actually getting fed up with living life 'as usual'. We don't know what it means, but we are quite sick of it. Sometimes when I think about my shallow life compared to the followers of Jesus I get a sick feeling in my stomach.

Am I willing to go where ever He sends me? Am I willing to give it all up? The comfort of my home?

We saw this video several months ago and it stirred us up. The Lord recently brought it back across our path. It was so neat to remember how we felt the first time we saw it compared to now, several months into this journey He has us on. It is only about 2 minutes long and it is quite powerful. ( I have the book, a couple of my children have read it, I have not. I am not posting the video to advertise the book. I think the video says quite a bit!)

I thought our thinking was pretty radical before, but I think we are about to get a whole lot more radical. Care to join us?