Thank The Lord

Each morning I wake and thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.  Each evening I thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.

He is unfailing in His love for each and every one of us.

Last weekend I had the privilege of watching my 28 year old daughter be baptized.  Before she was baptized, she was asked if she wanted to share anything.  Lo and behold ~ she gave her life to Christ a couple of weeks before.

As a parent, I wonder where I failed through the years of her upbringing.

As a Christian, I know that to have Christ as my Lord is a choice I have to make on my own.

Each morning I wake and thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.  Each evening I thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.

I cry for joy that my daughter and I will have eternity together.

I cry for despair that many of my loved ones (family and friends) haven't yet bowed down at the foot of our Lord.

I pray for the lost and unreached.  I pray for all of us as we go through trials and tribulations.  Knowing the Lord is always by my side encourages me as nothing else!

Each morning I wake and thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.  Each evening I thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.

Being Intentional

I read this on A Wise Woman Builds Her Home blog [http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/] in October, printed it and read it again this morning.  A wonderful reminder for us to be intentional in our relationship with our Lord and Savior J

Calming the Storm Within You

I loved these wise words from Nancy Leigh DeMoss that I read early this morning after my Bible time so I wanted to share them with you:

"Devotions" Without "Devotion"

Some of us have had devotions, but we have not had devotion. There's a big difference. We may have gone through the motions of reading our Bibles and "saying our prayers" but we have not been cultivating a love relationship with our God. We know alot about Him, but we don't really know Him. 

We are active and busy in a multitude of spiritual activities, but we have lost perspective of who it is that we are serving and why.

The result of our "devotionless" religion is seen in the way we respond to pressure. So many of us as Christian women are chronically stressed out. Everywhere I go, I see it in the eyes of women; I hear it in their voices; and too often I see it when I look in my own mirror. I know what it is to have demands coming at me from every direction. I know what it is to respond of weariness, with an impatient, demanding spirit.

And I know what it is to contend with God Himself, even as my eyes fill up with tears of frustration with myself and my reactions.

I also know that there is only one place where that angry, reactive, overwhelmed self can be transformed---the same place that Mary chose--the feet of Jesus.  I must take a conscious, deliberate, daily choice to sit at His feet, to listen to His Word, to receive His love, to let Him change me, and to pour out my heart's devotion to Him.

When I get into His presence, the whole world looks different. When I draw close to His heart, I find mercy when I know I deserve judgment; I find forgiveness for all my petty, selfish ways;  I find grace for all my inadequacies; I find peace for my troubled heart; I find perspective for my distorted views.

In Him, I find an eye in the midst of the storm.  

Oh, the storm around me may not immediately subside;


but the storm within me is made calm. 

"Appearance" Update

It has been four months since I began my modest dressing by wearing headcoverings and ‘skirts/dresses’ only.  There was a very small adjustment period and no looking back.  I find I am most comfortable with my scarf-type headcoverings versus the three caps I have.  I always feel as if the caps were going to come off.  The freedom I feel with the skirts is wonderful.  I don’t feel ‘on display’ and worrying about how my bottom half looks to others.

I am thankful for the support of family and friends during this ‘appearance change’ and know that I would do it regardless just because I have felt led by the Lord to do so.

I am feeling restless about life and not sure why.  The Lord’s ear is probably tired of my wonderings and I need to turn my ear towards Him to hear where/what He is leading me to do.

I was reading an Amish series this week and the first book had this Amish proverb which struck me as wunderbaar (wonderful):  “Happiness is the inner joy that can be sought or caught, but never taught or bought.”  How true that is!  The Lord’s joy is elusive yet attainable by prayer and thanksgiving at all times.

Thank you Heavenly Father!

Here is a quote from my daily devotions that “spoke” to me:

“Practically speaking, light shines most effectively through joyful lives. True, lasting joy comes from hope and peace found in a rich relationship with Jesus. Joy radiates from a sincere heart and illuminates our surrounding world, often with no words spoken.”

Joy doesn’t have much to do with stuff, feelings, others. We need to remember the true meaning of Joy :-) As with any relationship, we need to work at ours with Christ. The deeper into the relationship we are, I’m guessing we will have more joy!

FREEDOM

Yesterday was my 3 year Freedom Anniversary!  I want to thank everyone for the support and love they have shown me during my time of adjusting to freedom from the bondages of abuse.

The Lord has carried me through and I praise His name each day in thanksgiving :-)

This is short but I wanted to share my joy in freedom!