Excited for Melissa

Melissa is my youngest daughter, she just turned 14 this summer. I mentioned in a previous post how she was my most difficult one to reach as far as the church aspect goes. Yesterday was a lock-in at our church for the middle school kids. When we saw that in our church bulletin I had told Melissa that she could invite up to 5 friends and I would pick them up and take them home. Well she asked a few friends and then we forgot about it till about 2 hours before it was time to go. So she hurriedly called her friends again and asked if they could go, but they too had forgotten about it and couldn't. I was bummed and so sure she wasn't going to go then since she didn't have anyone she really knew to go with her. I asked her if she still wanted to go and her reply was "duh!" LOL Which if you don't speak teenage, means "of course mom!". So we got her some snacks, her pillow and blanket and set off for the church. I've got to go pick her up in a couple hours and I'm sure she most likely hasn't slept much, but I do hope she had a good time and made some good relationships with the other kids at church.

Application

One of the reasons I love listening to Andy Stanley from North Point Community Church is because he's so good at explaining how to apply the word of God to my every day life. He doesn't just read from the bible and close in prayer. He tells us what the word of God is saying to us, and then how to take those words and live them. I think part of my initial aversion to the bible was that not only did I find it confusing, I never quit understood how what I read in the bible translated over to my life. (Well, the 10 commandments were easy cause they don't really need to be explained, they pretty much tell you what to do or not do.) The bible, for me anyways, seems to have so much grey area. I pray each time I read my bible that God will bless His words onto my heart and help me to apply them to my every day life. I truely do want to live my life as He wants me to.

This morning I listed to a message on the North Point website about applying Gods word to our life. Andy said it's not enough to just listen and know the word of God, but we have to apply it to our life as well. He used the analogy of a can of paint. A can of paint does you no good till you open it and get paint on your paint brush and apply it to the surface. I pray that my life will come alive with color as I apply Gods words to my life.

Feeling The Presence of God

Today is my 4oth birthday, I've been very apprehensive about this birthday, not being too thrilled about turning 40. Guess I'm afraid of "aging", of being "old". I know the old adage, you're only as old as you feel, and I don't FEEL old, so my only guess is that it must be looking old that is getting me down. Now, I also know that I look better now than I have in years. *(a little side note for those of you that do not know me, in the last 2 years I've lost 50 lbs)*. So anyways, I know it's not a rational thing, but back to where I was going with this post. Being my 40th bday, I'm treating myself a bit today and I'm typing this while I sit at Caribou Coffee where I've been for the last 2 hours. As I sit here, I'm at one of the tables by the window and I can see the lake from here. One of my favorite things, having coffee and looking out over the lake. What a great way to start the day! As I sit here I cannot help but hear the cacophony of various conversations around me. Want to know whats so awesome about that? There is an older gentleman talking w/ a younger man about God and how much easier life is when you walk hand in hand, arm in arm with Him. There's also a group of 3 gentleman talking about God, in regards to their every day life and activities. I get the feeling that they're business men of some kind. So not only am I graced by the beauty of His creation, I'm also surrounded by the melodious sound of His name being spoken. What an awesome country we live in that we can gather in public places and speak His name without fear. Our God IS an awesome God!!!

Feeling Convicted.

Sometimes when I read my bible, I read from a specific book that I'm working through, other times I just open it and start reading. Yesterday morning was one of those, open it and read mornings. I read Proverbs 24. When I got to vs. 30 it opened my eyes a bit, but I didn't give it a whole lot of thought. It basically says don't be lazy, don't lay around taking naps all day because it will get you nothing but a dirt poor life. This struck me a bit cause in a way, this has been something I've been struggling with. I've gotten out of my usual exercise routine and because of that have less energy. So I find that I'm spending way too much time in the recliner with my laptop on my lap. Feeling twinges of guilt for the things that I really should be doing. However, once I closed the bible I didn't give it much more thought.

Well last night, I picked up my bible again before bed, something I rarely do because I tend to feel guilty if I fall asleep while reading it LOL However, I thought, just one chapter. So I pick it up, open it and read, not realizing I'm reading the same thing I read just that morning until I get to vs. 30 again. It's telling me once again, not to be lazy, not to spend my day napping and lounging around, to get up and be productive. So this time I pay attention and I highlight those last few verses. Ok God, you've got my attention, I'm listening.

So this morning comes and I'm going to read my next chapter in Matthew that I'm working through right now, so I open my bible to turn to Matthew and you'll never guess what page it opens up to, yep, Proverbs 24!! Ok God, I get it!! I'm posting this and getting out of the recliner and getting to work!

Go God Go!!!

Ok so how awesome is this!!!! If you've read previous posts you know about how my sister and I went to the Joyce Meyer Womens Conference last fall, just her and I, just the TWO of us. This year, just the TWO of us, has turned into SIXTEEN of us!!! In just one year God has worked through us in amazing ways!

I have found that talking about how He works in my life on a daily basis has become easier and easier to do. I feel less intimidated about giving God the glory He so rightly deserves. In doing so I find that I'm even more surrounded by other believers than I ever thought I was. Why is it that Christians who love God find it so hard to share Him with others. It's like that song you learned in Sunday school, "....hide it under a bushel, NO, LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE".
Are you letting your light shine???

Keeping Focus

One of the things that I struggle with in my relationship with God is keeping my focus on Him and His desires and plans for me. I have found that one of the ways that I can best stay focused is to be involved with others that share my same beliefs and are on their own journey. I'm sure that some of friends and family are starting to think I'm going off the deep end with all the time I've been spending at church lately. However, I need that constant "touching base" with other believers to help me stay on the right path. I also find that listening to messages from Andy Stanley and others that I enjoy listening to and my music continue to lift me up and keep me Spirit filled.

How could anyone doubt?

I used to be quite the night owl, sometimes it'd be 1 or 2am before my head would hit the pillow. As I've gotten older that seems to have changed and I now find myself struggling to stay awake much past 10pm. Going to bed earlier has it's advantages, I'm now up earlier, usually by 5:30. One of my favorite things about being up so early is getting to enjoy the peace and quiet in my household. It seems when there isn't the distraction of the TV, or the kids you tend to be more observant and more appreciative of the things around you. Especially on mornings like today when the sky is just as blue as can be, the air is crisp and I even got to glimpse the sunrise as I drove home from Starbucks. I'm very fortunate to live in Lake Geneva, one of the most beautiful places to live in my opinion. If you've never seen the sun come up over the lake you don't know what you're missing. The way the light dances over the water is just amazing. I've often told my husband that I'd love to have a house on the lake, not because of the status of it, or because I want a boat and all that fancy glitz that one thinks of when they think of a house on the lake. I want a house on the lake simply because I want to spend my mornings on the deck/porch watching the sun come up while enjoying that first cup of coffee.

So whats with the title of this post? Well, I've often wondered what people who don't believe that God created all this beauty are thinking. Who or What other than the Lord God Almighty could have possibly created all of this glorious splendor? I doubt that any "big bang" could have caused such attention to detail. Only someone as powerful and loving as our God could have created something so wonderful. The little things that most people take for granted and don't notice are so blatantly obvious as 5:30 in the morning when there isn't the hustle and bustle of noise and people, that you cannot help but drink it all in and just praise God for allowing us to live in His handiwork.

Come Holy Spirit, Come!

I don't know who did this painting or I would definitely give them proper credit, it just spoke to me when I did an image search for Holy Spirit.

The last few days I have just been so Spirit filled it's like I'm walking on air! I can't put my finger on that exact moment when it happened, but it's definitely there. This amazing Spiritual High is so awesome and I just feel so close to God lately. I don't ever want it to go away!

Where I'm Supposed To Be

Do you ever find yourself looking for exactly what you want and when you find it you just KNOW it's right? That's how I feel about my church. My husband and I started our marriage going to Christ Episcopal Church in Delavan, WI. It's a wonderful church with wonderful parishioners and Priest. It was where we needed to be when we started our married life and having children. We were surrounded by my husbands family and had all the support we needed. As our kids got older, and the congregation began to change we found that we were just not getting what we needed from it any longer. We were changing in our Spiritual needs, however out of obligation to Jerry's family and out of habit as well, we continued to go there on occasion which was really not doing us any good. Then as I mentioned in a previous post I went to the Joyce Meyer Women's Convention last year and my Spirit was renewed and my fire for God was alive and burning hot. Going to church became almost a let down after that because I was not feeling the passion there that I wanted. Not that the church changed in it's message or was it anything that the church did, it was ME that changed and wanted, NEEDED something else, something more, something different. After a little bit of trying different churches we decided to visit Lakeland Community Church just outside of Lake Geneva here. One of the big things that Jerry and I had talked about in terms of finding a new church was that we wanted one that our children could get excited about and become involved in as well. When we walked into the church, the service had already started with the music, and oh my goodness was it AWESOME!!! Guitars and Keyboards and Drums, like walking into a concert!!! It blew me away!!! 10 minutes into it, Melissa my youngest teenage daughter, the hardest one to reach right now in terms of church and God, leans over to me and says "Mom, This ROCKS!!". YES!!!! That day just happened to be mine and Jerry's wedding anniversary, the sermon was about marriage and commitment and love. Could NOT have been more meant for us! They showed one of the small video's that coincide with our service and it was humorous and our 10 year old son about fell off his chair in a laughing fit. I was so moved by this service that I cried through the whole thing, I truly felt that we had found our new church, that THIS is what I had been looking for. To reaffirm my feelings when the service was over and we got into the van to go home, my kids were still talking about it all.

We've been there now for about 2 months, and our whole family has been very involved in several things and as we get to know the other members we're even more happy to have found our niche in God's Kingdom.

I hope that everyone can find that, a church that truely has the ability to feed your soul with everything that it needs. Don't let obligation or habit get in the way of growing in your walk with God.

Something to Shout Hallelujah About!

Today was a wonderful, wonderful day! Today my husband and I were baptised. Both of us had been baptised as infants, however, the church we go to does adult baptisms by submersion. We both thought long and hard and prayed about this. Both of us decided that it was a way to reaffirm our faith, and to set a good example for our children.

If you'd like to see the video it can be seen here.

Started a New Bible Study

This morning was the first meeting of the womens bible study that I'm participating in at my church. I'm really excited about going through this book and see what parts of my life I need to change and adjust to be sure I'm living my life, all of it, to the glory of God.

Another wonderful thing about doing this bible study is the women that I will get to know while we're doing it. I'm fairly new to our church and just love our church and know that this is the place we're supposed to be. Growing in Christs love at this church is easy, however, as is the case any time you put yourself in a new place, it takes time to get to know the people and make new relationships. I'm a very social person so this is important to me, and relationships with other women who love the Lord as I do are the best kind of relationships to have.

Pray! Pray! Pray!!!

I have a very dear friend who went to the dr. today because she was in some discomfort because of what she was assuming was just some ovarian cysts because she's had these before, but this one hurt worse than the others. The doctor however did a biopsy and is testing for ovarian cancer. He told her she will have to wait TWO WEEKS before she would get the results. He also suggested to her that she bring someone with her to her next appointment. She's very anxious about this and as you can imagine the next two weeks are going to be a very long two weeks. Please pray for her that the test results come back okay and that she finds some peace over the next two weeks and they go quickly for her. Her name is Kristy so you may pray for her by name, also feel free to add her to any prayer chains/lists that you know of or participate in.

Emotions are a Powerful Thing.

You ever FEEL like doing something or saying something that you know just isn't right? I had one of those BIG moments just recently, I'm still fighting with it actually. Now you may not identify with this particular situation as it's not personal to you, and it may seem I'm being petty, but there are situations in your own life I'm sure that would help you relate.

My parents have 3 pieces of property up north where we camp. They have 1 lake lot and 2 others that have campers on them and sheds and the perfect set up for lots of family vacations and fun. All these years they have been extremely gracious and generous and have allowed all of us kids to use their campers and property free of charge. We've always tried to give them some $$ and help pay for things when we can because we feel that is the right thing to do. However we're well aware that what we give them most likely barely scratches the surface of what it actually costs them in taxes, electric, storage and general upkeep of everything.

They recently aquired the 3rd property and have since then discovered their budget is stretched almost to a breaking point! So something has to go! The first property they bought and the camper on it is bought and payed for, therefore the most logical choice to liquidate. UGH!! They have had this property for years!!! We've grown to love this place and hate to see it go! I so desperatly wanted to scream and shout and throw a tantrum about this. However, it's so selfish of me to feel this way so I kept my emotions in check and let my parents know that I totally understand, and I was being honest, I do understand. However, that doesn't mean I like any of it!

Joyce Meyer has mentioned many of times in her messages about how hard it is not to let us be ruled by our emotions. How important it is to do what we KNOW is right and NOT what we FEEL like doing. This is certainly one of those times and something I'm praying hard to do. I know that this is a difficult decision for my parents because they know it's disappointing to us kids, and I know thats not what they want to do. However, us kids need to be supportive and understanding and help them NOT to feel any guilt over this. They've given us things that many parents can't do for their children and we still have the other lots and camper to go to so it's not like they've taken it all away from us. So I just have to get used to someone else owning "My" lot and "My" camper. *sigh*

This too shall pass, with God's help.