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.