My Prayer Journal-Flight TWA 800

I have been impressed more and more lately to keep a prayer journal. I pray for others often, but, I never write those prayers down. For me, there is something powerful about writing things down. I am very much a technological kind of girl. I have a laptop, an I-touch, a blog...you get the picture, but I still keep a paper datebook and I still find pleasure in writing things by hand.

This morning while I was having my quiet time with God, I thought of a lady who lost her four children in TWA flight 800 on July 17, 1996. What's odd about this thought is that were 240 people that lost their lives on that flight and this lady has been on my mind ever since. This morning I prayed for her and I wrote my prayer down in my journal. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will comfort her and give her the peace that passes all human wisdom. I have no idea why this lady stays so heavily on my mind and after so many years no less, but I am learning to be obedient to the promptings of the Spirit. I pray that one day whether on this earth or in the earth made new, I will get to speak with her and hear of her story of how she made it through.

Is there a seemingly random person or a thought that comes to your mind often? Consider writing it down and presenting it before the Lord in prayer.

My Core Values-Purity

A couple of months ago I began writing about my core values. The first on my list was Purity. The dictionary defines purity as the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc... Strong's concordance adds the words chaste, immaculate and modest to the mix.

I want my children (and myself) to be pure inside and out. I think of Mary the Mother of Jesus and how pure she must have been to be able to give birth to the Messiah-pure not only in body but in thought as well. This is the type of purity that I desire.

Now how exactly do you get (and keep) that kind of purity. Philippians 4:8 is one of my favorite scriptures. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there by any virtue, and if there by any praise, think on these things.

I use this scripture as a standard for the things we watch on television and any activities we participate in. Yes it means we abstain from a lot of things, but I am learning to keep my children's minds focused on other things to the point that they don't even ask for the television anymore. God is good!!

Where Were You on 11/04/2008?

I sat on the phone with my Mom just before President Elect Obama gave his speech. We talked about significant dates in history. Dates that if you were alive to witness, you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing. Dates like the day Kennedy and MLK were assassinated, the day man walked on the moon, the day the Challenger blew up and of course 9/11.

Where were you when the news came that America had elected its first Black President? I used to wish that I was alive when Martin Luther King, Jr lived, to witness his great speeches. Never in a million years did I think I would be alive to hear the words of the first Black President.

I pray that no matter where you were and that no matter where you are right now, that you will pray for our new leader; pray for this country. Pray for each other. No one person can change America. We must all accept the challenge of being responsible for each other, and for those of you who are Christians, may we spread the love of Christ as never before.

I believe that change is coming, and not because Barack Obama will be the next president, but because Americans realize that they have choices and that choices really do matter.

May we choose to love one another. May we choose to be our brother's keeper. And when all is said is done may we choose to live a life that is pleasing in God's sight.

Peace-True or False

A dear friend of mine forwarded an article to me from Crosswalk.com entitled "Christian Self Defense". There is a situation amongst other parties that I am dealing with that could use some of the principles outlined in this article and at first glance I began to apply them to that situation. But as I read further, I realized that these principles could and should be applied to my own life.

I despise confrontation. So much so that the flesh side of me would rather avoid the truth than deal with a fight. I realize that this is a MAJOR character flaw on my part. For the majority of my Christian life, I viewed Christ as peaceable, docile, gentle, loving, you get the picture. Doesn't the Word say " Behold the lamb which taketh away the sin of the world? Aren't lambs sweet and soft and fuzzy?

As I continue to walk this never-ending path of growth, I have come to realize that yes, He is that Lamb and everything that lambs represents, but He is also a God of truth and peace. And sometimes things have to get ugly and rowdy before they become peaceful.

I am reminded of the time when Jesus flipped the tables over. He had to disturb the peace, to bring order to God's house. So the question that I must ask myself as someone who avoids disturbing the peace at all cost is, when I allow wrong to continue because I don't want to "disturb the peace" am I really facilitating peace? And of course the answer is no because I often come away having this altogether too familiar conversation in my head: "Why didn't I say this? Why didn't I do that?" Basically my silence on the issue or avoidance of it altogether creates an unrest in my soul which attributes to false peace. I have temporarily created peace on the outside, by I am warring inside.

Here is one of the paragraphs from the article that I identified with:

In stark contrast to this way of life, both the Old and New Testaments are
replete with conflict, often accompanied with God's approval and favor. However,
Paul's admonishment "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at
peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18) has been taken to mean that we should never
"disturb the peace." Here's something we need to know: this is absolutely true,
when it applies to actual peace. Where there is real peace, we are to keep
peace. But where there is not peace, we are to make peace, and that can require
conflict. Peace is not merely the absence of tumult; peace means that things
have been made right, and where they have not been made right, it is wrong to
pretend perpetually that there is peace, justice, respect, and goodwill (see,
for example, Jeremiah 6:14)

The word balance comes to my mind. Jesus Christ was the epitome of a balanced life. When life is balanced, every now and then the boat will be rocked, the only other option is to be still. And we all know that if the boat is still, that means it isn't going anywhere.

As you strive to make true peace in your life, remember Isaiah 26:3 -Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Financial Blessing Update-I've Decided What I'm going To Work On

Today is day 23 of the 90 day Financial Blessing Challenge. I have decided that I am going to crochet some baby clothes (probably mainly hats) and donate them to the children's hospital.

What's interesting is that this idea came to me some a while back and I just never got started on it. When my Pastor gave the challenge, the first thing that came to my mind was the Children's Hospital. I wasn't sure that this was what God was telling me to do and so I waited. I had another idea come to my mind of starting a community garden, but I don't believe it's related to this challenge. Who knows, maybe I'm supposed to do both? We'll see, but for right now I will be looking for some patterns for baby hats and booties and all kinds of cute stuff!!

If you happen to know of any patterns that work up relatively quickly, please share!

30 Days to Connect with Jesus

Wordkeeping.com has added some new programs to its list, one of which is 30 Days to Connect with Jesus. I signed up to begin this program on August 1st. On yesterday, I received some questions for thought that I would like to share:

1. Do I honestly believe that God really loves me?

2. How do I give evidence in my life that I appreciate God’s love for me, and that I love Him in return?

3. Do I acknowledge God’s handiwork in nature, and do I let it tell me of His love for me?

4. What can I do to be more tuned to nature, listening to God’s voice in the natural world?

5. Do others see Jesus in my behavior toward them?

6. If the person closest to me shared their honest opinion of me, would they describe me as a loving, unselfish person?

7. Do I frequently think about what Jesus has done for me?

8. Do I realize how much my sins hurt Him, so that it breaks my heart?

9. Do I sense Him lovingly calling me to come to Him?

10. Do I feel my heart responding in love for Him?

Part of the e-mail says " Search your heart for your genuine beliefs. Go deep, and be brutally honest, and let your heart be broken in complete surrender to God. If you find that your answers don’t measure up to what is pleasing to God, ask Him to change your heart, so that you can be in harmony with Him. Each question can be turned into a prayer for God to make it a reality in your life."

I challenge you to do the same. May God richly bless you and may you be encouraged as you continue to live for Him.

Kickin It Up A Notch-Scheduling

In keeping with my Kickin' It Up A Notch Theme, I have been working on my schedule. I created "pivot points" in my schedule and then worked in everything else. One thing that I have found is that I ABSOLUTELY love having dinner early. We have dinner at 1:00 and that works well for me because dinner is out of the way and I can have my kitchen clean before the afternoon is out. Plus in the fall when I begin my workday at 3, this gives me plenty of time to finish school, have the kids fed, and then send them off to do their personalized assignments (crafting, playing, etc.)

So our pivot points look at little like this: We have breakfast at 8 am. The children rise at 7 and have personal devotion and do all of their chores (wash face, brush teeth, make bed, put away pajamas, etc). Right now we are in a test run and once we get it down then there will be penalties (having to rise 10 minutes earlier for each chore not completed) for not being done with chores by breakfast and incentives (not sure what these will be yet) for completing them all.

After breakfast we have family worship (at the breakfast table). Then we go outside to water the garden, get some exercise, explore, etc. and then come back inside to start school. After school we take another break and go outside.

Our next pivot point is Dinner at 1pm. After dinner is cleanup time and quiet time. Then crafts (this is the time that we will work on sewing and other things). 6pm is Supper or late snack (fruit, bread, popcorn, soup in the winter time, sometimes leftovers from dinner if we are really hungry) :-)

7pm is bath time, and then 8pm is Evening Family Worship and bedtime immediately after.

What does your schedule look like? Is it time for you to Kick It Up a Notch?? :-)

Kickin' Up a Notch in My Private Worship

The other day I wrote a post about how I am kickin' it up a notch. This kickin it up will include my personal worship as well. One thing that I am learning is that you can have the best system in the world, but if it doesn't work for you, then, well, it doesn't work! So one of the things that I am working on is being me and doing what works best for me.

A far as my personal worship is concerned, I have found that it is absolutely essential for me to have it in the morning. Even if I just lay in bed and commune with God having never opened my Bible, I must take time to lay out my daily plans before Him and ask Him to guide me along the way. It is also during this time that I reconsecrate myself to Him. Paul said he died daily and so I must choose every single day to die to myself and allow God to be in charge. If I don't do that early in the morning before my day gets started, then by 9:00am self is fully alive!

One thing that I like to do in my personal worship is write down scriptures that I come across that relate to certain topics. So for example, I am studying music (which I will update how that is going in another post soon to come). If I come across any scripture that relates, I like to write it down so I have them all together. Then I can study, here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept.

Shereen over at Waiting For Him has a lovely post that fits exactly what I am doing and how my mind works. I LOVE index cards. I don't know what it is. Maybe the fact that you can change the order of them? I ordered a 4x6 box from Drugstore.com and I have already purchased the letter and number dividers so I am eager to get started.

How is your personal worship going? Is your system working for you? Are you ready to Kick it Up a Notch? :-)

What's In a Name?

Yesterday was my 13th year wedding anniversary. I must say that it has not been the easiest 13 years of my life, but God is good! As a result of this union, I have grown much closer to Him and my life has been enriched because of it. Growing closer to God is definitely a win-win situation.

At any rate, for dinner we went to a lovely restaurant on the lake and afterwards visited the gift shop. In the gift shop I cam across a card with my name on it. Here is what it said:

Yolanda

"Flowering"

The Lord is my rock

and my fortress

and my deliverer;

My God, my strength,

in whom will I trust;

My shield and the

horn of my salvation,

my stronghold

Psalm 18:2

Wow! Talk about an on time message. I think about my personality and how I am prone to despair. I took a personality test once and it said that I am easily discouraged. It is so true. But with God as my Strength and my Deliverer I can move forward anyhow!

I have put my name next to that verse in my Bible and plan on committing it to memory.

What does your name mean? Do you have a verse that seems to describe who you are or who God is to you?

Kickin It Up a Notch

I have been using this summer to "Kick it up a notch". By that I mean that I am working on revamping our scheduling (changing the things that haven't been working and replacing them with things that do) and making sure that I am actually spending time with my kids and not just being at home with them. There really is a huge difference.

I am learning to truly commit my plans to God each morning. It sounds so easy. If God is wise and all knowing, why would I hesitate to commit all of my plans to Him. Anyone who has tried it, knows that it is easier said than done, especially for those of us who belong to a generation of planners. We even have careers that are centered around planning. Plan, plan, plan...as long as I have it all planned out everything will go smoothly, right? Well, I am finding that this is not always the case and even in the event that it does go the way that I planned it, is it what God would have planned? Now that's the real question!

So I am learning day by day to surrender my plans to Him to make my home a reflection of the pattern of heaven. What does my home say about my faith? Is it a place where the angels love to dwell? Is it orderly? Is it a place where unkind words seem terribly out of place? Does love abound and grace much more abound?

Well I can honestly say that I am not yet able to answer yes to all of these questions, but by the Grace of God I am Kickin it up a notch!!

Family Worship

Every morning after breakfast we have family worship. During this time we read and discuss a few paragraphs from a spiritual book (we are currently reading Steps to Christ), sing a hymn and review our memory verses. We have several Memory verses in our box and are currently working on learning passages such as Psalm 100 and Psalm 23. It's amazing how quickly the children can commit them to memory when you are reviewing them regularly.

For evening worship, we sing a song and read from the Bible. We have not been nearly consistent in our evening worship as we have in the morning, but just today my daughter asked if we could start reading the Bible again before we go to bed. I guess that's my cue to get it together! :-)

What do traditions do you have for family worship or for meal time or before bed?

Going Natural Hair Update

Today marks 10 weeks since I've had a relaxer. It's going better than I expected it would. I went yesterday to have my hair washed, conditioned and trimmed. I told my hair stylist that I didn't want to do the "big chop" but that I wanted to just continue to cut until all my perm was gone. He said I had about an inch and a half of new growth, and he probably cut that much of my relaxed hair off. It's been a long time since my hair was this short (I'll update my profile picture soon), but I'm enjoying being on my way to being relaxer free. Oh the simple pleasures in life. :-)

Pet Sitting

This weekend we pet sat for some friends that went out of town. So far I haven't allowed my children to get a pet, because pets are a lot of responsibility and Mom has enough responsibility! The rule is that if they can do their chores for 3 months without being reminded, then they can get a dog. The honest truth is, if they did it for 30 days I would get one, but I'm not adding a dog to the mix when the answer to "Why didn't you clean your room" is "Well, I didn't really feel like it". Over here I teach that God made us all beings of free will. You don't ever have to do what I tell you, but for every action, there is a reaction. I believe that it's important for children to know that they ALWAYS have a choice, and that EVERY choice has a consequence. Can I get an Amen?

Ok well enough of that, I'm preaching and we're supposed to be talking about the dog. Forgive my stream of consciousness. :)

At any rate, Noah was just what we needed to show the kids that they really are not ready for a dog. The first day he was here, he left a "package" in my daughter's room that I made her clean up and the second day he left two (in spite of the fact that I took him outside several times). He has these little mat things that are for pet training which he did use a few times. I guess he is still learning. After the 3rd "package", my daughter said, "Mom you were right, keeping Noah is hard work!" which I responded to "Yes, I know honey and he's only been here a little over a day!" LOL

He slept in my bathroom (where "package pickup" is not a big deal since the floor is tile). Friday night he went right to sleep. I guess he was tired from all the running outside in the backyard. Saturday night was altogether a different story. I don't think he was too happy that we had been gone to church for several hours and evidently he wanted to play all night to make up for it. When I put him in the bathroom to go to sleep, he whined and whined. I have no idea what time he went to sleep. I just remember hearing him whining again at around 6am at which time I got up and took him outside.

So I guess whenever we are ready for a little canine company, we can just go and pick Noah up for the weekend. I'm so glad we can take him back home. ;-)

Garden Update

It seems like we have been working on getting our garden going for years. (sigh) I still don't have much to show for it. After reading challenge #16 from the Handbook of Nature Study, I went and bought some sunflower seeds and potting soil. We plan to plant them today after I finish working. We also bought some pansies, dahlias, and nasturtiums.

I'm still hoping to plant something in the garden before it is just absolutely too late, (the Texas heat is on it's way) so we bought some rosemary, basil, peas, eggplant, carrots and sage. My daughter suggested that we not do the seedlings, but that we just put them in the box. We may do both and record which set does better. Sounds like science class to me!

Also I think I realized why I have been so hesitant to get my garden started. The square foot gardening method talks about the importance of compost in your garden. I don't think I really want a composter! I am extremely sensitive to smells and I just can't imagine having this decomposing food in my back yard. I do have a space on the side of the house where no one ever goes that I could put it.

Do you have a compost? Did you build it? Does it smell? Is there a certain kind that you can buy that doesn't? Do you have problems with fruit flies or rodents or whatever???



wanna be gardener :)

Stranger Than Fiction

Two months ago I ordered my daughter's next handwriting book so I would have it when she finished the other one. About a month after ordering it, I hadn't received it yet. At first I thought maybe I was just being scatter-brained and hadn't called to order it after all. So I called and sure enough the owner of the family owned store remembered that I had placed the order and remembered sending it out to me. I asked him if he had ordered it media mail and he said yes and asked me to wait another 10 days or so to see if it came.

Another two weeks passed and no book. I called back to let him know that I still had not received it and to see if it had been returned to him. He said that he had not received it and that he would send a new book out right away. I got the new book 2 days later.

I took my kids to a birthday party today and on the way home I stopped to check the mail. Guess what I found. The handwriting book. And course I not writing this story to tell you that I ordered a hanwriting book twice and got both copies. I could not believe what I saw when I opened my mail. The package had been burned! Never in my whole life have I seen anything like it. It was in a plastic bag. It was wet, and it was burned.

There was a letter enlclosed and here is what it said:

Dear Postal Customer,

On March 24, 2008 a postal contract vehicle carrying mail to the *** Processing &Distribution Center was involved in an accident which resulted in the vehicle catching fire and destryoing some mail.

Any mail that was not completely destroyed has been recovered and transported to the *** P&DC to be re-processed. Mail containing a legible address or return address will be re-processed and delivered as soon as possible.

The enclosed mail piece was addressed to you or, is being returned to you because we cannot determine who the mail piece should be delivered to due to a missing or incomplete address.

The loss or delay of any piece of mail is frustrating to both the Postal Service and our customers, and we aggree that incidents such as this should not occur. We realize that your mail is important to you and that you have very right to expect it to be delivered on time and in good condition.

Please be assured that we are constantly working to better meet your expectations and our service standards. You are a valued customer and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.

I am a firm believer that things do not just happen by chance. I have no idea why it was my mail that was burned on the truck and why the address was still intact so that they could still send it to me, but I am sure there is an object lesson in here somewhere. I pray that the driver of the vehicle was not injured and am lifting up prayers in the event that he or she was.

Words

One of the things that I love about reading and tutoring on-line is that I come across some great words. I realize that I have a love for words. There are some things that you cannot properly describe without the write word!

Today as I was tutoring, a student logged in needing help with synonyms for the word truculent. At first glance I thought they had misspelled the word translucent! LOL

Then I was reading my girlfriends blog and she used the word cacophonous. She said it just popped into her head. I guess it wouldn't surprise you to hear that she is a Doctor of Neonatology!

I don't mind having to pull out my dictionary to figure out what someone is saying. I quite enjoy it. :-)

Have you heard any good words lately??

My First Sermonette

This past Mother's Day, I gave my first "sermonette". The theme of the weekend was "A Mother's Love" and the title of my message was "The Love of a Godly Mother". I used the story in I Kings of the two women that fought over a baby. When the King suggested that the baby be cut in half, the real mother opted to give him away rather than have him die. Any good mother would have done the same. Then I used the life of Hannah from I Samuel to demonstrate the life and love of a godly mother.

What makes Hannah such a godly mother you may ask?

1. She fits the profile of love found in I Corinthians chapter 13
2. She was a praying woman
3. She dedicated her child to the Lord for as long as he was alive
4. Her life reflected the power of praise

I know that Mother's day has passed, but godly mothers are on duty everyday. :-)

If you really want to make a difference in the life of your children, one that will last for all of eternity, walk in love, pray for your children, dedicate them to the Lord, and make sure your life reflects the goodness of God.

God has promised in Proverbs 22:6 that if we train up a child in the way that he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it.

Next to the love of God, there is no love on earth more powerful than the love of a mother. Have you told your children that you love them today?

Citation-Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility

Monday, I was on my way to Whole Foods and a police car made a u turn in the street and started tailing me. I wasn't sure what the speed limit was, but I was pretty sure that I wasn't speeding. I pulled over into the nearest gas station and waited for the officer to approach the car.

He pulled me over because I do not have a license plate on the front of my car. In Texas it's a requirement to have one on the front and back. Since I bought my car in Georgia, and in Georgia you only have to have one plate, my car did not come equipped to put a plate on the front. I asked at the dealership, but they basically told me I was out of luck. Perhaps I could try a body shop.

The officer issued a warning. He asked to see my driver's license and my insurance. Of course the insurance card that I had was expired and so I was issued a citation for "failure to maintain financial responsibility". Doesn't that sound horrible?

The good news is that if I send in a copy of my current insurance before May 30th, I do not have to pay a fee.

Modest Dress

A while ago God laid the subject of modest dress on my heart. When I attended elementary school at Pensacola Christian Academy (Home of A Beka Books) the dress code was that all young ladies wore dresses or skirts, no pants. We were allowed to wear cullotes for PE but that was as close as it got. So when God laid this idea of wearing mostly skirts and dresses, it did not seem too far fetched. I must say that I was a bit disappointed since I had just gone out and bought several pairs of new jeans, but I received it well. And I still intend to wear jeans for camping, some outdoor activities or when it's really cold. I certainly believe that they have their place.

So now my dilemma is being modest but looking nice. :-) I am convinced that I can do both. With the clothes they are making these days, I may very well have to make my own, but I think it would be worth it. It seems that most tops are cut low to reveal cleavage, jeans and even skirts are made low to accentuate the hips. And it's mostly in the teenage section! Poor little teenage boys. Do they even stand a chance?

At any rate, please tell me where you shop for modest clothes. What is your idea of modesty? Better yet, what is God's idea of modesty or does He even care. I would love to hear your thoughts. :-)

Q & A-What Do You Do on the Sabbath?

Question:

Can I ask, what do you do on the Sabbath ? I mean, what do you consider work and not work ? Does your family go to church on the Sabbath or stay home ?

Answer:

On Sabbath we go to church in the morning. In the afternoon we come home and eat. Some weeks we are invited to a church member's house. Some weeks we invite others over. After dinner, we often go to the park and find things in nature that remind us of God.

I consider work to be what I do for employment (I tutor on-line, so I don't work on Sabbath) and anything around the house that is not related to what we are doing that day. I cleanup after us as we go. I rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher after we eat. If one of the children spills something on the kitchen floor, I will mop it if necessary. If I have prepared properly, then only that spot will be dirty and so I am not tempted to mop the whole floor. :-)

At sunset (both on Friday and Saturday) we have worship to bring in and to close the Sabbath respectively.

I hope this answers your question. If not please feel free to ask more. I don't mind at all.