So tough and yet so wimpy

This morning I decided to sit outside under the umbrella on the patio to do my devotions and do some writing. It's so beautiful out here. I love the sounds that accompany sunny Saturday mornings as Spring gets ready to jump into Summer. Dogs barking, birds singing, kids playing and leaves in the trees above me dancing to the rhythm of the gentle wind. Wish every morning could start off this peaceful. 

Then my peace was interrupted. 
Our son Aaron has a big dog named Kane. He is the coolest dog and so loving to those he knows. 
To strangers walking their dogs though, he can come across as the bully of the block. 
If anyone dares to walk by our house, he is quick to the fence to let them know that they are in his hood and they best get to steppin' before he jumps the fence and devours their family pet. Since he doesn't know how to jump the fence though, Kane's choice of intimidation is his bark. 
It is loud, deep and demands respect.
By the way families hurry to get out of his sight, I would say he gets what he wants. 






But this morning I saw a different side of Kane as he was far from the big mean dog that he portrays himself to be. 
It all started when a blue jay landed on his food bowl, plucking out a piece of dog food and flying away. 

"Hey!", I yelled at the bird while looking down at my boy laying next to my chair, who did absolutely nothing but continue to lay next to my chair.
 
I started reading again when suddenly two black birds with beady, piercing blue eyes landed on the gutter of the house and leaned toward Kane and screeched at him. 

Once again I looked down at Kane, but this time, all I saw was tail as he was cowering under my chair.

Surprised and disappointed in him, I got up and put his bowl in the garage hoping they'd go away and also because Purina is too expensive to be used to feed mean things with feathers. 







Apparently, this made the birds more mad and instead of leaving like I had hoped, they kept repeating their behavior. Which then made me mad because the more they cawed at Kane, the more he cowered. I tried giving him a pep talk, but he looked at me as if to say, just put me in the garage with my food, Woman. 
The birds kept doing this and it started to freak me out, so I grabbed the nearest thing to me...if you are a lover of black birds with beady, piercing blue eyes...don't read this next part. 
I threw a basketball, okay, two basketballs and a rock at them. Unfortunately, they saw the large objects coming  and they flew away unharmed. I think I only contributed to their already angry selves because then they started to land on the privacy fence right next to the edge of the umbrella and aimed their demands directly at me which allowed Kane to relax a little. They are really scary that close and for a split second I almost joined Kane under the chair. 




Then it dawned on me, from watching Kane's behavior, that this is not the first time this has happened.
These birds keep doing this because they can. 
Instead of Kane standing his ground and tapping into the power within him and using his bark to scare them off, he just hides. All while they fly their little one pound selves down into his yard, land on his bowl and eat his food. 
They just come in and take what is not theirs and he just lets them. 




Determined to not go inside until I was ready to, I remained under the umbrella, but kept a watchful eye for the twin birds because I'm pretty sure they had starring roles in this movie. And that's when I realized that this is a picture of our enemy. 






Satan will bully the heck out of us. He will swoop into our lives and take what does not belong to him because he can. The attacks from him are inevitable. They are going to happen, but our response to the attack is what gives God the permission to swoop in and mark His territory of our heart. Just like Kane's bark makes a dog run away with his family in tow, when we speak Scripture over our enemy, he runs. And when we let the father of lies know that our hearts belong to our Father in heaven, that is when Jesus is quick to the gate of our heart and lets our enemy know that he is not going to come take what is not his. 








There are times when I feel defeated but when I choose to call on the Name of Jesus, I find that there is a big bark behind that Name ladies...say it and watch your enemy cower. He cowers and eventually flees because he knows Who God is and he knows he can't take on something so big and mighty. 






I'm still under my umbrella and the birds are picking on someone else for the time being. 
Kane has resurfaced to the fence and once again is letting the innocent walkers know through his loud barks that you do not come down this street again without an invitation.
If they only knew that if they walked their pet parakeet, he'd be putty in their hands. 
So glad the privacy fence decorated with bird poop keeps the walkers from seeing me. 

He has me

Last night I took our son Aaron over to his friend John's house to complete a project they've been working on for English class. Our families are like family to each other and so I always love going over there. John's Mom, Charlene and I were in the living room talking while the boys were working/laughing for 3 hours on their project Aaron said would take 5 minutes.


She asked me how I was doing and I told her about the letter we received in the mail last week. The one to Gene from the lovely disability benefits company saying we owe them over forty-five hundred dollars. The secretary was even nice enough to bold the numbers with a comma assuring our attention.


Forget the fact that Gene has lost his job due to three 6 plus hour surgeries forever fusing not only nuts and bolts, but pain into his body. Forget the fact that he can't stand long or even sit through a whole church service. Or has trouble lifting more than our grand babies weigh. The surgeon released Gene to return to work because "it is my standard procedure for all patients 3 months post-op", not taking into consideration this patient has to have a toddler close to the ground help him put his shoes on or that he is unable to perform any of the duties at his job prior to April 2008 when this all began. Forget the fact that his work couldn't/didn't hold his position and he has no job to return to.


But last week after reading that letter from the disability people who have their jobs to go to everyday and who gets a paycheck every payday, I couldn't forget it because their kind letter informed us that the June check, the one to pay our mortgage, wouldn't be mailed to us.  This letter came the day after Gene had gone on a job interview and had that knowing feeling he didn't get the job before he was even back in his truck. He was so down, which if you knew my husband, until all this back stuff started didn't have the word "depression" in his vocabulary. But as he told me the night before the letter arrived, "I just want to provide for my family and honey, I feel less than a man right now". And as if to confirm his lack of being able to bring home even a strip of bacon, the letter arrived.


So as I'm standing in the kitchen with this letter of doom in my hand, my heart is aching for my husband sitting at our kitchen table and my mind is trying to mentally go through our check book. And as I'm taking the grocery money and putting it toward mortgage, in my mind, I said, "Lord, we can't even feed our kids next week".


That's when God stepped into my heart and let me know, the disability people Lelia...NOT your provider.
 My cell phone rang and I answered.



When Alivia was just 5 years old she started participating in what is called the "Pre-school Problem Solving Study". We had received some information from her school and it sounded interesting so when she was in kindergarten we began the adventure of going down to the university for a few hours twice a year for them to observe her doing different testing always in a game format. She loves it. Once in the spring and once in the fall we go down there as she plays games and I sit in the waiting room filling out enough paper work to wipe out a forest.



But this call to set up this year's spring testing was different.
It came during the attempted entrance of  fear into my heart as I stood staring into the empty fridge worried about my kids. "But!" the chipper college girl on the other end of the line said in her voice that revealed no worries of how she was going to feed the hungry, "We have to do the study in 2 days this time instead of just one. Can you come in on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week?"
"Yes", I said, with tears in my eyes, "We'll be there".


So yesterday, Alivia and I went to the study and today we go back. And as we drove to the University I explained to her how God was using her and how way back in the day when she was young, He set this up because "for such a time as this" He knew we would need this study in our lives. "Cool!" was her response with such a beautiful smile splashed across her soft brown cheeks.


See, every time we go in, after the testing is complete, the college girl lets Alivia pick out a prize of her choice and hands me a gift card to Wal-Mart. Usually it's fifty bucks. This time though, for such a time as letting one worried Mom know Who her One and Only Provider is...it's one hundred dollars .

$100.00 of grocery money at Wal-Mart.
Thank You Jesus is all I could barely whisper as I closed my refrigerator door and put the letter on the counter. I felt as if He were giving me the tightest bear hug ever. In my kitchen in the middle of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Thank You Jesus.



As I'm sharing this with Charlene last night, the tears came down her beautiful face. As we held hands, I said, "In the world's eyes, neither one of our families or marriages should have survived what we both have gone through over these last 2 years. I know though if I didn't have Jesus, our marriage wouldn't have survived any of this". She nodded in agreement, but what she said to me next about God was a statement that forced my tired self to lie wide awake in the dark last night next to my unemployed, somewhat disabled husband in complete peace.

"It's a good thing that He has us. 

We don't have Him, HE has us.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 

John 15:16(NIV)

He has me. 
Today. Tomorrow. Tonight. 
As long as I let Him, He has me. 
No matter what, I want to let Him. 
I need Him and desire Him. 
Not because He gave me a Wal-Mart gift card, but because I've done life without Him and I don't want to go back to that. Ever again.  
Does He need me? Not at all, but He has me.




He has me and I pray He has you too. 
And the fact that never wavers that I cannot forget is that God...
He is bigger than all of this earthly mess. And so worth any part of being uncomfortable, unemployed but never unloved or unnoticed.


This morning I read Lysa T's blog post titled Because He asks me to that put my husband and I both in tears. You have to read it, you just have to. 
Click here and go...

If she only knew me...

Have you ever found yourself surrounded by a bunch of Jesus-lovin' women and think that every woman but you is just a sinless creation that God loves way more than He ever could you?

Or gone on a girlfriend get away with a replica of the woman described in Proverbs 31 in every way possible, down to planting vineyards from her earnings? And you return home feeling less of a woman because you can't even sew a button back on a blouse.






Have you gone to a women's conference and been sitting amongst your group of sisters in Christ and while listening to their clean cut testimonies you soon find yourself comparing your life to your friends? And on the outside you remain smiling, but on the inside, you're cringing and thinking, "If she only knew who I really was..."? And the sad part is, that it's not even the impression she is trying to make on you, but her strengths crush your weaknesses.




In the eyes of the world we are told through magazine covers what we're supposed to wear, weigh and want in life. We're bombarded with the worlds view of perfection and if we buy into it, we will be left feeling like a failure.




But some of us can pull off the perfect Christian girl look.
We can look like we have it all together, but behind the walls of our heart we are just a mess.
A mess that only Jesus can handle all the details of.




We can look like this to others around us...

But on the inside, we can feel like this...

This is Alivia's doll that Aaron's dog Kane got a hold of recently.

Before Kane found Barbie, she was perfect.

But after a little time alone with her, even her plastic little self couldn't stop this canine from destroying everything Ken loves about her.

Soon, she was left with no feet, hands and on the left side of her body, not even an arm.

She has chunks of her face taken out and bite marks on the side of her thighs.

In real life, if we let him, Satan will do the same thing with us.

He will take bites out of our self esteem, demolish our hope and chew up the belief that we can ever be usable by such a great God.

The thought life of God and Satan when it comes to us, is so different.

The thoughts of feeling less when compared to your sister in Christ is not coming from the Lord. Satan loves messing with us and will do so on every level possible.

To know how God thinks of us, it's so important to be in His Word daily.

We should be in His Word so deeply, that when Satan does try to take a bite out of us, he tastes nothing but Jesus!

Jesus wants to use our past for His glory.

So many of us believe or have believed He can't or won't; that our lives are too much of a mess for Him to clean up, but He tells us different.
He can use anyone and if willing, He will.

Nothing in our past or our present is unusable to God.

So today, if you compare yourself with others...don't.

Not today.

Truth of it is, she's probably thinking, "if she only knew me".

Allow God to use you right where you are and don't worry about what you look like to others.

Two of my favorite authors and women of God are

Lysa TerKeurst and Lisa Whittle.

Both have written life changing books.

Lysa's book, Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl

can be found here.

And Lisa's book, Behind Those Eyes

can be found here.

Both women to the naked eye, have it all together, but they will be the first to knock themselves off of any pedestal of perfection anyone tries perching them upon.

They are real women that love Jesus, who don't try to portray anything but Jesus in their lives.

If you have never visited them before, do so...you will be blessed.

On the right side of my blog, scroll down and you can see that we have done their books on the Yes to God studies before.

So, if you're looking for a great read to kick off your summer, one that will leave you closer to God when you finish the book, then grab one of these ladies books.

Have a great day and allow Jesus to shine through you and you're outside will be more beautiful than you can ever imagine.

A beauty so contagious that sooner than later, Mattell will just have to come out with a

Jesus-lovin' Barbie.

Does Victoria's Secret even have stuff that lasts for 11 years?

"I remember those," Gene said while pointing to the white lacy underwear I was wearing. After giving me a sexy smile and even a wink, he said,

"Those are from our wedding night".

After staring at his confident self for about 30 seconds, I responded with,

"We got married in '99 Gene, it's now 2010! Who wears underwear for ELEVEN years???? "

Okay.

First I must say, if you wear your panties for 11 years, please don't tell me, it may just alter my thoughts of you.

Secondly, even though there is a 64 pound difference between wedding wife and his 2010 bride, he still thinks I can fit into wedding wife's panties.

Little does he know that back in the day, his new bride wore gorgeous, white lacy panties brought to her out of a drawer by an attendant at Victoria's Secret.

While his 2010 bride had on white underwear she found at Wal-Mart hanging on a plastic hanger next to the Hanes plus size undies that come 10 in a package and these only have lace on the front to hide the fact that they're tummy controller underwear.

Bless his heart though; I may just have to keep this pair until 2021.

Third, the fact he wasn't bothered that I'd be wearing the same underwear for over a decade made me go through his personal drawer and make sure everything he wears has been purchased within the calendar year. It's all good.

Okay, had a fun drawing for some jewelry handmade by a woman named Patti in Mexico. If you have no idea what I'm talking about and would like to read a really cool story of how God introduced Nancy to Patti in a park through a flower Pattie made from wire in her mouth...and how He has provided for Patti's family in a unique way, then click HERE to read this awesome "to God be the glory" story.

So, time to meet the winners.

At first I asked Amiyah to draw 2 names out of Gene's Dallas Cowboys hat, but only because I had forgotten that her cooperation level isn't high in the morning. I was quickly reminded though when she grabbed all the names and wouldn't give them back to me. Gene finally convinced her to drop the pieces of paper clutched in her little hand back into the hat and he drew the names for me.

The woman who will be wearing red from her earlobes and around her neck is...

E'Lise!

And the woman who will have a unique flower necklace to wear, is...

Brenda!

I'm sorry that you don't get Amiyah along with the necklace as promised in the previous post, but once I found out how much shipping and handling was, I waited until she fell asleep and carefully removed your necklace.

And E'Lise since you said in your comment for the drawing you'd take Alivia, she'll be ready for you when you get off work!

Please e-mail me your name & address to chealey5@yahoo.com and I will get these mailed out to you ladies over the weekend.

Since "someone" is throwing a toddler tantrum as I type, I don't care anymore about the price of shipping costs, she's outta here. Not sure to where though...perhaps to Sharon (His Princess) in Australia...so if you find a package on your doorstep that weighs 25 pounds, open it quickly...she'll be hungry!

Thank you to Nancy who has blessed not only Patti and her family in Mexico,

but us too by saying

yes to God!

A Spring-Bling GIVEAWAY you don't want to miss!

Last month my friend Michelle invited me to go to a jewelry party with her. I usually don't do stuff like that, but when I heard the story behind this unique, beautiful hand-made jewelry and the intentions of the party, I just had to go.

So Alivia went along with us and we had so much fun. I bought these cute earrings

and Alivia picked out these adorable turquoise danglies. My camera on my phone really does not show how cute these are, but trust me, they are super cute.

The party was in a home about 30 minutes from Lincoln and after making our selections we headed back to our home during the 5 o'clock rush hour. We got off the exit ramp and were the first ones in line waiting at the light to turn onto a very busy street. Just so happened Michelle's transmission went out. She called the tow truck and her hubby Mike and we waited. And while we waited Alivia and I admired our new jewelry. Alivia even modeled hers for me. Did you know that only mean people drive at five and take it personal that your vehicle broke down in front of them? And they are extra mean if they don't notice your hazard lights flashing.But even the mean scowls adults gave us and a teenage girl on the verge of flipping us off could not steal our jewelry joy.




Well, a last week I tricked Aaron into going with me to another one of their open house parties. He reluctantly went inside with me after I fessed up and told him that jewelry heaven was just beyond the front doors of this home. Luckily he left his teenage attitude in the car and even helped me pick out some jewelry to send to some girlfriends.




As I was checking out, I grabbed a pair of really cute cross earrings for Alivia hoping it would soften the blow when she realized Aaron accompanied me to a jewelry party instead of her. That's when Nancy, the head of the jewelry business, gave me a really cute purse!
And then that's when I received the ultimate compliment.
The ladies helping Nancy pack up all the jewelry thought Aaron was "my friend".
Did you read that correctly?? Not my 15 year old son, but my friend.
I'm pretty sure Aaron threw up inside his mouth, but I was beaming that I look youthful enough to have a teenage boyfriend. A cougar, I believe is what the world labels older women who have young eye candy, but call me what you want, I look like I'm at least in my twenties!

With compliments engraved forever in my youthful heart, I should've been thumbing through the yellow pages in search of a good therapist for Aaron, but instead I was checking my e-mail.
That's when I read this from Nancy...
Lelia~Your not going to believe this but I was just thinking about you. I got home and in my jewelry room I am going to be cleaning out things that have been here for a few months, I thought I could send them to you for your friends if you want them. I just need your address (I don't care if you keep any of it!) We are just getting ready to move and would like a good home for the stuff I have had around for a bit! Good night and thanks so much for coming and your son is a keeper for sure!
NANCY



And then yesterday I received a box full of blessings from her. Minus the toaster and bread....


Here's a closer look...
So what's a girl to do, but share these blessings, right? So, I asked my assistant, a.k.a., Amiyah, our 2 year old granddaughter for some help modeling the jewelry I am giving away today on behalf of sweet Nancy.

Okay, so when I asked her to show me the necklace, this is what I got.

So if you win this necklace, this is what the people sitting

behind you in church will see.

If you wear your hair up.

After a few minutes of explaining to her what I expected when I hired her,

I begged her again to show me the necklace.

Then I became like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire and instead of screaming

"Show me the Money!" I was yelling at my toddler granddaughter/model

"Show me the NECKLACE!!!"

And finally Little Girl came through...

And after many blurry pictures and telling her if she swayed again she would get no lunch, I snapped this close up...

But I'm not only giving away one piece, I'm giving away another one.

The model above wouldn't let me remove the necklace up for grabs, so if you win, you will have to come to Lincoln and get it off her yourself.

Good. Luck.

Seriously.

After the struggle of the first photo session, I fired the model.

To showcase the next set, I thought briefly about going and pulling Alivia out of school, but knew Gene wouldn't approve, so I placed the set on top of my computer and snapped away...

That's when the unemployed model noticed I was taking pictures of objects on my laptop and ran and plopped these next to the necklace.

Unfortunately, the shoes are not part of the giveaway,

SHE IS

but the cute two-toned pink shoes with a flower and bling are not.

So, here is what you need to do in order to have your name in the drawing.

There will be 2 winners.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A BLOG TO ENTER.

First, you have to go read the cool story behind the jewelry.

The jewelry that makes you oblivious to Nine to Fivers cussing you out while sitting in rush hour traffic in a broken down PT Cruiser.

Then come back here and leave a comment AFTER you read the story behind the jewelry called

I promise, you'll be blessed by Nancy & Patti's story;

both women who definitely know how to say

"yes to God".

When you get back, leave a comment telling me your thoughts and also,

which piece of jewelry you would want a chance at winning:

the flower or the red.

But keep in mind, the high maintenance Little Girl comes along with the flower necklace.

They're a set.

The red comes with earrings, the flower comes with Amiyah.

Did I mention that all giveaways on this blog have a strict No Return policy?

As of 5/13/10, they do.

The winners will be announced Monday morning, May 17th!

Spread the word to all your girlfriends...if not about the giveaway, at least the story.

Also, check out the recent post on the ana patricia blog as they are part of the

Ultimate Blog Party.

Yet another chance to win a beautiful, handmade necklace.

And if you don't like jewelry, try winning it as a gift for someone who does.

CLICK HERE FIRST TO READ THE STORY BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL

ANA PATRICIA JEWELRY.

Oh, and did I tell you have 4 chances to win????

Here's how...

1.) Leave a comment here after reading their short story.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BLOG~Leave your comment by clicking on the "Anonymous" button.

2.) If you have a blog, sign up as a follower for Nancy's blog

3.) If you are on Facebook, then follow ana patricia jewelry on FB,which you can find on Nancy's blog.

4.) Put a link to this post on your Facebook inviting others to join the giveaway which of course, leads them to the ana patricia blog.

Just let me know in your comment here all you did above and that is how many times your name will go in the drawing.

Blessings,

WHY? Just wondering Lord, that's all.

The other day I was just thinking through stuff and found myself pretty frustrated.

I asked God a lot of "whys".

In the sermon today, pastor Bruce talked about storms based on Matthew 8:23-27.

He reminded us that in this walk with Jesus, storms are going to come.

He made two points:

*Storms are a natural part of our journey.

*Storms can cause panic.

We see that in this passage in Matthew with the disciples starting with verse 24.

Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.

But Jesus was sleeping.

The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"

Can you even imagine what it was like in that boat?

Yes, we can.

~Last May when Candice lost her young daughter Charity to cancer, she was in that boat.

~Last December when Mel lost her twelve year old son Andrew to brain cancer she was in that boat.

~Or recently as my friend E'Lise shed tears over her little sister as she watches her fight another battle against her body with cancer.

~Or when my sister in law Gwen who after her husband Sam had a stroke that left him disabled, was forced to put her husband in a nursing home, long before they are even retirement age so she could still work.

~Or Lisa, wife and mom just starting radiation to fight her cancer. (Her picture is on my sidebar)

~Or my friend Alethea, single mom and sole supporter of her 2 boys who lost her secure job.

There are women all over the place enduring some furious storms.

I loved how Pastor Bruce said it today..."Um, excuse me, I did not sign up for this. I signed up for two things...sins are forgiven and heaven is my home".

We do not want our boats to rock.

We want to listen to our Christian music channels and go to church each weekend and shout out a few Amen's during the sermon, but do not rock the boat.

But the truth is, the boat is going to rock.

We are going to find ourselves in a storm.

Storms that are furious with waves crashing over us like the disciples experienced.

There will be storms.

So going back up to the verse above, did you notice the middle part...

But Jesus was sleeping.

I love how the Message Bible puts it:

Then he got in the boat, his disciples with him.

The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm.

Waves were crashing into the boat—

and he was sound asleep!

They roused him, pleading, "Master, save us! We're going down!"

Do you ever feel like that?

You're freaking out, JESUS! SAVE ME...I'M GOING DOWN!

Or pleading on behalf of your loved one dying...JESUS!!!! PLEASE!!

And nothing. No response at all.

Could He possibly be sleeping right through the storm of your life?

What the heck??

Ever ask "why" like I did last week?

Our storms are going to come.

How will we respond when we think Jesus has forgotten all about us?

When we think the Captain of our boat is asleep?

In the sermon the pastor also reminded us that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us.

Never.

Last week on my way home from my day job, God gave me the answer to my "why" questions.

While driving down South Street, I looked up to see this billboard for dairy products...

TRUST IN THE NAME

Today, in the storm our family is in...I will trust in the Name of Jesus.

Whatever storm you are facing, whether it's one that can tear your boat to shreds or a small one, you choose to just

Trust In The Name.

Trust, even when it feels like Jesus is sleeping, because just like He did with the disciples,

He will bring calm.

I love this song, but if you can't listen to it, just mute it and read the lyrics that are typed out.

My favorite line is:

He has a reason for each trial

that we pass through in life

And though we're shaken

we cannot be pulled apart from Christ.

TRUST IN THE NAME

The powerful Name of Jesus.

Another incredible song about praising God in the storms is by Casting Crowns...

Praise You in This Storm.

Locked Out

Do you ever feel like you are just walking through this life on auto-pilot?
Like life has just gotten the best of you and you are so ready for the rapture to happen?


Sometimes I just go through the motions and on the outside look like the total Christian package, but on the inside Satan is sitting on the throne of my heart.
No, I have not converted to devil worship, but sometimes I just feel like I am so far from God that I am the poster child for Prodigals.


I am great at asking for people to pray for me...stand in my gap, intercede on my behalf, but sometimes I rely on the prayers of others instead of approaching the throne of grace and cry out to God myself.
I can send you some scripture reference to fit whatever need you have or give you hope for the crisis your heart may feel, but sometimes in my most desperate times my Bible never gets opened.




This morning my sister was at my parents home and was leaving to go to her house.
My parents provide foster care and have five kids under the age of 11 so she's been watching their kids and transporting the three oldest ones back and forth to school everyday.
On their front door they have a lock box with a code that holds a key to their house.
This morning, after taking the kids to school, she walked outside followed by the two toddlers.
She punched in the code to the lock box, removed the key, locked the front door, put the key back in the box and punched in the code again to lock it.
She then shut the screen door and as the three of them were walking to my Mom's SUV, she realized the keys to the truck were on the kitchen counter.
So she pulled out her cell phone and called our Dad and explained her situation to him asking him to come use his key to let her in the house.
He gently reminded her of the lock box.
The lock box she knows the code to that holds the key to let herself back in the house.



Michelle was just going through the motions, not thinking about stuff, just doing it.
She realized without the truck keys, she wasn't able to continue on her journey.
But instead of going to the lock box and obtaining the very thing that would get her moving, she called on someone else.

Oh, don't we do that with our Savior?

My neighbors niece Tiffany once said, "We need to run to the throne instead of the phone".
Or e-mail or text or arrange an emergency Starbucks girlfriend time.
So that means we just go to Jesus and not ever ask anyone to pray for us?
Nope, not what I meant at all.
We need to go to JESUS first then reach out and ask for prayer.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,

that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

We need to run to Him with all our needs, big and small, with our confidence put in Him and what He is capable of doing in our lives, for He is the only One that holds the key to our hearts.
He is the One that has the answer for our unanswered questions.
He is the One that we need to turn to in hope of rescuing us.
And He is the One that will take us by the hand on the journey of a lifetime when we feel like we can't go on.


Oh Lord, I promise one day I'll get this!
Just keep baring with me for I love You so much!

What's Oozing From Your Heart Today?

Last night I picked up Alivia our 8 year old from gymnastics class and when she got in the car I asked her how the class had went.
Putting her head back and having a look of complete exhaustion on her beautiful face she said,

"Oh Mom, they worked us like cows."

Huh?



"Ummm...Liv, cows?"


Slapping her forehead and giggling she said,
"OH!
I meant horses!"


Just never a dull moment with Miss Alivia in our lives!
*****






So the oil spill is all over the news. So very sad.
Here is part of a timeline of the spill listed in an Internet article I read this morning:

April 27 -The Coast Guard said the leaking crude may be set ablaze to slow the spread of oil in the Gulf.

April 28 - The Coast Guard says the flow of oil is 5,000 bpd, five times greater than first estimated. Controlled burns begin on giant oil slick, but shifting winds are expected to push crude ashore.

May 1 - The Coast Guard says the leak will affect the Gulf shore.

May 4 - U.S. Coast Guard officials say the magnitude of the oil spill is astronomical; to give you an idea, 210,000 gallons of oil is oozing into the Gulf of Mexico a day, that's 5,000 barrels of oil per day.

*******************

If I gave you a timeline of things that have been going on in our lives, one would think I would have some callouses on my knees from continuous prayer over my 2 oldest children. Without trying to sound like I'm trying to invite you to a pity-party, I just have to say this one thing: our enemy is VERY real.

He is not out to just make our sweet little Christian life uncomfortable.

NO! Satan is out to kill, steal and destroy.

He wants to work your faith like a horse, or in Liv's case, a cow.

In talking with my girlfriend Charlene last night we agreed that sin is just like the Gulf Coast oil spill. How the choices we make are like a continuous leak that affect so many people.

See, that oil spill isn't just a little mess in the ocean.

That oil spill is not only affecting the water it took over, but many other things and people too.

From bank accounts to birds to beaches, the aftermath of this oil spill is massive. It not only touches the company responsible, it takes it's toll on many other lives as well. Finances, fishing and fun on the beach have changed because of this spill. Wide spread disaster all coming from one source.

Are the choices you make today godly ones that give honor and glory to Jesus?

Or are the daily choices you make much like the oil spill on the Gulf Coast and covering not only you, but those in your life with your junk?

The cross was covered with our precious Savior's blood, not black slimy oil and the difference is, when covered with the blood of Jesus, our sins become white as snow.

When covered with our junk, we look much like this poor bird. Unfortunately, I think alot of times I look like the bird and the ridiculous part is that it's because of my choices.

Today, let's choose Jesus and see what the effects of having Him at the center of our lives is like; for the Living Water is the kind of continuous leak we want and need oozing from our hearts.

May we allow Jesus Christ to be so astronomical in our lives that people who don't know

Him want Him.

Please take a minute to read my friend Yolanda's blog post called "I will return after getting the manual" and see what God showed her through a broken dishwasher.

I never want to assume that you have Jesus Christ in your life as your Savior.
If you don't, click HERE to learn more about the most Amazing Gift.
He is a choice you won't ever regret.