When the Lord speaks...

God has been really working with me to let Him lead my day rather than being a slave to my 'schedule'...........

I remember a time when I was chatting with a friend from church when we lived back in WA. She came up to me so excited. She said "Guess what?" Seeing the excitement in her eyes I though what she had to say was gonna be BIG! With great enthusiasm she shared that she found some drapes. This excitement was not just about drapes so keep reading. You see, when she was having her quiet time with the Lord that morning, He told her to go to Goodwill today. He gave her no explaination of why but just to go. When she walked in the front door of the Goodwill, there were the drapes that she had wanted! She had been wanting some drapes for a while but couldn't find ones at a good price. She was so tickled NOT because they were these awesome drapes but because God is just so sweet. HE knew that she wanted these and even though this probably wasn't even a 'high priority' on God's To Do list, He cared about the little things enough to tell her about this neat find! The fact is she could have said she was too tired and second guessed herself, but she was obedient. Funny how the Lord cares enough to send you somewhere with no explanation and then just BLESS YOUR SOCKS OFF with the reason why. That He knows us so well and is always looking for ways to show us His love! Sometimes we are just too busy going about our day to yield to His blessings!

God reminded me of this story the other day when I too had one of these moments. We have a pretty good scedule going in the morning for our routine. My middle child, Abby is usually my first one at the breakfast table with all her chores done. She tends to wake up with a bit more spring in her step than everyone else. However, this morning she doddled a little longer than usual. After everyone finishes breakfast we all come out to the living room for morning devotions, but Abby was still not done with breakfast. Usually I wouldn't begin without her but I knew she would be a while so the Lord told me to go on without her. I didn't wait for her and we continued with devotions. Abby got done with breakfast about the same time we were done with devotions so I asked Michaela and Ben to begin with their schoolwork so I could talk with Abby. I asked if she would like to do devotions in her room this morning since she missed out and she said yes.

After about 20 minutes passed Abby came running into the room all excited. Her face was so radiant with joy. She explained "Guess what mom, I heard Jesus's voice! I was just reading my bible for a while and praying asking Him to help me with my day and I HEARD HIM! He said "Do good and I will help you!" I asked her what she thought that meant. Without skipping a beat, she explained that "When I get frustrated with my school work the Lord wants me to ask Him for help!"

Generally I do not like it when we get off schedule....... however, for some reason that morning even before knowing what the Lord was doing, the schedule wasn't a big deal. TOTALLY GOD! Just the fact that God did this in my heart, was very cool. God made an appointment with my daughter to hear his voice!

God has a plan daily for our lives. I know there are possibly many times in which I have thwarted the Lord's plan to do awesome things because I was too wrapped up in my daily TO DO lists. In this day and age, there are so many distractions available to drown out the voice of God and His daily plans for us that we slip into cruise control rather than asking Him. We know that His plans are so much greater, so much more rewarding, with our best interest at heart, but my flesh seems to grip onto 'business as usual' when I am unaware. If we chose to embrace it, this abundant life that only comes from the Lord, can't help but spill onto those around us. Just as my Abby's radiance was contagious when she heard His voice, a day planned by the Lord is just as contagious. A day such as this radiates with an earthly glimpse of the eternal. A reality check to what is really important.

The enemy has enough ammunition/distractions to keep the Lord from speaking purpose & direction into our days. God is a gentlemen and will not go where He is not wanted. If your schedule is too jam packed to allow God to have his way with your schedule/plan/day, I ask you to reconsider your commitments. Even a bunch of 'good things', even some that are God-centered, can be a distraction from allowing God to weave together a masterpiece of appointments for His Glory. It is so easy to slip into cruise control doing what we have always done, sacrificing the God-opportunities He has in store. Where man focuses on getting through the day and the successes of this frail life, God focuses on the eternity he has placed in our hearts.

There is just so much more that the Lord has been speaking to me about as of late but since these ladies did such a wonderful job explaining than I could just read here:
What we really need by Amy's Finer Things
Courtney at Women Living Well reminds us moms of what is really important by challenging us to examine the question What Do your children think of you
Kristen shares some pretty humbling statistics over at We Are That Family that you just can't read without it affecting the next time you spend a dollar.


Many Blessings!

Pregnant

Sorry to disappoint you but if you clicked on my blog in anticipation of a pregnancy announcement, sadly that is no longer possible. However, much of what we are anticipating in the upcoming year is much like process of pregnancy and the anticipation of expecting a baby. The only difference between a real pregnancy and what we are 'birthing' is the fact that with babies, there is an actual due date.

As the task at hand is becoming more and more apparent, there is much preparation in store for what the Lord is doing. There are a lot of emotions, expectations and anticipation to see God do what He does best, as we try not to insert ourselves and screw it all up. I remember being pregnant with each one of my children and being told what is the best things avoid (caffeine was my addiction) and to take my vitamins, eat healthy and drink plenty of water. Due to the complications of each pregnancy there were plenty more DO's and DO NOT's on those lists but each one of these instructions were there to benefit & protect the best interest my baby and myself.
In the same manner we are being instructed to prepare, anticipate and wait expectantly on the work the Lord is putting together.
~To grow together as a strong family unit so that when adversity comes we can count on the Lord and each other to get through. So that when one of us falls the others will be standing to help them up.
~To teach, instruct, model & build up our kids in their faith so that they too can become co-laborers in the work that God has for us.
~To be diligent in keeping our cups filled so that they may be poured out and used at a moments notice.
~To rest now because once the work has started there will be a time of business where our bodies and minds will be spent as we pour out what is supplied continually.
~To be wise with the stewardship God is providing so that if there is a season of hardship for our area, we can be a witness to those around us by providing for needs not being met.

It is so awesome to watch the beauty of comradery that women posess when a first-time mom announces her pregnancy. The immediate reaction is a whirlwind of planning by all those that love and care for her. What I experienced and have seen in many other of my friends is that, all the other moms around her begin taking note and anticipating her needs! Many go home and find things that they don't use anymore and pass along to her. There is a nesting instict that comes out in women all around her in order to help her transition to motherhood be a smooth one. An infectious joy, support and excitement is in the air during this time!

In the same manner, people around us, most not even knowing what God is doing, have given us things. For example, Abby is doing vision therapy at our eye Dr.'s office twice a week to improve her ability to read. He knows we homeschool but has no idea of anything else about us. This week he asked if we had any use for an overhead projector. He had just bought a new one and decided to give this one away and thought of us. I was floored. I hadn't even thought about this as a need but a major luxury! As always, God sees a way to meet a need, even before we can see it as such. He uses those around us, totally unaware, to meet them. I came home with it and John just grinned thankfully.

Our home is another example of this. Although I feel rather guilty for having such an amazingly huge blessing, God has shown us how it is only an extension of things HE wants to do out here. That our home is going to be a safe haven for people who are weary where they can experience a time of refreshment.

Just as a new mom can only fathom what being a mom is like and can only guess at how this will forever change her, we are in the same boat. What God has in store is a huge masterpiece and while we can only imagine the what's, when's, why's and how's, there is a solice in knowing that He has it all taken care of. Just as the mom has really nothing to do with the beauty that transforms inside her womb we too, have only a TINY responsibility in what God is working out. We are only to follow His leading in the everyday, so that we can be in the right place at the right time obeying as we watch how He pulls it all together for His Glory.

Many folks have inquired about if we know WHY we are here. We do know some of the reasons that God has shared with us. However, because we don't have all the answers, this could make us discouraged or insecure, but we would rather choose reliance. Chosing reliance over any other tempting train of thought makes us cling to the Lord for His lead. While our lives are not filled with the comfort of an 'exact purpose' or 'detailed time lines', it stretches me (the planner) to find comfort in not knowing. After all, is it really important to have details or do they give us an artificial security in circumstances, rather than our Lord? While it makes me uncomfortable to say "I don't know why," it does cause me to be more intentional with small and minute decisions. It has made me see the difference between a God-allowed choice rather than a God-designed choice. There are many things God will allow us to take part in that have absolutely no eternal value at all. Their rewards are temporal and more about keeping idol hands busy rather than glorifying the Lord. When I thought I had a pretty firm grasp on the game plan laid out and an understanding of my life, it was so easy to get caught up in the eventual monotony of 'cruise control'? Because I have the benefit of NOT knowing what next year will look like, it makes me more intentional about praying before committing my time energy and resources to anything. God Bless all!

20 something......

God put it on my heart today to highlight this blogger at Amazima ministries.
What she writes is not necessarily a feel good type of message. Don't we American Christians hear enough of that junk already? I love that about her! She is blunt, honest and revealing here.
Miss Katie is wise beyond her years as she continues to follow God's plan for her life rather than her own. She is an amazing imperfect 20 something year old young woman in in Africa caring for orphans ALL BY HERSELF!

I am not sure what you were contemplating in your late teens and early 20's but I confess my contemplations were quite shallow. They went along the lines of many American's these days who don't see much beyond their own comfortable lives and family units. While it is not wrong to seek the Lord regarding everything that pertains to our lives and He encourages us to do this, is this your only focus? Unfortunately, at this point of my life it was really "all about me" rather than taking on a more global world view.

~ What do I want to be when I 'grow up'?
~ When will I meet the man I will marry?
~ When will I have kids?

In my many hours of prayer asking these things of the Lord and not much else, He did at one point granted me 'children'. Even in my luke warm "what about me" prayers, God fulfilled one of those desires. Not because I was ready, prepared, equipped or 'special' but because He used whatever limited resources of my obedience to reach beyond my wants and needs. He used this desire to get my focus off myself so that I could reach out to troubled teens at a youth ranch to work with trouble teen by being a dorm mom to them. This was an amazing yet challenging point in my walk with Him. I no longer could do things on my own but NEEDED the Lord to fill me with his strength, wisdom and discernment daily. God drew me nearer to Himself so that I no longer "needed" the things that I used to pray for. Instead my prayers were focused on my girls, their hearts, their salvation, and lasting changes in their lives that would follow them into their own legacies.

Due to my self imposed limitations/comforts, God did use what He could.......... but I wonder sometimes about how much more I could have been used if God had not been limited! You see, unlike Ms. Katie, I had and still struggle with too much self-focus. We sometimes can't see past my own comfort or schedule to even ask the Lord if He has something bigger in mind.

While it is not 'wrong' to seek the Lord to meet your needs, that word need is so superficial. So many people have way more than they NEED yet we are always asking for MORE. Time is so short here on this earth and many unsuspecting GOOD people are going to hell. Yet, so much of the church is stuck in a self-indulgent rut. SO busy occupying time with the external while wasting valuable resources on things that have no eternal value. So busy in the daily grind, that we seem to forget that WE are not the only people on the planet. Satan has us so distracted with our own selfish ambitions that we don't see people to the left or right perishing....... When I read of Ms. Katie over in Africa she challenges me to look outside my own comfort. So I challenge you, what are you put on this earth to do? Have you ever asked the Lord if He has something bigger in store for you? Are you ready to count the cost if He tells you HIS plans for you or your family include giving up __________? Many of us live mundane and uneventful lives because we do not allow God to really be LORD OF ALL. We fill slots of time with business to avoid hearing from the Lord. We are too busy telling Him what we can handle rather than asking Him to give us the ability to handle ALL that He has in store for us!

Make sure to pause my music on the side bar to hear this song. Here is an amazing video that explains a little about Katie's passion:


Lyrics are as follows:

I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
Her mother's voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent

And on a thousandth hill
I think of Albertine
There in her eyes what I don't see
With my own

Rwanda

[Chorus]
Now that I have seen
I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you
In my own arms
I cannot let go 'till you are

No no, yeah

And I am on a plane
Across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
And in the dust on, the dust on, the dust on, the dust on
The dust on my feet

Rwanda

Now that I have seen
I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you
In my own arms
I cannot let go 'till you are

I will tell the world
I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them, Albertine

Rwanda

Now that I have seen
I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you
In my own arms
I cannot let go 'till you are

Mmm

And I am on a stage
A thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine

Some questions you may ask yourself based on these lyrics:

What have we SEEN that we are NOW responsible to act upon? Is your faith too dead to act?

Are you willing to obey whatever calling the Lord has in store?

Is our salvation used to further the Kingdom, or an inclusion that focuses on self?

How can the experiences God has allowed in our lives be effectively utilized?

"Bad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life he is leading, with the thoughts he is thinking, with the deeds he is doing; when there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do because he is still, in spite of all, the child of God." Phillips Brooks

Time for....... you decide

I was listening to this song the other day while painting. I had heard it many times prior to this, however, it is amazing that when you are otherwise scatterbrained, you don't actually "hear" what is playing in the backround. This time, I heard for the first time how deep this song really is. I would venture to say that it is the story of the work God began in me before our move. It is still an unfinished work, as we all are. However, it is my prayer, year by year, to allow this process of God's house cleaning. To continually ask for refining/purification so that God has HIS way into shaping me into who HE desires me to be.
No matter how long you have been saved,there are always times to allow the Lord to CLEAN HOUSE. We never become immunized to change and allow the Lord to purge our 'old man.' Dont get me wrong, it hurts, it is hard and even a bit traumatic at times, however the result is pure freedom. When we get saved and repent, all of our past is forgiven! We have a clean slate! Unfortunatley, sometimes we continue to 'hold on' fearing what may happen if we let God have ALL of our baggage! We sometimes like to take our baggage with us just to keep it 'safe'. Sad thing is this is a lie from Satan. This is bondage! Bondage to our former self, our past sin, and finally bondage to the present sin....... Lack of trust that the Lord can handle our fragile hurting hearts with the same amount of care He handles our eternity. When listening to this song, ask the Lord to search your heart to find those things that have been 'broken too long'. The Lover of your Soul is just waiting on you.
Make sure to mute my music on the side bar to hear this amazing song! Lyrics below!



It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...

To... Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time to face up Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This *IS* something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly

It's time to face up Clean this old house
Time *to* breathe in and let everything out

After allowing the Lord to search your heart, if you find that there is a lot more cleaning that you want the Lord to do I highly recommend going through the study Healed & Set Free by Tammy Brown. This site has a very good description of what it entails. There is even an audio file where you can listen to the author's testimony. I can truely say that it is the best investment I have ever made in a bible study. It is not just a book of ideas and quick fixes. It is a labor of love for HOW the bible applies to HEALING the deepest wounds and truely moving on. Even good bible believing churches tend to lean toward adopting physchological non-sence to sustain a 'status quo' of misery and bondage. Being faced with the scriptures in this book changed my marriage, my family, friendships and my perspective on who I am in Christ.

Loves & Hugs!

Shock & Awe

This post is dated just 2 years to the date where the Lord first allowed us to come to Florida. At this time 2 years ago we were hustling around packing for the vacation of a lifetime. We had amazing plans to visit Walt Disney World AND more importantly, meet my hubby's birth~daughter for our first face to face meeting. The kids were so excited to meet a sister they had only heard about from e-mail, pictures and phone calls. You can read a bit about that here. Without that pre-ordained plan to come spend time with her, we probably would have never visited Florida. What an amazing gift we have been given to have her on our lives. Who would have ever figured a simple visit of a lifetime would be the precursor to something way bigger?

As of February 4th, we are the owners of a home that we do not deserve. It is a huge blessing and I can't even comprehend why the Lord would so abundantly give us our hearts desires. Especially after the many temper tantrums I avoided blogging about when I knew I was going to have to sell our last home....... On the outside, I was trying to be excited about this new plan from the Lord. I didn't want to quench His plan by mourning our losses/counting the cost, OUT LOUD. However, in my heart of hearts, I didn't want to. I could only see the reality of giving up my family's fingerprints on that home. The time invested there making memories. I know we are not to hold on to earthy treasures, but I really didn't want to let that one go. Remember in the Old Testament where their mourning was filled with sitting in ashes and wearing sackcloth? My dramatic pity party was quite similar to this with the exception that my mourning was all about something that is going to burn.

When I look at the blessing of this house the we just purchased, it is just an amazing testimony of the character of God. While I am so reactionary when He takes away a blessing that we didn't deserve in the first place, He remains the same. He still wants to bless my socks off regardless of if I deserve it. His amazing provisions are not based upon anything I can earn, but about resting in His grace. While this new home doesn't have my family's fingerprints on it quite yet, in some ways I hope it never does. At least not in the same manner my last one did. Effectively being able to use God's provision for HIS glory is all I should be satisfied with. Don't get me wrong, I want to make it inviting, pretty and LESS COLORFUL, but I never want it to take captive a special place in my heart. To make me second guess the fact that God always has our best interest at heart if He wanted us to give it up tomorrow. The difference between Earthly treasures and the things that God finds worth in are quite clear.

Proverbs 24:3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; 4 through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Isaiah 33:5 The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.

Matthew 6:19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Lord, continue to guard my heart so that what my heart treasures, are reflective of what you find worth in!

Stolen Opportunities

As I was trying to fall asleep last night the Lord brought to remembrance something that happened a while back with my middle child. He wanted me to blog about it so I hope it is for someone else's benfit besides just me.

We were waiting at our local Warehouse club to get gas. There were 2 cars in the stalls pumping and I was the second in line to be next. The place was crowded so there were a lot of people waiting in lines at each stall. A eldery gentleman walked from one of the other stalls to the payment booth to make his purchase with cash. I was not paying much attention to this man but apparently, on his way back from making the purchase, he dropped some money on the ground. My dear middle child spotted the sight and immediately alerted me to what had just transpired. I must admit that I was a bit suspect to how she could have witnessed this from so far away and being tired I just "poo poo-ed" it off, hoping she would let it go. For those of you who know my dear, sweet, middle child, you will probably laugh at the fact that I hoped she would just 'let it go'. You see, this type of thing is just not in her nature! My DD persisted in asking if she could go look and return the money to this man. In order to quiet her, at first I told her to go out with her sister to look. However, my flesh began to speak to me. "What will people think if you let your children run wild in the gas station parking lot; what a reckless mother!" So after this thought entered and they were just about to make a break for it, I hastily told them to wait till we parked in our gas stall. I explained RATIONALIZED that after second thought, it just was not safe to allow children to look for something while surrounded by moving cars at a gas station. Once we parked, the girls quickly got out and couldn't wait to do their searching. To my surprise ERROR, my DD was correct. She HAD seen the man drop money and it was a $10 bill. Unfortunately, because I procrastinated in letting her look for the money, she was too late to return it to the man who had lost it. He had driven away! We had to settle instead by giving it to the teller in hopes the man may come to realize his loss and return to the station.

SO, why was the Lord bringing me back to this scenario? Many times our children have amazing opportunities to do what is right and let their lights shine for Jesus. They can be stifled, however, by their parental counterparts. DRAT! Their faith is child-like in that it is not hindered by the adult list of CAN'T or WON'T. Rather than encouraging her in the ability to do what is right, I stole from her, the opportunity to shine the light of Jesus. While one of my reasons may have been valid (danger of kids walking around the gas station) there would have been no harm in me getting out to look with them. Who cares if the guy behind me got his panties in a bunch and honked at me. Maybe my family was his lesson in patience that day? It was the "what would people think" and my own exhaustion that became dominant excuses for laziness.

~How can we foster the right opportunities when we are blinded by our adult inhibitions or selfishness?

Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.....

This little analogy that God was using to get my attention is a well noted lesson. I want to see less of ME and more of the Lord in my daily goings on. That He would give me many more opportunitites DO-OVER'S to seize opportunities for His Glory rather than steal the moment for convenience sake. In the business of the day how many God-moments do we miss due to our own agenda and muddling through..... Just my thoughts on a missed opportunity! Love ya all!

News about the house we are buying!

As many of you may know we have been searching for a house for quite a while now in and around Lehigh Acres. I will not lie, our search has not been without set-backs, discouragement and quite a bit of doubt. God told us quite a while ago, that we were to move out there. However, when things were not falling into place right away and we were not seeing any homes that would work, there was a lot of doubt.
Each time we would doubt the Lord would, ever so gently, tell us to wait on Him. That He really did have a plan and that His plan has a perfect timing. The last house that I blogged about here was a very good find, but the price wasn’t quite right for us. The Lord told John that this was our home, but he never really got a solid confirmation about a price. I did get confirmation on a price, but it seemed highly unlikely that the bank would come down to that when it had only been on the market for 5 days. We initially made a full price offer on the house and if you read my last post about it you will know how much I wrestled with it. The cool praise behind it was that the bank refused our terms, so we walked away, watched and waited. After a period of time, we digressed and began looking at other properties, with the impression the Lord closed that door. At this point, our doubting became an action of disobedience. We widened our search area to include the east side of Fort Myers, and looked outside the area God told us. We actually did find 2 homes in North Fort Myers that were very neat and tugged at our flesh! However, one was a bit out of our price range and the other was an older home. Either one would have been an excellent purchase/deal, but God was silent. We were trying too hard to make his will come to pass in an area we were not suppose to be!
After about a month went by and Christmas came and went, we noticed the price went down over $10,000. This brought the home into our price range. However, we were guarded with that because sometimes there are reasons why the price falls due to vandalism and key elements being stolen. This was not the case though. After seeking the Lord on it we made an offer with the seller paying 6% commission. They responded back saying that there would be no offer they would accept unless they only had to pay 3%. This was the reason why they refused our first offer! Basically it is the banks way of making sure you can afford the property. SO we countered a reduced price as if they were paying the full 6% and they accepted!
Buying a foreclosure, while it is a great deal, is very tedious! Many of the common fees paid for by the seller have been on top of their 3% and an additional portion of our transaction. While unexpected and weird because it is unlike any other house buying experience, the Lord has been guiding the whole process. The whole reason I waited to blog about it was because our realtor and mortgage broker kept warning us that the deal may fall through. Due to all the foreclosures and cash flow that is easier to deal with than waiting for loans, many deals like ours are not going through for some reason or another. So with all the nightmare stories we heard, we kept our hearts open to the fact that just maybe God might have another plan. Inspections have been done, surveys are complete and insurance was acquired on the property. Closing is suppose to take place on February 5th. So we wanted to share our new home with you! These are definitely the BEFORE pictures as we know this house needs A LOT of tender lovin care! Hopefully once we paint and replace some things it will be cute! Here is a picture of the front at the Real estate listing link. The rest are on a slide show I will place below!
CastleStone house

If any of you would like to see the layout much like the ones you get when deciding on a model home, I have a schematic that I drew on word that I can send you via e-mail as an attachment!

Click here to view these pictures larger

I was having trouble viewing these photos so you may have to use the "Click here to view there pictures larger" link! Thanks for all your prayers during this process! As you can see, we needed it!