Trusting In The Lord For All Things: Come As You Are

This morning Tim and I woke early so we could head to Columbus to get a kitchen set that included chairs on wheels. We got a floor months ago and we didn't want chairs constantly scraping the floor.

So we went to Kitchen Tables and More in Columbus. We ended up with an oval table with 6 chairs. It's similar to this one but the chairs are a bit different. One nice thing about this table is that it has an 18" leaf. So when kids leave the nest, we can condense the table for just the two of us.

Can you see how God's getting me ready to have kids go off on their own? LOL

I wish I'd have seen this in high school. Not sure I'd have believed it, but everything done was done so I would look good to others. I was so focused on what people said and thought.
So glad told me that stuff isn't important.

I remember telling my kids that the kids they were close to in high school probably won't be in their lives 2-3 years past high school. They will be busy doing college and being with their friends from college. They are seeing that except for some of Sarah's friends who she's had for friends since 5th grade.

People that were in Ben and Rachel's wedding 2 1/2 years ago aren't friends any longer. They just drifted away. Different goals mean they all go their own way to fulfill their hopes and dreams.

When I saw this I began to think of how many times Satan has whispered to me that I couldn't do something. I'd fail at it and make a fool of myself. He'd tell me what people would say and how they'd make me feel, and before I knew it, I'd have talked myself out of doing something. That was another tally for Satan. This happens less and less now that I have God battling for me. The battle belongs to the Lord.

Early in my teaching career I felt like it wasn't fair that some people would sit around and talk and do minimum work and leave on time while I worked late into the night making things, doing lesson plans, filling in paperwork, going to meetings etc.

Tim got tired of hearing this story over and over and said, "You are who you are, you are a child of God." "You are working for God not your principal." "Those people are only working for the principal." "They don't have the joy you do when they do their job." "How sad and lonely they must be."

Me:hand to forehead like the V8 commercial:I get it now, I get it. I love my husband and his wisdom in the Lord.

Have you ever needed a quiet place to rest by yourself? I can think of many times when I needed a quiet place. There's nothing like quiet time with God. One of my friends really encouraged me in a Bible study.
She said, "After work I can hardly wait to get home and snuggle on the couch with Jesus!" What a wonderful picture that painted for me. She was sooooo happy. She's single and it was wonderful to see her excitement at meeting Jesus every night after work.

I'm lagging in my quiet time. If you are one who prays, please pray that I can stay faithful in my quiet time each morning.

This is a picture of my brother-in-law Stas, holding his grandson, Adam.

This is a picture of my twin sister Anne holding Adam, their first grandchild. Annie and Stas are married and live in Wisconsin. Her daughter and husband live in Indiana.

This is the inspiration for my card. Today our website was full of painted nails.

This is the card I made for today's challenge.

I really enjoy watching Downtown Abbey. One of the attractions is that they have British accents and live in a huge castle. Here's a clip where the actors use American accents to say their lines, and it really sounds funny. It also loses it's appeal, somewhat. Fun to watch.

This was my verse for today. If you give this lots of thought you know we all need to pray for our country. In the last 8 years we've been taken down the road to destruction. Who would have thought 20 years ago God would be challenged in so many ways?

~not being able to pray in school

~not having nativity scenes on public land

~marriage of anyone to anyone

~churches coming under fire for their preaching

~the federal gov't and politics plotting against Christians

~people being told who they MUST sell to even if it is against their beliefs.

~killing babies and saying they are not babies but fetuses and they aren't babies until they are born

~selling baby body parts

We all need to get down on our knees and really pray for America. We're in big trouble here.

It reminds me about reading about Isreal in the Bible. You know, all the times the people of Isreal would have false gods, they would turn from God and do things they were told not to.

When I'd read that as a young person I'd think, how silly that they keep doing the same things. When will they learn?

We are doing the same thing here in America, and in our own lives. We sin all the time. If we look at our sins, some are those that we commit time and time again. We are the Isreal I read about. We are Christians and think how much sinning we do.

Think about those who don't know Jesus as we do. See the damage those in power can do. So many have been led astray. Pray for America that God will forgive our sins and restore our land.

If you know Christian music then you will recognize a man who has been in the business for a long time. In fact, he retired from it but then couldn't live without it. So he came back to sing to spread the good news of Jesus. I love this song because it explains that you come as you are. You don't need to wait to be a better person, you are so loved by God he wants you and will forgive you and hold you as his own. If you need encouragement listen to this song and be bathed in the truth. Listen and read the lyrics and be brought to a peaceful place.