Sword of Truth

We have a dear friend that let us use some of her little girl's clothes for a few months before they make their next stop on her hand-me-down calendar! They are all 4T size, perfect for my middle daughter S. She is 3, but has some LEGS on her! :) She recently grew out of her 3T pants and we didn't have very much 4T stuff...enter my darling friend and her big box of 4T clothes.

Anyway, S has never been a "wanter." She is pretty content with what she has. She sees a big ball at the toy store and says, "I don't need that! I have a ball at home!" On the other hand, my oldest daughter, A, has quite a want worm! I totally understand, because I struggle with a mean want worm myself.

So we were looking through this big box of clothes for S. I could tell that A was struggling watching S try on so many new cute things to wear this fall. She was just digging through the pile searching every tag in hopes of finding a 5, then she just sat watching S try on. On an usual day, this is where we would start to see an emotional meltdown, but this day was different. After a while she looked at me with a very peaceful look on her face and said, "Mommy, we don't really need these clothes. It was so sweet of Ms. Celena to let us use them, but we don't really need them. God is all we need." We talked about it for a little while and then we went about our day.

My heart was so warm and thankful to God for the whole situation, because A had used her sword of Truth in a time of emotional difficulty. She was struggling and feeling upset because her want worm wasn't satisfied. Instead of letting her disapointed feelings control her, she chose to speak the Truth that she knows about God and stuff. The Bible tells us that He is all we need and that He provides all we need. To believe that we need something that we don't have is believing a lie. Wow, that's been a tough one for me for a while now.

I have the opportunity to do that every day. When I face disapointing circumstances, I can wallow in negative emotions, pull my self up by my boot straps and deal, or I can reject lies that God is withholding or untrustworthy and speak the Truth that I know about Him. He is so good and trustworthy and He gives us every good thing as He sees fit. I'm so thankful that He doesn't give in to my shortsighted desires. His will is so much bigger and better than I can even imagine.

Thanks A, for a great lesson. You are such a beautiful child-inside and out. His life through you is so awesome and I have much joy watching Him work in you and through you. I love you!

My Reality

I find that my reality is really not True at all. It is what I am experiencing, but it is amazing that I can experience a reality that is so far from Truth!

"A lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it were true--even though it is a lie."

So if I believe that God is distant and not really concerned with the small details of my life then more than likely that will be a false reality that I experience and think is true...hmmm. There are so many areas in my life where I allow lies to manifest as truth and they affect my life so much!

Today I turn away from the lies I believe and choose to believe the Truth.

That God is close and cares deeply for me...the big and small aspects of me.

I choose to believe that He is good, that He is perfect, faithful, and that He will be the perfect Father and provider for me and my family.

I choose to believe that the gospel story is true and that in Christ I am victorious.

I choose to believe that HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR ME. He is everything I will ever need and more.

I can rest in His sufficiency and let those Truths create my experienced reality...which results in MUCH JOY!

Fun Night

Tonight we had week 1 of our Be Transformed study at our house. It was so fun to start it again with a new group of brothers and sisters hungry for God! I love it. We talked about The Beginning and saw The Fall from a new perspective. I always love to go through it. The Holy Spirit speaks to me every time.
Tonight I was overwhelmed by how much I have believed the lies of the enemy and how those lies have kept me in bondage. God renewed my mind again with His awesome Truth of who He is, who I am, and what I have in Him.

Tonight while we were putting the kids to bed we were all laying in their room after Matt prayed. I was laying with A on her bed and Matt was laying on the floor with his head on S's bed. I think S was scratching his head, which is probably why he wasn't in a hurry to leave! :) Anyway, we talked a little and we had been laying there quiet for a couple minutes when A said in a very matter of fact voice, "Why is there someone laying on my bed when I have school early in the morning?" Oh my! It struck my funny bone! I busted out laughing and Matt and I slowly peeled ourselves up and left their room. We haven't heard a noise since...haha! The trick to smooth bedtimes is to put them to bed at 10:45 pm???? Well, that's not going to work! :) Tonight we had special circumstances that kept us up late, but we can't do that every night! At least little S had bedtime success for tonight! (She's 3 and has been having lots of trouble.) Her reward in the morning for a good bedtime is an early morning walk down the street in her jammies with a juice box! She is going to come pounding into my room in the morning knowing that she gets to do it and she's going to be PUMPED! Yay for little S!

One thing I have been learning lately is the Holy Spirit's voice. He often puts thoughts in my head and I explain it away and have reasons why it is just me or something. Lately I have been realizing that He speaks to me a lot and I just don't recognize Him until later. Tonight I was headed out with some friends and had the thought/feeling that I really needed to be home tonight at bedtime. I called Matt and asked him to keep the girls up for me until I got home. He got them all ready for bed and then brought them to come pick me up. When we got home, we had the most precious family time and it was so clear to me that it had been His voice suggesting I be home to put the girls to bed. I am thankful that He speaks to me and thankful that I am learning to listen and recognize Him. This is quite a dance with the Holy Spirit!

I love my little family and I love my God. I feel that He is creating in me and desire for Him alone. Not what He has to offer, not for more head knowledge or a better looking life; just Him. To desire and love Him more each day is such a gift of grace. I am thankful.

My Baby Girl

It seems like just yesterday I was swinging baby A in the Nojo Baby Sling six times a day trying to help her get to sleep! As our first baby, she was such an adventure. Now, she is so big! She can fix her own food, get herself dressed, write her name, and today...she learned to tie her own shoes! Oh my, I just can't believe how big she is! She turned five a few weeks ago-it's so hard to believe!

She is so much fun to have as a daughter-I am so thankful that God put her sweet little soul with us.

His Asset

I have had an emotionally exhausting few days! A lot of my "junk" popping up-triggered by circumstances here and there.

Do you ever just feel so tired of dealing with yourself? I feel that way today. Wondering, when will I just be easy? I don't know.

I do know that I choose to submit to the potter. As scripture says, (paraphrased) "who am I to tell the potter, 'make me this way or that?' " He is the potter and I will rest in Him and believe Him when He says He will complete the work He started in me. In the process, I'll enjoy Him as He takes my weaknesses and uses them as His assets. This is an awesome devotional.

God's Precious Assets
Dan Stone
Our humanity is God's asset. If we are meant to function on the human level, which is how God made us, we can't deny our humanity. We don't like things we think and feel, so we want to reject our humanness. But our humanity has to be part of God's plan; otherwise how can we express Him? He has designed us to express Him through our humanity. So denial of our humanity isn't the answer.

God joined to you, one spirit, is absolute, bedrock truth. But as God expresses Himself through you, He expresses Himself through you as spirit, soul, and body. Spirit, soul, and body is the means for the expression. You can't even talk without a body. It's impossible. The total you is involved in speaking your mind, your emotions, your will, your mouth, your vocal cords, etc. We are a total person. We express Him as total people. God says to us, ''I'm going to live in you, and other people are going to see you, but you know it's Me.''

What this tells us is that we can stop seeing ourselves as a liability. We can cease thinking that something more needs to happen to us spiritually before we can be an asset to God. If we keep focusing on ourselves externally, we'll keep thinking, ''He can't use me yet.'' If we focus on Christ living in us, we can put ourselves on the shelf as a liability and begin to see ourselves as an asset.

God takes those things that are fixations in us when we're flesh-centered and turns them into blessings when we're spirit-oriented. What I despised became a blessing in someone else's life. Finally, we are able to say, ''Lord, through my family tree and all of the circumstances I've come through, you've made me the outer person that I am. You live in that person and you set that person in the world in a way that's going to attract some people to You.

Thank God for your humanity. Thank God for your parents even for the difficult things that you inherited from them. God used them to help make you the perfect instrument you are. Thank God for your warts because He's going to make them a blessing in someone else's life. You come to a place of inner peace, knowing that the warts--the imperfections--that constitute your outer humanity are the very things that some brother, sister, boy or girl will be able to get a hold of. They'll be able to relate to that wart. And as they do, they'll receive the Life that lives in you. Take back your humanity as the dwelling place of the Most High God.

Well, Amen to that!
Any thoughts bloggie friends? :)

Hubby's Ministry Blog

God led our family to begin LIFe Ministries almost three years ago and it's been up and running for about two years. I'll include a link below if you want to check out our website...

My super hubby, Matt, posted an incredible poem about fatherhood on the ministry blog today. It touched my heart and I thought all of you dear bloggie friends might want to enjoy it, too!

Lots of Love!

blog-- http://liveinfreedom-ylife.blogspot.com/
web-- http://www.liveinfreedom.org

My Words

I love this site that makes this out of my most common blogger words!