Monday’s Life In Him–Hope

Happy Monday Everyone! Who wants to join in “Monday's Life In Him”? It’s easy… Just grab this button below & post it somewhere either on your blog post or on your main page. Then… Write a post about HIM (Jesus) Sometimes I just post a verse, sometimes I share a short story or sometimes I write a short study.Either way… Let’s spread His Word and His Love! <a border="0" href="http://wedonthaveitalltogether.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%20In%20%27Him%27" target="_blank"><img src="http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab13/jacquiblogger/danielle/buttonlifeinhim1.jpg" width="125" height="125" /> </a>

^{Here is what I have for today:}

^{More random thoughts…}

^{If you are a reader here, you know that I have been standing some trials lately… and I thank GOD for my friends that have kept me going. I sometimes feel at the very end of my rope until I open my email and get an encouraging message from you readers.}

^{I thank you all for that.}

^{Today I am going to share a few of these encouraging messages from the last few days that have really helped me.}

^{This morning I read from Katie @ On The Banks of Squaw Creek said,}

“Things don't always turn out the way WE think they are supposed to, but God has a plan for us, right?”

RIGHT. And I keep telling myself this. Maybe the house that ***WE*** really wanted was not as perfect as ***WE*** thought it would be. I don’t know how that is possible, but God does. I will trust that God has a better plan for us.

Jazmin from Happily Ever After told me to rebuke the devil from my home… WHY didn’t I think of this?!? Most of the time I am aware of this, but I have been so overwhelmed lately – it just slipped my mind. Thanks for the reminder that,

“greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”

And then there is my bloggy friend Janet from Homeward Bound… I can’t say enough good things about Janet. She has really helped me lately. She is full of wisdom that I hope to have one day. Her emails I have kept in my inbox and I open her emails numerous times throughout the day to read the verses she has sent me. She even wrote about me here and titled it “Hope”. She used Romans 5:3,

“Rejoice in your suffering, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character hope”

Here are some other verses Janet has sent me over the past week:

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Psalm 35:27-28
Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication;
And let them say continually, "The LORD be magnified,
Who delights in the prosperity of His servant."
And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long.

Psalm 5:12
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Psalm 84:8-12

⁸O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
         Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.
⁹Behold our shield, O God,
         And look upon the face of Your anointed.
¹⁰For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
         I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
         Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
         The LORD gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
¹²O LORD of hosts,
         How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

And probably more of what I need to hear:

1 Tim 6:17
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

 
3 John 2
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

These are important for me to realize that as long as I have my family, our health, a roof over our head and food on the table… we are beyond blessed!

Thank you Janet. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You have helped me more than you know this past week.

And thanks to all others who have sent me encouragement this past week. You know who you are and I appreciate you all!

Much Love,

What Are We Doing With That Gift He Gave Us?

I’m horrible.

I have been in a rut. If any of you know me… you can probably tell that I am in a rut by my facebook posts. I go through these stages where I am a good mom/wife/housekeeper – bad – good  – bad.

And by ‘bad’ – I mean lazy. Out of control. My household has been full of chaos lately & I don’t know how to calm things down.  I don’t know how I get in these lazy/chaotic ruts.

God speaks to me & tells me,

“GET UP and stop being lazy!”

“Get organized!”

He NEEDS to YELL at me though, haha.

He is telling me,

“These children are a gift I gave you! I gave you your husband! You have a roof over your head & food on the table! What are you doing with these blessings I gave you?”

Am I the only one that God needs to yell at & scold? I sure feel like it!

So there is a lot on my mind as a sahm. As I go to look up verses for different reasons, somehow God keeps making me stumble upon verses like these below… and even when I see these verses for husbands/fathers -  I am feeling like this is God speaking to ME, not men. Really all these verses apply to me too.

I really have some shaping up to do!

Psalm 127:3
Children are a gift from the Lord; babies are a reward.

Psalm 113:9
He gives children to the woman who has none and makes her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!

Proverbs 13:24
If you do not punish your children, you don't love them, but if you love your children, you will correct them.

Proverbs 20:11
Even children are known by their behavior; their actions show if they are innocent and good.

Proverbs 22:6
Train children to live the right way, and when they are old, they will not stray from it.

Proverbs 23:13
Don't fail to punish children. If you spank them, they won't die.

Proverbs 29:15
Correction and punishment make children wise, but those left alone will disgrace their mother.

Proverbs 29:17
Correct your children, and you will be proud; they will give you satisfaction.

Proverbs 31:28
Her children speak well of her. Her husband also praises her,

Ephesians 6:1  Children, obey your parents as the Lord wants, because this is the right thing to do.

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.

Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in all things, because this pleases the Lord.

Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not nag your children. If you are too hard to please, they may want to stop trying

1 Timothy 3:4
He must be a good family leader, having children who cooperate with full respect.

1 Timothy 3:12
Deacons must have only one wife and be good leaders of their children and their own families.

1 Timothy 5:10
She must be known for her good works—works such as raising her children, welcoming strangers, washing the feet of God's people, helping those in trouble, and giving her life to do all kinds of good deeds.

Titus 1:6
An elder must not be guilty of doing wrong, must have only one wife, and must have believing children. They must not be known as children who are wild and do not cooperate

Titus 2:4
Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

Proverbs 12:4
A good wife is like a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful wife is like a disease in his bones.

Proverbs 19:14
Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a wise wife is a gift from the Lord.

Proverbs 31:10
It is hard to find a good wife, because she is worth more than rubies.

Ecclesiastes 9:9
Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy all the useless days of this useless life God has given you here on earth, because it is all you have. So enjoy the work you do here on earth.

1 Corinthians 7:3
The husband should give his wife all that he owes her as his wife. And the wife should give her husband all that she owes him as her husband.

1 Corinthians 7:4
The wife does not have full rights over her own body; her husband shares them. And the husband does not have full rights over his own body; his wife shares them.

Ephesians 5:23
because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church.

Ephesians 5:28
In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself.

I just hope I am not totally displeasing the Lord in every single way. I hope He sees  my desire to please Him… and I hope I am able to climb out of my rut!!

I want to be a better wife & mother.

I hope I can get better control of my household.

I want things to calm down & the chaos to end & I want order back.

I want to run my home in a way that pleases HIM.

I Feel A Change Coming

I have been frustrated for a very long time, but I’ve try to just be patient. Wait for Mike to make the final decision. The first time this situation happened it took nearly 2 years to make our ‘move’. Then this situation happened a second time… and now it is happening a third time. I am trying still to be patient. Let the Lord speak to Mike. He is the head of this house.

I try to ask God,  “What is it that YOU want us to do?” For some reason I have been having a hard time hearing His answer, which makes this situation very difficult on me.

I keep questioning Him…

“Did you want us to stay ‘put’ 2 years ago when we moved into a new ‘home’?”

“Was it YOU who said ‘go back' to where you came from & shed some light?”

During that time period I felt very heavy. I felt like we were NOT listening to you & were pressured to move back. I was not happy. 

Then after a while I gave in & thought…

“Ok God, maybe this was YOU that moved us back – even though I am not happy about it – maybe there is a purpose. Who are we supposed to reach?” 

Now I am not so sure.

Maybe it was ‘just for a time’ and now our work is done. We did touch a few. We tried. It is over though. It’s time to move on. But ‘on’ to what?

This is what I am not sure of… and what I am impatient for. I want to know His plan for us & I want to know NOW.  Where He wants us to go. We know what we were called to do… but where do we do His work?

TELL ME  LORD, HERE I AM!

Amongst the heaviness.. this chapter coming to an end.

Amongst this heaviness, I feel peace.

Finally.

Peace.

Whatever is in store for us… it will be GOOD.

Please pray for Mike & I – that we go where the Lord wants us.

Life With Him

James 4:14 (New Century Version)


"But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away."

This is so true. I have seen so much life end in the past year or two. Life that was taken MUCH TOO SOON. So many died of cancer, accidents, unknown heart problems. Young people that had so many years left in them.

This makes me think of Shannyn. Shannyn is Mike’s daughter who passed when she was 3. She passed back in 2002. She would have been one month older than my daughter Emma. Emma is 11. I can’t imagine having Shannyn right now. I can’t imagine what she would be like. We named Gracie after her. “Gracie Shannyn”

God has a day for us. We don’t know when that day will be. There is nothing written in stone that says we are going to live to be 80 years old. Our day to end our life here & start our life in eternity may be tomorrow. Are we prepared for eternity?

Disappointed in Myself

FYI - this post will be boring to most (similar to all the rest, lol). It is church stuff. This is more of a 'dear diary' for myself. So skip over this one people.

I am disappointed in myself. I am so busy during the day, and when I do get free time what do I do? I get on the computer! Why? Sadly I am addicted. I am the gossipy type. Not the type to gossip behind someones back - but the kind that just likes to talk too much. I want to know what's going on in the world. I like knowing what's going on w/all my mommy friends across this earth. I like reading up on all my sites & blogs. I don't know why I can't pry myself off of the computer. I keep telling myself, "There is so many other things that you could be doing"... but I stay glued to the computer.

So. What should I be doing? Well that list could go on & on... What I have slacked on is reading. Reading God's Word. Praying. And my kids. I have been putting the blame on church. (I still am) But I know I need to suck it up and accept the fact that I have also become lazy.

I am not happy at church. Haven't been in a really long time. That in itself is a really long story. I'll try to make it as short as I can but y'all know it won't be short... 'Our' church is the church that Mike grew up in. His father & step-mother are the pastors. Mike started preaching back in 2001 (or 2002). That church is 'home' to him. We both have been teaching for a few years too. I started teaching the pre/kinder Sunday School class while Mike taught the teen Sunday School class. Then after a couple years, I moved into the teen class with Mike. We made a great team teaching together! Back a few years ago as Mike & I were studying we realized half of the message being taught is not what we believed. The other half of the message the church taught we did agree with, but it was not good enough. We needed more. We needed to grow. We needed to be fed by someone other than ourselves. We were studying for hours each day & learning sooo much & it was great! But we knew we couldn't stay at that church. Over time & alot of discussion with Mike's parents, we left. We went to a church that taught what we believed to be truth. And finally we were being fed! We would leave church and go home to continue studying what we had learned that day in service. It was great! Unfortunately we only stayed there for one year. Mike's 'home' church was losing a co-pastor. Mike's dad asked him to come back. He needed the help. He needed another preacher. Through alot more discussion... we went back. *sigh* And slowly, slowly, slowly... I am bored. The church is very small as it is. The people are set in their ways. They don't want to learn more. They don't want to do more. They are satisfied with what they have. They only want to be seen on Sunday & make their presence known. There is no praise & worship. People are dead. They sit in their pew's and look like they are zombies. Where is the joy? Don't we all have so much to praise God for? Doesn't He deserve our praise & worship? He died for us! Why can't we stand up and show Him how much we love him? I don't understand. All I know is I miss praise & worship in the other church. And other churches that we have visited. People have issues with each other & they let it show. Certain people will not come to church depending on who is preaching that day. Why? Are we coming to church to lift up man? Or The Man? A certain music person refuses to sing if he finds out a certain person is preaching. How is that possible? So we have changed things around a little. We have started bringing in music. Really good praise & worship music. Music that will invite the Holy Spirit to our service! Not bluegrass songs about 'mama dying or daddy working in the coal mines'. Songs about Jesus! Songs about His Amazing Grace! It is a slow process. I know God is going to separate the wheat from the tares. And when this process is done... God will send people IN! But Wow.Is.This.A.Slow.Process. And in the mean time, I am dying. I feel almost lifeless. I am bored.

I stopped reading. I pray. But most of my prayer is repenting & thanksgiving. I sure don't feel worthy enough to ask anything of God! My prayer life is not what it used to be. I guess I should say, my 'relationship' is not what it used to be. I never thought I would let myself slip like this. I thought I was strong enough to not let this happen! I used to study all week long to prepare for my teen class. I did recently quit teaching do to my Gracie. I gave it my best shot... but Gracie missing her morning nap makes it impossible to teach a class over her screaming! But before that - for the past 6 months or longer have not even studied for Sunday School class! I would think in my head of a good lesson... arrive at church Sunday morning & flip through my bible to find the book to teach out of. Horrible! Just horrible! I have not taught or discussed anything with my kids in just as long! That makes me mad! I have a bunch of books I ordered months ago that I really wanted to read along with my kids... have I? No. Why? I am so lazy! And dried up! It doesn't even cross my mind until some time like the very end of my night after my kids are in bed. I haven't prayed with them in about a month. We pray every night before bed. They will still ask. But I say, "I'll be there in a minute"... and I forget. I even started this blog for all my bible studying - kinda like a place to jot down all that is in my head. I always had so much on my mind & wanted to learn so much more. But since I started this blog...I've become bored. It is sad! I only have a few posts. There is so much more on my mind that I want to put in it. I just haven't 'gotten around' to it yet. So I won't even share my blog with anyone yet until I get it built up. Embarrassing! What is wrong with me? I need to get myself back on track with God.

I just don't know where to begin. I am kinda lost. My life with Jesus right now reminds me of the song "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns:

Hello! Who am I & what am I thinking?!?

I have a TON on my mind so I HAD to create this blog... It is currently going on midnight here and I need to be up at 6am. So on that note - I will probably post my "real" first entry some other day.

I am not 'religious'. I am a Christian. Religion is man made. Christianity is God made. Religion is man's way to reach God. Christianity is God's way to reach man. In religion man shouts, "DO!" The cross of Christ shouts, "DONE!"...which leaves man with only with FAITH!

I have been studying on 5 of the Levitical Offerings and it one of the best studies EVER!! These 5 offerings (The Most Holy Offerings) back in Old Testament times looked to the Cross of Christ & it amazes me! Every little detail about the sacrifices looks towards Jesus. I love it! I can't wait to share!

Some topics I can't wait to 'blog' about? Where do I begin?

First of all... When someone says they 'believe in God' - what does that mean? The bible says even the demons 'believe'. Does that mean the demons are Christians? NO.  And so the word 'believe' needs to be examined first.

I want to express what the term, "Jesus and Him crucified" means. If you take a general poll... the answer you will get is, "Jesus died on the cross for our sins". This is true. BUT it only the begining of what He did for us!!!  Most of this will come from Romans chpt. 6 & 7.

I want to express what it means to BE IN CHRIST. This is one of the most important things I learned in the last couple of years. NOT knowing this makes a Christian... a miserable Christian. Most of this will come from Ephesians.

I also want to write about the differences between justification and condemnation. HUGE difference. Not understanding the difference makes a saved individual... a miserably saved individual. Many Christians have no joy and no peace because they do not understand this very important doctrine of justification! Romans 4 & 5.

I am eager to write about false doctrine since there is SO MUCH out in the world today. SO many false teachers & preachers leading people down the wrong path, it's sad. I believe this: If there was a hole in the main highway that lead down to a bottomless pit of fire... people would warn eachother!! "DON'T take highway '123'... You will fall in the hole & DIE!!"  This is how we Christians should deal with false doctrine. WARN others! We are to be "watchmen". (Ezek.)

I believe that the reason we see souls get saved, and then walk out the door of the church...never to see them again - is because they don't understand what it means to be JUSTIFIED -IN CHRIST-!!

There is sooo much more on my mind. I have been wanting to do this for soooo long. I am doing this for me, so if I have no followers - that is okay. I just have to get this all out of my head! Warning though: This is going to be an informative blog... but I regret to say, it will also be personal & opinionated & possible sarcasim might overflow from time to time. I LOVE reading & studying, however I am human and I do have issues with life... so this blog will also contain bits & peices of my daily life pleasures & struggles.

I will end this first entry with one of my favorite scriptures: 

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that are unsaved- foolishness; but unto US WHICH ARE SAVED- it is the POWER OF GOD"....Paul, inspired by the HOLY SPIRIT(1st cor. 1:18)