Hearts in Service

Sometimes life is hard and overwhelming.  It seems as if you are walking in darkness and struggling to find your way.  It may be financial pressures, family relationships or health issues weighing you down.  It's easy to begin to get that panicky, anxious feeling.  And yet, Philippians tells us to turn those concerns over to the Lord. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) ~ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. As we pray about those concerns notice we are to pray with thanksgiving . When we do this we will begin to experience God's peace.  It's like a little light shining in the darkness.  It's a little glimmer of hope. The more we turn those burdens to the Lord and thank Him, the brighter the light shines.  That's not always easy, is it?...

Now that  my season for retreats and conferences has ended for a few months and the holidays are upon us, I'm finding that my days are flowing nicely and there is a rhythm to each day. My life has always been centered around God, ministry and my family and the flow of my days reflect that. I get up and pour my coffee, have my time with the Lord, usually catch up on Facebook after that and write a blog post (it's a bit late this morning), as well as do any email correspondence that needs to be done. I take a shower and dress, do the breakfast dishes and throw in a load of laundry. I get a general idea of what I'm making for dinner and get the meat out to thaw unless it's a larger item that needs to come out the night before. I usually do a few household chores and then I sew until lunch. I get lunch, watch a favorite show or catch up online while I eat. Then I'll usually do one big chore, work on consecration questions, read any required r...

The choices we make can either be good or bad. So many don't realize that even our attitudes and feelings are a choice. We have a choice each day to make that day one in which we will react to our circumstances or choose not to react. I can choose to let someone else's bad day ruin mine, or I can choose to not take on someone else's attitude. When Dan and I were first married we worked for a sales organization. I still remember listening to a motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar who was talking about this topic. He gave the scenario of a man being a work and having a boss that was berating him all day long. The man then came home and snapped at his wife. His wife, in turn, yelled at their son for a small infraction because she was upset. The son was now hurt by his mom and pushed his little sister. She, being the youngest, turns around and kicks the cat! Zig talked about making a different choice by not allowing others bad behaviors and moods cause you to respond in the ...

There are many things about our financial circumstances that I cannot change. Insurance payments, fixed bills, car maintenance are all things that happen each month and I have no control over them. The only area I really have any sort of control and ability to change is in the food department.  There are days when I'm tempted to just order in take-out, especially on those days when I'm busy with meetings or events. However, I've been trying to do a better job of controlling our food budget. And one way I do that is by cooking and eating in. Some of the meals this week included -  Lemon-garlic chicken with capers Puerto Rican rice and beans Steak sandwiches with caramelized onions and mushrooms Pakistani Kima over rice We eat well, but I'm able to keep my food budget at around $500 per month with 4 adults in the house (3 of them men). A lot of that is because I buy according to the pantry principle which means I always have the same type of items on hand an...

John 14:2-4 (HCSB) ~ In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. I was at a recent conference and over the course of two different meal times I went to sit with a group of ladies. Both times I was told that they were saving seats and there was no room. To be honest, it made me feel like I was back in high school and trying to sit with the popular crowd. They weren't intentionally leaving me out, but it still stung. I was reminded of that experience this morning as I read these verses in John. Jesus told His disciples that He was going ahead to prepare a place for them. They were going to be welcome guests in His kingdom and not only was He going to prepare a place, He was going to come back and escort them into it. What a beautiful picture for those of us who have a relat...

It's been quite a few weeks since I've written any sort of to-do list and I'm feeling the need to get back on task. I've gotten ma ny things accomplished, but in order to keep focused I find it's easier to keep to a list. It keeps me moving forward with my goals, as opposed to just doing "busy" work. I'm also continuing to devote a set amount of time to each task and when the time is up, set it aside and move on to the next item. My tendency is to get so involved in something that I spend hours doing it to the detriment of all else. Here is the plan for this week. Week of 10/22-10/28/18 Spiritual/Personal Development ✔ Continue Bible reading and prayer - 5 out of 7 days (on an aside note, I have 10 more chapters to read and then I'll have read through the entire Bible this year) ✔ Order next book for my consecration reading Husband/Marriage/Family ✔ Date night ✔ Fill out FASFA for Emily Ministry ✔ In-Service training all day tod...

It was a busy, busy week last week and I'm thankful that for the most part, things are much slower this week. Looking back the word that comes to mind is "faithful."   I saw God's hand in many ways this week that shows His faithfulness to us. My prayer is that I can remain faithful to Him not only in the good times, but in the hard times and the desert-times and the times when I don't see Him working. There is much to be thankful for this week. This week I am thankful for blessings #3,411 - 3,425. 3,411. The brake lines went on the car that Stephen uses and while he was driving. I'm so thankful that he was able to get home safely with a car with no brakes. 3,412. We received two gifts from our church family that will help pay for a portion of the new brakes. 3,413. The car that Dan and I use is old and has about 225,000 miles on it and yet it keeps on working. I'm thankful that it got me to three out of town meetings this week. ...

Dan & I walk together most days and as we walk we do a lot of talking about marriage, children, ministry and life. One of the things we've been talking about lately is my desire to work on becoming a consecrated woman in ministry. I often struggle with whether this was the right choice as it is a lot of work for an uncertain future.  The reason I say it's uncertain is that I'm in a different situation than some as I work on this. My husband is a full-time pastor so any ministry position that I could obtain with this is limited because of the fact that we come as a package deal. In other words, I'm not going to go off and get a job in a church without my husband and that goes the other way around too. So there are moments when I'm wondering if I should be doing this. My sweet husband told me yesterday, "Look at the fruit from your ministry. It's obvious that God has called you so stop apologizing and feeling guilty for be...

As I look back over last week and reflect I can see that it was a week of many different things. A week of joy, and yet a week of very hard things. A week of very strong emotions. A week of evaluating my reaction to different situations. A week of tears, and yet, at times laughter. A week of being fruitful. A week of reflection and wrestling. A week of looking to Jesus for answers to different situations.  In looking back, in many ways it was a difficult week, but it was also a good week. It was  good because I keep going back to the One who is the Source of my life, the One who has the Solution to my problems, and the One who brings a Song to my heart.  And that actually makes it a great week. This week I'm thankful for blessings # 3,396 - 3,410. 3,396. Walks through the woods with my husband. 3,397. A friend who gave me 20 lbs. of tomatoes. 3,398. Gleaming jars of diced tomatoes for the winter. 3,399. Learning to lis...