Hearts in Service Blog

"Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8 "Like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." I Peter 2:2&3 "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give you." John 6:27 Good morning ladies! I find it interesting in these verses that the word, "taste" is used. We are to eat of the Lord or His word, just as we would eat food to fill us when we are hungry. He is to be our spiritual sustenance. We also are not to stay babies only drinking milk, we are to grow up in the Lord and begin to eat more. The other thing that struck me in these verses is that we are should not fill a spiritual void with physical food but with the Lord. How often do we use food to fill an emotional or spiritual need? Do you eat when you are facing a stressful situat...

The children have been wanting to take karate forever. However, we do not have the money to do this so it has been placed on the back burner. A few weeks ago a gentleman in our church approached Dan and offered to teach the children. He has a black belt and is a certified karate instructor. He wanted to teach his own boys who are 8 and 5 but felt it would be easier if he had other children as well. So Chris is now teaching 5 children each week. To be honest, Emily is the best at it. I think it's because she is so small and compact. Nathan does pretty good as well. His only problem is trying to adjust to being taller. When Stephen attempts the kicks, he almost falls over. It's all I can do not to laugh because it's so comical. They are having a great time and I've never seen them so enthused about anything. The Lord really provided on this one because Chris won't take any money for this at all and gave them the uniforms and belts. God is good!

Here is a red-tailed hawk that was hovering up above yesterday. The sun was glinting on his wings and it was so cool. These are the times when I wish we had a good camera!

Stephen turned 15 years old yesterday. It's hard to believe that I now have two teenage boys hurtling towards adulthood! We have a tradition here that the birthday child gets to pick what they want for breakfast and dinner. Stephen picked chocolate chip pancakes, hash browns, and sausage for breakfast. It was heavy on the carbs but yummy! Then he got to open his gifts. First, he read a card from Emily. Then from Nathan. Then cards from others. He opened his presents. Stephen is a budding artist so one of the gifts we got him was an art kit. He's been using it all day. For dinner, he chose French dip with homemade Italian rolls. Then we had birthday cake. He said the same thing he says every year. "This was the best birthday ever!"

Every Thursday night our church has 13 girls, ages 6-12 that come and enjoy two hours of 3D Girls. 3D stands for Devotion to God, Creative Disciplines (Cooking and Crafting), and Dramatic Arts (Dance and Music). Jenna is my co-leader and she is an absolute gift from God. Her parents have attended our church for the past 4 years. She recently graduated from college with a degree in Dramatic Arts and has decided to stay in the area. Together, we have been teaching these children every Thursday. When the girls first started coming they would only sit and hang out with the girls they already knew. However, this past year we have been teaching them about friendship and the kind of friends that God wants them to be. As a result we've seen some real changes. They all have become good friends, regardless of age differences. We've seen them come from being shy, insecure girls in September to confident, young ladies. One of the mothers commented to me one day that the change in ...

This has been such a dreary, rainy week. I would love a good snow storm but all we seem to be getting is rain :-(. The sun finally came out yesterday and the kids got outside for the first time all week. The sun was out in one direction with blue skies. The other direction was grey and cloudy. How sweet. Look how much they love each other! The next minute, Stephen has her in a choke hold and is throwing her to the ground. Riding his bike Getting the mail. Is that a birthday card I see? Emily found a bird's nest on the ground. Nathan told me that there was not much to take pictures of and I agree. It's mostly bare trees and mud. We are so ready for spring here!

"Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load." Galatians 6:4-5 Ladies, do you struggle with comparing yourselves, your bodies, your children, your possessions with others? If you do and find that you have it so much better than others, you probably struggle with pride. If, on the other hand, you come up short then more than likely you are always feeling defeated and not good enough. These verses in Galatians are talking about the dangers of comparison. I have a Women of Faith bible and the little notes on these verses mentions, "Paul suggests that we focus instead on our own responsibilities. Are we faithfully living for God and fulfilling our responsibilities before him? Ask yourself now: Am I living up to my potential? Is my love for Christ as deep as it could be?" The Lord has placed you in the circumstances you are in. He has given you the families th...