Okay it's that time of year again. A time of reflection and new aspirations for the up coming year. This year, I have not been blogging, journaling, or writing as much as I'd hoped. Although I did start out strong, and through the summer I had some strong periods but overall it's been so so. I've been in some instances embarrassed to call my self a writer this year because I just haven't been doing it. I was so determined too write more, and finish a book that I've been wanting to complete for five years now. But as always I let life's responsibilities, trials, and disappointments disable me. Sometimes if we're not careful life can snuff out some of the greatest desires in our heart. I don't want my life to be a long list of.."I wish I would've or could've?" There is more to me than what I let others see. There's more to me than what I let my self see! I constantly feel it knocking down the door trying to get out, but I have been in some ways too afraid or lazy to open the door, and leave it open. (I will admit that.) I am 34 years old, and like most people my age I've rehearsed over and over in my mind where I am in life, and where I am with God, and if this is acceptable.

I think about everything that I've gone through, I analyze how I've dealt with the things I've gone through,the choices I've made through my experiences, and if they were God's choices for my life. Sometimes you can never be too certain. But I really do my best to acknowledge God in everything that I do. Nevertheless, another year has almost ended. It's the day after Christmas, and it feels as though this year was a sprint for me. And I did as much as I could to stay in the race without getting knocked down. I can't say flat out that I "feel" more accomplished this year than what I felt on last year? I do have some tangible accomplishments but many are missing. I need to reflect on it a little longer, I have not sat down to fully evaluate all of the specific goals that I set for myself back in 2007. (I've actually been a little afraid to do that.) Although I did not finish one of the more important goals that I set for this year, I will not beat my self up about it. I'm mature enough now to understand that it is a waste of time to pout and stress over things that I didn't do. What is done, or not done is in the past,and can not be changed. But what I do in the present will determine what my future past will be.
What is it that solidifies success for us? Is it a simple check list of goals that we've completed by a specific date? Is it a certain income level that we had hoped to reach? Is it an elite level of social status, or tangible acknowledgements for our work? It could be all of these things, or none depending on who we are as individuals. But Lord knows a little from each of these areas couldn't hurt!

I believe what makes most of us successful has little to do with what we believe it to be. God's idea of success and our idea of success is so vastly different, and much more profound! If we could just adopt God's idea of success for our lives, we'd be more fulfilled.

I believe Joshua 1:8 should be the vehicle to which we use to become successful. In it God encourages Joshua as he impends on the largest calling of his life. The Lord, in a way was letting Joshua know that his success will not lie in how many miracles he could perform vs how many he allowed Moses to perform. Joshua's success wouldn't be judged on his leadership skills vs Moses leadership skills, no not by God. But the only thing he would need in order become successful is the knowledge, and love of God's word, and then to act on what God's word says..that's it? No 7 or 10 step program, no complete series of this cd, book, or seminar, and the other. We can make success so complicated by trying to keep up with the world's idea of success. We can get so wrapped up with what others think we should be doing that we forget to strive for the only success that counts, and that is success with God. We should care less about what people think, and more about what God knows. We should be more concerned with looking good in the eyes of the Lord, than trying to appear successful in the eyes of man. Because the bottom line is.. it doesn't matter what it looks like God knows the truth, and his assessment of us is the real one. It is the one that will stand in the end! So on this year I'm not going to do my typical list of things that I want to accomplish, I am simply going to use Joshua 1:8 as my vehicle and see where it takes me!

Make a Smilebox greeting

2 Tim 3:1 this know also, that in the last days perilous (dangerous) times shall come.



A hurricane tears through Galveston and Houston, causing thousands to evacuate fleeing for higher and safer ground. Businesses and Homes were severely flooded and damaged. There were stranded vehicles and reports of uprooted trees. Families who stayed behind calling out in despair for help in the middle of the night as the floods take over their bedrooms. This is starting to sound like déjà vu; year after year, as we become inundated with stories about tragic hurricanes and other natural disasters. Just this morning two freight trains were reportedly found derailed in a head on collision. 18 people have been reported dead and the death toll is expected to rise. And this is just a snippet of tragic stories being reported on today alone! I’m not a media junkie, but whenever I do decide to watch the news it is a constant reminder that we are in the last days. Jesus Christ “is” soon to come.

As we attempt to live a “normal” or the “good life” as we often call it; we are exposed to the reality of what the bible says would happen. “In the last days perilous times shall come. There will be wars, and rumors of wars. There will be earthquakes in several places, and there shall be trouble, and this is the beginning of sorrows.” We roll from one tragic story right into another; before we can digest what we’re seeing there’s another breaking story of something else that is so devastating, so repulsive that we can’t even repeat it! Friends I believe it is clear that we are in the “end times” God is not slack concerning his promises. The bible is the truth. When people hear of such tragedies they often say, “Where is God in this? How could He allow these things to happen to human beings? These statements are clearly recited by people who do not know God, or what His word says.

People God is here, and He is on his Job; but what about you? Do you know what God requires of you? If you want to be on the right side of these “perilous times” pick up the bible and read it, and ask God to give you understanding, as well as the power to live what you’re reading in His word. Check out what the Bible says about what we are experiencing right now, and how we should view it, and respond. If you have not repented of your sins, and asked Jesus Christ to be Lord of your life, you should do that now.
May God’s grace and mercy cover us all.

Luke 21:11 and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Mark 13:8 for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these [are] the beginnings of sorrows.

D. AND ME


This Weekend My husband and I celebrated our 11th year of being married to one another. We've gone through a lot, and we've had so much fun with each other! We were married so young that we've matured together and it's been a wonderful learning experience. We got that we are on the "same team" during the first year of our marriage. IF I talk about my Husband, and put Him down, I talk about my self,and I'm tearing my ownself down.. it's as simple as that? We are one flesh, when people see Him, they see me, and vice versa. (Sure we have our fun taking shots at one another, we're joksters, but nothing serious)

There's no competion or points to prove here, we respect one another and we show our love regularly. We are truly best friends, we are so much alike in a lot of areas. (I remember when my husband first realized I could out laugh him he was shocked to silence, He'd held that trophy for a while in his family! (lol) oh-well.(smile) We don't take our selves too seriously we let our guards down and we are just goofy with one another and it makes our marriage really fun! If our walls could talk we'd have a hit comedy show on our hands! (Seriously we show out.)

Overall, Our core(our strength) has been that we love God & respect His laws and commandments. We care about what is important to the Lord. When you strive to please God, When you care about what He cares about, you can't help but to have a successful marriage.

I thank our God for blessing us to get this, and we look forward to the Lord blessings us with 11 more wonderful and exciting years! .

An act of kindess from a sister in Christ. (How Sweet!) I love it.

Beyond Sunday Morning

I was going over our Sunday School lesson for tomorrow morning, It's called: Summoned to Labor.
And the scriptures Luke 10:1-20 reveals God's primary will for our lives as Christians. Christ sent out 70 men with a command to "reap" the souls "He" had harvested. Meaning there are souls waiting to be brought in, "I" have already prepared them, all you have to do is go and get them, that's it!" (We literally have free and open souls waiting on us to get there.) So Christ says to them "GO!" The Harvest truly is Great, but the labourers are few. We, as the chosen of God, can not sit content in our own salvation, and let "The Harvest of Christ wither away, we have to go out and get them.

Would you stand by and let fresh vegtables, produce, and even finances that you've planted and invested grow up, only to be left there? What purpose would your hard work have served? Would it not be in vain?

As the Holy Spirit was revealing this to me I began to repent to Christ because I know I have not done all I should to bring in "His Harvest, and that's just a hard truth?

Christ took a huge hit for the team. He planted the seeds, as tough as that ground was He tilled it, and He got those seeds in there! And, at the end of His ministry He sacraficed His Life! And in 3 days He rose from the dead, handing off the baton to us, and with it Power! He said Go, Go and bring them in, they are waiting on you. You have everything you need to do this job!
This command of Jesus is not very difficult, because He reveals that through no power of our own do we have to convince people to be saved, or make them accept Him. God Himself has already done that work.

Some of us have fallen short in God, due to "self-reliance." We've become selectively blind to the fact that this truly is "His Work" and we are simply harvesters in "His fields."

Working for God is not getting up every Sunday Morning, and occupying a seat on the pew, for a few hours. It's not simply singing in the choir, or working as an usher. But what we do "in His fields" Mon-Sat is going to make the difference.

Church, we are behind. It is time for us to catch up and take what is ours! We Must build God's Kingdom. Christ has already done the most difficult part!

Well. Tonight is my last night to stay up late (Past 9:00 pm)

I have to go back to work. My four month hiatus is over. The company I mentioned in a earlier post made me an offer, and wanted me to get started with training, asap. The position is new, I'm the first person in it! I get to set up the guidelines and procedures for the position, and hopefully sculpt it into a department. This would be a great accomplishment. (Supposedly I may have to travel every now and then-that could be interesting)

I have mixed emotions about going back, I enjoy my freedom and being able to work on things that are important to me and my Pastor, and on my own time! But having money is important to me too! lol.. You do what you have to do? Either way I know God will be with me, in it all. I make a decision to glean "Life Long Lessons" from all my secular jobs. And each time I've been able to apply them to ministry! This one won't be any different. "Lord please bless me to love it more than any other company or position I've had" (I may as well love what I'm doing since I'll be there for most of my day!)

At least I can wear Jeans and Tennis, this will make going to work everyday, a lot less stressful!

Auntie's cute little Aryn! (1 yr birthday Party..she'll be two this April? Time seems to disappear into thin air.)

Job Hunt


Okay. I had another job interview today. This one was much better! It was a small office.(a rapidly growing family business called Veneer Stones)As I pulled up, I didn't notice any office buildings..the parking lot was graveled and there was a trailer, with pallets of custom made stone everywhere? I thought, okay? This should be interesting. I was dressed very professional(in a suit) so I didn't expect this setting at all. As I got out of my car dust was flying all around from the small trucks going in and out of the parking lot.(Did I say this one was better??(lol) just keep reading) Anyway, I though oh-kay? I did say I was tired of corporate America, but this is...I didn't know what to think!(it was a first for me) but I couldn't wait to see where it would lead! (lol)

When I walked in I could see the trailer was set up like a small business office, with smaller corner offices, and individual cubicals. Everyone was running around in jeans, and some in tennis shoes! They all seemed joyful, and the jeans? Huge plus! (I was smiling on the inside) They were transiting into another office building because their previous one had an electrical fire.(I knew something was up) But the jeans they said, has always been apart of their dress code. (Yes!!!)

I really enjoyed this interview. It was very different, more relaxed..it was real. I was interviewed by one of the Owners and Managers.(The manager shares my name!) They both were very down to earth, open and upfront about the business and the position(something corporate rarely is) The position is client services(same as my last) but definitely not corporate. They both said they liked my personality and thought I'd fit in well. The position is brand new, so I'd be the only one in it! They'd give me complete power, and said I could create procedures and build the job manuals as I went along. They repeatedly stressed that the dept was mine, do with it what I wanted as long as the customers were cared for and happy! So I thought, sounds great to me! (I hate to be micro-managed) They asked for my salary range, and I gave it to them. (We talked for over an hour-good sign I guess.) We'll see if they call me back! If they do..that's God's will; If they don't that's God's will too! I will rest in that, because it's definitely how I've been praying. All and All, I know it is God's will that I "not" be broke!

II Corinthians 4:18

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.



I love it, Everything "we see" is subject to change! Thank you Lord

Who are you looking at?

So. I got a phone call today from a fairly new saint. They called concerned, wanting to know why they hadn't seen a few of the "veteran" saints at church lately. Truth is, I've been dreading conversations like these. How do you tell new saints, trying to hold on, that those they've looked up to and admired all this time, had walk away? I had rehearsed over and over in my mind how I would answer this question without damaging people's Faith, in God. There was not enough sugar, or smoke screens that I could throw up, to make this sound any better. (I know! I've tried it before and it didn't work, my answers didn't make sense so, the questions kept coming!)

I briefly paused..and said; "They left." "They are no longer members of our church." I could hear the gasp in their voice, "What..Why?" they asked. (and this person was not trying to be messy, they were really concerned about these people. (I was hoping they didn't ask me why, only these people, and God know the real reason) So I said, people walk away or go somewhere they think is better for them. I left this person in a state of: It is, what It is, and quickly ended the call.

The phone rings again, they are back on the line. (Voice sounding a little dismayed) They say; "You know, its sad. You go all of this time looking up to people, admiring them for who they are in God, you see them as someone you'd want to be like, and then they just walk away from it? That's wrong." I quickly sighed and said, "that is very true." (You better have your eyes on God.)

WHO ARE YOU LOOKING AT??

It's natural for us to admire a person and want to be like them. (especially if they are accomplished, talented, or anointed) God wants us to be great examples. But at any time the person you admire decides to go down? You better shake it off, an keep your eyes on Jesus!

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Today was So So....

 

I had a job interview today, complete waste of time. Took up most of my morning!

 

I've been struggling with whether I should go back to work full time or not. Make no mistake, we "need" the money. But I am kind of dreading it because I am so over Corporate America.   However, it's what I'm experienced in so I'm most competitive wage wise: in this arena.  I don't want to be sucked into the ball and chain again. 

 

I was layed off from a very lucrative position in Sept. of last year,(the branch closed down) and I've been enjoying my freedom! It's given me so much time to write and focus on what I really want to do with my life.

 

 I feel, its been a waste of my time, to spend  8 hours working to fulfill someone else's dream.  However, the security it brings is always tempting, and it's enough to keep you bound.    

 

I've been applying for jobs here and there. Looking for preferably part-time work, so I won't be as tied down. (but haven't received any call backs on those.)

 

I've been praying for strong direction on this one because if I have to go back full time, I definitely don't want to be some place I will come to dread.       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IT'S ALL ABOUT "ME"

What happens when we decide to ignore or reject "wise"(Godly) council? When we decide I have to do things "my way" in order to find true happiness, how does that thing turn out? I think Proverbs 1:24-31 sums it up quite nicely.



24 "I called you so often, but you didn't come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.
25 You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.
26 So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you
27 when calamity overcomes you like a storm, when you are engulfed by trouble, and when anguish and distress overwhelm you.
28 "I will not answer when they cry for help. Even though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
29 For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord. 30 They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them.
31 That is why they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way. They must experience the full terror of the path "they" have chosen.

(It's just not worth it.)

I'M STILL STANDING...

IT's SUNDAY MORNING, and I am preparing for church with great anticipation. I have prayed and asked God to give me a fresh and exciting love for him. I am so thankful that God has kept me in His peace. I'm thankful that I still have a desire to serve him, and trust his word, no matter what.

It's been proven. It doesn't matter how long you've been saved; Satan will constantly try to turn your heart away from God, and His word. Today our praise team will be singing "I'm Still Standing."
This song is very befitting and is hits home like never before! Many that I personally know have given up on God, and walked away from His word. They have wrestled with it so long and twisted it so, that they no longer know what they believe. Just as Satan planned. It's as old as the trick in the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve understood what God meant when he said, Do not to eat from "that tree". But Eve allowed Satan to twist the meaning of God's word to her, and so they fell. (If you'll notice. Eve was not content with keeping her "damanble doctrine" to herself, she had to share it with Adam, taking him out as well.) Beware of people that come to you with a new meaning of what God has "plainly forbidden", because Satan is after your soul.

We may not understand a lot of things, as God told us we would not (Deut 29:29) But we have enough clarity to keep us until the end! This much I do know. Well I'm off to prayer service.. I must go higher!!

Check out my Slide Show!

Well it's a new year, and my journey has begun, again! Last year I had a few goals that I vowed would be accomplished. Become certified in CPR: Check! Become a certified group excersise leader: Check! Author and Publish my first book: ummmmm-not so much. Unfortunately I allowed things in my life to side track me, months at a time. I could literarly hear the empty pages of my book calling out to me, but I could not bring my self to write. I simply busied my self with other projects for a temporary fix. And when the year turned I couldn't be upset because I hadn't put in the work to get it done. I was frustrated, but not upset.

You see, when you do little you get little, and when you do nothing, you get nothing in return? It's just the way it is. We can't withhold parts of ourselves or make tiny investments into our dreams and expect we will be successful. We can only be great in the areas we give most of our energy. Now, to be clear, my first goal for 2008 is without a doubt: to grow closer to God. I want a greater relationship with God because I know there is much more to Him than what I know now. Knowing more about Him can only make me love him greater! God has more to share with me in spirit, and I want to receive that. I understand that I can do nothing without Him. Matt 6:33 reminds us all that we should put God first and expect the rest to follow. This I will do with gladness.

As for my writing: I spoke to two accomplished women who are involved in my areas of interest. I asked them, "How are you able to accomplish so much?" One of the women(not much older than me) is a mother of two,serves on 2 or 3 committies, has a law degree, recently authored and published a novel,consistently book signings for her novel, and she held a full time job at a demanding investment company! I asked, "Where do you find the time?" She simply said, "You make time for what's important to you". The second woman: separate coverstation, resides in a different part of the country, said the exact same thing. She said, "At that time nothing is more important to me than "that project", I focus on that and don't stop until it is finished." She stressed, "You make it your most important thing." And after I heard that, I said, "this is so true."

We can talk about what we want to accomplish, and what our passion's are in life. But our actions show what our passions are! And if we are investing in everything else except, "that thing" we say, we desire most.(and hopefully God approves) then we are only deceiving ourselves. I will not let that happen to me this year. I made some good accomplishments in 2007 that I am happy about. But this year I've got to give it all I've got. This way if something doesn't happen the way I planned then I know it wasn't because I didn't "do the work", I am going to be prepared as I can be for all my successes. I know God won't let me down. When the right time comes He will be standing at the door, holding it wide open for me, and I will be ready to walk right on through it, or shall I say, Shout on through it!

2008! Who Knew?

If you're reading this then you must be bursting with excitement!

Why? Because you made it through 1 more year! I know there were times when you didn't know how you would make it, but God knew, and He made it happen. Without His mercy you never would've seen today. So glance over your shoulder; smile,wave,and Shout Thank You Jesus! 2008 brings with it another oppourtunity to live the life your were created to live. A life that blooms, in the light of Jesus Christ!