Raising STRONG, HEALTHY Kids

If you want strong, healthy kids consider feeding them more than just organic, healthy food. Consider feeding them the Word of God. 

He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds. (Psalm 107:20, 21 NIV)

We have started memorizing 2 scriptures a week with the kids as a family and keeping a journal of what they've learned. We have their scripture on the fridge, on the mirror in chalk pen and on the dining room table to chat about during dinner time. Why? Because this WORD will be life to their bones and a lifeline in the very darkest times of trouble that we all know life does bring. I want my kids to be equipped to WIN because they know who they are in Christ Jesus!

#kids #raisingafamily #familylifeinchrist #wordindarknessout

(img via weheartit)

God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.  -C. S. Lewis

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Isaiah 64:4 NIV

(img via weheartit)

Who Will You Choose?

What perfect timing it is for such controversial matters to pop up in Hollywood. ‪#‎sarcasm‬ I'm not going to state my opinion on this matter because all I have to say in regards to it all is this -- there is a very strong pull to get our attention off of Christ and onto things of this world. Are you going to get caught up in the controversy or are you going to keep your Christmas holy? Are you going to focus on the power of God who came to earth in the form of man to save us or let Hollywood dictate your thoughts? I for one choose JESUS!

#mileycyrus #philrobertson #christmas #holychristmas 

God recently checked my heart about what I do as the very first thing in the morning. He wants the first fruits of everything in our lives including and especially our days. If the first thing we do is grab our phones and check Facebook, we can't be surprised to have a day that looks hectic - kind of like a Facebook feed. But if we take some time to sit down with our Heavenly Father and talk to him and worship him then he will take what was going to be crazy and hectic and bless it and make it holy.

Now thank God for his mercy because His grace is sufficient to cover our need to grab a cup of caffein before we sit down to His word. Haha!

For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. (Romans 11:16 NKJV)

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love IN THE MORNING and your faithfulness at night, (Psalm 92:1, 2 NIV)

#preachingtomyself

A Holy Christmas

If you look for the holy in Christmas you will find it among the hectic, the hurried, the stressed and the strained. You will find peace and simplicity, grace and a Savior who always is and always was and always will be waiting for you to welcome Him into your Christmas. And when our Christmas is truly filled with Christ and not just "cliche Christ filled", it's THEN we will truly experience the majestic hallowed moments, the blessed moment of what truly came to pass the night our Savior came into this world. I can only imagine that all Heaven sang when his first cries rang out, A SAVIOR! Christ The Lord! The power of the cross began with the power of the manger. Let's find the holy in Christmas together this year. 

I read a line today “What was intended to tear you apart, God intends it to set you apart.
What has torn you, God makes a thin place to see glory.” -Ann Voskamp 

Oh I love that! So true!! We all have had deep hurts in our lives that seem at times too much to carry, but God never meant for us to carry them because he sent his Son to carry our burdens for us. And those delicate places in our hearts that we are left with that feel so fragile, should not necessarily be looked at like scars but as little places for God's infinite mercy and grace to shine through our lives. In our greatest trials He demonstrates his greatest miracles. Through our deepest heartache he wraps us in his never ending love that our earthly minds cannot begin to comprehend. In our greatest disappointment Jesus stands at the open tomb and says, I am your greatest victory!
Don't over bandage and cover up what what feels like a scar or injury in your heart that is actually His glory trying to shine through.

(img via weheartit)

It Came in prayer...

Like the mighty rain falls down, so will the glory of God if His people will wake up. It's time for the slumber to end and it's time for us to seek His face daily. 

God is whispering to you, he's calling to you - it's time....
Some of you have been sensing the pull.  Some of you have been hearing the whisper in your spirit that it's time to dig into His word and seek his face because He is coming very, very soon!  

And his GLORY is going to rain down like FIRE from the heavens to those who are truly and earnestly seeking him daily.  

Jehovah Shammah

As we bring Thanksgiving to a close and I sit here during the early morning hours thinking about all I'm thankful for I find it so hard to make a list - there are just SO many things!  All of you know that at the very top, my families health would reign supreme. I am beyond thrilled to have won the battle against that dragon! But it's really not what I find myself thinking on constantly this year believe it or not. We had such a whirlwind that I don't wait till November to count my blessings - I count them each and everyday and health is a blessing that never is overlooked.

But lately I find myself being thankful, so thankful, for the painful journeys of life. Kind of odd, huh? I can't even fathom going through another family illness or losing someone close to me or some of the other tough things in life - but it's been in those moments that I've sensed and felt God's presence wrapped around every inch of my being more than ever. God is with me daily and I'm surround by him but I can't accurately describe how his presence becomes so much more available, accessible and tangible during those heart aching times. And instead of feeling weak like I might collapse during those times, instead God strengthens me and gives me a dose of his supernatural power to withstand whatever is happening. And that's what he does for each of us when we let him. That's those moments when you look back and say, I have no clue how I got through that except by the grace of God!  I'm not saying go looking for hardships - heck no! You can find God in the everyday beauty of life, but if you are going through hell and back right now, know that you are in the perfect spot to have the Creator of the universe wrap his arms around you and carry you through it! I look back at those moments in life now and although I in no way ever want to revisit, relive or re-experience  any of them, I look back and I see such BEAUTY. I see an exotic flower growing out of the cracked arid soil of the sweltering desert sand. 

I see Jehovah Shammah- The Lord is there!

I could write out a list a mile long but I'm most thankful for my beauty from ashes and the constant presence of my Father God in my life.  I pray that as we continue in this holiday season that we are able to seek out His beauty, His will and His amazing purpose for our lives as He seeks to find our hearts in this busy world.

Mercy Tree

Lacey Sturm, former lead singer of Flyleaf was an atheist as a teenager, ready to commit suicide until her grandmother showed her the love of Jesus. Now she sings of the awesome power of the mercy tree. I cannot find words to convey how much this touches my soul.

the lion of the tribe of judah

(I would love to know who the artist is to give credit.)

I can't get enough of this picture. When I first saw it I immediately thought of the book of Revelation when God is referred to as the lion of the tribe of Judah. This picture evokes the feelings of safety that God has given me throughout the years when waves of sickness tried to drowned our family. God's peace is so tangible. I would love to just bury my face in that mane because that's what it feels like when He shelters you from a storm.  

Imagine for a moment if your young child got separated from you in the middle of Black Friday crowds at the mall. It would only take one sight of you to send him running, full speed towards your embrace. He would bury his face in your legs, wrap his arms around your body and squeeze you sooo tight. And he would know with confidence that as soon as he reached you and felt your touch that he was safe. Even though the crowd is still just as large as hurried and hectic as before, all it would take is your presence to make his world right. That's how God is with us. He's there waiting to let you bury your face in his loving peace and drowned out the world around you until you are confident and safe again. We were never meant to face this world alone.

But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. 

Revelation 5:4-6 

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 "You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you." - Aslan

(and yes, I'm a C.S. Lewis fan to boot)

whisper

His whisper is as thunderous as a symphony singing my name, beckoning me to sit at his feet and fill me with His wisdom so that He can empty my head of all the clatter the world tends to fill it with.  And I wonder if I could just 

stop

just stop… and listen…

would I finally see and hear what I've been longly to know.  Would I hear what it is that I am supposed to do with my life and what my hearts calling is?  Does it take me finally slowly down long enough to hear Him?  Does it take me shutting off the world and even saying no to helping others for even 30 minutes to hear the whispers of my Father to my heart? I guess that would be worth it wouldn't it? Why do I have such a hard time  slowing down? Why is it so hard to discipline myself to do just this one simple task?

(img credit via weheartit - if you know the origial photographer

 please let me know so I can give credit)