Move It Monday

Good Monday morning, all! It's an interesting Monday for us! We were surprised to find out that they closed school this morning! Thank goodness the only who has to get ready is my oldest! I would of been a little upset if I had to get all 4 kids ready to go, just to find out they weren't going anywhere! I love homeschooling. We have an unexpected layer of ice all over the roads. Hubby barely got to work two blocks from here. I really hope they are doing in-town jobs today. I don't want to see anyone trying to drive down the highways. They are forecasting more freezing rain today, and then a blizzard tomorrow with up to a foot of snow! YIKES! It's going to be treacherous getting anywhere this week! I'm so thankful I got groceries yesterday.

I will be moving it today, in my nice warm, ice free house! There is still so much left to do. I have a few boxes still unpacked, and so many clothes to wash and organize. I had them all clean before we left, but they got thrown everywhere when they helped us load the truck. So now, I have to go through them all again, and wash them, just to be sure. I also have some dishes left from last night. My hands just won't wash them all at once. Hubby has been helping, as much as he hates to, but he knows hand washing is really hard on my hands, and he's such a sweet hubby! Perhaps the Lord will bless us with a way to install a dishwasher here someday. I never took mine for granted, but I didn't realize just how hard hand washing would be for me. The Fibromyalgia medicine helps so much of my symptoms, but it's done little for the pain in my hands.

On the bright side of things!!!! The bunk beds are done! :0) We are sooo happy with them! Thank you for your hard work honey!

I am SO DONE painting for a little while! I think I'll wait a bit before I start on the master bedroom! Painting isn't easy on my hands either. Brushing isn't too bad, but rolling is difficult for me now.

The finished product! I love them so much! Plenty of head room, so they can still play on their beds, even on the bottom bunk. A full on the bottom, so I can read the girls bedtime stories together, and the girls can sleep together when they want to. Since we made it ourselves, it's even sturdy enough to hold adults! I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! :)

Have a good Monday, and a great week, everyone!

Had to show you!

The day I received these, I was feeling so down, and so sad about being in Kansas. I was really missing my home in Georgia. What a surprise when I opened these HUGE packages and found what was inside!

Isn't she beautiful?! She is the newest in my collection. My Grandmother sent her to me in December, along with two of her friends, and this beautiful white wicker furniture!
I'll have to get a picture of all of them together and show you. I love dolls, and these are so special! I love my Grandma so much, and to have something so beautiful, that came from her home, that I enjoy so much....well that's just a precious gift from God!!! So, I just had to share with you!

Women In The Word Wednesday~01/26/11

This has been a good week in James so far! I'm just thoroughly enjoying this book! I've read if before, heard so many sermons based on scripture from it, but there is nothing like doing the S.O.A.P. method of study. Verse by verse, observations and applications of these precious Words of God!

So far this week, James 1:12-15

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, when it is finished, it bringeth forth death."

First, we observe that there is a reward for enduring trials and temptations. Not only do we get the immediate benefits of refining, but we have a crown of life that awaits us!

Next, we observe that God himself cannot be tempted. Temptation comes from evil, and God has no evil in His heart. He is completely righteous. Therefore, he never tempts man. When we are faced with temptation, it is NEVER from God. It is God's will that we be righteous as He is, and He would not tempt, or provoke us into evil. He may allow satan to tempt us, but it is our own lusts in our own hearts that draw us away from God.

Lastly, we observe that lust leads to sin, and sin leads to death. The very reason Jesus had to be sent here to die. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Without Jesus, we would all be dead in our sins, eternally separated from God.


Next, we come to the application of these observations. The first thing that really spoke to me, is that there is a definite separation of trials and temptations. Trials come from God, and are for our own good. They bring us closer to God, by realizing our weaknesses, and inabilities to handle things on our own. They shape and mold us to be more like Christ, and the Father that sent Him. We've all heard the analogy of silver, and it's refining through heat.

Temptations, are not of God. God wants us to be pure, and righteous as He. He always provides a way of escape for us, when the temptation is allowed. Notice I say "allowed" not "given!" "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 In the King James, suffer, means allow. So, God will not allow a temptation that He knows is more than we can bear. A temptation that is to great for us to turn away from. That would be leading us into sin, and God won't do that. The reason we can be tempted, and He can't is because He has no evil in His heart. We do. We have the fleshly lusts that draw us away from God and into sin.

We are rewarded for enduring both trials, and temptations. Not only do we have the immediate rewards, of joy and closeness to God, but we have a crown of life waiting for us! As said earlier in this book, we are to count it all joy, when faced with temptations. I know, at the time, it is so hard to do. We like to be comfortable, and happy all the time. We pay big money for "easy living." But our goal here on this earth, is to further God's Kingdom, and to bring Him glory in everything! Trials, and temptations, can bring those things to pass, so we ought to look at it from God's perspective, and not our own.

That leads me to the last point that God is dealing on my heart about through these verses. I want to be able to not only withstand temptations, and have victory over them, but I want to limit the number of times I'm tempted in the first place. The fewer times I'm tempted, the less chances I have of falling to temptation. So, how do I accomplish this? Well, I look at why God can't be tempted, and what causes my temptations. God can't be tempted, because He has no evil in His heart, and lust is what leads to temptation for me. The answer here is simple. Follow through may not be so easy, but the answer is.

My eyes need to be on God. I need to remember that my goal in life is not to please myself, but to please Him, and bring Him glory. Seeing things as God sees them. Being thankful, for all that God provides, and finding happiness in Godly things, not earthly things. If I am focused on God, and fulfilled in Him, I have no desires for anything else, and therefore no lusts. If I have no lusts, I cannot fall to temptation and be led astray from God. Lust is the root of this horrible cycle, and it has to be stopped there...better yet, before it gets there!

Just because I have accepted Christ as my savior, and I am in the book of life, doesn't mean the journey has ended. I am of no use to God if I am walking in the flesh and fulfilling the lusts thereof. I won't have done anything to glorify God or further His kingdom, if that's the life I chose to live. I may be saved from spiritual death, but I still await physical death. God has given me time beforehand to fulfill a very important calling. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a neighbor, a member of the community, and a member of the body of Christ, the church. I can use that sphere of influence for good, or I can squander it. If I intend to use it for good, I must keep my eyes on God, and strive everyday to be more like Him. Reading His Word, and asking that He help me to see ALL things as He does. I know His ways are above my own, but He has also promised to give me the wisdom I need to do His will, if I just ask! (James 1:5)

For more thoughts on James, head over to the Good Morning Girls site, and see what God is teaching other ladies!

Move It Monday

Good Monday morning! I hope wherever you are, you are enjoying nicer weather than we are! lol! It's still in the single digits, and our roads are covered in ice and snow. We had to go to a church in town yesterday, because it's all we could do to slip and slide that far. There's no way we could of safely driven 25 miles to the church we usually go to. We had to accelerate around every turn. If you tried to break, or do nothing, you just kept sliding straight. Then, when we got out of the van to walk into the church, two of my kids fell, and hubby and I almost did. It's just solid ice out there. :( Good thing the kids think it's funny to fall. I wouldn't of been laughing if it was me!

Well, I have much to do today. Many dishes to wash. (really missing the dishwasher since we moved here) Laundry to do. Cleaning and organizing. Plus, I HAVE to start school up again with my little princess. We put my oldest, now in 5th grade, into public school, but the other 3 will remain at home for now. It's so nice to be in a very small town, and be able to trust the teachers, and faculty to provide a safe, wholesome place for our children to learn! My son is enjoying it so much, and has decided to take up playing the saxophone in band! I'm happy for him!

As for the rest of us, we have homeschooling to do today, and are going to try and finish up the girl's room this week. Hubby and I made them some bunk beds, and I'm finishing up the painting. They are so beautiful! He is so talented, and did such a great job! I just assisted with holding wood while he cut it, and assembling some of it. I do love my power drill! There's just something so neat about building things with your own hands! :)

You all have a great day, and a great week! I need to get back to being busy!

Women In The Word Wednesday~01/19/11

I am doing a bible study in James with the Good Morning Girls. Every Wednesday, I will do my best to post about what the Lord is teaching me and I link it up to their site. I realize I haven't posted here in quite some time. We are settling in here, and doing well. God is good!

James 1:5,6

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."

There's a lot to be taken out of this verse. I'll just point out a couple things. One, we need to seek God for our answers. So often, (myself included...at the top of the list!) when trials come our way, we search ourselves, our co-workers, magazines, books, friends, "the world," for answers to fix our problems and situations. We must FIRST seek God, who has abundant wisdom to give to us! It's so sad when a Christian waits until all efforts have failed, to turn to God. I struggle with this so much, and I pray that God will continue to help me to turn to Him first...always.

Second, when we seek God for wisdom, He will give it to us. It's not questionable. There's no stipulations on this. He doesn't have to be in a giving mood, or require that we do all these steps first. God clearly tell us here in verse 4, that it shall be given to us! Praise God!

Thirdly, we must trust in the wisdom and the answers that God gives us. It's so easy to doubt God's ways, because they are above our own understanding sometimes. We still think ourselves and our own wisdom to be so great. I've heard the saying, that it's often not that we don't trust God will answer our prayers, but that we don't know if He will answer our prayers the way WE want Him to answer them! I find this to be so true! We must trust Him though, and know that He will ALWAYS say and do the right things. We can trust the Holy Spirit's leading, and when God gives us an answer, or wisdom about a situation, we need to stick to that, and not waiver in our faith. Wavering gives room for Satan to do real damage.

I leave you with one more passage. I find it no coincidence that both these verses (above in James, and here below in Proverbs), though many years and pages apart, are both verses 5 and 6.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5,6