Thankful Thursday

Happy thankful Thursday! Iris @ Grace Alone talks about new beginnings today. Check out her post!

I'm thankful for technology today. Cell phones,printers,computers,television,etc. If not for these things would not have met some of the most wonderful ladies! Yes, these can be used for evil,but they also are used to touch many lives. As long as we use technology to glorify God He will bless our efforts!!

Now, I have made a new blog specifically for At the well and Thankful Thursday. So if you will please add it to your list. It's Becoming A Titus 2 Woman. I'll keep this one,but for personal things. So check it out! I haven't got it to add everyone on my list yet,I'm still working on it,so bear with me! Have a blessed day!

At the Well- Who Is God To You?

Welcome to the Well today! I am loving this study! Stop by At the Well and join us as Jenifer at By His Grace leads us in our study.

Discussion Question: How comforting is it to know God is with you, through the good and bad times, always protecting you and always loving you?

Well, I can certainly say I've been through some hard times through my 27 years of living (yes just celebrated my 27th on Saturday). As I sat in our '97 Ford pick-up last night waiting for our neighbor to pick me up because the truck wouldn't crank,I was thinking why God? I had to remind myself if not for the hard times then I would not know His goodness. I have lost 2 Grandfathers,1 Grandmother,1 Great-Grandfather,1 Great-Grandmother,1 cousin,1 uncle,and several close friends. Death is something,no matter the person's stance on eternity, that is hard. But to know I serve someone higher than myself who is always with me is indescribable,as Chris Tomlin sings. To know I can grow through the hard times with God's help is assuring.

And I can say I've definitely had some good times. I used to be on a drama team and boy did we have some fun,but also got to see God move. I was in college for 3 years and made awesome friends and had to chance to minister to some young ladies. Then, I married my best friend and that was an awesome day. Now, we have 2 boys and though it's not always easy, getting a hug from Daniel or a smile from Aaron is more than my heart can handle. It's comforting to know God had my life planned before I was even born. He knows the intricate details of my being! How can that not comfort you? So be comforted today God is there no matter what the circumstance is! He is the I AM! Be blessed!

anyone else want to be selfish?

I looked back through my posts and this one is I needed to re-post and re-read. Anyone else just want to be selfish sometimes?? I want to just say I WANT WHAT I WANT sometimes,but that is not a life that would fulfill me or please the Lord. I am learning that my children are not only to learn from me,but I am to learn from them. I know one thing I am to learn from them is to not be selfish. Alright this post speaks for itself!

Written in 2008:

Ok, I'm here to be honest and raw again. I am getting better at this, I believe.

I know everyone struggles with selfishness,it's our human nature too. I had no idea how much unselfish I would have to be with a baby. I'm not saying that in a bad way,but it's true. If any of you have babies, you know what I mean. I heard a man on a radio program a few weeks ago say this pertaining to God and children: God is chipping away at our selfishness, He is trying to rid us of our self-absorption. I didn't hear that until I had my baby boy though. That really hit me. I was like Wow. Okay. How selfish I have been!

Sometimes I just want me time,I want to be able to do the things I did prior to baby. By this I mean things around the house. Oh I used to keep my house clean and spotless. I used to be able to sit and read for hours. Or I could cook big meals. But now I can't do those as I would like to or to the extent I would like too. At first that really bothered me. I was just like, 'Why can't I have some Heather time??' or 'Why does my baby want so much of my attention,while I see others play happily on the floor.' I finally come to grips with the fact that he is just a baby. He can't do anything himself. That is why God gave him to me,to take care of him. I am not only to take care of him spiritually,but physically. This goes beyond feeding,changing diapers,and bathing. I am to play with my baby when he desires, I am to hold my baby when he desires,and I am to comfort my baby when he desires. Those things are fun and I love doing them,but it definately doesn't leave time for Heather. So what do I do? I whine about it! I get mad because I can't do what I want too do. Well, today I was reading my Bible and just happen to turn to Galations. Oh. The book that mentions not being selfish and fleshly. Yeah, it was God's turn to trainme if you will. I turned to this passage.

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galations 5:22-26

Call that God or what? I thought, 'Oh. So that's for me, huh?' I heard God say, 'Yes, that's for you my dear.' I've been walking in the flesh. I've been fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Instead of being led by the Spirit,like I know to be, I let my flesh rise up and grow more than my Spirit. I also found these verses.

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Galations 6:7-10

'That too Lord?'
'Yes, that too my child.'

I have The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, that my wonderful husband and son got me for Mother's Day this year. I wanted to share some of his thoughts on Galation 5:22-23.

-They never feel afraid to admit their faults, yet they always remember they have within them the power to rise above their fleshly appetites and desires. (referring to those who truly walk in the Spirit.)
-They aren't given to us as goals to pursue because you and I cannot produce fruit. The Holy Spirit is the producer; we are merely the bearers. The fruit of the Spirit was never intended to demonstrate our dedication and resolve. Rather, it reveals our dependancy on and sensitivity to the promptings of the Spirit.


I also looked up the verse that talks about Jesus coming to be served,not to serve. 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 I am a servant. Not just to God,but to my son. Daniel is not to serve me,he's a baby. Per say I'm to serve him. I'm to play with him,comfort him,and hold him when he desires. Instead of being more worried about everything being spotless or my reading,I need to be serving my son. He desires my attention. He gets so excited when I go to play with him. Father, help me not walk in the flesh so much and not to be selfish. I want my son to continue to love seeing me walk in a room or want me to hold him. Let me have the mind of Christ.


For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45

Thankful Thursday-Children

It's Thankful Thursday and I have much to be thankful for! Go to Grace Alone and check out what Iris has to say today. It will bless you!

Yesterday's Bible study convicted me of something we're all at fault for sometimes,complaining. We read passages about the Israelites complaining after being led out of bondage in Egypt. Wow, did God step on my toes? Yes, He did,but in a loving way. Being a Mother of 2 young ones can be very draining and stressful. On top of that my husband has a very stressful job and isn't always here when I need him. So I tend to not always see the positive side of having children,especially when I am physically tired and worn down. I ask forgiveness a lot,every day. I pray a lot everyday,but I also complain a lot too. I'm like the Israelites. God does awesome things day to day and I praise Him for it,to only turn around and complain when something doesn't go the way I think it should or planned it too. I wonder at times, why God bothers because truly I've got to be one of the most stubborn women He's created. I realize when I look at my children and why I continue to try,is why God continues with me. He loves me more than I can imagine and it's the same with my children. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Psalm 127:3

As I woke up this morning, I turned on Life Today and it was almost over. I see Tammy Trent talking about the water situation and had 2 pitiful children in her arms. I thought, ooh.. okay Lord. I head my head in shame. I complain about my children whining and crying,when those children could not speak because of malnutrition. I then start the Bible study and it is all about complaining and I once again say, okay Lord I see where this is going. After the study and getting a shower, I look through the recorded shows on the t.v. and I love watching the Duggar family,so I watched the episode from last night. They are up and down everyday with their newest,Josie. She was born at 25 weeks and it's a struggle everyday for her. Ouch! I have 2 healthy boys and there are those who have so many problems with their children or who aren't able to even have them! How selfish of me! Needless to say, God and I had a talk.

So today, I'm thankful for my boys,Daniel and Aaron. Daniel keeps me going non-stop and is just as stubborn as I am,but I love him. He has so much life and has the most beautiful blue eyes a boy could have! Aaron is just a smiley baby! It melts my heart when he gives me the biggest grin! Or when his Daddy is holding him and he is constantly searching for me when he hears my voice. What could be more amazing? I am their world. They love me so much,even when they are crying,whining,or disobeying me. I disobey God,but that doesn't mean I don't love Him. I'm like my children,still learning to listen to my Father. I really want to try and not complain so much. It's so hard not too,but when I do it enough God usually gives me reminders of how I have 2 healthy,full of life little boys that need a happy,grateful Momma. I want my children to do as the Proverbs says, Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Proverbs 31:28

What are you complaining about? God wants to hear,but He also wants to help. Be blessed on this Thursday!

At the Well- Who Is God To You?

I couldn't wait until today! I really enjoyed the first session of the study we are doing. It was so refreshing and encouraging. I love Bible studies so much! It's been awhile since I've been able to do one,so this is just on time! I'll go right to the discussion question since my time is limited. Go check out the post At the Well with Jennifer.

1. What does it mean to you to know you are precious in God's sight?

To know that I am very precious to God, is very comforting. To know He loves me so much that He sent His only Son to take my sins upon himself. To know that no matter what I have done I can repent before Him and He will forgive me. That in itself, is indescribable and gives me a peace like no other. Sometimes I tend to forget that I am precious in His sight and have to remind myself by reading His word or looking back on the blessings in my life. The devil will try to tell you that you are not precious in His sight,but you are my friend. Who else would willing give their son to die for a world that would reject him?

2. Can you think of a time in your life when you've experienced,firsthand, the Lord's faithfulness?

When I got pregnant with our first son I was not on my husband's insurance yet. We thought it was just the State being slow or papers getting lost,but it wasn't. It was God wanting to show His glory. We weren't able to get on Medicaid,so we were paying $500 each monthly visit. That takes a toll on a State Trooper's salary that's for sure. I got so angry with God too. I kept asking Him how could He do this to us? We love Him, we serve Him,and we were good people. I could not understand why God would let this happen to us. I finally realized that there was nothing I could do about it and that I was being very childish and I needed to repent. So I repented of my bitterness towards God. We begin to see how God wanted to show His glory through this situation. I got pregnant in April and in June, the landlord asked my husband to take the courtesy officer position at our apartment in exchange for free rent. The rent was $479 a month,so that would basically cover the monthly nurse-midwife visits. How awesome is our God? He just blew our minds!!! We had so many other things happen I can't even begin to describe. I did write about them in the birth story of my son you can go read here. That was just one of the things that happened. We learned that God just wanted us to trust Him and not worry about where our money would come from. It's His money anyways,so why worry? It really is awesome to look back on that time. We both grew in our walk with the Lord and it strengthened us as a young married couple. So when things may not go as you want,look to God, He always is up to something!

Hope you have a blessed Monday!!

Snow Day in South Alabama!

Here are some pictures from our snow day!!! YAY!!! Daniel LOVED it! It did not snow enough to stick where I live,but over in Southeast MS in our hometown it sure did! Aaron was taking a nap ha! He wasn't big enough to know what it was anyways! I got some great pictures and it was Daniel's first snow. It was our first since 1996!! I remember the day it snowed. I woke up at my parents and it was like a winter wonderland! Oh so pretty! It was still pretty today as it fell!!

I told him to try and catch it with his tongue LOL

Daniel and myself, see it falling?

My love and I,it had stopped by then!

Oooh no make up or no shower! :)

This is right after it started.

I loved it!

Our truck,it stuck to the vehicles!

It was really come down here!

My cute little boy!

He had fun running in it!

hehe..

The ground was SO wet too!

Running some more,he got the hang of it!

A little curious to begin with.

The sidewalks were so slippery,we had to be careful!

Trying to catch it and throw it LOL
So adorable! I wish it had stuck some for him!

He kept trying to wipe it off his jacket!

It was sooo pretty falling from the sky!!

It was just perfect!

From our porch at our apartment.

Daniel and myself. He cried when we came in!

Not the best picture,but one at least! He was ready for a nap!

Thankful Thursday-Love

Welcome to Thankful Thursday! I pray you all are having a blessed one! I'm a little tired,but thankful for life! Iris @ Grace Alone shares with us about God's love today. Stop by her blog and check it out!

Do you know God's love? Have you ever felt God's love? As I did my Bible study this morning, the verses all pertained to God being faithful and true. I thought about God's forgiveness and love. He loves us so much that He wants what is best for us. He has laws,boundaries,commandments-whatever you would like to call them- that He has for our own good because He loves us. I love the verse in I John 4: that says he loved us first that's why we love. Amazing isn't it? We would not know love if it not for God,not true and perfect love. I John 4:19,We love him, because he first loved us.

He also loves us so much that when we ask forgiveness of our sin, He will forgive us. No matter how many sins you have, God will forgive you if you ask. That just boggles my small mind. I love this verse also in I John 1:9,If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I am so glad that we have such a loving,forgiving,caring God. You cannot escape His love or His forgiveness. I don't think our small minds will ever grasp that in it's fullness.

Ponder on God's love today and all that is offers!!