The Trust of a Child

I was reading a book when I felt I should write another rambling, but I realized I have already written about not worrying and having the peace of a child. I decided to go back to reading. I couldn't focus on the book because I kept thinking about writing. So, I hope someone can find this helpful. Psalm 23:1-3 is familar to many, but have you ever really read it and thought about the words? "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul." Have you ever had a child fall asleep on your chest or watched as a baby opens their mouth to be fed? They have complete trust in their parents. We are to provide for not just their needs, but their wants too. God, as our father, provides the same for us. We should trust Him just as completely as a baby trusts their parents. He will provide for us much better than we ever could by ourselves. I challenge you to submit everything to Him in prayer and see what happens! The last sentence of this verse says He can restore your soul. He can restore your faith to levels you never thought were possible if you just trust Him. It doesn't matter how long it has been since you have talked to Him. He is always there and ready to listen. Just trust Him.

Small Packages

Big package means great big gift; at least that is what children think. There are many presents under our tree, but my little girl is only concerned with the biggest one. Big doesn't necessary mean the most expensive or best gift. Women especially look for the smallest package under the tree in hopes there may be jewelry! During this special time of year, don't get caught up in big gifts, but take time to remember the most important gift of all! The most precious gift we have ever received came wrapped in a tiny package named Jesus! If you have never asked Him to be your savior, I invite you to stop what you are doing and pray right now. It is that simple. Just ask Him to save you and He will. No questions asked! The beginning of a very famous verse, John 3:16, starts by saying "For God so loved the world". How powerful is that? You are included when it says world. He loves you!! Jesus would have died on the cross even if you were the only person in the world. Think about this and remember the real reason for the season! Merry Christmas!!!

Clean House

You may have a very neat and organized home, but I don’t. If someone comes over, the rooms they see are clean; however, don’t open any doors! Our relationships with our spouses can be compared to our homes. I received some of the best advice I have ever gotten from someone in our Sunday School class. She probably doesn’t even remember saying this, but it stuck with me. She said she never discusses anything related to her relationship with her husband with anyone other than God or her husband. We should all take this to heart. We can show others the “clean rooms” in our relationships, but should keep some doors shut! When we discuss problems with other people, it just fuels the fire instead of putting it out. The next time you have an argument or disagreement with your spouse, try telling God about it instead of a friend. He loves us so much and cares about every aspect of our lives!

"Yet you do not have because you do not ask." (James 4:2)

Cure for Everything

Attention!!! There is a cure all for whatever ails you – stress, depression, frustration, feeling hopeless, anger, pride, etc. You don’t have to swallow a pill, don’t have to exercise 500 times a week, and it doesn’t cost $19.99 – it is FREE!!!! I’m talking about God’s grace. Christ died for us to have this freedom from EVERYTHING!! All you have to do is submit to Him. He doesn’t only want to hear when your grandmother stumps her toe, He wants you bring all you have to Him. That includes your thoughts and actions. As is written in the Saving Life of Christ, we shouldn’t ask for strength because Christ is our strength. I challenge all of you to try this new cure all – give it to Christ!! Even if you feel it is hopeless to try and change the outcome, try prayer. I promise if you submit wholly to God you won’t be disappointed!

“Let your request be made known to God” Philippians 4:6

Hunting

I was reminded of hunting while driving through the country this morning. There is something very peaceful about sitting in a deer stand a few minutes before daylight. It is too dark to see anything, so you are able to just sit quietly. Then the excitement begins once the sun starts to come up. You start listening for every little sound at looking at all of the shadows. You become completely focused and give 100% of your attention to every little detail. This is exactly what God wants for us. He gives us a peace just like how it feels before sunrise in the stand. Then, He wants us to be excited about what he is going to do through us that day. We are to wait, look, and listen to see how He wants to use us! We should be just as focused on His work as an avid hunter is on seeing a deer.

Glove

What does it mean to have Christ living in us? As a Christian, the Bible says we are to die unto our selves and be born again. What does this mean? I read the best analogy for this the other day in The Saving Life of Christ, “We are to be a glove and Christ is the hand that fills that glove.” We are to give God every thing in our lives. Not just the big stuff, but the small things that we think about too. This is the hardest and best thing I have ever tried to do. When I do pray and let God handle all of my issues, things turn out wonderful and I feel so great; however, when I try to handle everything myself, things don’t turn out so great! I encourage all of you to pray for EVERYTHING. Try it one day and I promise you will never want to stop! God wants us to talk to Him just like our kids talk to us. Tell him what you are doing throughout the day and it will get so much easier to talk to Him about the problems in your life. Eventually it will be your natural response to pray when you have an issue.

Merry Christmas

Christmas – what is it? Presents, trees, gifts, lights, food, family? Yes and no. I was reminded of what Christmas really is this morning while reading Luke chapters 1 and 2. I know I have probably read this before, but the verses really stood out. I even found the verse the song We Wish You a Merry Christmas was based on (I’m not telling the exact verse so it will be a surprise for you too). Most of the traditions and songs for Christmas have a Biblical base. When you go through the motions and sing the songs so many times it is easy to forget why we do all of these things. Christ came on Christmas and died on the cross years later for one purpose – to save us from our sins. I encourage you all to read about the birth of Christ in the Bible again and to share what He did for us with others!

Happy Monday

We should consider the good of our neighbor and build up his character. Romans 15:2

Happy Monday!! It is cold and raining out and most people just had a nice long weekend. We can be sad and grumpy because it is Monday, or we can put a smile on our faces and be an encouragement to others! Make people wonder what is wrong with you because you are smiling today. You never know who needs to see a smiling face or hear an encouraging. Tell someone God loves them!!

Awesome God

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In every thing give thanks."
We serve a true, faithful, living God. He loves us so much!! He cares about every aspect of our lives, even the small things like our wants. Shane and I discussed getting Addison a 4-wheeler for Christmas. We decided not to because we didn't want to spend that much money on something we weren't even sure she would like. I still really wanted to get her one. I started searching sale ads to find a cheap one. This morning when we got to church one of our friends asked if we wanted a pink 4-wheeler in great condition!!! God cares about us completely. He loves us more than we will every know!!!

No worries

Have you ever wanted to go back to when you were a child? If only for a few minutes, have no worries at all! We can't escape everything, but God tells us to "be still and know I am God" (Psalm 46:10). For me, this is the greatest feeling in the world. Sit still, close your eyes, and imagine God has his arms around you. For a few mintues we can be a child again! Give all of your cares and worries to Him. 1 Peter 5:7 says "casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you". Imagine sitting in God's lap and not worrying about anything! He loves us more than we can ever know! He was smiling the day we were born and put us here for a specific purpose. Let's all try to make Him smile today!

Thick skin

“Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.” Proverbs 12:18

I read this a few minutes ago and thought this was a wonderful verse. Our Sunday school class did a study a few months ago about “gracism”. This means to look past what is on the outside and see what is on the inside of people. We should overlook what they are saying and try to understand why they are saying these hurtful words. If we ask God to give us thick skin and patients we can be a blessing to so many people!

No reason for bad moods

I realized I was in a very bad mood while I was driving into work this morning. I had no reason to be in a bad mood. We had a great morning with no crying or tantrums. As I was sulking, I heard on the radio that Patrick Swayze died of cancer yesterday. Several people called into the radio to ask for prayer loved ones with cancer. The dj’s were crying because they said 2 women with cancer called in with the sunniest outlook on life they had heard in a long time. They said these women had a wonderful spirit and were thankful for the good things in their life. Needless to say that hit me hard! I closed my eyes (only for a second because I was on 240) and thanked God for the wonderful things in my life. No matter what happens today I know I have been truly blessed! I am no longer in a bad mood. I even had a moment and wanted to dance on 240! I think we all have things in our lives we should be so thankful for! Remember to tell someone God loves them!


Verses: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6

“For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

City on our knees

I heard something on the radio this morning I wanted to share with you all. There is a Christian song by Tobymac called City on Our Knees. The dj was talking about how after Sept 11, everyone was talking about God. We heard scripture read on regular radio stations, and I was in a public restaurant when they asked us all to pray. The dj said we (the US) should be like this every day – A City on Our Knees; not just during a tragedy. I thought this was a great statement and it reminded me to tell everyone how much God loves us!

We are His children!

I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. Psalm 17:6 NLT

How awesome is it to picture God bending down to hear us, His children!

The Legend of the 3 trees

My favorite book to read to Addison is called “The Legend of the 3 Trees”. It is about 3 trees that have very big dreams of what they want to be when they grow up. The olive tree wants to be a treasure chest that will hold the greatest treasure in the world. The oak tree wants to be a great ship that carries kings. The pine tree wants to stand tall and point people to God. The olive tree is chopped down and only becomes a manger. He is so upset that he will never hold a treasure. The oak tree becomes a ship, but only a fishing ship on a calm lake. He will never carry a king. The pine tree is hit by lightening and is thrown in a scrap pile. He will never point anyone to God. The olive tree is the manger that held Christ when he was born. The oak tree is the boat Christ was in when he calmed the storm on the lake. The pine tree was the cross Christ died on. Each had their own dreams, but God had plans much bigger for them than they could have ever imagined. How awesome is that! God has a wonderful plan for each of us no matter what our circumstances are. He can and will use us if we just submit to Him!
Carrie

Life Purpose

Have you ever wondered what God has for your life? What is your true purpose? I have. I have asked God for 29 years to show me what my purpose is. Why did he create me? How am I supposed to serve Him? I am still sorting all of this out, but since I have truly submitted to Him, he has shown me so many awesome things! When we ask with all of our hearts He will reveal more than we could ever imagine! Be ready when you ask because your purpose may come like a flood. It can be overwhelming and scary. I am dealing with fear right now. I found (really, God showed me) the book titled Fearless. This is helping me get past this obstacle. I can’t say enough about what God can do when we submit to Him. My life is no different that it was before; we still have dirty dishes and crying children! But, it is a lot easier to deal with all of the chaos of this crazy world when we know we have savior to lean on! We can put our burdens at His feet and know He is taking care of everything! I encourage each of you to spend some time alone with God and tell him candidly what is going on in your life right now. I promise your cries will not go unheard or unanswered. Just be prepared for an answer you might not expect!!! If any of you ever need some to pray with or have a prayer request let me know. We all need encouraging some times!

Love,
Carrie