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