shan's blog

MY NEW BLOG ADDRESS

2008-05-28T21:43:00.001-05:00

i have changed my blog address due to my email address change.

see you there!

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popsicle stick dolls

2008-05-28T09:31:00.004-05:00

the idea was to make something that would be fun to play with in the sand at the BEACH. so this way, the sticks can..stick into the sand and the dolls will stand up...hopefully. we'll find out. i also made male popsicle stick dolls - a soldier and a surfer.

a little girl asked me to make her a butterfly, so we'll see how that goes. if it succeeds, i'll post a pic of it. maybe even if it doesn't succeed. her little brother then said, "i need a fuffer fie too." i love kids, they're just so incredibly adorable and ingenius!

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how would you like to be laughed at

2008-05-27T16:51:00.004-05:00

this sweet little duck thought it was completely hidden and safe from the outside world...

I guess we made such a commotion that it decided it would give up trying to hide...

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could someone

2008-05-27T16:36:00.002-05:00

please tell me why i keep seeing these around town?

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do you....

2008-05-27T10:54:00.002-05:00

...know that feeling where things in life are being a little rough to handle on your own, and you want to ask for help but you're too afraid, and everyone just looks at you, waiting for you to do something, watching you crumble in front of them, and they sit there, unmoving, judging you with their eyes, and you continue to crumble but try to hide it, and then discretely try to pick up the broken pieces while they aren't looking, and stuff them in your pocket where they'll be temporarily safe until you find some glue to put them back together?

then later, another broken piece falls off and you begin to cry, but you immediately get some glue and stick it back on, a little better this time since you were in the safety of someone who has never and will never judge you. but you still feel like a cracked piece of pottery that has crumbled and been stuck back together with a glue stick with missing pieces and holes everywhere.

me too.

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but what most people don't know, and don't care to know, and selfishly push away, is the truth about our loving Savior Jesus Christ who never fails to come and heal our hurts. no matter how bad we have messed things up. no matter how much hurt we have. GOD IS BIGGER! there are so many times that i would like to go back and fix something i did in the past, or change the way something happened, or delete a few things here and there. but we can't do that. BUT GOD IS SO FAITHFUL to forgive. He wraps his loving arms around us and gives us His promise that He will never leave or reject us.

so PLEASE tell me why in the world i would want to go on living my own life doing who knows what with who knows who with no regard for His neverending, never failing love? i don't. and i don't live within a boundary of rules of wrong and right, I LIVE WITHIN THE BOUNDARY OF GOD'S LOVE WHO GAVE HIS SON SO I DON'T HAVE TO DIE. I AM UNWORTHY OF THAT LOVE, BUT HE GIVES IT ANYWAY. SO I WANT TO SPEND MY WHOLE LIFE DOING THINGS THAT WILL PLEASE HIM, NOT THINGS THAT ESSENTIALLY SPIT IN HIS FACE. and if you don't like it, that's ok because it's not YOU i am trying to please.

i cannot change what you think you know about me. therefore i cannot dwell on the sadness that could overwhelm me because you think you know who i am and what i am about. but someday, if you care to know, i will tell you. until then, i'll continue to unconditionally love you whether or not you believe me.

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6 days

2008-05-24T13:08:00.002-05:00

until we go to the beach.

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maria meets Jesus

2008-05-24T11:02:00.002-05:00

another lovely person leaves this world to enter into the Kingdom.

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the unfinished song

2008-05-19T17:23:00.002-05:00

i sing silly songs in my head alot...well, ok, out loud too. but i find it amusing that when i can't remember the words to a song, an unvited random song will come in and fill in the missing parts. sometimes i just sing it anyway and laugh because it made no sense. but i'm beginning to wonder about this continuous partnership of song clips that run through my head...

"Wheeerrrre, oh where has my sanity gone? WWheeeerrrrre oh where can it beeeeeeee? He hiiiiideth my soul in the cleeeft of the rock..."

WHAT?!! Is the Lord trying to tell me something? if you figure it out, let me know. otherwise, i'll just keep singing and maybe the next line will usher itself in.

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yesterday, i heard someone say

2008-05-19T17:19:00.004-05:00

and in all seriousness,

"I didn't know there was so many problems in the world until I started workin' at WalMart."

HA! I found an appropriate photo

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i heard someone sneeze RIGHT in the middle of the song they were singing at church. and then kept on going. i think it was even in the middle of a long note. i love him! Lord bless him.

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A very nice lady brought me a "homemade" ice pack to put on my migrained head as i sat and rocked my previously very cranky baby girl. thank you, very nice lady.

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16...

2008-05-15T10:05:00.001-05:00

days until we leave for the beach.

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what do friends do?

2008-05-15T10:03:00.002-05:00

When asked what kinds of things we do with friends, these are a few of the teenagers' answers:

1) trust
2) love
3) negotiate

Hm.

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translation please?

2008-05-15T09:55:00.004-05:00

"Momma, nember the elophant and the tiger?! and the squirrel that claps?!"

"Yeah, the elephant and the tiger! A squirrel that claps?"

"Yeah, nember he has a beak? The squirrel has a beak and a nugget."

"What? A beak? Where's the nugget?"

"In his hand! And he claps like this (clap clap)."

"The nugget in his hand...A squirrel with a beak??"

Completely frustrated. "YES. He has beak like this."

"I'm sorry baby...OH! And he goes (doing a crazy looking dance)"

Half confused but delighted to see Momma dancing like a mongoose. Hesitantly, "Yeah...that."

I never completely figured out what he was talking about, until Daddy had to explain it to me.

View the squirrel with a beak and a nugget.

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job 8:21

2008-05-06T11:50:00.003-05:00

but my heart hopes. my soul sings a sorrowful, sorrowful song.

almost mourning.

but You, Lord, say draw near to You and You will draw near. so please, my wandering mind longs to be filled with only thoughts of You. fill the voids. fill the longings. fill it with You.

i don't pray for things, i pray that my emptiness be filled by nothing but You. my fears be replaced by Your promise. my doubts be destroyed by Your mighty, ever powerful hand.

oh God of Jacob, comfort my trembling heart. let only Your Word spill from my lips. Your kindness. Your wisdom.

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armor

2008-05-06T11:38:00.002-05:00

i believe it's time to simplify. there are too many distractions holding our attention for a bit too long these days. the Lord continues to show me new things on a daily basis. He is so faithful. and i believe he is building something in our lives. preparing us. strengthening us. teaching us! broadening our wisdom. our faith is increasing. unholy things are vanishing. holy things are taking their places.

the Holy Spirit is quietly reminding me that time with God doesn't happen through discipline, it happens through romance with Him.

I Peter 5:8, "Be self-controlled and alert, for your enemy, the devil, prowls aroudn like a lion seeking whom he may devour." and he does. we have to remember that the enemy is lurking. be aware. so that we can be ready when he strikes. if we are ready, clothed with the armor of the Almighty GOD, then we won't cowar because we are using His power, His strength, His victory! but so often we forget our armor. and then we sit around bandaging our wounds, wondering what happened, what went wrong. put on the armor of God.

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what do you say

2008-05-01T22:52:00.002-05:00

when you don't know what to say? i have that problem a-l-o-t. when i encounter this type of situation, ideally i would like to remain silent, and usually try to. it annoys me to just fill the air with unimportant completely irrelevant words. but it bugs me because alot of times i really do want to say something, and i really do try, but then i end up shrugging my shoulders and submit to silence. and for now that's ok, my world needs a little more silence for the time being.

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note to self: never wash a new froggy bath rug with your whites because the frog's yellow belly will bleed onto e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g in the washer. i know, i should know to separate my whites by now, but it's late and i'm tired and....i am out of excuses. i'm debating on whether or not i should stay up until i get sleepy, or lay in bed and let my eyes freely dart around the room and listen to all of my thoughts run all over each other in my head. i can't stand it when i can't even think a whole sentence befor another thought or three come and race circles around my first one. wow, you can tell it's late. this should be amusing to read tomorrow. or maybe not. maybe i'll end up deleting it.

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a very beautiful mind

2008-04-29T09:18:00.001-05:00

an amazing autistic artist

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I managed

2008-04-28T15:46:00.002-05:00

to save us some money yesterday by fixing us a lunch box full of fresh fruit, lunch meat, bread, and such, so we wouldn't have to go out to eat. then i managed to waste some money by leaving it in the back of the truck overnight. i can't seem to get it all together. can i get a witness?

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back online

2008-04-28T08:42:00.003-05:00

i've been offline for three days due to a computer crash. we had to completely delete everything, so now i am working on putting it alllll back :) fun! a very nice man worked on it for hours and hours. thank you, nice man.

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we got E a chopper-like three wheeler (not motorized, but with pedals) and took them to the park to try it out. he is about an inch and a half too short of being able to comfortably pedal, so we took a walk around the pond instead. which is where we saw the big brawl unfold like an itchy picnic blanket laid out on dirt. (?)

the story is told through our conversation:

S: Look at the goose! he's watching over the eggs...er, uh, egg.
T: isn't that the female
S: oh. i don't know. do you see that egg?! (changing the topic)
T: yep.
E: where's the duck?! where's the egg?!
S: see? on the island!
E: COME HERE, DUCK!

(walking further)

S: Whoa! look at that big ol' noggin on that goose!
T: wow. hey, look, they're mating. (some ducks)
S: ha! those are the same ones who were at it last time.
T: look at her, she's whoopin' his tail.
S: oh my word! look at her peckin' at him! oh my word!
T: look now there's two of them!
S: are they going to drown him?! uh oh, here comes the big noggin goose. she'll take care of business.
T: isn't that a male?
S: i don't know!! i bet she's the queen goose. i wonder if she is the queen because she's got a big noggin.

(queen goose swims casually over to the brawl, as if she sees this all the time)

S: she's coming to save the day. look at her. oh my word, they're killing him.
T: E, come on this side. (moving him away from the brawl)

(Queen makes it under the bridge where she squawks very loudly and breaks all the ducks up. each duck, now there were like 6 involved, goes its own separate way. Queen swims back to her side of the pond with an air of casual victory.)

S: look, they're all just swimming away as if nothing happened. man, that goose has a big noggin.

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i wonder if that male duck ever thanked Queen for saving his life. knowing him, he'll be at it again tomorrow. poor duck. he'll never learn.

yes, those are the same geese i was talking about the other day in my previous post. like i said before, they are pretty from far away.

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i don't like

2008-04-19T08:33:00.003-05:00

mean geese. i was minding my own sweet business, strolling along the side of the water with my baby girl. i wanted to show her the pretty flowers down by the pond. we were engaged in our little babbled conversation when i got one of those "feelings." i looked up to find a flock of geese, like 9 of them, all staring straight at me, swimming as fast as they could, coming to see if we had anything to eat. i wouldn't have been very concerned except that i suddenly had flashbacks of when i got attacked by a goose who apparently needed to eat my shoelaces. so i slowly backed up. well, that didn't help. suddenly there were three geese on the ground, came out of nowhere, and were racing at us. so, needless to say, i ran back toward the playground, my knight in shining armor rescued me, and it was a happy ending. i told him to go see if the geese would charge at him, his response was, "nah, i don't really feel like killing a goose today."

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however, they are pretty from far away...

well,

2008-04-18T17:07:00.003-05:00

i hope everyone ELSE enjoyed the storms because I never saw any of them. oh wait, yes, I did see them, in the horizon, miles and miles and miles away. all i want is a big storm. that's all...ok, not TOO big. i remember in east texas, it would rain for weeks at a time. not drizzle, RAIN. and oh how i despised it. until i made the sudden turn into a world of love for rain. i long for it! i know i've talked about it before. but i miss it so.

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anyway, besides my complaining about the weather, if you like really good music, listen to this.

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i love nature

2008-04-18T17:04:00.003-05:00

i love spring!

2008-04-18T16:50:00.002-05:00

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pain

2008-04-18T16:36:00.004-05:00

hm. you'd think i'd learn after dealing with this every single day. i know it will happen. i can prevent it from happening. and it's easy to do. yet, for some reason, i don't. and every time it happens, i think the same thing, "Why didn't I dry my hands after washing them so my fingers wouldn't get stuck to the ice so i don't have to painfully pry them off to drop the ice in my drink?" every day. it hurts. it really does.

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HOWEVER, if that's my biggest problem right now, then i think i'm doin ok.

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it's been

2008-04-16T00:04:00.003-05:00

a while since i have written anything. not that i was keeping anyone in anticipation or anything. it's very late and my brain is very tired from trying to teach myself how to use adobe illustrator. photoshop was so much easier to learn. ugh.

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i have lots of stuff to say, but none of it is forming together in my head to make even one sentence. so i'll go to bed for now. sleep well.

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porcelain hearts

2008-04-09T23:34:00.002-05:00

I see a leader
I see a comedian
I see a speaker
I see a poet
I see a lawyer
I see a nurse
I see a loving mother
I see strong, influential people who could change their worlds for the betterment of God's Kingdom
But they can't see. Do they want to see? Can I be used by the Almighty God to unveil their hearts? There's not much time. How can it get through to their hearts before it's too late?

Here I am, Lord
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go, Lord
If you'll lead me
I will hold your people in my heart

I search their eyes so that I may possibly catch a glimpse into their souls. But it's only for a brief moment they look before their eyes point back down, pretending that I don't notice. Hoping I don't notice. Or hoping I do.

Lord, hold my hand.

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rain, rain, please never go away

2008-04-09T15:27:00.002-05:00

it has been raining alllll day. what a wonderful gift from God! now, if only i had a plain view of the ocean from my beachfront property in Costa Rica, watching the children play in the mud. sigh.

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I'm sure I'll have something fun to write about tonight since we are going to hang out with the teenagers again. i'm going to take my pad and pencil this time!

God is faithful.

2008-04-08T14:23:00.003-05:00

I have so much to say and nothing to say all at the same time. I did add a saying down at the bottom. I got it from a friend's blog. I absolutely love it. I hope she doesn't mind ;)

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Ecclisiastes 7:3-5, 8 (paraphrased)

Crying is better than laughing.
It blotches the face but it scours the heart.

(Scour: intransitive verb
to clean things by vigorous rubbing and polishing
to become clean and bright by being scoured)

The wise invest themselves in hurt and grieving.
Fools waste their lives in fun and games.

You'll get more from the rebuke of a wise person
Than from the song and dance of fools.

Endings are better than beginnings.
Sticking to it is better than standing out!

I love how the Message version of the Holy Bible puts Ecclesiastes 7:9
it says
"Don't be quick to fly off the handle.
Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head."

God is faithful.

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flowers and tornado watches

2008-04-08T09:18:00.003-05:00

last night we were all sitting amidst scattered half eaten crayons and coloring together when i had a great idea and said,

"Hey, it's the perfect weather to go to the park!" hoping that we could go just to get some fresh air before the sun went down.

and then my logical One said, "Um, we're under a tornado watch..."

Oh.

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Needless to say we stayed home. Come to think of it, why do we say, "Needless to say..." If it's needless then why do we say it? Seems like a waste of time to me. Just like that whole thought right there.

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Our morning glories are about four inches tall, now! but E is still not very excited because they aren't purple yet.

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broccoli

2008-04-07T12:50:00.001-05:00

This reminds me of someone I know!

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L and S

2008-04-06T22:23:00.002-05:00

I am posting a congratulations to a very sweet person who just got married yesterday. I pray for a long, loving, adventurous life for the both of them! Congratulations! We are happy for you!

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little friend

2008-04-06T21:27:00.003-05:00

I saw one of these today. Yeah, tell me about it. It almost got my toe. That's two, now, that we have found at the church in the same room. And when T went to kill it, it was ready to strike. Scary.

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Btw, thanks to my sweet little friend who taught me how to put links into my blog. She's one of the most patient people I know :)

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no comment

2008-04-05T07:52:00.003-05:00

E was sick all night last night, just as A was starting to feel considerably better. I think T and I saw every hour of the night last night. At least we went to bed early.

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E and I planted Morning Glory seeds a few days ago, and to our delight they are already sprouting! Finally! I have always tried to plant things and have never been too successful. Except for those yummy cucumbers in Texas. But I had help with those. Thanks Mom.

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overheard

2008-04-04T17:44:00.004-05:00

B: Do you think he was skinny?
H: PROBABLY! What do you expect after eating locusts and honey all day?
B: He was probably in good shape, though. Looked like a caveman.
H: And probably pruney since he was in the water all day. And had dirt in his hair.
B: Yeah, and snails.

...on what John the Baptist might have looked like.

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Barnp: What else happened that day?
B: The taxers, uh, tax collectors became Baptists, too.

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H: The schoolbus ran over my dog!
B: Yeah, that's why I hate school.

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first of all

2008-04-04T17:41:00.003-05:00

i just want to say that it is time for me to blog again. there will be no organized pattern. there will be no guarantee for outstanding words of wisdom unless i am quoting someone else! there will be lots of typos, please skim over them without thought. there will be some things that leave you wondering what in the world i am talking about. and there will be times that i wonder the same thing. but if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

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A Trustworthy People

2006-11-03T14:15:00.000-06:00

There is a lack of trustworthy people in this world. This has led Christians and non-Christians to bottle up their feelings and cling to their pain and suffering. It is a normal way of life to smile while hiding unending tears that secretly fall when no one is around.

Time doesn't heal pain and guilt. In fact, when not dealt with, pain and guilt will continue to take root in your heart and soul and could eventually squeeze the life out of your hopes and dreams. No matter how old the pain, no matter how long you have been pushing it aside and covering your tears, JESUS is waiting on you to open up. Tell Him your sorrows. Cast your problems at His feet. HE IS WAITING FOR YOU. And pray that He will send you someone you can confide in. Pray that He will show you someone in your life that you can trust. It is crucial that we deal with our pain.

Too often we keep our fears, strife, and guilt to ourselves. We are afraid to be vulnerable. I encourage you, if you are dealing with something, anything, no matter how big or small it may seem to you, find someone you trust, and just lay it out on the table. Don’t be scared to cry. Sometimes tears are the best words you can say.

And I encourage each one of you to BE that someone who can be trusted. A trustworthy friend is nearly impossible to come by, so decide right this moment that that is who YOU are going to be.

Who are we to judge?

Who are we to say our neighbor is unworthy of love or forgiveness?

Jesus DIED for our neighbor so they could receive His unfailing love and forgiveness in their lives. We need to stretch out our arms and embrace our friends, our family, our neighbors. Remember a time when you ran to God for that love or forgiveness.

Did He turn you away?

No!

He is always there to embrace us. So open your hearts, minds, and arms, and be a trustworthy friend. And when the time comes, that trustworthy friend will be there for you.

Extra Post

2006-10-31T16:11:00.000-06:00

I was reading some Love Inc. material, (Love In The Name of Christ), and this principal told a story of this child who was sent to the office for cussing at the teacher.

That morning, the 12 year old child woke up from his sleep to find that his mother was gone. He had three other siblings, so he got them all dressed for school. He scrambled to find a dollar, with which he walked his siblings to the convenience store and bought them a bag of potato chips so they would have something to eat at lunch time. He walked them to preschool, dropped them off, and then walked to his own school. As he entered the classroom, the teacher yelled at him saying, "You're late! Why are you late?" So he said, "_____ you," and was sent to the office.

This happens EVERY SINGLE DAY. What is happening to our children? Christians, it's time to pray.

The Cry of our Hearts

2006-10-31T11:49:00.000-06:00

At a ladies’ retreat not too long ago, a comment was made about what prayer requests were being made. The lady noticed that probably about 90% of the requests were about physical needs. People in the hospital, sick in bed, things like that. She expressed her concern about how we don’t focus and pray enough about the spiritual needs of our loved ones and of lost ones. Too often we are forgetting the fierce need for the Love of Christ in people’s lives. An elementary principal said that over half of their children at the school are depressed and expect to die young. One 12 year old boy was asked what he wanted to be doing in five years, and he said that it didn’t matter because he’d either be in jail or dead.

We need to pray. We need to pray every single day for these people. Even children of God are losing sight of heaven. (Children of God meaning anyone belonging to Him, not necessarily a child. A child of God can be any age.)

Their hopes have more than disappeared. They are simply trying to survive. Let it be the cry, the burden of your heart to pray for God’s mighty power to release itself onto these wounded and bruised people, whether they be children of God or lost children waiting to be found. They are trying to survive, so we need to pray, we need to love, and we need to act. We need to pray so they won’t find a reason to stop trying.

Healing Moment

2006-10-26T15:25:00.000-05:00

It’s a moment when something is unveiled, a truth, a realization. It’s when you cross a certain point and you know you’ll never go back to where you had been. And you’d been there so long, maybe for as long as can be remembered, but in that moment, you - - were - - changed.

Have you had a moment like this?

Do you long for such a moment?

The moment doesn’t simply come. It’s a process. A process that one can never completely calculate its duration until it is over. A wound on the body does not heal overnight. It must be bandaged or medicated, treated properly. Sometimes even therapy or bed rest is needed depending on how serious the injury. So it is with a spiritual or emotional wound. It must be dealt with, handled with care, treated with love and tenderness and concern. Then the doors will open wide to welcome in that beloved healing moment.

True restoration can come only from the Lord Jesus Christ. The soul’s satisfaction is found in Him. It’s the perfect time to find peace. Peace that eclipses the things of this world. Make time to spend alone and think on these things. Read some verses of Scripture and tell God what you need. He’s listening.

John 16:33, Jesus is talking to his disciples and says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." He said this to his disciples before he was arrested. He also prayed for himself, the disciples, and then for US! In chapter 17 verse 20, he prays, "My prayer is not only for them alone. (the disciples) I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…"

Jesus prayed for us. Pray for your own restoration, but pray for someone else, too. The power of prayer can never be fully realized until we commit to it and diligently seek the Lord.

More verses to read:
The Armor of God – Ephesians 6:10-18
Being a Living Sacrifice – Romans 12:1-8
On Loving Others – Romans 12:9-21

Email: blessedmoments2006@yahoo.com or post a comment

The Hope We Profess

2006-10-17T22:20:00.000-05:00

I Peter 1:3-9 (split into paragraphs for easier viewing)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time...

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed...

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

A verse to remember today: Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

Rejoice!

2006-10-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

Philippians 4:4-9

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: REJOICE!…"

God’s mercy is new every morning. Refresh your soul by reading these verses, every morning if you desire! How do you rejoice in the Lord? Especially when things are going down the drain, life is not a lovely, flowery walk in the park? We turn to Him. For peace, for comfort, strength, courage, wisdom, support, love…His Word says at the end of this section of Scripture, "And the God of peace will be with you." Paul wasn’t wasting his time just saying that to make people feel all fuzzy inside. God is speaking to us, through Paul, and saying that He will be with us, and give us peace, if we will turn to Him, talk to Him, spend time in a relationship with Him.

"Let your gentleness be evident to all."

Gentleness. We could all experience some of that every once and a while. The Lord is calling us to show each other gentleness. Why? Because as Christians, we are not only supposed to love, it’s the greatest commandment from our Lord, but the desire of our hearts should be to love and show God's love. Everything thing we do or say should reflect God’s love. So people will see that the Lord is good. In Galatians 5:22,23, the apostle Paul writes: "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (New Living Translation). This kind of fruit will be so obvious in our lives when we let the Holy Spirit live through us. The Holy Spirit is a gift from our Lord to US! And He will be with us until we see Jesus face to face!

"The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

For more information, remember to email blessedmoments2006@yahoo.com

Psalm 40:8

2006-10-04T12:58:00.000-05:00

In the first blog, words from a devotional are used. The journal is called "God Calling Journal" by Two Listeners, edited by A.J. Russell.

Psalm 40:8 says, "I delight to do thy will, O my God."

In God Calling it says, "Your foolish little activities are VALUELESS in themselves. Seemingly trivial or of seemingly great moment, all deeds are alike if directed by Me. Just cease to function except through Me…"

Ok, what does that mean? If we are not living a life of service to God, our lives are pointless. Because in the very beginning, thousands of years ago, He carefully created mankind with a purpose, with a plan. How sad it would be to live a nice, long life, having anything and doing everything, and then in the end, wind up with nothing… empty. Whether you live in Texas, New York, China, France, Iraq…wherever…GOD CREATED YOU, and knew you before you were even conceived! Who else knew you before you were even in your mother’s womb? And now we have to make a decision. Are we going to live our lives aimlessly, or are we going to listen up and pay attention to the reason we are here on this earth? We won't be here on this earth for long. It goes on to say…

"I am your Lord, just obey Me…Just have no choice but Mine, no will but Mine."

Obey God. What’s to obey? He says in His Word to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength. ALL THAT YOU ARE! How do you do that? It doesn’t happen overnight. The beginning is a relationship with Him. Talk to Him. Ask Him questions. Read His Word. Talk to others about Him. Ask someone questions, someone you know who has a relationship with Him. If we could only realize that we are not alive just to please ourselves and have things we want or like. To have things go the way we want them to go. The Lord’s will is for everyone to know Him. Well how in the world are we supposed to spread the Word and reach out to people if we are so concerned with our own problems and situations?! It should be our mission, as Christians.

"I am dependent on no one agency when I am your supply. Through many channels My help and material flow can come."

God is so POWERFUL. Trust in Him, and He’ll do wonderful things.

The First Blog

2006-10-02T14:59:00.000-05:00

EMAIL: blessedmoments2006@yahoo.com

The words in white are ideas that come from a devotional book that is in print.

Struggles, trials, problems, arguments, financial struggles, any kind of troubles may seem to overwhelm you. (And often will...BUT) they work the Lord's will. Is the Lord's will the will you want for your life?

What does it mean, "the Lord's will??" Well, do you have plans for your life? Goals you want to reach? Graduate high school, college, a family, a business, traveling, to be successful in some area, etc? God has a plan for your life, too. And often it is not what we actually have laid out for ourselves.

My plan, or my will for my life, was to be an artist, not married, no kids, and to paint all day everyday while listening to classical music and make lots of money by selling my artwork. Then someone told me about a verse in the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11, where God says that He has a plan (will) for me. And as a Christian, I wanted to do THAT plan, because who knows me better than God Himself?! Who loves me more than God Himself?! No one! So I said, "Ok, God, show me your plan. I want to do your plan (or will.)" I expected Him to tell me about this nice plan, all laid out for me, so I could, you know, schedule everything, write everything in my calendar.

No.

God moves in my life everyday, and guides me everyday, little by little. I don't even know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I mean, I plan on things, but who knows? God could direct my path another way, completely opposite from where I thought I was headed. And you know, that's ok, because that's what I asked Him to do a long time ago.

So back to my living alone, painting plan. I still paint, but I have more fun spending time with my family that is growing by the minute! Now, it's not like everything is fine and dandy whenever one decides that they want to live according to the Lord's will for their lives. Because God wants to grow us, and He grows us through trials, troubles, blessings, hard times, great times, and everything in between. He is faithful to His promise that He is always there and will never forsake us, forget about us, or betray us.

Some say it's simple to be a Christian. All you do is ask Jesus into your heart. Well, it's not so simple. Because first you must realize that everyone is born a sinner, a person who naturally does things that are not good. That goes back to Adam and Eve, and if you need to know about them, just email me and I'll tell ya. Realizing that you yourself are an actual sinner is a VERY hard thing to do. No one wants to think that they are sinful. But when Jesus is Lord of your life, the blood He shed when He died covers your sins and washes them away. So when God looks down at you, all He sees is His child!! But that realization is not where it stops. There's so much more! It's living a life of service to the Lord. It's spreading His Word, showing His love to others, telling them of Christ! If you want to know more, just ask.

So, from now on, a new life is unfolding before you. It's yours to enter into the Kingdom God has prepared for you. The sunlight of God's Presence is on your paths. Trust and go forward UNAFRAID! His grace is sufficient for all your needs.