FRIDAY FUNNIES...cosmetic surgery

HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED HAVING A FACE LIFT OR ANY OTHER KIND OF RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY?

CONSIDER THIS BEFORE YOU

CONSIDER CHANGING YOUR LOOKS...

A middle aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital.
While on the operating table, she had a near death experience.

Seeing God, she asked, ' Is my time up?' God said, 'No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live.'

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, brow lift, lip enhancement, lipo-suction, and a tummy tuck.

After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, she was hit and killed by a car.

Arriving in front of God, she demanded , 'I thought you said I had another 40 years? Why didn't you pull me out of the path of the car?'

God replied, 'Girlllllll, I didn't even recognize you!'

Consider yourself warned ladies.....

Want more laughs?

Visit Kim from HOMESTEADERSHEART

A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but whenthe heart is sad, the spirit is broken." Prov. 15:13

THANKFUL THURSDAY...hard work

Undisciplined people often times look for ways to avoid hard work. Everything in our culture seems to be geared towards making life easier:

ride the escalator instead of the stairs, take the elevator, order fast food, have photos printed in one hour, drive thru pharmacy

Sometimes, the easy way is not always the best way!

Today, on THANKFUL THURSDAY I am giving God praise and thanks for hard work! Yes, you heard me right - HARD WORK! I think it is so true that nothing comes to those who do not work hard. As Christians, God expects us to work hard.

PROVERBS 22:29 "Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men."

Jesus tells us that the harvest is plenty but the laborers few. I do not want to be counted in the "few". If Christ would return today, I want Him to find me not just laboring for Him, but laboring diligently!

There are many things in my life that I have had to work hard at:

Y I have had to work hard to build my personal business to what it is today.
Y I have had to work hard at maintaining a dress size that I feel comfortable with.
Y I have had to work hard at keeping my grey hair from not overshadowing other colors.

Not only in my physical being have I worked hard, but my spiritual being also:

Y I have had to work hard at forgiving others.
Y I have had to work hard at forgiving myself.
Y I have had to work hard at seeing myself thru God's eyes.
Y I have had to work hard at seeing others thru God's eyes.

HOW DILIGENT ARE YOU IN YOUR LABOR?

• is reading your Bible hard for you?
• do you find sharing the gospel with others difficult?
• how hard is it to keep from stumbling?
• is it hard for you to give to others?
• how hard is it for you to give extra money in the offering?
• when is the last time you did something for someone in need? was it hard for you?

Are all the above things difficult?

Is it hard work to be a Christian?

to do good for others?

Sure it is hard at times...but I am so thankful for it all. God didn't say it would be easy. Why should it be easy. Do you think it was easy for Jesus to die on the cross? I am thankful today that in me, God has put a spirit of giving, a spirit of laboring and a spirit of thankfulness.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

WHAT ARE YOU DILIGENTLY WORKING TOWARDS?

Please visit IRIS at GRACE ALONE, who graciously hosts THANKFUL THURSDAY every Thursday. It is HERE that you will find Iris and her friends giving thanks to God for His mercy and grace!

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL...have you voted in this week's poll yet? Find it on the side bar of this blog. Your opinion really does matter!!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...can I get a witness?

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THIS...

"You are the only Bible your neighbor may ever read."

That saying is implying that those who do not read the Bible may get an idea of who God is and what kind of a difference He can make just by watching the behaviour of Christians.

Doesn't that put alittle bit of a twist to how you live your life as a Christian?

I have read that the average adult needs 1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt a day. Normally, we can find this daily dosage in the food that we eat. Salt is a valued product as it can preserve food and keep it from spoiling. How interesting that Christ tells us that we as Christians, should be the "salt of the earth".

Christians should act as a preservative in society to keep it from "spoiling". We can look around, turn on the news or read the newspaper and see just how our society is spoiled. Values have been lowered to greed, lust, and violence.

How does SALT help us as Christians to preserve our world?

Influencing the world around us for Jesus Christ not only happens through how we speak but also in how we act. Our actions can be the very thing that brings others to Christ or steer them away.

The "salt" of our talk often is followed by the "light" of our walk. What can others witness about your testimony?

MATTHEW 5:16 "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

WHAT WOULD BE REVEALED IF THE LIGHT SHONE UPON YOU?

In last weeks YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I asked the following question: "If you could have a spotlight put on just one thing you have done in the past month, what would it be?" The top 3 responses were...

1. 33% of those voting said that they would shine light on reading their Bible.
2. 25% were polled and said that they would be spotlighted for praying with a friend.
3. 16% of those polled, voted and said that a light would shine on them showing they have paid their bills on time.

I love the results of the poll this week. All of the top responses point to an action that directed those watching to Christ. Discipleship, Prayer and God's Provision!

If we are to live as Salt and Light, we should always seek to help other people see Christ through our actions. Christians are not perfect just forgiven! Think about the people who have shown Christ's light to you - certainly they were not perfect. But nonetheless, they let the light of Jesus Christ shine through them.

How many millions of people have been affected by the light of people such as Mother Teresa, or Martin Luther King, Jr or even Billy Graham. Maybe even you were affected by their light.

Most of us will not affect as many people as these three have, but our "salt and light" is to be affective for Christ to those in our immediate world ... family, coworkers, neighbors. Can you imagine what kind of impact would occur if each Christian would chase after their world with such passion?

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BRIGHTER IN YOUR WORLD?

Wednesday Weekly Word is a post once a week that I designate for sharing my reflections on whatever I am personally studying. Currently, I am doing a study on leaving a legacy. These are my thoughts on how my life can make a difference for those around me watching and learning. It is my prayer that you will seek to let your "salt and light" shine in your world.

YOUR OPINION MATTERS: Please take time to vote in this week's poll. It is located on the side bar of this blog. Your opinion truly does matter!

A PIECE OF MY HEART...the meaning of a kiss

There are kisses -
and then there are kisses.

• There is the quick peck on the cheek from an adorable toddler - a kiss.
• There is the passionate embrace between a new husband and his bride at the altar - a kiss.

While kisses have different meanings, we mainly think of kisses in terms of affection or romance.

In Jesus' time, there was another kind of kiss: a kiss of greeting. Men in that culture would kiss each other on the cheek in the same way that we shake hands today. But there was even a different kind of kiss...

the kiss of Judas

His kiss was a kiss of betrayal. Judas had been a close companion of Jesus for three years. He walked and talked with Jesus, but evidently he did not follow Him. Whenever Judas saw that Jesus was not going to bring the political kingdom that he had hoped, Judas wanted out.

For just about four months worth of pay, Judas handed Jesus over to those who wanted to kill Him.

Betrayal by way of a kiss

PROVERBS 27:6 "Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy."

Betrayal stings like a knife, especially when a friend is responsible for the hurt. As much as Jesus had to have been hurt and disappointed with His friend Judas, He displayed the greatest example of how we can love and forgive those who are closest to us that betray us.

HAVE YOU BEEN BETRAYED BY A FRIEND?
possibly it feels like you have been kissed by the enemy.

MATTHEW 26:50 But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"

Even in the midst of being betrayed, Jesus reached out His hand to Judas and called him "friend". What an amazing act of mercy and love.

WHAT KIND OF KISSES HAVE YOU GIVEN TODAY?

kiss of love or kiss of betrayal?

And that is a piece of my heart today;

AT THE WELL... freedom from lies

Today, I join the discussion that is going on over AT THE WELL.

A weekly gathering that looks at the role of a Titus 2 woman.

The discussion questions are:

Are there areas of hardness and coldness in my life? What are the roots of these?

Do I need to release someone who has hurt me in my past?

Do I need to confess and release myself from the bondage of sinful patterns in my own life?

What are some ways that I can turn the conversation around

when other women begin to gripe and complain about their children?

Name some creative ways we can create warmer,

more inviting environments for our children.

YYYYYYYYYYY

Have you ever been in a grocery store, and witnessed a mother yelling at her child or worse yet, slapping or physically disciplining her child? Something comes all over me when I see or hear a child being mistreated or being told to "shut up" or worse.

Witnessing this kind of behaviour almost always makes me think if they would speak to their child in this manner in public...imagine what happens behind doors.

"I'm not worth anything"

These are words that are often spoken or at least thought of in many women today. In the book, "Lies women believe", a Nancy Leigh DeMoss book, a survey revealed that more than 42% of women indicated that they believed this lie of "I'm not worth anything." Look at some of these quotes as written in Nancy's book:

"Feeling inferior has been a lifelong struggle. Many times it has caused me to withdraw from relationships, even though I am a people person and outgoing."

"Because of the hurt in my marriage, I felt that I was useless and that nobody, not even God, could love me. I just didn't measure up and since I have always felt that I had to be perfect to be loved, then obviously God would not love me either."

In many cases, these feelings of worthlessness are the result of believing things that we have heard from others. Too many times our own view of ourselves and our sense of worth are determined by the opinions of others. So many women have lived their entire lives in an emotional prison because we have fallen for those lies.

"I wish that you would never have been born!"

"You are so fat!"

"You are good for nothing!"

Sometimes, even a single sentence as mentioned above can haunt and plague a person for years. Many times, people who have been wounded so deeply by someones words, are not even aware of the pain, the bitterness and the deception because they have pushed it down so deep within themselves. And it is the deep scars that will cause a person to lash out, possibly on their children with harsh words, or name calling.

Instead of getting mad at the person, like the one I described in the grocery store...get mad at the lies that they have settled on.

For years, I had a huge piece of my life missing. My father, for forty years, was absent in my life. He made a choice ~ when I was just a baby, he walked away from me and my brothers. This choice had a huge affect on me for the next 40 years. (you can read my REUNION story HERE, and part two HERE, part three HERE, and part four HERE!)

There is no doubt in my mind that the feeling of not being wanted, or loved and needed by my earthly father altered my ability to extend love to my own family (my husband and my children).

• Always questioning my families sincerity of their love.
• Always wondering how long before they would walk out on me.
• Could anyone fill this void I felt in my heart?

It was not until 5 years ago when I came face to face with this big lie I had fallen for ... "that nobody could truly love me for me", that I could truly accept the love and adoration of those around me without questioning it.

Releasing those in your past that have hurt you gives you so much freedom and peace. My relationship with my Dad today is not all it can be. But I have learned that freedom from our past, from our pain and from the things we cannot change is so empowering. Forgiveness, and love, and acceptance ... the true form ... can only come from God.

I love what it says in 1 Peter about the topic of rejection:

1 PETER 2:4 "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God"

Jesus was rejected by man, the very thing that He loved and who He gave His life for. But it was not in man that He found His value, He was chosen by God and this is what made Him precious and so worthy!

So how do we make sure that our children do not grow up with these feelings of unworthiness or thinking that they can not measure up?

First of all ... forgive those in your past, like I had to forgive my father, for the hurtful things they may have done or said to you.

Secondly...Let the past be the past. You can't change it ~ so move on.

Thirdly ... Don't repeat history! Encourage your children every single day of their lives! It does not matter how old they are and it is never too late to start a good pattern of encouragement.

Fourthly ... Don't let one day go by without telling your children that you love them, are proud of them and they can do anything they dream of. Stand behind your kids.

Every single day I tell my kids I love them. 3 of my 4 kids are grown. 2 of them live far away. I never hang up the phone or walk out the door before saying "I love you" and as many times as I have said "clean your room" over the past 26 years I have said more ... "I am so proud of you!"

The best way to answer the call of "mothering" is to love unconditionally and to pray. The enemy will want you to believe his lies, he will want your kids to believe his lies ...but God's love and acceptance overrides in each case.

FEELING REJECTED? remember that you have been chosen by God!

Cherish your children and pump them full of love, adoration and praise and put a stop to the lies that they will believe!

To view more of this week's discussion over AT THE WELL, click HERE and visit the homepage of the At The Well ministry. You will be blessed!

IN THE SPOTLIGHT!

ASHLEY from PUTTING GOD FIRST PLACE

has a new feature on her blog...

IN THE SPOTLIGHT!

Today, Ashley is featuring

WOMEN TAKING A STAND!

THANK YOU ASHLEY!

Go visit Ashley and see what great things she has going on.

Find her HERE!

LACED WITH GRACE...loving the unlovable

TODAY YOU CAN FIND ME OVER AT ...

I have shared a devotion, entitled

"loving the unlovable"...

"What would you think if someone told you that they loved you but never did anything that expressed this feeling? It would not take long before you realized that the “feeling” of love was merely empty words or just a fleeting moment of emotion..."

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this devotion.

Join us Monday thru Friday for daily

devotions over at Laced With Grace.

We have an awesome team of writers!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...for goodness sake!

Thank you IRIS for hosting THANKFUL THURSDAY every week. What a wonderful opportunity to share a grateful heart for the abundance of God's goodness to us.

WHAT IS GOOD?

We tend to say things like "That's good!" whenever we experience something that we really like.

When eating our favorite dessert..."That is good!"

When watching a new movie ..."That was so good!"

When hearing of a new law passed..."That will be good!"

We go thru life, like we are the judges who determine what is good and what is not. We label things as good or bad based on a standard that is inside of ourselves, one that is often shaped by personal preferences or even the culture around us.

PSALM 23:6 "Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life."

God has shown us exactly what goodness is. God Himself is the standard and the definition of goodness. Moses asked to see God, but God gave him only a glimpse. What was it that Moses saw? God's goodness.

We can't see God without seeing His goodness, and perhaps if we can't see His goodness...then we haven't seen God.

HAVE YOU SEEN GOD'S GOODNESS TODAY?

aren't you thankful that God is a good God?

Please visit Iris over at GRACE ALONE for more thankful thursday posts.

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...the real thing

Wednesday Weekly Word is a post once a week that I designate for sharing my reflections on whatever I am personally studying. Currently, I am doing a study on leaving a legacy. These are my thoughts on how my life can make a difference for those around me watching and learning. It is my prayer that you will also walk with me as we look to God's Word today.

www.heartlight.org

As I look around me I see so many things that are artificial. In our homes, what looks like wood isn't really ... it is laminate. What looks like brick or stone isn't really ... it is stone facade. Not only are the materials in our homes not the real thing, but what about our bodies? false teeth, hair transplants, hair color, cosmetic surgery. All of these things, even though artificial, are made to make our lives better.

One area of our life that artificial is not good is in our walk with the Lord. Artificial Christianity is so far from the real thing! This week I was reading in chapter 5 of Acts, the story of Ananias and Sapphira. What a lesson about being an authentic Christian.

ACTS 5:1,2 "Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. (2) With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet."

Earlier in Acts, we can read that the church at that time had what I call a very intense and caring fellowship. They not only met and studied frequently, but they also shared meals and shared their financial resources to help those in need.

Ananias and Sapphira wanted it to look like they were participating in this way. However, they held back and they decided that they would reserve a portion of the sale of their property for themselves. They said they gave it all but in reality they were not being real in their Christianity.

What happened to Ananias and Sapphira?

Were they being greedy?

God does not reveal to us the reason they lied to the Holy Spirit, but reading further in chapter 5, I see how God dealt with their sin.

ACTS 5:3-5 "Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? (4) Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.' (5) When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened."

Last week, in the YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I asked the question, "How do you react most often when you are called on the carpet for something." The top 3 responses were:

1. 50% of those polled, said that they get defensive even if they are wrong.
2. 25% of the readers voted and said that they can't hide it if they are guilty.
3. 8% voted and said that they act guilty whether they are or not.

The sentence of death may seem pretty harsh in today's "tolerant" society, I am glad that when I mess up, God does not strike me down dead! But the eye opener for me and the lesson to learn is not so much that Ananias and Sapphira both were struck dead for their dishonesty but the fear of the Lord is what jumped off the pages here for me.

God does not execute hypocrites today, if He did... well just think about it -people would be dropping everywhere! This story reveals the importance of authenticity in the life of the church and in the lives of Christians.

We have to be the kind of Christians that we say we are!
We have to be the real thing!

A healthy way to avoid hypocrisy is having spiritual honesty. We ALL have shortcomings. The Bible says that "we ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God". When we confront others about what they are doing wrong, we should only do so after a prayerful self-examination. We need to be open to be confronted in the same way for things we ourselves may be doing wrong.

We will ALWAYS have people like Ananias and Sapphira, but if we each commit to strive for spiritual honesty, our witness will resound as the real thing!

ARE YOU AN AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN?

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL: please vote in this weeks poll! Find it located on the side bar of this blog. YOUR OPINION REALLY DOES MATTER!

A PIECE OF MY HEART...how far will your faith take you?

I have a friend that is really going thru a hard time. Her life has literally been ripped apart. She awaits each day, each hour, each moment for a good report from the doctors. She has many unanswered questions of "why"?

But despite this dark hour she is experiencing, she has not lost sight of one thing ... her faith. Her faith seemingly has not wavered in her time of difficulty.

This is the kind of faith that I want to have.

1 PETER 1:7 "that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ"

What causes someone who is going thru the fire to have such faith? How does one give praise, honor and glory to Jesus Christ when everything seemingly is falling apart?

I don't believe that this kind of faith is born out of our trials and tribulations. This deep rooted faith must be in place prior to the difficulties that may come our way. Having faith must be exercised in the good things as well as the bad.

It is easy to say we have faith in God when everything is rolling good in our life...

• We easily profess our faith in God when the kids are well.
• We easily profess our faith in God when the bills are paid.
• We easily profess our faith in God when the boss gives us a promotion.

~What happens to your faith in God when...the doctor tells you your child has cancer?

~What happens to your faith in God when...the mortgage company repossesses your house?

~What happens to your faith in God when...your company goes bankrupt and you become jobless?

Faith cannot depend on your circumstances. You either have it or you don't. Trying times will determine if you really have faith.

I heard this saying many years ago and it has always stayed with me..."Preparation time is not wasted time". Just like a runner prepares for a race, a Christian should prepare for when trials and tribulations come. Because they will come. Our actions and reactions to the stress and difficulties in our lives can be determined by our perspective.

I remember a story I read awhile back:

There were two fishermen. One was an experienced fisherman, and the other was an amateur. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a fish, he quickly put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. However whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish he repeatedly threw it back into the water. The experienced fisherman observed this all day and eventually asked, "Why are you throwing back all the big fish?" The inexperienced fisherman to his surprise replied, "I only have a small frying pan."

The perspective of this fisherman could have been different if he would have realized that all he really needed was a bigger frying pan! Many times, we are like this fisherman and we throw back the plans and opportunities that God gives us because we are not ready to increase our faith in God. Sometimes these plans and opportunities come after we have gone thru a trial.

WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE of the trials and tribulations in your life?

DO YOU GIVE UP HOPE that God is in control or do you give Him praise for how He is going to use your bad situation to bring about peace, contentment and healing?

JAMES 1:2,3 "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."

Praying, fasting, reading His Word and spending time with Him will be a good plan of action to prepare for those things ahead that will stretch your faith.

HOW FAR WILL YOUR FAITH TAKE YOU?

AT THE WELL...friend or family?

My friends and I are gathering around the WELL once again. And this week we are discussing one of my favorite subjects ...Friendship. Not just any friendship but friendship in our Families.

The discussion questions are:

What is your definition of friendship?

Did you follow the belief that we should not be friends with our children?

In what ways can we befriend our husbands and children?

"A friend - the one who comes in when the world goes out". - UNKNOWN

WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF A FRIEND??

When I think of a true friend...I think of someone special who loves me, who I can put my trust in, someone who is faithful and someone that I enjoy being with. Certainly, a true friend is much like the above quote ... one who sticks around when nobody else does.

The Bible has alot to say about friendship, in fact the word "friend" is found more than 90 times in the Bible. Here is how a friend is described in God's Word:

A FRIEND...
~must show themselves to be friendly (Prov. 18:24)
~is better than being alone (Eccl. 4:9)
~ will stand by, even in times of trouble (Prov. 17:17)
~will bring trouble if I confide in the wrong friend (Prov. 25:19)
~at times leaves us to desire something else (Prov. 22:24)
~will tell us when we are wrong (Prov. 27:6)
~must be cherished (Prov. 27:10)

www.heartlight.org

Some of these biblical, friendly attributes can be found in biblical friendships. Look at Ruth and Naomi, they were friends (Ruth 1:6-18); and David and Jonathan were also friends (1 Samuel 18:1-4); Elisha and Elijah also were friends (2 Kings 2:1-3) and Mary and Elizabeth were noted to be good friends (Luke 1:39-45).

The greatest example of true friendship can be found in Jesus Christ. He is the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and full of truth and full of love. Yet, He extends to us His friendship.

"Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." John 15:14

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

JESUS IS THE ULTIMATE FRIEND. Jesus gave His life for those He called "Friend". I cannot think of too many people that I would be willing to give my life for. I have alot of good friends. Friends since childhood that I love dearly. Friends that I work with that I love dearly. Friends that make me laugh - I love them dearly. But I am not sure if I would be willing to lay my life down for them!

There are a few people in my life that I would most DEFINETLY die for. And this brings me to the other two questions posed before us today. Friend or family? Can we be friends with those closest to us?... our family? Our children?

As a young parent, many make the tragic mistake of trying to be a "best friend" to our children instead of taking our role of godly parents seriously. We have been given the charge from God to "train up a child so he will not depart from it". This is a very tall feat, and sometimes to train or to equip our sons and daughters we may need to say "no" or go against what may seem popular. This is especially true in the younger, forming years of our children's lives.

In today's world, it seems like some children rule over parents. Children have a way to manipulate to get what they want. Parents make decisions based on how it will make our kids feel. God did not call us to be "cool" parents. Our children are on loan from God ...to love, nurture, teach and model Christ before them. We will be held accountable one day for the things we did and for the things we did not do in their raising. To the other extreme, some parents take this "job" of parenting as a license to manipulate, mistreat and exasperate. In the book of proverbs, it says "do not provoke your children."

Though it appears it may be difficult to be your child's best friend, especially in the youthful years, I believe that we, as parents, need to take on the godly "friend" attributes as listed above.

It can take years to prove yourself as a trustworthy friend. One who loves unconditionally, one who is not afraid to correct, one who has proven to be trustworthy. As a mother, I have tried to take on the godly "friend" attributes during the forming years of my children's lives. Now that my children are grown - I can honestly say that we are good friends.

We are good friends because we have learned over the years that we can trust our love for one another. We have learned over the years that our love does not grow weary for one another. We have also learned over the years that no matter what ... we can count on one another.

Have you ever heard the saying ... "you can choose your friends but not your family"

This is so true, that is why many times in our family relationships we have strife, heartache and pain. We can't just change our family relationships like we change friendships. But within our family relationships, I believe the attribute of a "true friend" should be present.

So if you ask me if I can be a friend to my family? ... then I would have to say "YES" I can and should be a friend to my family. After all - God, my heavenly Father, desires for me to be His friend - like the song sings ....

"I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God and He calls me friend"

WHO CALLS YOU FRIEND?

who are you willing to lay your life down for?

Would you like to join our discussion today about friendships in our families? Please go to the homepage of AT THE WELL and view all of the chatter as we gather around the well today! If you would like to link your post on this topic, GO HERE!

PRAYING POINTS...praying all day long

CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S PRAYING POINT

OVER AT MY PRAYER BLOG...

"PRAY ALL DAY LONG"

"God desires to be the center of our life. The center of our conversations, the center of our entertainment and the center of our relationships. PRAYER will keep Him in the center of all that we do.It would be so awesome if each day we could spend hours on our knees before Him. But the reality of that happening is probably slim taking into consideration..."

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post...

JOIN US in prayer over the many prayer needs also listed and if you have a prayer need, let me know, we would like to pray with you!

A LOVE LETTER

VALENTINES DAY...

A day that we intentionally celebrate "Love".

It is totally amazing to me that love has been so good to me. How one man could love one woman as much as my valentine has for the past 28 years. Not too long ago, I was going thru an old box with pictures, newspaper clippings and other "old" stuff. Among the items in the box were all of the love letters that my sweetheart had written me during our courting years. I think I spent hours sitting on the floor reading back over the letters. There is something special when feelings of love and adoration can be put into words. One of the best gifts that my darling husband ever gave me was a journal that he kept for an entire year, expressing each day for an entire year his love and devotion to me and then at the conclusion of the year - he presented me with this beautiful gift of his heart. I thought that this journal was the "ultimate" love letter.

There was someone else that gave me a love letter that I still today cherish. This love letter did not come from my husband. But the words spoken in this love letter were filled with so much love, so much adoration and truth. It is a love letter that I will cherish for all eternity.

It is a love letter from my Father.

HERE IS MY LOVE LETTER...

~God has written you a love letter as well~

~His love and adoration has been written in a book~

~You can find His journal in the Bible.~

~Look for the letters in red ...

these are God's personal thoughts written just for you~

On this valentines day...

may you experience love like never before!

FRIDAY FUNNIES...childproof drawers

LOOKING FOR A NEW

TOY FOR YOUR TODDLER?

try these childproof drawers...

hours of fun guaranteed or money back!

KIM of HOMESTEADERS HEART is hosting

FRIDAY FUNNIES

for more laughs - click HERE!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...love, sweet love

In just a few short days, we will be celebrating the national day of LOVE.

VALENTINES DAY
What are you hoping to get on this special day?

boxed chocolate?
flowers?
a romantic dinner?

All of those things are nice, but what good are they without love wrapped around them?

Today, on THANKFUL THURSDAY, I am very thankful for the love that has so sweetly been wrapped around my heart.

The love of my devoted husband.
The love of my beautiful children.
The love of precious friends.
The love of a caring and giving church.
The love of my Heavenly Father.

LOVE...WE ARE ALL DRAWN TO IT.

Do you remember that old song, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love?" We are living in days where that rings so true. Our world needs love.

Our teens need love.
Our schools need love.
Our neighborhoods need love.
Our homeless need love.
Our prisons need love.
Our government leaders need love.
Our city needs love.
Our families need love.

Love, sweet love.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate valentine .... the perfect example of love.

It is no wonder people have been drawn to Christ in every generation ~for generations to generations, people have been looking for HIS kind of love.

MATTHEW 9:36 "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Jesus has shown us how to love, and now He desires for us to teach others. This will require something more than words. It will take some action, some action wrapped in love. The world needs some love.

May you spread alittle love

(God's love)

in your world today!

http://heartlight.org

Visit IRIS and all of her grateful friends over at THANKFUL THURSDAY, where giving thanks and praise is the word of the day! Click HERE to read more...

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...strength in my weakness

DO WE TRY TO HIDE OUR

WEAKNESSES FROM OTHERS?

None of us like to admit we have weaknesses, but if the truth was told, all of us do. We all have things that cause us to be vulnerable.

~SUPERMAN ... kryptonite (or lack of) caused weakness
~SAMSON ... his hair (or length of it) caused weakness

We tend to only want people to see our strengths, and we hide our weaknesses from those around us. However, if we want people to see the power of God and the strength that comes thru our faith in Him, we must let people see our weaknesses.

• If we do not show the vulnerable side - how will others identify with us?
• How can the unbeliever give credit to God for what God has done in our lives if all they see is our strengths?

The Apostle Paul knew about the importance of showing his vulnerability, especially to his enemies. In this life, we all have enemies. Our natural response is to become defensive with our enemies and hide our weak areas so that our enemy cannot attack us. Paul had a different approach when it came to his enemies.

2 CORINTHIANS 6:11 "O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open."

Paul spoke frankly about his weaknesses.

2 CORINTHIANS 11:6 "Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things."

Paul admitted his weaknesses.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-9 "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. (8)Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. (9)And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Paul spoke openly about the "thorns in his flesh" that caused him great grief.

WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE PAUL SPOKE SO OPENLY ABOUT HIS WEAKNESSES?

Paul was not afraid to admit his weaknesses because he believed that God was using them to His glory. I love what Christ had to say in verse 9 of chapter 12 ..."My power is made perfect in weakness!" Paul's entire message to the Corinthians was for them to depend more on God's grace, His unmerited love and favor; and less on their own strength and moral ability.

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question, "Which attitude toward weakness prevailed in your home as a child". The top 3 responses were:

• 1. 35% of those voting said that they were taught that sharing your feelings showed weakness.
• 2. 21% voted and said that they were taught that "big boys / big girls" do not cry!
• 3. Another 21% polled, said that they were taught that admitting a weakness would give enemies a chance to exploit it.

Hiding or displacing our weaknesses may not always be the best answer. In fact -for today's Christian, it is alright to have weaknesses. Since we are relying upon God's strength, this just means that we are a work in progress and others can see the power of Christ thru us.

Never should we be pointing others to "follow us" but rather, "Follow Christ". Since there is no man perfect other than Jesus Christ Himself ... showing our weaknesses as well as our strengths can only lead others to Christ, where we ALL find our hope and our strength.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR WEAKNESSES? How has God used you in spite of these weaknesses?

"Dear God, thank you that even though I am weak, I can find strength in You. Use me in all that I have, my strengths and my weaknesses to point others to You. amen."

What am I doing to share a God legacy with others? For the next few weeks, on Wednesday Weekly Word, I will be sharing some thoughts on how we can touch others in a spiritual, meaningful way. It is my desire to leave a godly legacy behind. How about you?

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL: Please take time to vote in this week's poll..."HOW DO YOU REACT WHEN YOU ARE CALLED ON THE CARPET FOR SOMETHING?" The poll is located on the side bar of this blog. YOUR OPINION REALLY DOES MATTER!!

A PIECE OF MY HEART..."thank you Mom for not smoking!"

Today, I wanted to share a piece of my heart with you. My daughter, who is 13, and oh so very bright and intuitive for her young age, said something to me the other day that has not left me.

We were driving home from school, which is my favorite part of the day because it is just her and me and the road and we get some uninterrupted talk time. As I was driving, just out of the blue, Anna said to me, "Thank you Mom for not smoking."

Now...I have been complimented for alot of things over time but honestly, I don't believe I have been complimented for not smoking before!

I asked my daughter why she said that ... and she said, "most of my friends have parents who smoke and even though my friends don't smoke -they smell awful. I want to just tell them to go take a bath!"

WOW.
It's true. What she had to say.

Have you ever walked into a room full of smoke? and not only does the room look hazy but there is an awful stench in the room?

Once tobacco gets in the air. It pollutes everything. It gets in your clothes, in your hair, your teeth and anything else that you touch.

Sin is much like this.

Once you fall to deception and weakness, the enemy will use the act of sin to pollute everything that you touch.

It stains your family.
It stains your reputation.
It stains your testimony.

and it leaves a stench that many times you are not aware of.

a stench of deception
a stench of selfishness
a stench of failure
a stench of lying
a stench of disobedience

"Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good from you." -Jeremiah 5:25

Sometimes we can hide from other people, the things that we do in private...

and then other times - truth can be found out by the stench we carry.

May we constantly be aware of the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. May we "bathe" in His presence daily and commit those things that we struggle with to Him. It is my prayer that what oozes from you is not a stench to His nostrils.

AND THAT IS A PIECE OF MY HEART TODAY;

AT THE WELL...are my motives pleasing to you, God?

TODAY, we are gathering over AT THE WELL...

I am the contributing writer for today's topic:

"ARE MY MOTIVES PLEASING TO YOU, GOD?"

"What is the real underlying motive for all the good stuff that you do? Sometimes there is a huge difference between our impure motives and the goodness of our actions....."

Please click HERE to read my entire post, and if you would like to contribute to this discussion on "Are my motives pleasing to you, God?" - feel free to write a post and link back up with us over at the AT THE WELL homepage!

As always, I welcome all of your comments and encouragement.

PRAYING POINTS..."does God do evil?"

"DOES GOD DO EVIL?"

This past week, the community that I live in,

was given a taste of the kind of world that we have become.

evil.
We live in an evil world.

We see evil all around us whenever we turn FOX news on.

murdering
stealing
bombing
devastation

From afar, it seems like the kind of evil that is reported is happening somewhere else. Some other town. Some other Country. What do we do when that kind of devastation happens in our city, in our state, in our Country?...."

To read the rest of "DOES GOD DO EVIL?"

and to pray for this weeks prayer needs...

please visit my PRAYER BLOG.

Click HERE to find the rest of the post of "Does God do evil?"

FRIDAY FUNNIES...valentine dream

A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when
the heart is sad, the spirit is broken." -Prov. 15:13

VALENTINES DAY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER...

and every girl is dreaming of that special gift that

no doubt she will receive from her sweet honey.

Once I had a dream about my valentines gift ...

and after I woke up, I told my husband...

"I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's day.

What do you think it means?"

and he said, "You will know tonight."

That evening, my sweet, adoring, thoughtful husband

came home with a small package and gave it to me.

Delighted,

I opened it to find a book entitled

"The Meaning of Dreams".

Not exactly what I had in mind!

KIM is hosting FRIDAY FUNNIES,

click HERE to find more laughter and fun!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...praise

"Good job!"

"Atta boy"

"Way to go!"

"Glad you are on the team!"




Receiving praise.
We all look for it from time to time.

from our boss.
from our spouse.
from our kids.
from our friends.

Recognition is something that we all crave.

HOW ABOUT RECOGNIZING GOD?
do we appropriately give Him the due honor and praise that He deserves?

We have so many opportunities throughout our day to give Him praise.

when we wake up in the early morning.
when we drive to work.
when we sit at our desk.
when we walk to the restaurant for lunch.
when we drive to the sitters to pick up the children.
when we cook dinner.
when we wash the dishes.
when we fold a load of laundry.
when we tuck the kids in bed for the night.
when we climb into bed and say goodnight.

Whenever God's blessings well up in your heart, stop right then and tell the Lord how grateful you are for all that He has blessed you with.

Its as easy as "I worship you Lord, for You are worthy to be praised. I need You, and I just want to tell you that I love You. Thank you, Father, for everything." Taking time out of your day, at that very moment, to give Him praise will alter your day. As you go on with the rest of your day, you will be amazed at how God's presence will fill you with gladness.

PSALM 100:4 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!"

AREN'T YOU THANKFUL FOR HIS BLESSINGS?
go ahead and take time right now and thank Him and give Him praise!

IRIS is our host of THANKFUL THURSDAY, join her and others as we all offer up praise and thanks to Him today! Click HERE to find more grateful hearts.