A PIECE OF MY HEART ...growing up

I have been spending alot of time lately with my 13 year old daughter. We have been talking alot about friendships, best friends, boys, dating, school and just your typical teenage girl "drama" things.

At such a young age, she has already experienced some heart ache and disappointment in her friendships.

Suffering.

None of us like it, but yet it is part of growing up. This past week we have talked, cried, hugged and laughed. How it hurts my heart as her mom to see her suffer at the hands of her peers. But, all of the trials and hard knocks of growing up brings lessons for all of us to learn.

None of us want to suffer, in fact, most of us will go to long lengths to avoid pain. But suffering should not surprise any of us. Scripture tells us that we should expect trials, tribulations and suffering not just once but over and over.

When these sufferings and pain come, our Heavenly Father is just waiting for us to come and bear it all to Him. To unload our pain and allow Him to wrap His loving arms around us, as I have done with my daughter, and say "It is going to be alright!"

EPHESIANS 3:17 "Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong."

I have never felt closer to my daughter as I have these past few days as we poured our hearts out to each other. Our heavenly Father desires for us to pour our hearts out to Him in such a way. He craves to have this intimate time with us. His heart hurts when we suffer, but yet like a parent, He knows what is necessary for us to grow up (spiritually).

Do you see God's hand in your sufferings?

Are you putting your heart aches and pains in His trust?

Dear Lord, thank you for being my closest confident. In you, I can trust You! Help me, Lord, to respond to the sufferings in my life in a way that will become fertile ground for spiritual growth in my life. AMEN

and that is a piece of my heart today;

HOSTING "AT THE WELL" TODAY...

You can find me over at "THE WELL" homepage today as I lead today's discussion about "BEING OVERLOOKED".

Have you ever been overlooked? How did it make you feel?

"I am pretty sure that all of us have been overlooked sometime in our life.
As a child, the memory that comes to mind is when we were lined up in gym class
and the team captain had to pick his players for his side. How many of you were
picked last? Being overlooked ... many times leaves us feeling unworthy, unloved and unappreciated! You might say, ok Laurie ... that's kids stuff. And stuff like that happens in child play! But how would you react to be overlooked as an adult?..."

Read the remainder of this post HERE!

CIRCLE OF LOVE

MEET JENNIFER

of

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

http://belikeesther.blogspot.com/

I have only been acquainted with Jennifer for a short time. Jennifer is a frequent visitor and participant of the AT THE WELL meme. It is amazing how so many of us gather each week over at the well and share how God is molding and making us to be Titus 2 women. Jennifer is one of those women that is pursuing Gods heart as passionately as she can.

Jennifer shares all kinds of great things with us on her blog. It won't take you long to see that Jennifer is passionate about her family, she often blogs about her experiences of homeschooling and (one of my favorites!) cooking. Jennifer is one of those "visual" writers ... she not only shares a good recipe but she shares a picture also that will leave you drooling at the mouth!

Another passion that will leap off of the web page ... is Jennifer's passion for Christ. I love it when she shares personal testimonies of Gods love and changing power! Just recently, Jennifer shared one of those very moving kind of stories with her readers, you know, the kind that just gives you goose bumps and the kind that makes you want to just do a holy roller shout! Here is what Jennifer shared recently about how we as Titus 2 women should dress (or not dress) ...

Who Are You Dressing For?

Today's topic At The Well really hits home to me. It seems like only yesterday when I went through this very thing, and had to be snapped back into reality. Today I thought I would share this story with you and the insights that God showed me during and after this time.About 4 years ago, I got on this weight loss kick and lost about 30 pounds. I went from a size 14 down to a size 10 which really changed the way I looked. I was also going to the tanning bed at the time, and I
felt sexy. I will just be honest with you. My friend and I decided to do some
shopping and I talked myself into buying some rather questionable clothing to
wear to work. I mean, I was losing weight so why would I not want to dress sexy!

In the back of my mind, I kept hearing the Holy Spirit tell me that this was not the route I needed to go, that at the end of this road there would be death and destruction, but I blew that voice off. I wanted to look sexy!I did attract the attention of a certain man, who shall remain nameless. At first I was deeply flattered. Another man besides my husband thought I looked good.WOW! But then that flattery began to turn into thoughts. . . thoughts of being with someone other than my husband. This man would visit my office every day and sit and talk to me for hours. He emailed me regularly. He showed an interest. He even commented a few times about how sexy I had become in the few weeks.

After a couple of months of this, one morning when I was checking out my nice slim body in the mirror, my daughter walked in the room. Now remember.. this was 4 years ago. I was a Christian, a God fearing woman, who had blown off the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit. Kayla at the time was 7 years old. She stood there for a few moments and then she said, "Momma...why are you dressing like that?" I asked her, "Like what baby?" And she said, "Like that." and she pointed to my clothing. I looked in the mirror again still not seeing what she was talking about. And then she spoke again, but this time I did not hear her. I heard the Voice of My Savior speaking. She said, "Why are you dressing like that for work? Who are you trying to impress? Why do you want other men to look at you when you are already married? Daddy likes the way you look. No one else needs to like you that way mommy.

"SMACK! At that moment, I saw myself as the Lord saw me. I was ashamed, humiliated, and completely and utterly horrified that I had allowed myself to be pulled in that direction. I was so thankful that nothing had transpired with the man at work. I quickly changed clothes and bagged up everything I had purchased and threw them in the garbage! Mini skirts, tight tops, EVERYTHING and out it went.I went to work and emailed the man and told him that I could not talk to him anymore.

I quit my job within a month of this happening and took a different job which eventually led me to homeschooling my children.Now I am more aware of how I dress. Here lately I have been the sneakers and jeans kinds of girl, but slowly God is showing me just how feminine I am and that I can be girly and beautiful and modest all at the same time. As women, we have to be careful of what we wear. If we are wearing it so other people will notice us, we are wearing it for the wrong reasons! You have to dress for yourself and not to draw the attention of others.

If you find yourself doing that, then I suggest you spend some time in prayer asking God to reveal to you what your true motives are.If you have caused someone to fail because of the way you dress, then go ask forgiveness of that person.

Also ask God to forgive you and then CHANGE!I still look back at this time as a way of God opening my eyes to the problems of dress and why in His word He talks about all the reasons why He wants us to dress modestly. When the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, listen to His voice, heed His warnings and do what He is asking you to do. It is for your good.

YYYYYYYYY

I was so glad to see Jennifer write about this topic. I see so many women who struggle in this area, many of whom are not even aware that they are purposely dressing for another mans eye. I applaud Jennifer for her honesty and her openness to share her testimony of Gods love and changing power.

Recently, Jennifer shared alittle bit more about herself with me online. Please join me as we get to know alittle piece of Jennifer's heart...

1. PLEASE TELL US YOUR NAME AND WHERE WE CAN FIND YOU ON THE WEB?

My name is Jennifer Sikora. You can find my blog, For Such a Time as This, at http://www.belikeesther.blogspot.com/

2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGING AND TELL US YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BLOGGING?

I have been blogging since October 2007. I started as a way to share my homeschooling journey and all the things we were learning, but it has turned into so much more since then. Now I share about life, faith, homeschooling, and Jesus!

3. WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS THAT YOU BLOG ABOUT?

Anything that we do. Homeschooling, devotions that I write, wonderful homemade recipes that I try, and our family life in general.

4. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF...if you work ~where? ...have a family ~ tell us about them?

I am 34 years old. I work for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine as Social Marketing Assistant. I have been married to my husband for 15 years. We have two wonderful children, Robert age 14, and Kayla age 11. We have three rotten little spoiled dogs, Ruffles the Corgi, Puff the Poodle, and Tucker the Chihuahua

5. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SERVING THE LORD?

I have been serving the Lord now for 10 years! It seems like only yesterday that He called my name and asked me to be part of His Kingdom!

6. CAN YOU GIVE US A TESTIMONY OF HOW GOD HAS PROVEN HIMSELF FAITHFUL TO YOU?

For the last few months, my husband has been out of work. We made a promise to God that if He would help take care of us like He promised in His word that we would be faithful to Him in following Him and not give up even when it gets hard. My husband is still unemployed, but there has not been a day that goes by that God has not provided for our needs. I believe that comes from the fact that we are following Him regardless, not only in the easy times, but in the hard times as well.

7. COULD YOU SHARE WITH YOUR CIRCLE OF BLOGGING FRIENDS YOUR FAVORITE SCRIPTURE?

My favorite scripture has always been and will always be Romans 8:28: "All things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are the called, according to His purpose."

8. HOW HAS THAT SCRIPTURE MINISTERED TO YOU RECENTLY?

With my husband being out of a job, I have to know that this is for our good. It is growing character in both of us and teaching us to be patient and wait on God.

9. WHAT ADVICE ABOUT BLOGGING WOULD YOU OFFER TO YOUR CIRCLE OF BLOGGING FRIENDS?

Blog about everything. What you think is uninteresting, can be the most interesting thing to all those bloggy friends of yours!

Great advice Jennifer! You never know who you might meet while blogging and how much you can become connected with them not only thru similar interests but thru a kindred spirit. Thank you Jennifer for being an encouragement to me and to all Women who Take a Stand! -LAURIE

PLEASE VISIT JENNIFER TODAY AND BECOME ACQUAINTED! click here

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR BLOG FEATURED HERE ON CIRCLE OF LOVE? I would love to feature you and your ministry of your blogpage. For more information on how you can be in an upcoming CIRCLE OF LOVE feature ... click HERE!

THANKFUL THURSDAY....spiritual sweet tooth

DO YOU HAVE A SWEET TOOTH? What is the sweetest thing that you can think of? Is it a favorite flavor of ice cream (Oh... chocolate mint!) or is it your favorite candy (snickers for me!) or maybe it is just that rich chocolate cake that melts in your mouth!

Before there was refined sugar (which is needed to make all of those yummy things I just mentioned!), the sweetest taste that people could enjoy was HONEY!

It comes no surprise to me then that when the psalmist tried to describe how good the Word of God was, he thought of the greatest example of sweetness that people could recognize at that time ... honey!

PSALM 19:9,10 "The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb."

The Psalmist was saying that the Word of God tastes like the sweetest thing he had ever known.

What kind of taste does reading and meditating upon the Word leave in your mouth? Is it a sweet taste or a sour one?

God intends for His Word to be an invigorating taste sensation ... a treat! It is my desire to have a spiritual sweet tooth so I can savor each and every delicacy of His Word! I am so thankful on this Thankful Thursday for each of you, my friends and for the sweet cravings of more of Him.

What are you thankful for today? Please write about it and share your grateful heart with us by linking up with us below in mr. linky!

*confused about the hostess schedule for TT? Please see my sidebar for the schedule for future Thankful Thursday host sites. *

** looks like mr linky is acting up tonight. If you go ahead and click on the following Mr linky, it will take you to the place for you to link your TT post to us. Check back, I will try to fix it as soon as mr. linky will let me, otherwise you can just click on the mr linky header below and visit the TT participants that way. **

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...mission statements

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD is a post devoted each Wednesday to share my thoughts on a current study that I am doing. This week I
studied purpose, more specifically the purpose and mission of Jesus Christ. I love to hear your comments about this study...

I love technology today, if I am preparing to go on a trip, all I have to do is get out our atlas or go to the computer and map quest for my directions. It is so easy to find directions to get me to my final destination.

When I am looking for directions in my life though, it is much more complicated. All around us, we can find different directions pulling at us ... different religions and philosophies, astrology, talk show hosts, etc. If we listened to any of it or all of it, no doubt we would be handed a different "road map" for life from each one of them.

The looking for direction is not where we go wrong. In fact, even Jesus set out to be intentional about finding His direction. For example: didn't He go into the wilderness for 40 days to wrestle with the Devil and to seek God's guidance? Jesus found His guidance and in fact returned to His hometown, the town of Nazareth to tell people that God had given Him His mission:

LUKE 4:16-19 "He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. (17) The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: (18) The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, (19) to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

It is not the looking that trips us up, our final destination will depend upon where we are looking!

Jesus looked to His Father for the leading. He had a mission and He set out to complete the mission laid before Him. Alot of businesses will write out a mission statement for their employees, usually these mission statements provide purpose, inspiration and motivation for their staff. Look at these mission statements that I found:

WAL-MART: to give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people.
WALT DISNEY: to make people happy.
MARY KAY COSMETICS: to give unlimited opportunity to women.

While many companies mean well when they issue a mission statement, many fall short of fulfilling their original purpose. Jesus, on the other hand, lived (and died) His mission statement:

JESUS CHRIST: to preach the good news to the poor; offer freedom to those bound and oppressed and to proclaim to all the hope of the Lord.

When Jesus returned to Nazareth, he did not need to map quest the trip. He went with a clear purpose and mission. How about you...when you return to your hometown, what is your purpose?

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I asked the readers "What would you look forward to when visiting your town that you grew up in?" The top 3 responses were:

1. 20% of the responses said that they would like to see their old home.
2. Another 20% voted and said that they would like to see all of the changes in the town.
3. 20% of other readers, voted and said that they have no desire to even go back to their hometown.

Returning home can be fun, but yet, for others it brings back nothing but bad memories and thoughts. That is obvious when I see this weeks poll and that 20% of the readers have no desire to re-visit their growing up home place.

I know people who have remained in a mind set of "what could have been". For those that still live in the past and wish things were different, I wonder if they have set in place a personal mission statement? You know... a mission statement that would outline the goals, the aspirations, and the changes that they would like to see in their relationships and spiritual growth.

All of us need to find ways of seeing ourselves, what our strengths and weaknesses are, and what we are called to do. Jesus saw these things, and He helped others to see them as well.

What are you doing to fulfill your mission?

Do you have a personal mission statement?

Dear Lord...thank you for giving me the tools that I need to find direction in my life. Open my heart and my eyes to see the road that you are drawing me down. It is my desire to have a purpose in my living and that others around me will see the mission that I am pursuing. May all the twists and turns of life lead others to You. AMEN

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL... please take time to vote in this weeks poll. Are you discouraged? Your opinion really does matter ~ find the poll on the side bar of the blog. :)

A PIECE OF MY HEART ... are you listening?

As I sit here at my computer, I can hear the television in the background. Seems these days that no matter if someone is watching it, the television is always on. I personally like it quiet in the house, but some other family members seem to like that noise box on at all times.

Do you ever just leave your TV turned on even though nobody is watching it? You can hear it, but you're not really listening to it.

We treat people the same way sometimes...we hear someone talking but are we really listening? It is one thing to understand what the person is saying but do we accept what is being said?

In Matthew 7:29, I read that Jesus taught with real authority - quite unlike the teachers of religious law. When Jesus sat in the Temple teaching or even on the hillside, people were utterly amazed.

Sometimes we become amazed with what others are saying but we still reject it or ignore it. Even when someone speaks with authority - we still refuse to submit to it.

JAMES 1:25 "If you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."

So with this in mind, I must ask:

• Am I listening to what God is saying to me?
• How about you, are you listening and hearing the voice of God?

and that is a piece of my heart today!

LACED WITH GRACE ... seashell promise

TODAY, YOU CAN FIND ME OVER AT...

I have shared a devotion today entitled, "SEASHELL PROMISE"

"Summer has finally arrived at our house! School is out and the sun is shining more and more. This can mean only one thing for our family….THE BEACH!

The highlight of our summer is spending time at the beach. It is so relaxing to sit down by the water and listen to the waves rolling and crashing. Each evening, on our vacation to the beach, we stroll down the beach looking for treasures. Mostly what we find is sand crabs and litter. Occasionally, we find something worthy to hold onto though.

Have you ever noticed that when the water washes up to the shore, it also washes up things that have been rolling around deep out in the ocean. Most of the time, what is washed up is ..."

CLICK HERE to read the rest of todays devotion!