Walking in His Spirit

This week I was working on Doing the signs (American Sign Language) for a song we did in front of the church yesterday. As I practiced I was amazed at the ways we can worship God. It was like a special thing I could do just for Jesus! It really encouraged me. When it came to signing for the first time in front of people like that, I felt nervous and I knew my signing might not be perfect. But I also knew God was okay with that.
I got thinking about how when we walk in the Spirit we can sing with all our might , even if we don't have a beautifully gifted voice. (me) We could sign for God, even if we are not perfect at it. We can kneel to pray right there and then, just because that was the moment God called us to pray. We can shout out the word of God with gladness, for we cannot contain our overflow. If we walk in the Spirit of God, we are able to let go of what people think and just do it for Jesus. Sometimes when my own cup over flows, I let go and share of the overflow.. In these moments, I have no need to think through what I will say... it comes without thought. I often find myself looking back and can't even believe, what I have shared. To be honest, there has been times, where I thought, okay next time I will be more careful. Right now however.. I say God do and say whatever you would like to through me.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

When you have a rechargable flashlight, you have to plug it in every so often , to keep it charged. The more you use it the more charging it will need. It's like that with us. The word of God keeps us shinning. The more we keep ourselves charged with his word, the more He is able to use us and our cups will be filled and more! He will take over and give us words and take away all fear of man.

Many times this means we will do things differently than what would be the ideal way to man! Only God can direct my path and give me peace in my journey.

Taking it all in

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

In Our Storms

Sometimes life is like being on a rocky boat in a big storm. Here is an example of that.

Matthew 8:23-27

23And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Jesus could have prevented the storm from ever coming, but He didn't . He allowed the storm to come and and it showed His disciples their need for Him.

Our rocky boats show our need for Jesus as well. Often we only call out to Him when He is the only one who can help us.

It is also a time of testing to see if we will really trust Him. Can we depend on Him even when we do not understand what He is doing?

This came to me today because, it seems like we are in the middle of a storm. God is showing me to trust Him alone in these times, to rely on Him alone above all else or anyone else. So often I relied on people instead of going straight to my savior. Though He calls us to encourage one another and weep together and laugh together, and these things are wonderful; only He is always there, always faithful, always trustworthy. Noone should come above Him. He is my best friend.

He had to take me through some aches to engrave that on my heart. I must say it is a relief to not have expectations from people anymore. (that was always very selfish of me)

I am so blessed in my relationship with Jesus. With Him being such a good friend, I also want to be a good friend to Him. ( we love Him because He first loved us) It's not all about me, it's about Him....

Romans 12
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In saying these things, I know I will also be tested in them yet again!

I have a new nephew

Congratulations to Garnet and Lisa on the birth of their new son, and to Nathan and Teresa on another little brother!

"Carson"

Born: Oct. 21st

A Mother's Prayer
"I washed the dirt from little feet, and as I wash I pray, "Lord, keep them pure and true, to walk in Your way!"I wash the dirt from little hands, and earnestly I ask, "Lord, may they ever willing be, to do the humblest task."I wash the dirt from little knees, and pray, "Lord, may these be the places where victories are won, and guidance sought from Thee."I scrub the clothes that soil so soon, and pray, "May they be dressed throughout eternal ages in Your robe of Righteousness."Before many hours shall pass, I know I'll wash these hands again; And there'll be dirt upon their clothes before the day shall end.But as they journey on through life and learn of want and pain, Lord, keep their precious little hearts cleansed from sin and stain!For soap and water cannot reach where You alone can see.Their hands and feet, these I can wash --- I trust their hearts to Thee."

"Yes, I get to hold him too! "

Happy Thanksgiving

I don't always realize how much I have to be thankful for everyday. God is with us and cares for us... That alone is reason to be thankful, no matter what the circumstances. As I am writing, I realize how many prayers God has answered in my life. I need to remember where I was just a few years back yet and what God has done since then. Many times I was broken and my faith seemed so weak . I believed in Him though and He heard. God answered and took over, when I let go and allowed Him do the work.

I want to continue to rely on Him for all things and serve Him. Everyday is a new day and each day I must let go and let Him.

I thank God for being so faithful and loving us.

Emily's 4th Birthday

Emily turned 4 years old today. I was looking through her pictures today and can't believe how much she has changed since she was born! For one thing, she is running around like any other child! What is so special about that is that she was born with clubbed feet, and spent the first few months of her life in cast from hip to toe.

Praise God for what he did for her. She could have been in cast for 6 months or longer and there was a good chance she would need surgery. God answered many prayers! She was only in cast for close to 3 months and was good to go without any surgeries.

Here she is still in the cast at a few weeks old.

...and here she is today, riding her bike without any problems!

Happy Birthday, Emily!!!

Who is God?

An Important Job

I had an important task today. I spent the day preparing for our special guest. I wanted it to be clean, comfortable and smell nice. With things more organized, it is easier to serve others and saves time, so that we have more time for quality time with those that come here.
So that is what I set out to do today. After all if Jesus is going to be here I want to do a good job with the work I do for Him, and make this place as enjoyable and comfortable for Him as I can. You might be thinking that I must be talking about something deeper than house cleaning now, but no I am not. I'm talking about cleaning my house for Jesus. Doing my work for the Lord. I am excited that I get the privilege to do these things for Him.
Most importantly though , I am excited that the first thing I get to do is just sit at His feet and listen to Him and Learn.

"...Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily ,as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that it is from the Lord , that you will receive the inheritance which is your reward. The One Whom you are actually serving is the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3: 23-24

Men's Camp

Art and Jamie went to the men's camp with the church men this year. Jamie had been wanting to go for years already but it never did work out before. So he was pretty excited about it! They both had a lot of fun and a lot of stories to tell when they got home! I am so glad they got to spend time together like that.

Otto koning was at the camp as well. He has gone through a lot of things and has some great stories to tell. For those who don't know who he is. He was a missionary in New Guinea. He worked among a native tribe that had known only their village ways. He was put in some pretty dangerous situations there.

Otto Koning is also well known for The Pineapple story. http://store.iblp.org/products/CTPS/ .

More Gardening

Fast Growing Weeds

A negative thought is like a fast growing vine or more like an ugly weed. It very quickly spreads into many areas, and this is what I have done these last few weeks. It started with me feeling like I couldn’t keep up with everything that was going on. Felt like there was just too much to take care of. I could go into all the details and come up with a bunch of reasons why I felt like this, but I’m not going to do that, because the fact is God’s grace is always sufficient and somewhere in there, this was my own fault, and God had a better way for me then what I was taking. With negative thinking, it’s funny what it can do… A little self pity and suddenly you have a huge unwanted weed!
So I’m thinking, this is all too much, then I start thinking it’s not fair! Oh, AND then wait a minute…My husband should do this and that and the this and maybe this…..(oh,I could give him a long to do list ) Do you see how this could grow into bitterness towards him and well anyone else who isn’t doing things according to MY list. I know! As I’m writing, I’m thinking what kind of a woman would be like that…Oh ya me. Well, this weed started to go into other areas as well. I started to think well it’s not like anyone else cares either. The only reason people talk to me is because, I always make the start. You see how one thing led to another? I think I was beginning to believe some lies here and being ungrateful for God’s many blessings.
Well, I needed to get down on my knees and ask God for forgiveness for my attitude and not being thankful in all things. I needed to let Art (Hubby) know that I had been wrong and ask him to forgive me. God changed my thoughts and feelings as soon as I repented.
Then my eyes were opened again to all the things I needed to thank God for. Art goes to work in an over heated paint booth everyday for his family, he is always the one to clean our van, yesterday he cleaned up all th junk in our basement, he cleaned the pool for the kids.(and he does all these things without me asking him to) I started to feel bad because I saw he was doing way more then I deserve. The greatest blessing of all is he often reads and prays with the kids now. He is always telling me he loves me and makes me feel like I’m worth so much to him. God has done so much in both our lives! I know! How could I ever complain! It’s embarrassing to think about it now!
Then as for other people go, I have received a number of calls and an email this week from friends just checking in to see if Kati-Lyn is okay now (she was sick) I have a mom who is always there and a dad whom I talk to more now then ever. Many sisters and sister -in- laws who do care. Also thankful for my prayer sister I have now who also really brightened my day. Thank s to the people who pray for me even though I don’t always know it So all around I just needed to be thankful and apologize for not weeding this garden.
I am so grateful for the mercy and forgiveness and grace God has for us if we as!

O what a wonderful, wonderful day- day I will never forget;
After I’d wondered in darkness away, Jesus my savior I met!

Johnny was blessed with a little brother

On May 31st, Johnny's family was blessed with another boy. (that's 4 boys now)His name is Matthew. He was 9 lb and 11 oz. mom and baby are healthy and well. This was pretty exciting for Johnny! He has had a great attitude through all that he is going through.

Family Devotions

We have been going through Step into the Bible by Ruth Graham. We started to do family devotions first thing in the morning now...well right after breakfast. It seems like after beakfast works better because the kids are more ready to listen. This book has a story, bible verses to read and verses to memorize and questions to ask. Then we also have a time of prayer. I have noticed that it makes such a big difference in everyones day, and I really want to keep it up... I pray that we will. I am grateful that God has made this possible for us, so I don't want to take it for granted!

Seek and you shall find

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' (Acts 17:24-28)


"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." Be worried for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Matthew 11:28-

Lord I Need You

LORD, I'M GOING TO NEED YOU

TO GET ME THROUGH THIS DAY

YOU HAVE ALWAYS CARRIED ME

AND HELPED ME TO FIND A WAY

YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN MY FORTRESS

THERE I CAN GO AND HIDE

WHEN THIS LIFE GETS TOO TOUGH

YOU'RE ALWAYS BY MY SIDE

YOU'RE ALWAYS THERE TO LISTEN

EVERY TIME THAT I PRAY

AND I FEEL YOUR PRESENCE

EACH AND EVERYDAY

LORD I AM SO GRATEFUL

THAT YOU LOVE ME SO

AND I'LL ALWAYS PRAISE YOU

WHEREVER THAT I GO

Copyright: Jeffrey Paul Guest

Anthony Loves Jesus!

This evening Jamie started talking about things that scared him. I encouraged him to trust in Jesus and that we are safe . Well this led to so many questions and topics about God, I wouldn't know where to begin to tell you all the details! One of the things the boys started talking about was their 2 brothers that went to heaven. They wondered what they were doing in heaven and so on. Anthony said he wanted to go to heaven one day too, but not without us . He said we should all go at the same time.
He then started asking me about how we can go to heaven and not to a bad place. I asked him if he thought he was good enough to go to heaven and at first he said yep! I'm always good. So I asked him if he never fought with his brother, or lost his temper... things like that. He wasn't so convinced anymore that he was good enough! So I explained to him that we all had sin in our hearts, and that was why Jesus died for our sins, to wash us from our sin. We had talked about this before and he had said before that he wanted Jesus to be his saviour, but today it really sunk in and he understood why Jesus was his savior, and he wanted Jesus to be in his heart! He loves Jesus and wants to serve him and tell people all about him he said. This is the most important thing in life and so precious in children!
I pray for our kids that God will direct their paths and that they will all serve our Lord throughout their life!

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Ephesians 2:8-9

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

~Nancy~