The Cost Of Doubt...

"Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith". --Paul Tillich

"Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservations." --Elton Trueblood

Doubt is the cause for so many blessings missed, so many opportunities gone by and so much time that has been wasted. Doubt is the instrument the enemy uses to chip away at the things we put our faith in if we let it. Doubt sometimes can help us understand ourselves and God even more so, it’s good to ask questions, but when all we do is doubt and never accept the answers that are revealed and never accept that sometimes the answers are not comprehendible to us - doubt will take over and soon we forget to rely on faith, rely on God.

Doubt holds us back when there’s room for us to grow and improve our life and relationships - it stifles our ability to take risks or to tackle challenges head on. Belief in God trumps all doubts if we would simply look to him, rely on his power and listen to his directions for all the great things he has planned for our lives. Don’t let doubt stop you from having a great relationship with God.

Matthew 14:31  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Matthew 21:21  Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

James 1:6  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

Mark 11:22-24  “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Just thinking about you...watch ya doin?

Wow, I had so much hope for this weekend...no plans but I had planned to make big plans - or something like that.  But this week has been so busy, so crazy, so packed full of random busy stuff that when Saturday (today) came I just thought "blah".  I'm just gonna plan to do nothing or something but I'm not gonna think about it, that is until my almost 9 year old says "can we do something fun today". Geesh...something fun...he always sets me up for failure! LOL My fun and his fun don't always line up. My fun is sitting on the couch laptop on lap, covered in a blankie, with my tivo'd soap operas on, while my hubby offers me a nice cup of hot cocoa or a Sprite.  I have a feeling that's not quite what my lil' guy means by fun.

So far we've danced, made up songs (while daddy strums on his Gee-tar), practiced our 4 year old handwriting, drew stick figures, made and chowed chocolate chip pancakes and now...the dreaded shower.  I have no idea why a shower sounds exhausting sometimes, but it does. I just don't want to have to dry off somedays. LOL That's so bad...but whatever happened to my Jane Jetson Power washer/dresser/feeder machine. I thought for sure some smart women would have perfected that devise by now. My bad, I think that was on MY to do list and I got peanut butter smeared all over that spot of the list.

It's 3:31pm and somehow my day feels ALMOST over yet it's just started...that's what happens when your family wears themselves out and sleeps in until 10/11am.  YAY...I love those days.  I think the highlight of my day so far is the funny things that my kids will say during breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'd write you them all but I swear you'd pee your pants and if one of them found out what I wrote they'd slug me...hard!   Today's funny words come from a little 4 year old boy, with no fears, an adult size sense of humor and best of all...no edit button:  "Mommy (as he lifts his shirt), touch my manboobs, go ahead...I don't mind".  That's an orange juice 'spittle worthy moment'.....C-man...eat your pancakes!   His newest thing is to fart and blame it on someone else in the room.  Since I'm usually with him (alone) much of the day, he'll let one rip and say in a little whisper, "you did that!"  HUH? I'm pretty sure I didn't. LOL "yeah you did, you snuck it out" and then smirks and giggles a crooked face.  I'm not sure, but I have a feeling a big kid (or man) may be teaching him this stuff.

How is it possible, that one 12 year old boy can slip in a DVD of  Mike Rowe's "Dirty Jobs" and within minutes every man and boy child will suddenly be congregating into the viewing area?  They are in a trance and fascinated...of course...they're talking about snakes and butt probes....nice....snakes and butts and poop...now Mike Rowe is saying, "can we say butt hole on tv?" Now they're collecting snake puke and sending it off to a lab....AWKWARD....this should not surprise me....such beasts...LOL....or as I like to call them my manimals. 

On to prettier topics....there's gotta be a shoe sale going on SOMEWHERE in this town at this very moment...and I'm pretty sure that they're waiting to open the store doors especially for me!! I better go look for a coupon...you know I will find one!!! YAY!  Is it spring yet? My perfectly manicured toes are dying to make a debut.  I was totally going to pull out and put on my pretty lil' flip flops - is 50 degrees sufficient heat for that?  I opted out, I just know my heart would break by this Sunday's snow and ice storm....I'm off to look for some coupons, I think I need some retail therapy...and ice cream!! :-)

HUGS & LOVE friends...you mean so very much to me...thanks for reading....you're the best...and feel free to chime in!!! xoxo

I'm So Not Perfect.....

I am so not perfect. I don’t have great hair. I don’t have a beautiful figure. I don’t have a ton of book smarts or street cred. I don’t have flawless skin. I don’t have a brilliant mind. I can’t remember like I used to. I can’t see 20/20. I can’t climb a tree anymore. I can’t beat you at most board games. I don’t sing like an angel. I don’t write beautifully. I can’t paint a masterpiece. I can’t cook to feed the masses. I can’t always find my car keys. I’m not always on time. I want to do everything I promise but sometimes I forget. I want to learn to ski but hate the cold. I want to heal the broken and strengthen the weak but have days I can‘t even climb out of bed. I want to mend fences, mend hearts, mend friendships but I don’t sew very well. I am so not perfect. I don’t know anyone that is….except Christ. Through him I can do all things…through him everything is possible. Through him I can find strength to give strength….through him I can forgive and be forgiven. Through him I can comfort the sad and broken and bring them to the healer. Through him I am redeemed…through him I am the way he would have me to be, through him I am perfect - and for that I Am grateful.

Love, the greatest of them all....

Loved people love people.  Hurt people hurt people.  Loved people must love hurt people.  People were created to be loved.  Things were created to be used.  The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.
 

God is love and when we show love to others we are not just sharing of ourselves but also the very essence of God to them. The Bible is very clear that God is love (1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.) God and love are one in the same. You can replace the word ‘love’ with the name God in the following verses to demonstrate how the two are interchangeable. Don’t forget, there is always room for more love, more happiness and more joy in everyone‘s life. Of course there will be times of sadness and heartbreak, the key is not to make ‘room’ for it - when you do you give it the okay to stay. This week, become more unselfish with whom you share your love with, because for many the only way they will know God is through you actions. It is ‘freeing’ to be loved!

God! I love you, you just take my breath away-in a good way! :-)  I'm not sure why you do what you do, I just know you are so good to me & I don't deserve it! But I thank you for filling that empty little spot in me so many years ago-that God shaped hole that nothing would fill, even though I tried everything. You've showered me with blessings beyond imagination, thank you for believing in me before I believed in you! Thank you for being patient with me! <3

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.  Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty". ---Mother Teresa

‘God Love Swap’: Love = God because God IS love!

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Proverbs 15:17 Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.

Hello...didn't mean to....

Hi there, it’s been a long while since I've wrote, it was unintentional yet quite intentional! See, I had planned to write to you everyday, but someone had said, “maybe everyday is too much. Maybe folks will be more excited or interested in reading your blog if you leave time between your writings.“ I’m not sure if I believed them or wanted to experiment or even just wanted to have a day off, but I said, "sure, I’ll give it a try”. And before I knew it I had already waited more than a week long to write....I didn't mean to wait so long, but the days have just flown by. WOW, I found that maybe, possibly, probably…I have writers block! How can that be, I love to write you and share my thoughts....I always have things to say and in fact I had so many funny things to tell you but life has been flying by this last week. I’ve experienced a lot, from God’s blessings, reminders of how short life is, how smart and funny 8 year olds can be, 4 year olds are clever, messy and are learning things at the speed of light…no really they are….and lastly how 12 year olds can grow a small peach fuzz stash within a month and turn into a “big guy” reverting back to a little guy all in the same day. Wow!!!

Probably the thing that struck me most, was when I asked my mom, “if you think that you are going to die on Friday during your surgery, then what last words do you have to say to me?” Her answer was, “WHAT, huh? I don’t know…that I love you”. This question must have caught her off guard because the next day she called me to say, “that question you asked me…..I thought about it. I would tell you that I love you. And that I’m grateful for the last 2 years that I’ve had with you and the boys. That I thank God for giving me that time, so if I die on Friday just know that I am grateful, that I love you and that I think that you have been a wonderful daughter!”

I wish to never take a day for granted, and find that most days I am involving God in all things, even the mundane. Many times we think to only include God in the big things, the life changing moments, the times of despair or moments of grief and worry. If you only involve God in those moments, you’re missing out on the bigger picture and more so all the wonderful blessings he has in store for you. If you only pray to God when you need something, then your concept of him is too small. Yes, I find myself praying for answers, for healing, for others’ needs, but more so this year I have found that I have been praying to God with a heart of praise, a heart filled with peace and comfort, ready to accept God‘s will rather than pleading for him to accept mine. When I began placing the “outcomes“ in my life into his hands I stopped worrying and began relying….I stopped trying to control and instead began waiting and watching…..I stopped pleading and could truly begin praising. Hope your week has been wonderful….sending you love & hugs…and hopefully a bit of sunshine and warmth too!

p.s. I couldn’t bare to proof read this….first, I'd probably cry, but mostly because I’m a “perfectionist” if I scrutinized over this note tonight it may not have ever gotten posted…and I SOOOO wanted to say hello!!! So: HELLO!!!!

I've Been Checked Out....

Sometimes at the end of a long day, Jim and I will sit in bed and talk. The funniest things will come out of our mouths…sometimes we‘ll write songs together or do a write off challenge of who can write the best (or stupidest) song about random things like toothpaste. Or we play a game of “invent something NOW in 1 minute flat“ or other silly stuff…some of the coolest and funniest inventions have come out of that bed…yes, like our 3 boys! LOL You know I had to go there. Usually we talk about the kids, our dreams for them & us, we talk about work (sometimes) or about what God has been speaking to us about. It's a time to reconnect and catch up; and as I lay my head on my pillow, I need to see Jim's smiling at me before I close my eyes for the night - it's the perfect ending to every day.
 

C-man Sounding The Sirens

This week we were laying there and he says to me hey did you hear about such and such on the news. And I said, “News! I haven’t had control of my TV in over a week - if it isn’t on the Disney Channel, Nick Jr. or Facebook then I haven’t heard about it”. He started laughing and I continued to say, “well I think if it was important someone would call us wouldn’t they? Oh wait, I never hear the phone to answer it. Well my mom would come over and tell me if we needed to know something important”. And then my brain began to riff, “What if the Russians have landed in Michigan and the sirens haven’t gone off to warn us, how will my mom drive over to tell us. You know, like the movie Red Dawn. Eeeks, what if it’s not Russians but aliens. What if there are alien invaders in the next town over and we haven’t heard about it. Nah, someone would have said something on Facebook by now, night love you”. And we started cracking up! J And just yesterday I was telling my mom about the huge snow storm heading our way, she hadn’t heard about it yet. I said “yeah mom, my neighbor said the weather channel predicted 18 inches of snow for us.” She said no, how do you know - that can’t be, it’ll never happen…did you hear this for yourself on the news? Not on purpose but I laughed as I told her, “No I didn’t see the news report, BUT it was all over Facebook”. oops

All 3 Checking OUT Together!

Ha, tee hee…I guess it’s true, I get all the news that I need on FB 24/7...who knew! I suppose I had better reclaim my television and get back in the loop! I have been on a news strike now for a few months, and it has been quite pleasant avoiding all the sadness…but just because I avoid sadness it doesn’t mean it still isn’t there. Ignoring the news might help me to stay sane and happy but I miss the opportunity to help in my community, pray for the hurting and well…hear the weather reports first hand. Although I’ve been super happy, maybe it’s not fair to be so “checked out”.  But just so you know, if you haven’t heard, there is an URGENT WARNING! Facebook now automatically scans your brain through your monitor. To block this, go to the kitchen, get aluminum foil, and wrap it around your head. Stay calm and breathe through your left nostril ONLY. This is a SERIOUS problem and has been confirmed by a cousin's girlfriend's neighbor's son's baby's mama and her pet Chihuahua. Copy and paste as your status to SAVE YOUR FRIENDS!! Love & hugs to all…..