Jehovah-Jireh

THE LORD PROVIDES! I bought a brand new 2010 Hyundai Accent today. The Lord provided the perfect car to fit my needs (and my budget).

Praise be to Him!!!

Is it Just Me, or Did the Earth Start to Spin Faster This Week???

Needless to say, this week has be a mite crazy! Not necessarily in a bad way, though. I like to be busy. I have learned some difficult lessons this week, and I have had a semi-disaster strike my little tiny life, and it has all been wonderfully Anna-esque. I just made that up, but if you know me, you understand.
You see, I have this recurring problem. I have issues when things don't go my way. The Lord has used many things so far to try to teach me not to get worked up when a situation is not in my control, but I have been a stubborn little girl for the most part. Then came Tuesday. I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed (the proverbial wrong side, since my cat sleeps on the same side every night and so I get out of the bed on the same side every morning). I went about my usual routine. I prayed getting ready and on the way to work. After Jason and Mike left for school and while Anna Sophia was sleeping, I read my Bible. Then Dusty called me. He had such a sweet spirit that morning. He kindly informed me that we would not be seeing one another until Saturday, if I could make it to Shelby Saturday. In a split second, I turned into 'baby of the family, I want things my way, I am a brat and I will complain and whine until I get it'. I won't say that this never happens, but in my defense it really doesn't happen nearly as much as it would have 2 years ago. All through out the day I successfully kept myself in a bad mood and moaned an complained, until finally I got off of work and got to talk to Dusty about it. He informed me (kindly, despite my attitude problem) that he had woken up that morning so happy to be my boyfriend and couldn't wait to see me and talk to me, etc, and when he finally did talk to me I was so mean and bratty that it took those feelings away. Not that he didn't like me anymore, but he didn't feel so strongly for me. WOW! I did that all by myself. No one helped me ruin my day and his. Did my attitude change my situation? No. What a waste of a good day from the Lord. What did I learn from this? I have read many times in Debi Pearl's book that a merry heart really does do good like a medicine. She even says that men are disgusted by women who act helpless and whiny and unhappy all the time. So I learned to smile and bear the circumstances, especially if I cannot change them. (= I'm just thankful that Dusty cares enough to stick around!!!
On Wednesday my transmission went out. I was on my way to work at 6:05 when I realized my car was not going to switch out of first gear. It takes a long time to get places at 25 MPH. LOL. So I turned around and went home to get the truck. So now I am shopping for a new car. Pray about that! I am pretty excited about having a reliable car!
Have a good day in the Lord!


"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." Proverbs 17:22

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Dusty and I on Christmas eve. Cute, huh?

My brother, Brian and I, goofing off as usual

New Year, New Beginnings

So...It has been quite some time since I have had the time to get on here and update all three of the people who read my blog (LOL- it's totally worth it since I love those three so much!). These past few weeks have been busy and wonderful and I hardly even touched my computer, which made them even more wonderful! I guess I will start with Christmas Eve.

My family gets together on Christmas Eve for our immediate family's gathering. That included: Mom, Dad, Rhett, Erinn, Caleb, Trinity, Bryan, Tessa, Aiden, Bella, Abby, Savannah, Brian, David, Melanie, (Rebekah Dawn was there too, in the womb) Dusty, and myself. Christian, Stormy, and Ashtyn couldn't make it on Christmas Eve but they were there the weekend before when my grandparents came into town. Our family can be a pretty rowdy bunch when we all get together. We laughed and ate and ate and ate and opened presents. I realized this year just how awesome it is to watch children open gifts. The reactions are so worth the money spent! That evening, Dusty and I went to his friend's house for supper (I was too full to look at food).

Christmas Day was different this year for me. I didn't spend it with my parents, but they went to the mountains anyways. Dusty and I went to Columbia with his kids to see his mom and brother. We hung out there for a while, then we came back to Charlotte, cleaned my part of the church for Sunday services, then went to Shelby. His daughter and I had a sleepover in the neighbor's basement, and the next day we just hung out and enjoyed eachothers company. It was a good time. I had the whole week off between Christmas '09 and January '10. So I had a leisurely beginning of the week.

Then on Wednesday, Dusty and I went with the kids to Tennessee for a lock-in at the church where he used to be a youth pastor. He preached twice on Wednesday!! We stayed up until 7:30 in the morning! We rang in the new year with his good friends the Flemmings, and headed back to North Carolina on Friday. (Just to clear everything up I did have my very own room at the Flemming's house. I was the only one privileged enough to have a bed! LOL)

That Saturday, we went to the Cowpens National Battlefield and the outlets in Gaffney (I finally found someone who is a history nerd like me!) and ate at a little diner we have been wanting to try. We came home and played Mom and Dad's new Trivial Pursuit game (really fun). That's all. That is my vacation in a nutshell.

The Lord has been good to me this past year. He gave me a good job, a great group of friends at church, He has strengthened my relationships with my siblings and my parents, He gave me a wonderful man to lead me and teach me, and most of all He has shown me so many things that I really needed to learn. This year, I want to be a better listener, a better follower, a better daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend, nanny, aunt, niece, granddaughter, and a better Child of God. My prayer is that I will grow leaps and bounds this year, and that all the glory will be given to God.

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3

Holy Spirit Humble Pie

The Lord has been laying it on my heart to blog about something He has been dealing with me on, and the devil has been fighting me all along. In my Bible reading this morning, it was confirmed to me that this is what the Lord would have me write about. (I LOVE when that happens) So, here we go!

Sometimes when people (I am talking about myself here) get saved, they want to jump in head first, and automatically know better than everyone else, including those people who have been saved much much longer than they have. I know this happened to me. The Lord saved me, I was excited, and I automatically had higher standards, better convictions, and was overall a better Christian than just about everyone in my church. HAH! If only I knew the truth. Thankfully, the Lord has brought people in my life to show me otherwise and squash me back down to my actual size.
It is really easy as a born again believer to get caught up in appearances and use peoples' outward appearances as a sort of litmus test for someone's spirituality. Although it is true that your heart condition is pretty well reflected in your countenance and your behavior, that does not mean that someone is not saved or spiritual just because they may not have the same standards as you (or me). I think that people hear the word "Pharisee" a lot but don't really ever think it applies to them too. I believe that we can act like Pharisees today and a lot of times do. Here is a recent example of just that: "You mean that so and so went to see New Moon??!!? That is so WICKED!" LOL. That is the abbreviated version of that outburst of mine. While I do not think it is a good idea for a Christian to go see a movie with underworld type creatures in it, is it really my place to say anything about it? Well, no. Sometimes I watch things that are probably not the most spiritual and I am sure the Lord is not pleased with it. So really, there is no difference. Judge not.
Another thing I have noticed recently is not only getting caught up in peoples' appearances, but also getting caught up in peoples mistakes rather than their victories. If there is anyone reading this who has never messed up, never slipped up and said something you shouldn't have, or never done anything wrong since you were saved, please let me know. If you say that you have not faltered in any way, you are a liar. How do I know that? Well, here is what I read this morning: "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." Psalm 103:14. We. That is all of us. We are all nothing but dust and dirt and filthy rags. Were it not for the imputed (Charged to the account of; attributed; ascribed) righteousness of God on our record through faith in the Blood of Jesus Christ, we would be cast in hell for eternity. So, if someone gives you a gift of some sort, and you do something different with your gift than the another person who received the same gift, does it mean you are any more loved or any better than them? The same person gave the two of you the same gift. Obviously you are loved the same. (I am having a hard time containing my thoughts LOL! Maybe that's why women aren't preachers...or aren't supposed to be anyways)
So this is the jist of my thought. Give grace where grace is due. Would you want someone to extend grace to you in a similar situation? I can look back at people whom I have had to extend grace to and say, man I hope they would do the same for me (give people a fair chance). Don't sweat the small stuff (and it's all small stuff, right?). And most of all, love. Love is sooooo important. "And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment." 1 John 3:23- That means love everyone, right? "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" 1 John 4:20- That means definitely love your fellow Christians. We will be spending eternity together anyways!
That's really all. It was kind of scattered, but I hope it was a blessing to you. The Lord is really working on me in my ability to forgive and to love people, even if they aren't just like me or maybe are not easy to be around. Love them anyways, that's what the Lord told me to do.

I am blessed

I have been so busy lately that sometimes I forget to stop and see the wonderful things that the Lord has blessed me with. My salvation, my church, my family, my job, the wonderful man I am courting. The Lord has be SO GOOD to me! For the past two weeks, I have been going going going and fighting stomach issues, so I easily have let some things slide. Then yesterday, at work, I realized that Anna Sophia was growing exponentially right before my eyes. It was a jolt back to reality. Time to slow down a bit, Anna! Watch the little ones grow and enjoy it. Get to church a little early and drink a cup of coffee with someone. Stay after a few minutes and fellowship. Don't just read your Bible, but take the time to ponder and apply it. Enjoy the little pleasures in life, like playing peek-a-boo!
Here's a picture of Anna Sophia doing just that, peek-a-boo!

Lessons in Love

I started reading a book at Thanksgiving called "Created to be His Help Meet" by Debi Pearl (it is a KJV only book). I stopped after the intro and first chapter because there was a journal entry and I just didn't have time to do it (yeah, Lord, thanks for dying on Calvary for me, sorry I don't have time to study the precious word you have preserved for me...what a JERK I am!!). So anyways, I finally got convicted about pushing this book aside and picked it up. This "assignment" was totally optional (although I didn't pay $12 for a book only to get half of the blessing I can from it..haha) but I finally sucked it up today and did it. What a blessing it was to me. It is forever in my journal, so I can go back whenever I want and be reminded of what the Lord helped me with today.
What is this assignment you might ask? Go through the scriptures and find the following words or traits as they relate to a woman of God. Write the verses in your journal and ask the Lord to help you work on these areas.
1. Virtue
2. Graciousness
3. Wisdom
4. Prudence
5. Goodness
I would share with you what I got, but it was so much fun to do it for myself. It would be really cool to compare with someone!
It is going to be really hard to for me not to blog this entire book but that would be unfair to the Pearl family, so I encourage you to get your own copy. Just the chapter titles alone are convicting! www.nogreaterjoy.org Also, if you have read it, let me know how it blessed you. I am excited about this book!

"And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." Genesis 2:18

God Gives Grace

Yesterday, as I was setting the table, talking to Dusty, and preparing for my mom's birthday dinner, the doorbell rang. I had seen the Latter Day Saint missionaries in my neighborhood earlier, and I had a little bit of an attitude about it. I answered the door and stood outside to listen to what they had to say. I was polite. They told me a little about themselves and their religion (even complimented me on my skirt), and then asked me if I was interested in them sitting down and talking to me about the Book of Mormon. I kindly declined and sent them on their way.
Not a minute later, I was hit with guilt for being a terrible witness I had been for the Lord. How bold they are to come and knock on my door and tell me about what they believe and I didn't even ask them if they were saved. I drove through my neighborhood and the next neighborhood over to look for them but they were gone. I don't know if Mormons believe that the Bible is true in its entirety and if they believe in salvation by grace through faith plus nothing minus nothing, and one day I will have to stand before the Throne of God and give an account for those girls.
So today I encourage you to be bold. I need the Lord to give me grace to not dwell on my shortcomings, and courage to be bold for Him. I pray for that today, and daily.


"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16

Wordless Wednesday!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Just wanted to give a big congratulations to my sister Melanie (her blog is on my blog list and is entitled "Praise Ye the Lord"). She and her husband David will be having their first baby...a girl in May! YAY!!

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." Psalm 127:3