Do you just love Thursday?

I had to post something tonight...Thursday being my most favorite day of the week. You see, Thursday is the day my house has settled down after church Wednesday night...and we are looking forward to Friday together as a family.

For those of you who have been keeping up with the kids, Caleb is thriving in our home school situation. He is taking on work that is above his grade level, and he is excited about it! LOVE THAT! How often do you meet a teenager that is excited about learning. He was teasing me today about some books we had ordered from the library. He was challenging me to read more! (And I love to read)LOL. Who would have thought?

If all goes well, we may add Kelsey to the mix. But I am praying about that. I don't want to jump into it and then get overwhelmed with both kids. But we'll see. I want the absolute best for them.

Another update for you is about our ladies meetings. This is more than just a "typical" ladies meeting. We are meeting in a small group type setting... with a bible study each week...and then on to whatever "business" the ladies are in the middle of. Right now we are planning a luau fellowship for the church. Having all of these hands to help has been wonderful! I don't feel overwhelmed with it. And I would say that we have done 80% of the preparation work. I love it when a plan comes together. Thanks to our ladies... having the 12 or 13 other people help...makes this fun!

In this group, we have been learning about becoming a mirror image of Christ. That we reflect him to the world... and it is about time that we start looking a little closer at each of our lives to be sure that we are really representing Christ. I believe with all that I am our time is growing short. It is time that each of us become accountable for the picture that we portray in our churches... in our friendships... in our families.

I can't say that I trust God, and yet go about questioning everything that happens in my life. I either trust or I don't. I can't say that I have yielded my own will, and keep on making decisions that are best for my flesh and not my spirit. God isn't looking for the bride that is almost ready... He is coming for a bride without spot or wrinkle. It is time that the body of Christ push in closer, reach a little higher...and purge themselves of anything that will keep them from moving forward.

I have had several conversations with a good friend about God calling us to a higher plain. Where our feet haven't walked yet. It is hard to see that through the midst of trials and circumstances that are the catalyst for such change, God is molding and shaping as only the Potter can. Making us new... refining... creating the vessel that will be emptied and filled and emptied and filled and emptied again for his glory.

That is my heart's desire. I know that I have learned some valuable lessons in this year.

1. This life is about me and Jesus. All of the other stuff is what we make of it.
2. I am not defined by the job I hold. As a matter of fact, the things that used to really make me crazy in this area, I can say have been changed.
3. No human being has the right to "stir my pot" If someone comes to me with something that is not edifying or in loving correction, then I need to realize their intention... and leave it where it belongs.
4. That CHOICE is more than I ever thought it was. Knee jerk reactions are unacceptable in a Christian walk.
5. Selfishness is one of the most unattractive traits someone can display. I have had to sever ties with some who were self absorbed.
6. My time reading and studying the Word are more vital than I ever could have imagined. It is in quiet time with the God of all creation... I can change and be transformed by the renewing of my mind.
7. Priority in this world is UPSIDE DOWN. It isn't about the THINGS... They will one day be long gone.
8. Everything that we do is done before God. There is no fooling him. Our motives aren't hidden from Him. Read this passage from 1Corinthians Chp 3. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
9. God isn't waiting for us to mess things up. He is waiting for us to be better than we were. He is waiting for us to yield ourselves enough so that He can take the reigns and lead and guide us into the places he wants us to go.
10. God loves me. Even who I was a year ago. He loved me then... He loves me now. And He is proud of the changes that I have allowed Him to make.

It is my prayer that they continue. That I become the woman that he called me to be when I gave my heart to him as a little girl.

This post isn't about boasting. This is about allowing others to see that even after 30 years of "church", change is required. If we think we have arrived, and that we are "ok"... that speaks volumes about the condition of the heart.

Be encouraged. God hasn't abandoned you to your own devices. He is there... working... waiting... for US to come up to higher ground.

Have a great day!

Our love to ALL!

^j^