Is This Your Life?

There is so much wisdom in the verse for today. (There is so much wisdom in all Scripture verses....)

James 3:17-18

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

God has given His wisdom through HIS Word - we can discover key things that can help us to live good lives....

• Purity - "having no faults; sinless"; we need to live lives that are good, we are "holy" - set apart for God.
• Peaceable - "freedom from disputes"; we need to live lives where we are making peace with others - no discord.
• Gentle - "kindly or tender nature"; we need to live lives that are kind to others - caring, loving - considerate.
• Open to Reason - "willing to yield"; we need to live lives where we don't have to get our own way all the time.
• Full of Mercy - "not getting the punishment that we deserve"; we need to live lives that are compassionate to others - we were forgiven of much - we need to forgive others so much more....
• Full of Good Fruits - we need to live lives that reproduce - are we sharing the love of God with others???
• Impartial - "Free from undue bias"; we need to live lives that is fair, loving towards ALL people - no matter what - this is "unconditional" love in action...
• Sincere - " In accordance with truth"; we need to live lives that are genuine, are we Sunday Christians only - or does our love for God permeate our whole lives?

If we are living a life that reflects these principles - we will have a happy good life. We will be living in peace with others - we will see this righteous living reflected in peace.

I am so thankful that God loves us so much that He gives us principles to live by. Our lives are so much more pleasant when we are considerate of those around us. We CAN live happy productive lives - with God's help.

Do you have God's help??? Do you know that God loved us so much - even in our sinful, rebellious state - that He sent His only Son, Jesus - to die on the cross for ALL of our sins??? God is waiting, with open arms to welcome you back - He greatly desires to have a relationship with you! Do you also know, that Jesus rose from the grave - He no longer is dead - He is a living Savior - He is God over all the universe? He knows and cares what is happening to you.

Run home - to the God who LOVES you so much....

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What Does Your Life Look Like???

Hi all,

As I was thinking about this week, it has been a hard one in some ways - but a great one in other ways, I came upon a few thoughts that I would like to share with you....

So what does your life look like? What do other people think when you enter a room / place?

"Oh no, here comes that person that drags others down" - or are you an encourager - are you "giving thanks in everything"?

or

"Oh no, here comes that person who makes fun / insults everyone around" - or are you an encourager - But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved
by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation
through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 2 Thess 2:13

or

"Oh no, here comes the person who thinks they are the only one who is right" - or are you an encourager - Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

Jesus warned us to...


Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Mt 26:41
We need to be so careful in what we do. Do we bring people down? Or do we lift them up? Do you need an attitude check?

I know I do.... I have been feeling down a bit the past few days. It is hard when you see someone else going down the wrong path - and you want to warn them - but when they don't want to listen... it is so hard. But then, we need to just leave them in God's hands. If we have done our part - then that is what we need to do. (I felt God leading me to talk with this person - and I responded.) But I was reminded this morning, in my prayer time.... in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess 5:18
So... Thank you God, for bringing to mind, this person that I needed to talk to. I thank You for the strength to talk to this person. I thank you that You LOVE us so much -- that you care about what is happening in each of our lives. I thank you that You are in control - and that you KNOW what is going on. I thank You that You are a GREAT and Awesome GOD!!!
So, what does your life look like? I pray that you can encourage someone today.....

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Do you like hybrid projects??? How would you like to make this delightful gift bag set?
For a limited time you can get it for free in the KJOI Challenges. Please come join me in this fun challenge. I made mine for a wedding gift - it was a lot of fun!!!

Being Kind to Others

HI all,

The verse for today is one of my favorites....

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ^{forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32}

<sup>It is a great verse on how we should treat others.

First we are to be kind to each other.  This is thinking about other's needs.  Being highly concerned with others - being nice to others.  It is treating others with respect, friendship, in a loving manner...

Next, we are to be tenderhearted to others.  Having compassion towards others.  Look at their circumstances and try to understand what they are going through.....

In every caring relationship - we will need to forgive others.  Things happen, we are in a sinful world - we will get on others nerves.  We NEED to have a forgiving heart - remember God forgave us through Jesus Christ of so much more....

If we follow this simple verse - our relationships will be so much happier!   We will be at peace with others.  We will have very meaningful relationships....

The most important part of this verse is to remember what Jesus Christ did for you....

He came to earth as a baby....

He grew to be a man....

He was tempted in all things - but never sinned....

He - the spotless Lamb of God - became the payment for OUR sins.  He willingly died on the cross to save us from the wrath of God.  He became the full payment for us - we can live eternally with God - only because Jesus died in our place. 

Have you believed in this wonderful thing that Jesus - the Son of God - did for you? 

I thank God that He loves us so much..... 


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Forgive Each Other

Hi all,

The verse for today is....

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” (Matthew 18:15)

It was a good reminder of the message we heard in church today. We have been looking at the Lord's Prayer (disciples prayer). Today was on forgiving our sins - as we forgive those who have sinned against us....

It is so important to keep current with those in our lives. To keep any rifts from becoming big - we need to seek forgiveness and offer it. We should always seek to confess our sins / wrongs to each other and to God. If we are willing to have a humble spirit and apologize.... we will definitely see our relationships grow. Also we won't allow bitterness to grow inside of us.... God is so WISE - He knows how to let us have a better life - in HIM!!!

Have you ever trusted Jesus as your saviour??? Do you know that the penalty for sin is death - eternal separation from God? But do you know how to right your relationship with God? Do you know what you have to do??? NOTHING - you can do nothing to fix your relationship with GOD - but GOD demonstrated His love for us - by sending HIS one and only SON Jesus to die in our place. He died so that we can have eternal life with GOD. All you have to do - is believe that Jesus died for your sins so that you can live.

Have you chosen to believe in Jesus the Christ, The Son of the Living GOD???

What do you do when you are down?

What do you do when you are down?

Many years ago, I started having "panic attacks". I did not know that is what they were at the time.... I would just get so worried and I would start panicing..... That word describes it so well....
A lot of the time, it was because I was dwelling on some problem and I would just keep thinking and worrying about it.... and then my insides would reak havoc....

How did I combat this with God's help??? I started listening more to Christian music.... especially during these times. I listen to music a lot - I LOVE music. I love singing - I love playing music on piano, violin etc.... (I rarely have the time right now for the latter).... But with a large family, I had gotten away from music a bit.... I was reminded to focus on things of God....

So everytime, I started feeling down, I would turn on my music (or I would ask one of the kids). It does not matter how big a problem it is, or how sad - it does not take long and I am reminded of what a great and powerful God we have....

So this morning - I turned on my music - I needed to refocus.... we have a busy day ahead of us, and I was thinking about this blog post. Here was the 1st song I heard on my Christ Tomlin - "Hello" CD....

Sing, sing, sing
And make music with the heavens
We will sing, sing, sing
Grateful that You hear us
When we shout your praise
Lift high the name of Jesus

What's not to love about You?
Heaven and earth adore You
Kings and kingdoms bow down
Son of God, You are the One
You are the one

You are the love that frees us
You are the light that leads us
Like a fire burning
Son of God, You are the one
You are the one we're living for

Sing, sing, sing
And make music with the heavens
We will sing, sing, sing
Grateful that You hear us
When we shout your praise
Lift high the name of Jesus

What's not to love about You?
Heaven and earth adore You
Kings and kingdoms bow down
Son of God, You are the One
You are the one we're living for

Sing, sing, sing
And make music with the heavens
We will sing, sing, sing
Grateful that You hear us
When we shout your praise
Lift high the name of Jesus

I love the line about God listening to our prayers! So since this week is about prayer - I thought I would share the song with you....

Yes - in times when I am down - I seek out God - because I know HE is the only One who can help me with my problems. He is the only One who will never fail me!!! He is the only One who will love me unconditionally. He is the only One who has power over everything that I may face. He is the only one who could send His one and only Son - to die on the cross - to permanently pay for the penalty of sin - "death" - eternal separation from God.

I PRAISE GOD

What's not to love about You?
Heaven and earth adore You
Kings and kingdoms bow down
Son of God, You are the One
You are the one we're living for


Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

National Day of Prayer

HI all,

Today was rather busy.... I ended up sleeping later than I planned - my youngest slept fitfully all night... Not sure if she is working on a tooth or not.... SO I awoke about 1/2 hour before our scheduled prayer time (for 24 hours of prayer for our church). I got all 9 kids up in time and even hubby was able to join us on IM. It was such a blessing for us to pray together as a family - even when 1000s of miles separates us....

As I think about this time of prayer, it was pretty special... but it is NOT the only time we pray. Prayer is a part of our lives.....

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (English Standard Version)

^{16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.}

<sup>We should always pray! There is never a time when we should not be praying - we should in all things go to God in prayer. How can we pray without ceasing, you may ask??? It is an attitude of prayer - always thanking God for what He does - for creation, for safety, etc. As our day goes by, it is recognizing that HE is in control of ALL things!!!

Thank you God for loving us so much!!!</sup>

Meaningful Things

Hi all,

In my daily devotional, I read John 6:26-27...

²⁶Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

What are the meaningful things in our lives??? In these areas, what is reflected....

Time??? Money??? Energy??? Think about???

How important are these things? What would you change if you knew that tomorrow was your last day on earth???

I have been really thinking hard about the things that I do and why I do them..... I am so thankful that God loves us and cares about our days. I am thankful that He guides us to do the things that are important.

Are we too busy to invest time in our families lives??? Are we spending time with others??? Are we sharing the Good News???

I pray that everyday, I think about what I do - and that it is of lasting importance....

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A New Day

Today has been busy.... I am making new goals of things to do each day...

Here are the new goals I started today....

* Pray before getting out of bed
* Read / Pray before going downstairs
* Exercise on the WiiFit
* Start diet - using Sparks People
* Blog everyday
* Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day - I am at 7

Some of the above took a bit longer - especially the diet stuff. I needed to figure out what I was going to do.... I ended up creating a new account.... and spent awhile looking around and earning points.... LOL I also started posting at Grace Today a wonderful weight loss forum... I have been there off and on since 2004. I actually lost 70 lbs over there, but I gained back some with my youngest....

We had an awesome service yesterday at church! Watch my blog for some radical changes in my life.... I am really excited about what is going to be happening, but it might be happening slowly.... This is a week of prayer at our church - Thursday is National Day of Prayer - we will have someone praying for 24 hours from our church... We took a slot for our whole family to join together.... hopefully my hubby can join us to through the internet during that time....

We also looked at the Lord's Prayer - a model for us to follow...

We are to pray to Our Father - it is an intimate relationship - the word in Hebrew means "draw near"

We are to Hallow His name - God is Holy, we should recognize who He is!

We are to come to Him in submission - Your will be done - we should joyfully, willingly surrender to God's will.

We are to pray for our needs - the words in the prayer mean - "enough for the coming day"...


How often do you pray??? Everyday??? How often during the day???

The Bible tells us that we are to "Pray without ceasing" and Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

What a great GOD we have that He desires to know us intimately. That He wants us to talk to Him - He wants to help us in all things!!! He wants you to pray for the biggest requests down to the smallest details!!!

I am so THANKFUL for such and AWESOME and LOVING GOD!!!

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Yesterday I made this picture / mini poster to go on my wall beside my bed. I still need to hang it up...



You can download it here

Since this is prayer week, here is my Be In Prayer, Remix kit....



You will find my kit here.