Gateways to Joy

M y mother is visiting for the weekend.  Like all mothers and grandmothers, she came with gifts.  Her gifts are the "life lessons" of gifts.  Her gifts don't fade or get old with time.  If received properly, in fact, my mom's gifts are a bit like fine wine: they get better with time. Usually I have to swish what she's given me around in my head a bit, savor it.  Pine.  It is only after much thought most often do I come to see the true treasures she continues to give me. Her gift to me today was a paper.  A paper that had been given to her at church.  She couldn't wait to share it with me.  After cleaning under children's bed, sweeping, washing, moving clothes from washing machine to dryer—I am now at a place where I can rest a minute. I remember the paper after seeing it resting on my pillow {I placed it there so I wouldn't forget to read it}. I start to read. Here are the words.  I hope you glean as much from th...

Burdens?  This and that? Sometimes the walls in your life, the glue that binds you together, the thing that keeps you sane, that makes you continue to chose right over wrong seems to loose its grip and the adhesive wears away. I know the Holy Spirit is steadfast within us, but sometimes as believers we can ignore that very adhesiveness that binds the being within us.  We ignore Him and go our own way. When I get like this I find myself asking, "Is it worth it?" I mean really and truly is all of what I am doing, not doing and giving up really worth it?  Sometimes you just wonder these things you know? Most of us, the one's who have dedicated our lives to walking in the way that pleases God, make decisions for our life based on how we feel God's leading. However, we learn very quickly that just because we are obedient to what God has told us doesn't mean that our obedience in that area will SEEMINGLY to us— turn out perfect or pleasant.  Sometimes it see...

Would you say that you are a satisfied woman?     Did you know there is a secret to being a woman of satisfaction? Today we will look at writer, speaker and teacher Priscilla Shirer's new book, "The Resolution for women."  Before I delve in to today's post, I want to let you all know there is a book, "The Resolution for men," that is out.  But not only that, the creators of the movie Fireproof haven created an awesome movie that will be coming out at the end of the month. Ladies, make some date nights!  Grab your husbands, your sons and encourage them to see the movie. I put the trailer below. For those of you getting this post by email.  You can see this awesome trailer by going here.  See the trailer.  Don't forget to scroll down to quiet the music. Now ... Getting back to the question of you being a satisfied woman... Society has many messages that screams to us, "What we have isn't enough!" " Out with the old.  I...

"Show me my purpose, Lord."  I remember that being my first thought right after accepting Christ. I wanted my life to matter.  I wanted it to count.  I wanted to show God how much I loved Him through my obedience to Him and my service to others, particularly my service to my husband. As you can imagine with time the reality of life shone and the living out my desire to Him became harder and harder. From time to time I think back to those early years of a young girl with dashing hopes and dreams of doing ministry work beside her beloved beau, struggling, striving, working in distance countries, making a difference. That was my desire. It didn't happen like that though. Instead, we stayed home, had some babies and I began teaching the babies at home. Day in and day out we had our same little routine.  Very simple.  Nothing complex at all.  I loved it and my life, nothing extravagant.  "Mother."  So that's it I thought.  This is my lot...

Blogs!  That's what this post is all about today. Some of my favorite blogs! I've been working on mine ALL MORNING!  Don't know if it's the designer in me or what ..., but I am determined to learn how to DESIGN BLOGS —in particular design my own. Nothing, thus far that I see has been able to capture my personality.  I've seen a lot of very nice blogs...each having something that captures my taste, but not all. Anyway, I shall keep on, keeping on.  So please bear with me and the never ending designs of this blog.  I will get it right.  One day, hopefully one day real soon, we will all look at my blog and say, "She's got it!  I remember when she was learning :) I'm not going to get into much detail today about why I like these blogs.  I'm just mainly going to share the links with you so that you can visit them. 1.   Jeanne Damoff {jeannedamoff.wordpress.com} .  I really like this blog!  I was drawn to it from the very begi...

Today is our Bible study observation and me sharing what I gleaned from my passage.  Remember I'm doing the lessons from Good Morning Girls summer reading plans for moms.  We're using the S.O.A.P method which is: The S.O.A.P. Method stands for: 1. S- Write out the scripture passage for the day. (I have a shiny new notebook where I will be writing out the verse/s of the day.) 2. O - Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage. (After I write out the verse, I will write what I learned from the verse.) 3. A - Write down 1-2 applications from the passage. (Then I will write out how this verse applies to me if it is applicable.) 4. P- Pray over what you learned from today’s passage. (Then I will pray this verse over myself and my family.) As you go through this study, if you come across a verse or passage that you don’t understand, I recommend Crosswalk’s Bible Study Tools found here: http://www.biblestudytools.com/ On this page in the lower right hand corner, you c...

Living. Within the realm of living each of us will experience trouble times. Trouble times are a part of life, even for the Christian. The Bible assures us that trouble times are permitted for certain purposes in the Christian life. It is in these sorts of times that God allows us to be transfigured and refined. As we see with Job, sometimes well-meaning friends and loved ones who aim to comfort during trouble times can actually make our situation worse with their advice. “Lean on the Lord.” “Hold on to God's unchanging hand." This was some of the advice given to me. The problem with this advice is that I didn't know how to do what I was being told to do, nor did I understand what was really meant, thus failure always ensued. That was until I changed my perspective on how I viewed God. “Nothing here below is profane for those who know how to see.” ~ Pierre Teihard de Chardin   Come with me on my journey. You don't have to leave your house; you just need ...

His Word says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS." ~ Matthew 11:29 To practice humility in our lives WE must wake up daily with an attitude ready to serve others.  Not just the doing of the service, but having the right attitude before, while and after doing.  In order to really have the humility that Jesus calls us to have we must forgo the rights of ourselves and the expectation of exaltation. Is this the attitude that I display in my life daily? often times I don't.  I want to.  Long to, and even strive to.   This is one of my daily soul journeys ... .  I don't pray for it either, sadly.  Too afraid God will put me in situations where I'm constantly having to practice it—though I have to practice it. This post is linked to Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience.  The subject of our Walk with Him Wednesday talks is "The practice of humility." This post...

We laugh.  We talk as we stroll about admiring things in the store. "Ooo.  Ahh." We say as we pick things up to touch, feel.  On and on we chatter interrupting each others sentences, finishing them too. I think to myself, "He's done it again.  God has answered my heart-felt prayer.  He loves me this I know." I cried out to Him, just yesterday, "Father help me.  Help me make my children first priority again.  First before my beloved blogging.  First before my beloved writing, and before Internet socializing.  First before the phone calls, the errands.  First before this and first before that.  Give us the opportunity to be just my children and me.  Give us opportunities with no expectations."  Today it's just us.  My first born, second born and me.  I'd thought that maybe they would not want to be with me—hanging out, spending time with me their mama.. I remember a time when all they wanted was me. ...

'A nd we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." ~ Romans 8:28 I share with you, what I've echoed to myself these past couple of weeks.  Feeling from your emails that some of you may just be in need of this reminder too. I would also like to share a quote with you from a book that I am reading by M.R. De Haan, MD called "Broken Things." If you are being broken by disappointment or bereavement, by loss or pain, by weakness or sickness, remember that although to us broken things are tragedies, to God they are opportunities to be used for His glory.  We cast the broken things aside and call them "junk," but God casts the "unbroken" things aside as useless. "Remember, before there can be life there must be death.  Before there can be joy, there must be weeping.  The joy that floods the mother's heart at the sound of the first cry of her new newborn ba...