Hello Pilgrimagers (we are all on a long journey with a purpose!)
It is wonderful to greet you today! I had been gone for almost three weeks and am so glad to be home and ready to connect with you all. The last few weeks have held much for many ladies on our team. Aren't we grateful the LORD has been apart of every second of our days and that He is the God Most High? He is worthy of praise when we can barely utter the words because our pain is so deep, as well as when we can hardly contain shouting out "GLORY" because He has filled our hearts with unsurpassable joy (but we have to be quiet because we are sitting in Chick fil A and we might be escorted out).
1. Today is the day I sense we need to just check in and share. What has been going on in your life in the last few weeks? What are your highs and lows? How are you including the Lord in your happy moments, sad moments, and fine moments? Feel the freedom to express your heart and process and we all will listen well to you heart and pray for you!
2. What are you hiding in your heart for the last part of April? O my, can you believe we are almost into May of 2012???
3. You are so loved today by Jesus and me. A challenge for the day, tell someone how loved they are!
4. Don't forget to text or email your memory partner. Sorry, Mandy, I will do better this week!
Thank you, Melissa, for being apart of this team and for making sure posting day happened on April 1st!
13 comments:
1. The past few weeks I have been in the middle of a long term substitute teaching job for a very challenging class of...kindergartners. :) I have a temperament that requires alot of quiet...alot of "alone time to refuel". The last time I taught full time was before I had kids. So I've been asking God to give me an extra portion of patience and emotional energy for my three kids. And a grateful heart for this job that helps us financially right now...even though I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom. I mentioned earlier in a post that my husband, Greg is unemployed...we are thinking God may be leading him toward starting his own business. I would love it if you would pray for wisdom, peace and unity for us.
Some happy times have been...sweet moments surrounding Easter...Hannah's 19th birthday this weekend...a warm motorcycle ride and date with Greg...
2. I'm putting this treasure of a promise to memory still...
Romans 8:15-17
"So I have not received a spirit that makes me a slave again to fear. Instead, I received Your spirit Father, when You adopted me as your very own daughter! Now, I call You Abba Father for Your spirit joins with my spirit to affirm that I am Your child! And since I am your child, I am Your heir. In fact, together with Christ, I am an heir of Your glory! But, if I am to share Your glory, I must also share Your suffering."
I am trying to settle into new routines and patterns. A new home and work environment. The biggest challenge right now is that my new home environment is causing me to have severe asthma. My work environment is great but I have a lot of freedom to make my own choices which isn't always the best. God is working on me! I am so thankful that God is slow to anger and slow to judge. The fullness of His grace overwhelms me!
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
These past 3 weeks have been busier than usual. A good busy with a little struggle mixed in and a big life changing decision for our family. Our kids are all on the brink of heading off to college and the reality of that has been on my mind. Where did the time go? Parenting is really about preparing to let go of what we hold on to so tight. I remember wanting to blossom and grow independently as a teen. It's now time for me to give that privilege and gift to our children. In that, I want to cherish every day and moment evermore so as we continue on this amazing life journey with our 2 sons and daughter. And here I am in Hebrews with Abraham. He sure understands the letting go...
Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to out to a place that he was to receive an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Issac and Jacob, heir with him of the same promise.
Melissa Here is my cell. Let's connect, text whatever you can. Love viv 960-3619
1. My newest nephew was born 6 weeks early about 4 weeks ago. He is out of the hospital and doing well, and I am thankful that I was able to assist them a little by helping with laundry and some meals. I have not had any lows recently, except when I do not allow the Lord to reign in my heart and life as I would like. A high is that my son is "into" family quite time right now, a time to savor!
2. I continue to meditate on part of Philippians 4, and will start on Philippians 3:1. (Yes, I am going backwards.) :) "And that's about it, friends. Be glad in God! I don't mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don't mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry—so here goes."...and following.
1. It's so good to read your updates! Thanks for taking time to do them!
The last month has been filled to the brim and overflowing. I am so thankful the Lord is in each moment of it! Two nephews have been born (we got to meet one, the other, I am so longing to hold!).
Brian and I had the privilege of being dorm parents for a week for 50 college aged students--loved every moment!
We got to attend Firefighter's conference-witness a baptism at Hume: a man from Japan (flew over just to be baptized with firefighters who had helped with Tsunami relief), a firefighter from Germany, and a firefighter from LA, who had fallen through a roof in a fire in the last two years--Powerful!
Spent a week with 17 of us Downs at Disneyland + Ashlyn's boyfriend, Marcus came with us!
Brian, Julianne, and I headed to San Diego and Ju and I had surgery-we got to share the love of Jesus with Lester, my recovery nurse, who is new to the Lord and Dr. Kinney said he liked the CD that was playing in the IR room during the procedure (I think I just might mail him the Kari Jobe CD as a thank you!) We are now home and getting back into the swing of things! I love that the LORD is present each and every second! He is worthy of all praise!
2. Psalm 18: 14-15 NIV
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
I need to write them on my verse cards! God truly doesn't mess around and is POWERFUL!
3. Texting Mandy right now, or I might forget!
* I copy my comment before I hit "publish Your Comment", just in case it doesn't work the first time...
The last few weeks I have enjoyed watching our son, John, play baseball. I also was able to enjoy visiting with family from Washington. My cousins who were flower girls in my wedding are married and brought their husbands and children to visit. My aunt and uncle also came. It was fun to see them all. I have also been coleading a Step Study for Celebrate Recovery. It has been a blessing to see lives changed through the Lord and this program.
I am still working on the same verse from last time in Psalm.
1 Thess 5: 16 & 17
I just love this verse and am working on memorizing it. Goes along nicely with our sermon for last Sunday which was about knowing Gods will for your life.
"Pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
I've recently started working more for my husband and it has been good in some ways, but it also has been stressful in other ways. We don't see eye to eye on certain things in running the business which makes it tough sometimes for us. I have always felt like I understood what it meant to be a submissive wife, but I am having to reevaluate that lately. I am reminded of the scripture in Ephesians 5:24, "Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in EVERYTHING." I capitalized the word "everything" because it doesn't say "just at home" or "only when you are doing wifely duties", it means "even when I work with him" because it says "in everything". I really need to work on giving him the respect that he deserves and has rightly earned not just in the home but also in the workplace.
So with that, my scripture I will be hiding in my heart for the last part of April is this:
"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." Ephesians 5:22-24
Still working my way through the Sermon on the Mount. I've been meditating on what it means to be salt and memorizing this verse:
"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet." Matthew 5:13
1.) Goodness, this month flew right by me and I didn't even see it! In the last few weeks I have been recovering from my operation and learning to limit myself while still having a new lease on life. I have started a new job which I love very much and am fortunate to do from home and not spend a single moment away from my children. My highs would be making it through the operation, my wonderful friends and family who have supported me and cared about me, and my new job. My lows would also be my operation because it was such a scary and unknown thing and I had much anxiety with it, and some unforeseen changes and problems in the operation room that I woke up to hearing about...and feeling! Other lows are struggling with too much worry (which I just wrote on my blog about). That has been a big one for me lately that I am slowly starting to beat! I have ALWAYS been a worry wart. The Lord is with me in ALL moments...He is the only thing that carries me through, gives me comfort, hope, and peace that everything will be ok! He is my Savior!
2.) My verse for the last part of April is: "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" (Matthew 6:27) I need this tattooed on my forehead in bright red ink!
I love you all and am so very grateful for each one of you!
Sorry about the late response...
I have personally been in a bad place this week. I've chosen to feel sorry for myself instead of focusing on the obvious blessings in our lives. My husband started a new position and our house, finances, and relationship have been totally disrupted. God has placed a scripture on my heart and even though I basically already have it memorized, I'm choosing it to focus on as my memory verse.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.
Lisa, thank you for your honesty and your willingness to share in the midst of struggle. You are so loved!
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26, 27 ESV)
I chose this verse because I have anger problems. When I was younger I learned to keep my hurts bottled up inside and not allow myself to become vulnerable. When I do this I end up exploding eventually... Usually on my husband. I am trying to remain accountable and aware of this, so I can finally put an end to it!
You can pray for this! :)
Chris and I are training for a half marathon... It if fun, yet challenging!
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