Bummer Lambs

Several months ago I read an excerpt from Sheila Walsh's book "God Loves Broken People" about "bummer lambs", I was in awe and had to purchase the book just for this chapter - I highly recommend the entire book.  But this chapter though spoke to my heart, and I wanted to share it with you.

In this chapter, Sheila shares on how she received a manuscript titled:  Heaven has Blue Carpet and how Sharon Niedzinkis took in a bummer lamb named Joey.  

Joey came about when his mom gave birth to triplets but only accepted two of the lambs. When the third lamb (Joey) tried to approach its mother for milk, the mom would kick him out of the way. The mom would not accept the third lamb. 

This could happen for many different reasons but if they leave the lamb in the pasture with the mother, she will kick it and won’t feed it. These vulnerable little lambs eventually die - maybe from starvation or from a broken spirit - they give up the will to live.

These rejected and abandoned lambs are called "bummer lambs".

The ones that do survive are the ones that are taken in by the shepherd. That lamb is then surrounded by love, nurtured, fed and watched. It sleeps by the fireplace to keep warm and is cuddled.  It becomes a member of the family, so to speak, living among the shepherd's family for a while.

Once it is big and strong enough to go back out to the pasture, the farmer returns it to the flock.

Sheila shared a powerful observation ... "bummer lambs are in fact the most blessed of all the sheep in the pasture because they are the most personally and intimately cared for by the shepherd. They develop a kind of relationship with the shepherd that other sheep can't even dream of."

When the shepherd comes out to call the sheep to him, the bummer lamb runs to greet him faster than all the other lambs because the lamb knows his voice- and they have been held close to his heart. The other lambs recognize that this shepherd will feed them, but the bummer lambs understands the shepherd's love and care on a different level. “It’s not that the bummer lambs are more loved,” Walsh said. “They just believe it.”

You know the beautiful thing - we are all bummer lambs. We were lost in sin, broken, wounded. As Sheila states - "Scripture often calls God a Shepherd, with us a His sheep. 

 So the psalmist said, 

"He brought me out of into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me" Psalm 18:19

We learn to hear His voice above all the other noises of life.

John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

And I love how she phrases this: "He looked for you, and when he found you, He scooped you up into His arms and placed you safely and securely among His own flock. You weren't an afterthought.

  

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11

There are so many verses that describe the Shepherd's love for us:

Matthew 18:12-14 If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 

And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, 

he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away! 

In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Each day He gently draws me close---tenderly loving, nurturing and teaching the ‘good’ path. 

Tired and weak, He lays me beside quiet waters, soothing my weary soul. 

If fear and rejection appear, I turn to Father God and He cradles in His bosom until terrors pass 

“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own sheep. I sacrifice my life for the sheep” 

John 10:14-15 NLT.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:7-18

He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

Are you a bummer lamb? Know that the Shepherd is calling out to you...

• You're not here by accident. God loves you. He wants you to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus, His Son.
• Some think they will be punished or rewarded according to how good they are. Some think they should make things right in their lives before they try to come to God. Others find it hard to understand how Jesus could love them when other people don't seem to. But I have great news for you! God DOES love you! More than you can ever imagine! And there's nothing you can do to make Him stop!
• Only God can rescue us from our sins. He is willing to do this not because of anything you can offer Him, but JUST BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU!
• It's God's grace that allows you to come to Him - not your efforts to "clean up your life" or work your way to Heaven. You can't earn it. It's a free gift.
• For you to come to God, the penalty for your sin must be paid. God's gift to you is His son, Jesus, who paid the debt for you when He died on the Cross.

Jesus paid the price for your sin and mine by giving His life on a cross at a place called Calvary, just outside of the city walls of Jerusalem in ancient Israel. God brought Jesus back from the dead. He provided the way for you to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus. When we realize how deeply our sin grieves the heart of God and how desperately we need a Savior, we are ready to receive God's offer of salvation. To admit we are sinners means turning away from our sin and selfishness and turning to follow Jesus. The Bible word for this is "repentance" - to change our thinking about how grievous sin is, so our thinking is in line with God's.

All that's left for you to do is to accept the gift that Jesus is holding out for you right now.

"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10

God says that if you believe in His son, Jesus, you can live forever with Him in glory.

"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

If you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior - here is a prayer you can pray:

"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to make me a new creation and to prepare me to dwell in your presence forever. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life."

If you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please let me know. I want to rejoice in what God has done in your life and help you to grow spiritually.

A Piece of the Puzzle

Tonight we had a special guest speaker at our CrossLife College and Career group.

Ray invited Pastor Joe and his wife Andrea who are visiting from Ghana, West Africa, to our weekly bible study. Our church has had the honor to go on several missions trips and help them out at Mephibosheth Training Center. I invite you to visit their website and become more familiar with what God is doing through them - http://mephiboshethinghana.org.

Pastor Joe's message was such an incredible blessing that I just had to piece my notes together and share it with you. It was so encouraging to know that at the end of the night everyone was also so blessed by his words - and how it spoke to each of of our hearts.

Pastor Joe opened up by taking a puzzle apart and having us pass the puzzle around and take a piece and try and put the puzzle together.  He then shared that just like the puzzle - God has created everything in a unique way - nothing of His creation is a photocopy... and as part of His creation, each one of us has a specific thing we were created for - we each have a plan and a purpose - and each one is unique.

He shared Psalm 139:13-16:
"For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them."

(I love Psalm 139 - especially this section of this Psalm - truly beautiful)

David says that he is uniquely formed and "my soul knows it".  We have to come to this realization - that we are uniquely formed, we are not a photocopy, God made us special, unique... we also need to realize that our days were formed for us. God already has everything written out for us. Nothing we can do is a surprise to our Lord.

He calls each one of us for a purpose.  Pastor Joe stressed that we need to take time to understand who we are in Christ.  Is understanding this, we will be able to discover our purpose.

"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." 1 Corinthians 3:5-7

Each of us is called to do something - but ultimately it is God who gives the growth - who brings all the pieces together. You see your role may not be to bring it all to completion - maybe you were just called to lay the foundation or paint, but that does not make what you have done any less important or meaningless.  It is important that we understand  that we all have a role to play in God's kingdom - in order to have and to bring unity.  Know yourself well!!

Its also important to know that its okay to do small tasks - appreciate the little and do it well! If you struggle with the little - you will struggle ahead... because you will always be comparing yourself to others and what they are doing.

But you may say you have nothing to do, but how can a believer be bored? There is always something for a believer to do... read the bible, pray, help around the church... but we have to be aware of why we do what we do or why we want to do certain things - is it to bring God the glory or is it because we want to be noticed, acknowledged, to have the spotlight on us?

How can we understand ourselves? Pastor Joe shared several points:

• Through the spiritual gifts the Lord has given us. Listen to the Lord and be obedient.  Do not be ashamed when the Spirit is using you. When the Lord gives you a task - do it as the Lord will have you and do it and not to impress anyone but to give God the glory. If we are ashamed of doing the work of the Lord then who are we doing it for? Remember whatever you do he will give you the strength and the courage to do it and finish it to completion.

• God has given everyone a natural talent and or ability and he expects us to use it for His glory and to use it joyfully. We can use that gift to support ourselves but also to bless others. You can be a beacon of light wherever God has placed you.

• Our experiences - God has a purpose for what happens to us good and bad. There is a reason for what we go through. Your experience is part of your makeup, its a part of God's puzzle. Your problems are lessons we can use to learn from. It becomes part of your life story for you to share and help others. Anything you go through is for a reason. Don't call yourself cursed - know that God will use it for a reason.

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:11-13

He says "I have learned"... you can have the confidence to be able to say that - I can go through anything because I will be able to learn from it... God wants to teach us something in all circumstances so we can stand like Paul - and be able to say "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." Romans 8:28-30

Our calling is to glorification and this process does not happen overnight or at once. God is putting the pieces of the puzzle together and His name will shine. Know your path.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."  Philippians 1:3-6

He who started a good work in you will bring it to completion!!! If he did it in the past, He will not fail us, He is the Alpha and the Omega - the Beginning and the End.

The Holy Spirit... If You Love Me...

Tonight my husband preached a message on John 14:15-31. He spoke about the Holy Spirit and how important he is in our lives.  He titled his message: "If you love me".  I pray these notes bless you as much as it did me. It was a great sermon!

The Lord Himself is in the Upper Room spending the last hours He will ever have with His apostles while on earth. He is covering the major subjects they need to grasp before His death, revealing and filling them with the glorious truths that will help them through the upcoming trials they are to face.

The greatest help the believers are to receive is the very presence of God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit. It is this that Jesus now reveals. He reveals the Holy Spirit, His identity, who He is.

Jesus stated a simple fact that must be clearly understood: "If you love me you will keep my commandments." Jesus is not giving an optional commandment, He is saying that the man or woman who truly loves Him will keep His commandments. To the believer, there is no option. In this we are not claiming perfection, but claiming to love Jesus and to believe with all our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God.

To love Jesus is not an emotional thing. It involves emotions, but it is not based upon emotions. It is not feelings: not feeling good today and loving Jesus, and feeling bad tomorrow and not loving Jesus. Loving Jesus is not a fluctuating experience, not an up and down emotion. It is not an emotional love that changes with feelings.

"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love." John 15:10, 14.

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2:3.

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules". Ezekiel 36:27

• The Holy Spirit is another Helper. The purpose is to help in any way possible, someone like Jesus Himself who will take His place and do His work. 

• The priestly and intercessory work of Christ began with the request that the Father send the Holy Spirit to indwell in the people of faith, He is our Intercessor, the One who pleads our case.

• The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, the very same Truth that Christ is. His teaching is true and He glorifies Christ who is the truth. John 16:13

The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit. The world of unbelievers does not "see" or "know" the Holy Spirit. The world lives only for what it can see and know, only for the physical and material, only for what it can touch and feel, taste and consume, think and use.

The Holy Spirit is the personal presence of Christ. Jesus said, "I will come to you." He meant that He would return after He had gone away, that is, died. He would come back to give believers His personal presence. He would not leave them comfortless or as orphans, to be helpless. Jesus would not leave them to struggle through the trials of life alone. Jesus' presence with His followers began with His resurrection and with the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was saying that He would come to the believer in the person of the Holy Spirit.

The presence of Jesus is a living, eternal presence. He died, but He did not stay dead. He arose and conquered death. He arose to live forever. Now think: if Jesus Christ is living forever and He dwells within the believer, then the believer lives eternally. Christ the Eternal Presence lives within the believer; therefore, the believer becomes eternal. He never dies. The believer is made eternal by the eternal presence of Christ within him.  In fact, when Jesus says "I live," He means He lives abundantly and eternally: He lives life in all of its full meaning. Therefore, by living within the believer, Christ imparts the same kind of life to the believer, a life that is both abundant and eternal.

By the Spirit of God, we can actually know Christ better today than the disciples knew Him when He was on earth. When He was here, those in the front of the crowd were closer to Him than those in the rear. But today, by faith, each of us can enjoy the closest of fellowship with Him. Christ’s answer to Judas’ question shows that the promised manifestations to His individual followers is connected with the Word of God. Obedience to the Word will result in the coming and abiding of the Father and the Son.

The Holy Spirit is the abiding presence of the Trinity. Note the words, "My Father...we will come...and make our abode with him [the believer]." Both the Father and Christ come to abide in the believer in the person of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17, 26).

• The abiding presence of the Trinity is conditional: To those who obey Christ, and love and keep His words.

• The abiding presence of the Trinity is the love and presence of God and Christ and the Holy Spirit—all three dwelling within the life of the believer.

• The abiding presence of the Trinity is not "in" the man who does not love and obey Jesus.

• The abiding presence of the Trinity is assured by God Himself. Note what Jesus said: His words are the words of the Father who sent Him.

"The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. " (John 17:22-23).

Jesus’ reply, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word (17:6), explained that He will not reveal Himself to those who refuse to love and obey Him. This is the third time in this section (v. 15, 21) that Christ linked obedience with genuine love for Him (8:31). Not only will He love those who love Him (1 Peter 1:1–2), the Father also will love them. Further, both the Father and the Son will come to them and make their home with them. The Lord’s declaration, “whoever does not love Me does not keep My words,” emphasized yet again, this time negatively, the inseparable connection between love for Him and obedience to Him. Jesus will not make Himself known to those who reject Him (8:47). Such people also do not know the Father, since Jesus’ message was not His, but the Father’s who sent Him, Therefore to reject Jesus is also to reject the Father. To have Jesus is to have the Father.

The Holy Spirit is the Teacher. He teaches "all things" which Jesus taught. "All things" means all the things which Jesus taught including the presence of the Comforter (Holy Spirit), who is given to help the believer through the trials of life, and the indwelling presence and love of the Father and Son.

However, a crucial point must be heeded. The Helper comes only from the Father "in the name" of Jesus.  In calling God "the Father," a Father-child relationship is stressed. One must become a child of God, that is, of the Father, in order to be given the Father's Helper. The words "in the name" of Christ mean that one must approach the Father "in" the name of Christ, that is, recognizing that Jesus alone is acceptable to God 

The purpose of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life is twofold.

• To teach all things: both the words and the life of Christ, both the Truth and the Life, both the Word and how to live, both the theory and the practice, both the principles and the conduct, both the morality and the behavior.

• To help remember all that has been taught in the Word of God, to help especially in the moments of trial when the truth is needed. In a moment of trial the Holy Spirit either infuses the believer with the strength to endure or flashes across his mind the way to escape (1 Cor. 10:13).

Delight Yourself in the Lord (and Do Whatever You Want!)

The following is from John MacArthur - speaking on Psalm 37:4. I love what he has to say!! And its a good way to start off the New Year... I am keeping my New Year resolutions very very simple this year, but my top one is to grow more in the Lord - to DELIGHT myself in Him.

I hope this blesses you like it has to me...

God’s will is that you be saved, spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering, and saying thanks all the time. That’s God’s will.

You say, “Ah, come on. You’re cheating me. I thought I was gonna get an answer about the girl I’m supposed to marry.” Oh, I’m gonna give you that. I’m gonna tell you exactly what to do. You say, “I want a specific answer.” Well that’s good. There’s one final principle and you’re gonna like it. You’re gonna like it.

If you’re saved, spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering and thankful – you ready for this? Do whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Marry whoever you want. Go wherever you want. Work wherever you want. Choose whatever you want. You say, “Whoa. Are you sure?” Absolutely. Because if this is true of your life, guess who’s controlling your wants. Do whatever you want. People say to me, “Why did you come to Grace Church?” I wanted to come. There wasn’t nothing mystical. I didn’t hear voices in heaven. Did I know all this would happen? No, I just came here because I wanted to come. I said, “That’s a good place. They want me. Nobody else wants me. I want to go.” It wasn’t like I had a lot of options. Still don’t. People say, “How did you decide to decide to marry Patricia?” That was easy. I wanted her and no one else. And I said, “God, that’s the one I want, right there. And I believe you’re controlling my wants.” You say, “I need a verse for that. That’s way out there.” I’ll give you a verse. I know, you’re used to getting a verse.

Here’s the verse. Psalm 37:4, you ready for this? “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” That doesn’t mean he’ll fulfill yours, it means he’ll plant his. You delight in the Lord, saved, spirit-filled, submissive, all of those things. You delight in the Lord and he will plant his desires in your heart.

Why am I in the ministry? Because I wanted to be. Why am I at Grace Church? Because I wanted to be. Why do I go here and do that? Because I want to. And I just want to make sure that the wants that are coming out of my heart are the reflection of the desires that God would have for my life. And so if I follow what I know to be God’s will, then what I don’t know to be God’s will is simply a matter of following desires that God has planted in my heart because I’m delighting in him.

“I, being in the way,” Genesis 24:27, “The Lord led me.” Just get in this path and the Lord will lead. Another way to say it is verse 5 of Psalm 34. “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him and he’ll do it. He’ll fulfill it. He’ll actually fulfill his will if you just delight in him and commit to him.

This here is the link of the video of the message above: http://www.gty.org/Blog/B101221

Copyright 2007, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission

How Technology is Affecting the Parenting of Our Daughters

January 3, 2014

As I sit back and assess my life – I see a couple of issues that have been created by technology for moms:

1. The iPad, iPod, and iPhone can distract us away from the Great I AM. I feel this struggle between spending time in God’s word and blog hopping! We live in such an efficient culture that we’ve even made our quiet times efficient. But God’s word needs to be lingered over and meditated upon – it takes time – lots of time to soak it in.

2. While God speaks to me on-line through Godly men and women – our generation suffers from information overload. Can we really apply all we are learning from all the voices we listen to on-line? Sometimes we need to stop reading (or writing in my case) and focus on living it all out.

3. Media is designed to pull us in – to make us feel some sort of emotion – “buy me, try me, watch me“. It persuades us. It molds us. It changes our thinking. Whose voices are we listening to? Are we comparing our lives to someone elses on Facebook or twitter and growing discontent? Stop reading it. Are we flirting with a man other than our husband? Delete or block that person immediately.

4. We can become distant and distracted from the ones we love most. Our husbands can end up playing second fiddle to our media if we are not careful. They can’t compete with all the excitement that social media brings us. But the reality is – they should not have to compete. God, Our husband, our children, other things - we must keep our priorities in this order.

Let’s look at the influence media is having on our daughters:

1. Cell phones – there is more information packed in the pocket or purse of our daughters on a cell phone than 20 encyclopedias. Are we monitoring this? Are they prone to gossip – monitor their facebook and texting from their cell phone.

2. Social media - Our daughters will want to be on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and visit blogs. We must be vigilant to know who their friends are, whose voices do they listen to on Youtube? What blogs are they reading? What are they filling their minds with?

3. Television is still a major player in the shaping of our daughters. We must be teaching them how to filter their viewing according to God’s principles.

4. iTunes and iPods - music has played a large role in the shaping of our youth. At the click of the button they can download any song they’d like onto their ipods. We must be listening to what is pumping into their ears. Help them learn how to filter music according to God’s principles.

As we guide our children through this maze of technology, we must be wise ourselves. Technology is not evil – but some uses of it are.

We cannot monitor our children perfectly…and so this is where child training comes into play. We must help our children to have a Godly conscience that is convicted when they go out of bounds with media.

Have we forgotten the power of the “i” – not the iPad, iPhone or iPod but of the GREAT I AM?

Jesus Said:

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35ESV

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11

I am the resurrection and the life. John 11:25

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14;6

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

By Cortnee - Women Living Well

The Fullness of Him

My mind cannot contain the fullness of Him. Thinking of His vast greatest gives me chills...

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit….

Psalm 147: 4-5

Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?

Brace yourself like a man; I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone—

while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels shouted for joy?

Job 38:4-7

These verses are just remarkable!!!  Shows His great power - over creation... How can one look around and not see God...  When you close your eyes and remember all of God's beautiful works and goodness - how can one wonder???  

Oh Heavenly Father - help me to see you in all your wonders and praise you for your beautiful masterpiece!

Let us not be forgetful this new year...

Its a new year!!!

I look back and can only say thank you Lord. 2013 was filled with many blessings - one of them being a new addition to our family - our dog Oreo. Though it has not been a smooth walk - I can't see our family without him. 

 There have been many lessons which have come my way - some were good and others were very painful and others humbling. 

 Some very special youth graduated high school and gone away to college and I am enjoying seeing them mature in their new stage in life and listening to their stories, about their new friendship and adventures. I am so blessed by each one of them.

 And it also means changes in relationships, letting go and starting new ones.

When looking back sometimes its hard to keep track of all the blessings that the Lord did in our lives and we tend to be a forgetful people. We become like the Israelites - "When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Exodus 14:10-12

Its easy to point the finger at them and say how could they - but how many times have I forgotten the goodness of the Lord - and asked why? or why not?

And because of that I love to write... I love to write letters to Jesus, my prayers, words, stuff... and in order to write and doodle, I love to get new notebooks and pretty paper - or I'll type about what the Lord is doing in my life.

A couple of weeks ago while strolling down the aisle in Staples I found some beautiful red Martha Stewart books in the clearance section!!  Well, I love books, they were red (my favorite color) and from the Martha Stewart collection - at a super cheap price, how can I leave them there... I was sure I would have a great idea on how to use them. So I put all four of them in my cart.

What to do with these books - why not use it as part of my New Year's Resolution!!!

Why not use it as a journal and a the same time give each one of my kids one... and yep that is exactly what happened. I wrote all of our names on the books and today, January 1st - I presented my kids with their own journal and shared with them how we were going to get together each night for at least 10 minutes before bedtime to share and "journal".

My prayer is that in doing this - they will be able to look back and be reminded of God's blessings, they will be able to write down their prayer requests and the requests of others and pray more specifically, it will be a time of bonding for us, but the most important one is that I hope that in doing this with my children I will be able to help them work on their relationship with Jesus and make it more personal and intimate and go deeper into His word.

When my children were very small and we saw certain qualities in them, we claimed something special for each of them... and even though my husband teaches them about the Lord, I felt that my responsibility as their mother is to also "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

I have to do my part as their mother and this is what God has called me to do. Its not going to be an easy challenge - 1/2 an hour after we finished our journaling experience I was already working myself up to a frenzy ay ay ay!! But this year our goal is found in Joshua 1:8: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." 

Let us not be a forgetful people - let us always remember His blessings and love toward us - and lets pass it down to future generations...