Day 5 ~ Trusting God For Direction in You Journey

I am writing from my heart today.  I am not sure what this journey will look like as it isn't my journey as much as it is God's for me, but I guess with everything in life you take two steps forward and what feels like three steps back.

God was talking to me here which is why I chose this for
the picture.  God is awesome and if we take the time to
look up, He promises to guide us every step of the way.

I am feeling a sense of pressure, tension, and stress, yet, but again.  I wish I could just figure out how life can exist without it in my life.  I am still hanging on to my Family Readiness Group Leader volunteer job for my husband's former Army Reserve Unit because no one has stepped up to replace me yet.  This is a huge prayer request I have in my life.  After my husband has served his Country for 23 years you would think now he is retired that we could retire completely and live normal civilian lives, but for the moment we can't.  I don't have it in my heart to let down the remaining Soldiers in this unit by stepping down yet without a replacement, so here I sit, totally frustrated as I have a ton of work to do in order to be prepared for this next drill.  I had been working through the holiday season, but found myself so stressed over preparing my family for the holiday season that I just set my work on the back burner. Then I heard due to circumstances that half our unit wasn't going to be available so I used that as my sign to not worry about anything I would simply work over the weekend to get my job caught back up, well that all changed yesterday.  Now I have to pull a magic trick and get it all done.  I am not happy. 

Now that I said I would be here daily, I am here now to say I don't think this will happen.  I will make every attempt to check in daily with something as best as I can though.  Just be patient as I work though trying to find a replacement in my Army job so I can step down and let someone else hold the reigns. I will free up a ton of time by letting my Army Volunteer job go.  My family will be more than happy as well since they are my volunteers.  I just know God has someone out there, but are they listening to His words?  I am sure feeling like they aren't.  When will I be done, that question continues to be an uncertainty, but I am trusting God who knows my heart and my needs to find this answer for me.

Day 4 ~ Rest

Sunday, it is "rest" day!

Today being Sunday, it is a wonderful day to just sit back and let God rejuvenate you before the busyness of the week comes upon you.  Today's word of encouragement and inspiration is that of "rest". 

Wow, just say that word a minute.  How much peace does that simple word carry?  To me, it carries a lot.  Maybe because I am so tired, weary, and worn from the burdens and the stress we had been under for so long, but the word "rest" just brings calm to the storm, peace to the frazzled, and slowness to the crazy insanity, we call life now.

Borrowed from my Pinterest/Encouragement Board. Jesus Is A Lifestyle

Sweet friend and fellow readers, let God provide you with the "rest" you need today.  Let Him fill your empty cup back up so you are able to give your family the love, the joy, the happiness, and the strength to make it through another busy week that lies ahead.

The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  Exodus 33:14 (NIV)

 

I challenge you to go find your peace and rest today.  Go and fill your cup that God so wisely promises to do for us if we allow Him.  Think about what the meaning of rest is to you and seek to find it today.  Your body, mind, and your family will thank you for it this week. 

 

Rest Sweet Friend, Rest 

Day 3 ~ Gratitude

Expressing a simple thought of gratitude.  After all we have been through God blessed me with a new table cloth that completely transformed the look of my dining room. 

The simple pleasures of life are things I find joy in. I love it when God shows me areas in my home that will make our house a home.  When we lost our job I was no longer able to do that anymore, which seriously tore at my heart as I do everything within my power to insure our home is pleasing to my family. 

She looks well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness.  Proverbs 31:27 (KJV)

God doesn't want us to take anything for granted.  One of the life lessons I learned along our recent journey was to take nothing for granted and to be sure to say thank you for everything.  God will continue to bless everyone who has a heart of gratitude.  We have what we have because He gives us what He feels we need when we need it.  

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms. Ps 95:2 (KJV)

Day 2 ~ Perserverance

Perseverance is the word for the day.  I got up this morning knowing today was the day to take down the Christmas decorations and the tree.  It is always sad to know they have to come down but when the house comes back together again, there is something rewarding to see the house decluttered and clean again.

Perseverance comes into play because I was determined to get all the decorations down before hubs got home. I took it one room at a time and God blessed me with the time and endurance to get it all done.  It was rewarding because I knew although my hubs said he would help me to do it over the weekend that it would be the last thing he wanted to do.  

I am so thankful this huge job is done for another year.  Hopefully I will be able to get some school work done this weekend before a new school week begins.  So me and my tired and sore body are done for the night. Good night everyone. 

Day 1 ~ New Beginnings

The new year has begun as well as our new life. It will be exciting to see what blessings, experiences, and challenges God has for our family.  I have never been a person to make resolutions in the past and I am not sure as though I would call this a resolution as much as I would call it a new life, a new beginning.  It is my intention to track what God is going to do for us this year.

I saw this picture posted on face book tonight by The Old School House Magazine and it touched my heart, which caused me to think about how neat it would be to track our story and to share the twists and turns our journey through life will take us.  God placed it on my heart to share with you, my readers, what He is doing in our lives so you can visibly see what He is up to after all these years post Bible times.  God is still alive and working in our lives today.  Sometimes we get so busy, frustrated, and worried that we can't see His hand in the trials or the joys of what is happening today.

As I post our story I will be labeling the subject block the day number (if all goes well) of which day of our story we will be on.  This will allow you, my readers, to know the difference between these posts and my regular ones.

It is my prayer and hope as I begin this journey that it will provide you with an encouragement that will touch you where you may be in your life.  If this occurs, know it was all God's work as I am leaning on His guidance for the words to write.  

Happy 2015 to you and your family!  Please know God is with you every step of the way as you travel along your own journey this year.

Touching The Lives of Those Who Mean The Most

Touching lives is about being sure we don't forget those people who mean the most to us, "our family".  The tension in our home has been intense because my personal boundaries have been stretched beyond measure and my family instead of being on the front burner of my life have found themselves on the back burner instead. This is never a nice place to be, but is often a place we spend much time in.  It is important to take a step back and remember who should be the first in our lives and if there is time without your private space being violated then allow the others their time as well. 

I took time this morning to touch my daughter's heart and give her the best part of my time instead of the left over.  To see the joy in her eyes and the hugs of appreciation are all worth that time I set aside for her this morning.  I have felt God telling me to reach out and to meet her love language and if I do our relationship will blossom again.  I am beyond ready after all we have been through to receive the many blessings God has for us after the long "winter" season we have been in.  God's promises are to be with us in every season of our life.
   
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;   Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (ESV)

Today is the first day of our "spring" season so to say goodbye to 2014 is a wonderful blessing. Our "winter" season arrived back in 2013 so to see the arrival of 2015 should bring revival to our family and I'm praying God has a beautiful "spring" for us as we recuperate from all we have been through.  It is my prayer to renew our family ties and to enjoy the simple things of life again.

When life's stressors creep in and take over we find the people we hurt the most are those we love the most.  Those people we call family and we live with; see the big, the bad, and the ugly.  It is never intentional, but there has to be a time to rebuild those relationships and this has to be intentional.  Intentional shows the love you have for each other because they know you took that time to touch their lives and to heal their hearts. 


Are you in a "winter" season of life?  Are you stretched beyond what you feel you can do anymore?  Do you find you are giving others more of your time then your own family?   Know you are not alone.  Many of us find ourselves here.  If you see a strain in your marriage or a strain between you and your kids, step back and reevaluate how much time you are spending with others instead of those who live in your own home.  The enemy wants to rob us of our personal time and that of our family.  It is his agenda to seek and destroy everything that is important to us.  It is our place to insure this doesn't happen.  Let God's spirit speak to you and show you how to reset your boundaries.  Our families are those who we should set out to please before we begin to please the others in our lives.  Prioritize what is the most important part of our life.  Prioritizing my "space", time, and life is what God is trying to show me now after the long "winter" season we spent so much time in.  It is my prayer God will touch your heart and meet you where you are and that you will find the hope of His love and the hope of a wonderful future that lies ahead for you and your family. Lean on Him during these difficult times and claim His promises to hold you up until you have the strength to walk on your own two feet again.  Allow Him to heal you from the chaffing of the winter season and hang on to the hope He promises that season of "spring", a time of renewal always follows the season of "winter" and the hard times that it brings. 

Keep Looking Up.. That's The Secret of Life

 I saw this the other day and found it thought provoking.  Why is it that some of the simplest things in life require us to just look up, but that is either the last thing we think to do or it is often times the hardest thing to do?  God has a way of speaking to us using simplicity, but yet we're so programed to think everything is hard to do.

 

Take the time to evaluate in this coming year how often you are looking out instead of looking up.  God never intended for us to solve our own problems. He does however intend for us to have the faith in Him that no problem is too big for Him to solve.  God knows the outcome of every situation we find ourselves in and has a solution for each one of them.  He loves us unconditionally and wants what is best for us.  Once we realize this the door of our blessings will be opened up.

 



Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1  (NIV)

Mission Statement Changing

A quick update as our mission statement is going to change soon.  While I was offline our Military status has changed to retired now.  After 23 years in the Army (both on active duty and reserves), my husband finally retired.  This event occurred on Oct 29, 2014 and we are extremely thankful for this. My husband gave and sacrificed a lot for our Country and our time has come to move on with our lives. 

We are still volunteering with the Family Readiness Group as my leader replacement hasn't come yet.  Until they arrive, I will continue to go to our drills and support the Soldiers who remain in our unit.  Please be in prayer for God to be working in whomever is going to replace me so when my time to move on comes, I am able to do so knowing God has replaced me with someone who will love and take care of the Soldiers as I have done.

This is only one of many changes that we have experienced and will be reflected in the upcoming changes to our blog.  Please be in prayer as I seek God's guidance in how He wants me to tell our story. Thank You! 

New Roads To Travel

Good morning friends and followers,

 

I woke up this morning praying and pondering where my blog is going to go and some changes will be on deck.  Our family has been on a journey for the past year and half and sharing what has been learned during that journey will be seen here as I feel God telling me to share.

 

 

Pray for me as I begin this new journey.  I am on a quest to learn who I am again.  As I travel down this new road, I will be sharing what I have learned with the hopes it will help others out there who may need the encouragement.  Stay tuned as I will be posting more soon. 

 

The look of our blog will most likely go under some changes as well.  Bear with me as we share our changes with you.  It is my prayer that healing and encouragement will flow through the words that lie ahead.