Temptation

I was lying in bed this morning and praying, "Lord, I need Your help. Apart from You, I can do nothing." and just this Sunday we talked about the Fruits of the Spirit in Sunday School. So, this morning I asked the Lord for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (oy!). Right after I did, I said to myself, "Oh great, now that I've asked for it, I'm probably gonna be tempted in each area." and you know what, I WAS! Well, not all of them....yet. I was driving to work and had to stop for gas. I left early on purpose because I knew I was going to have to get gas. So, for starters, a test of patience. My little gas door on my car would not open. Pull the handle, nothing. Stick my keys in and try to pry it open, nothing. I parked too close to the gas thing so the huge trash can for the paper towels was in my way. It was cold outside and my hair was blowing everywhere and I couldn't get the stupid thing open! I thought, "I'm never going to make it to work! I'll run out of gas before I get there!" so I kept trying and trying. I bent two keys and gave up and called my husband. He was 45 minutes away, what could he do but listen to me whine and gripe at him. He said, "Put a tube of lipstick under the handle inside to hold it up and then try to pry it open with a key." Well, that didn't work at all, but I did remember that the last time we had trouble opening this thing, both of us did it together, how was I supposed to do it by myself? Well, I pryed and pryed some more and after 15 minutes of prying it finally came open. Grrr.....was I in a bad mood now! The lady at the gas station told me to have a nice day, and I was like, "Yeah right!" and left and sped off to work. Then when I get to work the phone was ringing and ringing and ringing constantly! One call right after another like crazy! I was trying to fix coffee for everyone and answer the phone and talk to people and transfer them correctly and keep my cool all at the same time. When I finally had a moment to sit down I was reminded of my prayer. Boy, God really does listen doesn't He?

Thanksgiving

I don't know what Thanksgiving is like at anyone else's house, but I can't imagine what Thanksgiving would be like without knowing Jesus Christ as my personal Lord, and Savior. To some people, it must mean just family, and sure, family is great, and family is important, but none of it means anything without Jesus Christ. He is the one who placed us in our families and made each one of our lives possible. Sure, every family has it's problems and quirks, and that is just what makes us all unique and what has shaped all of us into the people we are. We have no right to complain because that's like telling God He made a mistake, and if I've learned anything in my short, Christian life, it's that God never makes mistakes. HALLELUJAH!

The Time Has Come

Hey everybody! Geez, I thought the phones would be slower around the holidays! Hold on.......okay, I'm back. Grr...Well, Thanksgiving is almost here! Two more days to TURKEY DAY! Goodbye diets, HELLOOOO CALORIES! HAHAHAHAHA! This year we are having Thanksgiving at my sister's new house, with her new baby, my new nephew, Thomas. I am so excited! I don't think any other family is having as much food as we are. Get your taste buds ready for this, if you're hungry, don't read this: A 22 lb. turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, potato casserole, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, frozen corn, baked beans, and rolls. For dessert, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, fudge, and banana split pie. WOW! I am gonna be so fat! Oh well, might as well not worry about it until after New Year's.

Well, the time has come to really ask everyone to pray. Justin is submitting his resume for that job and we should know something around Christmas at the latest 'cause they are looking to hire for the person to start at the beginning of the year. It's exciting and it all gives me a nervous feeling in my tummy. Rather than looking at it as an ending, it's really the beginning of a whole new chapter and we will always be a part of First Baptist somehow. It will still be sad to leave though. Pray for us as we're making the transition. Thank you all!

By Faith

Well, part of me felt like I got kicked in the gut. The other part of me felt...what seemed like...hope. Like a light at the end of a dark tunnel. Like rolling down the window, letting in some fresh air, and letting my hair fly in the wind. A new beginning maybe. One simple phone call could change our lives forever. It could be nothing, but it could also be everything. In an effort not to analyze everything, I've simply resorted to the scriptures. "By faith, Abraham when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Footnote: "Do not be surprised if God asks you to give up secure, familiar surroundings in order to carry out his will." Um, can we say, "WOW"? Yes we can, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! So okay, Justin got a call yesterday from the pastor at Central Christian Church and he simply asked Justin to CONSIDER applying for a full-time position as youth pastor. It's not even an offer yet, but WOW! When Justin told me, my first question was, "So wait, does that mean we have to go to church there?" and Justin said, "Yes, it would mean we have to go there." Inside my heart, I knew everything was going to be alright and is going to be alright, but in my mind I was saying, "NO WAY, ARE YOU NUTS???" So to all my fellow bloggers, please PRAY FOR US! Showers and showers, buckets and buckets! WE NEED IT! Thanks!

The Balancing Act

Hello all! I know, it's been awhile since I've last posted, and Justin and I have been busy, busy. The trip to Illinois was great, never actually got to see Chicago. We stayed in St. Charles right outside of Chicago and the wedding was in Naperville, so we never did go all the way in to the city. We were only there for one night, but I did get to have Chicago-style pizza delivered to the hotel. It was yummy! We stayed in Abingdon, IL the rest of the time at Justin's grandma's house. This was the neatest! I got to see the hospital where Justin was born, where his parents were married, where he grew up, and where he learned to drive a standard on his grandpa's farm. It was all really special and a lot of fun! The 12 hour drive was not fun, although talking on the walkie talkies back and forth while following Justin's dad was hilarious! Oh, and we did pass John Kerry's tour bus on the way to Chicago. Woo-woo. And that's all I have to say about that. If any of you read this before tomorrow, VOTE!
Justin and I have been keeping busy with Sunday School, nursery, van driving, Children's Choir, Youth Group and Team Kids ministries at church! Plus, I am getting ready to work 60+ hours a week starting today at both jobs! Well, 40 at my full-time and 20 at my part-time. Oh well, it's all good for Christmas! :) I will be extremely busy though, so toss up a prayer for me!
While going through "40 Days of Purpose" with our church, Justin and I have noticed something. We noticed that there are about 4 main areas of our lives and they are never in balance. 1. Relationship with God 2. Relationship with family 3. Relationship with each other 4. Finances Satan chooses to attack us at various times in these areas and once we get one going well, one goes bad. Finally, after years of struggle, our finances are in order. Our relationship is going well and my relationship with his family and mine is going well. Our relationships with God are not so well at the moment. A few weeks ago, we were struggling with some family, in-law type issues that affected the two of us. Before all that, we were constantly arguing about money and bills. Now that God has full control over those things it's like Satan says, "Hmmm....let me see where I can attack next." and of course, I'm sure this is what he does. Gets on my nerves, let me tell ya!!!! I don't know if it's Satan attacking us or God trying to get our attention sometimes, but last week, I had two flat tires in one week and it caused a lot of stress! I learned from Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life author) that when certain circumstances come your way, you have a choice on how you're going to respond to it, so when we got the flat tires we could have given in to the temptation Satan was sending our way and cuss, get ticked off, and yell about it, or we could have looked at God and said, "Are you trying to tell us something?" which is what we decided to do. Life is much easier when you look at your trials as friends and not enemies. God has used every one of these opportunities to mold us more into His image and change our character a bit. Nevertheless, the balancing act is a continuous cycle. Until next time...