Wake up my Heart!

Scripture of the Day: 1 Samuel 16:7 For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. I am discovering of late that when it comes to certain aspects of my life, especially my health habits, I need a heart change. An attitude change won't work. A lifestyle change won't work. I need to start with a heart change so that the rest will follow. Jill Savage, author of No More Perfect Moms states, "Our hearts determine our priorities, obedience, faithfulness, and loyalty." How true that is! Have you ever tried to follow through with a decision just by changing how you thought or what you did? I go through spurts when I eat healthy for a few days or attempt to exercise. When I do this it is because I mentally decide I need to lead a healthier lifestyle. What doesn't change is my heart so when I attempt this "fad" of sorts, I inevitably fail. What I need sounds simple...for God to change my heart! I ha...

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever This weekend we have an unexpected little family getaway! I was supposed to fly solo on this trip to pick up our little man but some lovely person took my husbands shift at his Saturday job so what was a weekend apart is now a weekend full of quality time! That time is such a blessing right now! It is so unexpected and so exactly what we needed that I can't stop smiling and my heart is happy while I write this. Friends, blessings  from the Lord don't always come in big packages. They don't actually have to come in packages at all! The blessings don't have to mean healing (although that is a BIG gift when it happens). Blessings don't have to be new jobs, a new relationship, or more money. Sometimes a blessing is the joy of an unexpected car trip with nothing to do but talk and 48 hours of togetherness. As I sit here, I am praying that this weekend (and every day) brings you unplanne...

Scripture of the Day: Ephesians 4:22-24 22  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off  your old self,  which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;   23  to be made new in the attitude of your minds;   24  and to put on  the new self,  created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. It has been my experience that people can't really change on their own. God can change people...but people can't change people! I am  sure you know what I am talking about - those things about your spouse or your best friend that drive you crazy, but you accept because it is just "who they are." You can even look at yourself. I am sure you have characteristics (I know I do!) that are negative but that we accept as simply part of who WE are. Those negative things are typically things we do not want our children to inherit from us. The kick in the gut I got last week pointed out that if there are things about mys...

Scripture of the day: James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s  friend . I had another "ah-hah!" moment today. They typically come from someone wiser than me, and today it was my current Beth Moore bible study!  I am sure most of you are familiar with the story of Abraham. If you attempt to read the bible, as I do and always start in Genesis, you may have read it quite a lot! But have you every pondered the fact that Abraham walked with the Lord for 100 years? He was 75 when God called him and 175 when he died.  In those 100 years he did some great things and some not so great things. To be completely honest with you, I sometimes judge him unfairly for the not so great things! But guess what?! Regardless of those things, Abraham was credited as being righteous and he has gone down in history as God's friend.  My walk with the Lord has been much shorter....

Scripture of the Day: Colossians 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. To open with a favorite movie quote from American Beauty, "...and I can't help but feel thankful for every single second of my stupid little life." Amen. Minus the "stupid" :) There are days when it is hard to find anything to be thankful for. And there are days when God seems to say, "Hello there! Open your eyes and see all that you have!" On those days, the things you can be thankful for are endless. Yesterday was one of those days for me. While at a splash park in town, my son ran up to me, soaking wet and yelled, "Mom, this is the best day EVER!" Melt my heart! I was so grateful to be in that place, at that time. It felt like a gift. As I was sitting their contemplating life, the root of my thankfulness seemed t...

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the LORD for he is good; his love endures forever. Today I woke up reflecting on this past week and am so thankful for the love of God! One of the ways I most see that is through the love that my husband shows me, and I him. My hubby and I speak different love languages (if you don't know your love language, take the test!  http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/ ) and this week has been a great example of how we are growing or able to "speak" in other languages! The love language I need most to be "spoken" is words of affirmation. My husband has started asking more questions about my days...how they went, what my favorite part is, what I am looking forward to tomorrow, etc. When he asks me those questions, it shows me that he loves me and genuinely cares about what happens day in and day out. I also feel like he is showing me God's love when he takes the time to ask me those questions or be complimentary...

Scripture of the Day: Galatians 6:7 A man reaps what he sows. Could it get much simpler than that? I am not sure that is the best verse for what I am trying to get at, but it was the sermon topic at church on Sunday, so I am going with that! In line with that topic, our guest pastor said something that convicted me to the core! He was talking about marriage relationships and said something profound; "Don't keep track of turns. It doesn't matter if it's your turn or her turn...it's always your turn." Woah! It's always your turn. Can you imagine the difference it would make in your marriage if that is the attitude you WILLINGLY adopted?! For me, my area of irritation is taking out the garbage. Silly I know, but some part of my head feel like it is a "mans job" to take it out. So I let the bag overflow before scooping it up, taking it outside and putting in a new bag. And then when I actually do it, I am pretty sure I literally "huff....