Wake up my Heart!

Scripture of the Day: John 3:16 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. Last night we attended our first Maundy Thursday service as a family - complete with the little guy. Besides one funeral, this was the first time he has had to sit through a church service (usually he is in Sunday school with all the kiddos). He made it through! But the one thing he kept saying to me is "I don't understand." I am sure that our pastor sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher to him and that pretty much every word coming out of his mouth made my poor little guy go, "huh???" I love two things about that...1) he was actually trying to pay attention and more so, 2) I don't think that I really understand either. When I really think about it, I can never really truly grasp God's love for us. He loved the world so much that he GAVE his one and only Son to the world...and the worl...

Scripture of the Day: Proverbs 22:6 Start  children off on the way they should go,      and even when they are old they will not turn from it. For an interesting read on this topic, check out this link: http://bible.org/seriespage/principle-nature-knowing-your-child ! My husband and I have been struggling with a decision regarding our child's education. I am not ready to share the issue with the world, but tonight I figured out without a doubt that my thinking has been all wrong on the subject. As Jill Savage warns us against, I have been comparing my inside to other people's outside decisions. What is worse, is that my son's OWN insides haven't even really been part of my thought process. God wants us to raise our children so that how they are bent, thrives! I cannot say that what we want for our children doesn't matter, but we cannot force them into the little people WE want them to be...we need to help them grow into the people GOD created them to be...

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 51:10-12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. This may be a strange post because I don't know that I have much to say about those verses. They speak for themselves as a wonderful daily prayer and it contains so much. It is full with talk about our hearts, our spirit, our relationship with the Trinity - including our salvation, and our dependence on God.  In the past weeks I have run across this Psalm so much that I know God is trying to get my attention with it. I  keep reading it, not with more understanding but with conviction that it makes an excellent prayer for us every day. And on that short note, that is how I will close...in prayer.  Closing Prayer: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me...

Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 48:17-18 I am the Lord your God,      Who teaches you what is best for you,      Who directs you in the ways you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands,      Your peace would have been like a river,      Your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Although I am sure the context which with this was written refers to much larger concepts than I am applying them today, the point still comes across: it is God who teaches us what is best and God who directs us where we should go. If we pay attention to his direction, we then can have peace and righteousness. I often have little “spiritual nudges”. During these times (usually during the early morning), I know that God would like me to spend time with Him. I have lots of proof that when I listen to these nudges, not only do I feel closer to God, but my days are much more positive, and productive....