Update!

Hey friends...today is the first day I have had off since last Monday...

I updated the links on the right side of my page so take a look and check them out if you haven't!

I added Jennifer's blog, a friend of mine from church in Kentucky and I also added Bethany Dillon's blog. She is a Christian song writer/singer and married to Shane from Shane and Shane! :)

Also, God has been speaking and moving in my life and I have been striving to follow Him in everything I do...He is moving me into unknown territory and even though I hate to leave some things behind I am excited to see what HE will accomplish. He is my EVERYTHING...

Here are a couple of more pictures...I was able to get away for a 3 day weekend to Niagara Falls 2 weekends ago. I didn't turn on the TV or have internet on at all. I sat in the parks and walked and talked with Jesus and read His word...It was fabulous...the other favorite from my trip = the pictures I got to take! So here are two more...

Moving Forward

Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.

I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."

As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

Psalm 16

God has been speaking LOADS into my life...The chapter above has meant SO much during this time I am going through. I am struggling through moving forward the way God wants, but I was assured today that it is okay to "weep forward"...meaning, it isn't always easy to move forward...it is even painful sometimes, but when we are following God, it will be more than worth it in the end! So...I will weep forward and find refuge in Him and one day receive my delightful inheritance. I will keep Him ahead of me and He will fill me with joy in His presence!

Keep moving forward friends...He is there before you preparing the way!

Idols

Idols take all forms.

In my life it can be shopping, or calling on a friend instead of Jesus. For some it is having the biggest and best house, for others in the Old Testament it was building calves out of gold and worshiping them...

Before I say this, let me say, I am not judging...just thinking...and wondering.

If you have ever driven on I-75 in Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, odds are you noticed one of the biggest statues of Jesus ever built. It is also known as "Touchdown Jesus" by many because his arms were stretched up toward Heaven, much like football fans do when a field goal is kicked.

Anyways, this past week it was struck by lightning and burned. It is completely destroyed and there is an estimated $70,000 in damage. My question is, who paid that much to build it in the first place when there are starving people, orphans, and so many people in this world that are in need? Not only around the world, but right in the backyard of where that statue was built.

Again, I am not judging or making any presumptions as to if God struck it down on purpose, but I DO wonder...and I pray that I can stop putting other things ahead of HIM, who deserves all of my attention and efforts!

Here is a link to a video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGTBFPte-MY

Like Water in a Dry Land...

LAUGHTER!!!! OHHHH SWEET LAUGHTER!!!!

I have not realized how little I have laughed until tonight! I went to a friend's house and played Scattergories and ate junk...We also did our hair up real nice and just laughed! I praise the Lord for the opportunity and I want to do more of it...I used to laugh it up almost constantly...As of late I have struggled.

So funny how God works too...If you go to Beth Moore's blog on the right side of the screen...her latest blog was about laughing too...I just read it a second ago...God knows what I need! :) LOVE HIM!!!

I want to make it a point to laugh more often, but I am not sure how yet...

Beautiful baby and QUICK update...

So, things at work continue to improve...still smiling everyday knowing it is my God that is carrying me through! My bosses probably think it was the awesome pep talk they gave me...LOL!

In other news...I took pics of one of my favorite babies the other day...here are a few faves!

I can't help but smile...

Today...I couldn't help but smile...and laugh to myself WITH my God... (:

It began last week when my bosses took me aside at work to discuss my numbers and some other things, which I won't get into here. Suffice it to say, Verizon Wireless is much different than ANYWHERE I have EVER worked and numbers mean a TON!

So...that being said I have been feeling soooo stressed!

Well...I don't want to lose myself (who GOD wants me to be) while working any job. I don't want to fake anybody out to make a sale or mislead anyone...

So...I went to God...in our discussion, I mentioned that I really didn't expect to be in the job that I am in...I expected to be on the mission field by now. I am ok and at peace with the fact that I am not on the mission field yet. What I don't like is that at Verizon, I am under SO MUCH PRESSURE!

So...this weekend in my small group Romans 12:1-2 came up...I LOVE THOSE VERSES!!!

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

ROMANS 12:1-2

So...That got me to thinking...I REFUSE to give up who GOD wants me to be to succeed in my workplace. And I determined THEN that I would do business as HE would want me to and if things don't work out so be it...it would be in His hands...

THEN......

The next morning I was reading the end of John when Jesus appears to the disciples as they are fishing. They are unable to catch any fish while casting their nets...

Jesus tell them, "Throw our net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." (John 21:6)

So, I took "right" as a double meaning...for them it was the direction...for me, I translated it "correct". I will do things at Verizon the RIGHT way...

When they cast their nets on the right side...they couldn't even pull in the number of fish in their nets.

So, I sat before God, presented my needs to Him and asked Him to bless my work to HIS glory.

Needless to say, this week alone...my sales have been more than ALL OF LAST MONTH!!!

So...today as I sold 2 netbooks (Last month I only sold 1) I could NOT hold back the smile and the rejoicing in my heart that I know it isn't me, it is God in me...and His favor coming through.

I love Him SOOOO MUCH!

God bless! Keep serving Him in the RIGHT way! ;)

As the sweat dries...

Well...As my sweat dries from the walk that turned into a run...I couldn't wait to say...I HAVE MISSED EXERCISING!!! What in the world have I been waiting for???

I haven't been quite the zumba queen I had been for a while...I miss sweating and panting, gasping for air...somehow in the pain of not being able to breathe...I find enjoyment...lol...

Besides that...I have some other thoughts.

In my past posts I have mentioned that things are changing. I am not sure how but they are. I have been so uncertain about SO many things. But one thing is for sure...

God is in it. He is transforming me into what He wants when I follow Him and make choices that glorify Him. So, for now I am taking it day by day. Hopefully I will keep up with the day by day living in His love and acceptance.

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."
Romans 8:29-30

"All of the other things we long for in life--love and friendship, freedom and wholeness, clarity of purpose, all the joy we long for--it all depends on our restoration...He knows that in order for us to be truly happy, we have to be whole. Another word for that is holy. We have to be restored."

--John Eldredge
Walking With God