Ready, Set, Stand

This is my Thankful Thursday edition:

So, we had a Women's Conference at church this past weekend and it was wonderful. God showed up in a big way. But, then doesn't He always?! That seems a little silly to say since He is everywhere, but you know what I mean.

The speaker that was supposed to come cancelled at the last minute because her dad is very ill and they aren't expecting him to make it. So they called another lady, which we've never had at our church, the night before the conference to see if she could come. She lives 7 hours away in Florida and still agreed to it!

Right when she got up to speak, she prayed for the other speaker and her family. I thought that was neat for her to do that considering she was our "second" choice. She was very humble.

She then said that it's funny that it happened this way because 2 months ago, the Lord gave her a message about prayer and spoke to her heart that she would speak this message to a very large crowd. Well, months ago, we determined that the theme of our conference would be none other than...Prayer!

She did an outstanding job...as if she'd had weeks to plan for this conference. She spoke from 2 Chronicles 20 regarding King Jehosaphat.

The message was simply this: The battle is not our's, but the Lord's. We don't even have to fight it. We just have to show up for the fight!

She said a lot of people ~ as they go through things ~ sort of crawl back in bed and hide under the covers and say, "Okay Lord, put up a good fight and let me know when it's over!" Nuh-uh! You need to be there or what will you get out of it?

This scripture says, (in so many words) "Do not be afraid! Stand and see the salvation of the Lord." It doesn't say "put up your dukes!" or "ready, set, brawl!" Just "stand and see."

She told so many encouraging testimonies of things she had been through in her lifetime. Some things which made my life to this point seem like a cake walk. Then, we heard numerous testimonies of ladies right in our church of what they've been through. WOW - you really have no clue where people have been. They seem to have it all together and it's easy to assume they've had it easy.

One girl...she is very young and in our youth group...told of how her parents were on drugs and her dad would come in high and abusive and instead of her mom protecting her and her lil' sister, her mom actually attempted to kill them, but they got away. They were raised by a family member and are blessed now with a great life. A battle won.

The speaker actually told of watching her first husband commit suicide. There were so many situations that she spoke of that I won't go into, but he was gone and she was stuck with a child to raise on her own. She had to figure out how to tell her daughter that she'd never see her daddy again. She had to figure out how to pay the mortgage she was now left with...and so much more.

But, today she is sharing the goodness of God with everyone she can. She had major battles to overcome, but she didn't have to do it alone. She didn't even have to do the fighting...

...and you and I don't either. God says the battle is His. I don't know about you, but I don't want to get in His way. He just tells us to show up and see. See victory and freedom take place. It won't come easy, but it will come if you trust.

I hope someone reading this today needed to hear this. We are all going through battles. Physical, mental, emotional, financial, spiritual...and you are weary. I certainly am. It gets tiring, but do not give up hope. Get your battle gear...the most important weapon of all...the Word of God.

The enemy is defeated!

Kisses from the Father...to you!

Thankful Thursday

So, it's been quite a while since I've done one of these and I feel that it's time to list some things that I'm thankful for...from small things to big things.

1. I am thankful for the prayer time that we had at church lastnight. I was just about to slip out when the pastor's wife asked us to pray with each other. 35 minutes later, I was still there and so glad I chose to stay and be ministered to.

2. Thank You Lord for the boldness that you are developing inside of me to talk about You, share Your Word and pray for others. As I step out of my comfort zone, I can feel You leading me down the path You have chosen. Thank You for holding my hand as I follow.

3. I am thankful for the quiet in my home right now. That leads me to saying, "Thank You Lord" for the quiet in my life right now. We all have storms and my life is not free of them, but even in the storm, there is a quiet place. A place where our Father says, "Be still and know that I Am God." It's quiet now...and YES You Are!

4. Thank You Lord for Your nudging during last week's trials and Your gentle, but constant reminders of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. "My grace is sufficient for You for My strength is made perfect in weakness." I saw you move greatly and now I am relying on that grace.

5. Lastly, I am so thankful that You, God, make all things new. No matter how horribly we mess up. We fail and we fail BIG time! We let each other down, but most importantly, we let You down repeatedly. You forgive. But then you go even further and forget. And You make us new. You let us start over. Time after time after time. Thank You Lord.

Thankful Thursday...Valentine's Edition

Here he is...

My Valentine

Even more handsome today than he was on our wedding day. And that was pretty hard to improve upon.

You see the look in my young eyes? Yup...it's still there. I can't believe he is all mine.

Thank you Lord!

Happy Valentine's Day baby.

Thankful Thursday

I had the biggest scare today with E. She was swinging in a swing that is attached by a rope & screws into the awning of the house. We all are constantly checking to ensure that it is still tight and safe. However, we didn't consider this would happen.

"Ohn go high mommy," she said. So, I pushed her high. Y'all, way up high in mid-air, one of the screws just came completely out. There went my baby just flailing in mid-air, then falling, eyes wide open with pure fear. She was heading straight for the glass door, head first...still harnessed by the swing. I couldn't get to her fast enough to get in between her and the door when, BANG!!!

All I could say was, "Oh my God. Oh my God. Jesus, help my baby!" She honestly hit so hard that I thought she was going to bust the glass.

Praise God for the blood of Jesus that was shed for all of us on that cross; the same blood that covered my little darlin and protected her today. That could have been bad y'all! But, we don't live by the could-a-been's do we? We give God the glory and trust in His faithfulness.

And thank Him: Thank you Lord!!

I simply write this because I told Him I would give Him the glory for protecting her - so I am. We don't need to take these things for granted! His angels are with us everywhere we go and that is why it is so important to pray over your life and your family each day...you never know at what point in any given day that you will see those prayers at work!

Okay so...I could have totally won the "Drama Queen for the Day" award! I have to admit that I was not strong in the faith area when this happened. It's hard, oh it's so hard to stay calm and not lose it when your child is hurt and you saw it happen and couldn't stop it. That is my little life walking around in this world...my one and only child. She is my full responsibility and I care for her like only a mother can understand!

That is what I am thankful for today, but then how can we count them all?

Today, I'm thankful for so many things, but here are a couple specific things:

1) Air Conditioning!!! So many people suffer with no a/c in their homes during these hot days and for those of us that do have it, don't take it for granted! I am so thankful for that! Here in GA, it is around 100 degrees, but just watching the news...it is much hotter in other areas of the country.

People!! The heat index somewhere in NC was 126 yesterday. That is unimaginable!! The thing that makes it extra bad is this humidity. Urrgghh!!

Thank God for a nice cool home to come into from the heat!

2) This wonderful Strawberry Infused Lemonade that I'm enjoying right now...thanks to GiBee at Kisses of Sunshine. Check out her recipe from yesterday's post. It's wonderful and so refreshing!

3) The breaking down of denominational walls! Woohoo!! This is such an awesome thing to me!! I know it is to the Lord. My husband is going to minister tonight at a church here in town...different denomination than we are a part of. But, who cares?!! It is all about the body of Christ. It's a "Jesus Thing" and NOT a black/white, denomination thing!! Praise the Lord!!

4) Children's video's! Although I commit to never being the kind of mom to stick her kids in front of t.v./movies all day long...are they great or what? I try to limit the amount of t.v. she watches and certainly what she watches. We are VERY careful about what goes into her lil' spirit, as well as ours! But, what would us mommies do without the help of these wonderful shows that give us breaks?

5) My grandmother ("Mamaw") Granted, I may not always "feel" this way at some points during the day...just kidding. She is wonderful! It's funny how the older people get, the more childlike they act you know? She loooves to aggravate my 2 year old; they argue as if they are siblings "Mine!" "No Mine!"; she loves to tattle on Emma and get her in trouble; and so much more, but she adores Emma completely at the same time. Having my daughter around has brought life back into my grandmother that's sort of been lost since my granddaddy died.

She, honestly, can be the biggest brat (meant with love) and the sweetest thing at the same time and I wouldn't trade her for the world. She was like my 2nd mama growing up and has prayed me through this life!

Her little feeble voice touched my soul tonight just before she headed to bed. We were reminiscing on old hymns from church and singing our hearts out. It's amazing how no matter how much they can't remember...things like that just never leave their minds.

For more Thankful Thursday posts, please check out Sting My Heart.

My 1st Thankful Thursday Post

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalm 92:1

Well, this is my very first Thankful Thursday post. But, I just love the idea of it. It's too bad that we don't regularly sit down and say what we are thankful for except for special times like Thanksgiving, etc. Well, that changes here:

As I've already stated on this blog, the things I'm thankful for I consider to be "Kisses From the Father" - from the smallest to the biggest things.

1) I am thankful every morning for the new phrases that Emma says as she is waking up. "Mommy, it time get up!" "Mommy, I had good night seep." "Mommy, Daddy, Joo-Ahr (translation: J.R., our dog) G.E.T. M.E. O.U.T.!" "Mommy, where ah you?" "Mommy, ah you there?" It's a joy to hear what she will say each day. On the very f-e-w days that Kevin and I get to sleep in together (sleeping in = 8:00 a.m. by the way), we just lay there and laugh at her comments.

2) I am thankful for the prayer Emma and I pray together every morning over ours' and daddy's day.

3) I'm thankful for the feel of that sweaty head on my shoulder after she wakes up from her nap every day and has to "hold you" for a while.

4) I'm thankful for this precious little dog, J.R., that is staring me down right now begging to either go outside or get more food. It's always one of the two lately. As pesty as he is sometimes, I am thankful that he is still here to stare at me. (I'll explain that story later for those that don't already know.)

5) I'm thankful for the sound of Kevin's Explorer as it pulls into the driveway each night, sometimes late, but thankfully sometimes earlier lately. Me and Emma always look at each other when we hear it and wait for the sound of his horn to beep twice. That means he's locked his car and is walking towards the front door.

That is when our day begins...

The list goes on and on. I figured 5 things was a good # to keep it at. I'm thankful that there is a Thursday in every week!

I'd like to hear something you are thankful for this week.