Day 28 - 31 Goal Met...Sort Of

Well, I ventured out on a limb hoping to take a few moments each day during the month of October and write on my blog.  It didn't work out exactly like that, but I sure was able to write more than I have before.  And I really enjoyed it.  For my final post of the month, I have a ton I could write about.  So much has happened over the last few days of this month, but I think I will camp out on this...

Human nature is a funny thing.  You think ya know someone until they do something that absolutely throws you into a tailspin.  Human emotions are another funny thing.  We as humans experience such a wide range of emotions.  And anything can trigger one or more of these emotions.  And while I like to blame others for hurting me and blame circumstances for bringing negative emotions into my mind and heart, it's really all the work of the devil himself.  He manipulates and micro-manages every aspect of our life in hopes of bringing us down for one very specific reason...to defame and taint the glorious name of Jesus.  He does everything he can to keep us from giving honor and credit to God.  He would also like to see us have nothing to do with God in our own lives so when we start to get closer to Jesus, he kicks it up a notch or two.

I couldn't have been reminded of this more over the course of this past weekend.  There were times I was staring the enemy straight in the face.  And there was a situation that occurred where it seemed he, the enemy, won the battle.  Life is a story.  And just like with all stories, there is an ending.  And as a follower of Christ, I already know the ending.  My God wins.  The enemy will be destroyed forever and I'll get to spend eternity in the presence of God.  Just THAT in and of itself is worth the fight.  In the meantime, I will strive to keep my mind on things above, not on earthly things.  For this life is temporary.  And all hurt and sadness is momentary.  Each moment that brings us hurt and pain is actually achieving for us a goal of eternal glory that makes every hardship worth the challenge.  So, today, I will fix my eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is unseen is eternal.  And that, my friends, is what I want...eternity with my Jesus.

SATAN THE BLOOD OF JESUS IS AGAINST YOU.  WHEN WE GIVE GOD ALL THE GLORY HE GIVES US THE VICTORY.

Day 26 & 27 Hallelujah Anyhow!

It is crazy busy around here, but we have some great things going on.  I love music, and I know I just posted a song.  But this one is great, too.  It explains where my heart is these days.  Plus, I am so excited about the Women's Walk to Emmaus that is happening this weekend.  This song explains perfectly what God did for me as a result of my Walk.  This video, too, was recorded in my home state of Louisiana at Angola Prison.  Go God.  Enjoy...

Hallelujah Anyhow

Day 25 Friend Of A Wounded Heart

This post is dedicated to those who would rather hide behind their fake "fines," their shallow "hellos," and their "on the surface" conversations.  Sometimes it's just easier to keep our lives to ourselves because it's just too exhausting to tell someone else our problems.  It's even harder if we have trust issues.  For all of you who'd rather crawl under a rock than expose the "real you," this post is for you.  When you get tired of smiling as to convince others that you are really happy, when you get tired of saying you're fine when you're not, when you get tired of trying to fill the empty longing in your soul...listen to this and be reminded.  No one is a friend like Jesus, the One True Friend Of A Wounded Heart.  Enjoy...

Friend Of A Wounded Heart

Day 24 Things To Remember

Being a mom of 3 is C.R.A.Z.Y.  Life is so busy.  I have to remind myself to stop and go to the bathroom.  If my head was attached to my body, I would lose it several times a day.  And most of the time, life gets so hectic, I don't know if I should scratch my watch or wind my butt.  Crude, I know.  But who doesn't love the movie Steele Magnolias?!  In the craziness of life, this is what I hope I will forever keep in mind.

1.  To set my mind on things above, not on earthly things.
2.  To let the peace of Christ rule in my heart.
3.  To let the word of Christ dwell in me richly.

Colossians 3:2-3, 15-16

Day 23 He Hears Me

One thing is for certain in my mind today...God hears our prayers.  He really does.  He may not answer in the amount of time we'd like Him to and He may not give us the answer we want.  But He hears us and He answers us according to His perfect timing and His perfect will for our lives in this world.  He is so good, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude today as I thank Him for answering my cries.  Oh, how He loves us so!

This Is Truly Riveting

Because I have some time and since I'm feeling rather spunky, I thought I'd share a bit of life with you just for kicks and giggles.  This burst of writer's enthusiasm comes on the heels of reading a rather fun(ny) blog where the author actually used the phrase kicks and giggles, and I just knew I HAD to use that phrase too.  And the word riveted.  Don't ya just love that word?  So, be excited.  The use of that word could come at any moment.  Be looking for it.

Anyhoo, back to life sharing with ya.  I've been on hiatus from the blog since this past week has been one of those weeks.  So, just so you'll know what those actually means, here is what's been goin' on 'round hea'.  Monday, I cleaned the house.  This was monumental since a strange lookin' forest was growing in our toilets, and I'm pretty sure my husband was writing obscenities with his finger in the thick dust on our furniture.  Tuesday, I had a Bible study/Book Club at my house.  This was truly a highlight of the week.  One of my friends stayed after to give me my very first sewing lesson.  I've never been more excited to make cloth napkins seeing how my family won't even know what to do with them once they're made.  They've only seen the white disposable ones 'round hea'.  Wednesday was a ball o' fun as I tackled the laundry and balanced the checkbook.  (I know so far you find this all so...well...quite riveting.  Whoop, there it is!)  Thursday, hang on to your seats, yaw, but I spent the day with the cable guy.  This was truly the highlight of my week since every time he bent down to work on our TV, I had an overwhelming urge to yell at the top of my lungs, SAY NO TO CRACK!  (Let me pause here for those who need a few extra moments to let that last sentence soak in.)  Stay with me, people.  This is real life stuff, here.  Seriously, I can't even make this stuff up if I wanted to.  Friday was a half-day for my first-born.  He got to witness me go off on a Walgreen's employee only to have to witness me have to apologize to her later for my rude-ness.  Nothing like a big ol' piece of Humble Pie.  And the highlight of all highlights happened Friday evening.  I was enjoying a lovely evening outside with the fam when lo and behold!  A Britney Spears song came on the radio.  To say I got my groove on is really puttin' it lightly, people.  I mean...I was shakin' my tail feather.  My 4-year-old was riding his bike and he pulled up right next to me and said, "Mom, I don't like what you're doing.  It weirds me out."

And that's all I got, friends.  I'm sure you all feel lots of smartness after reading all dat.  So, feel free to go and change the world now that you've been inspired.  I hope this clears up any concerns you might have had for my absence last week.  I hope to be back in the game this week.  (And the whole world just had a collective sigh of relief.)

Linds

Day 17-22 The Slacker

Well, it has been one of those weeks.  I could give you a long detailed excuse as to why I've been absent for the entire week.  But who cares, right?  The truth is...it's been busy, it's been good, but writing on this blog has been one of the last things I've been able to get to this week.  Who knew being a mom of three could be so busy?  Grin.

I truly don't have much to say today.  I'm thankful for a weekend with my family.  Today we celebrate my baby sister's birthday.  And I'm looking forward to watching college football with my hubs all afternoon and evening.  The biggest lesson the Lord is teaching me these days is that He does not work like a checklist.  I often think that if I do this, this and this, then He'll finally send His grace and love.  But that's just not how He works.  His grace and love come as a continuous supply.  I never once deserve it.  And thank goodness He doesn't wait until I do.  Each day is a gift and everything good in my life is a grace gift from Him.  Have a great weekend, friends.  Maybe I can be a better dedicated blogger this week.  :)

Day 16 The Well

This morning my pastor asked the following question...

Why is it that the very thing we need the most is the very thing we are most afraid of receiving?

The world has deceived us.  The American Dream has deceived us.  The enemy has deceived us.  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life."  Some of us spend our lives running.  Some of us spend our lives miserable.  Some of us spend our lives feeling empty.  We overcompensate by taking our buckets to a dry well, dropping them down into the hole, only to have the bucket scrape the bottom of the well and come up without a single drop of water.  We continue throughout our lives in a constant state of thirst traveling from one dry well to the other.  Jesus said, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters."

News flash, friend.  You need Him.  He loves you.  Don't be afraid.  Come to the well of the Living Water.

Day 15 Lessons

Well, it's Saturday and around here, it's been a Saturday full of lessons. Lessons being taught.  Lessons being learned. 

I nearly went into a full blown depression the week my first-born started kindergarten.  It was hard for me to accept how fast he was growing, but my biggest challenge was letting him go.  I knew how his heart would be corrupted.  I was very aware at how quickly he would learn about cruelty and teasing.  I feared the pressure he would feel to fit in and make good grades.  My little perfectionist boy, I knew, would be heartbroken the first time he didn't make a 100 % on a test.  And every fear I had has come true.  Today served up a big reminder of how corruptable the world really is.  After a minor blow up in an outlet store and a "I'm gonna spank you in front of God and everyone if you don't get over here" threat in another store, I could easily fall into a lump of defeat on my living room floor.

How sweet is our Father's voice! I'm thankful for His gentle reminders of grace, forgiveness and love. I'm reminded that I wouldn't have a good understanding of God's peace, His convictions, His forgiveness, and most importantly, His love, if it weren't for all the times in my own life where I failed miserably time and time again. We enter this world lost, and I pray my sweet child will very soon understand that although he lives in a lost world as a lost soul, there is One who came to save and has overcome the world. I pray that as his mom, I can help my boy see his real need for Jesus. And the lessons taught and learned today, hopefully, pointed straight to Him.

Day 14 Remember to Rely

It is Friday.  I am thankful.  I am tired.  God is stronger.  I was reminded this morning to rely on God always.  As mothers, we get so busy and overwhelmed with life.  We often forget our God is a prayer away.  Actually, He's there without us asking for Him.  He offers His help without us having to ask.  But how often we fail to recognize His provisions!  And I'm bad about remembering how important it is to rely on Him especially when the goin' gets tough.  I hope this weekend you will find rest, relaxation, laughter, and love.  Remember all things good come from above.  And our God is Ever Present.

Day 13 Reality Bites

Remember that movie from the 90s called Reality Bites?  I never really watched the entire movie but I sure loved the soundtrack.  There is so much truth to that short statement.  Reality DOES bite...sometimes like a mean ol' pit bull.  I've been reminded lately that life isn't always perfect.  In fact, it rarely is.  My life is really good.  I have absolutely no reason to complain but every now and then, reality bites and the storm clouds come rollin' in.  The truth is not everyone is going to like me.  I'm going to disappoint and hurt the people I love.  I'm going to be gossiped about and I'm going to gossip about someone else (although I really HATE when I do that).  My kids are going to get in trouble at school.  I'm going to say a curse word once-in-a-while.  Money will be tight.  The weight will have a hard time coming off.  And I'll burn dinner badly enough we'll all have to eat pb&j sandwiches.  But God never promised that life would be easy.  He warns us in Scripture that "in this life you will have trouble."  I believe the lessons in life come down to one thing.  The issue is when reality DOES bite, what do I do with the dog?  It's tempting to kick the dog and lock it away in the dog house.  But that never eliminates the problem.  Life will bring problems.  Life will have its share of storms.  But what do YOU do when it starts to rain?  Do you complain about getting wet OR do you praise Him in the storm? 

Lord, I want to learn to praise You in the storm.  I want to learn to be grateful for when times are good and grateful for when times are bad.  And when this life brings me trouble, help me to keep my eyes on what is eternal.  Remind me what your Scripture says.  "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is unseen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." -2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

Day 12 Choosing Thankfulness

Recently, I saw a movie where a father lost his daughter in a car crash.  It was tough watching this man agonize over the death of his daughter.  Especially since I've recently had a daughter of my own.  The father of this little girl reached a breaking point and needed the counseling of his pastor.  The father asked his pastor how he could get past all of the hurt and anger over losing his only 9-year-old daughter.  The pastor said, "Well, you have a choice.  You can either be grateful for the time you had with your daughter.  Or you can be angry about the time you don't."  That statement, I'm sure, is quite easier to say than do.  But there is so much truth in it.  It was just a handful of years ago that I lost my own father.  He didn't die.  But he chose to walk away from our family.  He and my mother divorced after 33 years of marriage and since then, he's had next to nothing to do with me, my husband or my children - his very own grandchildren.  Although he hasn't died, in a lot of ways, it has felt like a death.  Having him in our lives one minute only for him to be gone forever in the next.  I've spent a lot of time during these past few years being quite angry over time lost.  It's been very sad for me to realize all of those dreams I had of my dad being around during holidays and family birthdays...the dreams I had as a little girl of my children crawling all over his lap the way I did in my own grandfather's lap...may never come to be true.  It's easy to be selfish and to wallow around in the anger that comes from not having things go the way I planned them.  But today I choose to be thankful.  Today, I choose to praise God for all of the wonderful memories I have of my father.  He was a good dad to me when he was around, and I sure miss him. 

Thank you, Father, for giving me all of those years as a daddy's girl.  And although I've always been Your little girl, too, I couldn't be more grateful, Jesus, that today I can sit in Your lap and experience a love I never knew until recently from my Heavenly Daddy.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  AND BE THANKFUL." -Colossians 3:15 (NIV)

Day 11 - Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - It's 5:00 Somewhere

It is 4:55 p.m. at my house which only means one thing.  I. Am. Exhausted.  We just finished two rounds of homework (1 round/kid).  We still have a football game to attend.  And I have no idea what I'm going to do about supper.  So, whatta ya do?!  Does anybody else have a hard time with this time of the day?  I pray I'm not the only one who seriously considers eating my young as 5:00 approaches.  It's something about this time of day that seems to bring out the worst in me and my kids.  Patience is gone.  Kids are hungry.  Baby is crying.  Cooking dinner seems like an inconceivable task.  Blah blah blah, right?  And then I remember what HE says.  "My grace is sufficient for you.  For my power is made perfect in weakness."  It is upon that realization that I can let go of the rope, loosen my jaw, put a smile on my face, and take things one moment at a time.  God's grace truly does amaze me.

Day 9&10 - Sunday, October 9 & Monday, October 10, 2011 - A False Sense of Security

Yesterday was Sunday.  It was wonderful to be back with my church family.  Since having our 3rd baby, it's been hit and miss on Sunday mornings.  I finally feel like our family is in more of a routine and it makes me feel happy.  Another thing that makes me feel happy is my brand new planner.  Recently I ordered a month-at-a-glance calendar that can also be used as a notebook and doodle pad.  The best part about it is that it came with...y'all aren't going to believe this....seriously, so cool....ya ready to know?  Wait for it...STICKERS!  There are stickers for hair appointments, dentist and doctor appointments, manis and pedis, birthday parties, and so many more.  I special ordered this planner so that the cover would include our family name.  You have no idea how my heart filled with joy when I saw our family's last name printed on the cover with the cutest design you've ever seen.  Having this planner made me feel happy, organized, secure.

Stay with me, here, and walk with me through this crazy train of thought.  Having a brand new planner (and an organized pantry) make me feel secure.  If my life feels in order then I feel secure.  I know in my head that it is a false sense of security, but that doesn't really matter to me.  My heart almost skips a beat each time I lay my eyes on that new (and most adorable) planner.  Can you imagine what I would do if I had a label gun?!  Oh Lord Almighty!  Don't give me a label gun!!!  I thought recently that if a brand new planner gives me a silly false sense of security, then what else do I let give me false senses of security or false anything... just fill in the blank.  We do this so often as humans.  We place our security, our sense of worthiness, our dependency on an object, person, and/or relationship.  I've done this so many times in my life.  And I want so desperately to put all of my trust, all of my dependency in the One who is the only Source of Strength and Dignity.  Jesus.  Jesus is IT.  He is where to go for validation, self-worth, security, and most importantly... love.

What about you?  Anybody else out there love the feeling that comes with being organized?  Don't even get me started on brand new school supplies.  Oh my!  The smell of new pencils, the smell of the markers, the sound of flipping through a brand new notebook.  Hallelujah, y'all.  This is living!  ;)  Lord, help me!!

Day 8 - Saturday, October 8, 2011 - S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y.

It's Saturday and my brain is officially on vaca.  As I struggled this morning with what to write about, the Lord reminded me that it is totally okay to take a day to simply...chill. the. heck. out.  And that's what I'm choosing to do today.  Hallelujah and bless God for setting me free to enjoy spending a little extra time in my pj's, to letting me be okay with the kids fixing their own pop tart breakfast, to enjoy an extra cup of coffee, and to soak up the sweetness that comes with spending a Saturday morning surrounded by my family.  As women, we feel guilty sometimes when we don't feel up every second with something that involves, cleaning, wiping, or cooking.  I believe the enemy loves to see us fill up our time with "stuff" just so that we don't spend time with our family, don't invest into the life of a dear friend, and his personal favorite, we don't pray or read God's Word.  Today, I'm going to enjoy my family.  And if the kitchen gets messy or the laundry piles up, it won't matter.  Thank you, Father, for my family.

Day 6&7 - Thursday, October 6 & Friday, October 7 - RESET

I am a child of the 80s.  And while I have fond memories of playing with my Cabbage Patch dolls and finding new charms to add to my totally rad plastic charm necklace collection, nothing makes me feel more connected to my childhood than thinking back on all the times I played Atari.  Nothing beats it, right?  Not even a pair of brand new hightops with velcro straps.  I loved playing Atari.  Pac Man, Miss Pac Man, Pole Position, Centipede, you name it, we probably had it.  And I would play until my eyes bulged out of my head with my mother screaming, "If you don't turn that thing off, I'm gonna ..."  Ahhh, sweet memories.

Yesterday, when I couldn't get online because the Internet was down...all day.  And the night before, I was so tired after making dinner that all I wanted to do was sit down in the kitchen floor and just cry or scream or both.  And after putting my children to bed on that same night, I felt like such an epic failure as a mother since I didn't spend enough time with my kids that day, didn't read to them enough, didn't smile enough, wasn't patient enough, didn't express my love enough, and the list could just keep going...I was reminded of the Atari.

Not that I'm psychotically competitive or anything, but when I would play Atari and the game was not heading in the direction I would like, what did this honest, hard working girl do?  Did I keep playing and accept defeat?  No no no no!  I would simply reach out my sweet little index finger, gently place it on the Atari console, and slap the heck out of that reset button.  YES!  THE RESET BUTTON!  What a brilliant idea!!  Anytime things weren't going my way, I could just hit the reset button and all my insecurities of failure would be wiped away.  Such sweet relief. 

Sometimes I wish life would be that simple, ya know?  When things aren't going the way you want them to, wouldn't it be nice to just hit the reset button?  Act like nothing happened and start all over from scratch? 

At the end of the day, a day where maybe we've just completely blown it, Jesus is our reset button.  When I put my head down on the pillow at night, and all I feel like doing is melting into a puddle of defeat and guilt, He's there.  He looks at me and simply points to the reset button.  On the days you've set your expectations a little too high for yourself, remember there is only One who mastered the stress of life.  Is He your Master?  Don't let defeat keep you from Him.  Re-set.  And reset.

Day 5 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - The Stinky Stomp

When I was a little girl, something awful started stinkin' up my bedroom.  At first, it started out as an unusual odor.  Then, with each passing day, the smell got stronger and stronger.  It didn't take my parents long to realize something, like an animal, must have died outside near my part of the house.  My dad ventured outside to claim the smelly prize and came back empty handed.  Since our house was raised off of the ground, he came quickly to the conclusion that the dead animal must be under the house.  My instructions were simple.  My dad told me to go to the spot in my room where the stinky smell was the strongest.  And then I was to stomp my foot as loud as I could at that very spot.  He would then follow the sound of my stomp and hopefully find the smelly culprit.  It worked!  After stomping VERY loudly (you can imagine how a 6-year-old would love this daddy-given task), he found it...a cat.  You would think a deceased kitten would upset me, but I was thrilled.  Not because the cat was dead, but because the smell was finally gone.  I felt like I had been given a gift.  My room quickly smelled again of my mom's favorite cinnamon potpourri.  It smelled like home again.

And then it occurred to me.  Every bad decision I have made, every example of defiance, every act of disobedience has created an unbearable odor in my heart.  At first, when the path to destruction is slow and gradual, the consequences of our decisions don't seem as bad.  In fact, some of them are quite bearable.  But overtime, just like the stench of a dead animal under a house, the consequences become too much.  For some of us, we get in over our head.  We start to drown in a sea of destruction and despair.  And because our God loves us beyond comprehension, He does just like I did for my dad.  He stands over us, stomping His foot.  In our hearts, He goes to the worst spot He can find and stomps VERY loudly until we hear Him.  That's how He reveals Himself.  But do we actually hear Him?  Do you hear His stomping in your life?  Or have you put your fingers in your ears like a child and refused to listen to His voice?  His stomping foot, His voice is not there to reprimand you.  He just wants you back.  Just like a child playing a silly game of hide-and-seek with dad, He's waiting for you to jump out of your hiding place and run to Him with arms open.  Go, friend.  It's time.  Get your fingers out of your ears, come out of your hiding place, and run.  Run to Him.  He's there.  Waiting and wanting you. 

Day 4 - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - God's Red Rover Team

I remember sitting in a small group Bible study one summer being suddenly struck with inspiration.  It was almost overwhelming.  The urgency was so strong I didn't really know what to do with it.  It was in that moment where I realized my calling in life was much bigger than anything I could do on my own.  I became so excited realizing that God had something very special for me to do.  I felt selected, chosen, like when the really cool kid at school selects YOU to be on his Red Rover team...but it felt even better than that.  Can you imagine?!  I remember thinking things were about to get interesting.  I remember even telling some of my friends, with tears in my eyes and my heart pounding as I spoke, how I felt the calling of God on my life.  And then?  That was it.  It was like reaching the top of the highest peak on a roller coaster ride and just staying there.  And there is where I have stayed for most of the time since.  But now I am beginning to think that is just where God wants me.  I think sometimes we equate a special calling of God on our lives to something major, monumental, or life-altering.  We think in terms of selling all of our possessions and moving across the world to live in grass huts and share Christ with the natives day in and day out.  And YES, praise God for those who do just THAT.  But for most of us, that is not in the cards for us.  Each day, I realize God's calling has everything to do with just where I am.  It includes telling my boys about how much Jesus loves them and encouraging them to show the love of Christ by simply taking a batch of cookies to a neighbor.  Or it must be honoring to the Lord when I rock my baby girl and tell her how much she is loved by her King while singing a song about it in her ear while she sleeps.  Or what about the people that surround me everywhere I go everyday?  Anywhere you look there are hurting people around us that just need a smile or someone to make them feel valued.  Isn't that sharing the Gospel, too?  Little by little the Lord is showing me that I can fulfill my calling...the very calling He gave me in that small group Bible study on that hot summer day...right where I am.  And honestly, as I realize that more and more each day, I get pretty excited about it.

Did you know you have a calling of God on your life?  Ask the Father to reveal it to you.  He will and you might be surprised in learning He's had this calling on you for a while now.  He's just waiting for us to figure it out.  Let's not wait any longer.

Day 3 - Monday, October 3, 2011 - The Decisions I Make

When she was a little girl, all she cared about was climbing magnolia trees and watching fireworks at the 4th of July picnic.  Her world was filled with baby dolls, Mars Bars, and swimming with her friends each and every summer.  She never knew of hate crimes, human monsters or betrayal.  Until that night.  The night where she learned of her father's unfaithfulness.  It was in that moment where every ounce of innocence was shattered and everything she knew about trust and commitment was forever altered.  I wonder if we parents really know the significance behind each choice we make.  Even as a "big girl," my life is still impacted by choices my parents make.  So, if that is true for me, then I know it is true for my own children.  As a mother, I pray the Lord will help me teach my children more than just who He is.  He is so much more than a Biblical figure we celebrate at Christmas and Easter.  He is the Redeemer.  The Restorer.  The Healer.  And He wants all of His children.  All of them.  He doesn't want even one to be left behind.  He wants everyone of them with Him for eternity.  I know I will fail just as my own parents failed me a time or two.  But I have the power to teach my children about Jesus' forgiveness and the restoration that takes place within the relationship I have with Him.  And He wants that with each of them, as well.  There's no greater lesson than that.  "Our very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at them.  Christ, Himself, wrote it.  Not with ink but with God's Living Spirit.  Not chiseled into stone but carved into human lives.  And we publish it."  -2 Corinthians 3:3 (The MSG)

Day 2 - Sunday, October 2, 2011 - Fame

The American Dream is deceptive.  For those of us born into this country, we've forever been encouraged to pursue the American Dream.  That if you want it bad enough, you can have it.  But for those of us who have spent a large portion of our lives pursuing that dream, we still come out feeling empty.  The Dream deceives us each time.  It never delivers what it promises.  I've realized only recently that I've been chasing after the wrong dream.  We were created for something greater.  And each one of us, at conception, was given a very specific task, a purpose.  We are to spend our lives fulfilling that purpose and the purpose does not include gaining wealth or notoriety.  It does include fame, though.  Not fame for ourselves but fame for the One who created us and gave us our individual objective.  My purpose is to make Jesus' name famous.  I don't have a business plan that outlines how to do that step by step.  Each day, I surrender my soul to Him and ask Him to show me the way to fame.  His fame.  Making His name known.  "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." -Mark 16:15

31 Days To Strength & Dignity

For the next 31 days, I am going to write.  I am simply going to take a few minutes each day to just...write.  I'm not sure what I will say.  My only hope is that my words on the screen will reflect the transformation I am asking the Lord to do in my heart.  Since today is October 3, I will backtrack to Saturday, October 1st, in an effort to align my writings with each day of October.  Proverbs 31 says, "She is clothed with strength and dignity."  That is my hope.  By the end of this month, Father please, help me to find my strength and dignity, the kind that only You can give.  And by the way, I stole this idea from another blogger I like to read on a regular basis.  She is such an amazing writer.  You can check her out at http://www.chattingatthesky.com/.

Day 1 - Saturday, October 1, 2011- A True Friend
Rejection is a big gun.  If someone significant in your life has rejected you, that heartache never goes away.  No matter how far you have to go back, if someone you loved and trusted dearly walks out of your life, you never forget that pain.  It always stays fresh.  And when someone else comes along and rejects you again, it's like ripping the scab right off an old wound.  Those feelings of betrayal, sadness, and fear come flooding in like a rushing river.  But when this happened to me recently, I was reminded that people often fail you, but God never does.  And that was all I needed in that moment.  Assurance that Jesus is my friend.  Jesus will always be my friend.  And even after all of the times I have rejected Him in my life, He kept on pursuing me, never giving up, and always wanting me.  No one is a friend like Jesus.