Every day is like an empty suitcase. We must choose what we want to pack and how we pack it. We can begin our day by hurriedly throwing various items in our suitcases, but what happens? We end up with a jumbled mess! How we pack our suitcases is as important as what we pack.
1. The biggest items need to be put in first. Remember the experiment as a child about putting rocks and sand in a jar? If you don't put the biggest rocks in first, there is no room for them at the end. The same is true with our lives. If we don't make time for our priorities first, and try to fit them into the space that is left, there won't be enough room for them to properly fit. In other words, we won't be able to give God our best.
2. Pack your items one at a time and carefully. Which works better, grabbing a handful of shirts from the drawer and cramming them in the suitcase, or taking one at a time, folding them neatly and packing them one at a time? The same is true of our daily life. If you hurry through each task, and then another, and another, you wind up frustrated and anxious. But if you do each chore as unto the Lord, taking your time and trying to enjoy each moment - Your suitcase will be organized and your life will be well run and well, fun!
3. Each day, empty your suitcase and ask God for your packing list! You will be amazed what items you forget to unpack! Anxiety, Worry, Fear, Guilt! Those things can fill a suitcase quickly, leaving no room for the things that matter! God will show you what He wants in your suitcase and everything will fit nicely and it will be a joy to carry around!
Don't wait for a day off to enjoy the day! Every day is a vacation day in the kingdom of God!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Things I am Thankful For
The Bible says we are to be thankful all the time, no matter what our circumstances are. I purpose to find different things to be thankful for every day.
- Salvation
- God's Word
- My Husband
- My children
- My family
- Good friends
- My home
- Joyce Meyer Ministries
- My Church
- Good books
- Comfy pajamas
- Iced Tea
- Vacation days (from school)
- teaching tapes
- blogs
- hot water
- sunshine
- Easter
- pizza
- laughter
- Blackberries
- 24
- God's protection
- Good health
- joy
- peace
- clearance
- chocolate
- ice cream
Friday, April 3, 2009
10 things I learned from God in 2009
1. Anxiety and worry are a choice we make by allowing our minds to dwell on negative thoughts.
2. God gives us the ability to live our lives in joy and peace in whatever situation we are in.
3. Frustration is result of relying on yourself instead of God.
4. Multi-tasking is a gift God has given us so that we can fellowship with Him while we live our daily lives.
5. Our job is to teach and train others according to the Word of God, but it is the Holy Spirit's job to convict and convince them to change.
6. Peace should be the normal atmosphere for the heart of the believer.
7. Distractions were a part of Jesus life, and He remained calm and peaceful when they arose.
8. The work God gives us is easy and light (when we rely on His grace), we make it a heavy burden when we add our own expectations, anxiety, guilt, and fear.
9. Every day the devil will try to steal our peace and joy if we let him.
10. Living in fear, anxiety, and perpetual discontent is living under the curse of the law, that Jesus died to set us free from!
2. God gives us the ability to live our lives in joy and peace in whatever situation we are in.
3. Frustration is result of relying on yourself instead of God.
4. Multi-tasking is a gift God has given us so that we can fellowship with Him while we live our daily lives.
5. Our job is to teach and train others according to the Word of God, but it is the Holy Spirit's job to convict and convince them to change.
6. Peace should be the normal atmosphere for the heart of the believer.
7. Distractions were a part of Jesus life, and He remained calm and peaceful when they arose.
8. The work God gives us is easy and light (when we rely on His grace), we make it a heavy burden when we add our own expectations, anxiety, guilt, and fear.
9. Every day the devil will try to steal our peace and joy if we let him.
10. Living in fear, anxiety, and perpetual discontent is living under the curse of the law, that Jesus died to set us free from!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Devotional/Your Day is Not Your Own
Mark 5:21-43
It can be very frustrating when we have our day all planned out and circumstances keep changing or people don't cooperate or things don't go the way we planned.
Jesus was not given an itinerary or a "to do" list ahead of time by God the Father. He lived out His life just as we do today - one day at a time. I found this example of a day He had when things seemed to get off track. It was a blessing to me to see how He handled it.
v.21 And when He had recrossed in the boat to the other side, a great throng gathered about Him, and He was at the lakeshore.
As a mother, it seems sometimes everyone wants my attention at once. It certainly appears as though Jesus can relate.
Jairus asks Jesus to come and heal his daughter, who is gravely ill. It is an emergency. Jesus goes with him and heads to Jairus' house. There are so many people following Him that they are almost suffocating Him! We can begin to feel suffocated as many people demand of our time and our abilities.
v. 25 - 30 25And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years,
26And who had endured much [a]suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse.
27She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment,
28For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.
29And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and [[b]suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [[c]distressing] ailment.
30And Jesus, recognizing in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around immediately in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes?
Here comes the interruption. Jesus is on His way to Jairus' house because a child is dying. The father is depending on Him to heal her. Also, people are crowding Him on every side so He can barely move. As if that's not hard enough, now a woman comes along and steals a healing :). Jesus stops to figure out what happened. He doesn't say, "Look! I'm busy! Everyone go away and leave Me alone! You are all driving me crazy!" He is calm and at peace - even though his circumstances are anything but calm and peaceful.
The woman confesses to being the one who touched Him and he takes the time to encourage her and tell her that her healing is not temporary. Even though He was intending to go right to Jairus' house, he takes the interruption as it comes and continues to bless those around Him.
When He arrives at the house, it appears that He took too long to get there. The news arrives that the little girl has already died. I know what I would have thought. "Oh, no! If only I would have hurried! I shouldn't have stopped along the way!" Or He could have blamed others. "If that woman hadn't made me late! If those people weren't in my way all the time!" Instead He accepted the situation just as it was. He didn't waste time trying to figure out "why" or whose fault it was.
Then He goes back to what He was doing. He did not make a big production out of it - instead He tried to minimize the fuss. He is not worried or upset. He does not fret or reason it out in His mind. He also does not allow negativity to remain in His presence. He put out anyone who would extinguish the faith. When we get interrupted, we must not allow negativity to steal our peace and joy or distract us from doing what we know we need to do. Put the negativity out!
Jesus did everything for the glory of God - with the same peace and joy. He was not unpredictable or unstable. He was the same when the boat was in a storm, when the woman touched His clothes, and when he healed the little girl. He was the same in storms, during interruptions, and during miracles. He didn't fear the storm, whine during the interruption, and celebrate during the healing. In fact, He went right on with the ordinary - telling the family to give the little girl something to eat. We need to learn self-control and not let our emotions be a roller coaster ride through life. With the same enthusiasm and joy that we go to church, we should also go to the grocery store or the post office. It is ALL for the glory of God!
It can be very frustrating when we have our day all planned out and circumstances keep changing or people don't cooperate or things don't go the way we planned.
Jesus was not given an itinerary or a "to do" list ahead of time by God the Father. He lived out His life just as we do today - one day at a time. I found this example of a day He had when things seemed to get off track. It was a blessing to me to see how He handled it.
v.21 And when He had recrossed in the boat to the other side, a great throng gathered about Him, and He was at the lakeshore.
As a mother, it seems sometimes everyone wants my attention at once. It certainly appears as though Jesus can relate.
Jairus asks Jesus to come and heal his daughter, who is gravely ill. It is an emergency. Jesus goes with him and heads to Jairus' house. There are so many people following Him that they are almost suffocating Him! We can begin to feel suffocated as many people demand of our time and our abilities.
v. 25 - 30 25And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years,
26And who had endured much [a]suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse.
27She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment,
28For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.
29And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and [[b]suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [[c]distressing] ailment.
30And Jesus, recognizing in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around immediately in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes?
Here comes the interruption. Jesus is on His way to Jairus' house because a child is dying. The father is depending on Him to heal her. Also, people are crowding Him on every side so He can barely move. As if that's not hard enough, now a woman comes along and steals a healing :). Jesus stops to figure out what happened. He doesn't say, "Look! I'm busy! Everyone go away and leave Me alone! You are all driving me crazy!" He is calm and at peace - even though his circumstances are anything but calm and peaceful.
The woman confesses to being the one who touched Him and he takes the time to encourage her and tell her that her healing is not temporary. Even though He was intending to go right to Jairus' house, he takes the interruption as it comes and continues to bless those around Him.
When He arrives at the house, it appears that He took too long to get there. The news arrives that the little girl has already died. I know what I would have thought. "Oh, no! If only I would have hurried! I shouldn't have stopped along the way!" Or He could have blamed others. "If that woman hadn't made me late! If those people weren't in my way all the time!" Instead He accepted the situation just as it was. He didn't waste time trying to figure out "why" or whose fault it was.
Then He goes back to what He was doing. He did not make a big production out of it - instead He tried to minimize the fuss. He is not worried or upset. He does not fret or reason it out in His mind. He also does not allow negativity to remain in His presence. He put out anyone who would extinguish the faith. When we get interrupted, we must not allow negativity to steal our peace and joy or distract us from doing what we know we need to do. Put the negativity out!
Jesus did everything for the glory of God - with the same peace and joy. He was not unpredictable or unstable. He was the same when the boat was in a storm, when the woman touched His clothes, and when he healed the little girl. He was the same in storms, during interruptions, and during miracles. He didn't fear the storm, whine during the interruption, and celebrate during the healing. In fact, He went right on with the ordinary - telling the family to give the little girl something to eat. We need to learn self-control and not let our emotions be a roller coaster ride through life. With the same enthusiasm and joy that we go to church, we should also go to the grocery store or the post office. It is ALL for the glory of God!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Frugal Meal Planning
Aldi, the cheapie grocery store, is now offering a menu planner and calendar on their website. It was down when I tried to sign up, but I hope to get back on later and check it out.
http://www.aldimeals.com/
Also, Save-A-Lot (a similar grocery store) has ads for meals under $5.
http://save-a-lot.com/ads-promotions/promotions/fuel-your-family
http://www.aldimeals.com/
Also, Save-A-Lot (a similar grocery store) has ads for meals under $5.
http://save-a-lot.com/ads-promotions/promotions/fuel-your-family
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Devotional: Pulling God's Wagon
Once there was a woman who went to work for God in His garden. She was ready and willing to serve Him and was excited to begin. God gave her a beautiful wagon to use. She was delighted and looked forward to using it.
On the first day, the woman met with God first thing in the morning. "Here are 5 stones for you to carry to the other side of the garden." The woman was pleased with the task God had given her. The sun was warm and pulling the wagon was not difficult. As she walked along the path, she was taken in by the beauty of the flowers and trees and the animals around her.
After a while, she noticed other stones that were along the path. "These stones are much larger than the ones God gave me," she thought, "I bet God would rather have these ones instead!" So she picked up the big stones and put them in the wagon. There was not enough room for the stones that God had given her, so she took those ones out and left them along side the road. She smiled and kept walking, though much slower now.
As time passed, she began to worry. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to get to the other side of the garden by the end of the day. She was beginning to get very weary from pulling the heavy load of the wagon. She no longer took note of the beautiful things around her. She had quit enjoying the task she so eagerly took on that morning. All she could think about was getting her work finished; and her mind was continually rolling over how much further she had to go and if she could get it all done. Still she trudged on.
She gathered smaller rocks that she found along the way and added them in. She wished she had time to visit with all the interesting people she found along the way, but if she stopped she would surely be late. Occasionally someone would tell her of a better way to pull the wagon or a different road to take and she would rearrange her load making her voyage longer and even more difficult.
Finally, the day came to an end. Long past dark, exhausted and frustrated the woman pulled the wagon up to the place where she was supposed to park it. She found God and told Him, "This is too hard! There are too many rocks to pull and they are too heavy for me! Not only that, but I don't think I can do this job at all!"
God looked at the woman and smiled. "My yoke is easy and My burden is light. The rest of the burden you carried was just extra weight. I came that you may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance until it overflows."
God does not desire for us to have lives full of frustration and pressure. The work He desires for us should bring us joy. When we are carrying a load that we nearly cannot bear, then we are adding in things that the Lord is not requiring of us. In the end those things will not matter; they are a waste.
Who controls what goes into your wagon? You? An image you are trying to live up to? The world? Or is it God?
For a long time, I tried to control my circumstances. In order to bring peace and contentment to my life, I organized and reorganized. I made this schedule and that schedule. I planned new routines and cleaning lists. No matter how hard I tried, the strife would creep back into my life. Once day as I was praying, I felt like God said to me, "You will never have peace on the inside by trying to change what is on the outside. The strife in your life is coming from the inside of you." Like a book with ripped up pages, I was trying to fix it by rearranging where it sat on the shelf.
Each morning we need to come to God with an empty wagon. We need to ask Him what we need to put in it. Some days it may hold more than others. Some days we may have a light load with lots of bumps in the road. Other days we may have a heavier load and a shorter path. One thing is sure - if we ask Him every day - the load will always be just right. The yoke will be easy and the burden will be light.
On the first day, the woman met with God first thing in the morning. "Here are 5 stones for you to carry to the other side of the garden." The woman was pleased with the task God had given her. The sun was warm and pulling the wagon was not difficult. As she walked along the path, she was taken in by the beauty of the flowers and trees and the animals around her.
After a while, she noticed other stones that were along the path. "These stones are much larger than the ones God gave me," she thought, "I bet God would rather have these ones instead!" So she picked up the big stones and put them in the wagon. There was not enough room for the stones that God had given her, so she took those ones out and left them along side the road. She smiled and kept walking, though much slower now.
As time passed, she began to worry. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to get to the other side of the garden by the end of the day. She was beginning to get very weary from pulling the heavy load of the wagon. She no longer took note of the beautiful things around her. She had quit enjoying the task she so eagerly took on that morning. All she could think about was getting her work finished; and her mind was continually rolling over how much further she had to go and if she could get it all done. Still she trudged on.
She gathered smaller rocks that she found along the way and added them in. She wished she had time to visit with all the interesting people she found along the way, but if she stopped she would surely be late. Occasionally someone would tell her of a better way to pull the wagon or a different road to take and she would rearrange her load making her voyage longer and even more difficult.
Finally, the day came to an end. Long past dark, exhausted and frustrated the woman pulled the wagon up to the place where she was supposed to park it. She found God and told Him, "This is too hard! There are too many rocks to pull and they are too heavy for me! Not only that, but I don't think I can do this job at all!"
God looked at the woman and smiled. "My yoke is easy and My burden is light. The rest of the burden you carried was just extra weight. I came that you may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance until it overflows."
God does not desire for us to have lives full of frustration and pressure. The work He desires for us should bring us joy. When we are carrying a load that we nearly cannot bear, then we are adding in things that the Lord is not requiring of us. In the end those things will not matter; they are a waste.
Who controls what goes into your wagon? You? An image you are trying to live up to? The world? Or is it God?
For a long time, I tried to control my circumstances. In order to bring peace and contentment to my life, I organized and reorganized. I made this schedule and that schedule. I planned new routines and cleaning lists. No matter how hard I tried, the strife would creep back into my life. Once day as I was praying, I felt like God said to me, "You will never have peace on the inside by trying to change what is on the outside. The strife in your life is coming from the inside of you." Like a book with ripped up pages, I was trying to fix it by rearranging where it sat on the shelf.
Each morning we need to come to God with an empty wagon. We need to ask Him what we need to put in it. Some days it may hold more than others. Some days we may have a light load with lots of bumps in the road. Other days we may have a heavier load and a shorter path. One thing is sure - if we ask Him every day - the load will always be just right. The yoke will be easy and the burden will be light.
Scriptures for Guarding Your Speech
Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth, Keep watch at the doors of my lips Ps. 141:3
I have purposed that my lips may not transgress Psalm 17:3
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord Psalm 19:14
I do not say anything ever that is unwholesome or worthless. I speak words that bless, that are good and that are helpful according to what others are going through. Eph. 4:29
I do not begin or maintain arguments with others. Instead I use words to be helpful and understanding. I forgive quickly. Eph. 4:31-32
Everything I do is without grumbling, complaining, or questioning why I have to do it. I shine like a star on a dark night. Phil 2:14
No matter who I am speaking with, my words are gentle, I do not get provoked easily, and I treat them with love. Col. 3:13-14
I am always ready to listen. I listen more than I talk and I don’t get offended or angry easily. James 1:19
I do not insult others back when they hurt my feelings. Instead I pray for them and love them anyway. 1 Peter 3:9
When I teach, my speech is always sweet, agreeable, and pleasant and my kids learn from me. I give council and instruction with kindness. Prov. 16:21, Prov. 31:26
I encourage others and use words to make them feel better and comfort them. 1 Thess. 5:11
I have purposed that my lips may not transgress Psalm 17:3
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord Psalm 19:14
I do not say anything ever that is unwholesome or worthless. I speak words that bless, that are good and that are helpful according to what others are going through. Eph. 4:29
I do not begin or maintain arguments with others. Instead I use words to be helpful and understanding. I forgive quickly. Eph. 4:31-32
Everything I do is without grumbling, complaining, or questioning why I have to do it. I shine like a star on a dark night. Phil 2:14
No matter who I am speaking with, my words are gentle, I do not get provoked easily, and I treat them with love. Col. 3:13-14
I am always ready to listen. I listen more than I talk and I don’t get offended or angry easily. James 1:19
I do not insult others back when they hurt my feelings. Instead I pray for them and love them anyway. 1 Peter 3:9
When I teach, my speech is always sweet, agreeable, and pleasant and my kids learn from me. I give council and instruction with kindness. Prov. 16:21, Prov. 31:26
I encourage others and use words to make them feel better and comfort them. 1 Thess. 5:11
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