Threw Out the Chocolate

Yes, I did do that. July was a very busy month for me because I worked a lot. But that is over with. Now I will go in only on Saturdays to get done what I can. Sweetie works during our summer months here in Oregon but this summer he had to wait until this month to do a particular job because they couldn't work as long as the birds were mating in the area of the job. Yep, you read that right.
Sooooooooo, while he was at home I could leave Puddin with him while I worked with my sister in Coos Bay. Now I get to stay home with Puddin. I love it that way. I thought I would never be able to adjust to retirement but I am proud to announce that I love it!
Oh yeh; the chocolate. For the past few weeks I have been having problems that I can't reveal on the blog but I had been so stressed out.(nothing to do with the working or marriage) A day when I was buying groceries I bought 6 of those dark, dark, chocolate bars in several different flavors. I ate one on my way home. Had a terrible headache and felt bad for several days. I knew I shouldn't keep doing that.
Sooooooo, to make the chocolate bars weightwatcher friendly I broke up the squares and put them all in a baggie. Each square was about 1 point. How cool was that!!! Well you know as well as I do that I wouldn't be able to eat just one. I binged a couple times and hated the way I felt after that. The chocolate was not helping.
On a morning when I had to go to a meeting with what was stressing me so much I spent at least an hour in the Psalms taking into my heart the wonders of God and His love for me. When I went into that meeting I was perfectly calm. I actually smiled and was so relaxed. I could see the relief on that persons face when she realized that I was not angry with her about what had happened the day before. I apologized to her for how our meeting went the day before and so did she. I was amazed at the power of peace that God had given me.
Actually neither of us did anything mean to each other. It was just the tension of not being able to successfully be able to make our sides of the problem clear and be fair. Let me say that I wanted to scream at her but thankfully I didn't. I was almost crying when I left though and I could feel the tension in other people in the waiting room that had been listening in on our conversation.
When I got home from the meeting I threw the rest of the chocolate in the garbage and didn't even dig it out later.
Praise God for that lesson!!!! I know that no matter how the stress thing turns out, we will be able to live with it. How stupid was I thinking that the chocolate was comforting when all it was doing was making me more stressed. No more stress chocolate for this gal. God is soooooo much better.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for stopping in. Feel free to share with me

Hearing II

My previous post sent me spinning trying to figure out how I was going to study all those verses on 'hear'. I didn't have a printer with me in the RV this summer; so that frustrated me. I have e-sword on my computer which I love but I still needed a printer or I would be sitting at my computer all the time.
So now I have a printer. I wanted just the cheapest basic printer I could find. Man after having to buy the printer, USB cord, and ink I was in over $80.00. I was hoping to only spend around $30. At the store when an employee came up to help me, he looked at me strange(or it was my imagination) and I said that I just wanted a cheap printer. He says, "Yep, that's cheep"

I didn't have a copy of the NASB in my e-sword so I downloaded that for $20. But I am happy with that. So for around $100 I can study 'hear'.
I just love doing everything the easy way. :-)

As I said in the previous post the words hear, do, and obey are rolling around in my head. I know they have something to do with being able to say "Yes" to God. I am thinking it helps to hear Him in order to say "Yes."

Lysa has this list in her book that gives us some pointers to knowing if something we are hearing is of God.
1. Does what I'm hearing line up with Scripture.?
2. Is it consistent with God's character?
3. Is it being confirmed through messages I'm hearing at church or studying in my quiet times?
4. Is it beyond me?
5. Would it please God?

Those are pretty good. Well, that is about it for now. I am going to start reading my nine pages of verses on "hear" and hopefully be able to share something about them later.
Thanks for stopping in. I would love it if you would let me know you stopped in.

Hearing God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

I have recently started reading What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa Terkeusrst in conjunction with a group of ladies studying it online. For those of you that know my niece Tami, that is a group through her church.

I am becoming more aware of making a more conscious effort to discern when God is speaking to me and then obeying. This morning John 1:1 jumped into my mind. :-). Well that is what it seemed like.

Then I looked up the word 'hear' in the New Testament. There are a lot of verses to check out so that will take me some time. These words are rambling around in my head: hear, do, obey.

Here is a link to the verses listed on the search of hear. I am going to check out those verses and try to find what I am trying to learn from this. Lots of commands to hear with so many concepts to try to understand.

Well, this is definately going to have be an on going subject. I welcome any of your thoughts about hearing and obeying God.

Why did that verse come to me this morning as I was thinking about my day? Is it important to my understanding of my hearing God?

Jesus Came to Serve:John 13:1-7

Just a quick update on my last post. Sweetie went to church with me on Easter Sunday. I am so blessed by that. I am so blessed to be going back to church where I can learn about Christ.

We have a wonderful teacher preacher. These notes are from last Sunday's sermon. Here is a link to this sermon. Washing Their Feet I like to read the section of scripture that the pastor teaches about from different bible versions each day the following week. The following scriptures come from the Contemporary English version.

If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. Matt 11:28-29

Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves and think the same way that Christ Jesus thought: Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God.
Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us.
Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross. Phil 2:3-8

The apostles got into an argument about which one of them was the greatest. So Jesus told them:
Foreign kings order their people around, and powerful rulers call themselves everyone's friends. But don't be like them. The most important one of you should be like the least important, and your leader should be like a servant. Who do people think is the greatest, a person who is served or one who serves? Isn't it the one who is served? But I have been with you as a servant. Luke 22:24-26

The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people. Matt 20:28

But none of you should be called a teacher. You have only one teacher, and all of you are like brothers and sisters. Don't call anyone on earth your father. All of you have the same Father in heaven. None of you should be called the leader. The Messiah is your only leader. Whoever is the greatest should be the servant of the others. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored. Matt 23:8-12

But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts.
I John 1:8-9

I do get tired and feel like I can't go on but then I remember all the times I have thanked God for who I am married to, who my children, who I am, what my life is and am ashamed that I find fault with it. So I am again wrapping the yoke that Christ has given me around my shoulders and using it to equalize the load so I can deal with it.

I am not proclaiming to be a teacher but when my pastor said to go out and proclaim what I learned in church I decided I would go ahead and post some of it. So there is it and I hope it brings comfort and strength to you when you deal with where God set you in this world. Please don't think of this as just a bunch of bible verses. It is God speaking to us.

One of my favorite Psalms is 27

God Bless

My husband; My gift from God

At this moment the biggest thing I notice about taking time off from going to church this winter is that reading my bible everyday isn't enough. These past few days I am realizing that what I have been missing is time with God. Down on my knees seeking His Wisdom and whatever it is He has for me.

James 1:5 tells me that if I lack wisdom just ask for it. I have been standing on that verse for many years. I wasn't sure if my not going to church this winter was just a cop out because I hated going to church without Sweetie or I wanted to eat out.

Our neighborhood goes to breakfast on Sunday mornings. (4 couples)At first I wouldn't go with them but noticed that it wasn't making a happy husband to come home to after church. Also our neighbors were all bonding and I felt like a stranger.

Well tonight I can say that I am pretty sure God has blessed me for joining the breakfast group each Sunday morning. Now we will just have to see where our friendships go.

For a Season

It's been a long time since I felt like posting on this blog. I feel like I have been in a dormant stage in my walk with God. I haven't been going to church much this winter. For some reason I don't feel guilty about it. Should I?

I have been reading my bible everyday. Sometimes I want to share with you some of the words that jump out just for me. But then I start to write and it just doesn't come out right. I find fault in it because it might not say to you what it says to me and I fear criticism. Oh my goodness there are so many people that write so inspiringly. Makes me feel like Moses who needed his brother to speak for him.

I have been hearing that voice inside me encouraging me to do something, but right now I am not sure what. I love what Tami wrote on her blog. Guess it freed me up to admit what a lowly person I am. I see how much I fail to stand up to someone else's idea of how a christian 'should' act and am embarrassed by that.

With God's help I have overcome a lot in my life and I am ready to come out of this season of dryness. God is going to do something with me and I am earnestly seeking what it will be.

A Gente Reminder

I have been starting to organizing in anticipation of family coming for Christmas this year. The quilt in a frame that is in the living room really needs to be able to fit in my sewing room at Christmas time. The boxes stored under my sewing table need to find a new home so I can fold down the leaf for the quilt frame to fit there. The stuff on the desk needs to move to a higher up shelf so the boxes can sit on the desk.
I have a free standing cross on that shelf. It is right above my desk which is cluttered with all sorts of things that I don't know where to put. It is pretty handy to stack things on the shelf. Without realizing I was shoving the cross further and further back.
Suddenly it hit me. Oh my!!! Have I been doing that with my LORD? There is always so many things that need to be done that I just let my time with Him move further and further away. The LORD new I needed that visual. I pray that during this busy Christmas time I won't forget just why I am celebrating Christmas.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

I would love to hear how you are keeping Jesus in Christmas