Making Your Home a Haven Challenge

I am doing a new type of challenge - one that will change the mood in our home. How about you? Come take the challenge with me!
This is from Courtney's blog...

Here’s this week’s challenge:

Go buy an extra large candle and light a candle everyday in your home. I will be starting mine in the morning! But you can start yours at dinner time. Do what makes sense for your family. I will be placing mine in the kitchen – the main hub of my home. Each time the candle catches your eye, say a prayer for peace in your home.  

Give Thanks!

I love November! It is neat to see everyone putting on Facebook what they are thankful for each day. But what about when the month is over? Do we still thank Him each day for what he blesses us with? I read Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts last year and I loved how she gave thanks for even the things she didn't like to do - like laundry. How many times do we complain about doing the laundry or cleaning up the house? If we concentrate on the gifts in our life then we can give thanks that we have clothes to wear and we have a washer and dryer to help us get it done. We almost lost our house so I am very thankful that I have a house to clean. After Patrick and I went to the Dominican Republic this summer, we came back and were thankful for so many things that we had taken for granted. So as you give thanks each day this month, I pray that it will become a habit for all of us to give thanks to our Creator each day. Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow...

Stressed-less living

I have started reading the book Stress-less Living: Finding God's Peace in Your Chaotic World by Tracie Miles. I am only on Chapter 6 but it has already made such an impact on me. I wish I had this book years ago. Something that stood out to me today..."No matter how long we have been away, how much we have sinned, or how long we have tried to do life without God, he is always waiting to shower us with the love and peace that he promised." I think back to all the years when I thought I could do it on my own. Well I can tell you that did not work for me. I never had the peace that I longed for and was always looking for something to fill a void in my life. Well God was there all the time just waiting for me to look to him. I can't fix the past and I can't dwell on it but I can remember how I felt and that I don't ever want to feel like that again. Tracie also talks about self-doubt in this chapter. This is something that I struggle with and have asked God to help me. Some days it doesn't take much for me to start asking questions like...Why would God want a relationship with me? Why would he love someone that has disappointed him so many times? Why would anyone want to spend time with me? Those kind of days used to get me down and keep me from doing anything that God would want me to do. That is exactly what Satan wants me to do - stop doing what God has called me to do. He knows that I have a weakness and that I struggle with self-doubt so he pounces on that. John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy". He knows what all of our weaknesses are and will use whatever it takes to pull us away from our God and his purpose for us. I am getting better about fighting those thoughts and questions. I just have to remind myself that God made me and he loves me and wants a relationship with me. He wants me to turn to him during these times and other times of stress and trouble. Only he is able to give me the peace that I long for. The other part of John 10:10 Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full". He wants us to be happy and live for him and show others his love and forgiveness. We just can't ever forget that Satan is watching and waiting for any opportunity to stop us.

This morning as I snuggled with my Katie Bug my heart overflowed with love as I lay there watching her sleep. I can't believe she is already 6. She is growing up way too fast! As I laid there I thanked God for the opportunity to be at home for the past five months. What a gift to be here and spend this kind of time with my children. My heart had always longed to be home but our finances never agreed. It is amazing what God can do when you do what you are supposed to and not what YOU think you should do. He has been so faithful! I don't know where He will lead me next. I feel something stirring and feel like something new is coming so I will just wait and see. No matter what I will always be thankful for this time in my life.

As I looked at Kat I also thought about how God loves us. We are far from perfect, we still make mistakes, we don't always listen and do what He wants us to do - just like children. The love I feel for my children doesn't even compare with how He loves us. That just stops me in my tracks because I can't imagine a greater love than I have for my babies. He loved us before we were ever on earth and he loves us even with all our faults. He gave His only son so that He could have a relationship with us. When you really think about that and let it soak in it should drop you to your knees. He loved you (and me) so much that He did that for us! I have spent a lot of years just being a Christian and living my life. I can't explain how wonderful it is now to have a relationship with Him. Life is just different. The storms still come but I know He is with me. What a wonderful feeling! I am So Blessed!!

New Beginning

I guess you can tell that I had forgotten about my blog. Not one of my top priorities for quite a while. In fact, I didn't think it was worth my time or energy but I have felt that I needed to get back to it for over a month now. I feel like God has been telling me to write - about what I don't know. I don't even think I am a good writer so I don't know what He has in store for me. I do know that He has pushed me, challenged me, loved me, and held me together when I didn't think I could take anymore over this past year. I have actually had a stirring to do something different for the past few years. I just dealt with it by saying we can't afford for me to do anything else. I have to keep my teaching job for us to make it. Well when we started studying Nehemiah in January I couldn't ignore what God was trying to tell me. I couldn't believe I was even thinking about leaving my job, especially when we were barely getting by with both of our jobs. I didn't have peace about it until I put in my resignation at HCA. I had peace but no one else in my family felt the same way - except the kids. You want to talk about putting a strain on your marriage when it was already struggling! I dealt with it, well I say I dealt with it, by ignoring the comments and trying to avoid the subject. I can't put into words what I felt and what I was going through. I am sure I looked crazy to others! I had just left a 17 year teaching career, insurance, stability, etc. I just wanted to be at home with my children. I felt that God wanted me at home with them and I knew in my heart that He would provide for us. Faith - I have never had faith like this. Was I always positive through this whole experience? Was my faith what it should have been all of the time? No way! I had some very hard days and nights. There were times when I felt I had failed my family  and that I had just heard God wrong. I felt that He had brought me home and then left me. I went through so many thoughts and emotions. Was it fun? Do I want to go through it again? Absolutely not! I do know that through all of this He was and is there for me and I have grown as a Christian and I have a stronger relationship with my Lord and Savior. I am also happy to say that I have a stronger relationship with my husband and children. My husband still doesn't like how I handled things and I do see his point. I look back and see how wrong I was to make such big decisions without his input. I had a selfish and hard hard toward him and I am happy to say that my heart has softened and we have been repairing our relationship. We lost the teamwork somewhere over the past 16 years. I can't tell you how happy I am to have my partner back. We still don't agree on everything - and we never will. :-) But we have each other's back and we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together. I am blessed to have a husband who loves me and our children so very much!
So...still not sure about writing. I don't know if He just wants me to blog or something more. I know He has put people in my life and books and blogs that have helped me grow this year. I'm not sure what He has in store for me but I know it will be greater than I ever imagined as long as I follow His will and ask Him to lead me.

A New Year!

Well I haven't been on here in quite a while. October, November, and December were gone before I knew it. I guess it went so fast because I was enjoying each day. I have spent years stressed out and worried about so many things. I can finally say that I have given God complete control of my life and I couldn't be happier! I have learned to relax and enjoy all the many blessings He gives us - especially my family. I have learned to slow down and spend more time with Him and focus on His word. I just received my new book yesterday and it is amazing. It is Breaking Free Day by Day by Beth Moore. I caught up through today but I didn't want to put it down. I am also starting a study about David with Beth Moore - Annointed, Transformed, Redeemed. I can feel God working in my life even as my family makes some tough decisions. I know I shouldn't take on anything else but I just signed up as a new Thirty-One Gifts consultant. I had been thinking about it for months but it finally seemed like the right time. I signed up under one of my friends. She told me how God has blessed her and her family through this company. I am hoping it will help with the financial burden we are facing right now but it is much more than that. I am so excited about this new adventure and can't wait to see what God has in store for me. I feel that He led me to this. Their mission sticks with me - Proverbs 31 - Celebrate, Encourage, and Reward. We as women wear so many hats and it is wonderful to be able to celebrate and encourage each other. Will there be monetary rewards? I don't know. I believe there will be other rewards or blessings that are so much more important than money. 2010 was a rough year for my family but I can see that we are stronger and happier. I am so excited about this new year and what it will bring for us.
I have created a new blog - http://melissas31.blogspot.com/

Reagan's 7th Birthday

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