It is finished.

We are finally done celebrating Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I have loved every minute of it, but I am glad it is done. We took our tree down yesterday but we are going to keep some of the decorations up for a while. Mostly the snowmen stuff. I love the snow, so I guess this just makes me feel like winter even though there isn't any snow on the ground here. Today, I am working on getting my house put back from the holidays. We had to move all of our furniture around to get the tree up. So, today, everything is going back so our house works for us again and is not as cluttered. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and I am looking forward to a fantastic new year!

One more to go!

One of the exciting things about our family is that we get to celebrate Christmas four times every year. One with Tim's Mom, one with Tim's Dad, one with my parents and one with just our family. We spread it out over a week because with three kids it is just too much to get everywhere and celebrate with everyone in two days. Tomorrow is our last celebration with my family and I am so excited. Christmas day was fun and exciting and I am glad it is over. Today we are watching the movies we got yesterday and it is so relaxing. I had the privilege of putting together all of the toys for my boys last night after dinner and it went late into the evening. Our oldest son got a castle made out of foam and it took me over 4 hours to put it all together, but it was so rewarding today to see him get so excited that it was put together so he could play with it today. It is fun watching your kids grow up and watch them change from year to year. Our youngest son got a little baseball bat in his stocking and he hasn't' put it down other than to go to bed. He is so excited about that little bat. It is only about a foot long, just his size since he is only 22 months old, and he wouldn't even put it down to unwrap any other gifts yesterday morning. It was too cute. So, today is relaxing and then tomorrow is the last of our Christmas celebrations for this year. Then the tree will come down and we will get ready for the new year. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the new year!

Christmas Eve

Today is an exciting day for me. I get to bake goodies with my kids who are 6, 4, and almost 2, so you can imagine the fun this is going to be. I went to the store yesterday to get all the ingredients along with everything else we will be eating for the next week. What craziness! The kids were in bed when I got home, but all day yesterday they kept talking about making cookies. We are going to our church for a service at 4:30 and then headed over to my father-n-laws house to celebrate with the rest of my husbands family. It will be fun, we eat lots of food, play games and the kids open gifts. Then we come home and get ready for Christmas morning. The kids are so excited. I was remembering one Christmas morning my sister and I got up and to our surprise we found that Santa had left tracks from the fireplace to the tree. It was soooooo cool to wake up and see evidence other than presents that Santa had been there. We were just so shocked. Later, when I found out about Santa, I was talking to my Mom about the tracks left by Santa. She was so upset with my Dad for doing that. Evidently the soot didn't come out of the carpet very well and she cleaned that carpet many times before it looked clean again. Just another fun childhood memory. I can't wait to make a new memory this Christmas with my kids and family. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Birthday to Jesus!

This time of year.

I love this time of year. Everything about it. I love finding that perfect gift for that special someone. I love spending extra time with my family and friends. I love the music. I love celebrating the birth of Jesus, my Lord and King. It seems like most people are happier this time of year too and more friendly. I love the snow, when we get it. For the first time I have all of my shopping done and most of them wrapped too. Last year was the first year we stayed home on Christmas day. We really enjoyed it so we decided that we are not going anywhere on Christmas day as long as we can. My parents stopped by last year, and I hope they are able to stop by again this year. Friends of ours are empty-nesters this year and so we have invited them over for Christmas dinner. I am so excited. I can't wait. I feel like a little girl again, waiting in anticipation for Christmas eve, so I can look out my window late at night to see if I see the red glow of Rudolph's nose headed to my house. I have so many special memories of this time of year maybe as the week goes on I will share some of them. My prayer is I am able to explain and show my children how Christmas isn't really about getting but about giving. So, I hope everyone has a GREAT Tuesday, and have fun getting ready for the birth of our Savior - Jesus Christ!

Confession

Monday morning I woke up to discover that my cold had come back. I tried all day not to let it affect me, but in the end it did. Monday evening at my class I learned about changing my circumstances. About not dwelling in them and accepting what the enemy has brought against me, or whispered into my ears, but to move forward and to change them. Anyway, this week, even though I have not felt good at all, I have not let that stop me with my house work. So today, I exploded! I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and it was going down hill fast. I began to grumble and complain about my circumstances, about not feeling good, and still having to do everything myself like there was nobody else here in my house. Well, my good friend directed me back to a note she sent me earlier this week. About how grumbling and complaining is against Him, God Himself, and we will take our families into the wilderness with the grumbling and complaining. I share this to say, I quickly changed my words and my attitude toward my day and circumstances. Shortly after talking with my friend, the atmosphere in my house was better because I took my focus off of me and my situation and focused on Him, the one who created me and won't give me anything I can't handle. So, thank you my friend, and thank you Jesus for loving me so much - I love you too!

The Good Shepherd

It has been a few days since I posted last and I wanted to share a couple of things that I heard this past weekend at my church. My pastor shared some statistics with us and one of them really saddened me. Only 2% of people who call themselves Christians actually share their faith consistently. That surprised me when he shared that with us on Sunday. I hope that I do not fall into that 2%. His message was talking about a shepherd's heart from Luke 2:8-20, and that is what I want to share. "A shepherd's heart is faithful. A shepherd's heart is expectant. A shepherd's heart is infectious and a shepherd's heart is humble." I have been searching my heart wondering if I am faithful, am I doing what the Lord wants me to be doing? Am I expectant, am I expecting more gifts this season or more of Jesus? Am I infectious, am I sharing my faith with others consistently? The Christ I don't share is the Christ I don't keep. Am I humble? Moses and David are two old testament leaders who were shepherds, and Jesus referred to Himself as the good shepherd. My prayer today is that I can be a shepherd for Jesus Christ and consistently share who He is in my life and what He is doing, because He is doing so much for me and I am so thankful He would humble Himself to come to this earth, and die for my sins and I didn't even have to ask Him.

How exciting!

What an exciting week. First I was healed on Monday evening. Then on Wednesday I found out the county I live in was granted permanency for our youngest son so now we can proceed in adopting him. And then tonight my daughter has a Christmas concert and she is so excited. Our families are coming to the church to watch her and I am so excited for her. Then tomorrow, I get to go out on a date with my husband. We are dropping the kids off in the early afternoon and we have the rest of the day into the evening to spend time together, get some dinner and finish our Christmas shopping. I am so excited and blessed to have friends and family who cares for me. I praise God for them everyday and can't imagine my life with out any of them. I also want to say congratulations to Terri for winning the candle raffle! I know she will enjoy the candles!

It is the last day...

Hurry on over to Raising Up Gods Children's blog and enter in the raffle for a chance to win some incredible candles. Just in time for Christmas too! I have seen them and smelled them and they are GREAT candles! The address is http://www.raisingupgodschildren.blogspot.com/ and it is only $5.00 to enter, what a deal! Don't wait too long because today is the last day. Have a blessed day and I can't wait to see who wins!

A New Me!

I just have to Praise the Lord today. I have had a headache since I woke up on Friday. Sunday morning I woke up and not only did my head hurt but I had a terrible pain behind my right eye. Monday I woke up and I thought my head was going to pop. It hurt so bad that my teeth hurt. So I was taking medicine and resting most of the day Monday. Monday evenings I am taking a class about supernatural signs and wonders of the Lord. Through this class, the Lord is teaching me to go to the next level with Him. Some things He is showing me is easy and many things are difficult for me. Anyway, I tell you that to say that I really didn't want to miss my class, so I went. I am so glad I did too. I have been sensing an oppression for about 2 weeks and trying to figure out if it is me or just the Lord showing me things I have been praying for. The pastors of the class and majority of the class has been feeling this way too. So last night we had a night of worship and ministering to each other. It was incredible. The Lord was moving in ways that I can't even explain. We took communion and I experienced the Lord in a way I have never experienced Him before. I was brought up believing that communion was a representation of His body and blood broken for me. Well last night I was shown how it is not a representation but it is actually His body and blood broken and shed for me. Anyway, as I ate the bread, His body, I felt all of the congestion and pain leave my body and head. It was amazing! Then as I drank the grape juice, His blood, I made a new commitment to my Lord, my Husband, Jesus Christ. I am sure this doesn't mean as much to you reading it as it does to me, and I am not even sure that I am getting it all out like I want it to, but the bottom line is that I am healed. Today I have absolutely no pain, no congestion and no effects of what ever I have had since Friday of last week. I thank God for healing me both spiritually and physically. This much I know, I will never take communion in the same way again!

A Poem

I said, "Let me walk in the field";
God said, "No, walk in the town";
I said, "there are no flowers there";
He said, "No flowers, but a crown."

I said, "But the sky is black,
There is nothing but noise and din";
But He wept as He sent me back,
"There is more," He said, "there is sin."

I said, "But the air is think,
And smog is veiling the sun";
He answered, "Yet souls are sick,
And your work is yet undone."

I said, "I will miss the light,
And friends will miss me, they say";
He answered me, "Choose tonight,
If I am to miss you, or they."

I pleaded for time to be given;
He said, "Is it hard to decide?
It will not seem hard in Heaven
To have followed the steps of your Guide."

I cast one look at the field,
Then set my face to the town;
He said, "My child, do you yield?
Will you leave the flowers for the crown?"

Then into His hand went mine,
And into my heart came He;
And I walk in a light Divine,
The path I had feared to see.

George MacDonald

This was the poem in my devotional this morning and I wanted to share it with you. The devotional is Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman and it is really a good one if anyone is interested. I want to leave you with the two scriptures this morning. They really ministered to me and I hope they do to you as well!

I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. - Jeremiah 10:23

Lead me in a straight path. - Psalm 27:10