Here is more from my book I'm reading right now. If you don't know what book it is, refer to the previous post before this one.


If you're exhausted emotionally and/or spiritually, check these points:

1. Have you rearranged your life to make God first- living in his presence and allowing plenty of time for worship, thanksgiving, his Word, and asking him about things?
2. Have you settled into the best church available, and made your fellow believers second in your life? Are you especially loving a few of then at such a close range, in a "small group," so that you can exchange your joys and burdens and needs, get counsel from them, and be held accountable to them?
3. Have you a plan for reaching those around you for Christ? Are you giving yourself away to the physical and spiritual needs of others?

These three priorities, in this order, will probably give you all the spiritual and emotional stamina you need. But if you say "yes" to these three and your job still exhausts you, you may be in the wrong job.
Work is God's plan for us, so we must find the work that best suits our gifts. We will probably shift in our lives from one type of work to another; that's good. Circumstances may cause this, or maybe those time-capsules going off inside, opening up new interests and gifts.
The source of your money is never your job. If it were and you lost your job, you might have a nervous collapse. No, the source of your money is God. He owns it all; he distributes it as he pleases; and he has promised over and over to take care of the physical needs of every one of his children.
God is always our source! The life of faith demands that we do his will first- before we concern ourselves with supply. That is, before we concern ourselves with supply of money, physical energy, time, or any other need. In the Christian life it's not "seeing is believing"; it's "believing is seeing." First seek "His kingdom, and His righteousness," and after that "all these things shall be added to you" (Matt 6:33).

Now that is how I want to live. I'm not there. At. All. But this is where I want to be. I don't want to be exhausted emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Who does? And life seems to be continually throwing road blocks that I need to overcome. Of course I need God more now that I did last month, last week, or even yesterday. But he will always be there for us as promised. And I love that. I love knowing that I can go to him whenever I need to. I don't have to wait for an opportune time. Every time is the most opportune time.


Bless y'all and love y'all!

Has anyone read this book? The Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman A Practical Guide to Spiritual Beauty by Anne Ortlund. Three bestselling works complete in one volume. Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman, Disciplines of the Heart, and Disciplines of the Home. I've had this book for quite a few years now and it is one of my go-to books when I need a pick me up. Sometimes I need a restart and this book is just that book that I love to go to. Do you have a go-to book when you need a restart or a kick start?




Here is an excerpt from the book:



This is what separates the winners from the fool-around-ers: setting your face toward truly making God the number one priority of your life.
...Let me suggest four ways; his Spirit will teach you many more.
First, practice his presence. Jesus did! He said, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?" (John 14:10). Yes, Jesus was special; he was part of the Trinity; but he tells us also to abide in him! So we get our clues from Jesus: when we abide continually in the Father, the words that speak won't be spoken on our own initiative; the Father within us will do the works.
Live your life consciously before him, moment by moment. Trust him to help you do it. Psalm 16:8 says, "I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
Second, jealously guard a daily quiet time spent alone with God. Jesus did! He sent the multitude away- and prayed (Matt 14:23). When our three babies were age 2 1/2, 1 1/2, and brand new, I found my days were just one succession of bottles and diapers, and I got desperate for times with the Lord! Normally I would sleep like a rock, but I said, "Lord, if you'll help me, I'll meet you from two to three A.M." I kept my tryst with him until the schedule lightened; I didn't die; and I'm not sorry I did it. Everybody has twenty-four hours. We can soak ourselves in prayer, in his Word, in himself, if we really want to.
Third, seek the Lord in occasional longer hunks of time. Jesus did! In Luke 6:12 he spent an entire night in prayer, because he felt the need- he, the Son of God! How much more do we need these extended times with God? Ray and I take one day a month, usually, to go out of town and pray, think, check our schedules, evaluate where we've been, see where we're going, discuss how we're doing as a wife, as a husband. The time is too short!
And fourth, be diligent in your attendance of public worship. Jesus was! Luke 4:16 says that "as was His custom, He entered synagogue on the Sabbath." Certainly the Son of God wasn't going to church "for what he would get out of it." Maybe it was often than the best. He went because he pleased the Father in all things. Be committed to public worship of God every week whether you feel like it or not, whether the preaching is great or isn't! We go for what God gets out of it. He wants us to be there, not via television or radio, but personally with the Body of Christ (Heb. 10: 25).

I truly get so much from reading this book. I highly recommend it if you don't already have this. It is a little treasure for your bookshelves! As I read more, I'll share more juicy tidbits that will help your journey in Christ. Bless y'all and love y'all!

Don't you hate it when "life" happens? Well, "it" happened to me. I am 29 weeks pregnant with our 5th baby. I went last week to take my routine 1 hour glucose test. I failed it for the first time. So I now had to take the 3 hour glucose test. Well, I failed that one too. So now, for the first time out of 5 pregnancies, I am diagnosed Gestational Diabetic. I have a new diet I need to follow. I have to test my blood sugar levels 4 times a day. And so far, my numbers are still high.


So in light of my newfound way of life for the next 2 months at least, I am posting these beautiful pictures of our flowers. They are no longer in bloom right now. They are so pretty though. Doesn't God make such beauties in our lives? You just can't focus on all the road blocks that are thrown at you. Focus on the blessings of God will serve much better.

This picture is the best! I can see myself sitting beside this and just relaxing and letting the worries of life just melt away. This is at our Sea World. We just love that place. We have season passes for 2 years. We will be going quite a lot. The kids love it!

I can't believe I'm doing this. I am selling my embroidery/sewing machine. The money is going towards my class that I need in order for me to take the state licensing exam. Here is the link to ebay if you are interested. It's a Janome Memory Craft 9500. I have extras that are coming with the machine also. I just do not have the time to sit down and do the crafting that I want to do. I tell myself that I will have time when I'm older and the kids are grown and having families of their own. Please take a look at my machine.