memory verses

                              Continue steadfastly in prayer,

being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

At the same time, pray also for us,

that God may open to us a door for the word,

to declare the mystery of Christ...

that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak...

making the best use of the time.

Let your speech always be gracious,

seasoned with salt,

so that you may know

how you ought to answer each person.

~ Colossians 4:2-6

~ full of meaningful interruptions ~

The great thing is, if one can,

to stop regarding all the unpleasant things

as interruptions in one's "own" or "real" life.

The truth is, of course,

that what one regards as interruptions

are precisely one's life.

~C.S.Lewis

Keep my eyes open for opportunities.

...making the most of every opportunity...

~Ephesians 5:16

Memory Verses

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Psalm 145: 18-19

The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth; He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries and saves them.

Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Philippians 4:6-7, " Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..."

Philippians 4:19, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

2 Corinthians 12:9, "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Colossians 1:9, "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^d to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,^e the forgiveness of sins."

Isaiah 26:3, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

---

Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

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

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid

Think on these things!

I was convicted this morning of tearing my house down with my own hands. I am often irritated with my husband because he is often inconsiderate. And I allow his lack of consideration to justify my irritation.

But God spoke to me this morning. He said,
"Encourage one another and build each other up."1 Thessalonians 5:11.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

 "Do everything without complaining or arguing." Philippians 2:14


"The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands." Proverbs 14:1.


"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29

"Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. " Ephesians 4:15

"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32

I am going to borrow the eloquent words of  Lysa TerKeurst from Proverbs 31 ministries, whose devotion dealt with the same topic with a broader application today.

'The Rare Word by Lisa TerKeurst (http://lysaterkeurst.com/)

Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
We live in day and time where our rights sometimes takes precedence over our pursuit of righteousness.
So quick to offer a complaint when things don’t go exactly right.
So forgetful with our thank you’s when things go well.
And I am challenged by this.
My husband owns a restaurant. If there was ever a man who cared to the depth of his being about serving his customers well, it’s my man. To him it’s not just about serving a great chicken sandwich. It’s about serving a life. It’s his opportunity to hand them a sandwich with a smile, a kind word, some kind of second mile gesture and for that brief moment make their day a little brighter, a little better.
And he never qualifies his kindness.
The grumpy customer gets the same kindness as the happy one.
He inspires me.
He is a man of the rare word.
It’s so easy to extend pleasantries to the person who is treating me right. But what about that moment when things aren’t so right. Might I see even that as an opportunity? An opportunity to reach past my feelings, my comfort, my rights and pursue righteousness in that moment?
Might I dare to be a woman of the rare word?
And might I even be so bold as to not just make kindness come out of my mouth but also be the meditation of my heart?
It’s not easy. But it is good.
My rights- Make me feel accepted, good, and treated fairly.
My righteousness- My choice to make right choices that honor God daily.
So here’s the challenge I’ve issued myself- find the good.
In every situation, in every interaction, in every day- be a noticer of the good. Even when the good has nothing to do with the circumstances and everything about how God will teach me through them- find the good.
And be a woman who is lavishly expressive of that good… who rarely, rarely, rarely utters the complaint.'

---

Anxious

How easily a little bit of anxiety slips in...
It's so easy to forget how completely God loves us. He loves us so completely that there is no need for fear of anything.

1 John 4:18
Perfect love casts out fear.

I was anxiously thinking and praying this morning about how to handle something that is on my heart for my children. I so easily slip into that sort of nervous thought. Forgetting My Lord. I didn't really even notice that I was anxious. Then I found peace. And I realized I had been anxious.
Thank you, Father, that I can cry out to you.

Matthew 11:28
Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Philippians 4: 6,7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Oh Lord, I seek to be yours wholly and completely. I ask that I be a vessel for your use.  Your are worthy. Thank you for loving me. I see how completely I fall short of the mark. It hurts my heart. Help me to put aside the sins that so easily entagle me that You may use me  and fill me completely.

When You Fall

When you fall, get up!
When you fall, get up!
The enemy will tell you that you will never succeed! He will tell you that you are a failure and that is all you will ever be. That is not what God has to say about His child...
You are a vessel for the Lord Jesus Christ!

 2 Chorinthians 4:7

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Psalm 37:23-24
The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way. when he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord if the One who holds his hand.

Listen to His promise in Psalm 37:23-24 and as you read it insert your name in the blanks: “The steps of ____________ are established by the Lord, and He delights in ____________ way. When ____________ falls, __________ will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds ________ hand.” (NASB)

Philippians 1:6 He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus!
Philippians 3:12-14
 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that ^]for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. ¹³ Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philppians 4:13
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Luke 1:37
For nothing is impossible with God.

Verses for fear

Just a note! Fear is from the enemy and is the antithesis of faith. If you are afraid, refuse consent to fear and remember who God is. He spoke and the universe came into being. And He loves us.
How amazing is that!
Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, discipline and a sound mind.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he [it is] that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God ;which surpsses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

If we lived our lives remembering who God really is every moment of every day, our lives would be radically changed.
I remember sometimes, but not all day long every day. That's what I want, to remember all day long, every day, who God is and live each moment in light of that.

Verses Every Girl Should Know!

Verses Every Girl Should Know!

Jesus is wild about us; we just need to KNOW that!
One way that we can do that is by replacing lies with His truth.

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

"My lover is mine and I am his..." Song of Solomon 2:16a (NIV)

"You are altogether beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish in you." Song of Solomon 4:7 (NASB)

"The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11 (NIV)

"God decided in advance to adopt us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure!" Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)

11 months!

I can't believe ithas been almost a year!
Isabella's favorite things!
Her people:
Rachel
William
Dad
Mom

Loves the swing and Blaze and Precious and Faramir-!
Today I took her up to see Faramir. He rubbed all around her, circling her little body and rubbing against it over and over! She loved it! She loves for Precious to come in and "pet" her. It's nice to have a cat that pets herself on you.

Singing: She loves to be sung to. If she is crying in the car, Old McDonald, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, Silent Night(duo by William and Rachel),Amazing Grace, and others will usually do the trick. She likes to be sung to sleep, also.

Also, if I am holding her and want someone to take her and she doesn't want to transfer, if they start singing and hold out their hands, she will reach for them. Sometimes they have to sing the right song, often, Old McDonald.

She wakes up every morning, smiles, and says, "Mow" Sometimes she says,"e-mow" for the cat.

She's gotten really fast with her scoot, crawl. I  need to get a video of it today.

Her favorite words are meow and ah-um. She meows all day long and looks for her red book with the picture of the baby lion on the front. She will crow like the rooster, eh-eh-eh, and bark like the dog, arf, arf if you do it first.

She loves food and will eat almost anything! She eats a whole slice of pizza, loves watermelon, ice cream, squash, sweet potatoes, green peas, green beans, spinach, applesauce, etc!

She babbles all the time!

Plays peek a boo, eskimo kisses and loves to head butt!

Likes to touch my face when she nurses and play with my mouth and nose.

Really only likes the right side.

Still a port a baby.



She weighs approximately 17 pounds and is approximately 26 inches long as of a couple of weeks ago.

She is the light of our lives!

first words

5/31/11 Tuesday, Isabella started making the animal sounds that we make when reading her little books. And yesterday, she asked for ice cream, ah-um, her favorite food for the first time! She said "ta ta" yesterday, also.
We are so proud of her and she looks amazed when we cheer her on. She gets a little grin and a little look of wonder.

meow
oink
ah-um