Love Month: Day 24

"He has made everything beautiful in His time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Eccl. 3:11"

Today is a beautiful sunny day!! Thank you Lord for the beauty of your creation!! Thank you for setting my foundation and for thinking into my future and preparing things ahead of time. Thank you for your providence... for your protection...for your faithfulness to be there... even when things might seem less than beautiful.

Love month: Day 21-23

I'm sure having a hard time getting back into my routine!! Illness has now come to our house! I'm praying it stays contained to Noah and doesn't take turns through us all. I will be calling the doctor's office when they open. He has huge enflamed tonsils with red and white spots so we'll get him seen today. He's got a cough to go a long with it. No fevers to speak of though. I expected it to spike in the night but he slept all night long w/o one. Perhaps he'll be our first kiddo to get strep throat... It's hard to believe that my kids have never had strep throat ... or ear infections for that matter either... looking back we have much to be thankful for in the health department!!

Anyway... here are some verses to think about today... I had to open 3 today. Two of them applied to the heart...

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Proverbs 4:23"

"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

II Timothy 2:22"

Our hearts can be fickle. Our hearts can be deceived and fooled. Our hearts have immense capacities to bring emotions out in us .... joy, fear, hope, defeat, failure, success, pride, love, hate, anger, affection, kindness... the list goes on... If our hearts are not focused on the right and true things, those attributes are not going to flow from us. What goes in, must come out. When we pour into our lives and hearts sin - whether in thought or deed ... eventually that will come out... Likewise, when we pour into our hearts God's word and his love... it can't help but also flow from us.

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your heart, and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

II Thessalonians 2:16-17"

This verse made me think about how I get my satisfaction and my "kudos" in my day to day life. God's promise to us as written above is that he can give us eternal encouragement and hope! Not only that he can strengthen us! Remind me to read this on a day when I'm exhausted, feel overwhelmed with motherhood, and want to hide away in the bathroom just to get some alone time!

So often I find myself looking to those around me to build me up. To reassure me of my successes and my abilities. I can easily start finding my worth and my value in what others think of me. The downside of that - as it isn't the way God ordained it to be - is that people will fail us. We are human and it was never meant to be our responsibility to be someone elses' "all". In the secular world there is a lot of talk about when "boy meets girl" and they "complete" one another. While I do think men and women - specifically husband and wife - can and often DO compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses.... we were never meant to fulfill all the needs of the other. God our Father is the one we should be looking to for our reflection. For our definition. For our worth. He loved us enough to send his son, Jesus. I don't know why we sometimes get trapped in the idea that he's an overly demanding judge... waiting to slap us on the hands when we come into his presence, head hung low, with timid eyes.

Recently I've been studying the prodigal son story. It's come about in several avenues of teaching and I find it interesting how God orchestrates ideas in various ways!! I read an illustration last week that used the idea of God as our judge. Satan is vying for our spirits. Jesus is our defense attorney. He reminds God of how his blood bought me. How he covered me and I am His. God rules in my favor ... then comes down off this judge seat... walks over to me, looks into my eyes and says, "I love you. You are mine. I still can't get over how much you look like my son, Jesus. When I look at you, He's all I see!"

WOW. Maybe you need to reread that .... "When I look at you, He's all I see!"

Did you get goosebumps? Tears popped into my eyes the first time I read that. It still floors me as I read it and write it out here. I have my own thoughts of what kind of person I am... I have my own judgements on myself - some that I've carried a long time... some that come and go... I have my own ideas of what I should really be like.... and I have my own list of faults that some days seem to haunt me.... and yet when the Father sees me.. He's delighted. He's overjoyed. He's sees his beloved ....

Now that's a Love I choose to hold on to.... How about you?

OH dear.... I got way behind in the Love month verses!!

It's been a CRAZY week!!! I'm going to do my best to get us caught up today! Settle in, grab a cup of coffee .... I might be long winded... or not.. we'll see.

Day 13:

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:22

I like the phrase "to cleanse us from a guilty conscience". It also says in the Bible that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Guilt isn't from God. Guilt is a wiley device of satan. One that is often effective in turning us away from the face of Christ. But God promises to meet us where we are, wipe our hearts clean, and give us a fresh start. ANYTIME. Night or day. We have an amazing Father who loves us.

Day 14: Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. Since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

Peace is NOT the absence of trouble. But the confidence that God is in control THROUGH the trouble. When I initially think of peace I conjure up images of warm summer days, sitting by a tranquil lake, sipping ice tea, a gentle breeze is stirring my shade tree.... the children are playing together like angels and all is well with the world... I related it to the absence of discord or chaos. But REAL and TRUE peace comes from God and it can be present - even in the most trying of times. I have had friends that have experienced incredibly difficult life events tell me that they had an inner peace that they couldn't explain - and yet it was there. God's faithfulness in action.

Day 15: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.

Psalm 51:17

This reminds me of a song we used to sing in church. It is called Hungry....

Day 16: Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:1

What a reminder to us... to keep our focus on things of God. To keep our minds set on him and his work.

God didn't sent his son for us so that we could accept him and then ignore the call that left on our hearts and lives.

Day 17: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Already this morning I've been careless with my words and my thoughts. I woke up grouchy as the kids were up early

this morning. Sometimes we can fool ourselves with thinking, "I didn't say anything outloud." or "No one heard me."

How wrong could we be though? God sees and hears all things. He even knows the meditations of our heart.

Day 18: Trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:8

Trust in him at all times... not just when things are going well or when things are going not so well. ALL times.

Pour out your heart to him. Think twice before venting to your spouse or picking up the phone and

dialing your best friend! God wants to hear our voice, hear our cries, our frustrations, our anger even.

He knows how we feel anyway...we might as well just tell him!

Day 19: But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.

1 Samuel 12:24

I think day 19 ties right into day 18! We're to trust in him at all times. One way we can have confidence in Him

and trust him fully is by remembering what he has done for us!! Remembering his faithfulness to provide,

his faithfulness to comfort, his trustworthiness to fulfill that which he promises!

Day 20: My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26

I can do nothing on my own. He is my strength. He is my sustainer and provider. Too often I fall back on my

own flesh and I carry myself along for a very short time and I fail. I look around in frustration wondering where

God is and why he allowed such a thing to happen. Then he gently reminds me that I took over...again.

How good to know that he is always waiting to step back into pace with me and lead me.

Love Month: Day 12

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and be persevering produce a good crop.

Luke 8:15

Perseverance ... what's the word bring to your mind? Determination? Frustration? Faithfulness? Hanging in there no matter what? I think all of those can be words that come to mind. So often we tell each other to persevere through the hard times because we believe that God will be faithful to us and bring about good through our hardships. It sort of goes hand in hand with the scripture that says, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to see it to completion".

I find it comforting to know that in my day to day life God is working on me... trimming, pruning, fertilizing, and watering... As I remain faithful to Him he continues to give me opportunities to bloom and grow. As I produce fruit for the Lord he is so pleased. Maybe it's fruit in the form of kindness, affection, love, patience with my kids or husband, using my gifts for his glory, encouraging a friend, being affective for his kingdom, reaching out to a stranger, or simply having a heart soft and ready to "do" when he says, "now".

I'd love to say these are easy... that they come natural... and flow from me all at the same time! They don't.... but with the Holy Spirit, I am convicted when my attitudes or actions are less than pleasing and I can seek forgiveness and come back into the protection of my Father's embrace and blessing... and the shaping of my heart can continue...

Always a work in process...

Love Month: Day 11

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding with guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

Have you ever had those moments where your life feels like it's spinning out of control ... and yet you have a strange calmness that you can't understand?

Ever had those moments where your life feels like it's spinning out of control .... and you feel out of control as well? Your emotions are running wild...you can't even pin point HOW you feel, there's so many swirling around at one time?

Me too.

God's promises never fail or expire... and yet sometimes we don't feel them to be true in our lives. We can see and appreciate them to be real and active in other's - but in our own hearts we feel perhaps empty or forgotten...

Perhaps this is where faith pulls into this whole thing, too. Because we're human we are emotional and fickle people. We trust our feelings too easily and we can get ourselves fooled. TRUSTING that God is faithful and present - even in the midst of the "storm" has got to be a vital part of claiming the peace that he promises.

I'm a work in progress. :0)

Love Month: Day 10

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:5-6

Beings that I enjoy the Message when doing my daily reading I thought I'd look it up there and share it with you.

"God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we'll be a choir - not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus."

I love this!! God promises to strengthen us.. not just today...but in a warm constant way.... EVERYDAY! His desire is that we're rooted and ready for whatever he brings our way. Sometimes things don't go the way we expect and life throws us surprises...but we can be certain that God's faithful hand is upon us... gently comforting, quietly waiting, and eagerly anticipating with us.

Love Month: Day 9

May He strengthen your heart, so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his only ones.

1 Thessalonians 3:13

A song popped into my head after I read this. It's based on a Psalm. The lyrics of the song say...

I lift my eyes up, unto the mountains.

Where does my help come from.

My help comes from you, Maker of Heaven, Creator of the Earth....

(chorus) ...

Oh how I need your Lord, You are my only hope, You are my only prayer,

So I will wait for you, to come and rescue me, To come and give me life.

Earlier this morning I was reading a devotional sent to my email account. The author was commenting on how often daily we ask God for things. For example and alcoholic might ask God "Lord, keep me away from drinking today." This author says the answer to that prayer will likely be answered in a stiffening resolve, or the outside distractions from a friend. The liquor won't magically disappear from the cupboard. God himself isn't likely to bar the door to the kitchen.

But God can give us the power to obey him. To choose Him over all else. We have to get off the blame game merry-go-round. We choose the day to day actions that we make - the way we spend our time, the words we choose to say, the attitudes we choose to hang on to, and the things we believe. Make them count....for Christ.

Love Month: Day 8

Romans 10:10

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

There is power in the spoken word. There's something about speaking something out loud that brings a new level to it's potency or truth. It's sometimes almost as if when we say something out loud that we have to in fact acknowledge it's existence.

Perhaps it's apologizing or confessing our sin to another - friend, spouse, God... Once the words are out there is no taking them back. They've been heard and they are now being processed.

This morning in my Bible reading I read in Matthew 27 where it talks about being slow to speak.... but quick to listen. Words have the power to heal and encourage but they also have the power to hurt, to break down, and to destroy. Someday we will be held accountable for the words we speak - choose them carefully.

Love Month: Day 7

Jesus said, "Do not let your heart be troubled.

Trust in God, trust also in ME."

This morning was church. I went with a troubled heart. I'll admit it. Things weren't settled in my spirit or my heart. I went feeling heavy and slightly broken. I was torn between wanting to hide and wanting others to pursue me - to see past my charade. Upon my arrival at church I was more concerned about who I'd run into and I was inwardly deliberating on how much eye contact I'd make with those individuals. You know, the ones that seems to look straight past your face and go straight to reading your heart. What treasures those people are in my life ... and what encouragement they give me... and yet what emotions I can go through when fighting my inner pride and I try to convince myself to convince them that all's well :) It can get pretty noisy in my head, believe it or not! Lots of voices!! HA HA

God the Father sent his son, Jesus, to become HUMAN in every sense of the word. They were separated in body and yet fully connected in spirit. Jesus spoke to his Father and communed with Him. Jesus' death on the cross bought us the same rights into God's kingdom. All we have to do is TRUST him.... Believe that he's God's son... You can't get ONE without the other. Scripture even says that there is no way TO the Father but through him (Jesus).

After communion today we continued to sing. It was a sweet moment of heavenly embrace as we simply "were'. We sung some older hymns and the words seemed to penetrate deep and before I knew it, tears were just flowing down my face.

"On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

Refrain

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

Refrain

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

Refrain"

After the congregation was excused people were asked to leave quietly and Sam, our worship pastor, continued to play on the keyboard. There was such a peace in the room. Such a moment where much seemed possible. Such a tenderness where it seemed as if the very breath of God was living and moving. Some stayed in their seats and prayed, others simply sat and soaked in the music, perhaps lost in their thoughts. It was truly a blessed moment.

He simply asks of us to "trust in God... but trust also in ME..."

Do you??

Love Month: Day 6

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

Psalm 13:5

What's that saying... "hindsight is 20/20" ?? How often do I find myself in a place where when I look back I see more clearly the path that God brought me down. How often do circumstances make more sense? It's like when you've climbed a mountain. When you're at the bottom of it, you look up and think, "That's far to steep and jagged. I'll never make that climb. It's impossible". And yet, with each step, each switch back, each rock that gets passed we can turn around, see the distance we've come, see the path, and realize it wasn't just a running dash to the top... but a slow, sometimes tedious, painful, and time consuming journey.

I love looking back and seeing God's faithfulness. A sure sign of his never failing love for me. He went to the cross for my salvation. But it didn't end there. God's all about relationship and communion with His people. Sometimes we don't "FEEL" his presence... which is when I love having my journal or my Bible handy... something to reflect back on to see the switchbacks where I fell and maybe even where I "rested" and yet he faithfully walked with me.

Love Month: Day 5

"Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14"

I can't say waiting has always been my best strong suit. In the process of waiting for something the anticipation can become pretty intense, as can the anxiety and doubts. As a daydreamer I can concoct all sorts of creative problems to stall my waiting, in interfere with whatever process I'm in, and I can often make the waiting agonizing and painful because I add nothing of value to the process.

I love that the reminder is to be "strong". In the waiting we have to continually return to the Father. Strength doesn't come from inside of us. It comes from being rooted in Christ, from finding my resolve in Him. In the waiting there can be peace and joy. In the waiting there can be comfort and reassurance, that God's best is around the corner.

Love Month: Day 4

Fix these word of mine in your heart and mind.

Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Deuteronomy 11:18

In the past I think I've read this verse and always associated it with scripture memorizing. It seemed like my school teacher's way of saying, "See... now learn the next 3 verses on the sheet and we'll grade you next week." While as a youth, I knew and appreciated the scriptures but often put it in my short term memory bank.... for a test, for a presentation, or out of sheer laziness....

In The Message it says it this way, "Place these words on your heart. Get them deep inside you..."

Not buried in your mind so they can't be recalled mind you. BUT rooted in your heart.

How can we BIND the word of God to our hearts? How about we start with cracking the Bible open! Read it. Ask what's being said. Back when I was just in elementary school I learned one technique with my devotions. It was using the 5 W's. I'd read a passage and then journal (or ask myself)...WHO was in the story, WHAT was going on...WHERE were they.... WHY was this taking place... WHEN was it taking place.... and lastly HOW could it apply to my life. It's a great tool to make one think... to analyze the story and not just gloss over it.

Scripture memorization IS a fantastic gift. To know the word of God and to be able to be comforted, or to comfort others, or to be encouraged with his WORD is a wonderful ability. Some of us are better at the memorization than others... but we can all try. If you're like me you underline in your Bible and write notes in the margin. My mind can "see" the page and it's often how I recall where things are in my Bible. It's far from a photographic memory ... but the spacial remembering does help me.

The thing that stuck out to me this morning was that the word of God can come into our hearts and exit just as quickly and easily if we aren't meditating on it. If we aren't chewing it. If we aren't teaching it to our children or talking about it with our friends. We must be sharing this gift with others. This is an area where I can lack in severely. I'll talk to my children about the Lord... but I confess so often it's when it suits my needs as a disciplinarian or when I'm using the Bible to prove a point. My challenge to myself is to be conscious of when and how I use scripture with my kids. I want them to know the Lord in an intimate way and see him as a father and friend and provider and not JUST a judge and ever watchful eye on their behavior.

Psalm 1:2-3 says:

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

The tree was only able to yield fruit and maintain growth because it was rooted in good soil. It was fed by the streams of water and it soaked in sustenance.

So is our heart when we soak in the word of God.

Love Month: Day 3

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth:

Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Psalm 86:11

The psalmist, David, had a heart that longed to be near to the Lord. God affectionately called David "a man after my own heart". It certainly didn't mean David was perfect. We know the stories that prove he was not. But with brokenness David repented. And he chose to WALK in the TRUTH. There are always costs, always choices to make. In this world it is so easy to become distracted and drawn to things that are not along the path of God. At every bend in the road there's a little rabbit trail that seems to look familiar and it tries to lures us in... perhaps gossip, perhaps lying, maybe material goods, or pride, or ego, your reputation might be at stake.... maybe it's anger, unresolved sin or issues in your past. We have a choice to make. TURNING to God in everything doesn't make it go away. BUT, it does make it something to learn from. Just like we teach our kids with their life experiences and choices, God can teach us.. if we just allow ourselves to be taught. We have to have an open spirit ... willing to be led and to be broken.

My prayer for us today, is that we would be teachable. That our hearts would be pliable... soft... moldable...and ready to withstand that heat and pressure and process of becoming the likeness of Christ.

Love Month: Day 2

Ephesians 3:16-17

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. So that Christ may dwell in your hearts, though faith.

Has there ever been a time in your life you wished you had more strength? What's that? Daily? Hourly? Sometimes moment by moment? Me too. This journey we're on called life can get to be an overwhelming place. Some days the pressures of the world get to weighing me down and it's hard to find the "oomph" to step forward. Walking in faith is like walking blind.. yet knowing God's surrounding me - becoming my buffer to the world. Now does it mean I won't stumble? Stub a toe? Maybe even trip over something? Nah. Life still happens. God doesn't place me in a bubble to protect me just because I am his. What could I learn and glean and share in a bubble? How would I need a Savior if I were in a bubble? Protected and sheltered from all evil and mishap?

What he does promise is to never leave me ... ever. And he promises me that I am an heir to God. I am a royal princess to a most high king. Trite? You've heard that line before haven't you. But have you thought about the impact that has on your life? The fact that our Father God dances over you. He delights in you. Finds places of elation when he sees you walk, stumble, and GET BACK up go again. His STRENGTH is an ever abundant spring... flowing at all times right at our fingertips. And the most amazing part of being HIS daughter is the promise of a forever LIFE with Him. There will come a day when the sorrow will end... JOY comes in the morning in Christ we have life EVERLASTING.

I close with the way the Message says this passage:

Ephesians 3:16-17

I ask him to strengthen you by his spirit - not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength - that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

Catching up

Okay... so it's February! Wow. Where'd January go?? It seems as if it were a bit of a blur! Noah had his 8th birthday!! We went to Burger King with cousins and grandparents. Then we headed to the Family Fun Center (arcade) and let the kids play some games. They had lots of fun. Then home for spaghetti dinner and brownies and icecream!!



The men ... My Eric, Erik B, and Wayne.

COUSINS... (L-R: Alexander, Josiah, Micah, Noah, Matthew, and Carissa)

"CHEEEEEESE" by Josiah.

Carissa got a whole bunch of tickets from one of her games! It was nearly as tall as her!! :)

FUN STUFF!

Happy 8th Birthday, Noah!!

Alexander LOVED his icecream!! Ha!!

Carissa has lost 3 teeth now. All on the bottom. She's pulled all 3 of them herself. Of course, she has a little help since the grown up teeth are literally pushing through the gums and pushing them out of the way! But she's been very brave and not all the pulling herself (with a kleenex of course!). The toothfairy is running low on coins! I think she has the "Hostetler" tooth genes as the grown up teeth are proving to be LARGE! The space where 3 baby teeth came out is completely taken up with 2 grown up teeth. Can you say BRACES?? Better start saving now.

Here she is showing how she can push her tongue thru the space! And you thought it was only reserved for straws!!! :)

Hopefully I'll keep up better in February. We have 2 birthday's and a short vacation this month so HOPEFULLY we'll have some more pics!!!

The Love Month

I came across something treasured the other day. I've been anxious for February to get here so I could open it up! My senior year in high school I got a gift from my mom. It was a thin cardboard box with a hinge on one side... an old parchment box I believe. A red box was wrapped around it.

Here's the note I found and read years ago:

"Dear Charity,

With February being the month of "hearts" I thought I'd send some heart messages to you. Choose one packet per day and the pink envelope for February 14th. I hope these words speak to your heart and bring you hope, peace and joy.

Loving you,

Mom

P.S. The red ribbon ones are for Sundays"

Over the last decade (plus a few) there have been some February's that I've pulled this out and enjoyed it all over again. Some years it was buried deep in storage and it sat waiting... patiently for the next year to roll around.

So... I'd love to share my month of verses with you.

February 1st:

Deuteronomy 6:5

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Hmm... God's number one desire for us is to love him above all else. All else. Above your family. Above your job. Above your friends. Above your computer and email... even facebook.. Above your comfort zone. Above your agenda. Above your fears. Above your insecurities. Above all else, my friends.

When my heart is focused on loving HIM ... it bumps out the need for fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, depressed like thoughts, jealousy, lust for things of the world, worry about tomorrow or next month.

A while back I read a quote somewhere that hit me between the eyes. I doubt I remember it word for word... but the premise was "There's no such thing as I can't... only the act of choosing not to."

How often do we rationalize or say it's just too hard to do something? Maybe too hard to forgive someone. Maybe too hard to resist temptation. Maybe too hard to do the right things. Perhaps even maybe too hard to LOVE someone. And yet deep down... perhaps it's us just choosing NOT TO. Here's the good news. Ready? We have God to help. His divine love and power can and WILL enable us each day to make the choice to go from I can't..... to I CAN... recognizing it's HIS power and not your own .... Scripture says I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.

I hope this encourages you this morning. I know it did my heart good to get up and write .... it's quiet at my house still. Kids are asleep and the house is dark.... coffee is close by as my eyes are still adjusting to being awake! HA :o)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment of the Love Month.