Books I want to read
One Thousand Gifts
Expectations and Burnout (Sue Eenigenburg)
Screams in the Desert (Sue Eenigenburg)
Voices of the Faithful (Beth Moore)
Music CD's I want to hear
Carrie Underwood
Kelly Clarkson
Scotty McCreery
Lauren Alaina
Daughtery
Bluegrass
Songs
Mandisa - Good Morning
Mandisa - Broken Hallelujah
Mandisa - Free
Mandisa - Waiting for Tomorrow
Mandisa - Say Goodbye
Mandisa - What If We Were Real
Mandisa - Lifeline
Mandisa - These Days
Mandisa - Temporary Fills
I Saw the Light - Bluegrass
Will the Circle be Unbroken - Bluegrass
Jennifer Lopez - Dance Again
Electronics I want to play with
iPad
iPhone
Apple computer
Places I want to go abroad
Europe (visit Rita, Vonks, Lydia, Michael)
Australia (visit Sal, Jansen)
Africa
Ukraine (visit Hughes)
Places I want to go in the USA
Hawaii
California (Alcatraz)
Alaska
Mt. Rushmore
Grand Haven, MI ??
Hershey, PA
Overnighter Date at Easton
Things I want to learn
Crocheting
Guitar
Hair Cutting
Things I would like to have
Djembe
Race-car driving lesson
Convertible Mustang (maybe Heaven has these! :)
Candy I like
Hershey's chocolate bar with nuts
Peanut M&M's
Reese's PB cup
Mr. Goodbar
Reese's Pieces
Chocolate covered peanuts
Nut Rageous
Favorite foods by Chef Ben
Cinnamon Rolls
Coffee Cake
Fajitas
Pretzels
Quiche
Sunday, May 20, 2012
H20 Retreat Notes 2012
We need mentors and need to mentor others.
The Bible: This book will keep you from sin OR sin will keep you from this book.
Two ways we often do comparison.
1. Worthlessness/Guilt
2. Worthiness/Pride
Dangers of Comparison
1. Comparison will cause ungratefulness
2. Comparison will cause disunity
3. Comparison will cause discontentment
4. Comparison will cause self-condemnation
God can take anything away that shames us.
What is an idol?
Anything I love so much I try to protect it.
What is the #1 need for women? Encouragement.
Do the possible and let God do the impossible and don't confuse the two.
He is the only one who can do the impossible.
Expectations can be more self focused. What can I do for Him rather than what can He do for me.
If I'm me focused I will never be satisfied.
Live with great expectancy but without high expectations.
We need to have freedom and accountability.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap. Take a sabbath.
Have a funeral for the expectations we place on our kids. Bury those expectations.
We try to get babies to burp and we try to get teenagers to stop.
God will work in your children to become what He wants them to be.
Hope, life, strength, joy...comes when we say, "God what do you want to do?"
Satan loathes us because of Who love us.
Tell your spouse, friend, etc when in conflict, "You are not the enemy!"
Sue Eenigenburg's book, Expectations and Burnout
Another book, Screams in the Desert
The Bible: This book will keep you from sin OR sin will keep you from this book.
Two ways we often do comparison.
1. Worthlessness/Guilt
2. Worthiness/Pride
Dangers of Comparison
1. Comparison will cause ungratefulness
2. Comparison will cause disunity
3. Comparison will cause discontentment
4. Comparison will cause self-condemnation
God can take anything away that shames us.
What is an idol?
Anything I love so much I try to protect it.
What is the #1 need for women? Encouragement.
Do the possible and let God do the impossible and don't confuse the two.
He is the only one who can do the impossible.
Expectations can be more self focused. What can I do for Him rather than what can He do for me.
If I'm me focused I will never be satisfied.
Live with great expectancy but without high expectations.
We need to have freedom and accountability.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap. Take a sabbath.
Have a funeral for the expectations we place on our kids. Bury those expectations.
We try to get babies to burp and we try to get teenagers to stop.
God will work in your children to become what He wants them to be.
Hope, life, strength, joy...comes when we say, "God what do you want to do?"
Satan loathes us because of Who love us.
Tell your spouse, friend, etc when in conflict, "You are not the enemy!"
Sue Eenigenburg's book, Expectations and Burnout
Another book, Screams in the Desert
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Who God Is
-He is God. He is all-knowing. He sees the whole story. He sees all the details.
-He is God. He is perfect, holy, and righteous. He does not make mistakes.
-He is God. He is all-powerful, and it is only because of his amazing mercy and patience that you live on the earth.
-He is God. He is sovereign. He has the ability to make all things work together for your good, even when things look pretty bad.
-He is God. You are not. He deserves respect and praise even if you don't feel like giving it.
(from the book, Devotions for Women on the Go)
-He is God. He is perfect, holy, and righteous. He does not make mistakes.
-He is God. He is all-powerful, and it is only because of his amazing mercy and patience that you live on the earth.
-He is God. He is sovereign. He has the ability to make all things work together for your good, even when things look pretty bad.
-He is God. You are not. He deserves respect and praise even if you don't feel like giving it.
(from the book, Devotions for Women on the Go)
Prayer
Pray through even the small things, for He governs all aspects of our lives; pray always expecting a response, for He answers; and finally, never be afraid to pray big, for He displays His awesome power.
(from the book, Voices of the Faithful)
Colossians 4:2
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
Romans 8:26-27
"...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
Romans 8:34
"...Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
(from the book, Voices of the Faithful)
Colossians 4:2
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
Romans 8:26-27
"...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
Romans 8:34
"...Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Moving Well
From the book, After the Boxes are Unpacked
No matter where you've been, where you are, or where you are going, knowing Jesus Christ can change the course of your life.
When looking at Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Paul...their journey, or move, provided an opportunity to establish a deeper walk with God. They had unlimited opportunity to trust Him, to depend on Him, and to cling to Him. What opportunity does your move provide?
Realize that God places us where we are, to prepare us for what He wants us to become. Never forget, the road has been traveled before you. The choice to cherish the past and cling to God for the future is not always easy, but faith, hope, perseverance, prayer, and obedience are the keys.
Philippians 3:13-14
"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, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Let Go, Start Over, Move ahead with your life
1. Leave your baggage in the care of God, the Baggage Keeper
2. Rely on God's faithfulness
3. Be yourself. Don't try to be someone else.
4. Be equipped. Take five smooth stones to face the giants. Faith, Prayer, Bible Study, Fellowship, Perseverance (keep on keeping on. don't give up and don't give in).
5. Do not be afraid
6. Be quick (don't delay in confronting the giant in your life that's hurting you)
7. Be bold
8. Trust God for the results
No matter where you've been, where you are, or where you are going, knowing Jesus Christ can change the course of your life.
When looking at Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Paul...their journey, or move, provided an opportunity to establish a deeper walk with God. They had unlimited opportunity to trust Him, to depend on Him, and to cling to Him. What opportunity does your move provide?
Realize that God places us where we are, to prepare us for what He wants us to become. Never forget, the road has been traveled before you. The choice to cherish the past and cling to God for the future is not always easy, but faith, hope, perseverance, prayer, and obedience are the keys.
Philippians 3:13-14
"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, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Let Go, Start Over, Move ahead with your life
1. Leave your baggage in the care of God, the Baggage Keeper
2. Rely on God's faithfulness
3. Be yourself. Don't try to be someone else.
4. Be equipped. Take five smooth stones to face the giants. Faith, Prayer, Bible Study, Fellowship, Perseverance (keep on keeping on. don't give up and don't give in).
5. Do not be afraid
6. Be quick (don't delay in confronting the giant in your life that's hurting you)
7. Be bold
8. Trust God for the results
Words to Ponder
From the book, Devotions for Women on the Go
Just because God seems silent doesn't mean He isn't working. The silence might be speaking volumes.
We have a choice to make. We can be a thermometer or a thermostat. Thermometers go up and down depending on the circumstances of the weather. But thermostats set the climate. Instead of riding an emotional roller coaster, I believe God wants us to set a course of stability and be thermostats - choosing faith, not fear. We can let this ruin us and our family, or we can let it make us stronger. Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?
Proverbs 17:17
"A friend is always loyal."
If God has laid a plan or a passion on your heart, hold a get-together. Pray, and then watch the synergy develop!
Let Go - allow God to mend you
Start Over - allow God to mold you
Move Ahead - allow God to mature you
(from After the Boxes are Unpacked)
How do you live above circumstances, live with contentment, live with joy? Make a choice to keep God as the focus of your life, not the circumstances around them. Keep your focus vertical, not horizontal. Learn to respond first to God, instead of to people and situations.
He doesn't always change your situation; what He does is give you new strength and hope so you can face those circumstances and keep on going. 2 Cor 4:18
My God is bigger than whatever circumstances may surround me.
"In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success." Prov 3:6
Just because God seems silent doesn't mean He isn't working. The silence might be speaking volumes.
We have a choice to make. We can be a thermometer or a thermostat. Thermometers go up and down depending on the circumstances of the weather. But thermostats set the climate. Instead of riding an emotional roller coaster, I believe God wants us to set a course of stability and be thermostats - choosing faith, not fear. We can let this ruin us and our family, or we can let it make us stronger. Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?
Proverbs 17:17
"A friend is always loyal."
If God has laid a plan or a passion on your heart, hold a get-together. Pray, and then watch the synergy develop!
Let Go - allow God to mend you
Start Over - allow God to mold you
Move Ahead - allow God to mature you
(from After the Boxes are Unpacked)
How do you live above circumstances, live with contentment, live with joy? Make a choice to keep God as the focus of your life, not the circumstances around them. Keep your focus vertical, not horizontal. Learn to respond first to God, instead of to people and situations.
He doesn't always change your situation; what He does is give you new strength and hope so you can face those circumstances and keep on going. 2 Cor 4:18
My God is bigger than whatever circumstances may surround me.
"In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success." Prov 3:6
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Metamorphosis
From the book, Devotions for Women on the Go
When a caterpillar is on it's journey to becoming a butterfly, it goes through an amazing change, a metamorphosis. But what is perplexing is that the change requires the caterpillar to go dormant. The caterpillar spins itself into a cocoon and stays there - seemingly dead to the world.
Sometimes we have cocooning times. We usually don't like them. They may seem boring, and you may even feel God isn't moving fast enough. You might be tempted to question God, "He gave me this vision right?" or "If you gave me this plan, why don't you do something to move it forward God?" You may even feel tempted to rip the cocoon apart yourself and take matters into your own hands, running ahead of God's timing.
But the cocoon is all apart of the plan. If you tear open a cocoon too soon, science tells us that the wings of the butterfly will be underdeveloped, that it is the act of struggling to get out of the cocoon that strengthens them. It is in the stillness that we hear God. It is in the waiting that character if formed. Psalm 37:34 instructs us what to do while we wait: "Travel steadily along his path." Then the results are given: "He will honor you, giving you the land."
If we wait, nuzzled close to God, when He releases us, we will have a beautiful flight, producing an abundant harvest.
John 12:24
"The truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in soil. Unless it dies it will be alone - a single seed. But it's death will produce many new kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives."
When a caterpillar is on it's journey to becoming a butterfly, it goes through an amazing change, a metamorphosis. But what is perplexing is that the change requires the caterpillar to go dormant. The caterpillar spins itself into a cocoon and stays there - seemingly dead to the world.
Sometimes we have cocooning times. We usually don't like them. They may seem boring, and you may even feel God isn't moving fast enough. You might be tempted to question God, "He gave me this vision right?" or "If you gave me this plan, why don't you do something to move it forward God?" You may even feel tempted to rip the cocoon apart yourself and take matters into your own hands, running ahead of God's timing.
But the cocoon is all apart of the plan. If you tear open a cocoon too soon, science tells us that the wings of the butterfly will be underdeveloped, that it is the act of struggling to get out of the cocoon that strengthens them. It is in the stillness that we hear God. It is in the waiting that character if formed. Psalm 37:34 instructs us what to do while we wait: "Travel steadily along his path." Then the results are given: "He will honor you, giving you the land."
If we wait, nuzzled close to God, when He releases us, we will have a beautiful flight, producing an abundant harvest.
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