Redemptive Christmas

When I began my journey to wholeness many years ago I had no idea the path I would walk. I felt alone and unworthy as a person. Suicidal thoughts plagued my teenage years and often crossed my mind in my adult years. Even after I became a mother. I used to think how much easier it would be if I would just die and go to Heaven. I wondered often if anyone would even miss me. These thoughts became more prevalent in my life and it was after an ended friendship and those dark thoughts were engulfing me that I finally sought help.

It was through biblical counseling that I expected to work on my friendships & marriage, because I couldn't keep friends and my marriage felt lonely in those days. However, small truths of my childhood began creeping out. Truths like.. I didn't play much as a child. I had to be a confidant to my dad and I lived in fear of the money troubles we faced as a family. I worked diligently to keep my mother happy even though I failed often. I felt I had to take care of my sister even though she hated me and faulted me for it. It became very clear as these truths seeped out that I was in the role of parenting... and parents don't play. 

So for a couple of years I worked with my counselor diligently nurturing this little girl inside me who never got to play. So I played alot with my children. We did fun things and had fun outings. I allowed myself to cry when I needed to cry. I sought refuge from the Lord when I felt lonely or afraid. I took care of her... this little girl hiding inside me... this little girl who never got to be a little girl. I took care of me. Slowly, I began realizing I am no longer this little girl anymore. This "little girl" who felt so inadequate and incapable of doing anything began feeling empowered bit by bit. 

It was this Christmas that I realized just how much this little girl has grown. For the first time in my life I realized I have become a woman. I once had great expectations during the Christmas season. Expectations for grand presents in many numbers. Expectations that it should be about me. I have no idea why I had this expectation... other than it was that little girl who used to be within me longing for honor and love through the magic of Christmas. 

This year, however, my presents were few and my heart was full. The presents I received were wonderful and I am so very grateful for them! However, what brought me the most joy this Christmas? Not the presents. 

• It was doing Acts of Kindness with my children throughout the Christmas season.
• It was doing daily advents together as we counted down the days to celebrate Christmas.
• We made birthday cupcakes for Jesus
• We had an amazing Christmas Eve Service at our church. They hadn't had a CES in 8 years. We brought to them the idea of a candlelight service and expected only a handful of people. We were surprised and giddy with joy when we had 25 people come! That was a beautiful sight and music to our ears as we sang hymns of praise to the newborn King!
• We enjoyed a relaxing pajama day for Christmas day without any fear of retribution for doing what we wanted & needed for our family time. (We used to be chastised for asking for what we wanted within our extended family unit and made to feel bad for asking that Christmas Day be only our little family.)

When Christmas is over I have been known to cry in the past. Cry that the "magic" is over. I would lament over putting away the decorations so much so that my husband would always put away the beautiful lights and tree.  However, that wasn't the case this year! Everything was over and I was finished. We waited a few days and then put away all of our decorations & magical pieces together as a family. 

The list could go on for days... but I cherished each moment of my womanhood this Christmas season. I realized this year just how much the Lord has grown me, changed me, renewed me, & strengthened me. How grateful I am for this new redemption!! How great is our God!! 

I pray that you will let Jesus grow you into the woman He has for you to be! He is such a God of redemption and He longs to redeem you from the hardships you face and the insurmountable trials you may be facing.

Sometimes Hardships Happen

Today was a hard day. My husband did his first funeral as a pastor today. It was a hard funeral to do. The husband of one of our church members committed suicide this week & there was much dissension between this man's family and his wife. The tension of the atmosphere in funeral home was thick in the air. As I sat there in the funeral home, holding a child on each side of me, and listening to my husband I was praying for him fervently. For God to anoint him. For the Lord to give him words. For the Lord to comfort all the people there who were hurting, but mostly for my husband because the situation wasn't easy. It was after several minutes I realized I wasn't even breathing... I had been holding my breath! Bitterness surrounded us in a mighty way. So much so, the funeral home separated the families to opposite sides of the room. It felt like a Hatfield vs McCoys feud. So as you can read, there were many factors affecting this funeral... and even some other factors too personal to this family that I won't even mention. 

In the middle of his sermon he presented the gospel of Jesus as the only hope in light of the uncertainty they were all feeling, and several people got up and walked out. We didn't have the chance to know her husband well as he had only come to our church just a few times, but he was a nice man. We also weren't sure if he was a believer in Jesus as his Savior.. and his wife also wasn't certain. Although we don't have hope to know for certain if he is now in Heaven.. we can still have hope in the One who reigns in Heaven! (Let me stop and say that although suicide is a sin and selfish.. I also want to be sure to say that it doesn't cause us to lose our salvation. If someone is saved and in such a desperate state that they commit suicide, then they are still in Heaven with the Father. We cannot ever lose ourr salvation. Our salvation is for eternity. The only way to miss Heaven is if you do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of your sins.) All of that being said, this was my husband's first funeral as a new pastor and it was difficult to prepare for & speak life into. Speaking the truth in love is never easy, but he did it & I'm so proud of him! 

Our big kids came with us and sat at the funeral home quietly and still for 2 hours. It was a huge expectation for them, but they did it and I am proud of them too! As a ministry family, then it is most important to me that they understand the true meaning of serving Jesus. Sometimes, this means doing hard things, difficult things, boring things... sometimes it means doing acts of service for others that require our time and/or our money. I prepped them, "I need you to have the most self control you've ever had in your entire life. This will be very hard and it won't be fun. Please know within yourself that it's going to be very boring. But today is not about us. Today is about our friend and we get to serve her today by being here for her today. By serving her, then we get to serve Jesus. *That* is why we're here on Earth... to serve Jesus." They both replied okay and they were so well behaved and made this Momma so very proud. Sometimes, life just isn't about us, is it? It's a hard lesson, but one I want my children to learn early.

Days like today make me somber even though I'm proud. To know that we are never promised tomorrow and bad things happen and we don't always have the answers. But God knows! He holds us in His loving arms. It makes me thankful that I know my Savior. It makes me grateful for this family I've been given, and to show them my love even more. It makes me proud to see our small church come together and bless a family in need. Today, even though my thoughts & heart feel reflective.. I am proud and grateful for the goodness of God that surrounds me. I hope that you can also start your 2016 out thinking about what God means to you, what He has done in your life, and what journey awaits you this year.

Despite hardships and heartaches.. He is still God and He sits on the Throne.. and what a privilege it is to honor & worship Him! If you don't know this Savior I speak of, then let me invite you to consider a personal relationship with Him. Jesus is the only hope we have in this very broken, fallen world! He is the Author of all creation... including you! He is the only One who can satisfy the brokenness we feel when things happen that we truly don't understand. 

Romans 10:9 

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Admit to Jesus that you're a sinner

Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and died on the cross for your sins and was raised again from the dead 3 days later

Confess your faith in Jesus Christ and you are saved!

Saved from your sins. Saved from eternal separation from God when you die. Saved from hopelessness and despair. 

Share your decision with someone... a Christian friend, a pastor, a mentor. Asked to be baptized as this is the first public confession of your faith. Don't be ashamed or embarrassed... this is a time to rejoice!

Numbers 6:25

"May the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you"

Devine Acts of Kindness

It's Christmas-time! It truly is my family's favorite time of year!! We begin decorating after Halloween, so that we can enjoy the lights & colors of the season for as long as possible! My husband and I love buying gifts for our children that we know they will love & have wanted. However, we don't do an extravagant Christmas and we certainly don't focus on gifts.

Our focus on Christmas is all about Jesus! Jesus gave the ultimate gift when He left a face-to-face communion with the Father to be born a lowly baby here on this earth. Not because He wanted to or chose to, but out of obedience to God and out of ultimate, sacrificing love for us! I am *so* thankful for His ultimate gift for us.

So, at Christmas we like our Children to focus on acts of kindness! We want to bless others by using our gifts/talents!!

Many people do this in the month of December and it can get expensive. Buying & donating gifts to shelters, safe homes, and other places that minister to people around the world. There is a real need for these places and donating gifts/money is definitely helpful! However, what do you do when you don't have the extra money to donate hundreds of dollars? You get creative with your blessings!

We packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child to give gifts to other children around the world. This one can be as pricey as you want. Our church partners together and our small congregation packed almost 100 boxes together! This was truly a blessing!!

Our children are old enough that they love to make cards! So we sent cards to hospitalized children. Children who are hospitalized for extended stays! You can do this too!!

Just mail your card(s) to:

Cards for Hospitalized Kids

7290 W Devon Ave

Chicago, IL 60631

The great thing about this Act of Kindness is that they love receiving cards year around, so this is something we can do atleast once a month!

We rung the bell at Big Lots for the Salvation Army! It's been a warm December, but it wasn't this day. It was 27 degrees outside and the wind was blowing! Our children were such troopers and we were so proud of their willing hearts!

We wrote a Thank You note for our mailman and bought some cookies at the store for just a couple of dollars. We put it in our mailbox with a water bottle and put the flag up for him to get one evening!  We also intend to do this for our garbage men! Let's face it... delivering mail & picking up garbage are pretty thankless jobs... so we were extra excited to bless these professions!

**We were going to go even cheaper and do homemade cookies, but my concern was that with all the cruelties in this world people have to be so careful. Especially government funded employees. I was concerned that if we made them homemade cookies they may have been warned not to eat them. I don't know?! But I wanted to be safer than sorry, so we got the store-bought kind.** 

We had a gift card that we didn't use all of, so we handed the remaining balance of the card over to the person behind us and she was *thrilled*!

We make sure to be kind to everyone we meet and say thank you for all their hard work. Retail & service employees have the hardest jobs dealing with the public, and I can tell you from personal experience that a kind customer makes for a better day.

We have other things in mind for this Christmas season... goodies to make and hand out to Sunday School teachers & our neighbors. Popcorn to be taped onto a Redbox machine, and more blessings to be shared. 

I just want to share a few of our experiences to help others' understand that an Act of Kindness doesn't *have* to be every day and it doesn't have to cost $30/day. It can be simple and heartfelt... and it can mean just as much to the receiver. 

How will you choose to be a blessing today?

From our family to yours... Merry Christmas!!

Like a New Kitchen

We have lived here in this house since April (2015) and I have loved everything about this house except the kitchen. I am someone who cooks often and loves to create recipes with our children. So, a small kitchen wasn't really what I wanted as we hunted for houses. In the end, I decided that the rest of the house, the price, etc was worth the small kitchen. What made it even smaller, however, was the dark, dark cabinets. I'm talking probably original to the house when it was built in the early 1970's. 

Ever since I moved in then I've had the inclination to paint them. I did lots of research over several months. Reading blogs, looking on Pinterest, talking to home improvement stores, etc. I waivered often about doing it. In the end, I had a hard time getting up the gumption to do it. I decided about a month ago that I would start this project and work on it a little at a time. It didn't have to get finished in 10 days and I was okay with that. I figured it would be a fun project to work on throughout the winter months. 

The truth is, once I got started then I just wanted to finish!! Honestly, at times I looked at my supportive husband and said, "I feel like this is a nightmare that won't end." The truth is... once you start, then you can't go back! I have pictures to show you the process. However, the redemption that came from this project was exhilarating. If this had been 6-8+ years ago, then no way would I have even attempted to attack this project!! No way would I even *think* about it. At that time in my life, I felt like I couldn't do anything right and I wasn't good enough at anything to be able to give due justice to such a large project.

I used to be faint of heart and a perpetual damsel in distress. I felt like I needed to be rescued at all times. I felt worthless and "good for nothing". However, since the Lord has changed my heart and shown me that I am His and I am a capable woman, then I love trying new things and doing new projects. 

I know it seems trivial, but this is truly a reflection of my redemption. This was a huge accomplishment for me and made me feel like the sky is the limit. I can do *anything* because God has equipped me to do great things.... both in this world and for His kingdom! Glory, Glory.... He is so good to me!

Okay, so for the big reveal!! Here are some before pictures.

This is the listing picture for our kitchen

This looks into our dining area. Due to the small size,
then we had cabinets added to the dining room wall

All doors have been removed and then
I needed to remove all things from the cabinets

Next, emptied cabinet boxes had to be sanded
I used an electric palm sander with 180 sandpaper
This was a *messy* job!

I set up an assembly line in my garage, so I could even work on rainy days
and at night. The cabinets and drawers were sanded, primed, and painted out here

 

Priming commences ~~ Excuse the mess. Isn't that what garages are for though?

Priming all cabinets

 And for those who say, this isn't a big job.... you can do it in a week!! Please know... it's a *BIG* job!!! Much bigger than I expected! Let me also make clear to you that for the first time living here in this home I was so happy to say, I love our small kitchen!! lol! 

The process was as follows. Clean all cabinets, drawers, and doors with cleaner, then sand the death out of each piece with 180 sandpaper. Next, you'd wipe or vacuum up all dust (there's alot!) Now clean all pieces with rubbing alcohol (water will only mess up the grain in your wood). Then you prime. Sand with 300 sandpaper. Prime again. Sand again. Paint. Sand. Paint again. I did the back of the cabinets first and then flipped over to do the front of the cabinets last. 

I began with Valspar Cabinet Enamel and that stuff is horrid!! DON'T BUY IT!!! It's expensive too. I called Valspar and they were *no* help. So I called Lowe's and they were so kind and replaced the can for me with a different can of paint. So I went with HGTV Sherwin Williams Showcase Paint. Medium Gloss Linen color.

I am loving the new cabinets though! I also replaced all of the hardware, hinges & cabinet pulls. It looks great!!

They look white, but in actuality have a hint of yellow/cream in them. 

 Project 2 will be replacing the backsplash! I will be learning to do that this weekend when a new friend helps me do it! I am most excited about that, because I got 3 boxes of glass tile on clearance for only $35!! 

I'll update when I have that finished!! 

I'm telling you, this was a hard project, but I am thankful I did it and can say that I truly did it! I am empowered and learning how much I love home improvement projects! I can't wait to learn more! God really is a redeeming God to take this shy, unworthy girl and has created in me a woman who loves to learn new things and feels as if I can tackle the world! 

Project 3 will be new countertops (that will be after we get our tax return)

Project 4 (probably 2-3 years from now) will be stainless steel appliances

Killer words

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14

This is one of my favorite verses. One I pray often with our children as much as for myself. 

Many years ago, the words of my mouth used to be everything except pleasing to the Lord. Sarcasm dripped from my mouth like bitter molasses. Strong, slow, and purposeful. I was full of contention and complaint. You know the verse in the Bible that to live on the corner of a roof is better than to live inside a home with a contentious woman? That was me... I was that woman. It's shocking that my marriage survived the many years that antagonism plagued me. Complaint was readily upon my lips. 

Sarcasm is easily spoken to someone [you love] and then tauntingly pulled back by saying, "I was only joking!" As in.. it's your problem for taking offense to that, because it was just a joke! All the while... there's always truth in that sarcastic joke. I used to be so very sarcastic in cutting down my husband's personhood. Who he was and what he was about. Emasculating him in a major way and making him feel like he wasn't good enough. What husband wants to be with a wife like that? What husband could look forward to providing for and coming home to a woman like that?

It's not easy for me to admit these things openly. However, I share them with great confidence in the redeeming power of our God, because I am not that woman anymore! 

I loved finding fault in others and while much of this is something I was taught to do... I also have to take responsibility for my own actions. I was wrapped up in a world of gossip and found fault with everyone for the smallest of infractions. I had no grace for other people and was so bitter in my own life.  

I would love to tell you there was a turning point in my life that made me realize how wrong I was. Unfortunately, I cannot do that. It was only by the grace of God I started realizing that everything I had to say was negative. My husband pointed it out to me a few times too. I finally reached a point in my life that I decided to start looking for good! It took much prayer, but no matter how annoyed I was I chose not to voice it. I chose to keep it to myself and pray about it. I chose to start finding anything good I could think of from every annoyance that surrounded me.

Laundry keeps piling up --> Atleast we have clothes to wear
My husband snores --> Atleast I know he's breathing
The waitress was rude --> Maybe she just got some really bad news and is scared
That car is in my way --> Maybe the Lord is keeping me from a wreck up ahead
Our kids aren't listening to me --> Atleast I have children who are healthy & well

Do you see? Even though life annoyances are real and true... I can have understanding for those hardships while still finding a positive about them. I am not at all saying this is easy. Especially in the beginning. I *am* saying it's possible to do!!

Now, so many years later... I no longer complain about the small annoyances of life. I do not find myself looking for fault in others. Sarcasm no longer drips from my words and contention is far from my being. In Psalm 19:14 it says, "My rock and my Redeemer" because God can transplant us from the sin we are in and set us up on solid rock, a firm foundation! Redeemer is the Hebrew word goel and means kinsman-redeemer. A kinsman redeemer buys their relative out of slavery when the "slave" cannot pay for himself. He rescues him from total loss and ruin. King David (who wrote this Psalm) looked to God as his Kinsman-Redeemer. 

I also know that God redeemed me from the sins of my mouth and the meditations of my prideful heart. In doing so, it truly saved my marriage! It is only through knowing that God can redeem you of your sin that you can relinquish these sins unto Him. If you are not true to yourself about what sin you're in or you choose to ignore the fact that your words aren't pleasing to Him and the people surrounding you, then there's no hope for Him to redeem your words & thoughts. We must be real and open ourselves up to the fact that the words of our mouth are as deadly and as sinful as a loaded weapon. 

So what will you choose? Will you choose for your words and thoughts to be redeemed and therefore pleasing to the Lord or will you once again load your weapon and aim for the one who is closest in your path? Your child? Your spouse? Your coworker? 

Start looking for the beauty among the ashes and finding gratitude in the mundane...

Let the Lord be your Kinsman-Redeemer too! Let Him set you free from killer statements & thoughts!

Loving God with our Mind

I had the privilege of hearing Jen Wilkins speak at a Women's Leadership Conference just a few weeks ago. I also have had the privilege of reading her book, "Women of the Word" and have been enlightened by a new concept. Loving God with your mind!

I've been deep in the word since July of this year, and I must tell you... the more I read, the hungrier for God's Word I get!  I want to know more. I want to understand more. I want to gorge on His word and digest it deep within my soul! For me, someone who felt stupid for much of my life... this is *exciting* to me!!

I have a women's breakfast coming up in a couple of days for our church and felt really compelled to share this new concept with them...loving God with your mind! So here is what I wrote. Some of it from my own studies and some of it adapted from Jen Wilkin's book.

Did you know the word disciple means “learner”? As a disciple of Christ, you and I are called to learn, and learning requires effort.

Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27 both command us to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The Bible is a book that boldly and clearly reveals who God is on every page. In Genesis it does this by placing God as the subject of creation. In Exodus, it places him in comparison to Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt. In the Psalms, David extols the Lord’s power and majesty. The prophets proclaim his wrath and justice. The Gospels & Epistles unfold his character in the person and work of Christ. The book of Revelation displays his dominion over all things. From beginning to end the Bible is a book about God.

We are so often mislead into thinking the Bible is really about us though. Asking it to teach us how to live and assure us that we are loved and forgiven. We are these things!! But the purpose of the Bible isn’t just about me or written solely to help me.

We must turn around our habit of asking “Who am I?” and we must ask, “What does this teach me about God?” We must acknowledge that this book is about God before we can ask it to teach us anything about ourselves. The bible was given to us so that we can learn who God is, so that we can receive more wisdom about the truths of God, and in turn… fall more in love with Him.

When we know something, then we love that something, don’t we? When I met Andy, then I knew I loved him, but truthfully I did not *really* know Andy. We met on the internet in July. We were engaged in October and got married in June. Being in 2 different states, We saw eachother less than 10 times before we got married although we talked by phone often. Did we really know eachother? Not at all! Although we thought we did!! Now that I know him… really know him.. 12 years later, then I love him so much more today than I *thought* I loved him 13 years ago.

I also love architecture and old buildings and anything to do with history. I love the dress of the 1800’s and history of what it was like to live in the early 1900’s. I relish anything historical. I love to watch period dramas and read historical fiction. The more I learn about the hard work it takes to create architectural pieces of art, then the more I appreciate it. The more I learn about the reason for the dress of days long ago or how they lived, then I fall in love with that era even more. The more I learn, the more I love it and appreciate it. The same is true with God.

A Yale PhD professor of cognitive psychology who specializes in pleasure research who studied how humans develop the ability to derive pleasure from people, experiences, and things. He has discovered through his research that pleasure doesn’t simply occur, it develops. And how it develops is a point worth noting: “People ask me, “’How do you get more pleasure out of life?’ and my answer is extremely academic: Study more.”

Attaching our intellect to our faith doesn’t come easily though. For many of us, the strength of our faith is gauged by how we’re feeling… about a song, about a sermon, about our quiet time. However, in Romans 12:2-3 says “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” In this verse, Paul states we can have renewal, but we have to renew our mind… not our heart. 

It's a wonderful thing when our hearts overflow with affection for the Lord, but emotion alone isn't enough. John Piper rightly says, "The apex of glorifying God is enjoying him with the heart. But this is an empty emotionalism where that joy is not awakened and sustained by true views of God for who he really is." The way we know God truly in our hearts is through the right use of our minds.

As we grow in wisdom of who God is and His character through studying His Word, we cannot help but grow into a much deeper love for Him. This further explains why Romans 12:2 says we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

1 Chronicles 28:9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

David asked Solomon to serve God with both his heart and mind. Some people are all heart and no mind in their service to God; others are all mind and no heart. Both of these are important in order to truly serve Him.

The crux of it is… Bible study that equips us doesn’t divorce our heart from studying. It puts the heart in the right place: informed by the mind.

Time of New Beginnings

We moved to Northwestern Kentucky at the beginning of January from East Tennessee. I had a thriving Pampered Chef business that I had built over the last 3 years. I loved my business, my customers, and the self-worth I felt in what the Lord had given me the wisdom to build.

Growing up in a home where I experienced gaslighting (click on gaslighting to get more information on what gaslighting is) on a consistent basis I felt like I was in a constant state of confusion. Anytime I questioned my mom (as a child or an adult), stood up for myself against accusations, shared my viewpoints, etc. then I was repeatedly told, "That's not what happened and you know it." or "It's because you're so sensitive." or "That's not true." So I was left trying to figure out if what I thought was true was really true. Could it be that I was wrong about what I thought was true? I felt a little crazy.. most of the time! I would spend *days* going over conversations in my mind and trying to sort out the details so I could understand what the "truth" was. It was mentally exhausting.

Due to my "constant state of confusion" I felt truly unintelligent. I didn't feel bright at all. So for me to have built a good business from the ground up made me feel clever! It made me feel like I was capable of great things! After my shows, customers would sit around a table, eat my delicious creations, and praise my accomplishments for a great, entertaining show. They relished the food I prepared for them. I was shocked! I didn't think I could be good at anything!!

So you see, when we moved away from my thriving business I mourned the loss of what I would no longer have. I had the possibility of re-starting my business, but every time I prayed about starting a Pampered Chef business here I just didn't have any sort of peace about it. I even had shows lined up and after much, much prayer I realized the Lord didn't want me to continue on with the business I loved. Despite the fact I didn't understand this call, I obeyed.


So now, fast forward from my resignation to now, exactly 4 months. The Lord has opened up so many doors for me to be in teaching positions here! Unfortunately, none of these are paid, but it's my prayer that I am helping women grow in their relationships with Jesus and that's worth so much more than a paycheck!  I am now teaching 11 Kindergarten & 1st grade students in our homeschool co-op! This is a brand new concept for me, but I'm having so much fun with these sweet kiddos! I have been teaching a bible study with Beth Moore for about 3 months now and the blessings of this bible study has nourished my dry & weary soul in a splendid way!! Lastly, the Lord just recently opened up the opportunity for me to start a women's Sunday School class on Sunday mornings at our church! Whew.. 3 classes! I would've laughed if you told me this a year ago! It takes much time and preparation, but I am reveling in it! I am passionate about supporting women in their journey of truth about Jesus! What a blessing and an honor as He has bestowed these classes upon me!

It's interesting that when we give up the things we love... when the Lord calls us to do so... then He brings us bigger blessings more than we could expect! I look back now and all I can think is, "Okay Lord! I get it now! There's no way I could run my business, homeschool 2 kids + a toddler, be a pastor's wife, and teach 3 classes!" The latter 3 keep me busy enough!! God is good and His faithfulness endures forever!!

Isaiah 52:1-3 

"Awake, awake, O Zion, 

clothe yourself with strength. 

Put on your garments of splendor...

Shake off your dust; 

rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem, 

Free yourself from the chains on your 

neck, 

O Captive Daughter of Zion. 

For this is what the Lord says: 

'You were sold for you nothing, 

and without money you will be 

redeemed.'" 

Hallelujah and AMEN!