Showers Bring Flowers

Drip drip drop little April showers....

There is something so comforting about rain.  I grew up in the south in an 1800's farm house and was lulled to sleep by the pounding rain on the tin roof many nights.

Sometimes we look outside and see rain, and think "Oh bummer, what a lousy day." We can easily forget that the rain is a blessing.  It is because of the rain we have green grass, beautiful blooming flowers, an abundance of fresh grown produce, plenty of water to drink and use.  In North Carolina we used to have dry spells, where there were water restrictions, where we couldn't wash our cars!

I look at my kids and see how they enjoy the rain.  They want to run out and play in it, stomp in the puddles, relish the sensation of raindrops falling on their faces.  Today I woke up and it was pouring!!  My son came in kinda down, and said "Oh, it is raining"  I had a decision to make, was I going to see the negative, or point out the positive.  "Yes it is!  And I am so glad!  We needed to water our garden anyway!"  He was in a better mood instantly and before I knew it he was outside splashing and having the best time.

Do you know that God's word is compared to the rain?  “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  Isaiah 55:10-11

Just like we need the rain to cause the flowers and fruit to flourish and ripen, we need to be filling ourselves with God's word to begin producing fruit in our lives.  When we "hide his word in our hearts" it gives us seed (verses to share with others) and bread to eat(spiritual truths to feed on).  Give us today our daily bread.  Matthew 6:11

We had our afternoon tea out in our sun room which has an aluminum roof.  The rhythmic rain beating on the metal brought back precious memories of my childhood.  The chilliness in the air made the warm tea oh so enjoyable.

The kids enjoyed the rain in and out of doors and got to associate the same sound of rain on a tin roof with comfort just as I did.  How wonderful to enjoy God's blessing of rain.  

Living by His Faithfulness

Do you have moments....days.....weeks when you feel low on faith?  I will tell you, some days I just am no "feelin' it".  Thank goodness God does not work on our feelings!

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a verse and read it in a way I never had before.  “…but the righteous will live by his faith” Habakkuk 2:4b  A thought crossed my mind "Maybe instead of worrying if I have enough faith in God, I should instead make His faithfulness to me my focal point."  I have recently come to discover that to be true of Love.  It is not: do I love God enough?  But rather, I have decided to live based on the knowledge of his unconditional, unending, love for me.  So, possibly it is the same with faith.  I started to look up verses on faith and here are a few that stuck out.

“Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1

“O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.” Psalm 89:8

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thess 3:3

“For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.”  Psalm 33:4

“God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”  1 Cor 1:9

“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 85:16

Wow!  He is FAITHFUL! It is all through His word, He is the faithful God.  We give him glory because of HIS LOVE and HIS FAITHFULNESS.  Even on those days when we aren't "feeling" very faithful, God's faithfulness towards us never ends.  In fact the word says “..if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13

So I think it is time to really understand that He Loves us and He is Faithful to us.  To say these verses out loud everyday.  To write them on our heart.

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." Proverbs 3:3 

And as we begin to believe He truly is loving and forever faithful to us we will be safe and secure.  When we are living in the knowledge of these truths and are believing his love and faithfulness is always with us and bound to us, those attributes will effortlessly flow out of us.  I have tried to obey, to love, to be faithful in my own strength, out of my head because that is what you are supposed to do, to no avail.  But, when I really had a revelation of His love for me, his faithfulness to me and his grace abounding to me it began to flow supernaturally out of me as I abide in Him and His truths.  Glorious peace and rest!

“Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.”  Proverbs 20:28

Lord, give me a revelation of your faithfulness afresh today.  Let me go back to child-like faith, to take God at His word.  He is forever faithful, and loving towards me, because the bible tells me so!!!

I hope you have a chance to listen to FAITHFUL by Fee

TOMS Makeover!

So... I got a hole in my Toms.

After looking for a cute new pair, I paid 4$ at JoAnn Fabrics and recovered my old ones with new fabric.  

BEFORE

AFTER

Thank you Leone for sharing the recovering your Tom's picture with me back in the fall! It took me about 2 hours last Saturday afternoon...and I do have to say Andrew (my hubby) helped.  Have you ever tried stitching the tips of your shoes?!  HARD!!!  I needed his long and strong fingers, so thank you babe for your help, couldn't have done it without ya!!!

Receive Grace

Over the past few months, and especially the past few days the word GRACE has been sticking out to me.  I have always loved the word Grace, it sounds pretty and well I am a little biased to it, it is my middle name after all.  Everyday I am learning more and more about it.  This is another thing I am constantly asking God to give me a revelation of (just like my Revelation of Love post), what his grace means to me.  How does His grace change my life?

What is grace anyway?

Grace-favor, approval, unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification, a virtue coming from God - As Merriam-Webster defines it. 

I think of it as the unearned favor of God.  Experiencing the favor of God changes you forever.  I know I don't deserve it and it I feel like it is impossible to understand how he could ever show such love towards me, but yet he does.  He loves me unconditionally, nothing will ever change that.  “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39  One of my favorite Hillsong songs captures this verse and points to his unending love: Where We Belong, is SO worth listening to when you get a chance.

This morning I woke up early and got to spend a few precious moments reading to my son and enjoying a cup of tea together.  I usually do not have quiet, easy starts to my day like that.  (Grace of God!!) While Drew started on some puzzles I took my last few moments alone to talk with God.  I told Him that I was about to get my day started and the only way I could make it through at peace, and in one piece (lol) and be able to show the love and grace to my kids that I have been shown is to first receive it from Him a fresh.--- “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.  Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”  Lam 3:22-23---To which His still small voice said "My grace is right here, just take it."  And I did, I let his favor wash over me, and spent a moment thinking on the love of my savior for me, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.”  Song of Sol 7:10 and I was full.

When you are full of the love and grace of God all you can do is pour out to others.  You aren't looking for them to fill you, because God himself has made you complete.

Of course the pressures of the day arose, cooking, cleaning, dissolving arguments between toddlers......I was feeling stress creep up...in the background I had Pandora radio playing.  At the moment when I thought..."Ok Lord, not sure if I can do this...." Guess what was playing on the computer?  "Your grace is enough, your grace is enough, your grace is enough for me!"  AMEN to that!  His timing is just perfect and His grace is enough, I know He played that just for me in that moment.  But that truth isn't just for me, it is for you too.  His grace is enough for whatever you are facing.  Go to the throne of Grace and receive help for whatever you are going through, Jesus is ready and willing to pour it out, just ask.  “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Quick Learning Game

I was sitting at lunch today and I thought of a quick little math exercise I could do with Drew.  We are learning to identify all the numbers 1-10.  He was eating, I had just finished, I found a scrap piece of paper.  I ripped the paper into 1 inch pieces.

 I wrote the numbers 1-10 on separate pieces.  I placed them in order and just asked him to point to each number as I called it out.  We pointed to the numbers as we counted from one to 10, then 10 back down to one. 

Emma saw we were "playing a game" and she wanted to be included.  I then made up a few pieces for her with pictures she could identify.  I took turns asking them to point out numbers or shapes.  They loved it.  So simple and it took a total of 1 minute to assemble, and 5 minutes to play, short and educational.  We finished by piling all the numbers up and he had to lay them out in order 1 to 10, he did great.  Simple, just wanted to share a quick idea :)

Book Recommendation: "The Well"

I had chance to read this book, lent to me by our friends Tom & Hillary, thanks guys for blessing me!  This is an excellent book and a MUST READ for all Christians.  Written by Mark Hall, the lead singer of Casting Crowns.  

The whole premise of the book is drawing your true meaning from Jesus.  He is the only well that supplies a continual flowing of "living water".  Every other thing we try to fill our life with will leave us filling dry in the end, except for God.  Whoever drinks from him won't stay thirsty.  It is very thought provoking and encouraging.  I hope you get a chance to read it, and it also can be done as a bible study.

Dare NOT to Compare

We live in a culture where comparing ourselves to others is the norm.  I find myself sometimes thinking, "I could never measure up to her, she is a supermom" , or "I wish I got that many comments"....especially when I look on Pinterest, read blogs or check out facebook.  And the pity party starts.  At other times I find myself falling into the trap of saying "Can you believe so in so said ........?"  or "At least I didn't do that....."  And the self-righteousness creeps up.  I feel like it is a constant battle.  A line from the song Jesus Friend Sinners really resonated with me today: "Always looking around but never looking up, I'm so double minded."  I have been praying lately that the "helmet of salvation" (Eph 6:17) is covering my head and that Jesus himself will protect me from the trap of comparing myself to anyone.

"In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't."  Romans 12: 4-6 MSG


My desire is to be what God has made me to be.  I want to get my meaning from Jesus.  There is a reason He is called: The WAY, the TRUTH, the LIFE. (John 14:6)  When you find out who you are IN CHRIST you begin to experience life to the fullest.  I am not better or worse than anyone else.  The truth is that no matter what we do we can never measure up to God's standard of holiness...."For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard" Romans 3:23  BUT, there was one person who did measure up: JESUS.  Thankfully it is not about what we do, but it is about what Jesus did for us! 


What did Jesus do?

He took on and took away my sin, so I could become his righteousness.  "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

He loved me, justified and freed me from my sins & guilt before I ever took notice of Him. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

He gave me eternal life.  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole, lasting and eternal life.”  John 3:16


I have realized my actions do not make me better than anyone or right before God, in fact it is written "When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags." Isaiah 64:6b  The only thing that justifies me before God is my belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God as my Savior.  I believe Jesus represents me before the Father, so when God looks at me, he sees Christ, I am now hidden in Christ (Col 3:3).  


A favorite quote of mine is "The devil wants you focused on yourself, God wants you focused on Jesus." -Joseph Prince.  God doesn't want me thinking I am not good enough or that my actions make me better than someone.  Instead of comparing myself to others, I want to look at Jesus and remember what He did and does for me.  He is my savior from my bad thoughts, my comparisons, my sin, my unrighteousness.  I believe He represents and intercedes for me every second of every day.  I believe, trust in and rely on Jesus Christ and He is who I want to look at, not other people.  

Sowing a Love for Gardening

I have been working on getting my garden going.  Last year I grew all of our crops from seeds planted right in the ground, except the tomatoes.  Planting seeds actually works!!!  Ha ha!  I usually buy the plants already started from the local farmers market, so I had never worked with seeds before.  This past year I started the tomatoes a few weeks before the last frost, which had them produce later than usual.  We started our tomato seeds today, so hopefully they will be just in time.  I let my children scoop the dirt, plant the seeds and water them.

It took a little longer than it would have if I had done it myself, but I am hoping to instill a love for gardening in them.  Sowing and successful growing always takes time, a lot of diligent, hard work and patience, but in the end all the tedious time spent pays off. Teaching kids to take time and put in the effort develops character and persistence and shows them the benefit of hard work.  Oh, how they love to go out and pick the fresh veggies from the garden in the summer, that they helped grow. They try EVERYTHING from the garden, so it also encourages them to eat vegetables too.  

I am a part of a WONDERFUL bible study on Monday mornings with women from 6 different churches.  It is so beautiful seeing unity in the body of Christ.  We have found our desire to walk with Jesus, a love for God's word and a heart to grow in the things of the LORD as our common goals.  This week we were actually discussing sowing and reaping.  We talked about what you sow into your mind, your marriage, your kids is what you will reap.  

“ Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.  So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.” Galatians 6:7-10 MSG

In our group we were talking about sowing spiritual things, such as if we want our kids to have a love for God's word we need to begin teaching the word to them and praying that they will have a love for it.  If we want our husbands to share in our interests, we need to share in and adapt ourselves to theirs.  If we want a mind at rest that dwells on good things, we need to listen to, read and watch peaceful, wholesome, God-honoring things.  

I hope to spend more time thinking about what I want to reap in my life, and I pray that God will show me how and what I need to sow to get those harvests.   “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” 2 Cor 9:10

Greens in Spring

I really enjoy gardening.  Every year I try a new crop and see how it does.  Last year my best crops were tomatoes and green beans.  I have tried lettuce the last three years, but it never does well in the summer.  I have decided that this year I am actually going to plant lettuce when the package says to plant lettuce, in the spring (or fall).  I planted "Amsterdam Prickly Seeded SPINACH" and "Rouge d'Hiver Lettuce".  These are both heirloom seeds, the lettuce dates back to at least the late 1800's and the spinach was actually grown in Thomas Jefferson's garden!!  I purchased my seeds last year from: rareseeds.com, from a company called: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  I was HIGHLY satisfied with my order from this company, the seeds they offer are heirloom, organic, natural and non-gmo.  The prices are fabulous, shipping is cheap, and a young christian family own and run it.

So anyways, I am hoping these do better for me than my lettuce & spinach in the past.  When we had our warm spell back in March I planted the seeds.

Of course my "Acts of Service" (Check out the Five Love Languages) little boy had to help!!  Best helper EVER!!

LETTUCE

Today we found these growing!  A special "Thank You" to my neighbor Sunny who watered and took care of  our little sprouts while we were on vacation.

SPINACH

Black Bean Soup

I really LOVE black bean anything!  "Recent research has shown that black beans provide special support for digestive tract health, and particularly our colon." -WHFoods.org   Last week we had a tasty black bean soup, made from scratch, very cheap and easy to make.  If you buy canned black beans the prep would go quicker, but I picked up dried beans and decided at 2pm I wanted this soup for dinner.  They cooked very quickly and we were able to enjoy it 3 hours later. They surprising ingredient in this soup is the juice from half an orange.  Never would have thought to add that, but it makes SUCH a difference!   I got the original recipe I stick to pretty close to at:  Hurry Up Black Bean Soup

3 Tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
Juice of 1/2 orange
16 ounce bag of dried black beans, cooked (follow directions on bag)
3 cups chicken broth, I just eyeball it till the beans are just covered
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the dried black beans.  Sautee the onions and garlic in the oil.  Once the onions are translucent, add the seasonings, tomatoes, squeezed orange juice, cooked black beans & pour chicken broth till beans are just covered & salt and pepper.  Cook over medium-high heat until just reduced.  Serve with sliced avocados, sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips & salsa.  ENJOY!!

A Young Heart For Giving

I love to share stories of God's faithfulness.  I just posted recently (Show Kids God's Faithfulness) of a way we can show our kids how faithful He is and I am ALL EARS for any ideas.  My sister in law, Juliet just shared a touching story about my nephew experiencing that faithfulness of the Father.

Their family recently watched the video on you tube about the "invisible children" and the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) Which I had heard of, but had not watched myself.  She explained to me that this military group takes children from their homes and put them into the army, are drugged and forced "into hostilities", among other things.  My nephew Jadon was moved in his heart to give money to help get the children out.  He told Juliet "Mom, I want to help and send the money I have been saving up.  I do really want to get toys, but these kids need it more."  To which she replied "God knows what your desire is, you just give if you feel like He is telling you to and God will take of everything else."  So he gave the little he had.  About a week later he got a card in the mail with double the amount he had sent to the kids!!  It was a "late" birthday card by 2 months.  If you ask me, I think it was right on time!!

So cool!!

Happy Easter!

I hope today finds you enjoying your family and celebrating the risen Christ. 

 I encourage you to search out what he accomplished at the cross and how His resurrection changed everything.

1Who has believed our message 

   and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, 

   and like a root out of dry ground. 

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, 

   nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 

³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, 

   a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. 

Like one from whom people hide their faces 

   he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

 ⁴ Surely he took up our pain 

   and bore our suffering, 

yet we considered him punished by God, 

   stricken by him, and afflicted. 

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, 

   he was crushed for our iniquities; 

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, 

   and by his wounds we are healed. 

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 

   each of us has turned to our own way; 

and the LORD has laid on him 

   the iniquity of us all.

 ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, 

   yet he did not open his mouth; 

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, 

   and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, 

   so he did not open his mouth. 

⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away. 

   Yet who of his generation protested? 

For he was cut off from the land of the living; 

   for the transgression of my people he was punished.

⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, 

   and with the rich in his death, 

though he had done no violence, 

   nor was any deceit in his mouth.

 ¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, 

   and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, 

he will see his offspring and prolong his days, 

   and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 

¹¹ After he has suffered, 

   he will see the light of life and be satisfied; 

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, 

   and he will bear their iniquities.  Isaiah 53: 1-11

Bargain Refrigerator!

My husband and I have been praying for a stainless steel, side by side refrigerator for months.  We looked at our budget and decided we could spend $500.00, so we began praying for God to provide and we waited.  We have not even seen one for that cheap on Craigslist that met all our standards, but we figured God can do all things and if we are supposed to get one for 500, He will make a way, and if not, we'll have a peace about a spending a different amount.

 This past weekend we were looking at Lowes and Home Depot and on the verge of just buying one at full price.  My husband felt the Holy Spirit say "Just wait." and Andrew looked at me and said "I am just not feeling a peace about spending this kind of money, plus we have been asking and believing God could provide us a fridge for 500.00, lets wait."  We have been finding that when we are restless or having a check on the inside that something isn't right, that God is trying to get our attention and to listen.  So we have been waiting for His peace before we move (most of the time!!)  "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace" Isaiah 55:12a.  


A few hours after we decided to wait for God 2 refrigerators surfaced on Craigslist, one was 600 (20 mins away) and one was 495 (1 hour away).  We were so excited!  We hadn't even seen any in our price range, that were in good condition, and now there were 2!!  We called immediately and headed to the closest one.  The family said it got scratched in their move, after examinging it Andrew was convinced the "scratches" were really smudges from paint and could be wiped off.  We offered 500, she began to debate with Andrew on the price and I walked away and started to pray.  He came to the truck a minute later and said, "We got it for 500!!!"  Thank you LORD that was ALL YOU!!!

We got it home, wiped off the smudges and sure enough it was not scratched!  We looked up our model online, it still sells in the store for $2000!!!  Thanking thanking thanking Him for his favor!  So when you have a need, pray about it and be ready to find it an unlikely place.  I pray before I garage sale, go to the "sal" (Salvation Army), check on craigslist and the paper.  It is neat seeing all the different ways God provides!!

Show Kids God's Faithfulness

We had a question at our moms group the other day, "What are ways you can show your Kids that God is faithful?"  It has been on my mind ever since so I have been asking God for ideas.  Today He gave me one.  This morning I gave Drew a $1.00 bill, payment for helping daddy at work.  (He actually got five, I only know where 1 is.)  He decided he wanted to go to the "popcorn store", (Target) to buy a toy.  Thankfully they have a dollar section.

We were preparing to leave and Drew had lost the dollar.  I almost went into "Well, where did you leave it?"  But God whispered something else for me to say: "Ok, Drew, you don't know where your dollar is, but Jesus does!  Let's pray and ask Him to help us find it."  He liked the idea and prayed "Dear Jesus, can you show me where my dollar is?"  He went to look and 30 seconds later he found it.  The next thing that came out of his mouth was "Thank you Jesus for helping me!"  AMEN!  I was so excited, he saw the faithfulness of God.  We still ran around for a few more minutes getting drinks, going potty and putting on shoes, after all that he exclaimed "Mom, where is my money?"  To which I replied "I am not sure, but you know who does know."  He prayed again, asking Jesus for help, and 15 seconds later he had it in his hands.  "Yes! Jesus, Thank you!!"  Love that childlike faith.  When you experience the faithfulness of God you can't help but give him praise.  "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." Psalm 8:2 ( I love this verse, especially because of the fact that when you praise God, you silence the enemy!)


I hope and pray to be able to find more ideas of how to point my children to the faithfulness of God.  To make it a priority to point out his goodness, and give Jesus the glory- the only one who deserves it.

Moment of Weakness

Yesterday and today I have been praying about what to post on here next.  Tonight we had dear friends stop by and drop off some AMAZING lemon custard dessert as a surprise.  Can I say WONDERFUL???!!!!  They told us to check out the song they sang at church today: None But Jesus (click to listen), to which my husband replied "Well, she'll be having it on all night!"  He knows me :)  I like to listen to songs I enjoy over and over and over and I absolutely LOVE blaring the praise music.  My friend Kim always says "I keep praise music on all the time to keep my eyes on Christ, and I also sing along to it, other wise it is just background noise.  It is the best attitude adjuster there is."

I asked God again tonight what I should blog about, He reminded me about a song I had heard last year.  One line really spoke to me.  Isn't it amazing how praise songs sometimes just speak so much truth and how it can change your mood and how you view a situation?  I started listening to None But Jesus tonight (as suggested by my friend), and don't you know it was the EXACT song that had impacted me 1 year ago.  Confirmation!!  Guess that really is what God wants me to write about tonight.....He is amazing!

So the line that meant so much to me was:  "In the chaos and confusion I know you're sovereign still, In the moment of my weakness you give me the strength to do your will."   Chaos, confusion that is pretty much the life of a mother with young children.  I notice when everything is getting crazy it tends to be my "weak moment".  I heard this song and I thought "Yeah!  Even during those times He is still sovereign, He still is ready to pour out His grace and strength and help me through this."  That verse runs through my head when it gets a little wild over here. 

Even when things seem a mess, God is still God.  He hasn't changed. I have found that if I take a moment to just ask Him to calm my heart and give me wisdom and strength, He does and it settles me down and gives me peace and clarity to handle the situation.  Now, I don't always remember to do this, which is a real bummer, because facing a situation with the peace and power of God is SOOOOO much better than handling it in my own strength.  But, I am surely asking for His help a lot more now than I used to.  Once you get a taste of God's way of handling a situation, you don't want to go back.  

So if you are faced with a "moment of weakness" take just a second to ask God for his strength, power, peace and wisdom on the matter.  Instead of instantly reacting, stop and ask God, "What should I do?"   I am always telling him: " Ok God, you know I am weak in this area.  I am not good at this, but you are good at everything.  I need your grace.  Will you help 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."  2 Corinthians 12:9  I want Christ's power resting on me. In his power there is nothing I can't do.  "I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency."  Philippians 4:13 amp

God is willing and wants to give you the strength to overcome your situations and moments of weakness.  It is as simple as stopping to ask.  "For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  Matthew 7:8

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