CHRISTmas

Pictured here is "Santa's" helper, Haley. She's my angel and my greatest blessing and joy. I have come to realize how much more than gifts, and debt and constant running around Christmas is all about. There's a certain level that yes, we want to get something for our little angel but she's not into all the fuss and stuff- she's all about spending time with us.
She helps keep ME in focus of the real priority.

Thanks Haley, for being you.
I love you

Prayer

Georgia is experiencing the worst drought in 100 years, and our governor has requested prayers for rain.
Among the news stories about the drought, is this atheist stating that our governor is making the state of Georgia look "foolish" for his request for prayer.
Foolish?
from wsbtv:
"And Perdue's move certainly hasn't provoked much opposition. The loudest critic has been the Atlanta Freethought Society. The is expecting about a dozen of its 125 members to protest at the vigil. "

Protest a prayer vigil for rain? Are you serious? According to the Atlanta Freethought SOciety website, they are protesting Perdue's use of state time to condone prayer, which they cite the seperation of church and state as the primary issue. They have 2 versions of Matthew quotes on the website about not standing at the street corners to pray but instead pray in the privacy of your home. The last issue is there only being ministers invovled in the prayer as the other problem.
I guess their society has all the answers in and of themselves.

Adventures in House Training

I'm not sure who is being trained, but Ty and I are attempting to teach our new 13 week old lab/shep mix to NOT use the potty in the kennel or worse, in the house- but some days it's just not paying off.
This morning, for example, I got up at 6am to let her out. Once i rounded the corner on the stairs I realized she'd already gone pee in the kennel, so I fed her to "encourage" anything else to come out. She went outside PRAISE God
Then came inside and pooped in her kennel. Hmmm that's not what I'm wanting to accomplish.
I've learned (after many cleanups in the house) that Sara looks at me to say 'hey now's a good time to let me out'
but being my naiive self I thought she was just being nosey and cute...
I lost my cool yesterday after many failed attempts outside, she continued to go in the kennel.
Can I list this as a prayer request?!

Same ole?

I'm leading Disciple 1 at church right now and due to the quantity of Old Testament Bible reading I'm doing daily, I find myself reading about the Isrealites and realizing how similar modern America is to those people.

Thou shalt have not other gods before me. That's one of the 10 commandments- yet, what gods are in your life that come before your prayer time? TV? Internet usage? Exercizing? Catching up with friends on the phone? None of these mentioned activites is bad- yet when you strtive to do them more than you strive to be on your knees before God- then you may have a problem. Maybe that activity IS your god?

God repeatedly sends prophets to tell His people they are sinning, they are disobedient people. They are forgetful. Hmm, sounds like me. I forgot the mercies I received just a week ago, and wonder if God's hearing my prayers becuase they are not answered they way I want them answered in the timing I want.

Same ol same ol. God sure is patient

Temple or ?

If the body is the Temple I have to admit this temple is out of shape. Being motivated by friends in my new office, and others who are on current exercise regiments; I have no excuse. Ty and I have a gym membership, so the fees are already in the finances. I'm just - lazy.

So, I have 6-7am on my calendar Monday to get back into the routine. Okay into the routine.
I want to shape up, lose a little weight, and be healthy.

What Wakes You Up?

Spent the weekend doing extended family stuff and losing a lot of personal time in the process. I have a project in particular at the house that I look forward to finishing. Mind you, not the project itself just the finished project gets me excited.

Then I wondered if I have that much excitement about my quiet time. Afterall I did lose the snooze game this morning and had to forfeit any quality time with God. As a result I'm in a crummy mood and I feel groggy and blah. Course, it's also Monday. Doesn't that go with the day?
So my goal this week is to get up 30 min earlier so I can give God undivided, "first fruits" of the day each day and prepare my heart and attitude for the days challenges.

gratefulness

it's important to be grateful. To not forget the little things that get you up, keep you going throughout the day.
Last night I had Disciple. I got out early (8:10 rather than 9pm due to the tiny size of my class) so I got to come home and help Ty put Haley down. Haley gets bigger and bigger physically while she's emotionally turning into her own person. And she's all about mommy right now (and I secretly LOVE IT).
She wanted mommy to read her a story, mommy to cover her with the blanket, mommy to say her prayers.
Haley helps me remember what's really important in life. Not that I forget, but so many times I forget the simple things.
For example, she remembers she wants chocolate milk before bed. Ahhh delicious choc milk. Life's simple pleasures. Not doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen. Just taking the moment to soak up the simple things. Haley helps keep me on track of what' s really important- and I appreciate her approach to life.
After all the pain of infertility, and the seemingly endless waiting before God brought this little bundle of joy to us- she is just that joy. She makes my life so much richer, more complete.
I can't forget all that God has done by sending Haley to us, especially on days when I feel God has forgotten our prayer for another little bundle. Yet while we wait, we have Haley to enjoy.
We are so blessed and I thank God.

If you have a child- don't overlook the little things. Them wanting you to play is so important becuase one day, not too long from today- they will want no part of you.

Reflection

No fancy title today- just a reflection. I'm often told how 'fortunate' we are to live in this country, where we're free to go to church (or not to go) and pray and worship whereever we choose. Often times i think society is often neglegent in remembering how much we have, how blessed we are. I dont go to bed hungry, ever. In fact, I've been fortunate enough to have never gone to bed hungry (minus being punished as a kid for not eating salmon crocquettes and going to bed without dinner)...but as a whole, i've had a full belly. Many times full of food AND dessert and enough milk in the fridg to come get a glass whenever I wanted.
How many times have i honestly stopped and thanked the Lord for providing? Few. Let's be real honest- how many times have i said "man I wish I had _____ to eat for dinner" rather than 'whoa God you are so good".
I'm trying hard to be more grateful and to be aware of the things I wish I had, and stomp those thoughts unless they are true needs.
My birthday is coming up and Ty recently asked me what I want him to give me. I haven't been able to come up with a genuine need/want. I hope my attitude continues on this same path because it's making my overall approach to this budget and to life much less stressful. I'm not feeling the pinch of unmet wants, feeling left out of the latest trend.
Instead, I'm feeling evermore grateful and satisfied and I welcome this new spirit, new sensation of really not needing to keep up with the Jones's.
Make sense?

Momentum

Our credit cards are paid off and I guess the momentum build up from that single exciting event has created more prayer over our budget and more intensity to stick to it.
Today, we owe less on my van than it's worth. It's a 2001 Odyssey and has 111K miles on it. We owe less than 5K and by November it should be fully paid for. How exciting!!

Persistence

Persistance, patience and peace are three "P" words that don't describe me well. However, I have learned as an adult that sticking to something, especially something hard for me, usually pays off.
We have only been on this "financial diet" for about a month and while there are days I really want to go to Target and buy something, or want to eat at my favorite Japanese Kirin House- most days I find peace in keeping with my budget.
BUT the good news is, Persistance pays off. Our credit cards are gone! Only 4 weeks of trying and they are gone. Amazing what you can do when you try.
Now we're focused on paying off my soccermom van, my Odyssey. I LOVE that van, and the idea of not having a van payment anymore is astounding.

Financial diet

Some need to completely change their diet, some to just stop eating the size portions they eat...my diet is a little different. I'm on a financial diet. I think many in America could stand with me in my distain for my own lack of self-control.
In an effort to not have debt, I'm on a $20/ week spending budget. That means for $20/ week i can eat lunch out, have a dinner out, go to the movies, buy some clothes- Or not.
It's really hard to NOT buy something I want, but at the same time I have all I need.

So i'm new to the world of blogging. But I am not new to the world of prayer. Even just this morning God revealed His unending mercies and faithfulness.
See, my husband and I have put ourselves on a tight budget. I've prayed for money before, and for bills to get paid but this week I've seen only what the Almighty God can do- certainly nothing human.

We put ourselves on a fairly tight budget just over a week ago. We decided we want to pay off not just a small credit card, but both of our cars. With our due-diligence, we estimate we can accomplish this goal in just over 12 months.
Being a praying woman, I committed my new budget to God. Asking His help with our finances, His grace and mercy with our new plan- then - some unexpected medical bills came up last week as well as a disputable charge on our credit card.
I prayed about the medical bills- $1100 charge for an out of network provider would eat up a month’s worth of debt payoff. I didn’t want that to be the case, but the bigger picture was we had the money to pay that bill and I thanked God for providing.
I spoke with the billing manager at the doctor’s office today, turns out the $1100 wasn’t accurate; between the insurance payment and the doctor’s office writing off some of the debt, our payment went from $1100 to $253. Another doctor’s office is writing off $185- in both cases I didn’t ask for assistance, I only called to inquire about the specific charges. Finally, my husband called the credit card company who willingly offered to credit us a year and a half of monthly charges- totaling $300. While he is an excellent money manager and negotiator- I made certain to remind my precious hubby that he isn’t really responsible for this credit, it is God’s hand at work.

We all hear of so many prayer requests. I need to share this testimony to lift folks up and remind you that God is powerfully at work in His children’s lives- especially if we “humbly walk with our God” (Micah 6:8).

8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.