Can you pass me a napkin?

     A friend of mine called me the other day to share with me a passage of Scripture that she was excited about. This friend does this often and I love it when she does. She opened her Bible and read this Scripture to me over the phone:

Colossians 1: 9-14

" 9For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. 13For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." I told her to hold on and let me write this down so that I could go back and read it again for myself and soak it all in. Then I told her to let me go get a napkin to wipe my mouth because I feel like I just had a good, large, delicious meal! (This is just how we talk to each other).  So, I went back later and re-read this wonderful passage. God kind of messed with me a little.  When I went back and read the passage again, the word "filled" jumped out at me in verse 9. I guess He does want us to be "filled" just as if we had a big, satisfying meal! But come away after the filling with the knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom and understanding.  You may not understand me feeling this way when reading Scripture, but the Psalmist felt the same way. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103  If you are reading this blog, I hope that you will take the time and truly digest this passage. I bet you will need a napkin too... Cause it's soooo good!

Embrace the Shadows

God...

A shadow of a casket has invaded my life...

Has pushed me down and knocked the wind out of me

Please God help me to find my feet again

My child...

I want you to learn to embrace the shadows

When they raised my son, my only Son on a cross

It created a shadow...

All who come close and allow themselves to be embraced by this shadow

Those who embrace my son on the cross will find...

Love...

Forgiveness and grace

This shadow also was cast over Me

For it was the only time I have ever been separated from my beloved Son

I know you are hurting...

I  know how you feel...

Being separated from your loved one.

I want you to embrace another shadow...

The shadow of my wings

If you will come close to this shadow

You will find shelter, rest and...

Safety.

You are safe to ask your questions

For it is here you will find healing and... 

Comfort.

For I Am the Comforter

Stay here with me and find what you need to...

Carry on.

Until you can find your feet again.

Breathe in and out my grace...

Let me apply my healing balm of love.

These two shadows...

The Cross...

My Wings...

My child...
Embrace these shadows.

grace notes: Embrace the Shadows

grace notes: Embrace the Shadows: God...  A shadow of a casket has invaded my life... Has pushed me down and knocked the wind out of me Please God help me to find m...

Amish Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter 2 large eggs 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon nutmeg or 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons milk 3 cups oatmeal (regular or quick) Directions:

1 Melt butter. 2 Grease 1 1/2 quart baking dish and drop in eggs and beat well. 3 Add brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla, nutmeg or cinnamon, and salt. Mix well, no lumps. 4 Whisk in butter and both measures of milk, then add oats. 5 Stir well, and refrigerate overnight. 6 Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-45 min, or until set in the middle. 7 Serve hot with warm milk poured over.

I have made this and it is excellent. Great that you can put together at night to just use in the morning when you are in a hurry.

Students learn your A's B's C's and D's

Well, it's here kids. The day you have probably dreaded all summer. Duh duh duh, back to school! I just wanted to give you the ABCD's for back to school.

1. Acquire and Apply

The first one is be someone who loves to learn! Decide that this year you will be a student that loves to learn something new. Proverbs 18:15 says, " The mind of the prudent (wise) acquires knowledge. The ear of the wise seeks knowledge." Find a way to apply what you have learned. One way that you can do this is by studying to do well on your tests. That is applying what you have learned. Another apply, is to determine this year to apply yourself. Apply yourself to learn and study, and then maybe you can even teach someone else what you have learned!

2. Best-

This year, be determined to give your best, to the teacher, to the Lord, and to yourself. A great scripture to keep in mind is: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." Colossians 3: 23. If you do your work like you're teacher is Jesus, it should make a difference. Even if you don't like your teacher, you should be able to give your best if you are imagining you are doing it for the Lord instead.

3. Commit-

Proverbs 16:3 says, " Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established." Pray about your school year and commit it to the Lord. Pray before you study and ask the Lord to help you remember the things you are studying. Before your tests and exams, and ask the Lord to bring to your mind everything you have already studied. Seniors, you may have a senior project this year. Have you committed your project to the Lord? It's not to late to do that. Lastly, Commit your life. If you have not committed your life to the Lord, I pray that you will do that. It won't do you much good to just commit your work, if you have not committed your life to God. To live for Him, not just at home and church where it's easy, but at school too. That's the real test isn't it?

4. Diligent-

It says in Proverbs 12:27b "... the precious possession of a man (woman) is diligence."

The dictionary definition of the word "diligence" is: being constant in an effort to accomplish something. Keep at it, work hard and be diligent with your school work this year. I believe that it will pay off at the end with good grades. If you are diligent in your work, there is no telling how much you can accomplish, and how far you can go!

Try to remember these things. Pastor Steve and I will be praying for you this school year. We are here for you. We are on your side, pulling for you and cheering you on! You can do it!

Now go and learn your A, B's C's and D's!

The gift of the seashell

Our family recently went on a catamaran cruise to the Cape Lookout lighthouse. On the way, we stopped at a place called, "Seashell island". It's known for it's seashells that collect on the shore line. I have been to a lot of different beaches. Never have I seen one that has so many shells lying on the sand. I don't know what it is about this particular beach, that makes it like a giant sieve. It harvests large amounts of shells from the ocean and leaves them on the sand.

We are given a bag to put our shells into. So we can bring our "treasures" back with us. As I was picking up my treasure, my mind was focused on the seashell. When you think about the ocean, it is beautiful, with its wide expanse. But it's rough and sometimes violent with hurricanes. It can wreck a ship on its shoals... and yet from it comes the seashell.

We are given a gift, a treasure from something very unlikely, the sea. Every time I go to the ocean, I look for beautiful seashells. It is the best souvenir because it's free. The sea, with it's tide ebbing in and out, seems to be tugging at you, the sand, and everything around it. It is always saying, "More, I need more... come out here to me." Assigning a human characteristic to it, it is selfish. But when you look at the seashell, the sea is displaying a very different nature. It is a gift that the sea gives. It does something quite unselfish and hands over something of itself.

When we return from any trip to the ocean, we bring back our shell as a reminder of our trip to the coast. As I was thinking about writing this, I held up the large conch shell to my ear. They say you can hear the ocean's waves.

I think I heard something... it said, "Come back soon... you know you love to be here." I said, " I will, and thank you for the beautiful gift."

Back To School help for Kids, Uh I mean...Moms

Help! My child is ready to start school and I'm not ready to let them go!

Little Mommas... so many of you have wee ones that are starting school today; some for the very first time. But what do you do when your children are excited to start school and you aren't quite ready yet? May I just say... been there and done that.

When Ashley and Daniel started school they were all smiles and rip raring to go. Me.... I was not ready for them to go... I was a mess! Oh yes, I had prepared them, they skipped into their classrooms with their little lunch box and book bag, turned and waved goodbye...bye Mommy! (I think Ashley waved so enthusiastically that her pony tail just swayed back and forth!)

Now what? What about Mommy?

I tell you what? Mommy went home, went in her room, rocked back and forth in the rocking chair and just cried like a baby!

As I was perusing the Internet to see if there was any encouragement for Mom's on this subject, I saw there wasn't much. So, I want to try to encourage all the sweet little Mommas today.

1. It's okay to cry.

Yes, that's right. Just go on and give yourself permission to do just that! I think we have so much Mommy guilt about everything! I believe that the Lord created us with feelings and emotions and if it was wrong for us to cry, He would not have created us to be emotional creatures. So, for today, I say go ahead and cry, it may be good for you to do that, a good release.

2. Trust yourself.

Trust that you have instilled within your child the Christian values that he or she needs to be able to adapt in this new environment. If you have taught them to be kind at home, they will be kind at school. If you taught them to share at home, they will share at school. If you taught them to love, especially to love the Lord, they will be a loving person at school.

"Train a child in the way he should go..." Proverbs 22:6 You have trained them, and now they are going, let's let them go.

3. Trust your child.

Trust that your child has heard you and paid attention to you all these years and will carry these life lessons with them into the classroom. Yes, they are little children, but they are all unique, and special to God and to you. They have their own interests and likes that need to be developed. They have so much to learn. Let them learn it.

4. Trust the teacher.

This one may be the hardest. If you don't know the teacher on a personal level, this one can really be hard. At the beginning of the school year, I would pray that the teacher my child had, would love my child. Pray that the teacher will see all of the wonderful qualities in your child that you see. And would guide your child to blossom and flourish in their classroom.

5. Trust God.

Trust the Lord. He created your child. He knows them by name. Jesus loves them. He will be with them every step of the way as their guide and friend. He will bring back to their mind everything you have taught them.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Jesus loved children and they loved Him. The children wanted to come to Jesus. There was something warm, winsome and loving about Jesus that the children wanted to be around Him. He still loves children today. Trust Him with your child. In other words, place your child in God's hands.

6. Let peace be your constant companion.

If you are a stay at home Mom, your child has been your constant companion from birth. Now you must let the Lord and His peace be your constant companion. So,try not to stay a mess! Give yourself this day to be a mess, but be resolved not to stay a mess! Don't continue to stay in a constant state of turmoil. It is not good for you, or your child. Think about all the new and wonderful things your child is going to learn. They will be coming home at the end of this day, so excited and ready to share with you all their new experiences. Be ready to put your feelings aside and get excited with them!

Here is a scripture for you to memorize and take with you today and everyday.

"You (God) will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You: because he
trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3 So keep your mind focused on God. He is the Prince of Peace and He will give you His peace if you meditate on Him and His Word.

Let me have prayer with you dear Momma.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you would be with all the dear, sweet Mothers today who are sending their little ones off to school. I pray that you would bless these children as they go with Your protection. I pray that the Moms would place their confidence in this and in You. I pray that their children would learn and grow into the people that You would have them be. I pray that you would be with the teachers, give them wisdom and knowledge to impart to the children, but more importantly, give them a heart full of love for each child. Again, be with all the Mothers and help them to feel your love for their child and for them. Give them Your peace today I pray in Your blessed name Jesus.

Amen

God bless you little Mommas. You have done a great job. Your children are ready to go.

You may have your tissue in one hand and your Bible in the other. But even though you may think you're not ready, you are...

With God's help... He will give you the strength!