It is Well

If all else fails, post music..... That's what I always say anyway.
Here's a new favorite. I hope you like it and your soul is filled with peace.

10 Bible Verses

I use a bible app often on my iphone or ipad to read the bible.  It makes it easy to save or highlight your favorite or relevant bible verses, or even share them, etc. So I just pulled out my phone and here are some that I have "bookmarked".  Maybe they'll be meaningful to you too.  (in no particular order)

¹⁰
Proverbs 9:10

¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Psalm 37:4

⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

1 Peter 5:10

¹⁰ And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Proverbs 22:6

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go;
    even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Hebrews 12:11 
¹¹ For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yieldsthe peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Ephesians 6:10-11

  The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Psalm 33:20

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.

Acts 2:39

³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Colossians 3:2

² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Proverbs 3:11-12

¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
    or be weary of his reproof,
¹² for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
    as a father the son in whom he delights.

What are some of your favorite bible verses?


A helpful site  Bible Gateway

Top 10 Link-up with Many Little Blessings

Here Comes the Sun...

It seem like this winter keeps dragging on and on. I'm ready for spring! It's so refreshing to see the sun when you wake up, even though it's still only 40 degrees. I'll take what I can get. I feel like the sunlights gives you hope and encouragement for a new day. It shines light on our worries and helps melt away our troubles.

Psalm 18:28

English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁸ For it is you who light my lamp;
    the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

One blog at a time

Sitting here at the computer, I'm at a loss for what to type. Do I type another top 10 list?  Do I write about the kids? How about a recipe? I'll blame it on sleep deprivation. Well, since I can't seem to make up my mind and am distracted by life, I'll get some musical inspiration and pass it along.  Hopefully I can hop back on the blog wagon again :)

Do you ever get tired or frustrated about your current situation? Feel like you're getting pulled in multiple directions?  Or, maybe that's just me..... Well, just remember we are not alone in our daily battles.  Jesus is faithful and good. I pray that he would open our eyes to see his graciousness.

Matt Redman- Never Once 
(p.s. I apologize for the political add that might pop up)

 What song gets you motivated and encouraged?

10 Kids Memory Verses

The last few months we've been working on some easy memory verses with the kids, mainly our 4 & 8 year old. I thought it would be good for myself as well! We keep it simple and write about 1 new verse on an index card each week (or course, sometimes things just happen and we get a little behind!) We write in different colors - I think my four year old likes this best because she associates the colors with some of the verses. My 8 year old is doing a better job than I am! Well, without further delay, here's some we've worked on so far and a few that we will be doing sometime in the future. They are in no particular order.

1-In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1

2-Do not be afraid for I am with you. Isaiah 43:5

3-Every word of God proves true. Proverbs 30:5

4-I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

5-Children, obey your parents in all things. Colossians 3:20

6-Whatever you do, do everything for the Glory of God. 1Corinthians 10:31

7-Every good and every perfect gift is from above. James 1:17

8- Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2b

9- Pray without ceasing. 1Thessalonians 5:17

10-Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Is there a special verse that you like to do with your kiddos?

Top 10 Link-up with Many Little Blessings

 

Grace Like Rain

So I know I am not perfect-at all. I make mistakes. I don't listen. Or, I do listen but don't obey Jesus. I'm so thankful for God's grace and second chances. The out pour of God's grace & rainy days reminds me of this song.

Grace Like Rain- Todd Agnew

The rain washes away the dirt, makes things grow new & replenishes the thirsty.  It rains exactly when it is supposed to and it is free. Halleluiah, grace like rain falls down on me...

 

2 Corinthians 12:9

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Ephesians 2:8-9

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10,000 Reasons

Here's a song that I'm liking right now. It may not seem too upbeat at first, but I think it will grow on you. I need to stop asking Jesus for more and instead be thanking him. Bless the Lord.

 

.....You're rich in love and you're slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind
For all your goodness i will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find.....

I will not be moved-

How often do you feel like you are fighting an uphill battle?

I don't know about you, but I feel like I continually need boldness and perseverance to continue on the path Jesus lay out for me. I've fallen down jumping over many hurdles (some literally), but I try to get up, brush off the dust and stay on the path.

I feel like this song gives me strength and some spiritual "muscle" to keep going in spite of obstacles.

Psalm 55:22  Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Natalie Grant - I Will Not Be Moved

(you tube music video)

So, maybe it also reminds me of some rockin' 80s music I grew up with too-
Whatever the case may be, keep fighting the good fight, do not be swayed...

A lemon for my thoughts-

My thoughts might not be worth a lemon. Would a lemon be more or less than a penny? Actually, I'll just give them to you for free, you can keep the lemon.......We recently watched the Disney movie "Meet the Robinsons". Really, we don't watch movies all the time! Okay, often but not all day long! But, the reason I mention it is because I almost get teary-eyed every time that I've ever watched it. It's silly, clever & fun with a happy ending of course. The little boy, Lewis, is an orphan who is always inventing things. In the end, he is finally adopted after coming back from the future. He finds his family in unexpected places or should I say, they find him (makes more sense when you watch it of course).  Part of the message of the movie is keep moving forward and we learn much more from our failures than from success. I also have a weak spot for music, so I thought I'd share a song with you as well- I can't quite pin point why, but I really like the song at the end of the movie. Here's a link to the song- if I've peaked your interest at all.

Little Wonders- by Rob Thomas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoTDH3nqhW4

......What will you do with these small hours we have? From my experience, if I trust and follow Jesus with all my heart, he'll reveal little wonders in unexpected places. Here's my short list: persevere through challenges, have patience, encourage others, be humble, hug my kiddos every chance I get!

Thanks for humoring me and listening to my ramblings-

Stirred, but not shaken

So, I don't think I mentioned yet that my family is on a new life adventure called church planting. In a nutshell, we picked up our lives & relocated cross country with a group of amazing people to help start a new church. We hold services in a movie theater and also lease an large office space for meetings, etc.

So today, about 30 minutes before service was about to begin, the power went out in the movie theater. We waited a whole 10 minutes before officially deciding to move the service to our office space. (If I had actually taken a picture of the amount of stuff we move each Sunday, you'd more fully understand this slight dilemma). We scrambled as quickly and gracefully as we could to haul children, exersaucers, sound equipment, coffee, etc. down the block to the office for service. We set up extra chairs, a nursery room and an area for big kids (by the restroom sitting area). When it was all said and done, by around 10:30 we had about 75 people crammed into the "large room" for service.

This my folks, is the reality of church planting. Actually, in my opinion I think we did a very fine last minute job of trying to carry out service as usually. And yes, we had worship music too. AND, despite all the craziness, I think we are still very blessed. Many things came to mind that I felt thankful for during and after (what I will call) the "service shuffle".

1) That we have a very large, versatile office space only 1/2 block from the movie theater
2) People wanted to hear about Jesus regardless of where we held service
3) Church attenders having flexibility, patience, & grace for the craziness (actually only those who came early got to see the "shuffle"!)
4) Had a cold, but sunny day. Thank goodness for no snow or ice
5) A large number of church attenders helping carry items from the theater to the office (I saw people I didn't know carrying things up the office steps)
6) Having a large number of chairs (that was actually sent by mistake- or was it...)
7) God equipping and preparing us to smoothly handle a situation like this

This small experience today stirred up my faith, gave me strength, encouragement, and also gratefulness for those around me. I also felt re energized. You would have thought that it was a crazy Sunday, but actually felt far from it. God is good.  Maybe Jesus stirred up some others today too.


Here are a few pics to give you an idea of what service looked like at the office space. Of course these pictures are an afterthought. Being involved in the shuffle and frantically moving things around with a toddler in tow I did not think to shoot many pics.

Service on Sunday @ the office space

Behind this foam "sound barrier" are some of the kids & the restrooms

You can't have service without the coffee. I think several of us had a few extra cups of joe.

"The Stand"

Before I can even post a lemonade recipe,  I must post this song, "The Stand".   Jesus is in everything we are and will be. He equips us. How could we sing, cook, create, pray, laugh, or even build a lemonade stand without him? I give Jesus credit for everything I can and will do. He loves me whether or not my stand is a success or failure. Take a break from the daily grind, abandoned your heart for a moment, praise, and be filled.