Monday Minutes

I am so thankful I believe in the power of prayer. I have really been going to God's Word lately to get exact bible verses to pray for our various situations. I have been working hard to not try and control situations in our household too, sometimes that proves very difficult. I tend to pray and then think okay this is how it needs to be done. Lately, I have had a different approach. I pray, I listen, I pray, I wait, I pray more, I ask others to pray, I am still waiting and then an answer seems to come. I admit that sometimes the answers are very small like today, but for me it is HUGE!

Today a huge blessing occurred. The two boys had to go to service with us. The message was something that they needed to hear as deeply as Paul. It brought to mind my study lately of Colossians 3. I prayed before church, that everyone would have an open mind. That they would feel welcomed and loved. The message today was on reading your bible, being active in Christ, service... all the things I have been focusing on for my family, trying to encourage them to participate in. When we left church Jakob started the conversation. He said he liked it. He said it was better then where we had been attending. Can I get an Amen? 

I wanted to cry, I felt this huge relief. He was excited that there is a bible study for his age. So far he had not been able to ever participate in one before. I will make sure we find out what night is it is on so he can go. Zekaryah liked the music a lot, they sang one of his favorite songs. I was again pleased. Then the true change of heart was when Paul said, you know I was thinking, we said we would give things until the end of the summer but really I think in order to know if the church will suit us, we need to get involved. I want to know people, be able to talk before and maybe after the service. He wanted to know people's names. He was very excited about this next weekend's men's trip. He was being open hearted. He then said, I would like to give it sixth months. Commit to the church for sixth months, maybe help set up once in a while, serve at SOS when they do etc. He then said the next answer to a question I had- we are tithing now to this new church because it is now our home. PRAISE GOD! I am so thrilled. 

I will be honest. I wanted to push, shove, scream, pull hair, to get my way. See I knew where we were supposed to be, at least for this journey in our lives. I had to step back, trust God and let Him do the work. I can guarantee you after my disappointment over last week that HE sure worked a whole lot quicker than I could have. Prayer really was the way to tackle this situation. I am thankful I heard God this time, that I waited, was submissive to my husband, mindful of my children.

 Colossians and Ephesians both have something similar verse wise, it goes like this

 ¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14

I admit I had to be compassionate and patient. I had to also have some forgiveness too. I had been a little resentful a year ago about the fact that my husband was not READY to be the head of our household. It was hard to always be the strong one, be the one that sought God, be the one to pray, be the one to be a Christ-like example. What I was forgetting is it was my job to plant the seed. My husband said he sees how Happy I am. he said he wants some of that. I am going to enjoy this next sixth months. Please pray for us as we truly start this journey. I know that we are going to face more obstacles potentially then we ever have before. I know the devil is going to try and discourage us and we have to push even harder. I welcome the challenge because I know at the end of the day we have a Mighty God.  

Menu Plan Monday

This weeks menu (been a while since we posted one of these- its been kid crazy around here for a while)

This week I ask for prayer. I have blood work taken Tuesday morning and since they have found/felt a couple things I go in for a Mammogram right after. I have been trying not to worry. Tuesday cannot come quick enough. I am not looking forward to it.

Monday

Breakfast Tacos 

(eggs, bacon, potato and salsa for those that want it)

Tuesday 

( I have a meeting Paul is cooking)

Tostadas

Wednesday- 

Mekenzei helps cook

Pancakes and Eggs

Thursday

Enchiladas and Beans

Bean Burrito for Jakob

Friday

Pauls on a Men's Trip- Jakob cooks

Corn Dogs and Tator Tots

Saturday 

Game or Movie Night- Zekaryah cooks

HomeMade Pizza on French Bread/Spaghetti for Jakob

Sunday

BBQ Something- Paul cooks
For more menu planning ideas please see Orgjunkie.com

Sunday Sing A Long

May your Sunday be Blessed

Saturday Scripture Speaks

First let me say I realize it is not Saturday yet. I just know that my day is full of volunteering at Society of Samaritans, since I found out Paul is not going it might mean I am there from 8-2 so that I can get everything I want done. I am hoping Jakob will cope with being there that long.
This week I have thought a lot about time. Questions like,
How can I use my time more wisely?
What do I want to accomplish the most if my time were up in a week, month, year?
How come there are not enough hours (time) in my day?
Honestly that last one is on my list more than anything, right along with how come this takes so long (again in reference to time)
So what does God say about time. The most common verse I think is this one.
¹ There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:
 ² a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
It is really true there is a time for everything. It reminds me of an old Hymn we sung esp when I was attending the Church of Christ as an elementary student, it was called In His Time.
The words to that song are so accuarte. How often do we wonder why something cannot just be now. We want an answer now, we want results now, we want change now… Yet its hard to remember that an answer to prayer is often In His Time.
I have adjusted my schedule (time) a great deal to be able to help with SOS. I never realized that they needed so much help. They need way more help than I can offer for sure. I always want to make sure that I am doing this service for the Lord though. I look to Colossians 3:23 which says,
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”
I think this is important because if you do it for Glory, or you start to feel resentful or like it is an obligation then what are you really gaining? That’s something to think about. It is hard sometimes to set the time aside to volunteer but I realize the Lord is giving me so many more hours to get things done. I am trying to get better at allowing the Lord to plan my day. He talks about this concept in Proverbs 16:9
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his step.”

The bible talks about time in prayer. To me this is very important. I don’t just want to spend time in prayer about people I know their situations, health , children passing tests. I want to spend time in prayer about our lives. About directions for the future, about our relationships with one another, etc. The bible says in

1  Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing”

Prayer is our life line to God. We need to take time in prayer in speaking but also in listening. Imagine having a conversation with someone and you do all the speaking but never listen for their answer. It would be very one sided and very unproductive too. I doubt you would even have a very good relationship. Remember the Lord already knows the words we are going to speak.

I think the most interesting verse I found when studying about time was this one.

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” Luke 14:28.

I admit I am not building a tower, but I have been working very hard on our house. It takes time and planning. I have to adjust my schedule to allow for my projects without cutting out important time like spending a couple hours watching a movie with the kids.

The one area of time I seem to be lacking is exercise and sleep. So as I go into the next week and evaluate if I am spending my time wisely I will work on those two areas. I will admit I planned on working out every day this week. Painting sure is a workout in itself. It does not leave me wanting to walk on the treadmill after I am done, esp not with the heat in the house. Still I need to make it a priority. I am praying the Lord will continue to convict me about this.

I will leave you with my favorite of all verses in respect to the conversation on time,

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16