Pleasant Surprise

Todd found a little Bible carrier that I had from many many years ago.  I’m so glad he found it, because I have been wondering where it had gone.  I lost in when we moved into the house (4 years ago!)  

I opened up the Bible carrier and there were two Bibles in it.  It appears that I bought one of them myself (it was a student Bible,) and one was from a friend I had in England, Adam.  Adam is a man I met online back in the mid 90’s and we became pretty darn good friends.  He became a Christian and was spreading the Word by sending his teenage friend her first Bible.  The reason I know it was from Adam is because he wrote something in the front of the book.  When I read it, I smiled and it brought back all the fun Adam and I had chatting online and he even called once in a while to chat.  I adored his English accent.

I was looking through some of the verses I had highlighted in my student Bible when I came across a note.  It was hand-written and it said, “I {heart} You!  ~ Mom”  I instantly smiled and my evening was brighter. 

My mom wrote this little note and hid it in my Bible when I went on a missions trip to Myrtle Beach in 1997 with friends from my church.  My mom also wrote me a card telling me how proud she was of me and how much she loved me.  This was through a REALLY rough time for us due to the divorce.  I also remember that she secretly packed Twizzlers (my favorite snack) for me to snack on while on the week-long trip in Myrtle Beach.

It’s amazing how many good memories I have forgotten about, and how great they feel when they are revealed again.  It is so much fun recalling all of the great memories, and the unforgettable trip I had in Myrtle Beach.

Having Faith

In the past, I had seen Todd as very negative.  He would get upset at the slightest error made, and I thought that was his personality.  Well, it feels like since I turned 30, I have acquired his “bad luck.” 

My beloved piggy is hurt / under the weather.

A zipper to a brand new coat broke.

I have been late to work every day this week.

Dropped a whole heck of a lot of coffee on the floor.

Didn’t have the lid of my new coffee cup on correctly so every time I took a drink, it would spill down the front of me – and I didn’t realize it until about 3 or 4 sips in.

Royally messed up dinner.

Road rage on the way home from work (which I have been good at controlling.  All bets were off this past Monday.  I was doing things I hadn’t done in a LONG time.)

Just silly stuff like that.  It was making me down and out.  I was thinking, “Am I gonna catch a break here?!?”  I said a few times over the past several days that I’ve turned 30, “What’s next?!?”

And then it dawned on me.  I haven’t been putting my trust in God. I haven’t been leaving it all for Him.  It’s not my AGE that has changed anything.  It is my ATTITUDE and my ability to let things go and give them to God.  I have really been slacking off on my daily devotionals and my time with God.  Could that be the reason for my “bad luck?”  And really…in the scheme of things, I realize that my “bad luck” is minor.  It’s not like my family is not healthy or I am dieing.  But I could not control my negative thoughts, feelings and the words that were flying out of my mouth. 

I am trying to work on my attitude and giving it all to Him.  He is in control, not me, and I have to keep that in mind – always.

Daily Audio Bible Podcast

One of my “aspirations” for the year was to do my daily devotionals, grow in my faith and attend church more regularly.  Last year, I did some research to see how I could go through the Bible in a year.  I decided that the best thing to do was to download the “Daily Audio Bible Podcast.”

This may sound stupid, but it was WAY over my head.  I couldn’t keep track of everything that was going on, who did what in the Bible, etc.  It was very overwhelming for me to listen to, and it got to the point that I kind of blocked it out on my way to work (thinking about how much over my head it was, and then praying while the podcast was going on in the background.)

So, this year, I decided to try the Daily Audio Bible Podcast for Kids.  These are 10 minute excerpts for kids, but they are PERFECT for me.

I swear, I have ADHD (undiagnosed,) and these 10 minute blurbs every day, read by two children with comments from their father (the creator of Daily Audio Bible Podcast) are perfect to keep me motivated, and able to understand what is going on in the Bible.  I love it!

So, if there is anyone out there that is new on their walk and want to get familiarized with the Bible and devotions, I highly recommend this podcast on iTunes. 

Not only do I listen to the children read the Bible, but then I reinforce what they say and go back to read it myself while I’m at home.  It has worked out great so far (even though I’m only a week into it.)

Submission

I have always been very strong-willed, stubborn and independent.  I grew up believing in women’s rights, and “Girl Power!” Many girls dream of their wedding and babies.  Not me.  I was never going to get married (and this was BEFORE my parents got divorced.)  I was going to adopt a lot of children and “live off the land.”  I didn’t need a man in my life. 

When the time came that my parents got divorced, my feminism was still just as strong.  My friends, who led me to Christ, always talked about submission and following their future husbands.  I never wanted to be that way.  I never wanted to have a man tell me what to do, and how to do things.  I argued to no-end about submission and how degrading it was as a woman. 

Fast forward to today. I am really feeling the need to trust in God and to follow Him.  I am not well versed in the Bible, but I want to be.  I want to learn all there is to learn within the Word of God.  I want to be a God-fearing woman, and all that comes with it (including submission.)

I have not talked to Todd about this yet but I’m pretty sure he will pass out.  I haven’t talked to him about wanting to join a church, daily devotionals, prayer time, submission, or any of it.  We went to church together ONCE in our relationship, and that was after I got out of the hospital.  Todd didn’t like the church; however, I did. 

I’m not sure Todd would be as willing as I am to make a change in our lives such as this one.  But all I can do is pray, and follow the teachings of the Bible.

I’m starting to ramble.  The point of this post is that I am seeking references.  Does anyone have any suggestions of books that I can start reading about submission, or any great daily devotionals?    

I hope this post doesn’t offend anyone.  I’m really not quite sure how this will all work out.  Only time will tell, but I know whatever happens is His plan for me.

Complain & Praise

I really like Joel Osteen.  I have set his sermons to automatically download when there is a new one posted to iTunes.  I am finally getting caught up from the past month’s sermons.   I find Joel very uplifting and motivational, which is exactly what I need!

One sermon talked about thinking positively, and he stated the following:

To Complain is to Restrain

To Praise is to Raise

What does that mean?  To complain, you are restraining yourself from witnessing the good around you because you are too busy being  negative-Nelly. You are limiting yourself! 

When you praise, you will raise.  You will be lifted up and abundance will flow.

Thinking back, I can see how this has definitely applied to my life.  Can you?

Quote: Faith

"Jesus wants us to see the neighbor next door or the people sitting next to us on a plane or in a classroom are not intteruptions to our scheulde.  They are there by divine appointment.  Jesus wants us to see their needs, their lonliness, their longings, and He wants to give us the courage to reach out to them."
~Rebecca Manley Pippert

Making Life Rich Without Any Money