A Return

My devotion for today was very powerful. I don't always realize how important it is to actually return to God. The dictionary defines the word return as follows:
1. To go or come back, as to an earlier condition or place.

2. To revert in speech, thought, or practice.

3. To revert to a former owner.

4. To answer or respond.

Returning to God is a practice we will have to engage in over and over in life. The point is not how many times we return to Him, but that we make the effort to do so. To bring our heart back to that first moment we believed and have the longing to be totally with Him.
Whatever your return looks like, don't put it off any longer. And don't doubt that He will return to you. Don't believe lies that you are the exception or that you are asking too much of Him. His Word tells us differently. In Hebrews 7:19 says, "…a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God" (NIV). God made the ultimate way for us to return—through His Son, whose death on the cross allowed us to approach the throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). By Him we draw near to God. Not because we are worthy, but because He is.
Dear Lord, I need to return to You. Thank You for making it my choice because You love me and want to be in a real relationship with me. I thank You for waiting for me with open arms. Today I am choosing to fall into those open arms again. Thank You that You gave Your Son so that I can always return to You without shame. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Sugar

I am addicted! White, brown, 100% natural raw....you name it...I'm using it! As I read my devotions I realized I am not the only one who struggles with this.

And saying, "It's not fair that I have this body that I have to watch everything I eat when that girl eats junk and stays a size 4... one piece of cheesecake wouldn't be so bad, right?"

My flesh buys right into Satan's lie that it's not fair for things to be withheld from me. So I bite into the forbidden fruit and allow Satan to write 'shame' across my heart. Once you taste the forbidden fruit, you will crave it worse than you craved it before, giving temptation more and more power. And given enough power, temptation will start to consume our thoughts, redirect our actions, and demand our worship. Temptation doesn't take kindly to be starved.

I am going to be starting a strict eating plan in September....part of this plan is no sugar! Which doesn't sound so bad until you realize sugar is in just about everything we enjoy eating. Breads, pasta, potatoes, rice and not to mention all things bakery-licious. Which I love and so do many in my home!

I know what you are all saying already, "I just undermined myself for declaring my intention." Well...no way!!! I am giving you all the opportunity to call me out and be my encouragers and prayer supporters.

I know that I am going to struggle here...but I am going to be totally relying on God's strength to carry me thru this one. If I try to do this on my own strength… a strength that has failed me before and will fail me again I might as well not even try. I am grabbing hold of God's strength and the only way to do that is to invite His power into my situation. I am mentally giving God control of the situation by reciting truths I've been banking up in my heart. "I'm more than a conqueror." "Lead us not into temptation but DELIVER us from the evil one." "The law of God is in his heart; his feet do not slip."

Compromise built upon compromise equals failure. Instead, resisting temptation will allow promise upon promise to be built up in my heart, which equals Holy Spirit empowerment!

As James 1 promises, "This testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature, complete, not lacking anything."

Dear Lord, help me to see my sacrifice in light of Your truth. The truth is, this sacrifice is a necessary part of me seeking You - the only true fulfillment and satisfaction of my body, mind and soul. Give me strength, Lord. Remind me to rely on Your truth and Your Spirit to empower me moment by moment. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

While you were out!!! Especially for Emilee

What a pleasure it was to work along side Aryssa & Shannon to make over Emilee's room while she was away for a few weeks. Aryssa & I spent the day painting with Shannon. You really get to know people when you can just work along side them!!! Shannon we love you!! Aryssa, you are a super hard worker. I love that you were willing to give up your time with friends to help out. From what I hear Emilee loved her new room.

Not only was I able to help with the painting but I was also able to sew a duvet cover for Emilee's bed. Now for some of you this would be a no brainer. I haven't sewn in a long while, but I love to sew. My friend Marg has graciously shared some of her time with me to just sit beside me and get me going with sewing again. Thank you Marg. I hope that the quilt's will warm someone in Russia....great opportunity to pray for missions while you sew!! Back to the duvet. I have always used a pattern. Shannon gave me Emilee's old duvet to use as an example. The "Lana" in me had to write down the steps so I would be able to have pattern to follow. How funny was it when i realized after cutting, that I had forgotten to fold it so i would only have one bottom seam to sew. Silly me!

I guess having a pattern for sewing is alot like having a guide for living, God's word! When I follow what is in his word the result is a nicely finished project. Maybe I spoke words of encouragement rather then harsh words of discouragement. You get the point!!

Enjoy the pictures of Emilee's room!!

A little pain in the ........

Achilles Tendon!

Ha...bet you expected to hear something else...but that's right it's pain in the Achilles Tendon! Yep...Don tore his Achilles Tendon playing baseball last Wednesday evening. He had just hit the ball and took off for first base, bringing in the other three runners, when he felt a pain in the back of his right leg. He said he felt like someone had thrown the bat right at his calf muscle. Being the competitive sort that he is...he brushed off the "diamond dust" and went back to pitch the last inning. And they won...finally.

Don casually called me to let me know his leg didn't feel right and I would need to check it when I got home from Vanessa's Bridal shower. It took one look to realize he had damaged his Achilles. Once we got him upstairs Aryssa and I performed the "Thompson test" on his left leg....good movement, and then his right.....no movement. And might I add...alot of pain. We decided to ice it and head over to Pan Am Sports Clinic first thing in the morning.

The nurse who assessed Don confirmed our assessment and made Don a priority patient to be seen by the Surgeon a.s.a.p. So rather then a 4 -5 hour wait, it was only 2 hours. Dr. Glacken suggested that Don's injury be treated non surgically. Though we have heard varied opinions...Don is glad to not have had to have surgery. From all the research I have done it will be a longer recovery time. But will provide Don with adequate strength again.

So far he has been a good patient. Though I sense he is starting to go a little stir crazy. I am thankful for friends who have provided a wheelchair when crutches just won't do it!!! I am also thankful for the opportunity to pamper him a bit!

So here are some pictures of the patient. Take note of the bruising on his good leg. We were wondering why it was so tired and sore....until we noticed the bruising coming out!!!

Bible vs Cell Phone

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!
Have a blessed and wonderful day!

Please read this blog!

Please take a few moments and go this blog:


http://georgialucaswpg.blogspot.com/

Georgia's mom Kristen babysat our boys for us when she was younger. I have been following their journey and praying for them.

Aryssa is really touched by this and wants to help in a tangible way. She has spoken to a teacher from school and they will be holding a bake sale to raise funds for the Children's Hospital. She would really like to be able to buy some Mobiles for babies cribs as there was not one for every crib.

If you want to help her out please let us know.

Hugs,

Kim

Complaining

“Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged;

behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.”

James 5:9

Do you know God is in control of everything in your life?

When we complain about a situation in our life, we are

telling God that He did not deal with that situation the way we thought He should!

We need to be thankful for everything, even though it may be VERY hard to do so.