A Call to Pray

I've been sensing a call from God to step up my prayer life. I know, that seems kind of obvious, right? I've just felt like God was saying to me this week that I need to think on all the prayers He has answered even over the last several weeks and remember that when I am tempted to NOT bother to pray over something that I am concerned over. (Those words "not bother" hurt...ouch!). He's asking me to "ask" and just wait and see what He will answer! 


I have people in my life that I care about deeply who are hurting, who have some deep struggles, or who need some sort of provision from God. Some are embarking on new and exciting adventures and need prayer. Then there's Japan...it's hard to even watch the news yet there are flesh and blood PEOPLE suffering in the middle of it: mothers, fathers, grammies and grampies, sons, daughters, orphans, widows...


I'll be spending time today updating my prayer journal. Maybe it's time to post a list of names in areas of the house where I can pray as I work, like over the kitchen sink. 


"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:18


I have picked my next memory verse for the year. It stops mid sentence but I am committed to not biting off more than I can chew so in two weeks I'll choose the next verse that goes with it to finish the sentence!! ;) 


"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," Ephesians 3:20

We Lose Our Way, We Get Back Up Again!

Today I am working on "getting back on track"! I love that song by Toby Mac, "We lose our way we get back up again!" It's so true. Every day, every moment is a new day, a new moment. There was a verse shared in church yesterday that I quickly wrote down, "for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity."(Proverbs 24:16) Love that!!

Memory Verses: I am working on the last two verses today and thankfully they go together. I am to pick a new one tomorrow. I have an idea for which one... But today, I'll work on my last two which are Psalm 130: 5-6
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." 

Bible Reading I am not doing too badly with this. I fell off the bandwagon a little last week. I was reading the Bible, but different passages for devotionals and writings and a research project. So, this week I need to get back on schedule and do some double time. The program I am using is easily adaptable and I check off the passages as I do  them. If I read a passage I check it off even if it is "out of order", so to speak. But I really do want to get back on track.

Organization in the Kitchen: Good gravy! I struggle with menu plans and getting to the grocery store!! So...I am back at it again. This is going to become a good habit if it kills me!! haha! Today I had my kids write a list of lunches that they want for this week. That way I only have to figure out suppers.
Let's see...
Monday night: Steak, face down baked potatoes, corn.
Tuesday night: Ham in the crock pot, mashed potatoes, green beans
Wednesday night: Seafood Chowder with soda crackers
Thursday night: Chicken parmesan, pasta and sauce, salad
Friday night: Out to Eat likely since my boys are going to a basketball game.
Saturday: I am thinking maybe Chinese fried rice and chicken teriyaki made at home...

School Organization : I have a pile of papers that I have procrastinated dealing with for longer than I would like to admit. Hopefully today is the day? YES!! Today is the day!!

I am not giving up on my goals this year! I am not!

Today, when we all stumble out of bed bleary eyed (yea daylight savings) I was tempted to overhaul our homeschooling schedule. I was tempted to lift my strictness with our beginning time and let the kids just kind of set their own schedule. But, I realize that we just need time to adjust and though the first subject of the morning is tough, we do really like being done early. So, we'll keep on keepin' on and keep giving our bodies a good push 'til it falls in line!

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

What goals are you working on?

Update on Yearly Goals

Today I decided to have a look at my yearly goals and see how I was doing. To my surprise, in most areas I am not doing too badly. I do have a couple of areas that are dismal. So, here's my little performance review of myself.

I memorized my first two verses which were Isaiah 48:17 and 2 Corinthians 10:5. I faltered with my 3rd verse, Isaiah 30:18 and now it's time for my new verse, Psalm 130:5 so I must memorize both by March 1rst to stay on target. I think I can do it!! Psalm 130:5, my new verse, states: "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope." It's short but potent!!

Bible Reading:  I am right on target for reading through the Bible in a year. What has helped is that I drive my son to college classes twice per week and can spend that time in my car reading. It's easy to use that time whenever I need to catch up! I am using a plan for "Shirkers and Slackers". Let me know if you'd like the link. :)

I am doing better than I was doing with the Menu planning. But I've decided that I am going to declutter my recipe box and then create a new box of recipes we actually USE. That will give us something concrete to pick from. I am trying to include the family in menu planning and that helps alot. If I could have that box for them to look through that would be great. I could use lots more work in this area but I am on the right path. It's a work in progress. This week I'll work on the declutter of the recipes. I am also trying to make sure we use up more food and waste less. Eventually we will hopefully waste nothing. :) That'd be nice...

The daily schedule I originally made for deep cleaning crashed and burned. Right now we are doing our deep cleaning once day per week. So we keep up with the dishes, laundry, tidying, and vacuuming daily and then once per week we wash floors, dust, wipe down, scrub the bathrooms. It's working and I am wondering if I should just keep doing things that way or try to do a little per day? We're generally too busy to do these things daily, even though I split them up through the week.
I have started the painful declutter, just this week actually. I went through our household paperwork, desk and junk drawer and cleaned it all out. This coming week is February break for our homeschool so I will work on homeschool papers and hopefully declutter our closets. If I could do that then I would be ready for spring cleaning which I do yearly with Christian Homekeepers . Then over April break I hope to declutter the attic eves.

Exercise on the Treadmill: EPIC FAIL. Enough said... I just need to DO IT!

College Prep: For our graduate, transcripts and FAFSA are done, applications are done. We need to pass out the reference forms and get said graduate to the doctor for immunization records (and vaccinations for upcoming missions trip to Nicaragua). Then we'll be in very, very good spot!

Gospel Centered Goals: I am started a research project with a friend at church concerning demographics. We'll be collecting data and Lord willing, coming up with an outreach plan. It's all beyond exciting to me!!

Family time/time with friends and church family: It's going well but always something to keep a watch on. Often times these areas fall apart for lack of planning! With my family, sometimes we run out of ideas. This weekend we hope to take the kids ice skating. I can see us starting to slip into a rut. I don't want that to happen!

I find it interesting that I didn't make any homeschooling goals. Hmmm...I need to think on that one!! :) ;)

I am a work in progress. But this year, I am not letting myself off the hook or giving in to the temptation to give up!!

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

Menu Plans and Memory Verses-Keepin' it all Together! :)

Menus:

If you know me really well, then you know that I am most definitely NOT a naturally organized person. Not only is order against my natural grain, I am also quite distractable. For the sake of my family and my sanity, organization is something I continue to work on.  There's a part of me that wants to believe that organization just takes too much time and that there are "more important things" to work on, but really in the end it SAVES me time! For example, if I have a menu plan I don't have to stare at the cupboards trying to fathom what I could have possibly been thinking when I went grocery shopping. Or worse, I won't get distracted while staring at said cupboards and end up cleaning them out and forgetting altogether why I was standing there in the first place!! Sylvia from Christian Homekeepers (a friend and very organized person...smile...) had her menu's up today so that reminded me to post mine. :) And, I was actually ready too which is a bonus! Progress... You can see hers at Christian Homekeeper Network .

For this week my goal was 5 days worth of suppers due to how our pay happens. I'll be out again at the end of the week. Also rather than say which day is which I like having enough days worth of menus but having the flexibility of changing my mind on which day is which. 

Breakfasts: Yogurt, fresh fruit, bagels (w/cream cheese or p'butter), cold cereal,  makin's for pancakes or french toast.

Lunches: Spaghetti soup, Buttered noodles and turkey bacon, leftovers of various sorts, pizza, zippa toscana soup, chicken nuggets and oven fries.

Suppers:

1. Seafood chowder,

2. Broiled chicken w/bbq sauce, baked potatoes, corn, sliced cukes,

3. Beef tips and gravy in crockpot, rice, broccoli/cauliflower mix, garden salad,

4. Penne and meat sauce, italian bread,

5. Tacos 

Memory Verses:

Today was also the day to declare the next Bible verse I plan to memorize on Beth Moore's blog. You can join in too! Her blog is: Living Proof Ministries . :) You just go and add your verse in the comments section. I am so excited to be memorizing Scripture because it helps keep God's truth running through my head. Sometimes I'll wake up with one of my verses running through my head. It really helps my thought-life!

The verse I chose this time is Isaiah 30:18 which in the NIV says:

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him."

Isn't it just awesome that the Lord longs to be gracious to us? He rises to show us compassion. I need this reminder. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but only when my fear is based on truth, not on what I imagine! I am asking to hear from God. I am believing that he is leading me and nothing can thwart his plan for me. I am trusting him to do it. I am trying my hardest to cling to him and find my indentity in him. In him, I have an unshakeable destiny and an unshakeable future (from our Sunday sermon). That's just awesome, awesome, praise the Lord!

My other two verses that I have memorized this year are: Isaiah 48:17 and 2 Corinthians 10:5. :)

Scripture Memory Goal~Verse #2

It's the 15th of the month, which means it is time to pick my 2nd memory verse of 2011!! I have to admit, with my first verse I found my memorizing skills are very rusty. I copied it and read it over many times. That did not work. My husband quizzed me on it and by the time he was done he knew it well and I was still struggling. The only think that worked for me was when I set it to a familiar tune. :) THEN, after much practice, I was able to memorize it. I hope my mind will learn to memorize more quickly as I keep at it!! The REAL blessing came this morning when I awoke with my verse (Isaiah 48:17: "This is what the Lord says--your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.'") running through my mind. That was blissful, to awaken with God's Word on my mind.

So, with that success under my belt, I waited for Beth Moore to post our Seista Scripture memory post so that I could record mine in the comments (http://blog.lproof.org/2011/01/2011-siesta-scripture-memory-team-verse-2.html ).

My next verse is 2 Corinthians 10:5: "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

My first verse was a reminder to me that God is directing my life. This second verse presents my goal. I desire to let God's Word and His Truth rule my mind. THAT is sanity and peace! The battlefield is the mind and mine is often under attack. I wish for every thought of mine to be taken captive by God's truth and brought under submission to him. Bliss...Peace...

What verse are you memorizing right now??

2011~What Do You Have to Lose??

This video I share is Brit Nicole singing "Walk on the Water". Please listen, you won't be sorry!!

It's a new year and a new beginning!! I am so excited about what this year CAN bring!! The questions I have to ask myself are: "What do I have to lose? What am I afraid of? What's stopping me?"

The past few months I have been plagued with the questions: "Is this IT? I am at my full potential? Is THIS all I am? Should I just STOP here and be CONTENT with what has been accomplished so far?" I had my weeks where I thought "yes".

But you know what? I was WRONG! Until I am dead and buried, this is never IT and there is always MORE. The question isn't: "Does God have more for me?" The question is: "Will I radically trust Him and step OUT?!"

Before I share my goals that look infinitally small in spite of what is available for doing I wanted to make myself clear...to myself and then to the world for accountability. My goals reflect a desire to organize myself and get myself in a position that no matter WHAT God asks me to do, I'll be freed up and ready. Who really cares about a clean house if it sits unused? Who cares about organized finances if the money has no eternal purpose? Who cares about a healthy body that does nothing of eternal significance? I am like grass. I will be here today and the wind will blow and I'll be gone tomorrow. If it's all for *me* it is a life thoroughly wasted.

I am reminding myself today that I need to risk, have faith, and keep repenting. I need to risk failing and being wrong and looking stupid. I need to have faith that as I step off that cliff that God won't let me crash. I need to have faith that when He calls me to do something He is ultimately the One showing up for the doing. I need to be ready to repent when I've got it wrong, done it wrong and messed up. I need to be ready to ask forgiveness and turn and move in the opposite direction. Turning is always away from *self* and toward *Jesus.*
I've got some dear friends stepping out in big ways. I've got kids in my house ready to step out in big ways. I don't know yet where I am suppose to be stepping but until I know I'll be getting myself ready for any open door and be ready to take that biggest step.

Which brings me to my first order of business for the new year...my first memory verse! Drum roll please:
Isaiah 48:17~"This is what the Lord says--your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go."

What is God telling you in this sparkling new year? What is the first verse you would like to memorize? Please...share!!!