Thursday, June 30, 2011

Laugh Your Way ... to a Better Marriage!


It’s been a long time since I laughed this hard.
I wished we had watched and applied these concepts A LONG time ago.
This has rescued me from many nights of just packing my bags and just saying, “To heck with it!”

This is worth its weight in gold. GOLD.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

All for the phone.

It started off a glorious morning when Husband said he would take baby to daycare. I take my time instead of doing the mad dash routine out the door.
This is a dangerous thing to be out of your routine.
I pull out of the driveway and didn’t notice my husband running out the door waving my phone at me… in his underwear. A couple blocks away I realize that I do not have the beloved device that tells me where to go and what to do. I turn around in a cul de sac and as I pull up into my driveway, I notice Husband’s truck is not there. The door is unlocked. Panic sets in. Did his car get stolen? I frantically call for Husband.  Look everywhere and he’s no where to be found? Did he get kidnapped? Heart palpitations. Baby crying in his crib. I run to make sure he’s safe. I do another walk around and realize my phone is not on the counter where I left it. Husband went out to find me and give me my phone. I go outside, baby on my hip and there he is pulling up.. walking out the car waving my phone.. in his underwear. Can’t help but laugh. Relief. Thank you Lord for a husband who will go to extreme lengths to keep me safe.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Bring it!

The enemy is a sly sly devil isn’t he?

His attacks on me and family have been ferocious for the last two years.

I respond with fasting, prayer and scripture memorization.

I completed a 40 day fast 2 years ago in 2009. I heard the Lord calling me to do so long before I agreed to this massive task. It was a terrible time in my life and I desperately needed the Lord to deliver me from the tentacles of my greatest sin: unbelief.

I will write about that experience further and give you the play by play. I came out of that experience blessed. A changed person, inside and out. There is nothing that God can’t do. There is nothing beyond his grace and mercy. I am a living example.

Prayer is a part of my daily thought life. The first thing I do when I wake up is greet the Lord and thank him for this day that he hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I make the choice to be happy. I thank him for peaceful rest and then just marvel and spend time. No long lists of requests, no pleadings, just time to enjoy the company of my savior. Glory.  Throughout the day, I talk to God as if he’s that friend that I go to parties with. We sit in the back and observe, make jokes, have a blast. He’s in my car with me, in the office and we’re constantly chatting. We talk about ways to improve the next project, why my co-worker seems moody, what to eat for lunch, etc. Sometimes my prayer is super simple: Please-help-me-help-me-help-me-help-me-help-me!! Or I ask God to help the stranded motorist that got stuck on the side of the road. God is always there. He is, he was and will be.

Scripture memorization has become important in my life ever since I’ve done the Beth Moore bible study called: Believing God. I follow her blog as a “siesta” and participate in memorizing scripture every 15th and 30th of the month. This one practice has been a great blessing to my life. When things are being thrown at me and I can hardly keep my head above water, the scriptures I’ve memorized in the years past come to me quickly, easily and give me peace. It’s amazing. I may not remember the words in my leisure time, but when I need them they come running to my rescue. And nothing thwarts the enemy like some good scripture. It’s powerful. Even more so when said out loud. I find it helpful to memorize old school by writing the scripture over and over and over again on  a piece of paper. I also use the current memory scripture as a password so I am conscious every morning as I get into work.  I still have one of those old style rolodex and write the scripture and verse on one of the cards and keep it front and center so I have to stare at it constantly. Hiding God’s word in your heart is invaluable. When you’re destitute and broken you won’t remember to get on Bible Gateway and look up verses. When you’ve just had it, a bible may not be close by. Memorizing scripture keeps it in your heart and works as an armor against all things evil.

Here are some of the greatest hits:
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry..." (John 6:35)

"Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always)"
(I Thessalonians 5:16, AMP).

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9

The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:11-12

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, love always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

So do not throw away your confidence: it will be richly rewarded. You need to perservere so that when you have done the will of God; you will receive what he has promised.
Hebrews 10:35-36

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would would you as its own. As it is you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
John 15:18-19 (NIV)

Turn your ears to wisdom and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Proverbs 2:2-4


Sunday, June 26, 2011

Depression.

Depression.
I suffer from it.
It's evil. It's a demon.
I wish I could be happy. I have EVERYTHING. I am living my wild fairy tale life.
 Yet.
 I sit here in the middle of the night feeling sad, lonely, disgusted with one stupid little thing that will eventually pass.
Depression is a selfish loathing. I get so wrapped up in all the things "I" want and need that I forget how truly lucky I am.

I shoulda turned left

Here it is. My blog. A place to rant, rave and obsess about the things I shoulda said and done.
I have issues to letting it all out there.
But... Writing is my best therapy. This is my most powerful gift. This is where I will document the good, the bad, the raw, the ugly.
I will use this as a tool to show how far I've come and gauge how far I must go.
So let me explain the title.
I hate driving.
Just.Freaking.Hate.IT.
I can't drive. It took me six times and 3 years to get my license. Yes. 6 times. I shall explain each experience in excrutiating detail in future posts. For now, just know that I can't drive... mostly because I have no sense of direction.
Whenever I think I should turn right, I shoulda really turned left and end up getting lost on my way home... and I've taken the same route for the last 3 years.
But somehow, someway, I find my way. I don't know how. But I do. Most times I don't need to look, things just find me.
Welcome to my adventure.