From a Devotional

  I read this in a devotional I'm reading and it really spoke to my heart! I thought I would share it.
You will tear all your enemies apart, making chaff of mountains. You will toss them in the air, and the wind will blow them all away; a whirlwind will scatter them. And the joy of the Lord will fill you to overflowing. ~Isaiah 41:15-16
   What does the word chaff mean? We want victory in our lives but are we willing to go to the threshing floor? We want to be anointed-we want all the benefits of being blessed-but are we willing to pay the price? Why is the threshing floor so important? After wheat is harvested, before it can be of any value, the chaff and the grain of wheat must be separated. It's only the wheat that gives us grain to make bread and flour to make cakes. What does the wheat have to go through to be usable? It has to be separated from its protective covering, the chaff. It has to be crushed. It has to be put down on the threshing floor and sifted. During that process the wheat is in transition- it's one of those in-between times- like when your back's against the wall and you don't see a way out.
  There's only one way your going to make it. You've got to take yourself to the threshing floor. You've got to let God come down and sift you. Whatever the enemy has brought against you, you've got to let God begin to crush it. It's not comfortable. It's even painful. It may seem like it's getting worse but if you listen you'll hear God replying, "Be patient, when your broken, sifted and refined, I will send the wind of my Holy Spirit. When I blow upon you, all that will be left is grain. No impurities, no chaff. Pure grain that's perfect to make the bread I have created you to be.
   Praise God during those in-between times, in those seasons when your on the threshing floor- and in due season that door of provision will open up and you will walk through to victory!! 

Praise!

 God, help me to love You extravagantly everyday, with every breath. Holy Spirit, teach me to live a lifestyle so ablaze with praise, that not one day is wasted by neglecting to offer You my extreme praise! You are the Lord of Lords, majestic and awesome. I worship You with all I am-and like the disciples before me, may I leave this place in a blaze of praise!!

Rejoice

   I heard a message this past Sunday evening at church about rejoicing today. “This is the day the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NIV) It seems like a simple verse, but how many of us actually do this? We are so busy wishing for the weekend, payday, vacation, summertime, winter break…. And so on, that we forget about today. We have wished it away.

   When I made lunch for Connor this afternoon and handed him his plate I smiled. He asked if I was happy. I said yes! Jesus made this day. I get to spend it with you. Isn’t that amazing? He looked up and said “Yea, that is amazing!” He thankfully started munching away on his lunch and then spilled his Kool-Aid. That sweet baby helped me clean up and decided he would use a sippy cup, because big boy cups are messy.

   I started to think about how easy it is to get caught up in the “messes” of everyday life and forget that this is the day the Lord has made! He is sustaining my heartbeat right now while I type. Somewhere today there is a mother just like me in a hospital praying to God for what I have right now. She’s not concerned with payday, the weekend, or the next family vacation. She prays for God to sustain her heartbeat today, this moment, so that she can eat lunch with her toddler. She realizes how valuable today is. She would probably enjoy cleaning up a few spills this evening.

   Every single day we are given is valuable. What we do each day is important; God cares about the big things and the small details. We are cherished and loved so much and we are all serving a divine purpose. If your house is a mess, praise God that you have a home to clean and then pray for someone who doesn’t. If you worked to hard this week, praise God that you have a job and then pray for someone who is unemployed. If you can’t think of anything to be thankful for, look outside, it’s cold today. Are you warm? Put your hand on your chest, can you feel your heart beating? Rejoice friends!! Tomorrow is not promised, make the most of this day! The creator of the universe made it and allowed us to be a part of it. Isn’t that amazing? Even my four year knows….. Yea, that is amazing!  ;)

Prayer for Today

Praise You Lord for Your steadfast love-for Your infinite goodness and boundless mercy. There is no pain too great or sorrow so deep, that You cannot reach it with Your comfort and healing. You are a God of restoration, redemption and resurrection life. Thank You for restoring broken hearts, relieving troubled minds, and renewing our hope in You.

In a threatened world, in the kaleidoscope whirl of our life patterns, it can be enormously reassuring to remind ourselves that God is unchanging. 

Sisters

Sisters share such a special bond. From the moment my baby sister was born I knew how to love someone more than myself. Even as a child I felt like there were our parents and there was us. We were a team! In the chaos of our home we had each other. She was and is one of the best gifts God has ever given me.

Aaron

I never imagined I would be able to raise a child with special needs, until the day I learned my son was autistic. The day Aaron was born I held him in my arms; his tiny face, hands and feet were so beautiful. I envisioned his childhood as whimsical and happy, filled with laughter and love. He didn’t then, nor has he ever looked less than perfect to me.

            When he was about 18 months old, I noticed a change in behavior. My once bouncy, bubbly, chatty boy seemed to slip into his own world. I contributed that to the fact that all children are different, and thought he would come around. It would be a few years later, when he started school that I would learn my sweet boy was very much different from everyone else.

            It is difficult to describe how it feels when you first come to realize this. Oddly, I felt some relief knowing that someone would tell me exactly what was going on and how to get help. I also felt some guilt and wondered if I should have known sooner or if I could have prevented it. It seems like my mind raced for weeks while we went through the diagnosis process. The result would be OCD and Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I listened closely as the doctor explained the diagnosis and treatment options. “OCD is like a brain hiccup” the doctor told me. He went on to explain what he meant by that, but my thoughts and sight had shifted to my four year old playing on the carpet. He chimed in again saying “Speech and behavior therapy are very effective, as well as pharmacological treatment” He explained.    

I remember feeling so overwhelmed with all the medical terminology and the thought of all the appointments, medications, and trials, my son and our family were about to endure. Over the next four years our family has tried a variety of these options. Some have proven to be very effective and others have not. I think every parent has to decide what is best for their individual child. After all, every child is different weather they have special needs or not.

Overall the most important thing we can do for our children is love them. My son has so much love to give and so many people around him who care and push for the best treatment. He has made significant improvements over the years. He is incredibly smart, funny, attentive, enthusiastic, and talented. Not only have I realized I can be the mother my son needs, but he has changed me in so many positive ways. I know God entrusted me with him, therefore we must be exactly what each other needed in this world. 

Shining in the Dark

  Tragedy and pain is an unfortunate part of life. My family, as I'm sure many other families, has been affected by quite a bit this year. We search for comfort, answers, for purpose and most importantly the ability to push forward. There have been days when I thought........ this is my limit, this is all I can handle. That's a true statement, "This is all (I) can handle" I have very limited ability on my own to handle or overcome much of anything.

 When my mother died 3 days before Christmas, when my aunt died less than a month later, today when my phone rang and my husband told me our 3 year old son will need a biopsy and we are being referred to a specialist, I realize over and over again I would never make it through this alone. Where is the light in the midst of this? Why is there joy in my heart and a sense of well-being, protection and strength? I have an Amazing God!

 Yes, even though its easy to look at the statement above and see the fear and pain, do you know what I've also seen? God mended my mother and I's broken relationship, he brought total forgiveness into our hearts as He forgave us. He gave me the incredible privilege of being with my mother when she was saved and baptized 3 months before her death. The night before she died, I seen her in my dreams........ smiling, happy, and beautiful... and one day I will be with her in heaven! Tonight when I called my mother-in-law to let her know our son will be needing a biopsy... again God brought an opportunity for healing. He healed our hearts, our once tense relationship was made new and He gave me the opportunity to minister to her.

Throughout my life I felt as though I couldn't possibly be used to help someone...... I'm a mess! My life is less than perfect, I'm not wealthy, in fact I'm just a housewife. This is not how God see's me at all! I am a child of the King! An empowered woman of God serving a divine purpose everyday! His strength is made perfect in my weakness, made perfect! I know that my God Jesus Christ is in the healing business! Praise God! I know when I ask, I receive and when I pray He listens and answers. I can choose to have a heart filled with fear which activates the enemy or a a heart filled with faith which activates God!!! I choose God! I choose life everlasting, a hope that never ends.