The Crazy Sheriff's in Town

So yeah, this kid makes me laugh!  He comes walking out of his room unannounced, dancin' like a fool, and sayin, "the sheriff's in town!"  I'm so thankful he can make his  momma laugh!!!

I love you Colten Matthew

Satisfied Craving

Our souls crave love, that's how we were created... to crave love.  God created us this way so that He could satisfy that love deep in our souls.  We become dependent on His love.  We crave it!

Speaking of love...
"We are most alive when we find it, most devastated when we lose it, most empty when we give up on it, most inhumane when we betray it, and most passionate when we pursue it."  Erwin Raphael McManus

I would like to add...fully satisfied when we accept it.

I thank God for his never ending, unconditional love that satisfies my soul!  So many people are lost and hurting still searching for the one thing that satisfies their soul.  If they only could see it's been before them the whole time from the beginning of their creation.  The creator satisfies their soul.  Why do we run from him?

I am thankful to be fully satisfied with God's love!

Blessed by Love

How do you begin to even put into words how thankful you are for that one special person God has allowed you to walk hand in hand with?

Eleven years ago, I married my high school sweetheart, best friend, and love of my life!  Today I see so much destruction in relationships and thank God for the blessing of love he has placed in our lives.  Together we make it every day better than the next.  

Tonight we went out to dinner and our waiter asked, "So what's your secret?" Without a second thought we replied, "God man, He's the secret."  I know it may sound cliche, but it's the honest truth!  We would be another statistic if we didn't strive to place Christ in the center of our relationship.  It's Him that holds us together.

  I wouldn't ask for any other...I'm thankful for you Matt :)

For you Matt:

This world, is full of love

love, love

But no one's got what we got, 

Oh no baby,

You're laugh, your style, your smile,

Oh I love you,

No, one fits, me better,

We're quirky together!

I'm gonna write you a love song,

I'm gonna make the words so sweet,

I'm gonna write you a love song,

cause you're everything to me, 

you're everything to me.

You, and the way, you hold,

Me close when we're dancin',

Even, when, I'm tryin',

to cook in the kitchen,

It's the little things that make me happy with you,

Like kissing my cheek,

Holding my hand,

and pillow talks to 1 a.m.

I'm gonna write you a love song,

I'm gonna make the words so sweet,

I'm gonna write you a love song,

cause you're everything to me,

you're everything to me.

I could sit and write for years to come,

of just how much, you've won, me over,

I'm so thankful that, God gave me you

We're a puzzle,

and the missing piece I need is you!

A few of my favorite pictures of us together over the years :)

Love you, now and forever...

Habakkuk 3:17-18

"Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior."

What do you hear when you read that scripture?  To me is says, when the world is raining on my life and it feels like the waves are beating me deeper into the deep, my heart will still sing because I know I am richly blessed to be called a daughter of the King!

Yesterday I got the privilege to sit and laugh about memories with a dear friend of mine from high school who is battling a tough fight with cancer.  I was saddened by the news of her turn for the worst, and to be honest, reality strikes a little when you think...that could be me, leaving my family/children behind.  I really prayed for the holy spirit to guide me through our visit, and as usual, He taught me a lesson through her!

You see, she knows her days are numbered.  She knows the day will come when she has to say goodbye to her little girl, but she's thankful!  I know CRAZY right?  But I think she has this spirit because she gets what this scripture says.  See the trials of this life are weighing down on her, and one could say they see nothing good right now.  But she rejoices knowing she is a daughter of the King and one day soon she will meet Him.  She taught me something when she spoke these words...

"I'm thankful for the time I have left.  Some people don't get the chance to say goodbye.  My mom didn't give me that chance to say goodbye when she took her own life.  My friend didn't have the chance to say goodbye, I didn't have that chance with my dad.  So I'm thankful.  I want the end of my life to be a celebration."

I walked into her home thinking I was going to encourage her, she taught me a valuable lesson and encouraged me!  I am humbled and honored to be able to call her my friend and can't wait to hear of more stories of how she encourages others with her constant smile and contagious laugh! 

I am thankful for the life God gives us, and am thankful for the life He is giving Carrie and the lessons He is allowing her to teach us through her fight.  

Praying for continued strength for Carrie, her daughter Kyla, and her family.  We love you Carrie!

A New Way of Thinking

Why is it the most elementary way of thinking is sometimes the hardest lesson to learn? Practicing thankfulness will bring you joy...God has been speaking this to me for several months now in my time spent with Him.  I can't tell you the number of times I have read 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus," in the past 3 months!  (Thinking I may need to plaster it all over my house?)  It's obviously a lesson I'm needing to learn at the moment!

I used to think praying for understanding would bring me joy.  Through God's understanding I might have peace which could open the door to joy.  Then it hit me...Solomon was the wisest of men, God blessed him with understanding and he couldn't think his way through to peace!  God never intended us to understand because we are not capable of it.  We can never fathom his ways.
There will always be challenges and trials that we will pray for understanding for, once we overcome one another arises; it's a never ending battle.  One that can wear on the soul.  Being thankful takes our mind OFF our circumstance and ON to Christ which brings us peace and joy.  It was never our job to 'fix' our circumstances and battle our way through our trials, it's God's.

The past few months have been filled with a lot of heartache, being stuck in the past, and Satan tearing me down.  I have read over and over again 1 Thess. 5:18, then God gives me a challenge in my devotion today..."See how many times you can thank Me daily, this will awaken your awareness to a multitude of blessings." 

So today I start.  I know it's the 'thing to do' in the month of November, but I truly believe that thankfulness can open my mind up to seeing what God has blessed me with, which in turn opens the door of my heart to Joy!

I'm not saying each day I will post a thankful thought, (that's just setting myself up for failure...we all know that won't happen) but each day I will be thankful and take time to verbalize thanks to Him, and when I get a chance will share my thankfulness on my blog.  Maybe you can join me and we can share in the great blessings of God together through living the life He called us to live through Christ.

So here goes...