#3

    This little fella, my superhero, has nothing but determination on his face.  Oh how I love this little guy.
      Even if he does have smeared bubblegum Big League Chew on the top left shoulder of his jersey.

Patience little one

I do not have patience. Let me repeat. I. DO. NOT. HAVE. PATIENCE.

                                                           Oy.

How I do wish I had this gift that so many do have.

I am a goal setter. A go "getter". A, things need to be done right now type of person only in some aspects in my life. Maybe some of you have that type of personality as well. On the other side of that personality of mine, I am laid back, a tad high maintenance every now and then, and shy especially if I don't know you.

But let's get back to this patience thing. I just don't have it and it is something I am beginning to yearn for. I am finding it is doing me more harm than good. It is becoming a huge obstacle for me to overcome. I want to be able to do everything in my time. To get it done. To take my own path and not wait on God. God knows my heart and your heart. He knows every desire we long for even before we speak of it.  He knows our needs and he knows our selfish wants. But what God wants from us is to be patient in these things, and  if it is His one and only will, things will come to pass. He wants us to have dreams too! One of my dreams? Crazy and weird as it may sound is to have a classic southern home, with navy blue shutters and wrap around porch. An acre of land with a few goats and a cow with no name (because we'd eventually kill the cow for meat, it's cheaper with a large family, and Josh and I will definitely have a LARGE family) But that is besides the point. 

All of my girls have the "Jesus Calling" devotional by Sarah Young.  It is an amazing feeling knowing that all 3 girls are in God's word daily, reading the same thing as me all on their very own level. Last night Lily asked if she could read hers aloud before bedtime. Well it was late and I was growing rather impatient that the 2 little girls and my little mister were still wide awake and I snapped and said no!  Their faces of disappointment grew and I withdrew my "no" to a sure, but "hurry up (which that is another topic I'll touch on another day), it is past your bedtime!"  God spoke to me right there. It was like a slap in the face. Ouch. Lily began to read and it was like God knew EXACTLY what I needed to hear. 

From Jesus Calling, January 9 "I AM WITH YOU AND FOR YOU. When you decide on a course of action that is in line with My will, nothing in heaven or on earth can stop you."   "Much, much stress results from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come. One of the main ways I assert My sovereignty is in the timing of events. If you want to stay close to Me and do things My way, ask Me to show you the path forward moment by moment. Instead of dashing headlong toward your goal, let Me set the pace. Slow down, and enjoy the journey in My Presence."

My prayer today is this: That I will stop trying to persuade God of the things I want. He knows my wants, my needs and my heart. He has MY best interests at hand. He has mapped out my life. All I need to do is open my heart to the path he has laid out for me and join Him on it. To be patient. It is not my timing, but His.  

Blessings! 

 

Baby it's cold outside

As a Floridian, I have come to the conclusion that I am not made for the cold weather we are having.  I sit in my office wearing my winter coat and beanie because I simply can not warm up! My hands are like ice as I sit here and type and I sit Indian style in my seat to keep my feet warm. In saying this, I feel absolutely ashamed.  

I work right in the heart of downtown Jacksonville;  I have a window that overlooks a busy one way street. On a daily basis the homeless walk back and forth in front of my office. Today there was some office chatter taking place about how cold it is and the homeless were brought up on why they were out on the streets (in a jokingly matter by co-workers) I was rather taken back as I sat and listened. I did speak up and said that we should be thankful that we can each go to our homes that has heat, and by my mentioning of this, it was merely dismissed. Tonight when we get into our warm beds and snuggle up in our blankets with our loved ones, these people, the homeless, the less fortunate, will struggle looking for that exact warmth and shelter.  God doesn't see them any differently than he sees us. He created these men, women and children in the like of his own image, we are a part of that same category.

I have looked at our forecast for the next several days/week and here in Jacksonville and it is supposed to be pretty chilly.  Something we are not used to. I challenge each of you to this. This weekend, I am going to gather blankets and gently used jackets that we can no longer use or wear in our home and take them to one of our shelters downtown in the next coming days.  I am not sharing this to "brag", but just to encourage you to get outside of your comfort zone and respond to a need that our city has. I feel God has always placed on my heart to help the less fortunate, and I want to teach my children to have a servants heart. When God chooses us to do HIS work, then we should respond and do it however uncomfortable it may be. 


Blessings!
xo


"Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:4 

"If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother.  Deuteronomy 15:7