No More Tit-for-Tat

Gracious there are times when the Lotd, quite simply, grabs your attention. Not always through some magestical way, but sometimes in the quiet of the morning. I've been very slack in reading and praying through the chaos of my life lately. As I wrote to one friend - does it look like everything is going well in my Facebook posts? - yeah, that shows you how deceiving Facebook is! And for some reason, I shut down when the going gets tough, instead of reaching out to God. And that brings on anxiety. What a vicious circle.

So this morning, after several nights of no sleep, I'm awake in my dimly lit bedroom, reading the Girlfriends in God devotional that I've been ignoring forever. Today's message was good, about those God moments where the overwhelming desire to praise Him can occur in any life moment. And they said to read Psalm 63. 

I opened my Bible app and the verse of the day appeared. I usually glance at the first lines that show but rarely click on it To read the entire passage. Today I clicked. 

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. (Luke 6:27-30 MSG)

Two things stand out - (1) To you who are  ready for the truth. (I am often not! And therefore the Lord's message will not be revealed until we are ready!) and (2) If someone takes unfair advantage of you, practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Wwwhhhoooaaa. That's definitely not what society teaches us!! Living the servant life - no society teaches we live to be served. It's ME driven. Not THEE driven. 

So this concept of a servant's life keeps popping up in various places for me. Enough that I am recognizing this message. I pray I can have a servant's attitude because it's definitely not what I currently have. But it is what the Lord wants. 

A Little More Kitten

Look what Katie found!
I want one with my name!!

Welcome Back! Hope your weekend was fabulous. I've been burning up my comp time and taking days off from work, so I'm all confused as to what day it is... today is my Monday.

So what happened over the weekend? Well, a lot of shopping. Mom is finally feeling a bit better (she's battling the shingles) so we went shopping after work on Friday. And again on Saturday. I'm so glad she's feeling better. She said this is the worst pain she's felt in her life. 60+ folks, get your shingles shot! :)

Sunday, we missed church AGAIN. I'm really missing church, the learning and the people. We have all been so sick and haven't made it in a while, but next week I'M GOING. Anyway, we missed this week for a family reunion.

I totally ripped this pic off from All Recipes,
but click here for the yummiest recipe.

I made squash casserole and hummingbird cake. I have the BEST recipe for squash casserole - everyone L.O.V.E.S. it. I do add garlic and Perfect Pinch to mine. And the hummingbird cake was very moist and tasty, too! Here is the recipe for it - the only change I make is to sub half the oil for applesauce.  While I'm on the subject of food, let me recommend the All Recipes app for your phone. I'll whip out my phone in the grocery store and make sure I'm getting all the ingredients I need while I'm there.  Love it.

Being cute and adorable is a tough job, so Macy was knocked out on the way home from the family reunion.  She wanted to play with the big kids so bad but they weren't interested.  But she really did have fun and ate so good! I told AH (Sweet Niece #1) we had a family reunion on Sunday and she really perked up.  "Food!" she said! Ha!!! Definitely plenty of food at a Southern Family Reunion.

Have I mentioned here that I have FIVE (1,2,3,4,5!!!) cousins who are expecting right now? I'm spending my nights sewing felt friends as part of my gift.  I'm searching for books to match the animals. Won't that be cute? I found a farm book this weekend to go with all the farm animals.

The last thing I'll bore you with - one of our election workers and I ran into each other at Walgreens (when I was buying my purple reading glasses <3!!) and I wanted this kitty cat Post-It note dispenser.  However, I would not pay $10 for it.  She's one of these guru couponers and she got it for me for $2.50!! SERIOUSLY?! YAYAYAYAY! So happy! I'm gluing a little pink bow to one ear so she'll be a cousin to Hello Kitty (which I adore, yeah, I know I'm old but I still love HK). This cat makes me so very very happy. How could you not just feel warm and fuzzy with this kitten sitting on your desk?

Ok, I'm off to concentrate and be focused.  My lunch break is over for the day.  Have a great week!

My First Kickstarter Gift!

I'm pretty excited, ya'll.  I've given to various places/charities.  I've found teaching things online at the Donors Choose and helped out a school project.  But this is my first Kickstarter Campaign and I'm so excited!  Mainly because it's one I really get behind and believe in.

Ok OK! So what is it?!

She Reads Truth

What is She Reads Truth and why do they have a Kickstarter Campaign? Weeeellllll, I'm glad you asked. :)  I stumbled upon #SheReadsTruth from someone else's blog and checked into it.  Basically, it's a devotional for women, by women, and it's really cool. I first started reading the plans using my Bible App - YouVersion.  Loved it.  They have a writing style that I "get."  I started understanding the Bible through these devotions and things really started opening up for me.  It was exciting.  And the folks commenting on the website were great, too. It would be so encouraging to see someone else read and understood the same thing I did!  This is what put me onto reading my Bible on a daily basis.

They've moved away from them and are running the devotionals solely from their website at this point (or so I think).  It's a little more cumbersome, still the great messages and energy, but just a little more cumbersome.

Needless to say, I'm over the moon about this app.  Because this, my friends, will be awesome.

So I'm sharing the info with you for a few reasons - one: if you have wanted to get closer to God, to learn what He says, what He wants for you, what He is all about - this may be a good place for you to start.  It really helped me.  It's definitely made changes in my life. (Not #SheReadsTruth, but the Lord through this avenue.) two: if you find you like it and would like to help promote God's word to people - specifically women - all over the world, please consider a contribution.

I'm excited. I'm a dork, I know. I've been wanting to find something to endorse on Kickstarter... so happy to have found my avenue to do so! :)

Go check out She Reads Truth!

Thankfulness before Thanksgiving

I have two people still posting their thanksgivings in Facebook for the month of November. Go girls!! I decided not to do it this year, but don't mistake that for be not being extremely grateful. 

I spent quite a bit of time last night reviewing my thankful/prayer journal from this year. I wrote up a long blog about it, only to have this app Bloggo, eat it. I'm not sure I'm thankful for Bloggo right at this moment. 

I am thankful for the many answered prayers. My immediate family is here for another year. Dad is doing ok with his bladder cancer and so many people have shown their love & support of my family. Prayers have gone up in a fierce way. We are waiting for his biopsy results in December. Regardless, seeing the love and support from so many has impacted us in great ways. Thank you. 

To look back and see prayers answered: all the sick I've prayed for, from the young to the old, the simple requests and special requests. Not all were answered how I would have liked but I also know God's ways are greater than mine and His understanding is much greater than mine. Those I lost this year hurt my heart but God is always there. 

I prayed in ernest about my finances. Out of the blue I checked www.fpu.com and found a Financial Peace University  class being held five minutes from my house. This doesn't happen-I live in the middle of nowhere!!!  I'm moving so very slow but I feel good again. What a blessing!!

I've had my share of ouchies and lessons learned. People have let me down and disappointed me. People I care about. But that was also a blessing as it taught me to turn my troubles over to God and let Him judge and decide how to handle others' issues. 

I've often thanked God for the Christian bloggers, photographers, shop owners, friends, and pen pal!!  Y'all have no idea how wonderful and inspirational you are!! Ladies of Faith, you are so appreciated and a great blessing to my life! Thank you so much!!!

And last but so not least, I'm thankful for this relationship God is creating between me and Him. I have really enjoyed reading His word and learning how to be more like Him. I won't say it's always comfortable but it is beautiful. 

I have a loving family, peaceful home, good job, wonderful friends, blessed church family and God. Life is good. Here's to another year of thankfulness!!

31 Days - and a little frustration.

Ya'll, I have been furiously trying to post my 31 Days this weekend, only to be evilly blocked by my BlogGo app.  My BlogGo wouldn't Go. It was stopped. So if you have any suggestions for better apps, please let me know.

Now, on to my 31 Days, which is dreadfully late.

My post for this weekend was about the wonderful support I receive from online Christians.

It's funny, as long as I've been an Internet junkie, I've only just noticed how flooded the net is with Christians and Christian resources.  God is so amazing how He is using social media to reach out to a new generation and to encourage people like me.

Yes, the Internet can be bad.  But it can be so wonderful, too!  I love seeing all these successful Christian women with great companies and talents and skills - to see their openness about love and needing God - what an example.  What a support! What a testimony as to what God can do in some one's life.

I see these blogs and Instagram accounts showcasing the trials and troubles and the great faith folks have had through the tough times.  Seeing communities praying, worshipping, loving - people who have never met are brought together through Him!  It's just amazing how God works.

I know my own relationship with the Lord has depended as I see how these open people love and live for God.  It's a great encouragement and I'm so thankful to those of you who are living wide open - the good, bad and ugly - and sharing how God is working in your life every step of the way.  He is using you to help others like me, so keep up the great work. :)  You are appreciated!

So there. I'm not an every day blogger and I knew this 31 Days challenge would be a toughie for me to complete properly.  But when your app to post is evil, it makes it a bit more challenging! Thanks for stopping in for a read.

31 Days - Day 3 : Wondering Where to Start

Isn't there a Disney movie that says something about starting at the beginning? A very good place to start? Wait - let me google that, I'll be right back. .... .... ....

source

ARGH! It was the Sound of Music! Not Disney at all!  I love that movie, how did I mess that up? Grr... part of the Do-Re-Mi song. *sigh*

Anyway, enough of that rabbit trail - so maybe you are wondering how to get into a daily devotional. One that appeals to you, speaks to you, isn't all stuffy and over your head but is still meaty enough that you gather something from it.

That's the place I was in about a year ago.  I wasn't comfortable with many devotionals because I'm not a Bible guru.  I haven't done devotionals in the past and I wanted something to bring me closesr to God and teach me what His word said about me. I wanted something personal.

I will say, I found it in #SheReadsTruth. I tried a few others that were seriously great devotionals. (I also recommend Girlfriends in God to have an email sent to you everyday with a devotional) - but She Reads Truth just hit home with me.  They are short themes easily accessed through You Version app on my phone. Usually lasting 14 days or 12 days or something like that.  Right now I'm in the Women in the Bible, part 4 - which I'm loving!! Proverbs really woke me up and got me totally hooked on #SRT.

So to start at the beginning, I'd say download the You Version app for your phone or tablet - Apple/Iphone here and Droid here. Once there you can search Plans and then Devotionals and look for She Reads Truth.  Pick one that you like and off you go!

You can also follow along on the She Reads Truth community on their blog, where folks comment on what they gained from the devotional that day. Sometimes the remarks are ... well, annoying to be honest. But more often than not, especially in the Proverbs theme, I gained so much from the other people's comments.

So there. Maybe that will help someone out there find a place to start in their quest to get closer to God. :) And one more entry into the 31 Days event. :)





Return to the first
31 Days entry! :)