The Thankfulness Goes On

I'm behind, but I'm not giving up!  I'm thankful for:


1) A God who loved me, despite who I am, enough to give Everything for me. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 

2) My husband who makes me laugh and works so hard for our family.  He is such a wonderful husband and father! 

3) My kids.  I truly believe that my purpose in life is to be their mother.  They amaze me everyday!

 

4) My mom who gives everything for those she loves.  What would I do without her to help me?  

She's an amazing example of a servant's heart and putting love into action. 

 

5) My dad who first taught me about Jesus.   I will forever be grateful for the time he spent with me as a little girl and all the things he taught me.

 

6) My baby sister.  She has always been one of my favorite people and has taught me so much about having an abundant life.

 

7) My in-laws.  They raised an amazing man whom I now call my husband.  I am so thankful for them!

8) My church family who love me, encourage me, and serve beside me.  They truly are family.

 

9) My pastor.  He is not afraid to preach the Gospel.  I have learned so much from him and he continually challenges me in my walk with Christ.

10) My friends.  We laugh together, cry together, and encourage one another.  The Lord has given me amazing friends that I don't know what I would do without!

 

11)  The men and women who serve our county.  They sacrifice more than we will ever know for the sake of freedom.

 

12) My home.  I am working hard to really appreciate my home and to put that into action by caring for it the way I should.  God has blessed us greatly with a roof over our heads and love inside the walls.

13) The opportunity to homeschool my children.  I get to combine my love for my kids with the joy of teaching to produce a great result!

14) Our jobs.  The blessing of a good job is more evident now than ever before in my life.  May we serve the Lord through our work each day.

 

15) The beauty of the world around us.  God didn't have to make the world beautiful or give us the ability to appreciate that beauty.  But, He loved us enough to instill that in us for our joy and His glory.

 

16) Laughter and those who provide it.  It is wonderful when joy just bursts forth in the form of laughter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I'm looking forward to a day filled with family and friends, I am also making a point to dwell on the purpose of this wonderful holiday.  I think there is no better way to remind ourselves of the reason for this day than to look to the original proclamation, made by President Abraham Lincoln, on October 3, 1863.

In his proclamation, President Lincoln states,

"To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God."

May we never forget "from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)  I pray that, on this day of Thanksgiving, our nation would look to the Lord and remember His great goodness!

 

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Being Thankful in the Midst of the Busyness

I am really behind on saying what I am thankful for!  I'm not going to post all the past ones, today.  But, I am going to post a few each day until I'm caught up!

1) A God who loved me, despite who I am, enough to give Everything for me. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 

2) My husband who makes me laugh and works so hard for our family.  He is such a wonderful husband and father! 

3) My kids.  I truly believe that my purpose in life is to be their mother.  They amaze me everyday!

4) My mom who gives everything for those she loves.  What would I do without her to help me?  She's an amazing example of a servant's heart and putting love into action. 

5) My dad who first taught me about Jesus.   I will forever be grateful for the time he spent with me as a little girl and all the things he taught me.

6) My baby sister.  She has always been one of my favorite people and has taught me so much about having an abundant life.

7) My in-laws.  They raised an amazing man whom I now call my husband.  I am so thankful for them!

8) My church family who love me, encourage me, and serve beside me.  They truly are family.

9) My pastor.  He is not afraid to preach the Gospel.  I have learned so much from him and he continually challenges me in my walk with Christ.

10) My friends.  We laugh together, cry together, and encourage one another.  The Lord has given me amazing friends that I don't know what I would do without!

30 Days of Thankfulness

Like people all across the blogosphere and the many social media sites, I'm planning to post something I am thankful for every day this month.  I missed yesterday because I forgot to put in in my quick post and then had to leave for work.  So, today I'll list two things. 

"O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Psalm 107:1

1) A God who loved me, despite who I am, enough to give Everything for me. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 

2) My husband who makes me laugh and works so hard for our family.  He is such a wonderful husband and father!

My Hubby and Bub

My Afternoon Experiment

It always sounds, even to my ears, like nothing but excuses when I say that I have trouble doing my daily Bible reading.   But, in the mornings, my brain isn't even working and I forget everything I've ready and studied by noon.   In the evenings, I'm often at work or spending rare time with my hubby.   Then, in the afternoons, when my brain is fully functional, I have kids that I need to concentrate on and a house I have to clean.  For years, I've tried various times and places for my daily time with God.  But, I just couldn't find something that worked.  This often left me spiritually dry and in need of Him.

How I am finding time to spend in God's Word in the midst of my busy life...

However, I think I may finally have found a solution.  I'm calling it my "Afternoon Experiment" because, I can't honestly call it a success after so short a time.  Hopefully, it will soon become routine and will allow me to spend more time reading the Word of God and learning about Him.

This new routine involves two things: A time of concentrated cleaning and an afternoon quiet time.

The Half-Made Bed

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start from scratch with trying to develop habits to help me with my housekeeping. I chose cleaning off the counter every day as my first habit. I’m doing better than I was, but it definitely isn’t a habit, yet. So, I’m still plugging away at it.

Not the prettiest bed, but nice and neat.

Even though I was choosing to focus on one new habit, I wasn’t going to stop doing the things that have already become a natural part of my routine – not that there were many things which had! One of those few habits I had already developed was making the bed every morning. I think this was an easy habit to form because it takes merely seconds (I’m not picky about how great it looks – just pull up the covers and go!) and it makes me so much more comfy at night! If I make the bed every day, my blankets get much less tangled at night. Plus, since my bed takes up almost my entire bedroom, when it isn’t made, the room looks like a disaster! When it is made, it doesn’t matter how bad the rest of the room is, it still looks relatively neat.

The Empty Boat

Wow!  What a weekend!  I had the great blessing to be able to attend the True Women '12 conference in Indianapolis with about a dozen ladies from my church.  As I mentioned before I left, it was a very last-minute decision. 

When the chance was first presented to our ladies at church, I decided not to go because it would mean being out of town on my kids' birthday.  But, then we found out the iPhone launched that day and we knew we wouldn't be able to spend the day as a family like we had planned since Daddy would be working all day.  So, when my mom called me up and said she wanted to give me her ticket, I just knew that I wanted to go.  The idea of spending time with other ladies and learning from great speakers sounded wonderful.  I talked with hubby and then the kids and they all said they didn't mind if I made the trip.

I am so glad that I decided to go!  This was an experience I won't soon forget.  I've been thinking about how to share this experience with you all and have had so many memories, moments, quotes, and events run through my mind.  How could I fit it all in?  Finally, I decided to share the moment that had the most impact on me.  

I'm Still Here!

I just wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know I am still here!  I have started a couple of posts the last few days, but just haven't had time to finish them!  I'm thinking that, now that school is in full-swing, I may not be able to post every single day.

I am unexpectedly going to be out of town this weekend. Some ladies from my church are attending a conference. I didn't originally plan on going because my kids' birthday is tomorrow and we always try to do something special on the day of their birthday (in addition to the party we already had). But, then my hubby found out the iPhone launched that day (he works for a cell phone company) and he is pretty much going to be working non-stop this weekend. He will go in around 6am on Friday and probably won't get home until around midnight.

A Review and my First Giveaway!!!

A few weeks ago I was contacted and asked to review the first video in a a new video devotional series called True Beauty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus (David C Cook/Flannel, September 2012), by Lisa Chan.  I was thrilled!  That someone out there had seen my blog and actually wanted to use me to help reach others with their message shocked me.  Why would the choose my rinky-dink blog who almost no one in the world reads?

Then, I watched the video.  That is when I realized that it wasn't the production company or the advertising agency that had chosen me to review this devotional.  It was God.  I could practically hear Him whispering, "Stacy, this is for you," as I watched it.

The first devotional in the series is called Be Still and is all about finding time to spend alone with Christ in the midst of our busy lives.  If you have read my blog at all, you know that this is something I really struggle with.

In fact, I have been putting off watching this video for a couple of weeks, with Monday as the deadline for posting this review, because I have been too busy to get around to it.  Despite the fact that I was excited about this opportunity, I just couldn't seem to find the time to watch the video and compose my thoughts about it.  Tonight, I came home and wanted to just crash on the couch.  But, I knew that I had to watch the video and write about it.

I admit that I wasn't that excited about it.  I was tired.  I needed to cook dinner.  I wanted to relax.  But, it needed to be done.

Faith Like a Child

I'm late posting today.  I was SO busy!  But, waiting gave me the perfect little post for today. 

Today Bubby and I were sitting in the car waiting for Sis's dance class to be finished.  He was chattering away and I was only half listening.  Like I said, I had a long day!  You know how it is, right?

Suddenly, Bubby busted out with, "I can't believe that Jesus love me even more than I love Him.  It doesn't seem like that is possible!"

Now, I was really listening.  "Its pretty amazing, isn't it?" I replied.

"Yeah.  'Cause I love  Him so much."

"But," I said, "Jesus's love is perfect."

He then asked, "Who do you think loves Jesus the most out of everyone you know?"

I had to think about that one.  Who that I know seemed to love Jesus the most?  I wish I could have gotten my answer as easily as Bub.

"Out of everyone I know, I think I love Jesus the most.  'Cause, I don't think you could love Him any more than I do," he said.

It is moments like this that I really learn from my children. 

A couple minutes later he finished with, "I'm going to tell my friend that God is like a super hero...only better!"

Oh, to have the faith of a child.

Setbacks and Sidetracks

I just spent over an hour on the phone with our gas and electric company.  I talked to five different people.  And, with a lot of effort, I smiled through the whole thing and stayed pleasant and calm.  A LOT of effort.

While the issue I was dealing with was annoying, it was nothing to the feeling that my time was being wasted.  You see, today is grocery day.  I really wanted to get out the door and home before lunch.  But, now it is 11:47 and I still need to plan my menu and make my list.  So, it looks like lunch is going to have to come first and I'm not going to beat the crowd. 

Although it hasn't been a fun time, I did accomplish something and learn something.  I accomplished getting my bill straightened out (No, I DO NOT owe $509 this month.) and I learned that my electric company's automatic drafting system is not a good idea.  Before you get too indignant on my behalf, the problem wasn't that took out way too much money, but that they didn't take any at all.  Had I not thought to set a cap on how much they could take when I signed up, this would be a whole different conversation in which I didn't manage to stay pleasant and calm the entire time! 

So, even though it seems as if my time was wasted, it was really just sidetracked into something different than I had planned.  Something was still accomplished and something was still learned.  It just wasn't what I had planned to accomplish (And, honestly, what was I going to learn at the grocery store?).

This happens pretty often in my life.  I plan something and those plans get interrupted.  It may be for a short time (like this shopping trip) or forever.  There is often a reason that I just can't see.  I may understand it in the future or I may never understand.   But, no matter what, I know that God is in control.

This is a lesson I've really been struggling with lately.  There is something that I want to happen really badly.  In the recent past I've even made plans for it to happen.  I've made changes to prepare for it to happen.  And I've even worked toward making it happen.  But, it hasn't happened and I'm now in the place where I'm not sure it ever will.  In this case, I haven't remained pleasant and calm.  I've been hurt and angry and miserable.  I've sulked and felt sorry for myself.

This post wasn't supposed to be about that.  When I sat down, it was to write about how, even though things don't always go according to our plans, we still need to trust God (insert Bible verse, smile, and hit "publish").  But, as I started to write that, I realized that I was being a hypocrite!  I really want to trust God.  It is even easy in the little things like a day spent doing one chore when I had planned another.  But, with something big?  It is HARD!  It is something I have been wrestling with for months.  Every time I think I've got it in hand, I find myself longing for this planned (by me) event.  I know God has a great plan.  I know it.  But, sometimes, it is hard to really believe it in my heart.

For now, I guess that means more time in prayer.  More time talking to the Lord every time I notice myself thinking about this desire.  More consistently turning it over to Him and asking that He change my heart.  Because, He is in control.  And He loves me.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 

Jeremiah 29:11

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

Isaiah 55:9

*Smile*


*Hit "publish"*

Week in Review 7-1-12

I already posted earlier today, but I wanted to come back and review my weekly goals and see how I did.  After all, why set goals if I'm not going to check and make sure I achieved them, right?  I'm not expecting perfection, just progress.  I'll copy my list over from this past Sunday and add my results in blue.

Spiritual life

• Read my Bible each day and write something in my journal. I read my Bible most days, but not all.  I still need to find a better study time and that will probably be on my list of goals for next week. 
• Pray for the requests on my Prayer List.  I did pray for several of these requests and added a few new ones.  But, I didn't pray for them all.

Family life - DH is on vacation, so this is a big priority this week.

• Take the kids to a 4th of July community party.  Huey Lewis and the News will be preforming!  This was the very first group I ever saw in concert when I was 5 years-old.  Now, it will be the first group my own kids see in concert!  I am so excited!  Sadly, we decided at the last minute that it was just too hot to go stand around with a few tens of thousands of people.  It was 105 degrees out and DH was already feeling a little yucky.  But, there were lots of fireworks in our neighborhood and we watched a movie instead.
• Take the kids to see the new Spiderman movie.  DH is excited about this one. Saw it and it was great!  I actually liked it more than the Tobey Maguire (Yes, spellcheck.  Google says that IS how you spell his name) version.  DH said it was more accurate, too, which is important to him.  Most importantly, the kids loved it.
• Lots of swimming! We did go swimming several times, but once again the heat took its toll.  We are in the middle of a really bad heat wave and it has made our pool more like a hot tub.  DH looked at the thermometer tonight and the water was 101 degrees.  It sort of makes swimming less fun.
• Call my mom lots and invite her to dinner one night.  My dad is gone on a fishing trip for two weeks and she has a hard time being away from him.  It is really pretty sweet!  My mom wasn't able to come over when I invited her last night.  But, the kids and I did go shopping with her for several hours today.  Since my dad will still be gone next week, I'm going to ask her early in the week to come to dinner on Thursday or Friday.

Home life - This is all about the house!

• Keep the kitchen clean!  I actually cleaned it this past week (I even cleaned the fridge!) and I want it to stay that way.  This went pretty well.  I even got a few more things done!  But, the bathroom (our one and only) isn't looking too pretty.  In my defense, we did re-caulk the tub and toilet tonight and things can't go back where they belong until tomorrow.
• Go through one room of the house each day and find things to sell at the yard sale I am planning next Saturday.  Even the yard sale got delayed because of the heat.  But, I did go through several rooms and everything has price tags, is in boxes, and ready to be taken to my parents' house.
• Grocery shopping (I don't always go every week) Check!

Church life -  This is actually going to be blank this week.  Services were cancelled this evening because we had a big fellowship this afternoon.  And services are cancelled on Wednesday so people can spend 4th of July with their family.

Physical life

• I need to really start watching what I eat!  I am going to make a point to eat smaller portions.  I didn't always make good choices this week, but I was more conscious.  I think I need to make more concrete goals.

Exercise at least two days this week.  I am going to start out small.  This is more than I do now.  I did do a lot of physical work around the house and I did do a little exercise in the pool.  But, for the most part this was a fail this week.  I'm not going to let it get me down, though
 
Social life - With DH home, I won't be doing much socializing with friends.  But, I still need to make a point to do a couple of things.

• Call my best friend to chat a little. Check!
• Message another good friend.  Check!  Plus, I got to find out that she is expecting twin boys!  I knew she was having twins (her second set!), but she just found out they are both boys this week.  How exciting!

Financial life - DH and I are doing Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.

• Yard sale on Saturday.  Put extra money earned toward rebuilding our $1000 emergency fund (we had to spend some when DH had a car accident a couple months ago) Like I said, this was canceled because of the heat.  Good thing, too.  It was a boiling 110 today!  I'll have it in a few weeks when it cools down.  Maybe the first week of August.
• Pay bills  Check!  We even made a little more money than we planned this last pay period and were able to finish up our baby emergency fund and have an extra $200 to put toward our debt snowball!
• Work on worksheets for Teacher's Pay Teacher's store I have with my best friend. With DH home, this got pushed to the back burner this week.  But, I'm back on it next week.

Mental life

• Visit library and check out a couple books Oops!  Our library books are now a couple of days overdue.  I really need to do this next week.  I admit that I just has a bit of a stress out moment.  I want to do this ASAP, but I work Monday evening and I really need to go to the grocery store.  I could go to the store tomorrow, but it is supposed to storm.  I probably just need to suck it up and go to the store.  That means I'll have to plan my menu and make my list tonight.  *Sigh*  There goes watching an episode of Bones.

Homeschool life

• Go through stuff on our school shelves and get rid of stuff we no longer use.  Sell what I can at the yard sale.  Check! 
• Make a list of needed supplies. Check!  Plus, we also had some extra money (I'll have to explain that some other time.  It is something interesting I am learning this month) that went toward school supplies.  This allowed me to purchase another small bookcase for our schoolroom.  Yay!

 
Overall, I'm pretty happy with my progress this week.  There is still a lot to work on, but I felt like I had a pretty good week.  I got a lot accomplished and got to spend some great time with my DH and the kids!

Spiritual Life: Where I am and Where I Hope to Be

I posted earlier about where I started out in my spiritual life.  I really do promise this will be the longest of these posts about my categories.  There is just so much wonderful information to share about why I am a Christian and why I am where I am today because of Christ that I couldn't help it!  That brings me to...

Where I Am :

I am a Christian saved by God's grace.  That doesn't mean I'm perfect.  Far from it!  In fact, much of this blog is about my failures.  I want to learn from then and become a better person as a result.  My spiritual life is no different!

I know how important reading my Bible is.  I know how important it is to pray.  If my goal is to be more like Christ, I have to know what He was like, right?  I have to understand Him better and know His character.  I also have to talk with Him.  I have to share myself with Him in prayer.

But, this is another are I often fail.  It is something I need to improve.  It is one of my goals.

I started a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year program this year.  I use the YouVersion app on my phone and iPad.  I'm behind.  REALLY behind.  But, I haven't given up.  Some days (a lot of days) I just don't read the entire days worth of readings.  Why?  Time is part of it.  But, it has more to do with quality vs. quantity.  If I can get in 10 minutes of reading where I can really concentrate and focus on God and what He has to say, that is better than 30 minutes with kids interrupting, DH trying to talk to me, or my own cloudy brain not staying focused.  So, I often don't finish a whole days reading every day.  I might stretch it out for a couple of day.

But, I have recently started a journal that helps me make the most of this limited time.  While I read, I write down any thoughts that come to me.  Questions, inspirations, things I want to remember, prayer requests...whatever I happen to think about.  I also have a section in it for prayer requests.  But, I need a better system for that.

Where I Hope to Be:

My biggest goal right now is to consistently read my Bible daily and pray continuously throughout the day.  This is hardest to do on days that I work.  I generally read my Bible at night since I am hardly ever up before my kids in the morning.  But, when I don't get home until midnight or later, I'm just ready to fall into bed.  I need to come up with a better plan!  So, I might try to experiment with different times over the next few weeks/months to come up with something better.  I know I can't be the only one with this problem.  I'd love to hear any ideas someone has to share!

Spiritual Life: Where I Was

So, here it goes!  A little insight into where I started, where I am now, and what I hope for the future.

I'll start with the category "Spiritual life."

Funny, until I wrote that, I thought this would be a quick once-over of my life.  But, this category alone requires so much more!  I promise, though that this one will be the longest.  Simply because it includes more explanation since many people won't understand without it.  As a result, it is going to have to be broken down by where I was and where I am and where I hope to be due to length.

Where I was:

I was 5 year-old when I first heard about Jesus.  Now, I might have heard the name at Christmas time or Easter (or as a swear word) before that.  But, I didn't know anything about Him.  I didn't know who He was or what He had done.  I didn't know that He was important or that He mattered.  But, when I was five, my dad started taking me to church.

The first thing I learned about Jesus was that He loved me.  You all know the song "Jesus Loves Me."  I think that might be the first song almost every kid in church learns.  It is so simple, yet expresses something so deep.  How do we know that Jesus loves us?  Well, the Bible tells us so, silly!  So, what exactly does it say?

Romans 5:8 says:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And therein is the Gospel.  I learned that I was a sinner.  Once I knew what that word meant, I knew it was true.  So many people think of murder or robbery when they think of sin.  You know, things you would go to jail for.  But, sin simply means disobeying God's commands.  The 10 Commandments (found in Exodus 20) can give you a good picture of how I knew I had disobeyed.

Commandment 1:

Thou shalt have no other gods before ME.

Commandment 2:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments

Commandment 3:

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Commandment 4:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Ex 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Ex 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Ex 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Commandment 5:

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee

Comandment 6:

Thou shalt not kill.

Commandment 7:

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Commandment 8:

Thou shalt not steal.

Commandment 9:

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Commandment 10:

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's 

Clearly, even as a child, I was guilty of many of these!  I had lied to my mom, disobeyed my dad, been jealous of my cousin's new toys, and, since I didn't even know God, He certainly wasn't number one in my life. 

So, I knew I was a sinner.  Where did that leave me?   Well, that verse I shared, Romans 5:8, said that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  What does that mean?  Well, our sin required a perfect sacrifice.  That sacrifice was Jesus Christ.  He shed His blood for our sins.  He gave Himself so that we could be forgiven!

But how do we receive that forgiveness?  First we have to admit that we have sinned.  Next, we have to confess and repent of our sins to God.  We have to be willing to turn from our sin.  We will still fail sometimes, but we have to make an effort not to sin anymore.  We have to believe that Christ died for us on the cross and can forgive our sins.  And we have to receive Christ into our heart by asking for that forgiveness and for Him to be Lord of our life.  When we do that, we are forgiven, saved, redeemed, and become a child of God.   And that is just what I did!  

My life since then has been far from perfect.  I've failed.  I've sinned.  I've been angry at God.  But, throughout it all, God never gave up on me.  He loved me.  He lifted me up.  He forgave me!  I have never regretted the decision to follow Christ.  I don't know how I would have made it through some dark times without Him.  

If you have any questions, please let me know!  I love to talk about what Jesus has done for me and would be happy to talk with you.  If you want more information, you may find this site helpful: Need Him.