My YES Moments!

This morning, God woke me up to a pressing desire to go to His Word. I love it when He is my alarm clock. So, I got up, and went. What a blessing it was!!!

I have been leading a ladies Precept Bible Study group through Revelation. This is an amazing group of ladies that God has put together. We have been studying together, some as long as 4 plus years. We have studied the Pentateuch, Daniel, Nehemiah, Judges, Covenant...and the list goes on. We study, pray, cry, laugh and praise God together. God has both blessed me and lavished His love on me by calling me to lead this group. I absolutely adore these ladies.

I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to do what God calls you to do, or not do :)
I love that He has given me passion and a desire to study and love His Word. It is my inhale! I am breathing in the very breath of God. It is a feeling that I cannot be without.

He is giving me six months to really focus on what He wants me to do. Homeschooling is my first and foremost calling. He is showing me in ways I can understand that I am right where I am supposed to be on this :)

 He also knows my passion for His Word and the overwhelming desire to show others, including my own kids, how to study it for themselves and discover on their own the precepts that God wants for them!!  So amazing to see the lightbulb go off! GOD IS GOOD!! I love to hear the sound of "oh, I get it"!! Makes my heart sing!! Understanding and applying the Truth!!! YES!!!

He brought me to Precept Leading in a way only He could, 5 years ago!! Since then, He has allowed me to use it at home, at church with our kiddos, and in this ladies group. I have been blessed to see Him call other leaders out of the core group that started years ago. I have watched it grow!! YES LORD! THANK YOU!!

This fall, I know where God wants me with our kiddos at Calvary. What a gift this is.
Homeschooling will be my first ministry! I am so excited about it...at the same time He has shown me that He wants me to carry on with Precept Leading. He has shown me a way to put it all together without filling up my plate. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A GIFT THIS IS TO ME!! A huge answer to prayer for me and my family!

Did I mention my passion for teaching others to study God's Word? GLORY!! Learning the Truth and living in the light of it!! YES!

I am so glad that He loves me enough to take the time to show my hard headed self what He wants for me and for my family! I am pumped!!!! Will tell you more...soon.

Have a fantastic day in the LORD...take the time to let Him breathe His Word into you!!!

"Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of the heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Daniel 12:3

Broken-Rejoicing Heart

Wow! Where did April go?? It seems to have come and gone in a flash!

April was a hard month for my family and at the same time a month of rejoicing.
The hard part was a change in my family. Something that seemed to rip my heart out, and at the same time this "ripping" was going on, my son was preparing to ask his girlfriend to marry him. So, I didn't know what to do with my heart that seemed divided by both sadness and joy. Broken and rejoicing at the same time. HOW??

God showed me, yet again, in ways I can understand, that He's got this. My El Roi sees everything that my family is going through, both good and bad,  and is right there with us.

                                                     However,

Satan does not want me to remember this, he wants to cause me to be blinded by the hurt of the bad and stay that way so I can miss the joy of blessing and deliverance.

My youngest daughter and I have been reading "A Wrinkle in Time" together. The chapter we just read was kind of eye opening to me. In this chapter, Meg, the daughter could see her father but he could not see her. He was surrounded by darkness, that "IT" had covered him with. He was just about ready to give up when Meg showed up and gave him the glasses of Mrs. Who and could see again. (there is more detail in the book)

I am not sure if you have read this book or what you think of it, but the "IT" was evil and wanted all to just conform and be happily comfortable and he promised all would be well.  WRONG! "IT" was a liar and a deceiver and a destroyer.  The character of "IT"was portrayed as a huge brain at the center of this world that the main characters found themselves in. This brain was causing people to heed to the lies and false hope. Conformity!! Missing TRUTH!

As I read it, I began to mull it over in my head to explain it to my daughter. I realized that satan loves to work in my thought process, my brain! He tries to place thoughts that are not pleasing to God right in the middle of my thinking. These are not thoughts of lustful or of blatent sinful things, but subtle thoughts of just giving in. Just bask in the sorrow and self pity! NO WAY! 

My God does not want me to focus so much on the painful things that I miss the joy of who I am in Him. He loves me and knows what I am dealing with. HE SEES ME and HE SEES YOU! He knows that satan wants to capture our thoughts and focus and our God knows it is a war. GLORY TO GOD, WE KNOW WHO WINS!!! AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My prayer is that I continue, by God's grace and mercy, to "take every though captive to the LORD",  until the day my Jesus comes for me.

Praying the same for you!

By the way, my son's girlfriend said "YES"!! What a testimony of purity they have!

saying goodbye to April to say hello and welcome to May :)
Hoping you have a wonderful May in our LORD!

So Thankful for My KING

This week has been a hard week for my family and so many other families. So tough at times that I felt like I couldn't get out of the craziness of it all. I just wanted to hide in a closet and wait for the opportunity to come to start the week over. Well, that's never going to happen right!! If it did, how many days would I spend in the closet. Hmm????

So, my amazing King sweetly reminded me of His presence by taking me to Isaiah. He reminded me that I have been set free from not only the "yoke" of slavery, but of the "yoke" of heavy burdens. He reminded me that He knows and sees those days of joy just as clearly as He sees those days of sorrow. He doesn't roll His eyes and say "great, another whiney day". So thankful for that aren't you?

As I journeyed through Isaiah, though my heart was still breaking, He lifted my head and it felt as if I was sitting in His lap pouring my heart out to Him.  I felt like a huge weight was being lifted. I pictured Him reaching and pulling that "yoke" off of me and placing it on Himself. His big shoulders are a blessing aren't they :)  The amazing part was that He didn't put a timer on how long I could sit there and on how much I could hand Him or how long I could weep.  Can you relate?

My heart is beating so fast as I type this and share with you. My LORD is my Waymaker, my Mountain Mover, My Deliver! I long for others to have that! Long for the joy in the midst of their pain to be so evident. It wouldn't surprise me if you could hear my heart beating right now :)

I will continue to face storms and tough times as long as I am still breathing on this earth. The beautifully amazing part is that the times I face here are temporary. My desire is to see each trial this way-understanding the pain may be unbearable at times, but knowing that it is temporary and that my Jesus is waiting to "wipe away every tear".

From Isaiah 61 we are told we have:
good news for our afflictions
binding for our brokenhearts
liberty from what holds us captive
freedom from strongholds that imprison us
             and
comfort in our mourning

PRAISE GOD!!!!!

So, climb into His lap and pour your heart out! His shoulders are big and He is waiting.

My Focus

Have you ever felt like you were missing out on something? This week, satan tried to trap me with just that very thing.

 For years I have served on the children's ministry team at my church and have loved it and watched a lot of little hearts come to a saving knowledge of our Jesus. Very passionate about that!  So, as the church gets ready for VBS, my heart just kind of breaks a bit. I have always been part of the planning. I actually would start planning the October prior when the new theme was released. It fueled my passion. Several unchurched kids flock into Calvary and hear the message of Christ, some for the very first time at VBS. So amazing!

 This year, VBS falls in the break I am taking. Is it  hard, YES IT IS. I just want to leap right in with those gifts and talents that God gave me and the passion that goes along with it. YEP, those kids are fantastic..but, what about what God wants me to do?

 God showed me in ways I can understand in February of this year,  that a break was necessary for my family, for me to minister to my own kids. To Homeschool, to lead, to teach, to love without the busyness!! 
                                                                 but...

Satan wanted to trap me. He wanted me to sign the dotted line and serve in VBS....sneaky, subtle enemy he is! He wants my family and he knows he has a better shot if he allows my focus to be on something other than what God says.

 In the book of Jude, there is a reference to satan trying to get Michael to tell him where the bones of Moses were buried. He knew that if he could get to the bones of Israel's precious leader, then he could use them to get the focus off of worshipping God and onto the bones of Moses. Idolatry. WOW!

The enemy wants my focus to be off of God so he can go for my family. He is pretty coniving, using things we love to do and the subtleness of something that appears to be innocent and right, church stuff. WHOA!!!  Church stuff is fantastic when it is something that God has you doing. When He is at the healm, it is powerful. I know :) But when it is not, it can take you where you shouldn't be and dry you up, I know that too : (

  Satan WILL use whatever he can to sway us!! Steal our focus!

 I am praising God that He is faithful to remind me that what HE says goes. I am thanking my Daddy in Heaven for his faithfulness to continue to keep me. Not for my glory or anyone else's on this earth, but for HIS and HIS alone! 

PRAISE GOD, I am called, beloved and kept by God and He will keep on keeping on with my best interest at heart. GOD IS GOOD! I am clinging to Him! My Portion Forever!!

My Jonah Story

Today is rainy and icky outside, but my heart still rejoices!
I am totally blessed to be a part of my girls' education because of the permission from the Chief Administrator, MY KING!

I almost missed the calling to teach them because I was so busy doing everything else, telling God my schedule was already booked. Really, telling God...hmm! As my pastor would say " how's that working out for ya?" Well, it didn't. Ministries I was involved in lost their joy, I was forgetting details and for me, that is not a good thing. Details ruled for me! So, little by little, God weened me from my own agenda and brought me to His. So, here we are today. The blessings pour out because I am working on my God's agenda.  You think I would have learned that lesson a long time ago.

                                               But........................

When I was in Jr.High, I felt like the Lord was asking me to work full time with kids. I felt it strongly. I had it in my mind to do it too. Well, something tragic happened in my life at the age of 15, and because of it, I believed God didn't have much interest in me anymore so, I lived on my agenda. My crazy crazy agenda. For years I knew what was best for me. Instead of working with kids, I would become a Marine Biologist, I always loved the water and the life that lived in it. So, there I was...my life, my plan, my way. Right? WRONG!

 For years, God wanted me to go to "Ninevah" and do what HE said to do, but instead, I got the first "boat" going the opposite direction. Then, I spent what seemed like a lifetime in the belly of a fish tossed overboard by the life I had planned.  There was so much more tragedy and pain and sin and and and....the list goes on and on.

Finally, I cried out to my God and He came to my rescue. He was there with me the entire time. He never left me, just like He promised He would never do. He pulled me up from that mucky, yucky life and brought me to where He wanted me. There are alot of scars from that "belly", but each one reminds me of the where my plan took me, causing me to want to stick with the Master's plan.

He gave me a "goose bump" reminder, a good one, on what He called me to do about 9 years ago and since then I have worked with kids, working at it with all my heart for Him and not for man! AMEN!  I have worked in children's ministry at the church for years and years and just this Feb, took a break for 6 months (at least) at God's nudge, to focus completely on my own kids and their school. Praise God that it didn't take a "big fish"this time.

I am sure He will bring me back to the amazing kids at church in His timing. For now, I am a teacher to my girls and He is the Planner! My heart is filled!! God is so good!

Have a blessed day in our LORD!

Past and Future Blessings

My first homeschool journey :)
 God had me pull Casey, my son from school when he was in the end of the 5th grade. I did not want to do it, no way! With a lot of nudging, God showed me in ways I can understand that I must do it. Finally, I obediently pulled him out and begin homeschooling. I literally had no idea what I was doing. Thankfully, my God did.

 As we struggled through the first couple of years, I began to see a change in my son. A good change :)  Anyone of you that knew us way back then knows full well what I am talking about. God did it, not us, not a preacher, teacher or other person influence, only God!

 When he graduated in 2009, I had him a diploma and a transcript and he was ready to go, or so I thought. When we went to Lamar, they would not accept the diploma or the transcript. I was devastated, my son was devasted. This was not what we expected. So, he ended up having to take the GED. You know what, HE ACED THE TEST WITHOUT STUDYING! YES AMEN! What that test did was prove to us both that he did learn and I did teach and my God led! We both needed to know this!

This morning, he is taking another test. He is testing for the Jefferson County Sheriff's office.This first step to begin his career in law enforcement. I am so proud of him and so thankful to God for getting him here.

 Now I am on the journey with my girls. When we started this year, my 15 yr old just wanted to graduate and be done with school, now, she wants to go to University of Houston for photography. My youngest is planning to attend A&M for Teaching and Library Science. THIS IS GOD FOR SURE!

 Today, my girls are officially finished with the 2011/2012 school year and I have to give the glory to my amazing God! My heart is pounding with excitement as the Lord plans and I obediently follow for the 2012/2013 school year. (Through the encouragement and advice of other homeschoolers and HSLDA and THSC, I now know how to do the transcripts and diplomas)

 I know there will continue to be hurdles, humps and setbacks. I also know that my God is with me on this journey and He will handle them! He reminds me in Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still" He is my Warrior! GLORY!!

  I am so thankful for the support I have from other homeshooling moms, my co-op and most especially my LORD!

  Have a blessed day in the our LORD!

Continued Strength

I am so completely blessed by my LORD! I just went back to work after being off for three weeks with my kids (vacation). God used that time to get me organized in both my priorities and my time.
 Him first thing, then breakfast with my kids, school, and family hang time. I even started reading aloud to my youngest  (my 15 yr old was listening in ..yay).

 I was concerned that when I went back to work on my 12 hr 5am to 5pm days, that I would revert back to being to tired when I get home to want to do anything and waking up later on my days off. I prayed so hard to my Daddy in Heaven to continue to keep me where He had brought me during my time off, and you know what, HE HEARD ME!! I worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday and was able to spend time with Him, come home to cook, tidy up and help where the kiddos needed for school. WOW!! That is only something God can do.

Let me give you a short testimony:
 I was six years old and at my mother's funeral when I accepted Christ.
 As I listened to the pastor's words I began to understand that I could not spend eternity in heaven with  God because of the separation caused by my sin. I knew my mother was in heaven. So, very sweetly, God used that moment for me to realize that without Jesus, I would never see her again. From there, I listened even more intently to the pastor who was leading her funeral. He spoke of this Saving Grace and I understood at that moment that I was being called to that Grace!! AMEN!! The Holy Spirit moved in me I accepted that gift of Salvation and Jesus became mine!! YAY!!! 

  I would love to say my life was a bowl of chocolate cherries after that and that I devoted myself fully to walking with Christ, but it wasn't and I didn't. That is a whole other story! I can tell you though, I now understand full well the meaning of deliverance :)

  Over the years, God has taught me where my strength comes from. There are days when I think I can't do this anymore, and He then reminds me that because of my Covenant relationship through Christ, I have His strength. I also have His Identity and His Protection. ( I strongly suggest reading Kay Arthur's study or any other study on Covenant to fully understand what I am talking about). My Savior will not drop me on my face and say "okay, I am finished with you...see ya". PRAISE GOD, He will "never leave me or forsake me". He will keep me! I am His beloved. He will continue to lead me on this journey of Homeschooling and family priorities. I am loving this King of mine!!

 Thank you again for listening to my heart. I do want to mention one more thing. My mom was a teacher, it is one of only a few memories I have of her....I had always wondered if I had any of her in me...Love how my LORD answered that one for me..He gave me her teacher's heart!
I am thankful that I will get to see her again and compare "teacher notes"
My cup runneth over!

Have a fantastic day in the Lord!!