Encouraging Words

Encouragement.  Isn’t that a great word? I love it. I love what it stands for and how it makes you feel. I love how it can change a person’s outlook with just a couple of words. I love how when you hear the word, your mood instantly goes more positive.

Well, encouragement is what I have been receiving lately and man do I feel good. I have been encouraged in small, subtle ways, with simple words. With words that are meant to encourage and lift up. It has been really nice to hear and be reminded, because I have let myself believe otherwise. I have been so tired and discouraged that I found it hard to believe that I am good and useful and that I am a blessing to my family and to those around me. But through kind words from my family, friends and my church family, I have been encouraged again.

The best encouragement came this morning as I was reading my devotions. I read Proverbs chapter 31, and God showed me through that passage how much like her I really am. I Love Proverbs 31 and I think every woman should read it. The first time I read it I was very intimidated, I thought “I can never be that good”, but then slowly, I’m starting to understand that passage and how God turns us regular, everyday women into women like that. When were willing, God changes us into noble women. Women who bring Him glory, women who are a blessing to our families, women who are praised by our husbands. Women who are strong in our faith and ready to do anything in the name of Christ.

Read Proverbs 31 again today, and be encouraged. For “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Prov. 31:30)

 

*Andrea*

A Quest For Contentment

    I am beginning a quest. Care to join me? In this quest, I hope to find many things but most of all I hope to find contentment. You see, I currently am not content. Not even a little bit. I’m also needing peace. Peace and Quiet. The kind that you don’t get when your kids are small and your house is trashed. Yes, my house is a disaster. I just get it cleaned up, and then 5 minutes later you would never know that it took me an hour to clean it. Take last night for instance, I put my kids to bed and then I spent a good hour and vacuumed and washed my floors. I thought it was a brilliant idea, doing it after the kids were in bed. However, I forgot about the dog. My dog is as messy as my kids. She leaves her toys everywhere, and she also sheds so I have to keep on top of that too. So, this morning when I woke up, I vacuumed again.

Anyway, back to my quest for contentment. I have been feeling lately that I would like to do something (anything!) different. I’m not sure what though. I would love to move to the ocean, or buy a big old historical house somewhere in the country (it could even be in a different country) and maybe restore it or just enjoy it’s beauty, I would also love to go on a missions trip, or just go away for a weekend to do some shopping. I have thought and prayed about many things, but I have not been led to do any of them. So, I just have to wonder, what am I supposed to be doing? Where does God want me? Every time I ask that question, the only thing that comes to mind is ‘right here’. Here is where he wants me, right in the middle of my life, raising my kids, being a wife to my husband, and building my relationship with Christ. But ‘here’ is not where I want to be right now. I’ve been ‘here’ for so long with so little change that I’m getting bored/restless. So that makes ‘here’ a difficult place for me to be. Maybe that’s why I’m supposed to stay ‘here’, maybe that means that I’m growing and soon He will move me and use me in the way He (not I) has planned. Maybe I’m being tested to see if I can ‘keep the faith’. I don’t know. All I know is that I’m where (I think) he wants me to be and I need to accept it and do my best to be content. So, I will continue to be ‘here’ and keep bringing my discontent to Him cause only he knows what my future holds.

How have you been lately? Are you content with your place in life? I would love to hear from you.

Psalm 119:35 “Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.”

*Andrea*

Mind My Manners

It just occurred to me. I can be a strict person when it comes to please and thank you and I don’t think I ever said thank you to those of you who read my blog. So… THANK YOU, VERY, VERY MUCH!! I’m so excited each day when I check the stats on my blog and I see that people have checked it out that day. I don’t have a Huge fan base, (not even really big, if you want to get technical) but I really appreciate each and every one of you that takes the time out of your busy day, to read what I have written that day.  It makes my day just knowing that some people find my blog interesting. Thank you again.

I received a very complimentary phone call today. A lady from Compassion Canada called me and she mentioned that she had received an email from head office regarding a question I had. In that email, the person had said very positive things about my blog. That was very exciting for me. I never in my dreams imagined someone from Compassion head office taking an interest in my blog. I’m nobody special, I have terrible grammar, and I’m just a ‘housewife’. What could I possibly have to say that’s really interesting? Nothing! However, It is often not for me (but sometimes it is) that I write, but for the one who sent me. He guides me in what he wants me to share that day, if anything at all. If the words that he’s guiding me to write are drawing people to my blog, that’s wonderful. He’s the one that I want to talk about the most.

Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level ground.”

May God Bless You Abundantly!!

*Andrea*

… Change Me, Lord

 I have had this prayer/verse in my mind a lot lately, so I thought I’d share it with you.

Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (vs.17-20)As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do;no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

 

I am not who I want to be lord…

so please…

 Change me.

Reminders…

Today as I was absently staring out my patio door (as I often do!), I watched the umbrella on my patio table blow wildly in the wind.

And I couldn’t help but notice that my mosquito coil holder (the orange circle at the base of the pole) did not move ( it’s quite light so I expected it to slide all over the table). Seeing that reminded me of the song “ I will not be shaken” and I was gently reminded (yet again) that we should not allow the conditions in our lives or of the world, to move us or shift us from our focus on Christ. Let the wind blow all around us cause “WE WILL NOT BE SHAKEN, WE WILL NOT BE MOVED!"

Just a thought that I wanted to share.

Have a great day!

Andrea

Not Perfect (not even close)

     Do you ever get tired of feeling like you never say or do the right thing at the right time? I sure do! I always think about what I should have said or done long after the moment is passed. The more I think about it the dumber I feel. “Why can’t I just ‘be’ like the other godly women I know?” “Why do I constantly mess up?” These are questions that battle my mind quite often. I just don’t ever feel like I have it together. Take Sunday morning for instance: my husband was ushering so I was in charge of both of our kids for the first little bit of church. No big deal right? It should be easy. I have 2 kids not 8, so there should be no worries. WRONG! My kids sure know how to pick the days that they are not gonna behave and Sunday was one of them. Here’s just a bit of my Sunday morning: as soon as I sat down my son started to whine (he has a whine like no one else, as my sister so lovingly put it) and he would not stop whining. His nose was running also, so I took him to the bathroom 3 or 4 times just to blow his nose. So my son is whining/crying and I’m trying to get him to quiet down and then my daughter (who’s wearing a dress), decides that church pews are not for sitting on (that’s optional) and she’s all over everything, not even close to sitting like a lady. So here I am trying to keep my cool (which has been tested a lot by now), and be a good mom and look like I have it all under control. Meanwhile, underneath my (hopefully) controlled expression I just want to break down and cry. I love my kids very, very much but sometimes they are too much to handle by myself. So needless to say, I’m sure that I lost my cool (I know I did, just a little) and looked a little less than close to godly. But, I have to remember and keep reminding myself; it’s not about me, it’s all about him.

Matthew 19:26 “ With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

So, remembering that, it’s easy to deal with my imperfections because it’s impossible for me to be as perfect a mom as I would like to be. I will never be ‘put together’ as long as my kids are small that’s for sure! But as long as I keep remembering why I’m here and who I serve, it gives my life meaning.

Have a wonderful day!!

Andrea

“Labels”

  OK, so with the beautiful sunny weather that we’ve been having, I’ve been outside a lot enjoying it. So as you may have noticed, I haven’t been posting as much.

   I have been thinking lately though about what kind of person I am. I’m trying to ‘label’(?) myself and I think I found the one that fits. I would label myself as a ‘servant’. The reason I give myself this label is because I’m happiest when I can serve someone. I just think about the jobs that I had in my past and I have the fondest memories of jobs where I could help others. I really enjoyed being a cashier, but I had even more fun when I got to help a customer find something. When the item was found, it was so exciting for me. Also as a hairstylist, I really enjoy cutting and coloring hair to help people feel better about their appearance. My current (and most important) job right now is mom & wife. I get to serve people all the time! Sometimes however, when it comes to every day household chores, I need to remember that this is another way to serve and not just ‘housework’. And I’m not serving only my family, I’m also serving God. Everything that we do for one another in Christ, we are doing for Christ.

What about you? What’s your ‘label’?

Ephesians 6:7 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.”

Have a great day!!

Our Safe Place

   Psalm 46:1-3 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present

help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though it's waters roar and foam

 and the mountains quake with their surging."

This was my devotion passage this morning. I just love the way It's written. "Even if the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the sea, we will NOT fear!" That is so comforting if you really think about it. God wants us to be assured that he is always there for us, that he is our 'safe' place. The place of no fear. The place we can go when there is no where else, and no one else. He is always there patiently waiting for us to open the door and invite him in. There is no 'handle' on his side of the door, it's up to us to open it. Have you opened the door to him lately?



Just a thought...

* Andrea *

He is at Work

     What a great weekend we had! I was lucky to have my husband home on Friday for the day. So we were able to get some things done around the house and yard.
On Saturday, we had 'work day' at church. That was a lot of fun. It's nice to get together with other members of the church in a more casual setting and get to know them better. It's also nice to see what kinds of things the church needs to have done in order to keep it in good physical shape. I really enjoyed the morning that we spent helping.
On Sunday, it was Mother's day (of course, you all know). But more importantly, it was baptism day at our church. We had 5 young men profess their faith and get baptised, as well as 3 young ladies become members. It was so awesome to me to see 8 young adults on stage proclaiming their love for God. Their testimonies were very inspirational, how they shared what God has taken them from and how he is shaping and changing them. It is awesome that these young people are strong enough in their faith to recognize God at work in their lives. My prayer for them is that they will continue to seek him and continue to strengthen their faith and relationship with him. I am so excited to see how God is working in our church and how he is molding and shaping our body of believers.
  How about you? Are you constantly amazed at how God is working in your life? in your church? in other areas? I'd love to hear about it!


Have a great day!!

* Andrea *

Changing me...

  Lately, I've been feeling changes in my heart. I've been feeling as if God is preparing me for something. I don't know what he has in mind, but I'm trying to be open to any and all ideas. That's difficult for me to do because I'm a person who doesn't do all that well with big changes (I guess that's probably most of us!), but I have to remember that as a child of God, he asks some pretty big stuff from us sometimes. Remember when God asked Abraham to offer his son Issac (Genesis 22)? That is a serious request. Can you imagine laying your son down on the altar and getting ready to kill him? How did Issac respond? What did Abraham say to him? I can't imagine it. But look at what the Lord says to him when he rewards him: "I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,  and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." (Genesis 22: 17-18)
So, reading that it gives me a bit more courage and strength to be able to say " OK God, I'm ready and willing." Then let him show me what he wants from me. Maybe it's nothing right now but just to start preparations in my heart for the future, maybe it's something that to me is small but to him is big. All I can do is pray and wait. I'm really not good at the waiting part. He sure is teaching me how to though!!
   So, as I continue to pray and wait, I'm trying to get my body into shape. Those of you who know me well, know that I don't like to exercise. I have always wanted to be a 'fit' woman. Not a person who exercises constantly but does enough just to keep in shape. Now that I have a daughter, that's even more important to me. I want her to grow up enjoying things that help keep her in shape and healthy. But in order for her to want to do it, she has to see her mom work out (I guess I should learn to like exercising!).  It's just like anything else, the more you do it, the more you enjoy it. Right? Oh I hope so!

If you have any tips on how I can enjoy working out, I'd love to hear them!

God Bless!!

* Andrea *

He is Risen!

    I hope you all had a great weekend celebrating the resurrection of Christ. I sure did! I love the fresh feelings that come with holidays. I love the feeling like it's happening all over again for the first time and allowing my mind to imagine it all and letting my heart really feel.
On Good Friday, I thought a lot about how that was the day that Jesus was crucified so many years ago. I tried to picture it all in my head and imagine what he must have felt the best I could. The grief and despair but also the hope and the faith that he had in God his father. The feeling that if he didn't do this, none of us would ever be able to join him in paradise. 
Then on Easter Sunday, I tried to put myself in Mary Magdalene's shoes and imagine the sorrow when she found the empty tomb. Oh the grief that must have been in her heart! I also tried to imagine her incredible joy when she saw that Jesus was very much alive, and he called her by name! Can you picture it? You looking for Jesus' body because you want to prepare it for burial and it's not there! So you ask the gardener where he has put your Lord's body. Instead of it being the gardener, Jesus calls your name. What kind of feelings would run through you? Fear, relief, joy, unbelief? I could go on. It's just so awesome for me to remember why we have Easter. It's totally NOT about the Easter bunny, that's for sure! 
Have you ever tried to prove the real meaning of Easter without using any Biblical references? Our speaker in church on Sunday said that a man in university was doing a paper and he wanted to do it on Jesus' death and resurrection. His professor told him that he could only do the paper if he didn't use anything from the Bible. Apparently, he had so much information that he had to leave lots of it out! I just love that!! Even the unbelievers can't deny the truth!
  I sometimes get a bit carried away when I feel really strongly about something :)
We also had a bunch of family gatherings this weekend and I was able to get letters and stuff ready for our sponsor boys. I really love taking the time to write them. I am able to completely shift my focus so that when I write their letters, I'm only thinking about the boy that I'm writing to at that moment. It's almost as if I'm having a conversation with him face-to-face. I have found that with writing every two weeks, it's something that I look forward to. It's routine for me now, kinda like when you have Bible study every week. You get into routine and you look forward to going! Did you write to your sponsor child this weekend? What did you tell them? If you haven't, why don't you talk to them about Easter and how you celebrate?

Sorry for the long post. I just had so many thoughts today! Amazing!

Have a great day!!



Luke 24:6 "He is not here; He has Risen!..."

* Andrea *

Music & Beans

   Last night was the science fair at the local school. I had the opportunity to go and check it out. It was really neat to see what kinds of ideas these kids had. There was something of everything, and yes, even the classic volcano. I didn't have a chance to see everything but there are two that stand out for me.
   The first one is beans. The experiment was to grow beans in soil using 4 different types of liquids. There was water (of course), peach juice, 7-up and coke. They were testing to see what liquid would make the beans grow the fastest. The end result was: water makes the beans grow the fastest.
Then I got to thinking. We can very easily use this experiment in our own lives. We can all be the beans,our soil is the world in which we live, and our liquids are a variety of things. What do we fill our lives with to help us grow? God, Wealth, Relationships, Success? There can be many different scenarios depending on where you are in your own life. The truth is, that only with God will you grow the best. It really doesn't matter what you have, how much money you make, how important you are. All that matters is the God that you serve.

   The second experiment was mice and music. The students tested to see who was calmer, the mice who didn't have music or the mice who had music. The conclusion was that the mice who didn't have music were more antsy and restless, while the mice who had music were more calm and relaxed.
We could apply that to our own lives and how we praise and worship God. I find for myself, when I listen to Christian music I'm more in tune with God and I feel his presence stronger. I just want to sing my heart out just for him and dance around my kitchen like a rock star (it's a sight to behold!). My mood is also greatly improved when I do this. When there's no music, my mind comes up with some pretty crazy stuff. That doesn't always happen, but sometimes when there is something on my mind that's been bugging me, it really comes on full force when It's quiet. There are other times, that I can just sit and focus on God and all he has done for me and feel so blessed.

What about you, do you do better with or without music?



* Andrea *

Amazing Grace?

       What exactly is grace? That is something that I have struggled with for a while now. I hear a lot of talk about it: how God shows us grace, how we should show grace to others, how we should parent with grace, and on and on. So to understand more about grace, I've decided to read the book "The Grace Awakening" by Charles Swindoll. I've just started it but I wanted to share a bit with you.
    One of the definitions he gave about grace is: " To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn't deserve it and can never earn it". That is very clear for me. That's exactly what God does for us. He freely gives us the gift of salvation and we don't deserve it and we can't do anything EVER to earn it. But yet, in his grace he just gives it to us because he loves us. That is so awesome to me. When you really think about it, none of us can or will, ever deserve to be with him in heaven. There is nothing that we can do that will get us there. It bothers me to think that some people believe that the only way they'll get there, is if they work hard enough or are nice enough to others.We can only go if we accept his grace and his Gift of salvation. That's all we need to do. It's a free gift. No strings attached.  Ephesians 2:8 "For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" Isn't that a wonderful gift? Have you chosen to receive it?

So yes, Grace is amazing, because of who extended grace to us first. 

* Andrea *

How Do We Serve?

What a nice weekend it was. Me and Arielle had a great time shopping on Saturday and just spending time together. Sunday was also really good. We went to church in the morning and just relaxed the rest of the day.
      Our pastor had a message that really hit home for me. It was on serving others. He preached out of John 13 : 1-20. That's the text where Jesus washes the disciples feet. In the last hours before he was to be crucified he served his disciples instead of asking them to serve him. How many of us could actually do that? I know I for one couldn't do it. I often think that others should serve me. "I'm tired, I have a headache, I've worked all day." Those are the kinds of thoughts that enter my mind when I am asked to do something I really don't feel like doing.  But that's not the way it should be. We as Christian's, should be looking for ways to serve others no matter what. God doesn't stop serving us just because he is tired or has a headache (which doesn't happen to him anyway). Jesus showed us in the way he washed his disciples feet only hours before his death how we should serve others. He had full right to want them to focus on him and his needs, after all he had a lot that would be happening to him in a short while! Instead he took the time to wash their feet (a job that only servants did) and serve them in love.
     That really made me stop and think. Do I serve others that way? Do I want to serve that way? Could I actually serve those who hate me? The only way we can do it, is if we allow God to serve us first. We have to accept that he sent Jesus to die in order for us to be saved. In that way (and many others) he has served us. So I want to challenge and encourage everyone to allow God to serve them and then to serve others in his name. The key to serving others is to not make it obvious. God will see and that's all that counts.


Have a blessed day!

* Andrea *

Thankful Thursday

   It seems that these days were always thinking about things that we need or want. So I wanted to dedicate today's post to things that I'm thankful for.

Things that I'm thankful for are: 

First and foremost I have to say God. Because without his grace, mercy and never-ending love, I would not be who I am today. God is not even close to done working in me but I would like to say that I feel I've changed at least a bit.

I am very thankful for my Husband. He is an excellent leader of our home and provider. He is the realist in our home and I'm the dreamer. Without him I'm sure I would have made a million more dumb decisions! I'm not always a clear thinker when I have a great idea so when I ask his advice it's usually NOT what I want to hear but that's a very good thing. He keeps me grounded. I am very thankful that I am married to him!

I am very thankful that God saw fit to bless us with two wonderful children. My kids are so full of life and they bring me so much joy! They also remind me often that they are mischievous! As a parent, you need to have a sense of humor. That's something I have to remind myself at times.

I am thankful that I am an auntie! My niece and nephew are such wonderful little people. I love watching them grow and seeing their little personalities come out.

I am thankful that God gives me the energy and strength to be able to babysit so that I can also help contribute to our finances. It sure takes a lot of energy some days though!

I am thankful for my wonderful friends and family who love me despite me faults. I am not easy to love sometimes but I'm very glad that they still do. Life is so much happier when you have people who care for you! You know who you are, Thanks so much!

I am thankful that I love to bake! I know that it sounds silly but I really do! I go through spells where I don't do a lot of baking but it is a lot of fun for me. My favourite stuff to bake is probably bread, or stuff that needs yeast. I like to experiment in my baking and it's so exciting when it turns out!

I am also very thankful for my Compassion boys. They have taught me (without saying anything because I haven't received a letter yet) how we need to show love to everyone and how very different our world really is. I'm really looking forward to getting to know them!


     So there you have it. Just a few things that I'm very thankful for. These are not in order (except God is #1) and not even close to everything. Just a short list of things that came to mind as I wrote this post.  I encourage everyone to make a list and look at it from time to time. It helps to keep you humble.


Have a great day!

*Andrea*

Something To Ponder...

      In case some of you are wondering about the color change on my blog, I'm still deciding which one I like the best. So be prepared for a few changes in the next little while. I'm one of those people that can NEVER make up their mind! You know, the people that you are stuck behind at the drive thru window? The ones that take forever? That's me! I just can't make up my mind. It drives my husband crazy! Anyway, I'm working on it so that my kids hopefully wont turn out the same way.
 I should hopefully have my blog the way I want it soon.

     Yesterday, I was doing some research about  Rwanda. Seeing as how my correspondent boys are from there I thought I should educate myself. I came across something horrifying. In April 1994 there was a political genocide in Rwanda. You see, two tribes living side by side had happily gotten along until a political rebel group decided to "get rid of" the other group. There were the Huti and the Tutsi. The Huti made up about 80% of the population and the Tutsi made up about 13%. So the Huti wanted to take over the country. In 100 days approx 800,000 Tutsi were murdered! That's not the worst part, the method that they used is very disturbing. They would use machetes, clubs, guns, bombs, anything that was available. Some of these people also killed their in-laws! I was so bothered by this but I could not stop reading. I was even brave enough to look at pictures. They were images that I probably wont ever forget.
   This so disturbed me and still does but then last night I was thinking about the Old Testament. How many times did God tell David to take over an entire city and leave nobody alive? No women, babies, nobody. So now I can't help but wonder about God's hand in this. Why did it really happen? What came out of it?  What was the purpose? It's something we'll never know (at least not in this lifetime) but it is good to ponder the events that happen in the world and wonder what good will come from it. Everything that happens is because God allows it. He doesn't always start it but he allows it to happen because of the bigger picture.

It's something worth keeping in mind, next time something happens and we don't know why...


* Andrea *

My Ministry???

Hey for those of you who read my Sunday post and are waiting to meet our newest addition, Sorry to disappoint but I haven't gotten the picture yet. I can hardly wait to get it!!
       I've been wondering for a while now just how does God want me to serve him? What is my ministry? God calls each and everyone of his children to serve him in some way or another and I wasn't sure what mine was. Until now. I really believe that at this point in my life, my ministry is kids. You see, I babysit for 4, I have 2 of my own and I write to 3 sponsor children. It really makes sense that this would be my ministry. On top of all that I feel that I would like to be a Sunday school teacher. Kids as my ministry seems strange to me cause I did NOT ever want to have kids. That is until I met my husband. I always thought that kids were time consuming, money consuming, they ruin your body, make your hair turn grey, need I say more? They were definitely not part of my life plan nor would they fit into my lifestyle. I had it all (or so I thought). I had a career, a clean house, no stretch marks ( also known as mommy tattoos), and lots and lots of free time. I could do whatever I wanted. Go for coffee, go shopping, work late, It really didn't matter. I just had a husband at home to take care of and well he's a grown man so he really didn't need me much. Besides he liked to hang out with the guys. But after we were married and we were settled in our roles as husband and wife I realized that I WAS BORED!! On Saturday mornings when he would sleep in and I'd be up early I had no idea what to do. So I would try to find something on the T.V. to watch, do a bit of house cleaning, anything to keep me entertained. So we talked and decided to wait a year before we would try for a baby. Well, God really had kids in mind for me cause it didn't take long at all and Boom! Ok now what? Well you get fat (really fat in my case), your whole body hurts, you can't sleep, you get "mommy tattoos", and yes the grey hair is starting. So finally the baby comes and you think it's gonna be all wine and roses, babies sleep all the time right? Nope! My firstborn was a good baby and a good sleeper but I never realized how much time they took! All I wanted was a little less free time, not all of It gone! Oh how I wished for before baby days. Then I realized that I can't change the past (not that I would have), I can only live in the now and plan for the future.
   So now that I realized my life is not up to me to plan, most things make better sense. Not that they always make perfect sense, it's just a little clearer. We just need to remember to trust God in the direction that we should go and which path to take. He won't lead us astray. Just keep checking in to see if you are where he wants you to be. Who knows maybe your ministry is about to change...

* Andrea *