Thank you so much to those of you who share my blog on Friday! I you commented you went into the drawing for the FAMILY mug! Congratulations to LEE for winning the mug!!
PS Lee if you can message me with your address I will get it right out to you!
              So excited to share my next post " Its not about ME" on Wednesday!

Friday Favorites-Giveaway

 

So excited to start my "Friday Favorite Giveaways" SO thankful for each of you who are visiting my blog and willing to share it. My prayer is that it will continue to bless you and those you share it with.

Happy Friday Friends!

Giveaway rules:

1) Share this blog post on Facebook and comment on this post letting me know that you shared it-1ENTRY

2) Comment on this blog post and tell me what your favorite thing is about your family-1 ENTRY

The giveaway will end on Sunday at 12:00pm and the winner will be announced by Monday morning.

Battle on the Homefront

Hi friends, I am so excited to share with you again and so grateful you are taking this time out of your busy day to read my blog.
    Although I am in a new season of my life that allows me more time for myself, I feel the Lord is continually tugging at me to share the things He has laid heavily on  heart lately. You've heard the saying "Man is not an island" Well what that means is that we were not created to live an introverted, isolated (all about me) life. We were created to make a difference in this world and the lives of those around us. I have to say when I was home with 5 children, buried in laundry and dishes, and homeschooling ,there were many days I felt like an island, isolated from the real world, I thought.  Friends, even during these busy, crazy days I knew that what I was doing was making a difference. In a small way, mistakes and all I was doing my part to train these precious lives to love and serve the Lord.
     You see, our place and role in the home is a God appointed, God ordained , calling on our lives.
This is where it all begins, and also where Satan roams and seeks to destroy. He (Satan) is very crafty and smart. He knows very well that if he can destroy the home, he can reek havoc on a nation. Believe it or not history shows that when women began to leave the home and go back into the work force, this nation began to crumble. Why? Is it because we lost our focus? Well you could say that but what really happened was that Satan knew that the home was the battlefront and to rage war there was his only hope of stopping or slowing down the furtherance of Gods kingdom. Before I go any further, please hear my heart on this. I am not saying that every women should or can be home day in and day out. What I am saying is that when we step outside of our biblical role as women, due to longing for the things of this world , we run a great risk of allowing the enemy to creep in little by little and do his damage. Statistics show that when women went back into the work force in the 1960's, sexual immorality, divorce , child abuse and neglect, crime and promiscuity among teens and the list goes on; began to run ramped. Not a one of us can deny that a lot of what we see in our world today is because of the neglect or disappearance of a mother or father at home  fighting off the enemy.
   Does this mean we are to physically be present in our homes day and night ,no but it does mean that when we are home we are to be  "present". Instilling Gods word in our children, eye contact (put away the smart phones), prayer, scripture memory, family outings and game time, family and corporate worship. These are all weapons that are all mighty in defeating the enemy and winning the war! We can defeat the one who is out to steal, kill and destroy Gods most precious creation, and tool for furthering His kingdom, the family!   I challenge you to take hold of these weapons, even if they need a little dusting off, and fight! God is on your side , He is just waiting for you to embrace role, take up your weapons and fight!
"These things I have spoken to you that you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer , I have overcome the world. John 16:33
      

Love is a Choice

Well,  I  have been married to my wonderful husband 34 years. I can hardly believe it ,but can still remember that evening very well. The most astounding part to me is that, as excited and in love I was at that time it just doesn't compare to the love and excitement we now share as a couple. A good marriage truly does get better with time. Has our marriage always been perfect, by no means. A good marriage takes work, forgiveness, grace, unconditional love and most of all ,an attitude of unselfishness! Yes, I do believe when you commit to a spouse it should be with the mindset that this is a covenant with the Lord until death do us part. Only under circumstances out of our control should divorce ever be an option and even then I truly believe Gods heart is to ultimately seek restoration if possible. To receive the rewards of a long and strong marriage you have to faithfully pray and seek the Lord daily. Our marriage is by no means perfect but we do serve a perfect God who created marriage to be the perfect picture of his love for his bride ,the church, and his commitment to her.

Marriage is Gods way of preparing us for eternity. How exciting to be apart of something so much bigger than we are. So thankful that we are all apart of His master plan. We "choose" to make our marriages work. And it is work wouldn't you agree! Our initial "In Love" feelings are not always there or may have been lost for some time. Our marriage is a testimony of this, during the childrearing years our relationship struggled, and I turned 30, the midlife crisis age for most women.  I was up to my ears in diapers and sleepless nights and my hard working husband was gone many nights. "This isn't how it supposed to be, what happened to my storybook marriage". I often felt distant and very tired! I cried out to the Lord and looked to his word for wisdom.  In bible times, marriages were arranged (Don't think that is such a bad idea these days:), There was no time to "Fall in love". They were just married and that was that. After reading these stories over and over ,I realized something, love was a CHOICE! They choose to obey God and the covenant of marriage He had placed them in. And guess what? The feelings followed. This was a revelation in my marriage, and once I committed to making that choice daily, things began to change . You see, my attitude and choice to love changed me and that changed everything. Ladies whether we like it or not we set the tone of the home. Our speech ,emotions and body language,  are key the second our husbands walk in the door. My choice to love ,followed by a lot of prayer and bible study each day, made all the difference. Side note: if you want your husband to change, pray that the Lord will change you first.
It doesn't happen over night but I promise the Lord will bless your "Choice".