Friend's

I was feeling led to share some thoughts on friendship it is a little long I apologize and pray it blesses you!!!!!! May God Bless Each One of You!

Growing Friendships!!!!!!

I have been led to share with you all a little something on friendship and the things I have learned(and trust me am still learning) through much time and many mistakes. In our fast paced lives, connecting with others can be a huge challenge, however I believe God has offered friendships as a lifeline for women, of course He being in the center and being our first lifeline. I think friends are important I know in my life they very much are important and for me they are not just friends or sisters in Christ but family and spending time with them helps me to be the wife I am called to be and the mom
I am called to be . I think for me friends are like flowers they are beautiful and lovely however like flowers friendships need to be handled with gentle care with God in the center of them all. God's word says two are better than one and "It's not good that man should be alone" Gen. 2:18
"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us." 1 John 4:12 so we can show that love for each other through friendship. I have recently read a fabulous book on friendship it is the title of today's reading and it describes your friends as Daisy's that make up a chain (link together) the first step we must do in finding the daisy's is to go out where the flowers are which means we may have to get out of our comfort zones and pray the Lord reveal to us who they are and He will.When we find these daisy's
(friends) we then must be willing to invest time into the relationship as all relationships need to grow. Next I think we need to not have expectations of what or how friendships should be I know we should go to God's word to see HOW WE SHOULD BE AS A FRIEND IN CHRIST
it's all in His word:
...show mercy and compassion to one another (Zech. 7:9)
...Love one another(John 13:34)
...Be devoted to one another. (Romans 12:10)
...Live in harmony with each other.(Romans 12:16)
....Accept one Another (Romans 15:7)
.... Serve one another (Gal. 5:13)
.... Be kind and compassionate to each other (Eph. 4:32)
....Admonish one another. (Col. 3:16)
....Love each other deeply. (1Peter 1:22)
I believe it is only when we relate to people in this way that we are able to experience and accomplish what God calls us to do and in return enjoy the blessings of true Godly friendships.
God loves His children ,and making the choice to invest our time and energy into His children is indeed a spiritual model, it is through friendships I have learned about God's unconditional love and acceptance , joy, forgivness and the list goes on and on. If you have friends I just want to encourage you too love on them this week to tell them how much they mean to you and if you find yourself asking the Lord who those friends may be Pray the Lord reveal to you and place those Godly women in your life you can pursue those friendships with and while doing that I encourage you not to judge or to be picky and here is a thought on that written by: Sheri Torelli
"My only advice for friendship is NEVER overlook someone because they are different ,especially the chance to have an older friend, they offer much wisdom and experience."
And my thought is they could be right in front of you so allow the Lord to work and keep Praying and praying and He will reveal. I wish I had time to share more but that is it for this time I love all of you my treasured friends!!!!!! God Bless you ALL!!!!!

"AS IRON SHARPENS IRON, SO A FRIEND SHARPENS A FRIEND." PROV. 27:17

Growing Friendships!!!!!!

I welcome you to this site. I have shared a few pictures and thoughts with you for today and hope to share much more with you all. I pray this sight will always be uplifting and encouraging! May God Bless you

A Journey Like No Other!!

Hello to you all, as we continue this journey we call Motherhood I believe one of the most important things we need to be doing for our children is to be praying for them, & for their futures. There is power in prayer the Lord does mighty things through prayer. The Lord tells us in His very word to "Pray Without Ceasing" so it is important to be praying. I think alot of times we find ourselves only praying when a NEED arises which is ok but it is not the only time we should be praying. The Lord has really been convicting my heart to pray everyday for specific things for each of my children. The first thing above all else is their SALVATION this is the most important, then for the ones who are saved that their hearts may truely be penetrated by what they learn through His word and they would desire a close relationship with Jesus. Next we then pray for protection from the enemy who seeks to destroy our children, then for our children's relationships with others, one of the greatest influences in our children's lives will be their friends and role models so how can we not pray about this. What does God's word have to say about this ......." the rightous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray." Proverbs 12:26 yikes . We also pray for each of their future spouses if that be the Lord's will for our children to marry. another thing we pray for is that the Lord would show each of our kiddo's what his or her God given talents and or gifts are and that they will use them for His kingdom and glory. these are just to name a few there our countless prayers there is never a lack of things to pray for however prayer is much more than giving a list of desires and requests to God..... Prayer is acknowledging and experiencing the very presence of God and inviting His presence into our lives and circumstances, its seeking the will of God and releasing the power of God which gives us the means to overcome any problem. When we pray, we bring that power to bear upon everything we are praying about and we allow the power of God to work through our weaknesses. when we do this we are humbling ourselves before God and saying I need your Power Lord. Praying not only affects us but it also reaches out and touches the lives of all those we pray for and that is awesome. James 5:16 says " The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man avails much" so I encourage you all today to start with a simple list and add to it as needed
but PRAY, PRAY, PRAY DAILY FOR THE FUTURE OF YOUR PRECIOUS GIFTS AND MAY IT DRAW YOU NEARER TO OUR LORD IN THE PROCESS!!!! GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIENDS !!!!!
IN HIS GRIP,
Cindy

Oil for Our Lamps

Hello Mom's,
Today I feel led to share a few things with you all. The title to today's note is oil for our lamps. I was in Proverbs 31 over the weekend and the Lord was really speaking to me with verse 18.....
"and her lamp does not go out by night" I know what your thinking cause I did too does she ever sleep??? I believe she did the Lord knows we need sleep and created the body for just that however I believe it means she never let her cup run dry. A mom's light is Jesus Christ and we cant shine our lamp(or light) if we run out, the Lord's word in Eph. 5:18 says :" Be filled with the Holy Spirit" it means to be filled daily and continually..........so how does a Mother run out of oil??
well in a devotion today I read from Max Lucado explains like this....... "A lighthouse keeper who worked on a rocky stretch of coastline received oil once a month to keep his light burning bright.
Not being far from the village, he had frequent guests. One night a woman needed oil to keep her family warm. Another night a father needed oil for his lamp. Then another needed oil to lubricate a wheel. All the requests seemed legitimate, so the lighthouse keeper tried to meet them all.
Toward the end of the month,however, he ran out of oil and his light house went dark, causing several ships to crash on the coastline. The man was removed by his superiors, you were given the oil for one reason "to keep the light burning". We as Mother's in this day in age are so tempted to meet EVERYONE'S NEEDS around us and the needs are there every minute of everyday however our PRIMARY JOB is to love our Lord and seek Him daily next our time with Hubbies and kiddo's all the other needs that pull at our attention though noble I am sure we MUST wait until we take care of our families first
Father I now lift us all up to you and thank you for each of our wonderful families , I pray that we will be careful to take care of their needs above all others help us all be women with well balanced lives placing you first husbands next and then our kiddos I pray this in your Holy Precious name Amen and Amen
So I leave you with these questions:
1) are we burning our lights like a candle that consumes itself????
2) or our we burning like an oil lamp fueled by an endless supply of the Holy Spirit's Power??
God Bless
In His Grip,
Cindy "and her lamp does not go out by night".....Proverbs 31:18b

Happy Mother's Day to All !!!

Good day to all you Mothers's out there. If you are like me at this time you may be or have been running on emtpy and feeling overwhelmed with trying to be super momma and at times I know I have even felt like a failure perhaps life isn't what we have expected it to be at all. You may have started off thinking this mothering stuff will be easy how hard is it to love a cuddle bug well then reality sets in and you have a baby who wont sleep or a three year old who refuses to potty train, a first grader with ADHD, a sassy 14 year old daughter, a high school senior you cant imagine letting go of as they learn to make their own choices, or a grown prodigal child you long to come back to Jesus. As hard as all these situations we may find ourselves in we all want to be that mother who behaves with love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and of course self-control with our kiddo's right?? of course who doesn't but we often feel this is where we fail the most and it can be disappointing cant it? However mommy's I have awesome news there is hope for us all and it is found at the feet of our Lord Jesus. He wants to wrap us in His loving everlasting arms and take away any and all of are frustrations, He wants to give us the answers to all our Mothering issues
Jesus wants us to fill our lives with Him so He can bless us and accomplish His purposes through us Praise you Jesus. If you are feeling empty as I spoke of run to Jesus to be filled and He will fill you up. I have to admit this last week I was very much running on empty and the Lord Nudged me back into His arms and there were situations in my week that caused me to just sit before my Lord be still and know He was God and know He was wanting me to slow down and seek Him. My prayer for us all this Mother's Day is that if you are feeling as though you are running on an empty tank to open your heart to the love of God ,settle yourself,be still and quiet,and get ready to be filled up. This Mother's Day take a bubble bath Set your mind on heavenly things and remember how truely blessed we are to be given the honor of looking after the Lord's gifts BESTOWED TO US "OUR WONDERFUL KIDDO'S". MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU AND GIVE YOU A RELAXING DAY AS YOU BE STILL BEFORE HIM GOD BLESS YOU ALL !!!
IN HIS LOVING GRIP,
CINDY

HomeSchool or Public School???

Well a few days ago a mommy asked me what I thought about homeschooling my kiddo's and that she was thinking about doing it as well and it is funny because now a few people are curious
and thinking about doing it I have had a few calls concerning this matter. To answer anyones question about this I can say firmly that it is a matter to take to the Lord this is something we dont want to do because all those around us are doing it. I strongly encourage you and your husbands to be in prayer over the choice to homeschool or send to school this is something that is important that you do together as a team it is important you both are on same page with each other. My husband and I have had our good days and bad days but through it all I thank God we are on same page. I also believe that homeschooling is NOT for all and thats ok the LORD is still
in control.
And now to answer questions I have had with my journey to homeschool -
Was this always our plans??? uhhhhhhhhhh no
Have my children ever been to public school?? no not any of them
Am I qulified?? we all are I believe that GOD DOESN'T CALL THE QUALIFIED, HE QUALIFIES THE CALLED.
.
Do I have struggles?? uhhhhhhhhh yes who doesn't some days I even want to throw in the towel
yet God is always there to encourage me in this journey and see me through. THANK YOU JESUS
Do we always follow our schedule to a T?? yeah right (blessed are the flexible) I do try most of the time yes but I can asure you not ALL the time.
Homeschooling is for sure a calling from the Lord and if He is calling you without a shadow of
a doubt He will provide Finances, strength, time, well He will provide it all just have that child like faith and God bless your journey whatever path it may be.
In His Grip,
Cindy