Lay it down!

OK, so I am stubborn and hard-headed, but I am trying to work through this.....thanks to the grace of God and the WONDERFUL book I am reading !
I am finding that our world is SO incredibly warped!
You know it sends the message to be strong, independent, don't let anyone take advantage of you, stand up for yourself and this message is started out at an early age!
This is where the stubborn, hard-headedness (if that is even a word) comes into play that I am DESPERATELY trying to change.
Do you stand up for what you feel/think is right?
Like that would mean you are living by/on emotion, right?
Or, do you just lay it down? That would mean your are weak and let people take advantage of you??????????? And I am NOT weak and WILL NOT be taken advantage of!
I so remember having a conversation with my friend not too long ago about how I "stood up for myself and what was right".
My rational was that the Lord did not intend for us to be "walked all over or taken advantage of".
But I had this feeling....what I thought was condemnation and figured it was another one of the enemy's savvy tricks, so I was determined NOT to let it get to me. I even had others pray with me and for me because the condemnation was just lingering.
Well, as I am reading in my book, I see that we ARE to just "lay it down" and not take matters into our own hands. We just give that person over to the Lord....and let HIM deal with that person. OH GOSH! What freedom, one less thing the Lord needs my help with... HE HE!
It DOES NOT mean we are weak or giving people a ticket to trample on us like a door mat, it means we are OBEDIENT!

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Romans 8:31

So that feeling I was feeling was CONVICTION, from the Lord, not condemnation (this is never from the Lord)! He was convicting me that I took matters into my own hands instead of giving that person and situation over to HIM to allow him to work for GLORY!
So for 4 months I have been walking around with conviction, not even realizing it was conviction, thinking it was condemnation and something was wrong with me and wondering if it would EVER leave me....
When all I really needed 4 mos ago was a ROLL of DUCK TAPE and more FAITH!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

The Challenge? Next time you are wronged or feel you are wronged, send out a prayer and even pray for the person who you believed wronged you! Yes, I said pray for them! It seems crazy, I know! Then sit back and watch God in his glory! His plan is far better that what we could do or imagine.

Princess in the making.........

I am so excited! Chloe got some of the CUTEST clothes this weekend for school! She even got 2 dresses.......we are definately making progress! For those of you who may not know Miss Chloe....well, she is definately not a GIRLY, GIRLY! She loves being outside, climbing trees, riding bikes, playing sports (I mean she plays CATCHER in softball and got the Sweaty-Dirty Award last year. The coach said no one gets more sweaty or dirty than the catcher, YUCK!)
One time she had an ortho appt and it interfered with recess....
well, I got an ear full and she requested that I not make appts. at that hour any more because she does NOT want to miss recess.
Now me at that age?
I would have been like "WOOOO WHHHOOOO I missed recess" and begged my mom to take me to lunch and home for the rest of the day!
Don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with this, but I was a major GIRLY, GIRLY so you can imagine my surprise when she was anything but thrilled when she got her 1st tea set.
But she is still AWESOME and we are getting pretty good at getting tennis shoes to go with dresses or skirts and she likes that because she can still run really fast at recess!
I love her so much and I am glad the Lord gave her to us!

Bye! Bye!

Well, this weekend we (Brent, myself, Chloe and Lex) went to help "The Myers 3 Pearland" get ready for the BIG MOVE!
Lex and Barret were HUGE helpers, can't you tell! HE HE!
They will be moving to the Hill Country this week!
I am soooo sad for my own selfish reason, but I am really happy for them, and now we have a really cool place to visit. I mean, not that Pearland isn't cool, but the Hill Country is AWESOME!
My nephew Barret is the cutest darn thing, his eyes and eyelashes would make a grown woman SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO jealous!
AND for those of you who may not know.................my wonderful sister-in-law is expecting TWINS! YIPPIE!
That has got me super excited!
Baby boy and baby girl are due in December! UUUHHH, Kendall, Nov. 22 would be AN AWESOME day, too!
Anyway, despite all the work over the past few days, I really had fun getting a chance to catch up with Kendall, love on Barret, we laughed ALOT, I learned so many neat organizational things....I love to be organized, and I got some great loot (they had a garage sale...those are ALWAYS FUN) and FOOD! Many thanks guys!
We will be praying for you! We love you much and can't wait to come visit!

Living this Life!

Yesterday my friend received some world-rockin' news and it got me thinking.
In life there are no guarantees....but there are some certains, we will live and die. Some people are given a longer time on this earth than others.
I am really not afraid of dying, but what I am afraid of is the sadness that will be with my family in my absence......my kids, Brent, my parents. But the Lord will take care of them....
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
But what really shook me was how would I be remembered?
I am SO GUILTY of not taking the time to "smell the roses", I like my house to be clean and orderly (yes I am SOOOO TYPE A), I gripe (or yell) about silly things, I say "NO" alot, I really don't "play" with the kids...I am involved but I don't play "house" or "babies"(I wish I could talk Chloe into playing "Spa", but she is not going for it) or whatever.

I don't want to be remembered as a griper or complainer, a meanie or lame-O.
I don't want to be remembered as selfish or stubborn, either.

I have heard the terms "dance like no one is watching"......"live like there is no tomorrow" and never given it much thought, but now I am thinking that might be some pretty good advice.

Slowing down, making lemonade when life gives you lemons, taking in the beauty of this world and life that I have been given, living selflessly, let people know how much they mean to me.

That is how I want to be remembered!

Each day is a gift that is why it is called present and you never know what tomorrow holds!

Best book EVER!

OK! I am reading the most awesome book....The Bait of Satan, by John Bevere. Thanks Tracy for telling me about it! I can not put it down!
This book is about being offended.
To me being offended meant like someone asking me "When is your baby due" and HELLO I am NOT even pregnant. Or one time I had someone, a complete stranger, ask me if all my kids had the SAME DAD? What is that??
Those things were offensive to me.
But I am learning in this book that being offended means someone wrongs you OR you BELIEVE you have been wronged and you hang on to that.
Sometimes you can even trick yourself into thinking you were not offended but you are not tricking the most important person......GOD! He knows your heart...He knows the number of hairs on your head! Who do you think your kiddin'?
Anyway, I am also learning that I am selfish! OUCH! This is something that I do not want to be, I want to be selfless. By being offended I am allowing myself to be controlled by the flesh.
The book give many examples of people in the Bible who had been wronged but chose to not be offended!
It shows how Joseph showed nothing but grace to the SAME brothers who sold him as a slave, he knew it was part of God's plan. WHAT??? If my siblings sold me as a SLAVE, well.....I would not have handled the situation like Joseph did (but I am trying to be better). David showed grace to Saul by not killing him, when given several opportunities, and David actually mourned for him when he was finally killed and David took care of Saul's family.
They took themselves out of the picture, emotions and all, and were obedient! They let God deal with the offenders!
GOSH! That is how I want to be!
I will definitely be keeping ya'll updated on this book!