PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF BURMA

You can read about the situation here.

HOW TO SAFEGUARD YOUR MARRIAGE

2 QUOTES I JUST READ ON FB
John Piper: "You don't need to know a lot of things. You do need to know a few great things and live for them with all your might." - Ligonier National Conference

Spurgeon:  "If sinners be damned, at least them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for."

THOUGHTS FOR TODAY FROM SCRIPTURE

& my personal application....

Psalm 37:3-4  "Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.  Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

My Commands:
1)  Trust in the Lord
     * a deep, abiding reliance on God and His Word
2)  Do good
     * cling to and obey God's Word
3)  Dwell in the land
     * I see this not only as a future dwelling in heaven someday, but also as dwelling in Jesus and the victorious life He gives here & now, no matter what our circumstances may be!  Abide in Him!  Spend time dwelling with Him!  It's all about Jesus!
4)  Feed on His faithfulness
     * Remember God's faithfulness in all things and let that feed and encourage my soul to give me strength to keep pressing on.
5)  Delight myself in Him
     * It's Jesus I love.  It's Jesus I must delight in.  Not religion.  Not people.  Not ministry.  Not going to church... but Jesus.  He is my most faithful friend, and I beg God to teach me more how to delight in Him!

His Response:
Blessing me with the desires of my heart.

What are my heart's desires?
1)  Children walking in truth
2)  God-centered marriage and family
3)  Fruit in my life -- greater holiness
4)  Quicker repentance and less acceptance of sin in my life
5)  Hearts of people changed that we minister to
6)  Increased knowledge, wisdom and understanding
7)  Above all, glory to God in all things!

MULTITUDE MONDAY...


91.  Time for some fun projects.


92.  The gift of regeneration!


93.  A developing hunger for the Word in my children!


94.  The promise of spring -- more and more each day!


95.  Watching my family turn lemons into lemonaide.  They made the most of the flooding we had here by spending HOURS in a the little boat out back learning to row and exploring together.


96.  Children who love to laugh and be together.

97.  A nice heavy quilt.


98.  Technology to keep in touch with long distance loved-ones.


99.  Health.


100.  All that God is teaching me on a daily basis through His Word. 


101.  Love.


102.  Sunshine that brings warmth.


103.  Our new clear view of the mountains (the trailers have been torn down and cleared away!).


104.  Friends who are there for me, no matter what.


105.  Candlelight.


106.  The joy of dreaming of this year's garden with my family.


107.  Lessons learned from David and Saul these past couple of weeks with the kids.


108.  Puppies are coming!

109.  Contentment.

110.  Restored joy.

LISTEN TO THIS!

"Purity in a wicked age" by David Wilkerson.  This is amazing.  Every believer needs to hear this message! 

RANDOM PICTURES

BIRTHDAY GIRL:
Kiana turned 6 last week... yes, 6!!!  Already!  Because we all took turns battling the flu, I didn't get pics on here as soon as I had hoped.  Mom and Dad were both sick on the actual birthday, so the girls made cupcakes together and we enjoyed lots of family time in the living room with us resting.  It was actually a really nice day! 

Her friend, Maggie, and her family came Saturday night to celebrate with us.  Kiana wanted a lion cake. (In case you were wondering what it was...)  :)  They had lots of fun with glow sticks and petshop toys.

Riding Dakota

Kiana is a math whizz, loves to write fancy, and is the most amazing snuggler.  She loves horses, her siblings and just being home.  She is a joy that lights up our day, and I am so thankful for her!  Happy Birthday, baby girl!!  We love you dearly!

Kiana being Kiana, while doing math  :)

WOODWORKING:
My table still yet to be stained...

Bunkbed for the boys:

Bed in progress

Still needs stain and a twin mattress for AJ



FUN RANDOM PICS:



Ready to go skating!

Learning the parts of a fish

AJ bundled up and ready to ride

Love my goofy girls!

Working on barn roof

Horses at sunset

WOOD WORKING

Just finished making THIS shelf for my dining room and THIS table, which I'm not sure where it will end up yet.  I originally made it for my entryway, but it is too big.  Now I have plans to make a smaller version for in there and a narrow one for alongside my fridge.  (Note, these are not my photos -- you all know how good I am at actually posting pictures!)  We also finished a bunkbed for the boys room, and all these things still need stain or oil!

Still to come is THIS farmhouse table with benches (and a few minor changes).

HOMESCHOOL UPDATE

I am absolutely loving our curriculum this year!  My Father's World has never disappointed me yet.  This year our focus has been on Creation to the Greeks.  The foundational text book is the Word of God.  My kids are developing a love for the Word, and that is our greatest desire!  We use the Word of Promise as our method of listening to the daily reading.  The kids love this, and every day ask for more chapters.  Just wanted to pass along something wonderful that has been working very well for us!  I feel like MFW uses the best of and a variety of methods to teach our children.  I have had to make some adjustments in the Language Arts realm, but overall, I give it 5 stars!

KILLING MY GIANT

Exodus 32:27 "And he said to them, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor."

Numbers 33:55 "... those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell."

***********************************************

A couple of days ago, Evan was on the phone walking in the girls' bedroom.  He stepped on a thumbtack, which went deep into his foot.  He attempted to continue his conversation without letting the person know what happened, but it had totally made him lose his focus.  He  was concerned more about the "thorn" in his foot that was "irritating" him to the point of taking his focus completely off the task at hand and bringing it to the tack in his foot.

It's the same thing with sin in our lives.  Just as God commanded the Israelites to go through the camp and slay all the wicked, swiftly and harshly, that is what we are called to do with sin.  (Read the whole story in Exodus for entire context... it's amazing!)  We are to put it to death at the first appearance of it.  If we don't, it becomes like that thumbtack, irritating and distracting us from God's will and the task at hand.

This has been very, very real to me.  The enemy knows a weakness I have -- a fear of mine.  He has been having a lot of fun harassing me with this not just the past few weeks, though they have been intense, but especially this past year.  Sometimes, in my own strength I could suppress it for a time and grow numb to it.  But it was still there.  Lately when it comes up, God has been showing me that I can't nurture it with a bandaide any longer, but I must swiftly and harshly pull it out.  I must kill it.

Last night, the attacks came on strong in dream form.  I woke up in a panic, letting my mind process this dream which completely encompassed this fear.  I started to process every detail of the LIE that it was.  That's where I give into this attack and it becomes sin.  I process the lies.  I give them time in my brain, and it has been robbing me for a long time now.  It was like God woke me up and said, you are letting this LIE irritate you and hold you down.  It is hindering you from the task at hand.  Kill it!  So, with HIS strength (Romans 6!), I did.  In my head I started quoting Psalm 23. 

The Lord is my Shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
     (This is where I was, right in battle killing this thing!)
I WILL FEAR NO EVIL!
For you are with me.
Your rod and staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I didn't even allow myself to remember one thing from my dream.  After saying this passage a couple times, I had this sense of peace come over me.  I envisioned myself with a sword, attacking this lie head on.  One swift move ("The Lord is my Shepherd.")  A glimpse of the lie would pop back, a second swift move ("He makes me to lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.")  Then.... peace.  I killed it.  My mind and body literally felt relaxed and peaceful.  I went back to sleep. ("He restores my soul.")

Immediately following this, I had dream #2 -- even worse than the first one!  By God's grace and His power, it took less time to get from the place of recognizing the battle to killing the lie.  ("Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.")  This dream even had a table in it, where many "enemies" sat around and they were all rubbing salt into this fear.  ("You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies...")  God was with me at that table with those giants -- the lies!  Again, a sword fight, and a death of the lie.  Peace.  Restoration of my soul.

I feel like this is a pre-battle, with the main battle yet lying ahead.  After sharing all this with Evan, he encouraged me to anticipate the big battle, and not dread it, but be excited about it.  Be prepared for it.  Be on the offense to continue to kill and win!

So, sword of the Spirit in my hand, I feel like little tiny David against a huge giant, but with one tiny stone, and God on my side, I can kill this giant.  My question has finally been answered.  I now know HOW to kill it, and it has nothing to do with me.