A New Look

Hello,
My life seems to be filled with change these days so I thought I'd change the look of my blog too!

Change used to scare me, I really hated it. But now I see that change is just a part of normal life, and it's healthy.

We all go through seasons with friends, jobs, ministries...you name it! The one thing that I have learned is that God never changes through it all. However, sometimes He alters my outlook on this dance of life. Whenever there's change, it seems He shows me a new aspect of Himself in my life.

Kids go off to college, jobs change, addresses change but God remains steady and faithful. This nation is going through changes...not sure how it will all play out, but I am confident that the Lord watch over His people. He will continue to lead us and guide us as He always does- in direct correlation to our dependency on Him.

So as our family goes through changes, I'm sure many of your families are going through changes also. Some huge, some not so life altering, but our foundation is built on the One who puts it all together and picks up the pieces if it seems to fall apart.

Don't worry, my life is not falling apart. I will share more later, but really it's all about God bringing us to a place He wants us to be! He's giving us a new look. :)

He is soooo good and sooo faithful!!! I can't imagine what life would be like without His love!

What about you? Any change going on? What's it doing to ya??

Hugs,
Sue

PS: Do you like the new header???

Don't be a lunatic

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him
than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word,
'darkness' on the walls of his cell.
C.S. Lewis

Our God, THE God, Creator of all that we see, is real.
People may mock our belief in the Holy Bible, but it is truth.

We can not shrink back in our beliefs and convictions. We have to stand for what's right even when we are humiliated and scorned.

I do believe that God created this world from nothing. I do believe that there was a great flood. I do believe that Jesus came as God's Son, died on a cross, was buried and then 3 days later rose from the earth alive. I believe the whole Word of God.

And I believe that He did it to pay the price for my sins. He did it so that I would have the opportunity to identify myself with that death, burial and resurrection as payment for sin. That I could receive LIFE when I acknowledged that it was done for me and asked Him to forgive me and bring me into fellowship with the Father.

Rom 1:16
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
NIV

We are in a battle, but the battle is not to fight men, it is to live for God...show His goodness through our lives, show His love and mercy.

Eph 2:3-6
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
NIV

The same grace that we received is available to all, even the mocker. Our job is not to condemn and judge this world, we have to offer grace.

Stand. Stand for truth. Stand for love.

I have been so frustrated with some of the things I hear lately and frankly, I'd just as soon pray for God to smote them all! But God has a better plan.

Rom 12:17-21
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:
"It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
20 On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
NIV

Those are some powerful words!!!!!

I said to Mark this morning, "I am so tired of people dragging God through the mud!" His response was basically that God is not moved by it, why should I be.

UGH! So true.

Like the quote says...man can not diminish God's glory.

September Winner and another Giveaway!

Thanks to the Random Number Generator, the winner is:

Kim (A Stone Gatherer) @ Scattered Stones

Congrats Kim, email me your home address

and I'll get your Praise and Coffee right out to you!

And now for another contest...

I am a fall cleaner, not a spring cleaner. In the springtime, I am out the door, forget about the house, Momma needs some air! So today I started my fall cleaning today.

As I was re-organizing my cupboards, the job quickly snowballed from one pantry, to the spice cupboard and on to the storage room in the basement.

There I tunneled my way through piles of tissue paper, towers of empty (just the right size for saving) boxes, Christmas wrap, a bread maker, a fondue pot, several worn and tattered purses (I just can't throw away a Coach bag no matter how old it gets), several different size crockpots, bags and bags of new gift items that I never gave away (I like to stock up because you never know when someone will show up at your door with a gift and you will need to have something special just for them too), knick-knacks, pictures and wall hangings, more tissue paper....who keeps buying tissue paper?! I think I even ran across a litter of kittens in there, they were nesting in the tissue paper.

Well...I can only organize so much...some of this has to go. I thought to myself, this is when most people would have a garage sale. But you know what, I don't like to do garage sales. It takes hours of preparations only to have me look at someone and say, "oh just take it..."

Instead I decided to donate it. Then I had this crazy idea...that's where you come in :)

What if I hosted a

"Forget the Garage Sale, Give Away!"

It will be our inspiration to get rid of some of the perfectly good things that we no longer need or use.

Knick-knacks, candles, a Christmas something or other... whatever you want.

So I was thinking that I would give you a week to get something together- that is already in your house- to give away. It does not have to be new, but should be something that someone else would like -even if you no longer want it- yes I see the irony. I will probably do a box or 2 or 3 of an assortment of "stuff."

You will just have to pay to ship it to the winner.

On Wednesday, September 17th I will set up the "Mr. Linky" so that you can enter your website. We will take sign up for 1 week and all have the drawings on the 24th.

So what say you??
(This is not the sign up, I'm just curious how many of you might be interested.)

Also, let your readers know!!!

Two shall become One ~ Smart Marriages

I found the coolest site! It has tons of info on marriage and fun ideas to help make your marriage stronger and strengthen the marriages around you and in your community.

Here are some of the links that you will find when you go there:

Are you smart enough to have a Smart Marriage?

Are you smart enough to have a Smart Marriage?
The #1 predictor of divorce...
Ask Dr Romance
Marriage on Radio & TV - watch & listen
Daily Temperature Reading
Marriage QUOTES, wedding vows, cartoons & toasts
What about COHABITATION??
SINGLE? How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk (or Jerkette)
How Marriage Therapy and Marriage Counseling Can be HAZARDOUS to your Marital Health
UNWANTED DIVORCE? How to fight it. Alternatives to Marriage Therapy and Marriage Counseling...
BEFORE you even think about divorce...
Affairs/INFIDELITY-you CAN recover
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
What is it with Men and Commitment?
When a Family Man Thinks Twice (about divorce)
What's Your Relationship IQ?

Strengthen Marriage in Your Community

Strengthening Marriages in Your Community: 101 Ideas to Get You Started
An Optimistic View of the Future of Marriage
Why Marriage Matters: 26 Conclusions from the Social Sciences
GIFT certificates: Weddings, anniversaries, new baby, etc
Marriage Week USA - Feb 7-14/Resources
Black Marriage Day - 4th weekend in March/ Resources
Hispanic Marriage Day - Oct 12, 2008/Resources
Marriage and the MOVIES
Marriage & Wedding RITUALS
Order a FREE Smart Marriages Bumper Sticker


And much more!
Check out this link for all the links:
Smart Marriages

The one about "Strengthening the Marriages in Your Community" has some great ideas that we could use to make a difference in the marriages around us.

I'm praying for our marriages,
Sue

PS: Don't forget to enter the drawing from the September 1st post!

He's the Missing Piece

Rom 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Peace with God, what an incredible thing! This world longs and strives for peace with God, all along not even knowing that peace is what their soul desires. They seek to fill an emptiness, and unknown, a real yet so often misunderstood longing that comes when we don't abandon our own selves and give Him our lives.

2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.

It is a privilege, and an honor to stand in the place of "child of God." Sharing in the glory of Him who created us with a purpose and a hope. How can we begin to be thankful enough?

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us — they help us learn to endure.

It's not "all good"... sometimes life breaks our hearts. But God will use even the darkest hours to bring about good in our life when we trust Him too.

4 And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.

Without the trials, we would be shallow, empty and boastful. We would not appreciate the joy and expectation we have of the eternal life that He offers us.

5 And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
NLT




God never disappoints! He loves us, unconditionally! He wants our hearts filled with His love and only the Holy Spirit can do that. Nothing else we seek, not the bottom of a bottle or another relationship can fill us with true love. Only Him.

Don't go from here to there looking for happiness, the missing piece is Him.

I Will Not Be Broken

Friends,
Let me share with you an email that I received this week:

Hi again, Sue
I wanted to reach out to you again to follow up on my email from last week because I really need your help to spread the word. Russia is still dropping cluster bombs on innocent civilians in the Georgian republic, killing and wounding many and spreading dangerous unexploded bomblets that will surely kill and maim people into the future. Survivor Corps is one of the lead organizations in the movement to ban cluster bombs and to assist the survivors of this terrible weapon.

I've put together this social media news release which explains everything. http://banclusterbombs.smnr.us/

If you are able to blog about this very important subject, it would benefit many people. Please let me know if you are able to help and send me the link to your post.

Thanks so much.
Dani
Dani Sevilla, Survivor Corps
***************************************************************

After this email I spent some time looking into Survivor Corps.
What an amazing organization started by a man with a heart wrenching story.
His name is Jerry White and here is a little about his book and testimony upon which the organization is built.

"I Will Not Be Broken"

The loss of a loved one, a painful divorce, or a serious physical injury---we must all, at one point, face tragedy -- unavoidable moments that divide our lives into “before” and “after.”

How do we muscle our way through tough times and emerge stronger, wiser -- even grateful for our struggle? In 1984, author Jerry White lost his leg -- and almost his life -- in a landmine accident. He has endured the pain of loss and the challenge of rebuilding. As cofounder of Survivors Corps, White has interviewed thousands of victims of tragedy. With this book, he shares what he has learned.

White outlines a very specific five-step program to coping with disaster; to achieving strength and hope; and to turning tragedy into triumph. In their own words, his survivor friends and colleagues share their stories. It's a group that includes the well known, like Lance Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, and the late Princess Diana, and also everyday survivors. Through their stories and the author's words, the book takes readers step-by-step through the process of not only surviving tragedy and victimhood, but going on to thrive.

But this goes way beyond the horrible effects of war,
it touches all of us who have faced loss and great disappointment.

Here is a link to an interview with Jerry White from Good Morning America last month:






You will be touched by his testimony and encouraged to rise above whatever may come your way in this life. It's all about faith and choosing life.

Life can break your heart, but God is faithful always!

Check out the link in the above email and see what you can do to help this organization and spread the word!!

September 2008 Giveaway AND ~ Two shall become One

1 Peter 3:1-6
1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,

The emphasis on behavior over words is such a powerful truth.
The lives we live will speak much louder than the words we "preach."
It's a tough question, but we have to ask ourselves...if I never spoke a word to my husband, would he see me living for the Lord?

2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

Do our lives speak purity and reverance or are we that clashing symbol of 1 Cor. 13??

3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.
4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

I don't think this means we should not try to look beautiful for our husbands, I know my husband loves it when I look good for him. But at the same time, outward beauty will fade and then what is left? If we are gorgeous but treat him with disrespect and disdain, we fulfill this verse:

Prov 11:22
22 Like a gold ring in a pig's snout
is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
NIV

5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands,
6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
NIV

I believe that many times fear keeps us from honoring the Lord as wives. We fear he will not respond gently and with acceptance, but the Lord asks us to live this life FIRST for HIM, then toward our spouses.
Daughters, do what is right and do not give way to fear.

I'm praying for our marriages,
Sue

This month's PRAISE is Casting Crown's,

"The Altar and the Door"

And a bag of coffee from a local coffee house!

To enter contest, leave a comment to THIS post and please add your email if you do not have a website. And please remind me if you have my button on your blog so I can enter your name twice!!

Drawing will be on the 10th of September.