So refreshing

Well it's Sunday and the girls and I heading back to the Baptist church we attended last week. It was yet again another awesome experience with a great message to be shared. I really am thankful to have ended up in this wonderful place of worship last week on what surely must have been "God's Time". The people at the church seem very friendly and the Pastor has an awesome personality. I think the biggest benefit of this move could be the lasting affects this church potentially has on my children's lives. I remember transferring from a Baptist church back home to a Methodist church around age 11 or 12 with my mom while my sister (a teenager and driving) continued to attend the Baptist church we'd been members of for years and my twin brother attended a different Baptist church with a friend of his each Sunday. The minister we had at the time was a WONDERFUL man and I will forever be greatful for having him in my life at such a vulnerable and impressionable time in my life. Being the mom of a 12 year old girl going through all of life's changes that come around that age is truly a challenge. However I think having someone with a good personality and also being very deep in their spiritual life will deffinitely be a benefit that my children will some day cherish. The oppertunities for spiritual growth for all of our family members is deffinitely there and I'm greatful to have this blessing in my life. And I even think secretly my 12 year old (who probably won't admit it until she's about 20) is also. And my 5 y/o she's so excited about going to church!!! Praise the Lord and give thanks for all the beautiful blessings in our lives.

I pray that all who will come upon this blog find yourself in God's perfect place at God's perfect time also. And, I pray that my words will be His words and some how touch or brighten someone's life as they read.

God bless and have a wonderful week.

P.S. I'll be back later to share of today's message.

Growing in Patience

Sunday Aug. 19, 2007



1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV) 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.



James 1:19 (NIV) 19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.



The word does not tell us to NOT get angry, it tells us to be slow to become angry.... even Jesus got angry!



Mark 10:14 (NIV) 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hender them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.



Sometimes anger is good/healthy and productive.... depending on how we use it.



The top 5 things you can do to not be easily angered:



#5 BREAK THE PATTERN OF ANGER

Proverbs 29:11 11A fool gives vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.



Proverbs 25:28 (HCSB)
28 A man who does not control his temper

is like a city whose wall is broken down.



Ephesians 4:26-27 (HCSB) 26 Be angry and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don't give the Devil an oppertunity.



#4 GUARD YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

Proverbs 22:24-25 (HCSB) 24 Don't make friends with an angry man, and don't be a companion of a hot-tempered man, 25 or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.



Proverbs 11:23 (NIV) 23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.



Proverbs 15:1 (NIV) 1 A *gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.



*gentle does not mean quiet!



#3 RELEASE YOUR WORRIES TO GOD



Palms 38:8-9 (HCSB) 8 I am faint and severely crushed; I groan because of the anguish of my heart. 9 Lord, my every desire is known to You; my sighing is not hidden from You.



Phillippians 4:6-7 (HCSB) 6 Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



#2 GET SOME REST



Elijah in 1 Kings 19



1 Kings 19:5 (NIV) 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat."



* we can not think clearly nor hear God clearly if we do not have plenty of rest. This will lead to short tempers.



#1 CHANGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS



*Change your expectations of people, not of God. (unless of course you expect your agenda to be God's agenda)



Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.



Phillippeans 4:8 (NIV) 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is nobel, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.



Exodus 34:6 (NIV) 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.



We are made in Christ image and in His image we must learn to be slow to anger, forgive when someone has wronged us and then FORGET!

Life for me as an Army wife is full of challenges, challenges that those who don't live this lifestyle don't face.... however they have their own set of challenges. All of us have challenges in life. It is important for us to always remember to go to our Lord in prayer, trust that He will guide us. And then wait for his guidance..... and know that our answer will likely not be IMMEDIATE.

Raising children as both Mommy & Daddy when otherwise I would not be is deffinitely a challenge, not only for myself but for my children and my husband. Back to back deployments when our family has had little to no family time to adjust and reaquant ourselves poses even more challenges. In the 6ths months DH was home between deployments we were going through all the red tape of preparing for our relocation to our new duty station in Hawaii, taking 30 days of leave to visit family and friends we hadn't seen (some for years) knowing that it very well may be at least 3 years before we are able to visit some of them again. Arriving at a new duty station, living in a hotel, moving into a house, and TRYING to get "organized" and thrown into the preperations for yet another deployment. Our children (11 1/2 & 4 1/2 at time of deployment) love and miss their Daddy and struggle trying to understand the emotions they without a doubt must be feeling.....
Why does Daddy keep leaving? What did I do? Will he come home?
They don't really know where to go with these feelings, and that's perfectly understandable cause even at my age a lot of times I don't know where to go/what to do with the feelings I have. Needless to say, all 3 of us struggle each day with Patience & feelings of anger.....
God really did know where I needed to be on Sunday, I have read those verses numerous times, I have read the notes I made during the message at Sunday's service. Now I pray..... and COUNT TO 100 if need be! But, I've also realized my children are taking out their anger on me because I'm "safe". And, them taking it out on me is perfectly OKAY as long as they do it in a productive manor, so SOMETIMES I'm going to be angry too, and I am going to have to release my anger, disapproval or dissatisfaction in a productive manor also.

May today you know comfort in your heart just in knowing God is there and knows your needs and that he understands that we are ALWAYS GROWING in Him. May your patience tomorrow be more than it was today. God bless.

Funny how God works!

So last week I decided I would check out one of the protestant services on Wheeler or Schofield Barracks. It's been a LONG time since I attended a church service at a post chapel..... March 1991 at Ft. Gordon, GA in AIT to be exact! So I went to the website and checked out times for the services and found a protestant service at 10:30 am at the chapel closest to where I live. I was pretty excited when I got up yesterday morning, cheerily waking oldest dd who's now become a "tween" and isn't fond of mornings on the weekend and off to the shower I went. We were all ready for church and heading out the door w/ plenty of time to spare. We arrive and the parking lot is PACKED so we had to park down this little ally and walk down to the church.... by the time we get in there it's 10:30 and the chapel is PACKED the girls and I walk in looking for a place to sit only for the service to begin and much to my surprise it was a CATHOLIC service.... or seemingly appearing as such. So the girls and I quietly walk out of the chapel to the table outside and I asked the lady if it was in fact a Catholic service... sure enough. So I asked when is the Protestant service and she tells me 9 and 12.... okay maybe we'll come back for the twelve o'clock service. But really I just wanted to be in church and NOW not wait til noon.

I decided to asked if anyone knew how to get to the Baptist church in the town just down the road. Another lady was very helpful and drew me a little map and off I went.... KNOWING that the service began at 10:45! I knew I was going to be pushing it to get there in time, but either way we were off to attend service. I tell you God certainly has a way of putting us where we need to be!

This deployment has been very stressful, I've struggled with being able to sleep, and my kids have been driving me CRAZY!!!! God put me right where I needed to be yesterday. And I truly enjoyed the message and will be heading back again next week. I will be sharing about the service in another blog later once the children have headed for bed and I can better consentrate and focus on what I'm typing.

Has God been speaking to you lately? Is He trying to grab your attention in some way, be it very subtle or VERY LOUDLY? Open your heart and listen for Him. He is there waiting for you and waiting to guide you through the good and bad of life.

God bless.

I'll leave you with this..... The title of the message is...........

Growing in Patience do you need some guidence in this dept?