Day 11 of Living With a Thankful Heart

This morning I am thankful for modern day miracles!  After reading a friend's blog over here, I am just praising Jesus for taking care of and protecting their little girl! 

Day 9 of Living with a Thankful Heart

I wrote a post on Friday and then the internet stopped working.  The draft is on the other computer.  :)  I will post it later tonight.  Yesterday I didn't want to get on the computer to blog...but I was thankful!  Today I am thankful for a sweet couple we had house church with this morning.  We studied the last half of Philippians 2.  I love Philippians!  I wanna be like Paul.  Well, not his life, but his attitude!  Tonight we are heading out with this same with couple, who happens to be from Texas too, to the Sunday Market here in our town.  We are planning to pig out!  I hear they have shawarmas and I love shawarmas.  I am sure my thankfulness will have something to do with that tomorrow.  :)

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.  Psalm 69:30

Day 6 of Living with a Thankful Heart

I read this verse this morning and wanted to share it today for my 31 Days to Living Life with a Thankful Heart.

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
   you have loosed my sackcloth
   and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
   O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Psalm 30:11-12

Day 5 of Living with a Thankful Heart

Go on over to A Holy Experience to get your October gratitude list.  I printed mine today and as a family we are going to do this every evening.  I think it will be a fun memory to look back over the past months and see what we are thankful for!

Psalm 107:1
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Day 4 of Living With a Thankful Heart

Today I am thankful for ...

Little rotten kitties who put up with a little rotten boy in the mornings.

For as long as I can remember I have been allergic to cats. 

I passed this trait down to my baby boy.

Of course, not by choice.

I never in a million years imagined we would have an inside cat.  I have never had an inside cat.  My hubby can't stand cats inside either.  I think he married me for my allergies!

Last year when we moved to Thailand we knew we had to get a pet.  We had a yard and every yard needs a pet.  I saw an ad for free kittens.

Let's just say we had a surprise for Hubby when he got home from work that day.  :)

My intentions were to keep the kitty protected inside long enough to grow up, get spayed, and learn to fight her own battles against the other neighborhood cats.  

It never happened...Rocket and I are not allergic to her.  It is completely a God thing!  She never has grown up...she was the runt and still is. 

And she is rotten!

Day 2 of Living With a Thankful Heart

This morning we sang this song in our house church worship.  

I was reminded that I am thankful I have a creator...

who knows my name,

who knows my every thought,

who sees each tear that falls,

and hears me when I call.

Day 1 of Living With a Thankful Heart

Living Life with a Thankful Heart

This month I am joining others over at My Three Boybarians for the month of October.  The object of 31 Days is to choose a topic and focus my blog writing on it for the entire month of October.  My topic for this month will be 31 Days to Living a Life with a Thankful Heart. 

Living overseas has it struggles and oh how the enemy loves to magnify those struggles.  I am determined to focus on my blessings by sending my thanks to the Father, even when thing seems hard.

This month may include posts about my family, which I am most thankful for, scripture the Lord brings to me, photos, quotes, maybe I can squeeze in a couple of crafts with the kids.  All of these will be to help me and hopefully you to focus one the blessings of our lives.

Looking forward to Living a Life with a Thankful Heart!

Remembering

 

Ten years ago today was like any other day...when it began.  I was teaching 5th grade in Plano, Texas.  I had a 9 month old and Rocket was just a twinkle in my eye.  (He came a year later.)  Hubby worked at an private Lear jet company.   We were living the high life...living for ourselves.  Working to obtain paychecks to immediately give it away to mortgages and daycare.  The Lord had truly blessed us financially.  I remember the music teacher next door coming into my room and telling me some airplanes had just flew into the World Trade centers.  I do have to admit...I had no idea what the World Trade Centers were.  I had a class full of kids so life continued on as normal until I got my next break.  Then I went into the workroom where the news was on.  I remember being in their with others and no one saying a word.  What could you say?  A dear teacher friend, who had actually helped me get an interview at this school, had a boyfriend who lived in New York.  She was able to get in touch with him immediately to make sure he was ok.  Parents began showing up to take their kids home.  Fear was everywhere.  I went to pick up my little Sassy girl, went home, turned on the T.V. and couldn't stop watching.  Hubby came home and we both just sat and just watched the horror on the TV. He worked for an Lear jet company and they had a radar that showed all the planes in the air.  He said it was strange seeing all the planes land one by one and the screen becoming blank. 

I knew nothing of the religion that was claiming responsibility.  I had a student the year before who was of this religion.  He was a sweet boy.  In fact, I had a little incident with some of his school work not getting done.  I called his parents to let them know.  I never had another problem with him.  The father was so apologetic and let me know this would never happen again.  I wish I had that kind of support from all my parents!  :)  That was all I knew.  When I think back on that...I am sad.  I lived in such a diversified area and could have shared, but was ignorant to what they believed.

I could have never imagined that I would go and live among this people group just three years down the road.  I never imagined I would grow to love this people group.  I never imagined that some of the sweetest ladies of this religion have become my sweet friends.  I could have never imagined that when I pray for them, tears flow.  Because I love them and wish for them to know the true ONE!  

If anything, over the last ten years I have learned that Jesus loves the people of this religion just as much as he loves me.  He desires for them to know him.  I am thankful for the opportunity to have lived among this people group and to say I understand more now. 

My prayers go out to our nation, who is so far from Jesus, and to those who lost loved ones on that day.  My prayers go out to all those who have never heard of the saving Grace of Jesus.

Being Fruitful

I love these words..."Sometimes the business of being fruitful is standing in the rain, holding on to your branches in a wind storm, or simply providing shade. Every day is not an apple harvest day. Every day is part of a process, part of a journey towards fruit. Your whole life is part of a fruit bearing work, but today was just a wind storm."

I have enjoyed and been encouraged by Femina's articles on mothering!   

Go on over and get your dose of encouragement!

Beauty Secrets of the Bible

Little Man is sick with a stomach bug and Little lady is away at dance.  I have 30 minutes before I start dinner.
Just enough time to throw my thoughts on here...

I wanted to share about Beauty Secrets of the Bible I recently read.  

We had a team of sweet ladies come all the way over here from Georgia to serve for a couple of weeks.  One day they gave all the ladies on our team a retreat.  It was so fun.  I learned so much that day and it was practical stuff!  

Ginger Garrett, author of Beauty Secrets of the Bible, came and shared about all she has researched concerning how women in  ancient times took care of their beauty needs.  She wondered what Esther could have done for one whole year as she was preparing to go before the king.  She gave us so many interesting and disgusting facts about make-up and skin products on the market.

  

There are things in your cosmetic products like turtle oil, chicken embryo, horse blood, pigskin, human placenta, pig brains cow amniotic fluid.  The FDA states, "A cosmetic manufacturer may use any raw material in a product and market it without prior FDA approval."  

That is just gross!  

She shared about how God gave us so many wonderful natural things to use.  If you go to her website...GingerGarrett.com you can find so many of her wonderful recipes for beauty homemade beauty products. 

I am currently and have been cleaning my face with the milk and oats facial scrub that I made in my kitchen for the past two months!  I apply the Honey Tonic to my face twice a day.  I was so fascinated about the number of benefits honey has...that must have been the reason the Israelites really wanted to get to the Land of Milk and Honey.  If you need something to do...research the benefits of honey...you will be amazed!  And finally, when my skin feels dry I use the olive oil moisturizer.  It is amazing the difference I feel!  You can find all of these recipes on her website and everything you need is right in your kitchen.  Her book, Beauty Secrets of the Bible is really good too!  I bought mine for my Kindle off of Amazon. 

Well, it has been 45 minutes since I started this journal and Little Man is bored out of his mind and wants me to enterain him and I should have started dinner 15 minutes ago!  Oh well.  I hope you enjoy these beauty secrets as much as I have!

Glimpses of His Will

photo credit: National Geographic

Not sure what God is up to. 

I am thinking it is something big and amazing. 

I love how he just shows me bits and pieces at a time. 

May I be surrendered and willing ...no matter how hard the task might be.

Promise to keep you filled in as HE shows me more of his will in my life.

A Woman of Discretion

I just wanted to share a blog entry that really touched my heart and my spirit.  Maybe because I really needed to hear this!  I am so thankful for a heavenly Father who cares so much about me to give me these gentle reminders. :)

A Woman of Discretion

Hope it touches you as it has me.

How Wisdom Looks on a Wife

I have been listen to these two teachings from Beth Moore on Proverbs 31....

How Wisdom Looks on a Wife 1

  &

How Wisdom Looks on a Wife 2

Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!!

Loving my Husband

Something the Lord has been dealing with me on...

"And let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband-that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly" (Ephesians 5:33 Amplified).

Thist is a prayer written by Sir Francis Drake, who was the first man to circumnavigate the globe, from 1577-1580. (Have I ever taken on anything of that magnitude??) His words are so powerful to me, especially coming from a man who definitely knew what it meant to embark on an exciting journey, sail into the unknown, make headway through (sometimes difficult) seas and trust in His God.


The Prayer of Sir Francis Drake

"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst for the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

we have allowed our vision Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love."

One Year Ago This Day!

It was one year ago this day we arrived in our new home land of South Asia. I remember as we got off the airplane and exited the airport. It was 4:30am and the night was still upon us. I took deep breaths as we stood waiting for our ride. It is amazing how smells can bring back so many memories!

There is a distinct smell in South Asia. Our first few days in Bangladesh I remember wondering and verbalizing how in the world was I ever going to able to get over the smell. It was just awful at that point in my life. I had a hard time getting over the grief of our goodbyes we had just had a few days before. Cultural shock was heavily upon me. The Lord comforted me and soon enough I never even notice the smell.

But this time last year, it was different. The smell reminded me of where my heart had been left two years before. To most, the smell isn't something wonderful, but to me on that early morning, I knew that smell was just for me! With it came all the memories of the past and a definite reminder that I had surrendered my life to follow the Most High, whatever the smell.

Like before, within a couple of days, the smell was gone. But what isn't gone is the fact that I know I am right where the Lord wants me...next to him, serving and growing!

Longing to Call a Place Home

From infancy my mom says that I have always liked to be on the go. She says I use to cry when the door to door salesmen would leave and I couldn't go with them. I don't know if it is age or just having children, I now long to put my roots somewhere, to settle down. The last week has been an emotional and hard one for me because of the life we live and the work we do, the Father is constantly showing me that my home is never really going to be here. It is heaven.
I enjoy reading a blog called Women of the Harvest. I really enjoy reading it because it is from ladies who have the same perspective on life that I do. This week the author posted an article on "Where Do You Live?" It really touch my heart and spoke volumes to me and my life the Father has called me to.

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace Romans 8:6