bread and water

     I admit I am a perfectionist.  I used to take pride in that fact but now I realize it is bondage.  Oh how I want to be an "unperfectionist".  I know that's not a word, you know what I mean? I've been wrestling this out with God.  I am starting to realize that being a perfectionist is all about me.  It's selfish.  It means I care too much about what other people think about me when it only matters what GOD thinks about me.   God doesn't care how the highlights look in my hair or if my jewelry goes with my outfit.  God cares about my inner beauty.  A gentle and quiet spirit is precious to God. But  let it be  the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament  of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1 Peter 3:4 Everything is backwards in God's kingdom.  The weak are strong, the last shall be first.  However, God always places...

I am so thankful for my Young Living Essential Oils!  We were out of town last week and my son got a fever during the night.  I put peppermint oil on his feet and that took the fever down.  I also rubbed Thieves Oil blend on his belly.  (This oil supports the immune system and combats sickness, colds and flu).  My son was better in the morning!   Then my other two boys got sick with a cough and cold.  I was able to use Lavender oil on their feet along with Winter Breeze Vapor Rub (www.beeyoutiful.com, tell them I sent you) for their coughs. I have also been putting RC and Raven oil on their chests and diffusing Eucalyptus , Thieves and Raven throughout the house.  (The diffuser comes with the Young Living Starter Kit.) And they all smell so good!! Check it out at www.youngliving.com and sign up for the Starter Kit which comes with a diffuser (GREAT DEAL).  My member # is 1288141 

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire . If you did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful when you don't know something For it gives you the opportunity to learn. Be thankful for the difficult times, During those times you grow. Be thankful for your limitations Because they give you opportunities for improvement. Be thankful for each new challenge Because it will build your strength and character. Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons. Be thankful when you're tired and weary Because it means you've made a difference. It's easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for setbacks. Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings. Author Unknown

As I began my fourth year of home schooling our children I was more stressed than ever!  I was branching out of my comfort zone and piecing together different curriculum's for a different style of teaching.  I knew this would be better for the kids but harder on me. Sigh. I'm really trying to be a good Mom here, can't you tell?   On top of that I was dealing with some health issues and dietary changes, packing and unpacking from evangelistic meetings (have you ever packed and unpacked with a house full of boys?), and having church in our home (the same day we are packing to go out of town).  Sometimes life gets overwhelming.  Sometimes I try to handle life on my own without asking the Holy Spirit to help me.  I don't know why I think I can do it on my own.   And then I realize I CAN'T do it on my own. I rub some of my Young Living Rutavala Oil (for stress/sleep) on and pray! I come crying to Jesus, "Help me Lord!"  ...

I was brushing my teeth with activated charcoal powder yesterday when I had this thought.  Did you know that activated charcoal can whiten your teeth? You can order it online and put it in a small container in your bathroom.  Wet your toothbrush and dip it into the tasteless, gritty charcoal and brush away! It is crazy to me that something BLACK can turn something WHITE . It is also crazy to me that God can take my black ugly SIN and turn it WHITE as snow. "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood," Revelation 1:5 "Purge me with the hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7 "Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:16-17 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarle...

A couple months ago I read a book called No Longer A Slumdog by K.P. Yohannan.  I got it from a pile of giveaway items at our homeschool coop.  I had no idea it would bring me to tears and give me such a burden.  I'm not one to cry that often either.  It spoke of children in Asia who are in the lowest caste systems.  They are called slumdogs. These precious children are sometimes maimed and put out on the street to beg for money.  They are cruelly abused .  The stories I read about them were unbelievable.  Their parents are either dead or can't afford to feed them so they are forced out on the streets. They live far away and you probably will never see them...but you can make a difference in their lives and in their community.  You can give them a meal everyday and put them in a Christian school where they will hear the gospel and get an education.  You can sponsor a child for $35 a month through Gospel for Asia.  (No on...

1 Timothy 6:6 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain .."  I want that "great gain" along with godliness.  I want all that God has for me.  So I want to be content.  Are you content?  Contentment means "ease of mind, satisfaction"  I think of it as that, "Ahh, I'm happy" feeling.  Peace...feeling settled, content.  No striving for bigger and better.  Being at peace with the lot God has given you even if it is not the American Dream.   1 Timothy 6:7 says, " For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." Job 1:21 says, " Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Matthew 6:19-21 says, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures ...

Standing in the kitchen overwhelmed I thought to myself, " I can't do this .  I don't have what it takes to be a wife, a Mom of three boys, a Pastor's wife, a home schooling teacher, a chef and a maid..." Immediately the Holy Spirit reminded me of 2 Peter 1:3, " According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness , through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue" The Holy Spirit so sweetly spoke to my heart to remind me that I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13).  He reminded me that His Power has given me all I need to live life...and not just life but a godly life. This power of God is given to us through knowledge of Him.  "A living participation in the truth".  Accessing the Word of God and the promises of God and applying them to our lives. How do we obtain the knowledge of God?  By reading the Bible, memorizing Scripture, going to c...

The armor of God is found in Ephesians 6:10-18.  10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil . Wiles is defined as a systematic, methodical plan.  The devil has a systematic, methodical plan to destroy your life.  Don't be scared, be sober .  God gave us what we need to wage this unseen war.  The devil appears as an angel of light to lie, deceive and entice us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" Job 1:7 says, " And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth , and from walking up and."   But we are given armor to protect us.  We don't have to be devoured.  We can stand and fight. 2 Corinthians 6:7 says, "By the word...

"Worship and intercession must go together.  One is impossible without the other."  ( My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers)   Worship is defined as worthiness, respect, reverence to God, extravagant respect or admiration or devotion, the expression of such reverence, to idolize. It's easy to see what people idolize because they express it.  They hang it on their wall, buy it, wear it, talk about it, drive it, clean it, etc.  What do you idolize?  What would other people say you idolize?  How much do you idolize Jesus?  How do you outwardly express your worship to Jesus?  Do you sing, dance, smile, meditate, lift holy hands? Intercession is defined as prayer, petition, mediation.  Oswald Chambers defines it as "raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we're praying."  Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."  When we ...

Our goal for this year is to be intentional about discipleship.  So, I started a ladies bible study at the house.  Who are you going to disciple? (2 Timothy 2:2).  Who is discipling you?  There's always someone who knows more than you and someone who knows less than you!  Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations.."  Jesus had disciples, who had disciples... We must be a disciple of God's Word.  We are ALL to read His Word.  Some are preachers, some are teachers, but we all have a spiritual gift and a purpose.  If you don't know what your motivational gift is, do a Bible Study on it (ask me for this study if you need it).  Chip Ingram has great teachings on motivational gifts also.  What do you think your gift is?  Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17.  God's Word is so good and useful for so many different things like this verse states.  It teaches us doctrine .  If I read my Bible to learn doctrine then I can mor...

Resurrection Rolls and Resurrection Eggs have become our Easter tradition the past few years.  This year I hope to add Resurrection Cookies. Resurrection Rolls are easy, fun, and they taste great!  Do them the night before Easter, or the morning of....whatever floats your boat. Directions for Resurrection Rolls : Give each child 1 triangle shaped section of a crescent roll (crescent roll represents the tomb) Dip a big marshmallow in melted butter , roll it in cinnamon and lay it on the dough (these represent the oil and spices Jesus' body was anointed with) Wrap the dough around the marshmallow (marshmallow represents Jesus) Pinch the seams...this is important Bake as the pkg says on the crescent rolls Cool, break open the tomb (roll) and it's empty!!!  The marshmallows gone:) Resurrection Eggs You can buy these in the store already made or you can make them yourself much cheaper. Get 12 plastic eggs and label them with a Sharpie #'s 1-12....

Skin peels can be very expensive.  I mean, they ARE expensive.  And for that reason, I have never had one...although I want one, one day.  I found a recipe a while ago for a homemade skin peel that I have yet to try.   It's hard to make time to pamper myself when I have 3 young boys, if ya know what I mean!  And sometimes we just don't feel like we are worth pampering ...or that maybe it's too ungodly or too vain to indulge in such things. I don't think so.  You are God's Princess!  You are a saint (if you are born again and washed in the blood of the Crucified One, Jesus)! John 14:6 You are a child of the King! I believe it's a godly thing to strive to be attractive for your good ole hubby.  He sees you in your housecoat and fleece pajamas too much...with no makeup and your hair a mess.  (You know, like I am today:))   Anyway, I started using a different cleansing routine for my face and exfoliating my skin (which is ...

I am still reading My Utmost for His Highest (my best for His Glory) by Oswald Chambers for my daily devotion.  I also read Daily Declarations for Spiritual Warfare: Biblical Principles to Defeat the Devil  by John Eckhardt.  Today the Lord showed me how they intertwined as He taught me from His precious Word. Oswald said, "Watch for the storms of God."   That's easy because you pretty much know when you're in a storm.  Someone once said that all of life is either going into a storm, coming out of a storm, or living in the storm.  But God wants to teach us something through the storms .  Oswald said, "The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms.  Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside?  That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen.  (What vision has God given you?) Let God send you out through His storm, and don't go until He does....

When I was a teenager I had my wisdom teeth removed.  The next week I went to youth camp and ran and screamed and jumped and hollered.  A few years later I had my tonsils and adnoids removed.  Soon after surgery instead of drinking milkshakes I begged my Mom for a chalupa from taco bell...and I slowly ate it.  I was hungry!  Years later I gave birth naturally (supernaturally) to three sons in about four years.   Each labor was different but I was hungry after every one!  I will have to share my labor stories with you sometime.  Don't worry, they are wonderful stories! Well, Friday I was having stomach pains all day and I also had sharp pains where my appendix was.  I doubled over in pain and told my husband it hurt worse than natural childbirth.  I broke out in a sweat and then got cold chills.  We decided to go the ER. The night before I felt like I was getting a stomach bug.  I laid on the couch and rub...

I have been putting pureed sweet potatoes in everything lately.  We had homemade waffles tonight and I put half a cup of pureed sweet potatoes in them with cinnamon...yummy!  I even put some in a hot chocolate recipe.  That one wasn't too great.  I want to share with you one of the ways we like to eat sweet potatoes.... Sweet Potato Fries!  Peel em, cut em up (however you like em), put em in a bag and season away! Put olive oil in the Ziploc bag with the potatoes and add salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, turmeric, a little curry (because all those are really good for you!)  You could also add cinnamon or whatever else you like.     Then mix them all up in the bag and spread them evenly on a baking sheet.                               Bake at 450 until tender and enjoy!

Things change when you get married and have kids.  More things change when you have three BOYS.  I went from fine china to chopping wood.  Now don't get me wrong, I love my boys and all things boyish.  I would choose to play ball over Barbies any day.  There are just some things, like raccoons, that I don't really care for.   Awhile back when we lived in Georgia we had a small rack on the back of our Jeep Cherokee.  This was before my hubby bought a truck.  Well, he caught a raccoon in a trap and put it on the rack of the Jeep.  I found myself riding through the nice part of town with a raccoon on our car...and it was still alive!  I think I slouched down in the seat.  I just might be a redneck, a prissy one... We commenced to drive to his families property (off roading in a 2 wheel drive) to a place to execute the raccoon.  Before marriage I had never done such a thing, or even thought about such a thing!  I got...

Before I got married I didn't know much about hunting, raising chickens, or cooking deer meat.  Now I love watching our chickens roam the yard, and I love the fresh eggs.  I'm so used to eating deer meat that I forget to ask our guests if they mind eating it.   It is getting more popular now to buy organic, free range or antibiotic free chicken, eggs and meat.  We know that they are healthier for our bodies.  It's one thing to buy an organic chicken from the store, it's another thing to watch your 4 and 6 year old cut the head off the chicken that was in your yard and then cook it and eat it.     The other day my four year old came in crying and said the rooster had pecked him and it hurt.  My hubby commenced to pick up the rooster, sling it down to kill it and then cleaned it (or whatever you call it to get it ready to cook).  He put it in a bag in the fridge and I cooked it the next day. Does that make me a redneck?  Or ...