I loved all of the lights at Christmas! White lights, colored lights, blinking lights, icicle lights, lights on Rudolph’s nose. All of these lights recently reminded me of a few months when I saw that the pedestrian crosswalk signs were not just bright yellow, like they had always been, but were was now fashioned with a yellow flashing light. “Good grief, I thought.” People can’t notice a pedestrian sign, without a flashing light? After I continued to judge for a few minutes about others who couldn’t pay attention to what matters most, I was convicted. I too, have had to stop suddenly because I hadn’t seen the pedestrian sign, or the person who was innocently walking across the street. I am just as guilty. I then realized that this is sometimes how I deal with God. When we made the choice to follow God, we choose to honor and glorify Him in all we do. We have made a choice to give up our own desires and carefully thought through plans to let Him be in control of our lives. We choose to obey Him, and pay attention to where He wants us to go. I can’t tell you how many times I have felt God prod me to tell someone at the checkout that I would pray for them, or just even start a conversation with them. I have told God, “I am in a hurry. Besides, they don’t want to hear me talk. They certainly don’t want me to tell them that I will be praying for them. I have also felt God prod me to stop my crazy, busy, to-do lists in my head (sometimes, but rarely do they get put on paper-because I am too busy to stop to write down my list) to rest in him….reading, some quiet time to sit and pray. “Too much to do…I just can’t stop!” However, I sure don’t have a problem with stopping and watching Netflix while stuffing myself with popcorn, or candy from my Halloween stash- it was 90% off, I had to just STOP and buy that. That sale tag definitely made me stop in my tracks. God has to actually pull out lights to me to get me to stop, just like the pedestrian signs were added with lights. Why am I so selfish? I really love Jesus, I do! He has literally pulled me out of a life of muck and mire and placed me on his full of hope and forgiveness rock of salvation. He has blessed me by answering prayers that I prayed but never actually believed they could be answered. God has chosen to use me in situations that I know I am not fit for….beginning with choosing me as the mother of my three amazing girls. Why do I continue to sin? Why do I continue to do what I want, not what He has asked me to do. Why do I tell Him, “No?” I can’t imagine my life without my Lord, but I still make mistakes, I am not perfect. If I was, I would not need Jesus.

Romans 7:15-20

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do. I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not swell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do- this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but is sin living in me that does it.”

Yep! Sin lives in me…sin lives in you. It doesn’t give us a pass to do whatever we want, but it gives us the opportunity to draw closer to him to allow him to become strong when we are weak. By continuing to walk and talk with Him during our days, He shows us which way to turn, and where to stop. At times, we may not be in tune with Him, so He uses whatever it takes to bring us back to Him, even flashing lights. These flashing lights might be a bulging disk on a nerve root- yes, this is a blinking light he has used to rest in Him and slow down; to stop and listen, and enjoy. Maybe you have a difficult situation that you are facing in your life. Maybe you are wondering how you are going to make it through this Christmas season without a loved one. It is hard to understand, but God uses these situations to show us how much He desires to comfort us, and to remind us how much He loves us. He loves us so much that He even will pull out the blinking lights to get your attention. I am thankful that He loves me so much. He loves you that much, too.

I have always thought there was a secret to being a joyful Christian.  In my mind, and what I confidently told others was that it was just Jesus.  “Accepting Jesus into your heart, and following Him, will bring you boatloads of joy!”  However, I wasn’t joyful- I tried.  I tried to do the “right things, ” but I struggled with joy.  I wanted my cup to overfloweth- to bubble over so I would have to slurp life in!  Yet, I just couldn’t  turn off the past- the DVDs filled with my past performances.  Some are even on VHS cassettes!    Shoulda, coulds, woulda.  The past.  The present.  The memories come flooding through my mind, and I am stuck- unhappy, unmotivated, wishing that I could do back to the past to change my current messy life.  Unthankful, ungrateful.  Doubting God, and through my doubts, basically telling Him, “God, you should have let me be in control.  Why did you allow THAT choice?  Come on, Lord, get it together!”  No wonder, I then sit criss-cross applesauce in a puddle of muck and misery.  I then proceed to put on a party hat, pout, and decide to stay and watch more of the DVDs and VHS cassettes in my head.  I then bring in the gourmet food to comfort my wounded self- Twizzlers, Bit O’ Honey, and ice cream- enough food for a queen’s own coronation.  I invite no one, but the stars on my Netflix show.  I pout.  I eat.  I retreat.  All of this because I struggled to THANK God for the past- especially the hurts, the decisions I regret, and the for my current present.  I stepped in the puddle of much and misery, and have a party  Bitter.  Angry.  Sad.  I stay there until sleep comes.  I wake up and try to step out of the puddle that has now become thick and gooey.  I can’t.  I just can’t.  I cry out to the God, the one I don’t trust.  The one I doubt.  The one I am angry with.  And, He still hears my cries, even with my ungrateful heart, He helps me.  He meets me where I am at, and helps me lift one leg out of my bed, and into places where there are remnants of a party- candy wrappers and a sugar hangover.  I take a step out of the muck and misery and He sets my feet on a rock.  Psalm 40:2: “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire.  He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”  And, I again, try to find the mystery of being a content, joyful all together Christian.  Then He reminds me.  I read from Ann Voskamp’s one thousand gifts devotional, who has cracked the code.  Thankfulness.  Thankfulness of it ALL- the good, the bad, and the ugly.  All of the DVD and VHS cassettes that I wish were never recorded. To be thankful, right now for the rock that the Lord has placed me on.  And then the Lord encourages me through Paul.  Philippians 4:11-12:  “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.  I know hoe wo tlive on almost nothing or with everything.  I have learned the SECRET of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.  Paul helps me see it with my detective magnifying glass.  The SECRET is to learn to be thankful, and of course, to trust.  It doesn’t come to me naturally.  I have to practice thankfulness.  Ann Voskamp uses a megaphone to help me know how:  “To learn how to be grateful and happy, whether hands full or hands empty.  That is a secret worth spending a life on learning.  I, my, friends, am still learning.

The girls and I love to go to Bennington, illness my Dad’s hometown.  It is a town of about 600 people, drug and half of them are my family.  We recently went there for our annual trip to the Bennington Rodeo.  Our first stop was to visit one of my aunts and to leave our luggage at her purple house.  Before the rodeo, we of course, had to stop by “The Linger Longer” for a Green River, or a Fountain Drink.  We went in grand style, as my au8nt took us in her red convertible.  We then traveled on to the rodeo to eat some barbeque before the event began.  Well, I ate barbeque; my girls had a hotdog without the bun.  After we were done eating, the girls decided that it was time to scope out our seats.  In the past, our seats were at the very top of the bleachers.  This rodeo was no different.  I found the three of them perched at the very top of the very crowded bleachers.  Ugh.  I sat down on the bottom row, hoping that the girls would want to sit alone from their dear old mom.  “Mom, come up here, “the youngest one yelled.  “Great, “I thought.  Normally, I want to be with my girls as much as possible, because I know that the time they want to hang out with me is limited.  This time, however, as I surveyed the crowded, old, creaky bleachers, I would have been happy to sit alone.  But, being the mom that I am, I forced a smile and I rehearsed the “excuse me’s” in my head, before I made my first step.  I was careful to be polite, and careful not to step on anyone’s finger.  I finally made it to the top, and realized that victory was mine.  I had made it to the top without hurting anyone, or myself, and I was sitting with three excited cute blondes.  However, my genuine joyfulness, turned quickly to fear.  We were asked to stand for the National Anthem.  I looked behind me, only to be reminded that the only thing between me and the ground, which was a long ways down was a rusty metal bar.  We stood up, as I prayed a little prayer.  I looked to my right and smiled at the man next to me, hoping to get on his good side in case I needed to grab onto him and hold on for dear life. We stood, and I was relieved to find that no one came tumbled down the bleachers, especially not me.  As we listened to our country’s anthem, I was aware how I was getting sea sick as the bleachers were slightly moving.  I tried to focus on the singing, and not the bleachers that could take my life.  I found that when I didn’t think about standing on the deadly bleachers, I wasn’t worried, and I felt steadier.  When I thought about being high in the bleaches that I could tumble off of, I was fearful and worried.  It reminded me about keeping my eyes on Jesus and not on my current unsteady situations that I come upon daily in life.

God is with me, He’s with you!  He will carry you through anything!  We need to focus on Him, and not the situations in our lives that we do not understand, make us scared, or worried.  What do you need to let God hold you up in?

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Lately I have felt so overwhelmed.  I feel like I need to start over in so many areas in my life.  It seems like total chaos.  I expressed this to my husband, and he said, “In what areas do you feel overwhelmed in?”  I explained that I felt that way in all areas.  I also went on to tell him that I did not feel like I was doing that great a job in any area in my life.  My “to-do list” could outnumber any five-year-old’s Christmas list.  It’s a feeling that I am loaded down and don’t know how to get up.  And, with my background in depression, there was a good chance that I would throw my hands up, walk to my comfortable bed, sit down, hike my legs up and pull the covers over my head.  That is what I would have done in the past.  The fact is, God has been working on me.  I haven’t been able to see it, or always necessarily prove it, but He is working.  He is helping, and He knows what is happening.  Just because at times I freeze up and don’t do what I should be doing, it doesn’t mean God stops as well.  It’s hard to understand that, even as adults.  But God is so good that He reminds us that He is working through us, changing us, bringing us closer to Him, and by answering prayers.  I was amazed by my oldest daughter as she told me she prayed for help from God with something she was struggling with.  She said that God answered her prayer and it felt like God took over her actions.  She prayed and she believed.  What faith!  God used that situation to remind us both that God is there, on our side, assisting us.  He’s not rooting for you to have trials, but He does use them for His purposes.  And, He is in the stands, cheering us on to persevere, and to not give up, and  head to bed.  Yesterday, I resisted the urge to hibernate, and let God lead me in my “to do list.”  Like I said, it is so long, and I had no idea where to start.  So, I decided to hand it over to Him.  Much to my amazement, I couldn’t believe all that I got done, including spending time with my family and friends.  He made time for all of it.  I was so surprised!  I know, I shouldn’t be, but I was that far from letting God use the 24 hours in a day His way.  It makes me wonder if God has a “to-do” list for me.  I bet His list is longer than mine!  I am a total work in progress!  His list is also most likely better than mine, so I might as well merge them.  After all, I don’t want to miss anything He has on His list for me.  There might be some more surprises in store!

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me!!!!”  Psalm 13:5-6

Fall is here!  Yes, it is officially!  The air is getting cooler, and crisper.  It is getting darker now, and the leaves are just getting ready to turn the beautiful colors God gave us to stand in awe of his awesome creation.  I enjoy fall for just that reason!  I don’t really like the leaves falling off of the trees, because then we have to clean them up.  However, I know it is a necessary process, that God intended to make our trees, grass and plants new again in the spring.  As I think of fall, it makes me think how we become a new creation in God.  When we proclaim ourselves as sinners, and ask for forgiveness, we become new creations.  When we ask for forgiveness, and ask Jesus to come in our hearts, he tells us that we are new.  But, like the trees, we continue to go through a growth process.  We change like the leaves on the trees, and sometimes we, too, fall from our root of Jesus Christ.  However, we can be make new again, and be picked up off of the ground as we grow and learn from our choices.  I have just read, “Dawn of the ‘Voyage Treader’.”  It is a favorite book of mine in the Chronicles of Narnia.  I love reading about Eustace, who is an odd, greedy, miserable character, who gets turned into a dragon.  He is aware that he has been changed into a dragon, and does not like it one bit.  However, when Aslan comes face to face with him and asks him to scratch, his scales begin to fall off.  Then,as Eustace goes into a well, and comes up out of the water, he becomes himself, a boy again, as a new creation.  Aslan had to take many layers off of Eustace.  Not only his appearance changes on the outside, it changes on the inside.  He becomes new again.  It is an amazing conversion!  I get goose bumps thinking about how God literally allows our sin to fall off of us, through His Son, and His forgiveness.

I understand, that it gets frustrating at times, as we try to keep clean and make choices to not sin.  It is difficult.  I know, I can sin with the best of them!  We know that our sins can be forgiven, and we can be made new at any moment, but how can we change our ways so that we can fight sin and temptation off?  I think of my days in college, living in my sorority.  I am a believer in “cooties.”  I have had a few issues with germs, but due to my kiddos, I have had no choice, but to just deal with them!  My sorority sisters were aware of my issues.  They knew of the one thing that drove me nuts:  having another person in my bed sheets.  So, from time to time, one of the girls would get in my bed and roll around, of course, claiming that they had dirty feet.  I couldn’t handle it, and would have to immediately take my sheets off of my bed and wash them!  It drove me crazy, but they loved laughing their heads off watching me squirm.  How did I learn to deal with it as I was married and had to have someone else in my sheets?  We have a king-size bed!  Also, I have gotten a little better!  I tell this story because this is how we should view sin.  When it comes on us, or gets in our hearts, we should immediately do whatever it takes to make it fall off of us, and get clean.  We can barely get out of bed in the morning without a thought or action that is not of God.  But we have to keep striving to please the Lord, and not others, or ourselves.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, his is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

2 Corinthians 5: 17-19

Hello, fellow just wanting to shave my legs, gals!  I apologize for not getting another post up sooner! I could go through a million excuses, but none of them matter, and only one of them would be the true reason for my lapse in blogging.  I am going to tell you that reason since that’s what this blog is all about…being real.  We all are not perfect, and it’s okay, as women to admit to one another those imperfections.  So, here it goes…I just haven’t felt like it.  Up until a few days ago, I haven’t felt like doing much at all.  I have been unmotivated and frankly, a little stuck.  I couldn’t ever put my finger on exactly what was pulling me down into a few pity parties, and not FEELING like doing anything.  I do deal with depression, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t get up in the morning.  I have been there, and this was not one of those times.  I got up, but just felt tired, blah, and didn’t want to do much.  I was down, and my voice was echoing, but I wasn’t down in the pit…I was just heading that way.  I didn’t FEEL like cleaning, doing laundry, talking to people, and doing anything else that involved effort.  As God started to pull me up, I realized that I needed to write about this time.  There are lots of instances where we don’t FEEL  like doing something.  We don’t FEEL like going to work, we don’t FEEL like making dinner, we don’t FEEL like taking care of our kids.  But, we do…we do what we have to do.  We might sigh a big sigh, or cry a big cry, but then we step up and do it.  However, what about when we don’t FEEL like praying, or FEEL like reading our Bibles?  I realized because I hadn’t been reading my Bible regularly, I didn’t FEEL like reading it…I wasn’t in step with how God wanted me to spend my days.  I couldn’t believe how short of a time away from Him made me fall.  God gave us His word because He knew we would need it, whether we FEEL like it or not.  We can’t FEEL some of the things that God tells us…We are His children, we are who we are because of Christ, we are forgiven, we are loved unconditionally, and we have a purpose on this earth.  These are God’s truths, whether we FEEL them or not.  There are days we don’t FEEL any of it, but we have to believe it, because it’s what God says in His word.  Not feeling like doing anything?  Not feeling like you have any worth?  Not feeling like you are forgiven?  Not feeling like you can make it one more day?  Not feeling like reading the Bible?  Read it, it is exactly the right time for you to read it, whether you FEEL like it or not!  I suggest Psalm 145, as a friend suggested to me.  Praise His name everyday, and He will take care of the rest…

“The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”

Psalm 145:14

I am really not the best driver.  I don’t drive too cautiously, I drive on the speedy side.  Ask my kids…they will tell you that I am a “crazy driver.”  I think my mom almost had a heart attack the other day as I entered our garage and was about an inch from hitting the fridge.  There is a fridge in our garage…I didn’t go through a wall to the kitchen or anything…at least not yet!  Oh, also, please do not ask me why I am doing community service.  Yes, I am working on my driving, and yes, I know it is bad, but it could be worse…I could be spending time looking in my rearview mirror while I am driving.  That would really cause me some headaches,and maybe some injuries, to me and others.  Of course, it makes no sense to look behind you when you are driving.  The result would be horrendous.  So, why do we choose to look behind us in our lives?  I’m sorry, I am not assuming that you do this.  I do, and the results are just as dangerous as driving in a car and looking in the rearview mirrors.

As I go throughout my day, I think about things that have happened in the past that I wish I could change.  I wish I could go back and make different choices.  However, as I look longingly in my rearview life mirror, I miss out on what is now going on.  There is a lot of good stuff going on that I miss out on if I look back.  There is nothing I can do about what is behind me.  It is gone.  Thinking about it isn’t going to change my bad choices.  All it is going to do is cause me pain, anger, sadness, and bitterness.  As I look behind me, I can’t see what is going on now.  I can’t see anything ahead of me, either.  I am just stuck.  I’m stuck where Satan wants me to be.  Looking back on my misery only causes misery and robs me of the joy that God wants me to have RIGHT NOW.  That’s right…looking back while driving is hazardous to your health and so is looking back on all of the yuck.  If you choose not to look in front of you, you might just miss how He has changed the “yuck “from behind to the “yum” that is happening right now.  Make this the day you choose to look in front of you, and not behind.  Now, don’t look too far ahead of you..that’s for a different blog!

“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.”

Proverbs 4;25

I recently heard the story about  a gal who was driving home from college, I believe.  It was a long trip, so she decided to stop at a truck stop to use the bathroom.  She was in a hurry, as she wanted to get back on the road.  After she was finished, she flushed the toilet.  As she turned around, she saw her keys swirling down into the deep, dark, depths of the potty.  She couldn’t grab them…it was too late.  The keys were gone.  She knew she had to tell someone, so she approached a woman at the cash register.  As this young gal told her story of how she lost her keys, the lady at the register said she would get someone to help.  So, she announced over the loud speaker, with laughter, “I need maintenance to the ladies room,  to retrieve some lost keys!” The entire dining area heard the message, and I can just imagine all of the talking and giggling went on.  The young gal took it all in stride, as she admitted that she, too, would laugh about this someday!   The maintenance man could not get the keys, but not all was lost.    The flushing of the keys blessed two older gals so much that they told the young gal who lost her keys, “We almost didn’t stop at this truck stop.”  They went on to explain that they were glad they did because the story of the flushed keys made their day, and made them laugh!

This story made me think about experiences that happen in our lives.  Sometimes we make choices that we regret.  Sometimes we are put in painful situations that we don’t want to be in.  Sometimes we want to take these experiences and choices and hide them.  We may not want others to know what we have been through.  We may want to forget the choices we have made.  However, these may be the very things that God wants us to use  to encourage or bless others.  God may have allowed a “flushing of the keys” in your life just to help someone else, or even to lead them to Christ.  Don’t be afraid to tell others about these experiences.  You don’t have to announce them over a loudspeaker, but God may put someone in your path that needs to hear what you have been through.

“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”

Philippians 1:12

I love to take pictures!  As a matter of fact, I have about three years worth I am trying to organize so we can actually look at them!  So, naturally, when we had a LARGE limb fall from one of our trees, and my husband, Shane, was sawing if off, I grabbed my camera.  I got some great shots of him, up high on the ladder with his tools in hand.  He even cooperated with me and smiled.  I thought I would then join my husband in conversation as he went on being a lumber jack.  When we were finished cutting the limbs into logs, and were ready to go in, I forgot to bring in my camera.  I didn’t even realize it until I heard my husband saying something, a little more loudly than normal.  I quickly remembered.  The camera was left outside, where it had rained all night long and into the morning!  I couldn’t believe I could do something that stupid, with something so precious, expensive and valuable.  Shane brought it in, keeping his cool, thank the Lord, and turned it on.  Much to my surprise, and his, it turned on.  We took out the battery and the memory card to let it dry out.  After a day, we held our breath, me especially, and turned it on again.  We took a picture.  It looked good.  We took another.  It wasn’t ruined!  You would not believe the sigh of relief that came out of my mouth!  What should have been ruined, needed a bit of time to dry, and was restored!  Shane and I thanked God for that miracle!

Besides our camera, I know that God has performed a lot of miracles in my life.  I have gotten myself knee deep in water before only to wonder if I was going to drown.  I have been wet so many times from my mistakes and sin that I didn’t think God would ever want to use me again.  However, while I am in the waves, He comes just as He promises in the Bible to forgive and restore me.  He has protected me from the storms, and performed miracles as I have tried to leave my marriage, and even when I wanted to leave God. He allows me to dry off and try again.  He even keeps no memories of my sin.  This amazes me, and is a miracle in itself.  And, God still uses me, a wet, dripping woman who still struggles with sin that I still find myself gasping for air.  Yet, God is always by my side, handing me a towel to dry off, and to give me a gentle shove to go out into the world.  My camera was not ruined, and I am not ruined.  I may look ruined to the world, and you may too, but in God’s eyes, we are His children, and He sees us as precious and valuable, just as I see my camera.  

No matter what you have done, who has hurt you, or left you out in the rain, God is waiting to dry you off, and restore you.  No matter what.  I have learned that none of us are perfect, only He is.  Take your towel, dry off, spend some time with Jesus, and thank Him for the miracles in your life.  Get up, keep walking, keep living strong.  God has a purpose for you!  You are not ruined, only a work in process…and so am I. 

Psalm 51:12

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

My girls love to use their money to  buy smelly good stuff from the Bath and Body Works Outlet.  We recently made a trip to Kansas City to visit the store.  They each had their small bag of lotions, bubble bath, soap, body spray and hand sanitizer.  I decided that it would be fun to have a “Spa Day” for them.  I had selfish intentions…I thought that if they were taught how to be pampered, that they would one day in turn do it for me!  So far, no “Spa Day” for Mommy has come about.  Anyway, I had them soak their feet in bubble bath, rubbed their legs, feet, and hands with lotion, gave them backrubs…or a tickle time, for two of them, and painted their toe nails and fingernails.  I even let them put a little make-up on.  They had a ball!  They did treat me, that day to a makeover of makeup, which was, well, see for yourself!

 All women love having some sort of pampering treatment.  It is a way to seek rest, peace and a ticket to veg out of our realities for just a few minutes.  I have to admit, I would love to have some sort of spa treatment daily! Due to the financial and time factors, any sort of spa visit for me, is a rare treat!  However, there is a spa that is free that I recently started going to….It’s not the typical “spa” that you are thinking of.  It is a spa time that allows for rest, rejuvination, peace and quiet, and a time to rid yourself of any burdens.  Does this sound too good to be true?  It may, but it really exists.  We, as women, have the priviledge to visit the “S.P.A.” daily.  As we visit the “S.P.A” we come to SURRENDER our lives, PRAY about how to surrender, and APPLY our surrendering in our lives.  Yes, I am talking about surrendering our lives to Christ.  What is more restful than visiting “God’s SPA” on a daily basis?  Meeting with the Lord, and submitting your life to Him is better than any massage you will ever get!

I have become aware of how much I like control.  I have been so tired lately, and I believe it is because I am trying to control EVERYTHING!   I like to control, because I know things will get done the way I want.  I want to control because it makes me feel significant, and even secure, as one of my dear friends and mentors pointed out to me.  I like to control, because I think I know what is best for me, oh, and everyone else, as well!  I want control of my day and what I want to get done, without any interruptions.  The funny thing is, I rarely get anything done!!!  If I could control the past and have several “re-dos” I would control that, too!  Yikes!  I scare myself!  When I do anything on my own, I am exhausted, disappointed, and depressed.  Only God knows what is best for me, even if I do not agree with Him!  God is the only one in control.  He doesn’t need my assistance or advice.  He has written a script for me that I cannot edit.  I simply have to consult with God, my director, jump on stage and perform what He has written for me…and, I must do it LIVE!  I’ve had to tell God that I am sorry I have been sitting in the His chair, the Director’s chair, and have told Him to dump me out.  It’s a struggle, that’s for sure, which is why I have to go to the “S.P.A.” daily!  Sometimes I have to go more than once a day.  It’s not easy, but as I SURRENDER, PRAY, and APPLY I know that God will slowly teach me how to give up my control.  You may not have any control issues, but if you do, I would encourage you to take some time out for the “S.P.A!”  You will be so glad that you did!

 Jeremiah 6:16

“This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.  But, you did not walk in it.”

Will YOU walk in it, my friend?  I pray you will!!!