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!!!

I couldn’t believe it the other day.  I was watching tv, and all of a sudden I see Brooke Shields in a commercial promoting a kind of prescription cream or gel that you could get to make your eyelashes fuller and thicker.  I couldn’t believe it?  What?  I wondered, “Are my eyelashes to short and thin?”  I had just gotten past the fact that I didn’t need to spend time whitening my teeth, and that they weren’t really that yellow.  Now I had to wonder what to do with my lashes.  Was mascara not enough anymore? 

Everywhere we look, we women, are told what we need to do to be beautiful.  We definitely need Botox for our wrinkles, eyelash medicine for our dull eyelashes, collagen for our lips, and liposcuction for our hips.  The list goes on and on.  Even if we feel okay with how we look, the world media makes us question ourselves.  Isn’t it bad enough that as women, we are already comparing ourselves to one another?  The truth is, we could spend all of our time trying to improve our looks, or to try to look like the most beautiful woman we have ever seen.  I’m sure that there are some that do.  I know that there are some that do…there are those women who get plastic surgery over and over again, only to still not be content with how they look.  I think that we could interview women all over the world, and not find one woman who wouldn’t want to change at least one thing about themselves, physically.  We all have to accept “what we get, and not throw a fit”…sorry, this is something said at our house a lot!  Besides, God created us exactly the way He wanted us.  He doesn’t make mistakes!  At times, I am very frusterated about how I look.  I have to ask myself why I am thinking about myself so much.  It is usually because I don’t feel like I measure up to the world’s standards of what “beautiful” is.  But, what is the world’s definition of “beautiful?”  I believe it is only the outer appearance that counts.  A lot of gals buy into this, and are found wanting more botox.  I have told my daughters for awhile that it is not the outside that counts.  It’s your insides that count…your guts!  I ask them it their guts are looking beautiful from time to time.  They know that they are beautiful on the outside, simply because God created them.  They believe it.  They know it.  What we have to work on is their insides being beautiful.  We do that by working on the Fruits of the Spirit.  We all know that even the most beautiful woman in the world is not beautiful if she treats people poorly.  She’s not so beautiful anymore if she goes around yelling at people!  We also know that a gal who isn’t “beautiful” according to the world’s standards can be absolutely gorgeous when we see her shine for Jesus, showing the Fruits of the Spirit.

You, sister, are beautiful because God created you that way.  You don’t need to cut yourself up, rearrange your face, or even worry about how you look.  Try working on joy, patience, and kindness.  The time spent working on our insides will be much more well spent that working on our outsides.  And, it’s free!  Not easy, but free!  I’m not saying to not take care of yourselves, our bodies our God’s temples, I’m just encouraging us to not forget about our beautiful guts.  Well, mine aren’t so beautiful at this point, but I am working on it!  What about you?

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things is no law.