In Luke 6:43-45 God talks about a person and their intentions. Their works. Their heart.
v43-45 "A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart."
In today's society we have lot of thornbushes trying to convince you that they offer grapes, or even more I think they are trying to convince themselves. They justify their evil by thinking that their attendance in church on Easter and Christmas, or once a month will balance it all out. I feel that a huge part of the world's thinking is because even Christians have stopped reading the Word and stopped living a life of holiness. God says we are to be a peculiar people.(Deut. 14:2, Titus 2:14, I Peter 2:9) He also says we are to be holy for He is holy.(I Peter 1:16) Here's the catch. For those people who look at Christians and compare themselves to them I agree...you may look just as good, do just as good. But that's the problem. You've made a HUGE error...it isn't other people you compare yourself to, it is God who holds the standard. God is the one who is judge. God is the one who you will have to stand in front of one day and give an account for every action you have done in this life and let me assure you that blaming someone else will not be accepted.
The part of this passage that is most sobering for me is the last part..."What you say flows from what is in your heart." If you say something...you mean it. It came from what you were feeling in your heart. That's what God's word says. If you say "I hate _____"...you mean it. Oh God, please help us keep our hearts clean before you. David had reason to pray the prayer he did in Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."
Like David, I call out to the Lord to search me, point out anything that offends Him. I do not care what others think, I just want to please Him. God may we bear good fruit out of the treasury of our hearts that are pure before you...Amen.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Are you being satan's helper?
As I was reading my devotion this morning in 2 Corinthians I came across the verses where Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and telling them to forgive the man who caused him hurt and who hurt them. He tells them to love that man so that he doesn't become discouraged. Verses 9-11 are the ones that caught my attention.
v9-11 "I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ's authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes."
As I pondered on these verses it really became clear how unforgiveness only hurts us. Forgiving someone, especially someone who has no remorse whatsoever is very, very difficult! Something that we can not do on our own. It takes the power of Christ to do so. An unforgiving spirit can often turn to hate and bitterness which eat at our souls like cancer. We become unproductive in our service for Christ and our heart springs a leak to which all our joy runs out!! Satan knows that if he can keep us bitter, and keep us thinking that we have the "right" to be mad and unforgiving, he has us in a place where no true fellowship or service with Jesus can occur. Paul knew this, and thus the warning for the church at Corinth.
I call out to anyone reading this to be aware of Satan's evil schemes!!! Do not allow unforgiveness to creep in your heart. Turn it over to Jesus. Please realize that this may not be a one time process. It may be 2 times a day you have to ask for help, 3 times, hourly or even minute by minute!! Every time you call out to the Lord to help you forgive you are denying the roots of bitterness, hate and a break in fellowship to take hold. I NEVER want to be Satan's helper....do you?
v9-11 "I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ's authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes."
As I pondered on these verses it really became clear how unforgiveness only hurts us. Forgiving someone, especially someone who has no remorse whatsoever is very, very difficult! Something that we can not do on our own. It takes the power of Christ to do so. An unforgiving spirit can often turn to hate and bitterness which eat at our souls like cancer. We become unproductive in our service for Christ and our heart springs a leak to which all our joy runs out!! Satan knows that if he can keep us bitter, and keep us thinking that we have the "right" to be mad and unforgiving, he has us in a place where no true fellowship or service with Jesus can occur. Paul knew this, and thus the warning for the church at Corinth.
I call out to anyone reading this to be aware of Satan's evil schemes!!! Do not allow unforgiveness to creep in your heart. Turn it over to Jesus. Please realize that this may not be a one time process. It may be 2 times a day you have to ask for help, 3 times, hourly or even minute by minute!! Every time you call out to the Lord to help you forgive you are denying the roots of bitterness, hate and a break in fellowship to take hold. I NEVER want to be Satan's helper....do you?
Friday, February 11, 2011
Times are a changing......
When I was a teen at home I used to stay up late on the weekends as most teens do and I remember, very vividly a commercial that would come on and say "It's 11:00pm, do you know where your children are?" I used to giggle and think, how crazy it was. Well, last night I thought of that commercial and the question it pondered, and it wasn't so funny or crazy anymore. You see, Hannah left for Liberty University's CFAW yesterday (College For A Weekend) and although I knew the place she was at, I did not "really" know where she was or who she was with. It gave me the triple "S" feeling...Sobering, Saddening, and Sickening. She is in an environment where the decisions are hers....all hers. Is she ready for that? Have I instructed enough? That was part of the sobering. She is after all my baby. Is it really possible that she is old enough to be looking for colleges?....Leaving the nest? Oh yes, that is definitely saddening. This is another one of those milestones in a parent/child relationship. More of them becoming independent and more letting go required on our part. This is another step toward....oh, I can barely say it....an .....EMPTY NEST!...Oh girlfriends, that is sickening. Well, there they are...the triple "S" feelings. Have you been through them yet? ...If so...you can relate and pray for me. If you haven't, I'll pray for you.
I am very thankful that Hannah is healthy and developing as God intended, but it is hard to think that the job I have had for over 20 years of being a mom that makes sure her two girls are fed, clothed, instructed, carried here and there, loved, nutured, nursed them to health, spent every waking minute caring for them, ...that job is about to hand me a pink slip. I don't know how to do anything else. Hope is getting married and Hannah is looking at colleges. Those are paths that I can't travel with them....they don't "want" me to travel with them. Wow...how hurtful!! (just kidding) This is definitely uncharted territory for me. Every part of my life is changing....I'll be darned if after 24 years of trying to learn how to cook well and feeling like I have it half mastered....I even have to change that! It doesn't take near as much food for 2 as it does for 6. (the girls and their guys, Doug and I) Renea has that problem figured out, she said "Cook the same amount and sell the extra plates...I'll buy one!"....lol..she's crazy!
As I sit and think about these things which lately seems to be all the time, I always end up with the same thought. Jesus will NEVER leave me. Hebrews 13:5. He has always been the one to sustain me. He is the one who gave Doug and I those girls that are so precious to me. He is the one who I went to when I didn't know what to do as a parent. He is the one that saw me through the sleepless nights when they were sick. He is the one that held my hand through every surgery they had and every broken bone, stitches and boo boo they received. He is the one that I taught them about. I told them Jesus loves them (I John 4:19), has a plan for them (Jer. 29:11), died for them (John 3:16), prepared a home for them (John 14:2), and that Jesus will never change (Hebrews 13:8). My faith in Him is stronger than ever and because of that I know I'll make it through this life change as well. And while I know there will be days my heart will ache for my girls because they aren't in our home, I have no doubt my Lord's presence will be evident and very sweet because you see, I'm His little girl and he knows what I need. Amen!
I am very thankful that Hannah is healthy and developing as God intended, but it is hard to think that the job I have had for over 20 years of being a mom that makes sure her two girls are fed, clothed, instructed, carried here and there, loved, nutured, nursed them to health, spent every waking minute caring for them, ...that job is about to hand me a pink slip. I don't know how to do anything else. Hope is getting married and Hannah is looking at colleges. Those are paths that I can't travel with them....they don't "want" me to travel with them. Wow...how hurtful!! (just kidding) This is definitely uncharted territory for me. Every part of my life is changing....I'll be darned if after 24 years of trying to learn how to cook well and feeling like I have it half mastered....I even have to change that! It doesn't take near as much food for 2 as it does for 6. (the girls and their guys, Doug and I) Renea has that problem figured out, she said "Cook the same amount and sell the extra plates...I'll buy one!"....lol..she's crazy!
As I sit and think about these things which lately seems to be all the time, I always end up with the same thought. Jesus will NEVER leave me. Hebrews 13:5. He has always been the one to sustain me. He is the one who gave Doug and I those girls that are so precious to me. He is the one who I went to when I didn't know what to do as a parent. He is the one that saw me through the sleepless nights when they were sick. He is the one that held my hand through every surgery they had and every broken bone, stitches and boo boo they received. He is the one that I taught them about. I told them Jesus loves them (I John 4:19), has a plan for them (Jer. 29:11), died for them (John 3:16), prepared a home for them (John 14:2), and that Jesus will never change (Hebrews 13:8). My faith in Him is stronger than ever and because of that I know I'll make it through this life change as well. And while I know there will be days my heart will ache for my girls because they aren't in our home, I have no doubt my Lord's presence will be evident and very sweet because you see, I'm His little girl and he knows what I need. Amen!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Putting it out there.......
"Putting it out there" is a common phrase used in today's society. It essentially means telling it all, not holding back, not being reserved. I couldn't help but think of this phrase as I read the story of king Hezekiah in 2 Kings chapter 19.
Hezekiah receives word that the Assyrian armies are coming to attack and capture the children of Israel. And the message specifically says v10 "Don't let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria." Wow...Hezekiah's first thought may have been..."Oh no you just didn't say that about my God!"...ok, so maybe those weren't his exact words but we can have a little spiritual imagination can't we?...lol I do know for a fact it bothered him because we read the account of what his actions were and what he said.
v14-19 "After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord. "O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God. It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all - only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord are God.""
I love the fact that he physically took the letter and "spread it out" before the Lord! Even though he obviously realized God is omnipotent and omnipresent...he was saying "Here it is!...Look at this!"
I also love the motive for his prayer. Not because he was afraid of captivity. Not because he feared death. Not for his people..after all he was the king of Israel. No, the main motive was that they had said his God wasn't god enough to keep them safe. Wow! Hezekiah wanted EVERYONE to know that God was more powerful than anything. He wanted them to see He was the one true God of Israel!!
Here are some things I noticed...
1. Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord to pray. Do you have a special place of prayer where just you and the Lord fellowship?
2. He took the offending letter from the Assyrians and "spread it out". What do you need to spread out in front of the Lord? Medical bills that seem daunting?...A letter from an estranged loved one?....A picture of someone you are praying for? Whatever it is...put it out there...let God examine it and examine your heart..your motives for wanting Him to change the situation. Is it to bring Him glory...to prove that HE IS GOD?
3. Hezekiah was very specific in his request. Be specific in what you pray for.
I want my prayer life to be better, stronger, more real this year. I'm going to start by following Hezekiah's example. It's time to PUT IT ALL OUT THERE! :)
Hezekiah receives word that the Assyrian armies are coming to attack and capture the children of Israel. And the message specifically says v10 "Don't let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria." Wow...Hezekiah's first thought may have been..."Oh no you just didn't say that about my God!"...ok, so maybe those weren't his exact words but we can have a little spiritual imagination can't we?...lol I do know for a fact it bothered him because we read the account of what his actions were and what he said.
v14-19 "After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord. "O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God. It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all - only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord are God.""
I love the fact that he physically took the letter and "spread it out" before the Lord! Even though he obviously realized God is omnipotent and omnipresent...he was saying "Here it is!...Look at this!"
I also love the motive for his prayer. Not because he was afraid of captivity. Not because he feared death. Not for his people..after all he was the king of Israel. No, the main motive was that they had said his God wasn't god enough to keep them safe. Wow! Hezekiah wanted EVERYONE to know that God was more powerful than anything. He wanted them to see He was the one true God of Israel!!
Here are some things I noticed...
1. Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord to pray. Do you have a special place of prayer where just you and the Lord fellowship?
2. He took the offending letter from the Assyrians and "spread it out". What do you need to spread out in front of the Lord? Medical bills that seem daunting?...A letter from an estranged loved one?....A picture of someone you are praying for? Whatever it is...put it out there...let God examine it and examine your heart..your motives for wanting Him to change the situation. Is it to bring Him glory...to prove that HE IS GOD?
3. Hezekiah was very specific in his request. Be specific in what you pray for.
I want my prayer life to be better, stronger, more real this year. I'm going to start by following Hezekiah's example. It's time to PUT IT ALL OUT THERE! :)
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Looking back.....
It is hard to believe that we are in the final week of 2010!! Where did the year go? It seems that the older I get the faster time flies even though I know that is an impossibility. I have been thinking back about the year and all the ups and downs and I just feel a sense of awe at how God has worked in the lives of the Weaks' family over the past 12 months.
The first part of the year held a trial that I'd never experienced before. One that put my daughter in danger and one that really tested my faith. A relationship gone in a direction I never dreamed it would and a feeling of betrayal unlike any I've ever experienced. I found myself having no comfort outside of Psalm 55. I want to share it with you.
Psalm 55 v1-2Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help. Please listen and answer me for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.
v5-7 Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can't stop shaking. Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness.
v9 Confuse them Lord, and frustrate their plans.
v12-14 It is not an enemy who taunts me, I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me, I could have hidden from them. Instead it is you- my equal, my companion, my close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.
v16 But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me.
v20 As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises.
v21 His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion but underneath are daggers!
v22 Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
dear friends...those are verses you can bank on. Call on God...he'll rescue you. Give your burdens to him....He will take care of you. When you feel fear because of the enemy...tell Him. The Savior loves you, and is watching those who hurt his children. My heart was so heavy and so filled with fear at times for my daughter that I would physically be sick to my stomach. I have spent many nights in tears over the whole situation...my heart in anguish. But throughout the whole 6 to 7 months of this trial I never once doubted God. I never once was mad at him and for that I am thankful. I know he is my Father and that he is the King of kings and he loves this little princess. :) And I KNOW that ALL things work together for good to those who love God ..who are called according to his purpose. ...His Word..is TRUTH! I also saw a prayer I had prayed for almost a year concerning this situation be answered just a few weeks ago...I still want to shout when I think about it. God showed me in his timing that he did hear my prayer...he always hears....don't ever give up!
Doug, Hannah and I had the privilege of going on a cruise this year to the Bahamas with our dear friends Wade, Danita, Kaylea and Riley Breeden from GA. What a blessing to be with them. Danita has always been like a balm for my soul and I really needed that time with her. It was precious! The beauty of God's creation we beheld was amazing!
Doug and I celebrated another anniversary making this our 23rd year of marraige. I love him more every day and we seem to make a better team with each passing day. He treats me like a queen and I certainly hope he knows he is the king of our home.
I have beheld our church grow and had the honor of participating in our bread delivery for new visitors. What a neat idea that is. When people visit our church and fill out a visitor's card they will receive some home baked goodies at their doorstep the following week just to let them know their visit was important to us at Gospel Baptist and we'd love for them to come again. I've met some dear people through that ministry. I've also become an active member of the shut-in ministry....OH MY!! What treasures these dear saints of God are! I love to visit them. Without fail they always have a word of praise on their lips for the Lord....wow...I am learning so much from them!
I am super excited to include my very first overseas mission trip in this annual wrap-up. Thanksgiving week 19 of us embarked on a missions trip in Montego Bay, Jamaica in a small community called Cantebury. I know that lives were changed that week but I sometimes wonder if it were not mine that was changed the most. God convicted me of my ungrateful attitude for the simple things in life and for the luxuries that we as Americans have on a daily basis. The greatest gift of all is that we have Bible believing and teaching churches at our access. The people of Jamaica are terribly poor but they are absolutely destitute spirtually in many cases. They are so confused and have been led astray by satan. Thank you Lord, that I got to be a small part of telling them about the one who died for their sins and that can change their life her and for all eternity!
I came back home from the missions trip to be thrust into dress rehearsals of our Christmas Drama....wow!...that was something else!! I didn't have even half of my lines memorized when we got back but somehow God miracuously helped me and come Dec. 10th...I was ready! We had over 950 people see the Christmas play that weekend and close to 30 people saved!! It was AMAZING how God worked through each of us. Simple vessels of clay that he used to help hurting people. Praise your name Lord...you are worthy.
The the very next weekend was the live nativity. I was a greeter for 2 of the 3 nights and I loved every (cold...very cold) second of it! We had hundreds of people drive thru that I had the honor of welcoming, extending some warm apple cider and cookies and candy canes to and just to make that human contact of Jesus loving them through me. What an honor that job is. For some Christmas is a very sad and lonely time. People are hurting all around us and my prayer was that if any of those people came through our nativity that night they felt joy and was reminded of the gift of Christmas....Jesus Christ!
This was also my last Christmas with Hope at home. She will be married in 2011 and will start her life with the one God created for her. So it was a time of tears for Doug and I...this year has held lots of "last times". The last time she'll wake up on Christmas morning as Hope Weaks...next year it will be Hope Minter. The last time she'll help me fix our Christmas candies...next year she'll be in a kitchen of her own fixing them for her friends and neighbors. Oh my...I've got to stop...I'm crying again. But any mother who's been through this can relate I know...so I'll just say..pray for us. We love Ben and are so happy for them but it is a big change for us.
Well...those are the highlights...I couldn't possibly tell all the year has held. I am excited to see what 2011 going to hold. There will be blessings, and great joys, adventures and trials but the one thing that matters is that the same God who carried me through 2010...will be there for every second and his grace will be there at the very second I need it! I told someone that I loved last year that 2010 was like a clean slate...every new day you woke up you had the opportunity to be better than you were the year before. So with that in mind...I want to serve God more...better...with vigor and excitement and with great faithfulness in 2011. I want to love my family and serve them...make each of their days fun and full of joy..be kind..not critical...encouraging...not a party pooper. I want to be a godly friend to those around me. I want to be a person of thankfulness. To sum it all up....I just want to be what God wants me to be....how about you?
The first part of the year held a trial that I'd never experienced before. One that put my daughter in danger and one that really tested my faith. A relationship gone in a direction I never dreamed it would and a feeling of betrayal unlike any I've ever experienced. I found myself having no comfort outside of Psalm 55. I want to share it with you.
Psalm 55 v1-2Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help. Please listen and answer me for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.
v5-7 Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can't stop shaking. Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness.
v9 Confuse them Lord, and frustrate their plans.
v12-14 It is not an enemy who taunts me, I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me, I could have hidden from them. Instead it is you- my equal, my companion, my close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.
v16 But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me.
v20 As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises.
v21 His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion but underneath are daggers!
v22 Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
dear friends...those are verses you can bank on. Call on God...he'll rescue you. Give your burdens to him....He will take care of you. When you feel fear because of the enemy...tell Him. The Savior loves you, and is watching those who hurt his children. My heart was so heavy and so filled with fear at times for my daughter that I would physically be sick to my stomach. I have spent many nights in tears over the whole situation...my heart in anguish. But throughout the whole 6 to 7 months of this trial I never once doubted God. I never once was mad at him and for that I am thankful. I know he is my Father and that he is the King of kings and he loves this little princess. :) And I KNOW that ALL things work together for good to those who love God ..who are called according to his purpose. ...His Word..is TRUTH! I also saw a prayer I had prayed for almost a year concerning this situation be answered just a few weeks ago...I still want to shout when I think about it. God showed me in his timing that he did hear my prayer...he always hears....don't ever give up!
Doug, Hannah and I had the privilege of going on a cruise this year to the Bahamas with our dear friends Wade, Danita, Kaylea and Riley Breeden from GA. What a blessing to be with them. Danita has always been like a balm for my soul and I really needed that time with her. It was precious! The beauty of God's creation we beheld was amazing!
Doug and I celebrated another anniversary making this our 23rd year of marraige. I love him more every day and we seem to make a better team with each passing day. He treats me like a queen and I certainly hope he knows he is the king of our home.
I have beheld our church grow and had the honor of participating in our bread delivery for new visitors. What a neat idea that is. When people visit our church and fill out a visitor's card they will receive some home baked goodies at their doorstep the following week just to let them know their visit was important to us at Gospel Baptist and we'd love for them to come again. I've met some dear people through that ministry. I've also become an active member of the shut-in ministry....OH MY!! What treasures these dear saints of God are! I love to visit them. Without fail they always have a word of praise on their lips for the Lord....wow...I am learning so much from them!
I am super excited to include my very first overseas mission trip in this annual wrap-up. Thanksgiving week 19 of us embarked on a missions trip in Montego Bay, Jamaica in a small community called Cantebury. I know that lives were changed that week but I sometimes wonder if it were not mine that was changed the most. God convicted me of my ungrateful attitude for the simple things in life and for the luxuries that we as Americans have on a daily basis. The greatest gift of all is that we have Bible believing and teaching churches at our access. The people of Jamaica are terribly poor but they are absolutely destitute spirtually in many cases. They are so confused and have been led astray by satan. Thank you Lord, that I got to be a small part of telling them about the one who died for their sins and that can change their life her and for all eternity!
I came back home from the missions trip to be thrust into dress rehearsals of our Christmas Drama....wow!...that was something else!! I didn't have even half of my lines memorized when we got back but somehow God miracuously helped me and come Dec. 10th...I was ready! We had over 950 people see the Christmas play that weekend and close to 30 people saved!! It was AMAZING how God worked through each of us. Simple vessels of clay that he used to help hurting people. Praise your name Lord...you are worthy.
The the very next weekend was the live nativity. I was a greeter for 2 of the 3 nights and I loved every (cold...very cold) second of it! We had hundreds of people drive thru that I had the honor of welcoming, extending some warm apple cider and cookies and candy canes to and just to make that human contact of Jesus loving them through me. What an honor that job is. For some Christmas is a very sad and lonely time. People are hurting all around us and my prayer was that if any of those people came through our nativity that night they felt joy and was reminded of the gift of Christmas....Jesus Christ!
This was also my last Christmas with Hope at home. She will be married in 2011 and will start her life with the one God created for her. So it was a time of tears for Doug and I...this year has held lots of "last times". The last time she'll wake up on Christmas morning as Hope Weaks...next year it will be Hope Minter. The last time she'll help me fix our Christmas candies...next year she'll be in a kitchen of her own fixing them for her friends and neighbors. Oh my...I've got to stop...I'm crying again. But any mother who's been through this can relate I know...so I'll just say..pray for us. We love Ben and are so happy for them but it is a big change for us.
Well...those are the highlights...I couldn't possibly tell all the year has held. I am excited to see what 2011 going to hold. There will be blessings, and great joys, adventures and trials but the one thing that matters is that the same God who carried me through 2010...will be there for every second and his grace will be there at the very second I need it! I told someone that I loved last year that 2010 was like a clean slate...every new day you woke up you had the opportunity to be better than you were the year before. So with that in mind...I want to serve God more...better...with vigor and excitement and with great faithfulness in 2011. I want to love my family and serve them...make each of their days fun and full of joy..be kind..not critical...encouraging...not a party pooper. I want to be a godly friend to those around me. I want to be a person of thankfulness. To sum it all up....I just want to be what God wants me to be....how about you?
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