Joy comes in the morning...

Happy Easter all! This is a great time of year to reflect on what Jesus did for us! He paid the ultimate price and then rose again! He's Alive!

My morning started off well! Sadie went on a hunt for her Easter eggs and looked through her easter basket! By the end of it all she had lost her basket and wasn't able to have it returned until she could be sweet!  Sometimes I fear I have created a monster! My goal is to start living more simply. I don't want her to be bombarded with toys and things and her always thinking she needs more. (The Easter basket was only filled with art supplies, books, and a craft project) Something that unfortunately she has learned from her mother and father! I am making this a gradual change. I am slowly but surely getting rid of toys out of her room. I won't get rid of everything but will certainly find a way to "lose" all of the items that are just simply a waste of space and with it I will lose my frustration that I have paid for yet another thing that she had to have and sits on a shelf! I am going to make this change with myself as well! And it's going to start with a recent purchase from target and I have been guilt ridden ever since! Start putting your thoughts and feelings into action today! If you feel this is you make baby steps towards a simpler life. 

Our prayer for today: God help us to be content with the things we have and take away our constant need for more. We have all we need in Christ! Thank you for dying on the cross to take away my sin!  I know that every day we start fresh and there is so much hope in that my yesterday isn't
held against me! Joy comes in the morning! In your name I pray amen! 

It's been a "Good Friday"!

A fun day at the fair today!  It really was a "Good Friday"!  We had so much fun today just Sadie and I.  Sometimes I can feel sorry for myself and I feel so sad that Russ is deployed and we sit here to fend for ourselves.  But in reality this is an opportunity for Sadie and I truly bond.  I can become so frustrated with her and I feel like I spend most of my time yelling at her and getting mad over silly things.  Right now it is just me and Sadie and her daddy isn't here to protect her from the mean momma I can be sometimes.  I should cherish these moments that I have with her.  As we rode the tilt-a-whirl...I watched her.  I watched her laugh and squeal.  She was filled with joy and laughter.  That filled me with the same.  I want her childhood to be filled with these fun experiences with her mom. Not her remembering how hard I was on her.  Don't get me wrong, we all need to parent at times, it can't all be fun and games, but I also need to lighten up.  She's only 5 once.  I'm afraid that one day I'll open my eyes and she'll be graduating high school, getting married, having children of her own, and I'll regret not being the mother that I always dreamed I would be.  I'm not perfect and I know I will mess up.  But I know one thing...I'm going to try harder...I'm going to teach her how to be a loving mother and wife.

My prayer today;

Dear God,  help me to cherish every moment.  Help me to lighten up and fill my daughter's life with love and acceptance.  Help me to show her how to be a woman of God.   Let me be the role model in her life that I should be.  Forgive me for not always doing so.  It's not too late, its never too late.  AMEN

Dreams...

This picture was from over 7 years ago on our honeymoon.  Time has flown!  Our lives have become so different from what I had envisioned on that September afternoon in 2007.  Here were are embarking on a new life together and our dreams were endless.  7 years later, we have a beautiful daughter, and are living in Florida!  We knew we would have a child...but Florida!?  It was such an adjustment that we made over 3 years ago.  I had no idea it would be so hard.  But I finally realized that the whole reason for us moving to Florida...was so that God could bring us back to Him.  We were doing things our own way, on our own time.  God has made me realize that the only way is His way.  We will chase our tails trying to do things our own way, but by following God's plan and laws...we will find happiness and fulfillment beyond our wildest dreams.

Today our prayer is:

God thank you for putting us right where we need to be.  You see the bigger picture!  We can only dream of what our lives will hold for us when we learn to fully rely on You and know that Your way is the only way.  We will never be good enough and do not deserve Your grace.  But you are more than willing to give it!

2 Cornithians13:14

The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

The Ugly Green Monster...

Matthew 6:19-21

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Jealousy...jealousy sure knows how to rear its ugly green head when you're not expecting it!  I have never considered myself a jealous person but in the last couple of years I have become increasingly aware that I have become a jealous angry person.  I even hate to put that word to it, but I struggle with it daily!  I have to pray and work at it to be content with the blessings that I have.  My husband and I are working towards financial peace.  Our jealousy of others have put us in the position that we have found ourselves in.  But I am not just jealous of other peoples things...I am jealous of their success...the promotions they have received...their recognition...their perfect physiques, and their young, fresh, clear skin.  I pray for peace everyday and the struggle is real.  The truth is that I am blessed beyond measure.  I have an amazing husband who does everything for us, I have amazing beautiful daughters, and I have a job that allows my daughter to be with me.  I have everything that I could possibly ever need or want.  So why am I still longing for more.  We are in a society that teaches us that until we have that fancy car, big house, beautiful body...we are not good enough.  But the reality is that we are good enough.  God sees us as perfect.  It doesn't matter what we have, it only matters what is in our hearts.

Our prayer today is...

Dear God, open our eyes to all of our blessings.  help us to focus on what we have and not what we don't have.  Give us an attitude of gratitude.  We know that you provide for us and we don't need things to be fulfilled.  All we need is your grace and that is something that will never run out.  Our cups runneth over.  In Your precious holy name we pray...AMEN!

Faith to move mountains!

Hebrews 11:6
"...It is impossible to please God apart from faith.  And why?  Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him."

Faith...I often wonder what would life be life if we didn't have faith.  What if there wasn't anything to believe in or have faith in.  That would be a horrible existence.  God answers our prayers.  We can have faith that God will respond.  Sometimes he answers with a  yes, sometimes a no, and sometimes its a...wait!  Our God is faithful to us and we must have faith in Him.  If we don't have faith that God will respond...why would He?  Have you ever heard...faith to move mountains?  Ask yourself today where does your faith lie?  Do you have faith in God, or are you relying on other people, your job, your church?  The thing is that people will always let you down, we're human after all.  God will NEVER let you down.  Put your faith and trust in the most powerful and mighty God.  You will not be disappointed.

Our prayer today is, God...give us faith to move mountains.  We believe in You and have faith that You will always see us through.  We need not worry about anything because its is in Your hands...not our own.

Desperately Seeking...

Psalms 119:93

..."I look high and low for your words of wisdom."

Have you ever felt that you can't hear Him.  That everything else in our lives is so loud that we cannot focus on what God is trying to tell us.  I still struggle daily...am I doing the right thing...is this what God wants?  Since I was young I have considered myself a serial flip flopper.  I am sure that it happened when I was much younger but I truly realized it when I was in college.  It was there that I changed my major about 5 times.  When I got married and had a baby I decided I should be a teacher and I got my teaching certification.  I then realized that wasn't what I wanted.  In the past few months I have really thought that owning my own business is what I should do.  Russ and I have been talking about doing real estate together.  But now I am feeling a pull towards ministry.  God..where is my sign?  Where is the sign that says, "Tori!  This is what you should be doing! (Big arrows pointing) And these are the steps...1...2...3..."  Wouldn't that be nice!  But that's not how it works!  I think that God wants us to prayerfully seek Him and His will.  Be still and listen.  I believe that God will open door and close others.  I believe that he will present opportunities to us to show us.  Sometimes I think that you literally have to take a leap of faith...fall on your face...or soar.  He is a great God, a mighty God, a faithful God, and He will see us through.  God's word is truth and we can take comfort that He knows all, sees all, and will only give us what we can handle!  A couple of weeks ago my pastor made a comment that has stuck with me.  He said, "Instead of asking God to bless what we are doing, we need to do what He is blessing!"  Powerful!  I think so often we try to do it our way...and what we know is that won't do the trick.  Doing it our way will only lead to trouble!  I want to do it God's way.

Today our prayer is that God will continue to show us the way.  That he will continue to open those doors and close the doors that need to be shut!  Don't just close them God...board them up and throw away the key!  Help us to have peace and understanding when those doors are closed.  Give us comfort that you will not steer us wrong.  Help us to start doing what you are blessing! AMEN