Joy in the Journey

I've renamed my blog to Joy in the Journey. It's very fitting for my life right now. It's also a great song by one of my favorite Christian artists. I've posted the video and I hope you like it. :)

The Beginning of the End?

Well, as you can guess or at least see, this blog has become about me and my new journey following Christ. In the last year, especially that last 7 months, my way of thinking and seeing the world has completely changed. Yes, I grew up in church but my eyes weren't truly opened until last year. (You can read about that in my other posts, if you haven't already and are interested.)

Let me start by saying this... When I was younger, my dad would always tell me that Jesus could come back in his lifetime, but truly believed he'd come back in mine. This has stuck with me ever since. I've wrestled with and put off this post for fear of what some might say or think of me. But if I don't do things because of fear, then how can the Lord ever use me for his work? I've even been scared to admit how much I've changed, even though it's for the better. People expect you to be one way and then all of the sudden, your different. Some definitely don't want to hear about how you're a Christian now, and love and worship God. I've decided that I no longer want to stay lukewarm but be proud of what I've become and where I'm headed. No worries, though, I won't hit you over the head with a Bible. :)

I do believe Jesus' coming is soon. When? I don't know but the signs are there. As a whole, we've completely turned our backs on God. We have no love for our fellow man. There is no common sense and common decency or courtesy anymore. (Okay, so that's not in the Bible but it's one of my gripes and, I think, a valid point.) There are more and more devastating catastrophes every week. Everyone wants equality, yet Christians are being persecuted. People are hurting and suffering. I believe World War III is inevitable. Yes, these things have happened throughout the ages but how much longer will He protect us when we've completely turned our backs on him...

The good news is He loves you more than you'll ever know (I can't stress this enough)! When we get to Heaven, we'll know the full extent of His love and glory. It's going to be wonderful but we have to know him here first. We have to return the love and follow His will for our lives. All he wants is a relationship with us and for us to believe, love and know His Son. The ONLY way into heaven is THROUGH Jesus. It doesn't matter how good we are, works won't get us into heaven. Every single person is full of sin and, well, not good. It's through Jesus that that sin is pardoned.

"For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast."
~Ephesians 2:8-10


I say all of this because there are so many that I love that aren't saved. They don't know what it's like to feel the love of God and to have that security of knowing where they will spend eternity. My preacher brought up a good question today. How often do you think about eternity? With all that's going on in our personal lives and in the world, I bet hardly at all, if ever. We are only here for a small fraction of time and I believe that time is running out. I'll finish with this saying that I heard from another preacher. Just something to think about...

"For Christians, this world is as close to hell as they will ever get. For the lost, it is as close to heaven as they will ever get."

Faith grows even as time flies...

I must start by saying that I hate to come up with titles. They always seem sooooo cheesy! As cheesy as it is, I hope it sums this blog up okay. Anyway, it's been awhile but I have formulated many blogs in my mind, I just haven't had the time to actually type them. Life seems to get busier and time really seems to fly with each passing second. I can't really complain, though. Life is going pretty good right now.

We recently got rid of our DirectTV (which I loved), so that's been an adjustment. We will be able to get local channels and such, when we get a converter box and the required cables but again, time... and money (or lack there of). Again, I can't really complain too much. This has given us more time with the boys and each other. Also, we haven finally gotten our money's worth out of our Netflix subscription.

With the tv-free time, I've been able to read a little bit more. I'm currently in the middle of the book of Daniel (in the Bible, of course) and also, When Christ Comes by Max Lucado. The man speaks on my level. Both of these have spoken to my heart so much. The faith and trust that Daniel had, as well as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. From the three men being thrown into the fiery furnance and Daniel into the lion's den, they trusted God and his will. I often feel as if I don't have enough faith. I can't imagine having enough to face hungry lions but them I'm reminded of this verse:

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." ~Matthew 17:20


So, I pray and have faith that my faith will continue to grow. And isn't it awesome to know that Jesus prays for us.

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ~Romans 8:34

My Turn around

Well, it looks like I'm having another late night with this blog. I hope this doesn't become a habit. I sure hope I make sense and don't run this thing all over the place. It's late, I'm tired and very hungry. That doesn't make for good focusing. However, I can't sleep and I feel the Lord has laid this upon my heart to share. My first blog back was pretty much my testimony. This one is about the start of this new journey. I haven't shared this first part with anyone, except maybe my mom and husband.

Back in April, a young man died in a tragic car accident. It's every parents worst nightmare. He was barely twenty and his mother's only son. I babysat him for a summer, way back when, and his family is dear to my heart and many others. It was, and still, such a heartbreaking time for so many.

During his funeral, we heard many funny and wonderful stories about his life. But something that stuck with me the most was how he would pray over his meals, even at work, by himself. It was such a quick and simple part of his life, but what a witness it was. I've never really done that, much less teach my child to do that. His parents instilled in him a love for God and it was evident in him taking the time to thank God for a simple thing as lunch. This got the conviction ball rolling in me. Casey and I had been saying we needed to get back into church. I even said something to the extent of "I know where I stand and where I'm gonna go, but we need to do it for the kids". (Don't I feel arrogant and stupid because little did I know what the Holy Spirit had in store for me...)

I knew I wasn't setting the example for my kids. How could I expect them to love God when I wasn't showing them how to love and obey him myself? So from that point, we decided to get back into church. It was kind of a slow process but we encouraged each other and felt the love that was in our church and haven't been the same since! :) Dylan was saved this summer and I just pray that God keeps his hand on him and he continues to grow in faith and love for the Lord. And for Deacon, as well. I was saved in October and Casey re-dedicated his life. I truly feel our family is now on the right track and I believe the Lord used that young man's life and his family to help me see what I was missing and get my family where we needed to be. I hope and pray that my family can be a witness for the Lord, like they were for us.

Thank goodness God allows u-turns. They're called mercy and grace.