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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Summer's End & WIWW


I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday with a few statement necklaces.





left- Stella and Dot
right top - ebay
bottom right - Stella and Dot


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School starts back here tomorrow. It is hard to believe that summer is about to come to an end.

Our youngest son took tennis lessons this summer and loved it. He had some great coaches and learned so much.






Our son is in the little guy in the lime green shirt.

We will definitely be doing this class again next summer.





I am also looking forward to this...


Pinterest (Marty's Musings blog)




Pinterest
And especially...





It's not much longer! Have a great Wednesday!


Thursday, August 7, 2014

Saying the Right Thing to Ourselves



I believe that God still speaks to us today. Sometimes God has spoken to me in the middle of the night - not audibly, but in my spirit. I tend to be a very visual person though, and more often than not, God has spoken to me while watching something beautiful, whether it be a sunset or looking up at the stars, or on a couple of occasions, a movie I was watching.

I also believe that at times, God can have someone else share a word with you which will encourage or help you.  This word of knowledge could be defined as:

Supernatural insight about something that you would not know outside of God's intervention. It is one of the gifts of the Spirit as stated in I Cor. 12.

   
That probably sounds really strange to some of you reading or it may intrigue you. Either way, it is an amazing thing, isn't it? It is an amazing thing that the Creator of the Universe would be very interested in speaking to me or you. But He is. He is extremely interested in you and what is going on in your heart and life right now.

But for some reason, I rarely receive a word like that. I've been in services where people all around me are called out and have some great word spoken over them, but, by and large, that doesn't happen to me. I'm not sure why that is, but I've come to the conclusion that it isn't worth getting all discouraged about.  Those kind of things are great when they do happen, and can be extremely encouraging,  but they just don't happen to me a lot. So, I thought I would tell you what I do.

I speak encouraging words over myself. I make declarations over myself and my family. I say what I know that God is saying over all of us.

I haven't read Joel Osteen's book on making declarations, but I do agree with this practice wholeheartedly! One thing that Joel has said that I read recently was this, " You send your words out in the direction you want your life to go." I believe that. The Bible says that "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." That is pretty powerful if you stop and think about it. Both of those things are in our mouth at any given time. We have to put some thought into what we are saying.

If this were a class (making declarations), I would still be in elementary school.  I am still reining in the wrong sentences that I throw out there sometimes, and replacing them with words of faith. It hasn't been easy! I think that it requires little effort to be negative, but a whole lot of effort to replace the negative words with positive ones.

So, this is what I do.

When I feel or sense a cloud of discouragement, gloom, or despair coming around, I say things "out loud" to counteract those feelings or thoughts. I recently downloaded some declarations from Joyce Meyer's website. For example, here are some things that I state out loud.


  1. I don't have the spirit of fear, but of power  and love and a sound mind.
  2. I have compassion and understanding for all people.
  3. I know God's voice and I always obey what He tells me.
  4. I cast all my care on the Lord for He cares for me.
Sometimes your thoughts can be suddenly hijacked and you can feel yourself spirally down quickly. I know that has happened to me. This is when it is particularly crucial to state God's word out loud:

2 Cor. 10:5    Satan, you are a liar. There is nothing true in you. I will not receive or believe your lie in the name of Jesus.

1 John 4:4    I remind you that it is written. He that is within me is greater than he that is in the world. I command you to leave me in the name of Jesus.

At times, I just speak encouraging things over myself and my children as I pray. I've always liked the scripture that says, "But David encouraged himself in the Lord." I Sam. 30:6. If you haven't received any encouragment in what feels like a long time, speak encouraging words over yourself. Things like:

1 .God is interested in my dreams coming true. He will absolutely see my dreams through.

2. My children will, without question, fulfill the destiny that God has for their lives.

3. God is proud of me. God has a plan for my life. He has not forgotten me.

This has really helped me. I also practice saying things out loud to my children. Recently, I told one of my kids,

"I believe you will travel the world and not have an ordinary life."  (I wasn't just pulling this out of thin air. I really do think this.)

There is power in declaring good things over your children. Again, life and death are in the POWER of the tongue. I so much want to get better at this.

Perhaps this won't seem very helpful to you if things are going well, but if you find yourself in a rough spot, try and remember what I'm telling you right now. It will help you and make a difference. God's word is very powerful. It isn't like any other book. There is power behind the words that God says over you. Think about this verse when you feel afraid:



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. Isaiah 41:10





No matter what may be occurring in your life right now, begin to train yourself in saying what God is saying about you and your circumstance. His heart is full of love and concern for you today. He isn't too busy or distant. He really cares.

Sending each one reading lots of love today!








Tuesday, August 5, 2014

August Pin-Spired

Hello August!

I'm not really a summer person. I am a fall person. So it is exciting to me to see how close we now are to September 1st! That is my extra happy time of year with a giddy feeling that lasts all the way through December. There is just a little bit of a sparkle to the whole world during those months.

I'm joining Pin-Spired this month with:





Here are a couple of Pinterest looks that were an inspiration. They are definitely both more for my favorite time of year:)



Courtesy Pinterest




Mine:
Stella &  Dot necklace - blazer Kohls
Purple top/scarf - Nordstroms 
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In other news, I'm in the midst of getting all our home school books organized and ordering any last minute items that need to be ordered. I've really enjoyed having these past few weeks off. We haven't really done anything special this summer, but it's been nice all the same.

We just celebrated our 25th anniversary in July and are making plans to go to NYC this fall! Our church (my husband is a pastor) has very kindly given us a gift to help with our travel expenses. (Aren't they awesome?!) I've always wanted to go and now I can hardly believe that we are going! I've been reading/looking/asking for ideas while we are there and besides all the sights to see, I am definitely going to do this:




A "You've Got Mail" walking tour.  Yes, really!




Duane from the blog, Cottage in the Oaks, has been a treasure trove of resources for me in planning this trip. She is amazing!

Happy August to you and if you have any NYC tips to share, please let me know!

Linking up to:  pinteresttoldmeto.blogspot.com  shullfamilyblog.blogspot.com  thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com  onthedailyexpress.blogspot.com  fizzandfrosting.com savvysouthernstyle.net  astrollthrulife.net  thepleatedpoppy.com stylelixir.com