This has been one of those days where I wonder if it wouldn't have been better to stay in bed. I almost did stay in bed as a matter of fact. My alarm clock and I had a disagreement last night.

Well, the actuality of it is that I am having a hard time getting the alarm set properly when I am tired. It is a fairly new clock and takes a bit more concentration. It has two alarms; one for me and one for my husband. I either get the alarm set to the wrong time, change the actual time on the clock, or get it all set properly and then forget to switch it on.

I was in the middle of a very strange dream. I was in the house of a giant and was trying to figure out how I was going to reach the sink, the cupboards, the toilet, etc. I was feeling sorry for myself and thinking I wasn't a spring chicken any more and couldn't be climbing up on everything all the time. Anyway, the phone rang and I jumped up and looked at the clock and it was an hour after the time I needed to get everyone up! (Boy, a person's heart could stop waking up that fast! Whew!)

So, the day started out all wrong. I took my car to the shop (it has less than 50,000 miles on it and the front axles are bad) and it turns out they got two lefts, or two rights, or whatever--they can't fix it. They need to keep it until probably Wednesday.

Then my husband found out that a wrestling tournament that he was supposed to referee Thursday got switched to Tuesday, which is OUR ANNIVERSARY! So, we will celebrate our anniversary two days late.

Then I got asked by my son's band director if I would be so kind as to take over their major fund raiser which involves a lot of time and patience.

The wind started blowing again today. We usually get strong winds a few times in November and December. We've been getting them on a weekly basis since November and here it is FEBRUARY!

Even though this day has been full of bad surprises (and still is nowhere near over!) I am full of peace and joy. I have no anger, no fear, no bad feelings of any kind. In John 16:33 Jesus described what I am feeling, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Philippians 4:7 says, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." HALLELUJAH! No worries! Thank you, Lord!

Have you been feeling the Lord tug on your heart? Has He been reminding you that you need to get closer to Him? He loves you, you know. He loves you no matter what you do, say, or think. I know that doesn't make sense in human terms. He's not human. He's God. He is love and if He is love then the only reason He created you was out of love. He wants to draw you close to Him. He wants you to walk in fellowship with Him. The choice is yours!

Link to the 2/1/99 Bible study.

Did you miss me? I didn't get to update this yesterday because I was out of town. My husband took me away for two days to celebrate our anniversary. We got a chance to relax. It was nice!

The worst part about a vacation is coming home. You have to unpack and put things away. When you look around everything is still waiting for you. However, your mind is refreshed. You had a while to get away from ringing phones, bills, messes, children, and whatever else has a tendency to pull you in different directions.

There is a way to refresh yourself without even leaving home. 2Corinthians 4:16 tells us, "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." There is only one way to get that renewing and that is by having a relationship with Jesus. According to verse 18, "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." Our focus is not on our problems here on earth.

Not all people that know Jesus are able to be renewed daily. It is just like not all people that go on vacation are refreshed. It is your choice. If you focus on your troubles at home while you are on vacation then you probably will not have a very refreshing vacation. It is the same with Jesus. If you focus on developing a relationship with Him throughout the day then you will be renewed daily. If you ignore Him you won't be renewed. It is the relationship, not the knowledge. It is as simple as that.

There are plenty of people who know Jesus, but who don't do anything with that knowledge. They are missing out on the things that God has for them. It is the same as knowing you have a million dollars in your checking account but don't ever make any withdrawals or write any checks. You are missing out by not doing anything with that knowledge.

Don't just trudge through the day. Don't fight your daily battles alone. Turn your mind on Jesus. Read your Bible. Get into a Bible-teaching church. Pray. Listen. Get renewed!

GOOD NEWS!!!! I think our family has found its new church home! We all enjoyed the service at the church we attended last Sunday and will be going back this Sunday! Hallelujah!

It was an awful feeling wandering in and out of different churches. Some were pretty pitiful. When you can't feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, then you know something is seriously wrong! This church allowed the free-flowing of the Holy Spirit. Just like our old church used to do. ~~Sigh~~

There was a comment made during the sermon that my husband and I both took as a Word from the Lord. "If you are looking for a church home you have found it."

Link to the 2/9/99 Bible study.

My goodness gracious! I can't believe I did that! I TOTALLY forgot to update this site last week! My my my, I must be getting senile!

I do have to offer some excuses, though. It was a school holiday and that sometimes makes me forget that it is still business as usual for me even though my family is home. Plus, Casey's science project was due today and I found out last Sunday that he was nowhere near the place he should have been. I jumped in with both feet and a whip. I had offered to type it and to put together the display board, but he needed to provide me with the information. He hadn't compiled his research results. Sigh! Guess what we were doing last night!

Anyway, here I am today. I apologize to anyone that came expecting to find something new last week! Let this be a warning to you regarding next week: I'm planning on visiting my mom until Tuesday night next week. If I am able to go then this won't be updated until Wednesday the 24th.

I can see I'm going to be getting busier and busier over the next three years. I am obtaining positions in the football and band booster clubs. I don't know what types of position(s) the Lord will have me fill at our new church and what kinds of things He will have me doing outside the church. My life is going to be interesting--I can tell.

Why is it so difficult to do the things we want to do or know we should do? Why is it so difficult to keep our minds and hearts on the Lord? Why do the things of the world so often take precedence over Godly things? This week's Bible study below will shed some light on this topic.

I've been thinking a lot about the place that God would have me be. I've been thinking about scriptures I've read that indicate I've got wisdom and power and lots more because of Jesus. I am as a person walking a path in the middle of the desert when the land of milk and honey is just a short distance to the right and to the left.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm walking with the Lord. I'm full of joy and peace. I don't let too many worldly things get me down. I read my Bible on a fairly regular basis. I pray on a fairly regular basis. I'm saying that there is SO MUCH MORE! God didn't put me here by accident. He put me here for a purpose. The same goes for you! I need to get my mind more firmly on Him. I need to seriously and (this is the hard part) CONTINUOUSLY seek to know His mind and His heart and His will for my life.

OK, now on to the Bible study!

Link to the 2/22/99 Bible study.