Quit Coloring My Hair?

Recently I had a thought, if the Lord asked me to quit coloring my hair, would I do it? Now to those of us in our 20's that may seem like a small thing, but as you age, you start to really appreciate what science has contributed to the world of beauty! And in that moment, I paused and my next thought was "Lord, you wouldn't...." And then my prayer, "Please Lord don't ask me to do that."

And suddenly I saw myself before the Lord's throne, big and majestic; I was so small. The wind was blowing, a mighty rushing wind. I couldn't open my eyes much, the wind was so strong, my hair blowing, and the Lord parts me. Top to bottom. It resembled taking almost all color out of a photo when editing. From top to bottom, he started at my head, the synthetic color of my hair was stripped away back to my natural color. My face, all makeup gone. My jewelry gone. My clothes turned pale. Shoes were gone. And He spoke to my heart, "THIS is who you are. THIS is who I love."



Let's not put our identity in what makeup, hair styles, jewelry, and trendy clothing do for us. There is something extremely valuable underneath all of that, in fact, a masterpiece crafted by the hand of God. We need to be comfortable in our own skin. I made it a point today to wear no make up (see pic.) I just wanted to make sure that I was okay with plain 'ol me!

Anyone looks better with blemishes covered and shiny hair, but don't be afraid of who is under all of that. She is work of art. She is needed and wanted. She is enough just the way she is. And if you ever doubt your value and your worth to the Father, take a look at the cross. Compare yourself NOT to paint brushed magazine models and computerized digital images, compare yourself to God's view of what is valuable. Who was so valuable to the Lord that He would be willing sacrifice His only Son for? YOU.

It's a mental choice. When we are tempted to compare ourselves to others, real or unreal, and then begin to think negatively about ourselves, we begin to lose self-worth--we don't see as much value in ourselves anymore. In that moment, remember the cross; align your thoughts with Him and say, "No, I am worth a whole lot to God, because He chose to give up His Son and that sacrifice was enough."

Let's read Ephesians 2:10, Romans 8:32.

Bless you!
Amy

Marathon 101...Did I say 5 AM?

Sooooo! This morning, 5 AM came so fast. When my alarm went off, I thought, "what? It cannot be 5 AM already. What was I thinking last night? There is absolutely, positively, no way I am getting out of this bed and going exercise. That is ludicrous. Who does that? What motivates people to actually love to run? I don't think I can do this." Where was all my determination and drive?

To my self: Do you really think that you can run a half marathon? Have you given half of a thought as to what that is going to take? Think about your feet, the blisters and the sores? And think about all the time it will take to train.

Reply to self: No I haven't thought about what it will take to get there. I'm afraid if I do, then I won't even start. I do keep thinking of one thing...I think about crossing that finish line. I think about being in the best shape of my life. About living healthy and eating healthy. I think about how it will feel to have accomplished something I thought was impossible, something meant only for the elite. And to believe that with the Lord, I can do this.

Half Marathon 101...You want to do WHAT? #1

It's not logical....it's not practical....it's not sensible....it feels impossible....but something on the inside of me is excited. My friend told me tonight that she is training for a half-marathon. I thought to myself, "I would rather eat dirt than run for hours on end. How long is a half marathon anyway? I can't even climb a flight of stairs without feeling winded. I can't run to the mailbox and back without needing a walk in between." She went on to explain how amazing she feels after running. She said she started out running a mile and then worked up from there. I left school feeling inspired and began to think, what if I could run a half marathon?

So I did what any inspired wife would do and came home to tell my husband. I just sort of threw it out there...he definitely didn't see it coming...he just sort of sat there like a lump of oatmeal that's been out since morning. So, I said it again. And his response consisted of the perfect formulated words, so eloquently pieced together....it was articulated in such a way that when he was done, I knew I would cross the finish line. He said, "THAT IS THE STUPIDEST IDEA I HAVE EVER HEARD."

Perfect. Now that he is in, let's begin!

Quality Time

My husband just finished reading "The Five Love Languages," and he's learning more about my love language...quality time. I have lately been feeling a little "yuck" emotionally and just needing some good QT with him, but with a house of 6 little ones, when the house is finally quiet, he is so tired.

We went berry picking in our woods yesterday and he tried spending time with me here and there, and even today, but I just felt empty. It was like no matter what he did, it just wasn't enough. If I could have anything I wanted, I don't even know what I would ask for...nothing was making me satisfied. I felt so selfish and like I was sucking the fun out of my own life.

Tonight, as we were talking, he fell asleep. I started to get my feelings hurt, but I put on some worship music and got with Jesus. The song "Embrace This Place" by Among Thorns was playing. And part of the lyrics say, "Draw me near to your heart, Let me lay my head on your chest, place my hands in yours, look at me face to face" and I realized that Jesus LONGS for us to spend quality time with him. Way more than I could long for my own husbands attention and total interest, Jesus wants to be with me. And he won't turn me away, he won't fall asleep, he won't be too busy.

So tonight, I had a great time with Jesus...loving on Him and being filled up. I was trying to get from my husband what only Jesus could give me. He alone satisfies.

When our emotions begin to ebb and flow due to other peoples actions, we will find ourselves unstable, unable to maintain joy, and walking in the "never enough" realm. This happens when we look to others to give us what only Jesus can. And we need to be cautioned about getting stuck in the rut of "I'll be happy when..." The cure? Time with the Master. The One who is All and Who is in all. The One who is closer than our next breath. The One who is a well spring of Life, He never runs out of what we need.

Welcome to our world!

May 27th, 2010 we welcomed our 6th child into this world!! She came with as a great surprise because we were so convinced she was a boy!!! The boys were hoping #6 would even the teams back up since we had 3 girls and 2 boys already, but Ragan's birth proves GIRLS RULE!!!!!

Introducing REGAN ELIZABETH weighing in at 7lbs 15 ozs, 20 inches long. Thank you Father for this precious gift. Teach us how to be the best parents for little Regan.

When does faith end?

One thing you cannnot do in Heaven....find out at http://www.markcahill.org/video.html

While reading 1 Peter 1 it occured to me that once we believer's get to Heaven, once we take our last breath and step into eternity, we will experience the end of our faith. 1 Peter 1:9 "recieving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls." When we live for Jesus, salvation becomes our inheritance...a reward for choosing to live for God in this life. When we make a decision to live for Christ and repent of our sinful lifestyle, we are saved. "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." 2 Corinthians 1:22 [He] set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." Jesus is coming back and we will soon see our salvation manifest. Revelation 22:12"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done."

Walking with God takes faith and it takes faith to be saved. It takes believing in something you cannot see, but you know it is there. Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Let's believe God for what He says and for who He is, because when eternity begins, faith ends. Let's make the most of our time here on earth and let our faith rise up to the measure God has given each of us. Romans 12:3 "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." It will be too late to have faith or have more faith and we don't want to die wishing we would have believed God more. So if the Word says it...it's true. Hebrews 13:5 For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So if Jesus said it, then believe it because it is the truth. You only have the time in this life to have faith and He will reward your faith. I will end with Jesus own words to Thomas one of His very own disciples who sat under Jesus' teaching for years. Thomas doubted the very resurrection of Christ which without it, none of us could even be saved. Listen to what Jesus told him, John 20:29Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

When a smile is a rainbow

Have you ever laughed and cried at the same time? Yesterday, our 2 year old was crying hysterically at I-don't-remember-what. She was wailing, tears rolling down her cheeks...I ended up fixing the problem very fast and she began laughing. Her wails from the crying turned into the sound of laughter. Right then I looked at her and thought...a rainbow. There she was laughing while her eyes were still welled up with tears, one or two still escaped down her cheek. I thought that is just like a rainbow, for it only comes out when the sun shines through the rain. My daughter's smile was like a rainbow through her tears. She had forgotten her sadness and was rejoicing.

When God gave us the very first rainbow during the flood with Noah, of course it served as a reminder to mankind that He would never again destroy the Earth with a flood. But even deeper than that, think of the emotions the Lord must have felt during the time that rainbow was visible to Noah and his family, the only people alive on the planet. What if the Lord just reminisced for a minute while the first rainbow was formed. He might have remembered His righteous anger at the sin-sick world. The disgust He must have felt toward the human race. He might have remembered how Noah responded at the command to build this massive boat, which took about 70 years or more to build. And maybe he would have been humored a little when He called all of the animals to come to the boat and to see Noah and the family's response watching in awe. But what about those who died in the flood? As the Lord remembered them, I'm sure a deep mourning and sadness welled up inside. He knew each of them and loved each of them with the same love He has for you and me now. How it must have broken His heart to bring that rain and know the fate of their eternity...what a weight...what a sad day for the Lord. At the same time feeling such sadness for those lost, but such unexplainable joy and happiness for those who chose to heed the warnings of the coming rain.

The rainbow it came as a promise. A promise produced by the sun pressing through the rain...and on the Lord's face, a smile pressing through His pain.