My Mouth, My Heart

I read this in my quiet time this morning:

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 14:23-- the note regarding the verse said that if we store up good things in our hearts, our words and actions will be good. "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks"-- this was somewhat convicting to me this morning. I had to ask myself what is in my heart? What is coming out of my mouth? Oh it is easy to have sweet kind words overflowing when things are going good or going "my way" but what about when I have been hurt or wronged? Then it can be a different picture. Oh it shouldn't be but it usually is-- The Bible tells me to keep your tongue from evil-- it doesn't say keep your tongue from evil only if you feel like it... so Lord, as I was very convicted by these vereses in my quiet time today I ask that you help me to guard my heart so that when I am hurting (like now) only things that are pleasing to you will come out of my mouth and that rather than going to the phone to complain about my hurts to others in a negative way, I will go to your throne and leave my hurts at your feet.

And to think---- I thought I didn't have time for a quiet time this morning.. This was a message I needed to hear today. Thank you Lord for your Word.

Some things that make me smile....

Watching Chandler play soccer

Seeing Cameron put this on after I burned the bacon
Looking goofy while trying to stay warm at a ridiculously cold soccer game
My young ones dressed as baseball players for Halloween since they decided at the last minute to go out

Hubs and Cameron at a Tiger game with the Tiger

catching a fish in the backyard

Organinzation in the garage

everyone's toothbrush in one bathroom--makes for hectic mornings but fun conversations occur over the two sinks

organization in the bathroom

and of course The Cross where My Lord paid it all for my sins!(I took this one night in front of our church and thought they looked so pretty)

Blessings

Happy Monday/Happy Birthday!

Back to school today.. I challenged by 5th graders to think of one word for the year.. Can't wait to hear what they come up with..
Although I am exhausted, and there have been a few changes at work that affect me, I choose to have a positive attitude and to trust in the Lord for his leading.



I have to wish my son's girlfriend, Cathleen, or as Cameron calls her "CathAleen" a happy 19th birthday... we love this young lady!!

Blessings

Yes or No? In or Out? Up or down? Open or Close?-- so many choices yet so often I let life make or dictate the choice for me.. Not any more......

I was challenged by an article in the Praise and Coffee web magazine on the Praise and Coffee blog about choosing one word to focus on for the year. I loved all the words that she used in the article so I tried to make some of them fit in my life and they could have but I wanted the Lord to give me a word that would challenge me and my life. I waited and prayed for 3 days and today the word came..... So without further ado....... the word is ..... CHOICE .... I seem to forget that I always have a choice. My circumstances, don't have to dictate my response and yet so often they do. I can choose to be happy in any and all circumstances, I can choose to not respond hatefully, I can choose not to gossip, I can choose to treat my family with the love and respect they deserve, I can choose to read my Bible every day, I can choose to pray,I can choose to be the best teacher I can be, I can choose to say no.... there are so many choices that I can make.. rather than feeling trapped by my circumstances I choose to embrace them and be present in the moment whether it is a good moment or a bad moment....

So if you were to think about it what one word would you choose(another choice ha!) for your new year?
Blessings,

Do you need a little inspiration????Got it right here!

I am the oldest of three girls. I love my sisters. Sandy, the middle sister and I have always looked the most alike-we look like our mom's side of the family. Debbie has always looked more like my dad's side of the family. Sandy was never overweight in high school, she has struggled some as an adult but has always had pretty good control over it. I, too was very thin in high school but have struggled my entire adult life with my weight and am currently about 50lbs heavier than I would care to be so overweight is the term I am labeled right now.(Having said all of that about me I must tell you I have a saint for a husband who truly loves me just the way I am . I know he would like for me to be healthier but everyday he asks me how I could be more beautiful today than the day we met? In fact he will probably be upset with me for talking bad about myself because he hates it when I do that. I seem to self deprecate a lot!!!)

I have digressed because this post is supposed to be about my sister..

Debbie, the youngest has always struggled with her weight. She was an overweight child, a happy child that had tons of friends and a family that loved her but the weight kept mounting and I know she tried to take it off several times but, like most of us, it never worked for very long.. Well as she was watching Biggest Loser one night something clicked for her and she never turned back...
I am so incredibly proud of her taking control of her life in this area. She has worked very hard and used the weight watchers program. She is truly an inspiration.



Sandy- the middle one



Debbie with her family about a year before she started her journey
Debbie and her kiddos with Ruby- from TV-- she drove a couple hours to workout with her and tons of other people
Debbie today-- love it!!! She does say after so many years of being overweight she has to deal with accepting the new her and trying to keep it off.
She started in May of 2010 and had lost over 100 pounds by May of 2011--this picture was taken 1 year and 5 months into her journey.
I am sooooooo proud of her- She got off the couch and out from in front of the TV-she made no more excuses and just did it.... She is an inspiriation!!!! Love you Day Day!!!

Here's hoping that she has inspired me enough to begin, yet again....


Blessings,

Well hello 2012, nice to meet you!

A skinnier me??
A more organized me??




Thank you 2011 for all the blessings the Lord bestowed upon our family but also for being yet another year that my resolutions didn't last past a day or two. Why am I thankful for that you ask?? Well it is just another reminder that I can do nothing in my own power-- well I can for about a day or 2 then any little power I thought I had is all but gone.... I have resolved to lose weight, have more patience, be a better wife and mother, be a better friend, be more organized, be more spiritual, save more money,,, and so on and so on and so on. Year after year after year.. I am by nature an optimist so I truly do believe every year that this will be THE YEAR,, but it never is the year for me. To be honest I could probably be in the Guiness book of World records for the person who has joined Weight Watchers and quit the most times in a 20year period.. but please don't turn me in-- I couldn't stand all the attention! Unless of course there is a cash prize for such a dishonor and then at least one of my resolutions could be achieved. ha!
All kidding aside all I want this year is to be present in the moments of my life, the good and the bad. I am so busy and tired that often times I wake up and say to myself -- just get through the next two days and you will have a small break-- I have wished the day away and that is an awful thing to realize. I want to wake up in the morning and say Lord here I am, use me as you will-- I want to bless someone today in the busyness of the day--do one of my students need an extra hug today?, does my husband need an extra measure of mercy today that I would normally not give?, do my own children need to see that mom didn't go ballistic because things didn't go the way they were "supposed" to(her way)???? This is what I desire for this year.. to be present! I can only do this through drawing closer to the Father.. If I have an hour a day to search pinterest/facebook/twitter but not time for the Father what a slap in His face! I don't want to have a once a week relationship with my heavenly Father. The thought of my own children only wanting to fellowship with me one hour a week is a sickning one, yet at times is that all I am giving my heavenly Father??? I would have to admit that yes this is true at times.
The only thing that defines me is my relationship with Lord. Not how skinny or overweight I am, not how much or how little money I have, not how much or how little STUFF I have, not how many friends I have or don't have, It has to be all about Jesus, I know this in my head, I know that all areas of my life will fall into place if I put Jesus first. I DID NOT say my life would be easy and without tough times, but His Word says He will never leave nor forsake me, He is my strong tower, so I have to believe that I would be able to endure tough times because of a stronger relationship with Him. Now I just need to transfer that head knowledge to my heart.

So here it is--- Jesus was a present(a free gift, yet a sacrifice) from the Father now I want to BE present for Him- I want to show up for my life!


Blessings for the New Year to each of you!