MY PRAYER FOR 2012

"Dear Lord, please interrupt me today.

Change My To Do List to conform to Your To Do List.

Make my mind open to interruptions during the day

and help me to recognize when you are interrupting me.

Your plans are better than any plans that I could make for my day.

I pray that my mind will be open to all of your interruptions

and that I will see these interruptions as opportunities to do your will.

Amen."

Does this mean . . .

• when I’m reading my emails and one of my kids wants to talk?  Is this God interrupting me?
• when I’m in the middle of cooking dinner and my husband walks in the door and looks like he needs a hug? Is this God interrupting me?
• when I finally sit down at the end of the day and one of my kids calls to me from the other room to “Come and see!”.  Is this God interrupting me?
• when I have several errands to run and I only end up getting a couple of them done for a multitude of reasons.  Is this God interrupting me?
• when I sit down to eat my lunch and the phone rings and it’s a friend that needs to talk.  Is this God interrupting me?
• when I get a text from a friend that is clearly hurting and needs some TLC.  Is this God interrupting me?

The answer is a resounding Y-E-S to all of the above!

God has all sorts of ways to “interrupt us”.  It’s up to us whether we choose to listen to those interruptions or not.  My desire is that I will be open to His interruptions so that I can do His work, rather than being so intent on getting the things on my To Do list done, that I ignore Him and His people.

I need to be reminded of this everyday, so this is my Prayer for 2012.  I have it on my bedstand to be reminded to pray it before my feet hit the floor every morning.  Will you join me?

Mary, Did You Know?

(If you'd like to hear the song, just click on the title above.)

The first time I heard this song, I was a new mom with a precious baby girl.  She was a sweet little bundle of cuteness; filled with amazement and possibilities that I couldn’t even begin to wrap my brain around.  Four years later God blessed my husband and I with another precious baby girl that was also full of amazement and possibilities.    

Since hearing that song sixteen years ago, it has become one of my favorite Christmas songs.  Everytime I hear it, it makes me think of God talking to me about my daughters; letting me know that He has all things under control.  I feel like I could insert my name into the song.

"Karen, did you know that your baby girl would someday ...  "

Mary didn’t know all of the miraculous things that God had planned for her (His) son to do while he was on earth.  Just like Mary, I don’t know all of the life experiences that God has planned for my (His) daughters.  But what I do know is this…I can trust in the fact that HE KNOWS.  When I start worrying about their futures, I need to trust that He has great plans for them.  The possibilities of what He can and will do in their lives is endless!  He is a Great Big God that does Great Big Things with sweet little bundles of cuteness. 

"For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be."

Psalm 139:13-16

Do you have a favorite Christmas song that speaks to your heart too?

WHERE DO YOU GO FOR WISDOM?

What's the first thing you do when you are so frustrated with your situation that you feel like you could scream, or burst into tears or you just want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over your head?

What do you do when you feel like you try so hard to do all the right things and everyone around you is taking it all the wrong way?

What about when you are in the midst of circumstances beyond your control that you wish so badly that you could fix but it's not in your power to do it?

We have all been tempted to give into trials like these in ways that the world says are acceptable and comforting. For some it may be getting angry and out of control, for others it may be shopping, and for others it may be indulging in alcohol or drugs. The world tries to lead us to believe that these things will make us feel better. But we all know that if we do give into "fixes" like these, they are only temporary; and more often than not, make the problems even worse than before they began.

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. ” ~M. Scott Peck

How do you search for different ways and truer answers?


The fact is, God has made it very clear in His Word what He wants us to do when we encounter trials and temptations. James tells us in James 1:5-6...

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

This is part of a letter that James wrote to the twelve tribes that had been scattered and were facing trials and temptations because they were surrounded by people that weren't from their culture and didn't believe in the same God and Savior that they had put their trust in.

Although this was written about 2000 years ago, God's word is still relevant to us today. God's word does not age.  It's timeless.  His promises are as good today as they were thousands of years ago.

When you face trials and you don't know how to respond, the best thing to do is to....

Ask God for wisdom.  

Ask without doubting.

And...wisdom will be given to you!

What an incredibly awesome promise!

God does not promise to take the trials away from us. Many times, God uses these trials to grow us into the person that He wants us to become. But what He does do, is promise to give us wisdom so that we will know how to deal with the trials; so that we can perservere through the trials, and ultimately become more like Christ. 

Where do you turn when you encounter trials and temptations?



The Jesse Tree

Advent Is Here!

And there are so many wonderful, fun ways to celebrate this season anticipating Christ's birth. Over the years, our family has done several different activities to try to keep "The Reason For The Season" in the forefront of our minds during the month of December. I have learned though, that the simpler the activity, the better it is; and the more likely that we will follow through all the way to December 24th!

My family discovered a fun, simple, and meaningful Advent activity last year that I would love to share with you.....THE JESSE TREE.


What is a Jesse Tree? And....who is Jesse?

Welcome Old and New Friends!

Welcome to my blog! I can't believe that I'm finally doing this! I'm so excited to be here and that you are here too! I get so much enjoyment and encouragement from reading other people's blogs and online devotions. My hope is that I can offer that same type of encouragement to others that find me online!

The title from my blog came from a favorite saying which I have been known to quote to my children occasionally... "Life is not the destination, it's the journey". I have shared this with them on long trips when I hear the infamous "Are we almost there?" question, as well as at times when I want them to live "in the moment" rather than focusing on an uncertainty in the future.

However, in my blog, I want to focus on both the Journey AND the Destination. I think both are extremely important.

My hope is to share with you tidbits about my Journey and to hear from you about yours. I find it very encouraging, as a mom and wife with a great passion for both, to know that I am not alone in my struggles and in my joys. I get so many great ideas and so much strength from others out there that are on similar Journeys.

And when sharing about our Journeys, I never want to lose sight of our Destination, which I can say with utmost certainty is eternal life in Heaven with my Savior because He promised me that future when I gave my life to Him.

I want to thank you so much for joining me on my Journey and allowing me to join you on yours! I hope that I can be an encourager to you on your Journey and that we will someday meet in the Ultimate Destination...Heaven!

For His Glory,
Karen
"May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 15:5,6