Happy 4th of July

I'm taking today off to celebrate 4th of July with my family! I hope you have a blessed weekend celebrating our country's freedom.

Verse to Remember:

John 8:36 -- So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

We are a free country, CHOOSE to be free in Christ.

Thankful Thursday

Whoops, I'm late posting. Wow, this summer vacation stuff keeps you busy. :-)
Things I'm thankful for:

1. Having a wonderful cookout on Sunday night with the whole "Truth4theJourney" family (Sonya, hubby & kids). We had a great visit. To give you an idea how long it's been since we've all been together, my 5 y/o Cici had asked me earlier in the week "Do they have a daddy?" That means it had been several years since we've all been together.

2. A playdate with my friend Sue J (Create: Make something of today). We don't see each other as much over the summer, with our busy schedules, so it was nice to get together, and Gigi spent the night with Sue's daughter CJ.

3. We may go to the beach this summer! We weren't planning for a vacation this year, but a "STAY-cation." But my hubby says we may be able to make it work. So we're hopeful.

4. Today I'm taking my kid to a theme park, so we're running around here like crazy getting ready. Thankful in advance for the fun we'll have.

5. I'm still reading Deut, but I'm back at it. I was tired of reading, it so flipped ahead to read a Psalm for inspiration. I randomly picked 106. If you haven't read Psalm 106 - it is simply a RECAP of all I've read so far in the OT! Wow. What confirmation that I'm exactly where I need to be.

What are you thankful for today?

Dream or Vision?

I rarely remember my dreams. I sleep soundly at night, waking up refreshed with no memory of having dreamed.

Do you think God still talks to us in dreams, as he did so many times in the Bible? Joseph (of the colored coat fame), Solomon and Joseph (earthly father of Jesus) were all spoken to in dreams.

As I walked into my garage the other day, I glanced over at the flower pots pictured with this post. These are my flower pots, the painted ones decorated by my preschooler's class. The others, just pots I've used and have in the garage waiting to be used again. But as I saw them, the dream I had the night before came flooding back into my head.

In the dream, I held a pot of dry soil. I was trying to water the soil, but it was so dry, the water wouldn't go into the soil, it just filled the pot and ran over it, not sinking in. As the dream flashed in my brain, I thought the pot with the dry soil represented a person. And of course Jesus is the water, the Living Water, pouring into someone, but just running over the sides, not sinking in. Could Jesus be speaking to me? What could the Holy Spirit be revealing to me?

Am I the pot? My heart can be hard. It's been a reasonable and appropriate safety net for me over the years of my childhood to protect me from more pain. Am I becoming hard hearted to the Word of God?

Is the pot someone to whom I am witnessing? Someone who is not getting the message that I am desparately trying to give them? I don't know the answers to this, but I am thinking about it. And praying for answers.

Do you think it was "just" a dream, or vision? What do you think it meant?

Matthew 13:3-9 -- Then he {Jesus} told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

Showering His Love

With Vacation Bible School being at night this week, I've had a hard time fitting in bath time for my 5 year old, Cici. Finally, I decided to give her a quick shower. To say she enjoyed it would be an understatement.

"It feels so good!" she exclaimed. She ooh'ed and ahh'ed about how warm the water was, and how great it felt, then she said something that dropped me to my knees.

"It feels like God's hands."

I didn't know what to say to that. I believe that children are more in tune with God's presence than adults. Cici is the child who once told me that Jesus came into her bedroom and stayed the whole night so she wouldn't be scared of the dark. I asked her how the water felt like God's hands. She said "It's strong." When I asked what she meant by strong, she said "powerful."

As I washed her, I thought about how God sent Jesus to wash away our sins. I thought about water baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit. I thought about God presence. God's hands.

May this intuitive little girl always feel God's hands on her, showering down His love. May we all be so blessed.

Psalm 72:6 -- He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.

Isaiah 45:8 -- "You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.

Exodus 15:18 -- The LORD will reign for ever and ever.

Thankful Thursday - 6/25

What I'm thankful this week:

1. Praying friends. I was having a really bad day on Friday and sent an SOS to my friend Sonya. She started praying for me and my whole day turned around and ended up having a wonderful Friday afternoon/evening. What a blessing to have friends to pray for us!

2. Vacation Bible School - my church has VBS for the kids & adults! So I'm enjoying learning too. (Cici couldn't hang, it was too late for her, so Gigi has been going and Cici's been having time with dad at home).

3. Cici's first sleepover. She & Gigi both spent the night with their friends, which meant I got a date night. Woo!

4. Bloggy gifts, awards & prizes. (See yesterday's post.)

5. God's abundant patience with me. I am evidently a slow learner. ;-)

What are you thankful for this week?

Awards, Prizes & Gifts

I wanted to share with you all some wonderful gifts and gestures I've received from bloggy friends. First is a beautiful book mark from Lea at the Potting Shed. As you can see on the left, it's a gal hula hooping. Why would Lea think I'd like that? LOL! Well, she saw this video of me. The bookmark says "I pray to my God to make me fit, obedient, bold and published. I'll do my level best for the good Lord, my King." The back of the bookmark, on the right is my blog header. Isn't Lea the best?

Next is a prize. My sister (My ADHD Me) entered a contest at Army Brats & Me. Cindy drew ADHD as the winner for these hot pink car window decals (personalized). Well, since ADHD isn't a hot pink kind of gal, and she knows EXACTLY who is, she got my initials and this is how they look on my styling mini-van. I've gotten so many compliments from my girl friends. You guys can visit Cindy if you want to order some for yourself.

The awards I've won are from Leslie at Writing for the Lord and Edie at Rich Gifts. They are the Honest Scrap Award and Kreativ (sic) Blogger Award.

Now I'm supposed to tell you either 7 or 10 things about me, that you don't know. Really, don't you know everything by now? Here are some you may or may not know.

1. I use prescription toothpaste. Ha! I know you didn't know that. (Bet you didn't even know they made it). I have extremely sensitive teeth, and this toothpaste allows me to do things like actually brush my teeth, drink cold drinks and eat sweets. Yay prescription toothpaste!

2. I switched to McDonald's coffee over Starbucks because it's cheaper and the economy is awful.

3. Sometimes I think I'll never get my book published and decide to give up. But then I get back to it. Then I give up. Then I...you get the idea.

4. I am a germaphobe (I know you know that part) BUT I have been known to kiss my dog. GROSS.

5. I'm not as organized as I used to be.

6. If my husband has a meeting, I sometimes "make" cereal for dinner. (The kids love it, I don't mind it, and he's not here!)

7. I sometimes pray for famous people I don't know like Eminem and Jon & Kate.

8. I dream of getting "discovered" by a publisher and getting published WITHOUT ANY OF THE WORK!

9. I can be lazy at times. (See #8 above).

10. I hate coming up with 10 things about me, cause I'm just really not that exciting.

So there.

THANKS again to Lea, Cindy, ADHD, Leslie & Edie!

A Dog's Life

You may be surprised to learn that I have two dogs. I often talk about Buddy (the dog on the left). But I also have another dog, Jackie (on the right). Her eyes are fine, that's just the flash reflecting.)

I've had Buddy for nearly 2 years, while we've had Jackie for 11. But Buddy is definitely my favorite. Why? Because he loves me so much. While Jackie loves me, she doesn't really like to spend time with me. She is happy with an occasional pat, and doesn't like to be picked up. She is content to lay by my feet and just be together.

Buddy, on the other hand, cannot get close enough to me. He whines when he is at my feet, that isn't close enough. He wants to be in my lap. He wants my pats and attention and to know that I with him always. He adores me.

Now I know that God is not like man, that he should pick favorites. However, in my relationship with God, I think I'm often more like Jackie. I love him, but I'm content to be at his feet, to be together, but not really close. How much more would God love it (not me) if I couldn't get enough of him. If I longed to be with him closer and closer, not resting until I am as close as possible?

I need to unleash my reservations, lapping up God's Word until I'm begging for more. Then, no bones about it, I'll be sitting in and heeling heeding God's Will in my life.

(And don't forget, all dogs go to heaven!) **grin**

Deuteronomy 6:5 -- Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Psalm 63:1 -- O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you.

Psalm 99:5 -- Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.