My new kitchen table!

Finally!! I've been wanting a new kitchen table for several years. I've had my eye on this one for about 9 months at Sam's Club, but thought that I better look around for the best deal and make sure that I wasn't getting ripped off by the "wholesale" gimmic. After a lot of looking and relooking at this one (at least 6 or 7 times), I finally broke down and bought it. It is a counter height table with a butterfly leaf that stays inside the table, which means no more storing a leaf under the guest bed! :-) It has nine chairs, which easily beat anything else that I could find. I'm not sure what the stain is, but my floors are oak, if that helps any. It's probably a walnut or mahogany... And I think I got a pretty good deal on it! I'm excited and Jeff is happy, so all is good! Here's another picture...

The Joy of the Lord...is my strength

Phillipians 4:1-9

1. Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

2. I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

3. And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

4. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

5. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

6. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

9. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Phillipians has to be my most favorite book of the Bible. In times of despair and discouragement, the letter to the believers at Phillipi has been the place that I turn to, time and time again. When our pastor asked us to turn there today, I was excited! So, below is a synopsis of what I learned or was reminded of today.... hopefully, it will be an encouragement to your soul, as it was to mine!

1. If any people in the world should be joyful, it is believers. We have the ultimate hope in Christ Jesus.
2. In verse 4, Paul does not give a "good suggestion", rather he gives a command to "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoice." He must have thought that people would say, "But you don't know my situation. You don't know the trouble I'm dealing with. You wouldn't expect me to be joyful in this situation..." Paul repeats it for a reason. It's as if he says, "I know that what you are dealing with is difficult, but you must rejoice in the Lord to overcome your trouble..."
3. So what about my problems?? vs. 6 answers that question..."Be careful (literally translated, anxious care) for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God." We are instructed to not be anxiously caring about anything... wow.... but submit our cares to God through prayer, while being thankful....talk about discipline. To retrain our thoughts to not dwell on our problems, but to automatically give them to God, while being thankful??? I've got a long way to go!
4. In case we are inclined to think that our trouble is more than Paul dealt with, read 2 Cor. 11:23-30... that will straighten out our thinking very quickly!
5. Faith is the victory to overcome any of our problems.
6. Mark 7:37- He does all things well...
7. Are we standing on the promises of God, or pouting on the premises?
8. How do I feel joy in the midst of my defeat? God has made provisions for our defeat. "God's grace is sufficient..." He knew we would fail! So why are we so upset when we fail? Because we didn't think we would fail... Our deliverance is not in how good we are, rather in how good God is...
9. God wants to demonstrate His strength in our times of trouble. He wants us to say "I would never have gotten through that without the Lord."
10. The same Spirit that saved me is the same Spirit that frees me from sin, daily.
11. How do I avoid defeat?? I must change what I am thinking about. vs. 8: Think on these things: things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report...

To put it all together....

When we choose to rejoice in the Lord, we don't ignore the existence of our problems. We acknowledge the existence of God's presence.

New Casting Crowns song

This is a new Casting Crowns song that I absolutely love and probably need to hear at least once a day... The message pierces right to my heart... It's called "Slow Fade." I got these lyrics from http://www.castingcrowns.com/site.php?album=181765&content=information&subcontent=discography

© 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing)

Be careful little eyes what you see
It’s the second glance that ties your hands as
darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it’s the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you’re thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see

The goodness of God endureth continually...

Psalm 52

To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.

52:1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

52:2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp rasor, working deceitfully.

52:3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

52:4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

52:5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

52:6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:

52:7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

52:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

52:9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

This was the passage for our message on Sunday morning and it really spoke to my heart. There are lots of situations that have gone on recently that may make someone think "Why did God allow this to happen?" I think of Katie Bloom, Grace and Brandon's baby girl, and several other saddening and hurtful situations. It's easy for us to wonder why God allows bad things to happen to good people. This chapter reminded me, once again, that we MUST rest in the goodness of God. When we don't understand why something has happened, it is not because it occured in vain or or as a result of something that person did. We don't get it, because we cannot see the whole picture as God sees it. If we look at verse 1 of chapter 52, David immediately reminds us that God will endure. We can't doubt God in times of trouble. David was in the midst of trouble and had brought trouble on Ahimelech. It would have been easy to question God's intentions and demand an explanation. David trusted in God and understood that He would have the victory. David knew that God is just. In verse 5, David describes the justice that would be served on Doeg. As hard as it seems to be to want justice for those who don't seem to get it on this Earth, we have to remember that God is just and according to Numbers 32:23 "ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out."

So we come back to the question, why does God let bad things happen to good people? First, we have to know that we cannot see the whole picture and don't understand God's purpose. Second, James 1:3 tells us that "...the trying of your faith worketh patience." God gives us tests to measure and deepen our faith. We must remember, though, that "the goodness of God endureth continually."

This is another picture I took just before a storm.

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School has started again. In fact we're in the fourth week already! Time sure flies when you're busy! I'm teaching 1st grade for the fourth year. I love this age. They still have a short memory about unpleasant situations and can easily forgive me or their classmates. They learn and grow so much during this time. It is truely amazing! I have 15 students this year and 11 of them are below grade level, so I've certainly got my work cut out for me this year! I've also added the responsibility of having a PDS intern (student teacher) in my room for this entire year. I find myself to be much more careful how I react to students when I know that I'm an example to someone else. I think it will be a good year. I feel like I've grown a lot as a person over the last few months. I've learned so much about being in control. There are really so few things we have control over. It's of no use to fret about the things we can't control! But, we also have a responsibility to control the things we can. What an interesting scenario!