Monday, July 9, 2012

God's Plans, Not Ours

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."-Jeremiah 29:11


One of my favorite Scripture verses is Jeremiah 29:11.  It is God telling us that He has our future under control.  He has already planned it for us.


How many times do we try to make situations in our lives go our way?  When we do it on our own, without God's help, things can quickly fall apart.  We are only human and we are far from perfect.


Why are we so afraid to fully trust God?  I know I like to be in complete control of everything.  I want everything planned out, as far in advance as possible, and I don't want anything to hinder me from completing my task.


But life isn't about keeping things under our control.  There's always going to be unplanned circumstances.  There's always going to be something to make our plans go awry.


For I know the plans I have for you...God knows!  When will we learn to give up our control and let God take over?  Why does it take so many failed attempts of a perfect plan on our part before we finally give it over to God?


...plans to prosper you and not to harm you...God is not a God of evil.  God wants to see his children happy, with every need provided.  He doesn't delight in our suffering, but rejoices when we allow Him to care for us.


...plans to give you hope and a future.  I know letting God take control of my plans, my life, is not easy.  It's hard for me to give up what I have already envisioned for my life.  But when I do, when I let God fully take over, plans fall into place, obstacles are no longer so difficult, and everything is even better than I could hope for.

Friday, July 6, 2012

A List For Your Hubby

If you follow my Cars and Ribbons blog, you'll see I posted a Father's Day Challenge.  I challenged each wife to write '100 Reasons Why I Love My Husband'.  It's not an easy thing to do.

But, I did it, over about a week, and am very happy that I did.  It made me stop and take a look at the person that I live with, that I've lived with for 12 1/2 years (we didn't live together until after we were married), and really see what an incredible man God has given me.  It's not about all the reasons my husband loves me, but it's about me taking the time to really acknowledge my husband all that he does for the family.



So, if you didn't take this challenge for Father's Day, why not try it now?  Surprise your husband with one list he will love.


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Our Nation

It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.
-George Washington




Monday, July 2, 2012

A Busy June

Well, we've certainly had a busy summer in just the one month that has passed.  I don't think we could've added anything else into the month of June.  We have about half our list of Summer Fun Goals completed.

The kids got out their chalks to draw one morning before it got too hot.

I had to add a drawing as well.


They ran through the sprinklers...


...ate sno cones...



...watched a different movie every Friday...


...started reading a chapter book together...


...joined a few Summer Reading Clubs (Kaitlyn LOVES to read)...


...and went to a summer concert.  We also had a pajama/movie/game day, playdates, Preston's birthday and birthday party, Father's Day, attended a wedding, and visited with family.  Craig and I are still working, he plays on a softball team, I'm taking voice lessons, and I'm planning VBS.  Phew!  It's been lots of fun and has made the time pass quickly.


Here is a little clip from the concert we attended.  It was free at a local park, so we wanted to check it out.  Especially since it's a Bon Jovi cover band.



Linking up here:
The Better Mom