Come and Listen

Psalm 66

1 Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious!

3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.

4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praise to your name."
Selah

5 Come and see what God has done,
how awesome his works in man's behalf!

6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.

7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
Selah

8 Praise our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;

9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.

10 For you, O God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.

11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.

12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you-

14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.

15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
Selah

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.

17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.

18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;

19 but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.

20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

Come and Listen Lyrics
Artist:David Crowder Band

Come and listen, come to the water's edge, all you who know and fear the Lord.
Come and listen, come to the water's edge all you who are thirsty, come.

Let me tell you what He has done for me.
Let me tell you what He has done for me,
He has done for you,
He has done for us.

Come and listen, come and listen to what He's done.
Come and listen, come and listen to what He's done.

Praise our God for He is good. (repeat)

He has done for me,
He has done for you,
He has done for us.

Come and listen, come and listen to what He's done.
Come and listen, come and listen to what He's done.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17

The Lord's Provision & Free Movies

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3: 5-6

"A man's heart plans his way: but the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

This weekend Abe's theater is doing a fun promotion: Free Entry! So, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all day, everyone gets in free. I think they are gonna be very busy! He's working all day (opening 'til closing) tomorrow and Saturday, and I think Sunday evening, so we won't see much of Him this weekend, but I think it will be very good for business. I'm glad they are working to improve the theater's reputation since it had been so neglected before we got here. Abe has worked hard at getting the place in shape.

Last week, coming home from ladies' study, I had some major car trouble (my tire shreded, the medal was sticking out and stuff, the Lord sent some young Christian guys to help me change to the spare, then I got back on the road and a couple minutes later the spare blew out! Btw, this was all after 10pm! I'll have to tell you the whole story sometime.) and the I told the guys who helped me change my tire about the promotion and that they could have a free popcorn, so I hope they collect on the offer!

Worship the Lord

"A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

I started serving in worship ministry at my church yesterday! I'm so excited about it. We have a ladies' study every Tuesday, and now it starts with worship and ends with prayer. We are studying Acts. I love the study, and it's such a special time in my week! 

I'm also so blessed to be serving. I kind of thought I wouldn't be able to do stuff like this while I have little ones, but the Lord showed me; He has something special for me! I am totally in AWE of my LORD!

This is the last song we sang together last night:

Soften my heart with oil
Open my eyes to see
Fill me with understanding
Soften my heart to receive
(repeat)

I want all that You have for me, Jesus
All that You have for me
Open my understanding
Soften my heart to receive
I want all that You have for me

Don’t let my heart be fallow
Don’t let my heart be hard
Water me with Your Spirit
Soften the ground of my heart
(repeat)

I want all that You have for me, Jesus
All that You have for me
Open my understanding
Soften my heart to receive
I want all that You have for me

Her Sponsor Child

“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” Matt. 10:42

This is Shannon of Rocks in my Dryer who recently met her sponsor child, Dissan, in Uganda. She joined a group of bloggers, and traveled all the way to Africa and brought back the story to us. (At least look at this video from their meeting.) Amazing.

I wish I would have shared this last week, but if you haven't heard about the group of bloggers who traveled to Uganda with Compassion (and you have a little time on your hands), you should check it out. Maybe you'll want to sponsor a child.

Week of Scripture

I took a week off, and I have many things to share, but this week will be a week of Scripture...

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?
Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Romans 11:33-12:1

I'm going to start serving in our worship ministry tomorrow. I'm very excited about it (and a little nervous). We serve a God worthy to be worshipped!

I'm Back

I've been hiding out a little, thinking a little, playing with the kiddos a little... I've been thinking about why I'm blogging and how I want to blog. Here it is:

Honesty. Openness. Reality. 

I want to be real. It's hard for me.

I know that may sound silly.  But really, it is hard for me to just be myself sometimes...but I'm kind of done with that. What do I have to be ashamed of? I know my Lord created me. I know He is at work in me. He knows me and loves me. Whom shall I fear? 

I get so hung up on how others perceive me. I seem to go 'round and 'round with this. I think I'm over it then I'm right back where I started. Frustrating. I'm giving it to the Lord. Committing it to the Lord, and we'll see where He takes me.

"And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2

See ya.

I gotta take a little break. I hope I'm back soon.

Two Cool New Booths

I didn't move my dining room chairs when we moved from Omaha, so during meals we've been sitting on this-and-that random stuff since we moved. A little bench, made from a headboard, a subwoofer, Jecoa's booster was on a little electronics cart... weird, I know, but we were waiting on the Lord and making do until we found what we wanted. 

Well, finally! We got two booths with red vinyl cushions. We picked them up today (That is a story in its self!) They have bead board on the sides, and though they are a little worn, (We'll say distressed. Distressed is in!) they are really, pretty cute. They suit my little apartment. I'm happy with them. 

Oh, and I got a great deal - $15.00 for both! (Yay, Craig's list!)

I'll post a picture later when the dining room is put together.

Frugal Friday - Feeding the Baby

I'm not very into commercial baby food. 

I can see the convienience, but not the expense, and I enjoy eating fresh foods, so I want my too as well. My son is 8 months old (Today!) and he has been eating some of our table food for a little while now.  (I just don't salt his portion. He does get some seasonings, though.)

I'm sure many people have heard the tips about making purees and freezing them in ice cube trays. Brilliant idea, who ever came up with that! We did that, this is kind of the next step. I have a great little baby food grinder. It's just three pieces and is so easy to use (and clean). My mom had one exactly like this when I was a baby. The only difference was it was a creamy white. I wanted her to find that one for me. I didn't even know they still sold them. It is the perfect tool, when a blender or food processor is too big, for making just a meal worth of food for baby.

Kmart is the only place I have been able to find this. And I haven't found a similar one I like anywhere else. I know you can get it through their site if you don't have a Kmart near you.

Anyway, I just throw the food in and grind it, easy as that. Sometimes I want the texture to be different, so I add a little cereal and/or water, but this little thing gets the job done! 

I remember this being about Five dollars. The site is down and I can't check, but the several dollars (or so) I spent on this was a great deal compared to the hundreds of dollars some people will spend on baby food! 

It's a pretty great product and it makes a good gift for a new mommy, too.

For more frugal ideas, check out frugal Friday over at BiblicalWomanhood.com

The Lord Speaks to Me

This is what the Lord has been ministering to me the last few days and weeks:

This is the life He has given me. These are the kids, this is the husband, these are the friends. I could go on. This is the apartment, this is the paycheck...

I should not be seeking what others are accomplishing. I am not called to their calling.

As I've read a couple of blogs recently the Lord has shown me more clearly where I can grow. I am thankful when the Lord confirms what He is speaking. I am so grateful there are wise women around me teaching me "to love [my husband] and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to [my own husband]" (Titus 2:4-5) I am so, so thankful.

When I pressure myself every day to do something good for the Lord- instead of enjoying the Lord as He accomplishes His will in my life, I am wrong. My focus is off. I'm missing the point. But I know He is faithful. I am learning.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he, who hath begun a good work in you, will complete it unto the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

Don't we serve a wonderful God?!

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matt. 6:33

Jason Upton - Freedom

We've been dancing around to Jason Upton music this week. We love his worship CD titled Faith.
Jecoa loves to dance and worship the Lord. I'll have to try and catch the kids on video sometime.
Here is a song we like:

Freedom!!

Back in the bible there was that old Pharaoh
Who ruled over Egypt and Israel
God spoke to Moses through fired up bushes
Said kick off your shoes and stay awhile

All of humanity was made to worship me
Pharaoh get outta my way
(God is sayin')

Chorus

Freedom to dance
Freedom to sing
Freedom to grow
I'm telling you Pharaoh let Gods people go!

Worship now
Worship now
Worship your God (x4)
(let 'em go)

Well, we live in a country supposedly Pharaohless
But all over town and in churches abide
Powerful weeklings who practice they're politics
Stealing from Jesus his beutiful bride
Whether you're Pharisees, Sadducees, heresies
You best get outta God's way!
(God is sayin')

Blogging Chicks

Staying In

We aren't going to church this morning. (Which is so not like us! You know that if you know me.) The kids are sick and teething. They've had fevers and runny noses. Abe is still getting over this cold, so he's resting a lot. I'm the only one not sick, though I may have been a little grumpy...

Please lift us up in prayer if you get the chance.

Hopefully everyone will be well by Tuesday or Wednesday so I can go to Ladies' study or we can go to bible study.

Super Savings Saturday: Salad deal

My printer is not working and my kiddos are sick so I'm missing out on the Super Savings Saturday fun. But check it out to see other peoples deals!

Just FYI, there were two coupons for bagged salad (Mfr.-pg 17 and Target). This is the deal I was after today. I wanted to get a couple bags of spinach for FREE. That would have been fun.

Thanks to imommies for finding this deal. And thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom for passing it on!