Joyful Home

I just finished the Attributes of God study from The Daily Grace Co. and it was an incredible study of getting to know the Lord. Afterall, He knows me, right? I knew some of the attributes but not all of them. It was fun to get into a deeper dive on omnipresence. What a beautiful opportunity He has given me to be able to sit in His presence. I am in a relationship with the Lord and I need to get to know Him so that I can understand what it is He likes, desires, and expects from me. It's been a beautiful journey. My dreams have been indicating that I am scaling rocks and jumping from one cliff to another with skill. At first I was scared, but my inner-man (Ephesians 3:16) had confidence and told my mind that I can do it with ease. So the second dream, I was scaling smoothly. In my awake life, I did a little research and found that I am under the shelter of Christ. I'm in hiding and the perfect example of this is from my favorite passage of scripture - Moses and God in the crevic...

God has been showing me a different view about fall recently and it's been a super amazing experience. Usually there has been such a push to celebrate Halloween and that's fall. However, this year has been different for me. I forgot and quite honestly, didn't realize how beautiful fall was until I went for an early morning run and saw some townhomes entryway full of leaf decorations, scarecrows that were PRETTY not scary, some pumpkins in their natural state, and corn stalks. It was sweet and immediately made me smile. I thanked the Lord for that visual and the reminder/revelation of what fall really is! This isn't just from my standpoint, but I believe there are others that are starting to see the true value of Harvest! It was meant to be beautiful, cozy, calm, loving, read-a-book-snuggle, fires and s'mores. Evil has changed it to dark and death. They have twisted so much of God's creative seasons. For instance, the witch hat. Did you knooooow that the witch ha...

Exodus 33:13-14 - Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." And He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." That is my prayer for my life and yours; that we allow God to show us His way, that we come to know Him intimately (not surface level anymore), and that we would find grace with Him. All of this prayer is wrapped up in one bow - His presence will be with us and we will find rest! Psalm 32:8 - I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.  When I spent my quiet time with the Lord, I noticed that there were several things that were holding me back due to fear. Fear of the enemy coming after me because of my past. But there was a revelation that I was taught from the Word of God that said that when Jesus resurrected and came back to fellowsh...

 Whoa!  1 Corinthians 13:12 - For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. The 13th Chapter of 1 Corinthians is about love. The greatest gift is love and the greatest and first commandment is to love one another. God is love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind' and 'your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). We are such a society that is self-motivated. "How can I take care of myself? Or, how can this be about me?" Satan has deceived us so much into thinking it's about ourselves that it explains why we don't know our spouses anymore, children and even our neighbors. We have lost that touch completely. We are blasted all the time with constant ads showing us that love is lustful, sexual, boastful, parading itself around like a prostitute. It isn't thinking about the other person and what they may be going t...

 Galatians 5:16-23 (NLT) So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the Law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality (adultery), impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery (witchcraft), hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in ou...

If you are looking for a fun place to learn and explore with your kiddos, this is a fun place to go! Oakdale Nature Preserve  https://ci.oakdale.mn.us/Facilities/Facility/Details/Oakdale-Nature-Preserve-26 It has a clean and nicely paved asphalt paths where you can walk, run, bike, and play! There are random workout stations that you can utilize. A park near a neighborhood with a picnic gazebo where you can have lunch. Sweet darling benches in the right places where you are able to take in the scenery. And finally, a nice building full of activities and fun learning things for your kiddos!  We did that today. It was a bit cold and cloudy but the leaves were spectacular on this fall crisp MN morning! We went to the play area in the building and were able to play with all types of sensory things! They have some awesome taxidermy animals that you are able to learn from and look at. It was a great experience for the girls to explore while the seasons start to change. This is a per...

I am getting a ton of extra carrots and apples lately and I asked the Lord to help me get creative with all the blessings. He reminded me of the juicer that I have! So I made some tonight. The girls absolutely loved it! Although it took some time, it was fun! I took 1 pound of carrots, stripped the outer layer, and juiced it. Then I took 6-7 green apples (I can't remember how many) and cut them up in strips and juiced it! It is super delicious with the green apples! I am not a fan of just plan green apples but they are good for juice! Stella absolutely devoured it. Emma was super delighted to have it and walked around the house with her little waddle and bottle! Huge hit at the house!  

 While I am knitting, I am worshiping and just enjoying Him!  Song - Shane And Shane https://open.spotify.com/track/2G83Bi2pnml8ZEskoheM0Y?si=56b18b064d204a20  I am having so much fun putting together this scarf! It is a beautiful burnt orange and I am not one that usually does this color! It is totally growing on me! I can't wait to see the final result. I am catching on nicely! Self-taught knitting can be done! :) Joyful Home Welcomes You! Hi* :)

 Song - Wait by Phil Wickham  https://open.spotify.com/track/4fCgTrpGm0IXflQXdhB9xc?si=d16731860cf04c1d Do you ever look at your financial situation and just want to give up? Cry? Or panic? Yes! God has been bringing me through a journey since I quit my job several years ago. Everyone (including myself) thought it was crazy. Going down to one income is a total trust in the Lord that He will provide.  You see, I depended on God's Word that says that if I put my trust in the Lord and "seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give me everything I need" (Matthew 6:33). And so, I stopped everything and sought His kingdom first. Everything has been added onto me but I have had to train my flesh to get in line with my Lord. There were several times that I cried when bills would pile or something broke in the house: water heater, fridge, freezer, toilet, you name it! I was being put to the test. If I am a tither, then God will be tested in this ar...

 Song - Give Me Jesus, by UPPERROOM, Abbie Gamboa ( https://open.spotify.com/track/0PKyLZzVgzjhNMKXekDpSi?si=edca154357c84fd7 ) 1 Corinthians 1:20-25 says that God in His wisdom saw to it the world would never know Him through human wisdom. Wisdom of this world is foolish. Those called by God to salvation, Christ is the power of God and wisdom of God. Wisdom comes from looking to the cross and Jesus. It doesn't make sense to the world, but Jesus and the cross is the wisdom of God on display.  If you are in a situation that seems like you can't get through, look to the cross and ask the Lord for wisdom and He will give it freely. He doesn't rebuke your ask. (James 1:5). The wisdom that comes from above is manifested through Jesus, made available through the Holy Spirit, written in the Word, and delivered in a steady flow from God to you. It enables us as His children to lay a solid foundation for all life. God desires for all His people to come to the knowledge of Him and tr...

 As I go through the study about God's attributes, I have noticed that the Lord has been patient with me overcoming the, "I'm sorry" all the time. I say it a lot to Him but don't realize that I may be grieving the Holy Spirit! Ephesians 4:30 - And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Sometimes I forget that I'm His and every little thing that I do, I want to make sure that it brings Him glory. I know that I am not perfect, and it is okay that I screw up but I'm sure it gets annoying for my soul to keep hearing "I'm sorry Lord I did that." When all He wants from me is to try and be confident in this very fact - He saved me.  Isaiah 30:18 So the Lord must wait for me to come to Him so He can show me His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed am I who waits on the Lord for help! I put this v...

 Last year I started knitting for the first time. I am crocheter so I thought it would be easy, right? Sort of! I want to go fast but have to remind myself to slow down and relax! I noticed that I tightened up and go too fast and screw up. I love to knit, though! I had this preconceived idea that knitting was for snobs, but maybe that's because I was jealous of the results that come from it?! Anyways, I am making a scarf for the season. My goal... well I guess I didn't have one but maybe I should set one! Okay! So, my goal is to have this scarf done by October 28th! Why that date you may ask? Because it is my daughters first birthday and I have a track record of finishing crochet articles on my girls' birthdays! Why not try and do that with this one, too!  It's been fun but slow! PATIENCE - right? HA!  Joyful Home Welcomes You! Hi* :) 

 God is enduring! I have been running again and I know that the more that I increase in my miles, the more endurance I am gaining. Whether it be hill work or just strength training, I need endurance to keep going. God - well God doesn't have to train, He just has ENDURANCE. Crazy to think about! He is long-suffering. We fail at that, for sure! We can handle for a while and then boom, out of no where, we lose patience. I know that for a fact with a 2 year old! There is so much to learn - that's for another post! God knows that He is the only thing that will satisfy my longing heart. God is jealous for truth and righteousness! God is jealous for His own glory. I am learning that God is patient because God is sovereign. Exodus 34:6 says, "The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, "YAHWEH! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I AM slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness." Can we just take a minute and think about God passing by Moses...

 I've been in a waiting season that seems to be as long Apostle Paul's was... but there has been an encouraging amount of studying that I've been able to do. I have definitely gotten to know the Lord through all of this. There is times where I have thought, "okay, am I just waiting because I'm scared to get out there due to my past? Or is this the Lord holding me back for something special - and getting to know Him more so that I may help others?" Probably YES to both. I used to blog when I was living in sin. I'd have a ton of pictures to go with my rants but most of the time, I didn't make sense because I couldn't. My mind was warped in self-fulfillment and not God's satisfaction. I have noticed that there has been a restoration of love for blogging again now that I'm doing with a heart for God and giving Him the glory, for sure! Then I've wondered if I should podcast - no, not because it is popular, but because I have a lot to talk ab...