Joyful Home

I am sure you know the verse, "Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path," Psalm 119:105. Well today the Lord shed some light on it! (No pun-intended, laughing at myself).  Since I stopped the Hal Higdon training, I was off a few days from running because my family needed some help getting some wood split. That right there is a workout in itself, so I decided to take it a little easy on my body and quite frankly, I wasn't hearing from the Lord or a nudge to run. So I laid low.  This morning I was feeling a nudge from the Lord to run and to my excitement I felt like I needed to run to Hadley (4 miles)! I was excited and was careful to not block myself from this success by self-talking myself down. So I made sure that I was super close to the Father before the run, during the run, and after by praising Him. Sometimes He will place a song on my heart and I'll sing it the whole time and other times He will have me praying for people. This time, He was r...

There I was minding my own business when I started to get this excitement to get back into marathon training. It has been a desire of mine for some time now, but it wasn't the right timing. I could tell. Recently I have been trying 1 mile here and 1 mile there, then I tried 2.5 miles and I thought, "okay, I can do this." Although it is at a slow pace, but who cares, it is me and Jesus! I ended up running a 3.2 mile and I was so elated that when I came in from the run, I was smiling so big and said to Caleb, "I DID IT! I RAN 3 MILE WITH NOT STOPPING!" And I had absolutely no issues with my body and the breathing was easy! I asked the Lord if He could still be a part of this... then I brought it up to some friends that I was going to train for a marathon! I took myself off guard, not them! I was like, "Whoa, God are we doing this!?"  I went for an afternoon run later that week and saw a stick and two leaves that were smiling at me as I ran past it and th...

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...

 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...

 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...

 Recently I had to put my 18 year old pup-dog down whose name was Chloe. We got her when she was 7 months old and never had a problem with her. She was always healthy, except the one time she got stung by a bee. We had to give her Benadryl. But overall, she was a fantastic pup and adult dog. She was my companion, my partner, my traveler and friend.  The leading up to her death, I knew that the Lord was working on me with some things in regards to her. I hadn't lost a dog before that was my pal. I grew up with dogs but I was either too young when Buddy passed to realize or I was out of the home already with my husband when our other dog passed away. Never one that was close like Chloe-girl.  My family and friends knew that it was time for Chloe to be put down but I couldn't get passed the fact that God and I weren't ready. I asked God if He could make this experience peaceful and calm so that I wouldn't have to go through the trauma of seeing her be euthanized. She was f...

 What does omnipresent mean? God is everywhere. His presence is near and permeating. He is passing through the pores or interstices of a substance; human race.  Psalm 139:7-10 (NKJV) talks about the all-present God is with us. God's perfect knowledge of us. "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven You are there, If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me." What does verse 9 mean? "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea..." The spread and speed of light spilling into the morning sky from East to West. Light itself cannot outrun God's presence and knowledge. "Even there Your hand will lead me." His hand is a hand of love and care. His "right hand will hold me" is the hand of skill and stren...

I went to my sisters and we went to walk the mall to get our steps in. We came upon a little play ground area where the girls could play and we could chat. There was a sense of crazy chaos that I could feel. As we were talking, I felt nausea all of a sudden and I wondered where and how that came about.  While I was driving home, I asked the Lord what that was all about and I heard Him say, "Crescendo". Crescendo means a gradual increase in volume or intensity of sound in a passage. A steady increase in intensity or force. It also means the climatic point or moment after such a progression. "Reach a crescendo means increase until hitting the most intense or exciting point!" I know that we are almost out of the wilderness and heading into our promised land that He has for us. It is almost like the enemy is throwing everything he has at us right now because he knows his time is done.  While I was sitting with the Lord, I heard musical instruments. It was so beautiful a...

Unsplash-Sixteen Miles Out Today started out a little too early for me but all is well. Emma woke up at 3:00am and didn't want to go back to sleep. Very unlike her, so I know that this will not be a daily routine thing. I did learn a few things through my tiredness hanging out with her and the Lord.  Philippians 4:18,19 (NLT) "...they are a sweet smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus."  Paul was grateful of the Philippian church that sent him a financial gift of help and he was stating that these gifts were sweet-smelling to the Lord. While I was in the kitchen with Caleb getting my coffee, I smelt a beautiful flowery smell. I asked him, "do you smell that?" He said that he didn't. I said that maybe it is the Lord allowing me to smell it and described the smell as spring flowers. Sometimes sacrifices com...