This Mom's Path: gifts

Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Namesake Week 5 Day 4: Gods Arithmetic

Today's Scripture: John 21:1-19

Most of us are a work in progress, a mix of old and new, past and present. With God's helpful arithmetic he can guide us to subtract the negative and add the positive equaling a balanced life.

Here is an activity from this chapter of the book.

Read the following scripture and put a + or a - to indicate if it was a positive or negative moment for Peter.

Luke 22:14-20 ____

Luke 22:24 ____

Luke 22:33 ____

Luke 22:34 ____

John 13:8 ____

John 13:9 ____

Mark 14:32-41 ____

John 18:10 ____

Matthew 26:69-75 ____

"It's at our times of greatest need that Jesus can show us the great forgiveness." J.G.

One great example of God's arithmetic is found in Matthew 18:21-22. Jesus says that we are to forgive 70 x 7 times. Jesus is trying to tell us not to keep count or keep a grudge of how many times someone sins against us, but that we should forgive more often than we can count.

For every mistake that we make Jesus adds another chance, He doesn't subtract his grace or mercy He just adds another 1, if you turn away from His 7 times he will give you 8 chances at redemption.

God's Arithmetic will never add up, but will always make sense to us all in the end.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Namesake Week 1 Day 2: Small Changes, Big Impact

Today's Scripture: Genesis 17:1-5, 15-22, Genesis 17:4-6, Genesis 17:15-16, And Galatians 5:22-23

The message in today's study is that sometimes we wait for God to make huge changes that we will change our whole life's, but often the biggest changes come from the tiniest of adjustments. When God changed Abrams and Sarai names He only changes them both by one letter, the Hebrew letter "Hey" (H) Abram became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah. God changed the whole course of their lives just by giving them both a letter H.

When God changed Abraham and Sarah's names and told them of the child they were to have, God painted a clear picture of what the future was going to look like. As with many things in our lives we sometimes only have sight for the big changes, but we shouldn't underestimate the value of small changes.

"God works powerfully, but for the most part gently and gradually." John Newton

The story of Nicodemus is a great example of the changes that God can make in our lives. The story of how Nicodemus can be found in John 3 and John 19. "Nicodemus' faith developed in a way that many Christians can relate to. I know that when I decided to recommit to God and my faith in 2010 that these steps are exactly how I felt.

1. We become curious about Jesus but hesitant to do anything about it.
2. We watch other believers wondering what makes them so different
3. We decide that we want to get to know the Lord so we start reading His word - getting to know Him through the Bible and prayer
4. We hide our faith from others for fear of being judged
5. Then we go public - we make sure that everyone know we are Christians and we believe in God and Jesus Christ

"Public faith affects the way we treat others, the way we handle anger or disappointment and the way we choose to sacrifice for the good of others - showing the characteristics of Christ in our lives." - Jessica LaGrone, Namesake

The characteristics of someone transformed by God are often called the Fruit of the Spirit. There are 9 traits that grow as we live our lives surrendered to God.

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-Control

Here is one of the questions asked in this series. What are some of the way that you've experienced over the years with God's help? How are you different now than 5 / 10 years ago?

Answer -

I value my marriage, my husband, and my family sooo much more! I know I need to put time into all my relationships and I have grown my relationship with God 10x's from 5 even 10 years ago. I have decided to make all of these relationships my priority. In the past I put work, friends, and material possessions before my family, marriage, children, and God. I am happy in my life, I am joyous and I'm working on growing the 9 traits of the fruit of the spirit, I am also always working on being a better mother, wife, and growing closer to God.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Namesake Week 1 Day 1: What's in a Name?

Today's scripture Genesis 12:1-4, Genesis 29:31-35, 30:1-12

Our names are not given as much thought these days as back when the Bible was written. Our names are given to us for many reasons, to tell a story, description of inner character, or to carry on a family name or tradition. But back when the Bible was written parents would invest a significant amount of time choosing just the right name, a name for their child to grow into, a dream to be fulfilled.

Here are the names of Abraham and Sarah's great-grandchildren and some words that came to my mind after reading the reasons for their names.

Reuben - Love shared between a husband and wife

Simeon - The loving bond shared between a mother and son

Levi - A son for a father to love

Judah - Praise to God for the last son

Dan - Vindication

Naphtali - Struggles towards a win

Gad - Fortunate

Asher - Joy and celebration

Isaiah 43:1 "But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O israel, the one who formed you says, Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by names, you are mine."

I love this verse! The Lord created us, formed us, and ransomed us. He named us out of love and we're His.

I have always thought of God is a fatherly way, my father and teacher. It truly makes me happy to have such a close relationship with God, to be his child.

Act on It:

I never really have thought much about my name or why my parents chose the name they did. So I called my mom this afternoon and asked her. "Well....." I heard the name Lindsy somewhere, someone said it and I liked it. It was unique and wasn't very common at the time." I looked up the definition of my name after I got off the phone with my mom.

Lindsy - Island of Linden Trees. Near the Island of Linden Trees. ( The linden tree is a large long lived tree that is also know as the lime tree for its sent.)

My middle name Marie - Loyal

I guess the name fits me better than I thought. I love water and all the colors of water. I consider myself to be a loyal person, hopefully those around me feel the same way.

What does your name and the names of your family members mean? It might give you a better idea of who you are, or rather who your parents dreamed that you might become. Who God is calling us to become.

The first step in the transformation to becoming Jesus' namesake is to trust in the Lord for he has a plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11 and Ephesians 3:20 are great examples of this plan.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Friday Funday - Dinner with Family and Friends

Yes, its Friday! The weekend is here and I am in a great mood.

My best friend and wife to my husband's cousin is coming over with the kids and we are having dinner and drinks.

I am going to make Baked Chicken Flauta's, and beanny cheesy Flauta's for the kiddos.

I found the recipe on Pinterest from Hot Cookin' Mama.

You an find the recipe on my pinterest Food Board or here is the link

Bakes Chicken and Spinach Flauta's

Here is my version of the recipe

What you will need:

Regular flour tortilla's, cut in half
2 / 3 chicken breasts
1 can stewed or roasted tomatoes
4 C water
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
Grated cheese
Re fried Beans (for the beanny cheesy flauta's)
olive oil or cooking spray
Sour cream, guacamole or salsa for dipping

Directions:

Place the chicken breasts in a large pan and cover with chicken broth or water
Bring to a boil then reduce heat add tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes (or until chicken is done)
Shred chicken and mix with seasonings
Preheat oven to 450 degree's
Grease a baking sheet and set aside
Place shredded chicken and cheese along the edge of each cut tortilla and roll up starting from the edge. For the Beanny cheesy flauta's do the same way beans first then cheese.
Place seem side down on baking sheet
Brush with olive oil or spray with cooking spray
Bake in the oven for 5/10 minutes each side

My BBF is making a yummy salad and we will talk the night away! I can't wait.

Hope your weekend is great and make sure to fill it with tons of memories because we only have 940 weekends before our kids turn 18.

Friday, May 23, 2014

She Reads Truth - Prayer in the Bible Day 17

Prayer in the Bible Day 17: Practicing Kingdom Praying

Day 17 Scripture: Psalm 103:19, Isaiah 61:1, and Revelations 11:15

How do we choose what to pray for? There are so many world issues and we have all our own issues, it may seem a little overwhelming to pick just one thing. Try to remember to stay focused on the bigger picture, pray for the hurting of the world close and far.

As you see the news stories instead of turning away or sitting in worry use these opportunities to pray. Ask God for a good ending, for His Kingdom to come to earth and for people to find God.

As you pray you might find that God will lay down a path for you, directing you towards a specific area, person, or issue. You may be the good outcome. You might be the one to bring God's work to a problem. Isaiah 61:1

From my journal:

Lately I have really tried to sit down and think if there are other's who need my prayers. A friend in need or families facing loosing everything in a flood or fire. I still pray from myself, but why not pray for others too? There is power in prayer and every prayer is heard by God. So pray for those around you that request prayers, for all the hungry in the world, pray for your neighbor, or those hurting in Russia.

My 1 prayer could make all the difference. Isn't that amazing? God gave me this gift to use and to share, so by praying I am bringing His Kingdom to earth.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

What a Crazy Week

Just a second, hold on, I'll be right there. This is what my house sounds like right now.

This week has been one of the busiest in awhile. There have been multiple errands or appointments every day. Today I got up at 6:30am went to the gym, came home at 7:45 went to jump in the shower and my Cloe (3 yo) wakes up and is covered in an itchy red rash. I get in the shower and start getting ready when the plumber shows up to fix the shower. Now on to grocery shopping, a home loan appointment at 4:00pm and Cloe's spring program at 6:00pm (that is if she is rash free).

I sometimes during all of this remember to stop and breath for a minute. To remember that God has blessed me with all of this. I am thankful every day for the things I have and my prayers are constantly filled with praise for the many blessings I receive.

Tomorrow is Friday - playdate day! And a fun BBQ with family and friends.

I hope you all have an amazing holiday weekend, remember to have fun with your families and be safe!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Mother's Day Wish List

As something fun for the weekend I used Polyvore.com to make a board of all the items that I'm wishing for this Mother's Day. I never really make lists of the things I want, and these are items that I would never buy myself.

What are you wishing for this Mother's Day?