11 things to do in 2011

1) Be less judgmental about one thing (bad drivers, rude salesclerks, procrastinating husbands) and focus your attention on being more accepting.

2) DECIDE to Let go of the small things. It really is a choice!

3) Offer more praise than criticism to your teenager

4) Give generously of something (money, time, listening)

5) Commit to reading a chapter of the bible daily
5b) Journal what is revealed to you
5c) Keep a prayer Journal

6) Eliminate swearing, gossip or some other bad speech pattern from your vocabulary

7) PRAY boldly (when someone tells you of a situation, offer to pray with them right then and there--don't wait!)

8) Take up one good habit

9) Forgive someone (even if they don't deserve it)

10) Memorize 12 bible verses this year

11) Show someone you care by sending them a card or letter (no e-mails). Do this one per month in 2011

Ringing the Bell

Last night I stood in the lobby of our local Kroger and rang the bell for the Salvation Army. We do this as a family because we want to give our children an opportunity to develop a heart for missions. Here's my observations:

My bell always seemed to ring a little louder and clearer when a donation had been made!

It was 4 degrees outside last night as I rang. Even though I was "inside" and wearing a down filled parka, wool socks and boots,my feet and fingers were frozen by the time my husband arrived to relieve me. I'm thankful that I have a warm home to go to and don't have to sleep on the streets. I don't worry about where my next meal is coming from. I am blessed!

Men seem to be more generous than women. The older people exited the store with their donations in hand. The more affluent people were less likely to meet my eye and frequently answered my request "Care to help the Salvation Army this evening?" with "I don't have any cash" (Likely since so many people deal only in credit/debit cards now a days). I did find that ASKING for a donation caused some people to stop and dig into their purse or pocket. Children were willing to ask their parents for a donation and I always let them ring my bell once they placed their money the red kettle.

I came away from my stint a little happier, a littl more in tune with the Spirit of Christmas.

I want to be more generous person and will make sure I have small bills on hand so I don't pass up a bell ringer in the future! Generous giving makes me feel like a better person. I admit I don't give to just any charity or person collecting on the side of the road. I do my homework to make sure my donation is well administered--that takes some effort on my part. I want to model generosity so I have to be ready this season!

Merry Christmas!

Forgiveness

Recently we became aware of a marital indiscretion in our church that required forgiveness on many fronts: The aggrieved parties, employer and co-workers and the concentric-far reaching circles of associates, friends and members. My bible study participated in the following exercise and it may be helpful if you require forgiveness or have been called to forgive.

Acquire RED Paper and Envelopes (readily available at a scrapbook store)
List the items that you need to be forgiven for and those which you need to forgive others on the RED paper, using one paper for yourself and a separate one for each person you need to forgive. Be specific and detailed-no one else is going to see these. Get out all your hurt, anxiety and bitterness and record it on the paper
Place the paper(s) in the RED envelope
Seal the envelope.
Place the envelope in a prominent place or in your bible
Every time you feel compelled to pick up your guilt remember that the (red) BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST has covered those sins and you are forviven. Likewise when you begin to feel hurt or angry, bitter or resentful ask the Holy Spirit to help you forgive those who have wronged you as you have been forgiven. Do this as often as you see the RED envelope until you have a peace which passes all understanding. Repeat as necessary.

Change my heart, O God

If you want change you have to get to the heart of things...in this case, literally your heart.
This week pray that your heart is changed, that it is softened, that God reveals any hardness of heart you may be unaware of.

Dear Lord,
Change my heart. Make it yearn for you and only you. Create in me a heart that loves as you love. Give me a heart for the things that are important to you (family, my spouse, the hurting, the ill, the homeless, the lonely, children, the oppressed, teachers, pastors, the elderly, the un-born). Fill my heart to over flowing with your spirit and empower me to boldly love others in your name.
Amen

Prayer

New school year, new you? It's possible with the power of prayer. What do you want to change? Look here each week for a new prayer focus...

Musings from Jim Stovall's The Ultmate Gift

Of work
-there is a certain type of love that comes from a job well done

Of Money
-loving money leads to empty hollow lives. It is learning to love people and USE money that gives everything it’s proper perspective

Of Friends
-If you only think about yourself you’ll always be disappointed

Of Learning
-if you have the gift of learning you are really quite wealthy

Of Problems
-A problem is given to you for the lesson it will teach you

Of family
-People become a family when they love each other

Of Laughter
-In order to love life you have to enjoy it, laughing at both the good and the bad

Of Dreams
-Dreams and goals are the outward manifestations of the love we feel inside

Of Giving
-I use to think that if you gave something away you were left with less than before. In reality when you give out of love…both the giver AND the receiver have more than they started out with

Of Gratitude
-The golden list (of gratitude. Create this list each morning before you get out of bed to assure the best day

Of a Day
-If today was your last day on earth-how would you spend it?
When you contemplate your own mortality you realize how much life you have lived…not just how much you have left. Life is nothing more than a series of days and if we learn to live each one to the fullest, our lives will be rich and meaningful
Then best day is on e that is filled with the people I love

Of Love
-Love makes you a different person

Group Workcamp-Brighton. What I learned!

For those of you who don't know me, I suffer from insomnia. I can generally fall asleep quite easily but frequently wake up sometime during the night and remain awake for several hours at a time. A snoring DH doesn't help matters much. When this occurs, I will spend my time praying or when the time lapse become too great, I will resort to reading a novel.

I am an early to bed (9:30-10pm) early to rise (5:30am) kind of of girl.

Work camp taught me a good lesson how to have a good night sleep with no insomnia. A person's day should consist of hard work, for the lord and worship. Because each work camp day included a healthy dose of each of these components, I never woke up during the night! Now to reproduce that at home!

1) Work Hard. Physical labor makes a body sleep all night through
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

2) Make time for Worship and Prayer daily (it not several times a day)
So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Luke 4:7

3) Eliminate distractions. At work camp I didn't have any access to e-mail, the Internet, television or newspapers. I had limited cell phone service. I had limited things (especially those that I could do nothing about like the state of the economy, the Gulf Oil Spill, Afghanistan)intruding into my thoughts
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught. Psalm 55:2

SO...if sleep eludes you, try my work camp remedy. Turn off the technology, clear your schedule of all but the MOST pressing items (your work, whatever that may be and daily worship). And let me know how well you slept!

Good night!