Living Out Our Convictions

“And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.”

1 John 4:17

In today’s world, living out or putting our Christian convictions into practice can be a constant struggle. Often times we feel we are offending others, or walking on eggshells just to keep the peace and not stir up trouble within our relationships, or families. If we go to Church and Sunday School and read our Bibles like we should, then we should have a pretty good gage on how God wants us to live. Some Christians feel very strongly about their beliefs, while others waver a bit and stand on fences when it comes to some topics. We must be careful not to judge eachother. Instead we should pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who waver and are not yet mature in the faith.


I want to be very clear about a few things. I am not perfect and my writing, well let's just say I pray I stay on topic and don't totally loose my readers. I humbly come before those who care to read my posts, with my thoughts on what I have read and what I feel God has pointed out to me within His word. I am merely a follower of Jesus Christ with a deep love for God and His Holy Word and believe he has much to say to us. It is my desire to study God’s Word and try to make sense of what God’s will is in my life, by using the Bible and the instructions given within, to glorify our Heavenly Father!

The topic of living out our convictions takes me to the book of Ephesians, one of my favorite books of the Bible. The book of Ephesians contains life changing spiritual truths and explains how as Christians we should be reflecting those spiritual truths in our behavior. The book of Ephesians clearly tells us that we have a duty as members of the body of Christ to be imitators of Christ. Being a Christian is much more than religion, it is a life style. If we don't practice what we preach, or claim to believe, how will we make a difference for Christ in this world? Below I will list just a few verses that jumped out at me durring my Bible study time.

- “Imitate God, therefore in everything you do, because you are his dear children.” Ephesians 5:1

In the world we live, as Christians we are considered uptight outcasts or fanatics when we try to follow the Scripture above. Every time we try to apply a Biblical View to something, that Worldly View fights us tooth and nail to win. We must stand firm!

- “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.” Ephesians 5:3




In this world we live, sexual immorality is running ramped. We can’t even turn on our televisions without being bombarded by inappropriate material, not only for young children, but for decent people. Take control of your television, don't let it control you. Change the channel!!!
Greed also controls the lives of many, giving them little satisfaction with what they already have, only to leave them wanting for more.




- “Obscene stories, foolish talk, and course jokes- these are not for you. Instead let there be thankfulness to God.” Ephesians 5:4

We live in a world so desensitized to the way our Lord’s name is used. People use our Lord’s name carelessly and often in anger while cursing either people or situations they are in. They do it with such little regard, as if His name weren’t Holy. The crazy thing is if you try telling someone, who has been talking that way for more years than you have been alive, that it's wrong, they become offended.

As Christians, we will be misunderstood just as Christ was, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an obligation to save a lost and dying world. We can’t just turn our faces when someone is doing something we know is wrong, or tune them out when they say something inappropriate. Instead we must pray they will listen, then approach them with patience and respect. We can’t make them listen, but we can plant seeds and leave the rest in God's hands. God will soften the heart, provide the conviction and faith, if such is his will.

“Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:10

“Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.” Ephesians 5:6

“Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.” 2 Timothy 2:23-26

Even though it constantly feels as though we are swimming against the current, we should never give up or give in. I know what I have to do, I need to go to the Lord in prayer, seeking guidance and strength. Then I must intentionally take a stand and live by my convictions. In doing so, I must be careful to set a good example for others to follow and not do anything that may cause someone to stumble. We need to live our lives in such a manner that on the day of judgment we can face our Heavenly Father and say, “I gave food to the poor, water to the thirsty, encouragement to the discouraged and introduced them all to your son. I did this all in your name and for your glory.” That seems like a tall order, but it’s really not. Not when God sent his only son to die on a cross for us. We owe him everything and every part of us and our lives and should we withhold anything from our Father, he has the power and the right to take it away. We must be faithful to be what God has called us to be and live by the convictions the Lord has placed in our hearts!

A Living Sacrifice to God

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

Have you ever tried reading the Bible in a year? Back in January of this year, our Pastor suggested that we read through the Bible together as a church family in 2008. As a reminder of our commitment to God, each other and ourselves he asked us to write down somewhere in our Bibles… “In 2008 I commit to read through the Bible.” Then he asked us to sign our names underneath the statement. I will never forget, it was as if time stood still for me. He was asking me to make a huge commitment. What if I started off reading the Bible every day and then slacked off, could I live with the guilt? I wrote the statement and as I signed it asked God to help me be faithful to the commitment I had just made.

Wow, what a journey it has been since that Sunday back in January. Since then our family has gone through ups and downs, accompanied by much change. One thing I will always be thankful for was our pastor asking us to put our commitment in writing. Seeing those words written on one of the first few pages of my Bible has held me accountable in times of sluggishness and discouragement. That doesn’t mean I haven’t missed reading a day since January. In fact, I have to confess that I have missed several days here and there. I have done my best and played catch up more than a few times. I believe God understands our struggle more than we think he does he does. I believe the fact that we struggle at all and do our best to honor our commitments to God pleases him, it’s when we stop trying that our heavenly Father is not pleased. I pray that the day will come when I am more disciplined and intentional in my spiritual walk. It might take my whole life to accomplish, but I think that’s okay with God, as long as I am doing my best to reach that goal.

In reading the Bible this year, God has lead me to Scripture that has ministered to me, opened my eyes, held me accountable, softened my heart, given me hope and courage and has filled me with joy. In my Christian walk I have had many questions and in reading God’s word, some of those questions have been answered. It took me eight months though, eight months to get to the Scripture in Romans that really sums up the answers to many of the questions that I’ve had. It was in Romans Chapter 12 that the Lord took me by the hand and said, “Listen here, and listen well…this is what I expect from my children. This is how I want my children to live and love.” Wow!

“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans 12:6-21

Romans is a great book of the Bible and God uses Paul to give us specific instructions. I have heard some people say they wish life came with an instruction manual, well it does….it’s the Bible. Even though we have such clear instructions, we miss the mark so often. These aren’t just words written in a highly regarded, historical book..it is the word of God. If this is the word of God, why doesn’t the world regard it as such and live by God’s word? I will tell you why, aside from there being a lot of people that haven’t heard about Jesus, it’s because Satan works really hard at trying to keep us from being more like Christ. He sets snares for us and delights in our falls. He also delights in keeping us from the commitments we make to God, by trying to keep us so bogged down and immersed so deeply in this world. He doesn’t want us to give our time, attention and devotion to God. Instead he wants us to give our time to things of little importance, our attention to things only of this world and our devotion to the false idols that surround us.

We can’t let the enemy triumph over us and our purpose. We need to bow our hearts before the Lord each day, all day. If we leave God out of our lives, or even out of parts of our lives, we aren’t living for him. Instead we are selfishly living for ourselves. When will we realize that not only do we belong to God, but everything belongs to God? We need to live the way God is instructing us to live and one day on the other side of eternity we will hear our heavenly Father say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Until we realize that it’s not about us, or our successes, or how much we have, or what we want and realize that it’s all about God, his will for our lives and our life in eternity with him, we will continue to miss the mark every time.
God knows we aren’t perfect, yet he still loves us. He loved us enough to send his only son, Jesus Christ, to die on Calvary’s cruel cross while we were still sinners. So why not give your life to Christ right now by praying a simple prayer…

Father God, I am sorry and repent of my sins. I want to change my life around and live for you. In Romans 10:9 you tell us if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and if we believe in our hearts that you raised him from the dead, we will be saved. So Lord, I ask you right now to come live inside my heart, because I do confess Jesus Christ is Lord and I do believe God raised him from the dead. Thank you God for loving me. Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer above and meant it with your whole heart that was the first step in a journey worth taking. The journey won’t be an easy one, the road will be narrow, now take up your cross and walk with Christ. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ walked down the road to Calvary to die for your and me on a cruel cross. It was the blood he shed that washed us clean when we repented of our sins and accepted his gift of salvation. Now let us present our bodies, a living sacrifice, as it says is Romans 12:1 and not be conformed to the ways of this world, as it says in Romans 12:2.

The Bible

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” Hebrews 4:12

This morning I heard Robert Chapman quoted on the radio. I pray this quote blesses your day as it did mine.

"This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts binding, its histories are true and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, test the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth a paradise of glory and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, it will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor and condemns all who will trifle with its sacred contents."

Wow! So much can be said about the words our heavenly Father has given to us in the Bible. His word reminds us of what he wants for us and what he expects from us, offering us the blessings and warnings of a father. God’s word holds us accountable when no one else will, bringing on great conviction when conviction is required. It is not afraid to judge or be judged, nor does it walk on eggshells hoping to please. His word is precise, knowing the ways of our hearts. Its truths are unshakeable, bringing wisdom to those that keep its commandments and take heed to its warnings. It offers us shelter in the storms we encounter and holds us up when we fall from exhaustion and discouragement. God’s word offers undeniable affirmation when we seek answers humbly and hope even when we feel all hope is gone. It ministers to us, so that we may minister to others in need. It transforms the hearts of those who study its words, it strengthens our faith and wrestles with our restless hearts. God’s word can do all of this because it is ALIVE! Amen!

God has birthed within me a love for His Holy Word and a great desire to study it. I want to do more than read it, I want with my whole heart to understand it. In doing a little Bible study, I found some scripture that may help you understand what reading the word of God can do for you. I found the following references to these quotes in a book called Willmington’s Guide to the Bible. (pg. 800)

“Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live! Do not let my hope be crushed.”

Psalm 119:116

“Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.”

Psalm 119:133

“I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure.”

Psalm 119:162

“I weep with sorrow; encourage me by your word.”

Psalm 119:28

“May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.”

Psalm 119:74

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:105

“O Lord, listen to my cry; give me the discerning mind you promised.”

Psalm 119:169

“It is the same with my word. I send it out and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

Isaiah 55:11

“And I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.”

Acts 20:32

“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!”

John 15:7

“For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.”

1 Peter 1:23

“You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.”

John 15:3

“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”

John 17:17

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

2 Timothy 3:16

“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.”

John 8:31

“Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.”

Psalm 119:50

Do Not Love This World?

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.” 1 John 2:15

“Do not love this world?” Wait a minute, this world is the only world we know, the only physical world, anyway. The sounds, sights, tastes, aromas and the textures of this world surround us every day of our lives and there is no escaping them. It is in this world that we are born to a mother and father, into a family that loves and nurtures us. It is also in this world that we have gotten to experience the majestic panoramic view of monuments such as the Grand Canyon which awe and inspire many. How about standing over Hoover Dam, the structure that tames the waters of the Colorado River? Our senses are taken captive by such sights and power. Let’s not forget the foods we love to indulge in, or the recreational toys that offer hours of enjoyment. How about power, glory and fame? These are just some of the things the world offers and according to 1 John 2:15, we aren’t supposed to love them.

“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the father, but from this world.” 1 John 2:16

As I sat and read 1 John 2:15-17, a passage I have read before more than once, the Lord began to speak to my heart and open my eyes. It’s an absolute wonder how each time we read the same passage a little more is revealed to us about not only its meaning, but its meaning in our lives. I love my family, my husband and children, our home, our pets and everything about our life together, even our struggles. You are probably wondering, “How can she love her struggles?” Well, let me correct myself, I don’t actually love my struggles, but I do accept them as character building and necessary in this life. (I didn’t always accept them, but by walking in Christ and studying God’s word, I have grown in my faith.) I also accept that until I am on the other side of eternity, I will not know the exact purpose of each struggle I faced here on Earth. As much as I love everything about our life together, I know without a shadow of a doubt, that I must never place this life here on Earth before my love for God.

Day six of Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, is titled Life Is a Temporary Assignment. Rick Warren reminds us that in the Bible there are several references to how brief our stay on Earth is. “It is a fatal mistake to assume that God’s goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even in a ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns.” (The Purpose Driven Life, 48) At the end of day six in his book there is a section called, “Thinking About My Purpose” and in that section Rick Warren gives us a question to consider. “How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now.” (The Purpose Driven Life, 52) That is a great question to consider and I think we all need to spend some time in God’s word reflecting on this question and how we would answer it.

We should enjoy our families and the splendors of the world we live in, but we must never forget that this is not our home. One day Jesus Christ will return and we will go home with him. Amen! On that day power, glory and fame here on Earth won’t matter, not unless it was all done to glorify God. To some Christians the thought of leaving this world and everything in it behind, makes them more than just a little bit uneasy. Thoughts of their possessions and how hard they worked to attain them begin playing in their minds and they hold on tightly to this life here on Earth, as if it were Heaven to live on Earth. One reason why we don’t grow in Christ the way we should and experience his full blessing in our lives, is that we refuse to accept that everything we have, everything we worked so hard for and claim to own, isn’t ours to begin with.

“And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” 1 John 2:17

As children of God we must be in the His word, pray without ceasing and make spending time with God a priority, or this world we live in will seduce us and we will be taken in by Satan’s lies. Slowly, we will grow further and further away from God and lack the necessary strength to make our way back. An emptiness so great, will begin to grow inside of us and nothing will come close to filling it. As we find ourselves growing further and further away from God and walking through a spiritual desert, we will try to fill that emptiness with all of the wrong things. We then begin experiencing a life in which nothing is ever enough and we are never content with what we have and if we are, it’s not for long. It’s such a vicious cycle and so hard to break on our own without God.

“The world appeals to a Christian through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And once the world takes over in one of these areas, a Christian will soon realize it. He will lose his enjoyment of the Father’s love and his desire to do the Father’s will. The Bible will become boring and prayer a difficult chore. Even Christian fellowship may seem empty and disappointing. It is not that there is something wrong with others, however-what’s wrong is the Christian’s worldly heart.” (Be Real, p. 74)

Dr. Warren Wiersbe explained it very well in the quote above. That being said, we mustn’t allow our hearts to become fixated with this world. We need to spend more time with God and doing the things God would have us do, instead of doing what pleases us and never including God in the equation. We must not seek to please ourselves and the desires of our hearts without first seeking out if those desires are within God’s will. We need to live our lives as a pleasant and pleasing aroma to God; after all, he did send his only son, Jesus Christ, to die for us on Calvary’s cruel cross. You might be thinking that this sounds like a tall order. You might be wondering how on Earth we are supposed to live this way. To some, living this way might not sound logical, practical, or even feasible.

God has entrusted us with much and as Christians we must not worry about how different we will look to those around us, instead we must strive to be different and be noticed. We want others to see Christ in us. Someone once said of me, that I brought Church with me every time I came to visit them. This was back in the beginning of my walk with Christ when I was energized and although I’m not much of an evangelizer, I was trying my best to bring this person the Good News. This person is someone I love and respect and at the time, the comment wasn’t meant as a complement, but I claimed it as one. What an honor that would be, if that is how I am remembered after I have left this world.

When we get to heaven it won’t matter how much money, or how many cars we had, or how big our house here on Earth was. The only thing that will matter is what we did with the Son of God and whether or not we followed the example Jesus Christ set for us in everything he did. If you aren’t putting God first and cling to the pleasures and everything this world has to offer as all there is, you need to ask God for forgiveness, ask him to change your heart and fill you with his love.

How Do We Keep Our Purpose Firm?

“You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3

Wow…”Keeping our purpose firm,” now those are some strong words. The Bible tells us that we are given peace when we keep our purpose firm and trust in God. But how do we do that? How are we supposed to keep plugging away at something when discouragement hits and it seems our efforts accomplish nothing? We go from one thing to another, often having good intentions and good beginnings…but finish badly, if we finish at all.

For one, we need to be in His word daily (read the Bible) and prayerfully ask God to guide us in everything we do and make His will so clearly and bluntly known to us, that we would see it…big bright flashing lights with alarms going off would be nice. Not only that, but that we would want to do God’s will and not be selfish. (I could write a whole other blog on that topic.) If we aren’t in His word daily, we will be starving ourselves from that which keeps our spirits fed. I don’t know about you, but if I’m hungry and miss a meal, my blood sugar starts making me a bit cranky and unable to focus. Imagine then missing your daily bread for days, weeks, even months. Our spirits, which are fed by that daily bread, God’s word, begins to go through a spiritual desert. In that spiritual desert, we face struggles, sometimes the same struggle over and over again. No matter how hard we think we are trying, we feel like we are going around in circles and getting nowhere. Have you ever felt like you were running on a huge hamster wheel, exhausted, running faster and faster, but getting no where? Okay, now you know what I’m talking about. We need to get off that hamster wheel.

If we would just do the things God is telling us we need to do, we could get off that hamster wheel. We weren’t created to depend on ourselves, yet that’s the way we choose to live. We need to take God seriously and I’m afraid we do not. We acknowledge Him as creator, we acknowledge that He walked this Earth as Jesus Christ and died for our sins. We believe by Faith all of these things and that He rose on the third day after dying on Calvary’s cruel cross. We are grateful for all of these things and many of us, have asked Jesus Christ to be Lord of our lives and have accepted the gift of salvation. Even though we have a God that loves us so much and has sacrificed his only son for us, we still hold back.

Just imagine how much we could accomplish if we sought to glorify God in everything we did. That’s a difficult thing to do in this “me centered” world, it would mean putting others first, as our Lord Jesus Christ did. That would require a lot of self control, patience and endurance (…and I’m sure some other things I have left out. Remember I don’t know everything). We aren’t born with self control and patience or endurance; those things are developed when we are committed to developing them.

“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self control, and self control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” 2 Peter 1:4-7

Wow… “Keeping our purpose firm,” sounds like a lot of work. It is and only those who trust in God wholeheartedly, will accomplish great things in His name and be filled with the peace that comes with keeping their purpose firm. Aren't you glad Jesus Christ didn't give up on us and throw down his cross? He not only showed us great love by enduring all of the suffering, pain and humiliation that came with his appointed day at Calvary, but he set an example for us to follow.

What is God's grace?

God's grace is absolutely amazing. The best way to describe God's grace is as His unmerited favor or pardon. The favor is unmerited, because you see, there is absolutely nothing we can do on our own to deserve God's favor; we can never be good enough, or do enough good deeds to deserve our salvation. We are human, weak and fallible, unable to save ourselves.

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." Romans 3:23

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

God showed us His unmerited favor, or grace, by sending His only son, Jesus Christ, to die for us on Calvary's cruel cross. God's grace does for us what we can not do for ourselves.

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5:8

When we accept the gift of salvation, the blood of Christ covers our sins and cleanses our unrighteousness.

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

Are you Saved? If you aren't sure, take a step in Faith today...

Admit that you are a sinner and repent... then invite Jesus Christ into your life.

Our assurance is in God's Word

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"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13

Now that's Love! Amen!

Our heavenly Father loves us so much and when I think of how we take that faithful, unconditional love for granted every day, I am reminded that we are so unworthy. When I think of what He did for us and the sacrifice that was made so that we would be saved, something deep inside of me wants to be more for Christ and do more for Christ. Yet, the flesh and the world around me work together, keeping me preoccupied with things that really don't matter, keeping me sluggish and afraid of reaching out to this dying world. Life has a way of getting so busy, too busy and we have a way of making excuses, too many excuses.

This all brings me to the reason why I started this blog. Why start a blog? The last few weeks I have been doing what I do every day, which is taking care of my family. Something I enjoy doing more than my family realizes. I choose being a stay-at-home mom, over raking in big bucks at some large company, any day. I want to raise my kids, I don't want them in daycare or taking care of themselves after school. I understand some families are forced to do so, but as long as I can help it, no matter the sacrifice, I believe my children need their mother around. So back to why I started this blog...well I have always enjoyed writing; ever since I was a little girl. Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a writer. (Not that I thought I did it well, it was just an overwhelming desire that I had and something that I really enjoyed doing) I also have the desire to minister to others and feel that I communicate better when I write my thoughts down. There is just so much more freedom in written words, especially for someone who is a little insecure, such as myself.

So the last couple of weeks the desire to write once more has been surfacing a little each day. Then I began asking myself, "what would I write?" Back in another season of my life, (previous to my days at NorthRidge Church) I enjoyed writing love stories with a bit of mystery & suspense. I could crank out the chapters too. One option was breaking out the old novels (I actually wrote 2 complete novels and started a third) rewrite them and try getting them published again) The option I choose was to write, but write for Christ. I can't think of anything better to do with my spare time. Along with satisfying the desire for a creative outlet, I can write and share my thoughts and feelings throughout my spiritual journey.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog.

God Bless You ALL.

***Warning, I said I enjoyed writing, not that I was any good at it***