Tomorrow I will be back to facebook. These last 40 days have been such a blessing to be unplugged even though I definitely feel out of the loop in several areas of my life. The time that I have been able to pour into my family and spend with God has been great. I thought I would be able to share some of the things that God was speaking to me with you but He really didn’t speak much until this past weekend.
First let me start with the kitchen remodel. I have dreamed for several years now of a new kitchen. (I know a very earthly desire) I envisioned a place where me and the girls and their friends could gather after school or while I’m fixing supper and just talk and have fun. When you have 4 girls two of who are teenagers you find that your family grows quickly with the friends that become so intertwined in your life and I think it is such a blessing to be able to mentor to these young ladies. Over the past couple of years we have tried to save up for it but with the girls in private school we have put little away. Back in December during my devotion time I was reading the parable of the fig tree in Matthew 21:18-21 and God really spoke to me about my doubt. Jesus replied to His disciples when they asked why the fig tree had withered so quickly “…I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go through yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” That was when I began praying that God will take my doubt, since my prayers were not being answered in my timing, and to give me wisdom about my desires for the kitchen to be remodeled. Was it an earthly desire?, And if it was then to change my heart. Over the next several months God began preparing the way and showing us a plan that we could get the kitchen done. At the same time it was moving from a desire to something the needed to be done. (In other words it was falling apart around us). So last month we began the final planning and ordering cabinets. We have to finance part of it and my heart cringes with that since we are trying to get out of debt, but the day we ordered the cabinets and countertops (which, for those of you who have never done a kitchen remodel, are not cheap) I had a peace that I have NEVER felt when we have spent that much money. I didn’t even have that kind of peace when we paid the girls tuitions. Unfortunately the enemy quickly came in and began to take that peace and worry set in.
Last weekend, I was able to go with my daughter to an awesome women’s conference out of town knowing that this was the weekend my husband and an acquaintance from church who we hired to help was going to take the wall between the kitchen and dining room out. It didn’t take long at the conference for God to speak to me. During worship the first night we sang “Embrace” by Jake Hamilton. The lyrics repeat “it’s all gonna be ok” and I made it through singing it once before the tears came in abundance. God was speaking directly to me that “it’s ALL GONNA BE OK”. The name of the conference was EMBRACE and all weekend I felt Daddy embracing me. At the end of the conference the main speaker Julainne had a word for me. I honestly don’t remember much of what she was saying but I heard God saying, “Give your burdens to me and quit picking them back up. And quit picking up everyone else’s, lay them down and leave them,” then the old hymn “gonna lay down my burdens down by the riverside” came in my head. The stronghold of doubt and control were broken during that weekend. Olivia and I came back refreshed, renewed, and revived.
God spoke to me that "if His eye is on the sparrow then HIs heart is on me". He knows the desire of our hearts (Psalm 37:4) and He wants to give good gifts (Matthew 7:11). He tells us to "not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Philippians 4:6
Here is a link to Jake Hamiltons song Embrace. http://youtu.be/VphBebphKLYTo Be Continued...
