If you make the mess......

Is it really so hard to get this concept? Apparently it is! But hopefully this will help! My children are very visual learners so I can tell them how to do something over and over but it won't click! They will stand there with a blank look on their face until you show them how to do it. The same goes for asking them to pick up their own messes. You can tell them that when they are done with something they need to put it back but they sure won't remember until you are right there with them telling them to do it. So back when there was still snow on the ground(you know, back in May) I took this photo with those words in mind to go on it. I printed 4 of them and posted one in each of their rooms, one in the living room, and one in the dinning room(all areas they have toys or bring toys to). After just a few days of pointing them to this they started to get it. And now that it has been a few months I can honestly say that they are doing great!! Yes I still have to remind them from time to time, but they are doing so much better at remembering to pick up and put away their toys and its starting to work in other areas as well. So please if you are looking for a way to help teach your kids to pick up after themselves print this and post it in your home. Good luck! 

Sunday Skies

View

My favorite spot in our Minot AFB home is right here. You can't tell but this is our living room and I'm laying on the couch reading a book. The living room itself isn't my favorite spot as it seems to always be busy and almost always messy and loud. But seeing this view when all else is quiet and to feel the cool summer breeze, hear the birds chirping, and that beautiful sky! This, this is Peace, this is pure Joy, this is what I think God intended for us to experience in our homes.
In the summers this view is either completely clear of clouds and just the perfect blue or it has amazing cloud formations some of which also come with wonderful lightning shows. In fall the breeze is much cooler but just as peaceful. Seeing the leaves float past the window and hearing them crunch under the feet of families passing by is one experience I will never forget. Then comes winter with its white snow falling. Sometimes the snow falls peacefully and if you watch closely you will find a few flakes on the window to examine. But other times it falls with such fierceness you just watch in amazement. No, the windows are not open during winter but that's fine because at that point you love feeling all warm and cozy in your home. Some days are dark and cloudy but from this spot it still looks peaceful. Then comes the spring; the sun that melts the snow feels delightful shining in, and the fresh air is crisp but much needed in the home that has been locked up all winter. The rains that falls brings a renewed hope; winter has ended and things are being made new.

Good Morning!

I've never been a big coffee drinker but in the last few weeks I just can't get moving without it. Part of why I don't normally drink it is because I am very picky about the flavor. I don't want to actually taste the coffee, I don't like that part! So since I have been "needing" it, I'm working on finding what creamers I like. This one is a Caramel Drizzle Coffee K-Cup with Peppermint Mocha creamer. In most areas this creamer is only sold at Christmas time(that could be why I drink so much more coffee during that season) but I finally found it in a new store out here and I am hoping to learn how to make it myself so I can have it all the time! Anyone ever made it before? Do you drink coffee everyday?


Have a blessed Friday!

Spring!!!

Spring has finally shown up, over a month late! I'm so happy to see it! The snow is melting, birds chirping, grass is slowly turning green, and its no longer in the 30's!! In fact at this time its 61 degrees out and I have all my windows open letting the fresh air in. I feel like I'm coming out of hibernation!
 All this spring weather has made me want to do some spring cleaning so that's the plan for this weekend.

Sunset from last night

Chicken & Veggie Pita

Chicken & Veggie Pita

by Emma Roe @ Of Sparrows & Butterflies 

This is one of the best tasting healthy lunches I have ever made, even hubby loved it! The pita part is not homemade but I'm hoping sometime soon to start making my own. 

What you need: 

Pita's

Skinless, Boneless, Chicken Breast

Sweet Red Peppers 

Purple Onion

Baby Spinach

Cheese

Start by sauteing the onions in butter( i used 1 small onion but I was only making lunch for me and hubby). Cut the chicken into strips or cubes and and add to the onions. Stir every few minutes.  Let the chicken cook until there is no pink left! I used 3 chicken breasts and it took 15 minutes to cook through. 

Cut your peppers ( I used 2) into strips or cubes as well. Make sure there are no seeds from the peppers. Add them to the chicken for the last 5 minutes of cooking. 

Last add the spinach and cheese (as much as you like) to the chicken mix. Scoop into the pita and serve warm. For best taste, don't let the spinach be in the warm chicken for to long. For this recipe its best to be crisp(same with the peppers). 

There is so much you can do with this to make it how you like! First, you can use any onion you like, use any sweet pepper you like, your favorite kind of cheese, and any pita you want. I used Organic Whole Wheat Pitas with Honey. 

This is also a great recipe to make as a freezer meal! Make the chicken mix with the onion and sweet pepper and freeze that way. Then when you take it out of the freezer all you have to do is warm it up and add spinach and cheese. 

You probably noticed that I didn't use any seasoning on the chicken. This was a last minute choice to see if the flavor from everything else would be enough. I am so glad I tried it this way! You can add any seasoning you like but this way has plenty of flavor for me! 

The prep took about 5 minutes and cooking time about 15 minutes. 

With what I used above I had enough for Hubby and I to have a very big lunch for two days!

Leave a commit below! I would love to hear your thoughts on this! 

P52~ Week 11

Garlic Bread Spaghetti Sandwich

Yummy!

 

 

Crazy days!

It's been way to long since I've posted! Today I made sure to do all the "P52" posts that were missing and I'm hoping this week to get working on the "Mornings with Jeremiah" posts that I'm behind in. But for now I wanted to share what I've been doing these weeks away(you know, besides all the mommy and home stuff).
I run my daughters Girl Scouts troop and are having a blast this year! We just finished our month of cookie sales! RizzyRoo and I did 20 booths!!! With each booth being at least 2 hours I feel like we just finished part time jobs! RizzyRoo had lots if fun doing them though.
Other then Girl Scouts, I have one other "club" I do a board position on and a few online groups that I have been helping out that all focus on helping moms become better moms and wives.
On top of all that I have been sick off and on, same with my kids. So needless to say, I'm tired!
   As I type this I'm sitting beside an indoor pool watching my daughter swim with her friends for a classmates birthday party. Unlike some parents I know who can't stand their kids going to birthday parties for a bunch of different reasons, I love it!! I love the excitement when they get the invitation, love teaching them how to pick out a gift they think their friend will love while also learning about how to use the money you have wisely. But most of all, I use them as play dates!! I just don't have time for weekly get togethers that I know the kids need so we go to almost all the class party's so they can hang out with all the friends at once. It might cost a little more since we buy gifts but its worth it to me!
Well I better get back to the party! Thanks for reading!

P52~ Week 10

 Took Ezri to her school carnival where she got to meet Sparky the Fire Dog and get her hair and nails done! It was also dress up as your favorite Dr. Seuss Character day. Can you guess who she was?

P52~ Week 9

P52~ Week 8

P52~ Week 7

P52~ Week 6

Monday Mornings with Jeremiah ~Week 5

Yes I know this post is a little late, I'm sorry! But better late then never right? I'm going to change up the way I make this post a little and if you like this new way over the other way please let me know!

  So today we are in Jeremiah Chapter 5. If you have your Bible go ahead and read the whole chapter. If you don't have your Bible handy here are some links for you!
Jeremiah 5 NKJV
Jeremiah 5 KJV
Jeremiah 5 NIV
Jeremiah 5 MSG
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  Its seems as if there is an argument going on here. God keeps telling Jeremiah all the evil things His people are up to and asking him "Shall I not punish them for these things?" I feel that Jeremiah is looking for a way to save the people without God destroying them or hurting them. Jeremiah at this point seems to have a very compassionate heart but God is upset at His people. The people who He made, He fed, He Provided for. Now they turn to false gods, they seek only pleasure for themselves putting away all thought of what is right. Do you find yourself thinking only of your "needs" instead of what Gods "needs" and calling for your life is? I think we all do this from time to time. Its hard to stay on track if your not in Gods word.  In verse 13 it says "...For the word is not in them." Take a little time today to really look at yourself and how much time your giving back to God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Verse 14 says, Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, "Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Then in Verse 18, "Nevertheless in those days" says the Lord, "I will not make a complete end of you". Jump to Verse 25, "Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you. And last let look at verse 30-31, "“An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
³¹ The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?"

What will you do in the end?
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Memory Verse Week 5

  Jeremiah 5:31
 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?"

P52~ Week 5

A day late but here it is!

Monday Mornings with Jeremiah~ Week 4

Jeremiah 4:1-31

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
² And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’
In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;
The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall glory.”

³ For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”

An Imminent Invasion

⁵ Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, ‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
⁶ Set up the standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the north,
And great destruction.”
⁷ The lion has come up from his thicket,
And the destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone forth from his place
To make your land desolate.
Your cities will be laid waste,
Without inhabitant.
⁸ For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail.
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.

⁹ “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That the heart of the king shall perish,
And the heart of the princes;
The priests shall be astonished,
And the prophets shall wonder.”

¹⁰ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’
Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”

¹¹ At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
¹² A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now I will also speak judgment against them.”

¹³ “Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And his chariots like a whirlwind.
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”

¹⁴ O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
¹⁵ For a voice declares from Dan
And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim:
¹⁶ “Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a far country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
¹⁷ Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
¹⁸ “Your ways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”

Sorrow for the Doomed Nation

¹⁹ O my soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
²⁰ Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
²¹ How long will I see the standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

²² “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are silly children,
And they have no understanding.
They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

²³ I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
²⁴ I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
²⁵ I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
²⁶ I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.

²⁷ For thus says the Lord:

“The whole land shall be desolate;
Yet I will not make a full end.
²⁸ For this shall the earth mourn,
And the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have purposed and will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
²⁹ The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.

³⁰ “And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.

³¹ “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She spreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is weary
Because of murderers!’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeremiah 4 NIV

Jeremiah 4 KJV

Jeremiah 4 MSG

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  Today I want to just touch on a few verses that stuck out to me and how I feel they apply to us. In verse 14 Jerusalem is being told (no, more like begged) to wash their hearts of sin so they may be saved. They are asked "How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?" Well Christians? How long will we keep evil thoughts and sin in our hearts? We are all born sinners and when we ask Christ into our hearts we are washed clean. But that doesn't mean we no longer sin! It just means that we know what we are doing is sin! To me that is even worse! Are we going to wash our hearts of that sin? Are we going to wash our minds of those evil thoughts?

 In verse 19 Jeremiah is crying out, "O my soul, O my soul! I am pained in my very heart!" "I Cannot hold my peace". He is distraught, knowing what the Lord will do if they don't turn from their sins. In verse 22 we see God's point. He says “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are silly children,
And they have no understanding.
They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

Read that again, but slowly. Take in what God is saying here. Just as the people of Jerusalem where foolish so are we! We take advantage of God's Grace and Mercy! We act as children, disobey His word and then ask for forgiveness after. It's like that saying I hear almost daily from wives "it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission". Wow! How wrong is this? We are foolish, silly children. As the verse says, "we have no understanding of good". But if we are in Christ and in His word daily we will understand what is good. We will have the direction to be able to act and live the way He wants us to. And most importantly we will be serving God and showing others who He is.  

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Memory Verse Week 4

Jeremiah 4: 23

  I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light

 

 

 

 

P52~ Week 4

I couldn't pick so this week I have two photos :)

Monday Mornings with Jeremiah~ Week 3

Jeremiah 3:1-25

Israel Is Shameless

“They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife,
And she goes from him
And becomes another man’s,
May he return to her again?’
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
But you have played the harlot with many lovers;
Yet return to Me,” says the Lord.

² “Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see:
Where have you not lain with men?
By the road you have sat for them
Like an Arabian in the wilderness;
And you have polluted the land
With your harlotries and your wickedness.
³ Therefore the showers have been withheld,
And there has been no latter rain.
You have had a harlot’s forehead;
You refuse to be ashamed.
⁴ Will you not from this time cry to Me,
‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth?
⁵ Will He remain angry forever?
Will He keep it to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,
As you were able.”

A Call to Repentance

⁶ The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. ⁷ And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. ⁸ Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. ⁹ So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. ¹⁰ And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord.

¹¹ Then the Lord said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. ¹² Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say:

‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you.
For I am merciful,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not remain angry forever.
¹³ Only acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God,
And have scattered your charms
To alien deities under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.

¹⁴ “Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. ¹⁵ And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

¹⁶ “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the Lord, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

¹⁷ “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

¹⁸ “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

¹⁹ “But I said:

‘How can I put you among the children
And give you a pleasant land,
A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’

“And I said:

‘You shall call Me, “My Father,”
And not turn away from Me.’
²⁰ Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband,
So have you dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.

²¹ A voice was heard on the desolate heights,
Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel.
For they have perverted their way;
They have forgotten the Lord their God.

²² “Return, you backsliding children,
And I will heal your backslidings.”

“Indeed we do come to You,
For You are the Lord our God.
²³ Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,
And from the multitude of mountains;
Truly, in the Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
²⁴ For shame has devoured
The labor of our fathers from our youth—
Their flocks and their herds,
Their sons and their daughters.
²⁵ We lie down in our shame,
And our reproach covers us.
For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
We and our fathers,
From our youth even to this day,
And have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

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Jeremiah 3 KJV

Jeremiah 3 NIV

Jeremiah 3 MSG

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Memory verse week 3

Jeremiah 3:25

 "We lie down in our shame,
And our reproach covers us.
For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
We and our fathers,
From our youth even to this day,
And have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

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Hello Mornings

I hate to wake up and get out of my bed no matter what time I go to bed. At the beginning of this year(yes only a few weeks ago) I started waking up an hour before the kids just so I could be more awake and get stuff done but by Friday I was back to waking up at the last minute. And even on the days I got up all I really accomplished was getting on Facebook and having coffee. Not the best use of my time. At the start of every week I felt on top of the world and by the end I felt like I was failing. A big part of this I think is that I expect myself to be able to just go from being a last minute wake up kind of person to one who gets up way before I need to just over night. I put too much on myself and I need to take a step back so that I can one day be at my Ideal Goal. Another reason why I think I start to fail by the end of the week is that I don't have accountability. 

I have chosen to be part of the HelloMornings Challenge! I haven't done it before and to be honest I just found the website today thanks to a blog post by themobsociety. After reading through it over the past few hours and looking into it I think this will be a great thing for me to do. Let me give you some information on it. It will start on January 28th and run 13 weeks with an end  date of April 26th. Anyone (female!) is welcome to join a group, though space is limited. It is partly a challenge to help us wake up and start our days off right with God and also a Bible Study. If you chose to do this you will join a group that fits your needs. The groups are filling up fast so I would get in it now! Go here to start it! 

HelloMornings is giving out 15 tips to work on before this all starts. They have blog posts for every tip so you get more details then what I'm going to give here. So far we are up to 7 tips and I am going to give my answers to the tips here. If you want to read the posts that talked about them look for the links here! 

1) Why?~ Why do I want to do this? I need to make sure I'm getting time in with God and for me the best chance of that happening everyday would be if I got up and did it before my day of taking care of kids and house and everything else I have going on happens. I am also hoping it will bring more peace to our home. Waking up last minute and rushing to get the kids fed and ready for the day just adds stress and once that stress is there it doesn't go away so the whole day is shot.

2) What?~ My Ideal Goal: Time with God; 45 minutes, Planning my day; 10 minutes, Wake up & Make up(make coffee, morning hygiene time, Hair and Make up) 25 minutes. This is a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes! Meaning I would have to be up by 5:40 am. 

OK so that is the Ideal Goal that I would like to get to at some point but I am not going to start out with the ideal goal. Instead for this 13 weeks I will have a Short Term Goal I will work on that will help me in getting to the above Ideal Goal.  So here is the Short Term Goal: Time with God; 30 minutes, Planning my day; 5 minutes, Wake up & Make Up; 10 minutes. This is a total of 45 minutes and that puts the wake up time at 6:15 am. 

3) Baby Steps~ By the end of the 13 weeks I will wake up 45 minutes before my kids get up and do the things I have listed above. My Baby Steps will look like this; Every month I will get up 15 minutes earlier for the next 3 months. 

4) Focus on Bedtime!~ Getting up early shouldn't mean you lose sleep but instead your sleep times need to change. So I will start out making sure I am in bed with lights out by 10:30 pm(Sunday through Thursday). As I get up earlier I will move that time down to 10 pm. 

5) Set an Alarm for Bedtime!~ This is a great idea and one I will be sure to follow! I will be setting 3 alarms so that I have plenty of time to get to bed! The first will be 1 hour before I need to be in bed, the second will be at the 30 minute mark and the last will be 5 minutes before. 

6) Don't Linger!~ Best way to get up and not worry about falling back to sleep is to sit up, place feet on floor, and get walking! I will  be putting my alarm on our TV stand that way I have to get up to turn it off!

7) Tell Others!~ This is where the accountability comes into play. If you keep this to your self you won't be so upset if you stop but if you share it with others you will have more motivation to keep going. This is why I have chosen to make this post and post it on Facebook and share it with my hubby. 

There are the first 7 tips, after the 15th one comes out I will make another post to fill in tips 8-15. I hope some of you will chose to do this with me and if you don't then at least think about it for next time! 

P52~Week 3

I love the contrast of the colors here. This has not been edited.

Monday Mornings with Jeremiah~ Week 2

Jeremiah 2:1-37

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

² “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“I remember you,
The kindness of your youth,
The love of your betrothal,
When you went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
³ Israel was holiness to the Lord,
The firstfruits of His increase.
All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will come upon them,” says the Lord.’”

⁴ Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. ⁵ Thus says the Lord:

“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
Have followed idols,
And have become idolaters?
⁶ Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
⁷ I brought you into a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
⁸ The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.

⁹ “Therefore I will yet bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
¹⁰ For pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus and see,
Send to Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a thing.
¹¹ Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are not gods?
But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
¹² Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
¹³ “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴ “Is Israel a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
¹⁵ The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
¹⁶ Also the people of Noph and Tahpanhes
Have broken the crown of your head.
¹⁷ Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When He led you in the way?
¹⁸ And now why take the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of Sihor?
Or why take the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the River?
¹⁹ Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

²⁰ “For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And you said, ‘I will not transgress,’
When on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, playing the harlot.
²¹ Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
²² For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God.

²³ “How can you say, ‘I am not polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
²⁴ A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
²⁵ Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved aliens, and after them I will go.’

²⁶ “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their prophets,
²⁷ Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their trouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
²⁸ But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they can save you in the time of your trouble;
For according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹ “Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
³⁰ “In vain I have chastened your children;
They received no correction.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.

³¹ “O generation, see the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We are lords;
We will come no more to You’?
³² Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.

³³ “Why do you beautify your way to seek love?
Therefore you have also taught
The wicked women your ways.
³⁴ Also on your skirts is found
The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.
I have not found it by secret search,
But plainly on all these things.
³⁵ Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
Behold, I will plead My case against you,
Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
³⁶ Why do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also you shall be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria.
³⁷ Indeed you will go forth from him
With your hands on your head;
For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies,
And you will not prosper by them.

 

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Jeremiah 2 KJV

 

Jeremiah 2 NIV

 

Jeremiah 2 MSG

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   Wow! Anyone else feel like God is pissed off? What about hurt? Or sad? Or even worried? I think He is all of the above. As He said in verse 2, “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown." He remembers all that they went through and how they loved Him and worshiped Him for it and now they turn their backs to Him? Now they worship other gods and sin in the open with no thought of the One who pulled them out of the wilderness, who fed them when there was no food, who got them where they are today. Oh wait, isn't that what we do? Don't we sin every day and forget if even for a moment why we are here? Don't we sometimes put too much effort into things or people of this world and make them our idols? God was mad at them for all that they did and is mad at us for all that we are doing.

The good news is that we know our God is a God of Mercy and forgiveness. This chapter didn't show that but we know He is from other chapters in scripture and we will see more of that but for right now God is upset to say the least. We need to work on remembering why we are here, who we are here to worship and above all who are God really is. Every one of us sins, it might be in the little things or the big things but to God all sin is the same. For me the biggest part is realizing what some of those sins are. Sure I can see what the big ones are but sometimes we just don't notice the little ones and they go on undealt with for a time before they become bigger and then we notice them and we have a lot of work to undo all that we have before us. This is where its good to have a friend, whom you trust, who can help keep you accountable but be able to do it in love.

Lets try out best to make God happy, sure we will slip up and He will forgive us but wouldn't it be better to do it right the first time? Lets try that.  

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Week 2 Momory Verse:
 Jeremiah 2:2
 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“I remember you,
The kindness of your youth,
The love of your betrothal,
When you went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
 

P52~ Week 2

A Winter Morning in North Dakota.

Early Mornings

Early Mornings, oh how I avoid you! Up 'til now I have done my best to sleep to the very last moment then rush to get kids and myself ready for the day before we are late. Most days I would make it just under the wire but other days we would end up late and everyone has a bad day. Not any more! This last Wednesday I woke up at 6 am when I would normally stay sleeping until at least 7:20 am. I got up got dressed, enjoyed some coffee, then hubby and I gave my car a jump with the new jump pack we had to buy(that is the real reason why I made myself get up so early).  I actually ate breakfast that morning and every morning since! To my surprise Ezri woke up on her own at 7 am so we had some extra time together before we started our morning routine. We went through a new section of her Awana Sparky Book and learned a new Bible Verse then we did nails! I don't put nail polish on her that much as every time I do Roxas is around and wants it also so having this one on one time with Ezri was perfect! Before she got on the bus that morning she gave me the biggest hug and said that was the best morning ever! We all had a great day that day and I will be doing my best to get up early every school morning so we can have great days over and over.

 

~Monday Mornings with Jeremiah~Week 1

Monday Mornings with Jeremiah~ Week 1: Jeremiah 1: 1-19 NKJV

 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, ² to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. ³ It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

The Prophet Is Called

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ Then said I:

“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸ Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”

¹¹ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

¹² Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

¹³ And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”
And I said, “I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me:

“Out of the north calamity shall break forth
On all the inhabitants of the land.
¹⁵ For behold, I am calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;
“They shall come and each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah.
¹⁶ I will utter My judgments
Against them concerning all their wickedness,
Because they have forsaken Me,
Burned incense to other gods,
And worshiped the works of their own hands.

¹⁷ “Therefore prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
¹⁸ For behold, I have made you this day
A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
¹⁹ They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

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Jeremiah 1 KJV

Jeremiah 1 NIV

Jeremiah 1 MSG
 

 

 

Week 1 Memory Verse:

Jeremiah 1:19 NKJV

  They will fight against you,
  But they shall not prevail against you.
  For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”
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God knew before Jeremiah was even in his mothers womb what he was going to do with Jeremiah's life. God knew he would call him to become a prophet and that he would question it and need to be reminded who it is that is calling him to do this work. As a parent its so hard for me to look at my kids and not worry about the future. I would love to be able to know what their lives will hold and how God will use them. It may be in great ways or it may be in the simple ways, either way God will use my kids in some way for His plan I just have to learn to trust that His ways are better and He already knows what will happen. I need to just make sure I am guiding these children towards our Creator.
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 The memory verse I picked for this week I think is something all Christians forget from time to time. We forget that God is with us and that He will deliver us. I can guarantee you it will not happen in the way you a think it will or even the timing you think, God loves to surprise us like that. You may not be called to be a prophet but we are all called to share Gods word and share the love of Christ. You may be called out on it from time to time, you may even be ridiculed,  and in some areas of the world you may even be punished for it, but remember that God will deliver you from it when He sees fit, when His work through you is done.  

P52~Week 1

With the holidays over and all the decorations coming down I wanted to capture a photo of one of my favorite spots this holiday before I took it down.

Our God

How do you get your momentum going to clean? For me I blast some good music. Normally its any kind of music as long as it will keep me moving. But lately due to my music challenge its been only Christian Music. I just have to say, it is so hard to clean when you listen to songs that just put you on your knees praising Our God! I don't believe in the "There is a time and a place for worshiping God" mentality. Rather I feel that any time you feel led to it you do it! Anytime you feel God calling out to you, stop and have time with Him. Worshiping Christ shouldn't happen just in the church or in the car when you have nothing else to do, or when you do praise groups. Worshiping Him needs to be a daily thing. It doesn't need to always be planned out. I feel that Christ gets more glory when we randomly forget what we "should" be doing and just take that time, even if its just a few moments, to praise Him.
 A few days ago I was doing a big cleaning project after these messy holidays and I found myself singing out with my hands raised up then just calling out to God. RizzyRoo came down stairs and I didn't know she was watching because I wasn't focused on anything but God. Once I finished my praise to Him and prayer is when I noticed her there. Yes, I felt kind of embarrassed, not knowing what she was thinking. I bet is was something like "my mom is going nuts!!". But then something I didn't expect happened, she wanted to ask me about it, she wanted to talk about praising God and praying, and why I was doing that. It wasn't in a "your odd" kind of questioning but rather a "I really want to understand" kind of questioning.  From me by saying yes to God, He gave me a perfect opening to talk with her more and that conversation went on for over 30 minutes!!! That is the longest she has ever spent talking about one topic.
 Last February I read a book called, Espresso For Your Spirit, if you haven't read it you need to! One of my favorite parts in it is this: "Your job is not to raise Godly children, your job is to be a Godly role model for your kids. God has given them a free will, and he will ultimately have the greatest shaping power in their lives. Your job is simply to do your part by modeling Godly behavior." I will be making many posts this year that will start with this quote as its something I need to remember and will be working on this year.
 Lets model godly behavior by saying yes to God and praising Him anytime we can. Lets show our kids what it means to Love God with your whole heart and to love Him more then anything and anyone else. The point of this post is not at all to bring praises or pats on the back for me but simply to show that God works through us and others in our moments of vulnerability.

January 30 Day Music Challenge

Last January I took part in the 30 Day Music Challenge that Klove starts every year. The Challenge is to listen only to Christian Music for 30days. It can be on Klove,Khart, any Christian radio station, Cd's, itunes, any source as long as its only Christian Music. I did it last year just to see what would happen and I must say that month was the best month out of the whole year for me. My house was clean, my spirit was full of joy, and life just looked better. I didn't stop at the 30 days, in fact I kept it up for 56 days before I turned the radio station because it wasn't work that day and started listening to what is considered "secular" music. My life started to get more depressing and my house hasn't seemed to ever be as clean and together as it was then. Now I am not saying that all secular music is bad and you shouldn't listen to it at all. I love a lot of "secular" music and find its ok to listen to as long as you can keep your spirit in check. For me I have to listen to christian music more then secular. Music affects everyone differently, so keep that in mind when choosing what you should be listing to.
  I loved doing the Music Challenge last year and have chosen to do it again this year. But instead of just doing it for 30days then not again until next January I am going to it now for one month and after that one month see how long I can go without with the secular music then I will start the challenge over again in May for 30 days and also in November for 30 days as those seem to be the hardest months for me out here.

Want to do this challenge with me? Join here! Start whenever you want! Klove 30 day Music Challenge

Not sure where to listen to music? Here are some great links for you!

Spotify

Pandora

Klove Online

Klove station finder