Bragging

on our girl!  First class... she did well even though she was a bit more interested in her classmates and barked to get their attention. Bo and Arnie were quite huge compared to Charlotte but that sure didn't intimidate her!
Today she has listened even better and has followed my hand signal to "sit" every time!
We're quite proud of our little furry girl!

Amazing service!

Today was an amazing church service! After Praise and Worship we pray as a body for various needs and requests from others that have been emailed to the church. It's such a powerful time and wow!...things just started happening! People were sharing some answers to prayers- healings, etc. and then one of the youth guys stood up and began to pour his heart out over how he had been struggling with anger. God had spoken to him in a dream showing him that the anger was destroying him from the inside out. He began crying, asking for help with this and the manifested presence of God showed up!
And then one by one, a youth girl stood up and shared things she had been struggling with and then others did the same thing and prayers were going forth and people were being set free! It was wonderful!
And then we sealed it with sweet communion, acknowledging the sacrifice Jesus had done for each of us.
Pastor Chuck never got to share his sermon but we sure had church and what God wanted was done!
What an amazing day!
What an awesome God we serve!

"Loved Beyond Measure"

Sometimes I fall in the trap of the "comparison game". I find my focus on all the negative things about myself- my appearance, how do I measure up , how do "they" see me, etc.
The problem is that my focus is all wrong! This message from Holley spoke to me this morning.

"We step on the scales.
Compare ourselves to others.
Try to measure up.We all just want to know,
"What am I worth?"
The Heart of Heaven declares
that the answer is infinite,
beyond our ways,
more than we can know.
Because our worth
doesn't come from what we do,
but Whom we belong to.
And you're His treasure...
loved beyond measure."

Holley Gerth

Our focus needs to be on Him. He made us. We belong to Him. We are here for His good pleasure, for His glory...and not for ours. This makes all the difference.

"God's Heart For You"

Today is the first day of our secular media fast. The theme for me this week is the title of Holley Gerth's devotional, God's Heart For You. I will be sharing throughout the week some of her thoughts that have blessed and encouraged me in my journey with the Lord and some of the ways He has spoken to me.

Excerpt from the book...

"Taste and see that the Lord is good to you. He provides for all your needs.
Daily bread.
Manna.
The hear- and- now truth your soul craves.
The forever grace your heart needs.
He is the God of the everyday,
the practical, the ordinary.
And of the eternal, the intangible,
the beyond-your-imagination.
He is limitless in His love for you.
His provision in your life will be too."

Even though the rest of the title of this book is "Embracing Your True Worth As A Woman",
men could benefit from it also. I highly recommend this encouraging devotional!

Better yet, won't you join us in our Fast? Turn off the TV, put away the newspapers and magazines
and spend time sitting at His feet, reading His Word, listening to your favorite Bible teachers and maybe some new ones He might lead you to. Go on the web and find some teachings that will help you grow! We especially like Andrew Wommack, Joseph Prince and of course our Pastor Chuck.
Check out our website, www.churchwithapurpose.org
Find his sermons and enjoy!

We will also watch some of our favorite Christian movies...Ben Hur, The Nativity, One Night With the King, The Matthew DVDs, Esther and others that will encourage us and draw us closer to the Lord.

Let me know if you're joining us. If you don't want to do the week, just do it for a day or two. Think it will make a difference in your life! :)

Just don't forget to sit quietly at His feet some and simply bask in His sweet presence. Love on Him and let Him love on you. He LOVES that!

Hush, hush...sweet Charlotte is sleeping!

Rainy days and Mondays....

never get me down! I am loving this chilly, rainy day but I'm enjoying it by the fire!
Sat and had my time with the Lord and some of my favorite devotionals but now I must be about some housework. And I've decided to take down the villages so that will be quite an undertaking.
That needs to be done while Charlotte is contained in her room! (oh and her class is the 29th-I got ahead of myself somehow)
So I'm off to get that done!
Hope you can enjoy the coziness of your homes some time today! If you have a fireplace, put in a fire and curl up with a good book! If not, turn on some lights, grab a fuzzy blanket, find a cozy corner and enjoy a book.

Charlotte

Charlotte, our "baby" is starting school!
Charlotte and I begin "puppy training school with K9sUnleashed this Sunday afternoon.
Her classmates are Sugar, Arnie, and Beau. Can't wait to meet them!
We will do this for 5 Sunday afternoons and hopefully we will both emerge "smarter"!

Winter is...

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand, and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."
-Edith Sitwell

Cleansing...

Our church is doing a 21 day fast. We've been given three options...total food fast for the time, a Daniel fast for the time or 7 days of fasting food, then 7 days on a Daniel fast and the last 7, fasting secular media. We began Wednesday and will end the fast on the 31st.
Mike and I have been rather excited about this. It's a good way to begin the new year!

This fast will touch every area of our lives- physical, spiritual, even emotional. We believe it will set the "tone" of 2012. Our main desire is to grow in the Lord, hear His voice more clearly, and be more rooted and grounded in His Word.

Also that old habits will be broken and new, healthier ones formed! Mike and I both need to lose weight and change our lifestyle a bit. This has been a great "jump-start" for us.
It's amazing! As we focus on the Lord, talk with Him, meditate on His Word; food no longer is our focus. He is helping us do this and we sense His strength.
He brings "things" to mind that we need to "fix" but He never asks us to do it without Him.

This morning as I walked Charlotte in the yard while the very cold winter wind was blowing, I felt so clean...so fresh...so renewed. Wow! It was like that York Peppermint Patty commercial!
Know as we continue on this adventure, it will only get better!

Here's to geting healthy in every area of our lives!

Mike and Maylena

So sweet!  Papa and one of his girls!

#9 on the 9th!

Here I am with  precious Maylena Reece Woods!

Our son, the already doting father!

Maylena Reece
7 pounds 14 ounces    20 1/2 " long

Isn't she adorable!

Awaiting...

Brittany and Bill are in the hospital! Maylena's on her way!
We'll head to the hospital when we get the "come hither"!
Brittany is being induced so not sure how long this will take.

New! Fresh!

Yes, this is a new year...a new beginning. There's a "freshness" in the air!
BUT...I seem to be drowning in all the "old junk"...for the moment.  Things are not yet back in place.
There are stacks and stacks of papers, books, mail, etc. in two rooms and if I focus on that I am totally overwhelmed. My "office/gym" is one of those rooms and I feel as if I'm working very hard to even"tread" water when I enter.

Ok...focus, Debbie. Take it one step at a time...one "pile" but also keep in mind the goal...a clean, organized place where "dreams, plans, and enjoyable living" can take place. Focus is key!
Hebrews 12:1-2..."let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus..."
Eyes on the prize! Eyes on what we are aiming for! Philippians 3:12-14...for goodness sakes! :)
"...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ...press toward the goal for the prize..."
As a believer and follower of Jesus, He is the Prize. Doing things, living the way He lives so that He can be seen in us...really seen!

A song that we sing sometimes says, "I'm not going back. I'm moving ahead. I'm here to declare to you, my past is over! In You all things are made new. Surrendered my life to Christ. I'm moving...moving forward!"
Forget the past! Forget how you messed up. He makes all things new.

Yes! I'm moving forward...through all the junk and tossing it on the way! I'm pressing on to the prize!
One of the "prizes" is a clean, well-organized home and a healthier lifestyle!

Here's to moving on, moving forward! Cheers!

New Year's Eve/New Year's Day

Mike and I usually stay home on New Year's Eve but this year some friends from church were hosting a BBQ, barn dance and fireworks! We simply couldn't refuse! We had breakfast at the Grill with Patti and Roy and then picked them up for the evening's festivities. It was great fun!
What a way to leave the old and enter the new!
New Year's Day found us at church hearing a wonderful message and enjoying the sweet presence of the Lord. Then home for black-eyed peas, collards, cornbread, pork loin and potato salad! Yum! Love those collards! (however, Mike does not! )
Today have been trying to take down Christmas decorations...hopefully I'll finish tomorrow! Most is down but not put away properly.
Part of me wants to settle down for a long winter's nap but "that ain't happening!"
Charlotte's off to the Vet for her last shots in the morning and then I'll come home and put a fire in and may sit and read! Got some really good books lined up!
Happy New Year!