My Psalm for the day is found in Psalm 16:11

“You will show me the path of life, In Your presence is fullness of joy.  At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore”

This verse to me, once again goes right back to where our focus is.  Where do we really want to go in life?  What path are we to take?  This Psalm reminds us to trust God for the path of life we are to take.  It comforts us to know that we can have FULLEST Joy in Him!  All the pleasures we could ever want, know or seek are RIGHT there in Christ.

I get so passionate about this!  I’ve been reading a LOT of books recently, everything from Millionaire Thinking books to Doing God’s will…all have been pretty great for me, but what I get all excited about is how some of these books don’t really know how to bring thinking big, setting goals and working into the realm of serving God, seeking Him and living a godly life right now.

I really want to challenge everyone that while God wants to bless us and gives us more than we could ask for, He still wants us to ask Him.  He still wants us to work towards something here on earth.  I don’t believe God wants us to sit as bystanders in life now.  I believe He has called us for a much bigger purpose right now.  Seek His fullest joy and find where you can serve Him now!

Daniel 3:16-18

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

As I was reading through the book of Daniel the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego really stood out to me. They stood up for their faith without wavering at any cost. They affirmed their faith and trust in the One True God alone! They believe and affirmed that God could deliver them from that fiery furnace - God can do anything that He chooses and protecting these men for their faith in Him was nothing too outrageous for God’s strength and capability. God sent protection to these men as a blessing to them when needed most, and I believe that this came directly from these three men affirming and asking without doubt for this deliverance.

There are a few different ways that I see this story in correlation to our lives today.

One these men used a positive affirmation to clearly state their intentions of deliverance by God’s power to Nebuchadnezzar, They said clearly “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand O king” - They believed that clearly and knew that God would take care of them according to His will, grace, power and might.

The second thing I really like to point out is that they also had faith in God’s choice. “But if not,” They gave it over to God, they knew He has the ability to do anything, but they also knew that God knows what is best for His children. Even if they couldn’t see that.

Finally, with these faithful men let it known that they would not serve false gods. “let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods” they remained faithful to God despite what they might get out of it (i.e. saved from burning to death)  They let it completely known that they were faithful to God even to the death and that even if God choose there not to deliver them, eternity with God was still their security.
We have no absolute to what God chooses to do in our lives, but we have the choice to have faith, to set out positive thought process and to act ourselves in the way He would want us to. God can deliver us from any trouble here on earth, the question is will He so choose? He can heal all our sicknesses when we ask in faith, if He will choose. God is able to give us all the money from anywhere we ask for it, if He chooses… the question really is are you choosing Him?

There is one thing that we CAN be sure God chooses, and that is deliverance for Eternity! It’s a very exciting thing, while we don’t know what God’s best for us is here on earth, the best thing we can do is seek Him and serve Him and Ask of Him for this time, we can be sure that God’s will is that none should perish in hell’s fiery furnace.  Once again, by simply choosing, believing with unwavering faith, asking and receiving…God wants to deliver each one of us to Him.  He wants to do that here on earth for our best, but even more importantly is for eternity to come.

If you do not yet know Jesus Christ as your Savior, Deliver and God of all, I really would like to take time to work with you further to know this Awesome God!  Please contact me through our contacts page and we will explore God’s choice!

Yesterday was Sean and my 1 year anniversary.  We really had such a great day!  We got up really early and left for breakfast at Shady Maple at 6:00am.  We had a super great breakfast and time together there, lots of pictures and just so thankful that God has put us together!  We came home around 9, and we were both dead tired, so we fell asleep for an hour or so and then decided to get up and do something.  So we decided to open our gifts to each other…. Sean gave me a wonderful scrapbooking kit and scissors for decorating.  I got him a bunch of little tools and a devotional book which all had special little notes and meanings.  We had a lot of fun going up to Reading and doing a little shopping and getting coffee at Starbucks.  We stopped off at Wawa for a picnic dinner and took it to Boyertown park for some fun.  We had fun swinging and taking pictures and just being together.  Anyway, I just thought I would share! :)  Fun times and just so blessed by this past year.  God has been so good to us and taught us SO much since our meeting and beginning our marriage!

“Now Faith is the substance of all things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1

Where is our faith? Is our faith resting fully in God? Is it in our significant other? Ourselves? Our Parents?

Faith is all things hoped for…is our faith in our possessions? Visualizing only the things that we want here on earth and not yet have? Is it faith in the future? Is it faith in Heaven? What and where is our faith resting?

I read through the entire book of Hebrews 11 today and I was reminded and greatly encouraged by some great leaders of faith all through the Bible. I’d really like to challenge you to take time out to read this entire chapter yourself.

This verse came to mind today as I was reading my Bible and I will put it out there for you as well to think about…
Hebrews 11:6

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

I have not been a faithful writer like I had planned to be… things this pregnancy have been difficult and I have put off any additional writings or anything… but I have to stop and write and say… God Is SO Good To US!

Things have been a little rough recently for Sean and I, and they still are not even close to easy, as a matter of fact they’ve been overall just miserable…but God has been SO Faithful and I was reminded of that all over again on Sunday morning. I was absolutely broken through the whole church service and during worship time we sang, (well the congregation sang, I cried and mouthed the words with my eyes sealed tight) “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord”.

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say…
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say…
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

Every word of this song gripped my heart so deeply and I just had to post this now with all the words. Sunday morning was not easy when I sat down with the check book to tithe and the decision of how much do we stretch this week to give? Well we gave what we could and decided that this Sunday we would not go out with our friends after the service just like we always do. It’s become a real blessing of a time to gather together after Church on Sunday and just fellowship with each other…but this Sunday we would just not be able to do it. As we walked out to the car for Church, I had just thought to myself in a little prayer, “Lord it would be great to still go out with everyone after church, what could we do?” Well God had plans for us! The first announcement at church was that there was going to be an after church brunch for one of our church missionaries who just came back into the area and the whole church was welcome to be there. I filled up with tears instantly thinking, oh what fellowship there! It was overly exciting, and then to have that song well up in my heart…God is just so GOOD!

He is teaching me so much about trusting Him with everything, and giving EVERYTHING, EVERY PART, EVERY BREATH COMPLETELY to Him!

Sean and I are so blessed in this marriage we share, and in the blessing of pregnancy (as rough as it maybe!) that we just can’t imagine why on earth we tried living by our own selfish ways for so long without turning our lives to Him.

We have so much to learn, and so many things that we need to mature in and still give to God, I wish it was a simple overnight solution…it’s just not that easy!

Anyway, I pray that God continues to use His Holy Spirit to work and to grab hearts that He may be Glorified in all things!

For a little while now, I’ve been feeling very excited and hopeful about writing everyday about my devotions.  To be honest this has been an intention for awhile and then every time I go to just do it, I feel like I can’t.  I get scared at times, instead of just putting myself out there and writing to help others, I think “I really don’t know anything”, when really I do, or “I’m going to offend somebody”, when maybe I should.  I get caught up in knowing I’m not a great writer and I don’t have all the answers.  But I know right now that I am growing.  I know right now that I have something to offer, and I know right now that my heart is fixed on serving God, and if I can do that even a little through writing, I’m going to do that.

This passage of scripture is what made it really click for me:

Jeremiah 1:1-10

1   The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that 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, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
4   Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5   Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6   Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7   But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8   Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
9   Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10   See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
This got to my heart because Jeremiah spent years in ministry, and he was very young when God called him.  I love verse 6 that says “I cannot speak for I am a child”.  I can relate to that in so many ways, yet I just want to desperately share what I have learned and devote my life to God.  To be a servant of His, to be a godly wife, mother, friend, hairstylist, or even writer.  God called Jeremiah, and from a young age I’ve felt Him calling me. I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t know exactly what God will want me to do, but I am ready to start.  Fear that I will make a mistake or of what others may think really is just a silly excuse I am making.  God said to Jeremiah not to say that he is a child, and God equipped him and gave Jeremiah what he needed to minister.
If you feel as though God is calling you, take heart in that.  It’s ok to be a little scared, but God wants to use you.  God will be with you just as He was with Jeremiah, and just as I know He is with me now.

I am totally amazed and excited to think about what God is going to be doing in my life and my families life, and I really look forward to what God can do in yours.

Today was my first ultrasound with Baby Gravener! I am SOOOOO incredibly excited I can’t even begin to explain it! When I first layed down on that table with Sean holding my hand I had this incredible sinking feeling and worry of something come over me. The nurse squirted that warm gel on my stomach and placed the probe and right away we saw this tiny little life actively moving all over the monitor! I filled up with tears almost instantly and my Man gave my hand a tight squeeze. We both had huge smiles on our faces right away as the nurse started pointing out what was what to Sean and I. The baby’s heartbeat was good and strong beating at 161 beats per minute! They gave me a due date of November 1, 2007, though I am still fairly certain of an October birth. They took a bunch of measurements and told me how strong and healthy not only the baby was, but how strong my body was handling things, was such a blessing beyond knowing! I was so overwhelmed with emotions I can’t even begin to put into words. My Mom was called into the room after about 15 minutes and she was able to see the baby doing backflips and twists quite literally all over the place - NO WONDER I FEEL this baby move so much! My Mom was sooo excited to see the baby and kept saying how beautiful the baby was already - I have to COMPLETELY Agree! The emotions from the day are just soooo overwhelmingly amazing!   Sean is very excited too - and I know it became so much more real to him to be able to see the baby moving around and that there really is a tiny precious life inside of me!  We are so happy and blessed to become a Daddy and Mommy to a little miracle given to us from God!  Just such a wonderful time for us!

My pastor gave a wonderful message on Sunday based out of Proverbs 26:13-17.  He was really touching down on the subject of the sin of laziness.  It spoke to my heart in many ways, not only in my own life, but also gave me something to share with others.

He touched in on Matthew 25:14-29 and this is what I really want to point out and share today.

This passage shares the parable of the talents and the servants that used then wisely for their lord.  Talents in the Bible was a measurement of money, but I also think this greatly applies to actual gifts of service that we each have.

There were 3 men who where each given a certain number of talents the first man was given 5 talents, the second was given 2 talents and the last man was only given one.

When the master returned to see how his servants had been doing, the first man said I have gain 5 more talents to add besides the 5 he was already given.  The second man had gained two more talents on top of the two that he was already given.  The last man who was given only one talent, hide his talent because he was afraid of his master. Isn’t it funny how often we get scared and let fear take over and not allow us to use our money or our talents to serve or expand?  We make excuses much like this man!  Now let’s go to the end of this passage

Matthew 25:29

“For EVERYONE who has more will be given and he will have abundance but from him who does not have even what he         has will be taken away”

This verse stood out to me in that way of thinking that rich get richer, poor get poorer.  It all comes right back to your way of thinking. The responsibility you are taking, the actions you are taking, the fear you are letting hold onto you and the excuses you make.

I just finished reading an excellent book called The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker and he gives many principles on how to manage your money wisely, and on the thoughts you are thinking and how the control what this very Bible verse talks about.  This book is not a biblically based book, but I’ve seen quite a few biblical principles and most of all responsibility for your life come through, which is one thing I’m seeing most of our society missing.

Well….

I’m so excited because I am Pregnant and I am now further along then I have ever been with any other pregnancy I miscarried.

I’m loving the morning sickness I’ve experienced the past few weeks, which has caused a bit of a slow down for me. But I’m super thankful for every moment of it!

My blood levels are slightly low, so I’m on supplements to sustain the pregnancy and things are looking great!

Sean and I have simply gone through so many different things with this, and just praise God for His timing and His perfect love and grace in every step of our lives!

I’m just so excited and will be writing as we go along about the pregnancy I am sure!

I have not been writing consistently the past week…I have been so sick on these supplements that the Doctors put me on…it’s crazy!  But So worth it!

The Doctor put me on Prometrium as a means of maintaining steady levels for the baby to continue to grow.  On Monday I had an ultrasound and you could see the tiny stubs of baby arms and tiny stubs of baby legs growing! It was so cool!  I have two different due dates from two different Doctors - one says October 21st and the other Doctor says November 12th…so we will see when this baby decides that he/she is fully grown and ready to be born!

I’ve been incredibly sick this time, and overly tired, like I said, but with prayers and support, this baby will continue to grow into a beautiful baby that Sean and I will have the incredible blessing of being able to raise.

I’m thrilled to be this sick and have this blessing.  I’m also so thankful that God saw fit to give me a husband who not only allows me to rest, but wants me to stay home and sleep as much as I possibly can.  Sean is so supportive and I’m so thankful for this home business that we have that not only I can stay home, but so can he!

I was thinking about that a few weeks ago, even before I found out for sure things were going really well this pregnancy, when I was holding baby AJ and rocking him to sleep for a nap.  I was smiling thinking how wonderful it is going to be some day and how much a blessing it is that Sean and I will get to experience everything our baby does together.  Not only do we not have to put our baby into day care, we both get to take time to be able to just hold and love our family whenever we see fit and get our work done as it comes along.  It’s just such a blessing and a gift from God!

I know we couldn’t do it without God helping Sean with
href=”http://www.authoritysitepro.com”>AuthoritySitePro God just keeps opening the doors and Sean keeps fillin’ in the necessary work.

Anyway, I am actually going to go take a little nap now…and then later this afternoon, I plan to go into a little bit more on the subject of a Wealthy Woman.