From the stump of Jesse

Isaiah 11:1-2 ¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ²The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD

This is our Jesse tree. Our remembrance of the gift we were given. I am so excited for this holiday season. I hope to keep my family focused on Christ this year, as much as I can, instead of buying things for others, or what we want bought for us.

Our reading tonight talked of how we were cut down, dead and dying, with no hope to survive on our own, but He was sent for us. A shoot, a rebirth, an offering.

Please come with us on our journey this year. Our Jesse tree. We look forward to seeing you and hearing what you might have to say.

Love, B

The King is Coming!

Tomorrow starts the season of Advent, an act of anticipating the coming of Christ. I am SO excited! My Christmas season is typically pretty stressful with two sets of parents and our own little family to fit in, so last year we tried to do a Jesse tree. This year, I already have it set up. Each day, we will do a little reading and devotional, and anticipate the coming birth of our Lord and Savior.

I hope you, too, remember the reason for the season and try to hold on to that. It really isn't about the gifts we give each other. It's about the gift that was given to us.

Love, B

P.S. Our advent calendar can be found on www.aholyexperience.com. You may have to sign up via email to receive it, but her blog and this calendar is TOTALLY worth it.

May God bless each one of you today.

Frugal

I am so frugal, and I LOVE it!!! It is some weird gift/obsession God gave me to like to find new ways to spend less money.

This economy has hit my family, and I am sure yours, too. Things that I make that are WORTH THE TIME for me to make are:

• baby wipes ($0.01 a piece)
• laundry detergent ($0.20 cents a gallon)
• fabric softener ($1.40 a gallon)
• dryer sheets (too cheap to tell)
• body wash ($1.45 for 66 ounces)
• febreeze (too cheap to tell)

I am also working on a face scrub and leave-in detangler.

AND the products I use to make these wonderful cost saving household needs also CLEAN MY HOUSE, so I don't have to buy cleaning products (chemicals for my daughter to get into) saving me even MORE money!!!

I would LOVE to share with you how to do this yourself for pennies-on-the-dollar and seconds-on-the-minute!!! Just email, comment, or message me. I'm on facebook.

God is so good. Take time to praise Him today.

Love, B

Thanksgiving

I have been blessed by God. My cousin and her family are staying with me for the holidays, and last night she made us all dinner. We had Mom and Dad come down (all three houses down the street :)), and it was beautiful. I have had birthdays parties and such, but never a house guest like this.

I looked out the kitchen door at everyone in the living room talking and laughing and sharing stories, holding babies, the generations of sons and daughters. The family of it all. The uniting force. The ribbon of love that holds us together. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. And it was in my home. I have seen it many times in my mother's home, and it is always so beautiful. I thought one day I might get a piece of it. God gives us our desires, large and small.

It is very humbling to be loved by a living God.

To God be the praise and the glory.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you each have a blessed day.

Love, B

Balm of Gilead

1 Peter 4:1-13, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you: But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that when his glory shall be reavealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

I asked for it. I prayed over and over again for an EXTRAORDINARY life in Christ. I want EVERYTHING I have and am to bring Him glory. I do rejoice that God, my God, would tend to me. That He would mold me, and make me, and hear me. I do rejoice in my sorrows for I am certain that He is making me something beautiful. I rejoice that He would, and that He is. I rejoice that others may see His power and glory. It isn't for me. It's for Him. We do tend to get caught up and think it is for us, for our ease and comfort, but it is for HIM. It is our chance to point to Him in front of a world of others and say, "See what my Daddy can do. See the glory and power of God Almighty."

He is awesome and wonderful and beautiful. I long to see His face. And He is showing me, but His majesty is so much, that the frailness of my human being couldn't take it all in right now, so He shows me a little bit at a time. He reveals Himself to me. And I am amazed and excited to see Him. He does answer our prayers. He does hear us, face down, heart broken. He hears us arms raised, face to Him, smiling and laughing through the tears. Oh the cleansing. Oh the salve that He would apply to us, to the broken, to all the cracks and crevices, dings and dents that we carry with us, some so deep, so dark, so hidden only He can soothe them. Oh, balm of Gilead, oh Promise to me. Oh Savior divine.

What He is doing for me, He wants to do for you. Pray, faith believing. Hear Him. Answer Him. Step out of this world and into His world.

I want more. More and more of my God. More and more.

Love, B

Twister

For those of you who know me, you know that I have been in a series of valleys. As soon as one trial is over I am already on my way down into another. It has been a struggle, to say the least. I know, though, that I don't go through this alone. I know, too, that I need to share the prayer below. This is a prayer that my best friend sent me several years ago. It has been praying on my mind for days. So for me, for you, and for the glory of God, my father, here it is. Please hear my heart and hers in this:

Remember that 80's or 90's movie Twister with Helen Hunt? I was up late the other night and it came on some channel. I got to that one part where they are in the middle of the tornado, "literally". They had tied themselves to some immovable pipe of some sort in some building that was torn to pieces and for just a few minutes or seconds they were exactly in the middle of the tornado looking up in the center of it. You probably know where I am going with this, but it was beautiful just the same. I remember the first time I saw this that I marveled at what a picture of our christian life this is. If we stay in the absolute center of God's will, then the storms really can't touch us. They can rage all around us, but can't harm us. Our eyes and our focus play a huge role in how we will weather the storm. If we open our eyes and look out around us, we will see nothing but chaos and destruction, and it will breed fear in us. However, if we stay on our knees in prayer, we can't see all of that. The other option is to look straight up and keep our eyes on Jesus. In the movie, the picture of the sky through the middle of the tornado was breath taking. The thing that struck me hardest this time was the way they were anchored down. The force of the storm swirling around them was so strong that it lifted them up, but they were not pulled away. They had taken the time to not only hold on but to tie themselves to those pipes. If they had anchored to anything else; house, car, other person...they would have been carried off into the storm with that item. I also thought about how they had to anchor themselves before the storm got there. So, really, it is our day to day walk with Jesus that holds us when the storms come. So, here is my prayer for us today; that we would "come out from amongst" the storm of this world and be a peculiar people. We will seem a bit strange day by day but, when the storm gets here and we are not carried away, we won't look so strange; that in the midst of our storm we would "love not the world, neither the things of it" in such a way that it would not pull us from a posture of prayer or take our eyes from heavenly things; and that we would be anchored only to that which will hold us. This is my prayer for each us today as well. I also pray that we prepare ourselves in advance for our trials. That we not only hold to Him, but we tie ourselves to Him with His own rope that will never break. That we realize the battle is on our knees. That we realize we are an army, and none of us stand alone. May God bless you and keep you. Love, B

Evening

I don't have anything on my heart tonight. I just wanted to say hi. My heart is lighter than it has been in some time. It is sweet relief.

I'm watching Madea, laying with my sweet Kalli Anne, and remembering her sweet laughter throughout the evening. Good dinner, done facebooking, and getting ready to make some babywipes.

I do miss my cousin, Stephanie, but nothing will be perfect until I reach the other side.

Sleep well, and praise God for all His blessings.

Love, B

Let my lifesong sing to You

How does my lifesong sing to my Father? I have wondered this over and over again in my life. When I fail. When I question. When I don't know what to do. When I think I have done something to make Him smile. When I'm face down on the floor desperate to be heard and soothed and strengthened for the battle.

My life song is a mess. A wonderful glorious mess that my Creator will use for His glory.

A horrible ugly mess that I can't see straight of.

The mess is not the point. My Father is.

I will not let go until You bless me.

I will not let go until my lifesong sings.

And in that day she will sing as when I first brought her out of the wilderness. Hosea 2.

Love, B