thoughts from TA staff retreat

peace
psalm 46:10
mark 4:35-41

be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations - among your children - among Teen Advisors - I will be exalted in the earth.

"Jesus said "let us go over to the other side..." then they took him along" -- Jesus gave instructions, the disciples obeyed - there was still a storm.

Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves - He didn't rebuke the disciples for asking a question

psalm 85:8 "i will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to His people..."

restore
psalm 51:10-12
mark 6:30-31

zeal
romans 12:11
numbers 25:1-13

(TAs) you are zealous for the honor of God...zealous as He is zealous for His honor

stand
galatians 6:9
1 corinthians 15:58
daniel 10:11, 18-19
ephesians 6:10-18
1 kings 19:1-18

my work done unto you is not in vain - it is not for nothing!

"when He spoke to me i was strengthened." you give strenth to stand. we are strengthened to stand when we hear from Him.

sometimes i feel unequipped...not because You haven't given me what i need - but because i haven't put on the armor to be able to fight.

sufficient
2 corinthians 12:9-10
2 peter 1:3-4
1 timothy 6:6

quit focusing on the limitations and be thankful for the gift

my grace is sufficient for you - accept it...let it be sufficient.

Various other thoughts
even if you forget He loves you, He loves you still.
does His word ever not speak? in some way or another it always seems to speak
2 kinds of enough --
"enough!"...parent to child...rebuke...just stop!! enough!
"enough." ... i am enough. all you need. enough.

monday's thoughts that it took until tuesday to type

-- facebook is deceiving. (or maybe "the life people portray on facebook can be deceiving" would be more accurate)

-- who needs P90X...just beat rugs and move furniture and mop everyday. now that's just how i want to spend my days.

-- beating a rug with a broom = good release of frustration (even when you're not frustrated). it's kind of fun to knock the daylights out of something and it be perfectly ok.

--seems like the more you clean, the more dirt you find.

--a God lead "because i just don't want to" really is acceptable.

maybe i'll expound on some of these things some day.

hallelujah!

(playing in the prayer room at IHOP right now...) shout out to God with a voice of triumph. shout out to God with a voice of praise. we lift your name up! hallelujah! we're going to lift our voice in victory. we're going to make our praises loud! the enemy's been defeated! hallelujah!! hallelujah!! hallelujah!! hallelujah!!

we're very officially on the road to adoption. we've been on it for a while - we've talked about it, prayed about it, been "oriented" to it, submitted an initial application, got the initial approval, talked and prayed some more... tonite was just the first time i've done something "active" (nick's been taking the lead on everything thus far!). i submitted our "formal application." we are wholeheartedly pursuing adoption. i'm excited to see what God has in store. Holy God, Faithful Father, King of Adoption! have your way with our family.

my heart is at rest in His presence...at rest in His plan. freedom reigns in this place.

prayers that avail much - for my husband

Father, i confess i am a submitted wife simply because i want to be and because i recognize Your authority. in Jesus' name, i submit and adapt myself to nick as a service to You, Lord. i see that i respect and reverence Nick. that i notice him, regard him, honor him, prefer him, esteem him - that i defer to him, praise him, love and admire him exceedingly. i will comfort, encourage and do nick only good as long as there is life within me. as i seek counsel from nick, he will be my strength, my hiding place, my high tower, my intercessor - and we will stand side by side as we minister life, love and healing to those You send our way.

things i've been thinking about

in no particular order...

"bracelets don't make you pretty, God makes you pretty." (because of caroline)

"sometimes God speaks to us through our heads without using a voice you can hear - just like we sometimes speak to Him without using our voice." (because of eli)

what if the world naturally lent itself to order instead of chaos - would people fight "neat and clean" the way some fight clutter and mess?

if easter really is the most important celebration for believers, why is there one tupperware container that gets pulled out the week or so before easter compared to the 4 that get pulled out a month in advance for christmas (and that's just in our house...i think you could multiply that by alot to get the "norm")? simply by the amount of stuff and the time of celebration, the cash family is saying that christmas is 4x's more important than easter. a very classic example of actions speaking louder than words. i wonder if easter will increase in commercialism...so that eventually America will be doing for "easter" what America is currently doing for Christmas (all the while Christmas will continue to "increase"). it makes me sad to see pictures of the "perfect Christmas" -- the tree with alllll the presents - presents that we do not need. likewise with birthdays where children get piles upon piles of presents. how i long to be content with what i have...i long to have children who are content with what they have...may we somehow grasp how very rich we are. our stomachs are full. our fridges are full. our pantries are full. our closets are full. our shelves are full. we have so very much...so much to be thankful for...so much to be grateful for...we are so well provided for. yet we still find things to complain about...and still have a list of things we need to get. God! i'm so sorry! may my eyes be fixed on things above and not on earthly things.