Listen and observe

I haven’t written on here in a while. I just have been in a season where I feel like I am to devote to listening and observevation. This isn’t an easy season. First of all those are two things that came second to my longing to speak. Even as a child I wanted to talk talk talk and the only thing I wanted to listen to was the sound of my own voice.

So why is God calling me to a season where my voice is second. Because if I’m speaking I can’t hear him or hear through to the heart of others.

James 1:19 ESV

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger

Wow…slow to anger. This is definately not something easy for a Mama Bear type such as myself. I love to fiercely defend those I Love. But now God is telling me to sit back and listen and observe and basically to slow my roll. Why? Because this is a season of complete opposite in this country. People are speaking out on everything. They are arguing hot topics like sexual harassment and abortion two issues that we have been somewhat silent on for awhile. The problem is we have closed our ears to wisdom in this nation. We only want to hear ourselves talk. I believe healing is going to come when we start listening to eachother and stop our constant jawing.

Proverbs 18:2

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.

I know I don’t want to be a fool in God’s eyes.

So the next time you hear something that goes against what you believe. Take the time to listen and hear what others are saying. We need to bring back intelligent conversation in this nation.

God, help me to quiet my heart and voice so I can hear your voice clearly without distraction. Let me be a listener first and speaker second. When I am slow to speak I am giving you time to move and speak through me. Let our Government begin to Listen to eachother more. Open hearts and minds to wisdom.

Love you all,

RENEE’

AM I A PINTEREST FAIL?

I am done!!!! I am tired of following the masses of people who are trying to fit into pinterest and social media lifestyle. Your house has to look like this…your wardrobe. like this you must drive this. Don’t eat this…cook like this. Go to the gym so many times a week. You must have this much money saved by this age. As a parent it’s even more stressful. Don’t vaccinate… do vaccinate. Only so much screen time. They must be in this many activities. Then take a picture and document all of it on social media. Striving to be like everyone else is exhausting. Trying to follow mans rules is an impossible task and leaves us feeling worthless. Christian’s are not exempt. We follow the same list of man made rules and wonder why we get burned out. Read this many books attend this many services. We must sing this worship music and volunteer every service. If we wear to much makeup if we wear yoga pants outside the gym. The list is endless.

There is a word for this kind of behavior. It is legalism. So, what is legalism? Legalism is an attempt to gain favor with God or to impress our fellow man by doing certain things (or avoiding other things), without regard to the condition of our hearts before God. At the root of legalism is the sin of pride, because the legalist thinks that he is able to please God by his own good deeds. Invariably, he is only looking at outside appearances not at his heart. Also, the legalist’s pride motivates him to exalt himself in the sight of others by his outward behavior.

The bible talks about this in Colossians 2:8

 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forcesof this world rather than on Christ.

This does not mean we no longer need to abide by rules or that we stop doing our best  at our jobs or with our children or we stop volunteering at our churches.   It does mean we need to look at who we are trying to please.  Are we trying to keep up with that Mother in our child’s classroom who makes homemade treats for every occasion or are we trying to be noticed for all we do in church.  Do we want people to notice us because it makes us feel more worthy.   If this is the case maybe it’s time to check our hearts and motivations.  This endless striving will deplete us quickly and erode our self esteem.   We need to please God but his rules arent made by men.   In fact the rules he have in place are made for our benefit and growth and do not cause burnout and exhaustion but energize us and equip us for our best life

Be blessed and step away from the pinterest board.   Give yourself a chance to become the best you by God’s design not your social media following.


Renee’

Patience in the process

So the beginning of 2019 has been less than wonderful. Extra stress from financial stuff to sick parents to household problems. Where is God when the struggle is oh so real?

When January 1st starts we all resolve to be better. Better at our health journey. Better at saving money. More understanding in our relationships. Then life come barreling in and steam rolls us over. what are the first things we reach for? Is it chocolate or shopping or do we start ranting at our family uncontrollably. I am being vulnerable now I do them all. What I should be doing is drawing closer to Jesus. I KNOW I KNOW…I feel the eye rolls all over the place. But it’s TRUE. What is our happy ever after. What do we really want? If we are truthful we want everything to always go our way. God is looking for our complete trust. One day these momentary troubles will all have a reason. Is he teaching and preparing us for more? One day it will all be known and it will make sense. The process through our pain is never easy but it is necessary for growth. If we fix our eyes on Jesus during the process eventually it will be over and we will be through the test. Sometimes we cant pray ourselves out of the process of maturing. Sometimes we are being stretched and trained and molded and it’s never easy. But it is always necessary. God never leaves us during the process. But we need to draw closer to him during this time not further.

Galations 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

The process is the hard part. But there will be rewards for all this work. Here on earth we will experience our maturity and success of labor. But in heaven our eternal rewards will be inconceivable.

Dont give up!!! Better days ahead.

Renee

I am seen…..

The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

2 Chronicles 16:9, NLT

My God sees me. He searches me out to strengthen and help me.

Why is this such a hard concept to understand and except. God doesnt just sit on his throne in heaven with angels all around him waiting for us to call to him. But those of us who have accepted and committed our lives to him he is actually searching for ways to strengthen and help us. I am so beyond blessed by that. HE SEES ME! He knows when I feel week and insecure. He k ows when I feel invisable or taken advantage of. He hears my frustrations even before I utter a word. My God knows me.

He even knows my successes and he applauds me. He smiles and delights in me. We all need that dont we.

The Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

Psalm 149:4

Today as I sit and think through all the things on my to do list I am so thankful that my heavenly father knows exactly what I need to accomplish those things. He also know what I will face emotionally and spiritually and has given me everything I will need to make the correct choices. Will I choose what is right? Now that is on me.

What a great Heavenly DADDY he is! He loves you so much.

Have an amazing Day.

Renee’

The Gift

So this is it…the home stretch. We are all trying to finish finding the perfect gifts and get them wrapped and under the tree. I think when my kids were small this was so much more fun. I have to admit that this part of Christmas gets harder as my family matures. Now I have grown children and giving them things is harder. I want so badly to find something they will use and not just throw to the side. I still love the giving part of Christmas it is my favorite.

If your struggling with giving this year I want to encourage all of you that EVERYONE has a special gift to give people in your life. It has little to nothing to do with money.

Sometimes the greatest gift you can give is your time, friendship and love. This costs nothing but it is one of the most desired gifts people are looking and searching for. So many are looking for connection. They want to know someone cares for them.

Do you bake? Do you clean well? Are you good at fixing things? Do you have an special ability to paint or craft? All these things could bring a multitude of giving possibilities.

Maybe you are a great listener or you have the best smile…you don’t need one penny to hand these things out to the world. It is often doing the small things that help us find our true purpose in life. I have found during the times I was filled with the most anxiety that helping someone else brought me the quickest source of healing and contentment.

So let’s dig alittle deeper this year and keep our eyes open alittle wider and see who is needing alittle extra love this year. You may find it was your best gift you gave away of the season.

Before I sign off and begin my day I want to make sure everyone Has the greatest Gift of all. JESUS… he is the reason for the season. He came as a little baby to our stressful world to bring us peace and hope. If you don’t know him it is easy to start a relationship with him. Just ask him to come into your life and then BELIEVE. He has the ability to bring peace and hope to you today.

ACTS 16:31

So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Renee,

Peace Please!

So as 2018 comes to a screeching halt I am taking in ventory. How was last year for me. WHat do I remember most? What did I learn? What experiences stuck out the most? Was there more good memories than bad?

I have to say that for the most part 2018 was a good year for me. This next year I want to be even more intentional. I want to serve others more. I want to be less self focused and I especially want to spend my time learning more. I am more peaceful when my life is centered around Jesus and being more like him.

If you look back at 2018 and it’s a blur of bon stop striving and hustle and bustle. Have you neglected your family to be busy? What are you striving for? Is it worth your relationships or family. The days are short and we only have one Life. Our kids will grow and if we aren’t careful we will miss it.

As I grow older simple is what I crave. Bigger isnt always better.

Let’s slow down and enjoy our lives and families before there isnt anything left to enjoy.

BE BLESSED

Renee

AWESTRUCK WONDER

It is no secret that Christmas is my favorite. I love everything about it. The lights and the music and the colors and the food oh my….the food. I am a gifter…so I love buying gifts. MY HUSBAND on the other hand goes through total shopping horror with me as he reminds me that we don’t need to buy everyone we have ever known a present.

Even though I love this season I have noticed the world has taken a toll over my ability to be AWESTRUCK. How I yearn to have that back. I Do still hear the bell ring all you Polar express fans.
I know that Jesus is wanting that same AWESTRUCK WONDER from us. He wants us to come to him with the faith of a little child. That belief is what he created us for. I am asking for more of that this Christmas. I WANT TO BE AMAZED BY HIS GREATNESS AND CAPTIVATED BY HIS GLORY.

What about you? Do you still hear the bell?

Merry Christmas Lovelies!

Friend or Foe

I dont like this quote.. “If you want to see who your real friends are screw up and then see who sticks around.” Let me explain. I believe true friends and family stick around but I also believe that sometimes it is necessary to remove ourselves from relationships which are not good for us. True friendships grow together and lift eachother up. True friendships arent onesided and draining. True friendships are a beautiful blend of give and take. True friendships arent afraid of honesty.

The bible says in Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Sometimes real friendship means having to be real and honest with the other person

True friendship talk to your face not behind your back. If a friend or family member is offended and tells others and not you they arent interested in hearing your side of things they only care that they are right and you are wrong. This isn’t healthy communication.

True friendship isnt jealous of your successes. Real friends are your greatest fans. They should cheer you on the loudest. If they arent cheering when good things happening. Be careful that they arent secretly drilling holes in your boat trying to sink you.

It is ok to walk away and distance yourself from a person who is hurting you.

Proverbs 22:24-25 Do not be a friend of one who has a bad temper, and never keep company with a hothead, or you will learn his ways and set a trap for yourself.

God made friendship a beautiful thing to enhance our lives and strengthen us. If it isnt doing this and it is causing you pain and constant stress it’s ok to distant yourself and make sure this friendship or relationship is God ordained and the best for you.

BE BLESSED

RENEE

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I want to encourage you today to take a look at how we look at others. As Mothers and friends and Christian’s we sometimes tend to judge others based on our standards. I want to to encourage us to look at others through the loving eyes of Jesus and use understanding and caring and a posture of serving others.

It does nothing helpful to whisper judgemental comments of others or look down our noses at those that haven’t been afforded the same life experiences or blessings we have been givin.

I am challenging us to extend our hand at then end of 2018 and as we enter the new year to make extra effort to lift others up. Give generously. That doesn’t have to always mean monetarily but what about giving of our time to just spend time with a young mother or a shut in. How about volunteering at church or a local non profit. Galatians 6:2 says it all.

Christmas is about giving! We might never know how that can change a life.

Xoxo

Renee’

I can be PRO-LIFE and be PRO-WOMAN.

Why do people have to be one or the other. I can want woman to be treated with respect in the workplace. I can be infuriated by woman and girls being objectified. I can be proud of woman who break out of molds that society puts on us and live proud that I’m not a size 0. I can be all these things and still believe that Life begins at the moment of conception and just because It is in my body that I have a right to kill another human being. I can love that life and respect it. Giving a baby the chance at life whether or not it is raised by you is by far the greatest gift you can give. JUST BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN A WOMAN HAVING RIGHTS DOESN’T MEAN YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN THE RIGHT OF THE UNBORN CHILD AS WELL. Don’t let society make you pick a side. We believe in what is RIGHT regardless of popular opinion.

I am a Pro-life Woman who is also Pro-Woman.