Growing in Christ

I'm finally at a place in my life where I feel I rely completely on God for my decisions.  I've been saved since I was 7 years old but I don't know that I've ever allowed God to determine my every move.  Ultimately, He did anyway but I felt like it was me in control of my life.  Which is exactly why I made a lot of mistakes.  I've always prayed - can't say I've went a day without praying in.... well, I can't even remember.  But recently I've truly understood the REAL POWER of prayer and how important it is.  Prayer shouldn't just be about asking for forgiveness and going to the Lord when in need.  Most importantly it should be to thank Him for the endless blessings we have.  I want to have His permission before making decisions.  Even something as small as buying a new washer and dryer - which we finally did this week - I prayed about it first.  Was this something we needed to be spending our money on right now??  I think He always give us a sense of peace about it or a feeling of, "it's not a good idea right now."

I want to grow in Christ every single day.  I'm a total planner and I have bulleted lists all over the place.  If it works in every other aspect of my life, it can also work for me to reach some goals I have as a Christian.  This bulleted list is just a little harder to check off because it's not after I've completed the task... It's when I feel I've completely accomplished it, made it a habit, and a part of my life.  I have so much growing to do and I don't believe we ever stop growing but I plan on writing about the things that I feel like I've done a better job at and let God take control of.  I like to post these blogs from time to time in case anyone can get anything from it.  Believe me, it's not because I think I'm a great writer by any means.... but if it helps one person, hey it was worth it!  

One other area I've been working on for a while is not comparing myself to others.  Not at all.  Jealousy and envy are not of God and I have had to remind myself of that a lot while working on this.  Not only did I have to pray about this.... I had to become happy with MYSELF.  I had to learn to love myself and know that no matter what others think or what I think, Jesus thinks I'm PERFECT.  He made me just the way I'm suppose to be.  Now I will be honest, in order for me to get to the point that I was happy with myself, I had to do some changing.  I was not happy with my body.... who is after having two babies??  A healthy diet and working out very hard has paid off... I have a long way to go but I can finally say I'm happy with the way I look.  Not that looks matter, but it does make you feel better about yourself and definitely makes you more confident.  Also, we are suppose to be healthy.  Our body is our temple.  (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)  I found myself comparing myself to others and the way they looked.... all while eating junk food and sitting on the couch.  Umm... that made no sense, right?  So, I got off my rear and made it happen and I feel great!  I don't have to tell myself to not compare myself to others because I love me and I would never want to be anyone else.  My sweet hubby loved my body just as much when I was 9 months pregnant as he does now... but come on, we all know that our hubby's benefit from our confidence we have in the way we look.... and I'll just leave it at that.  Also, the hardest one of all.... not wanting what others have.  Material things... houses, cars, just stuff.  I can't say I will ever get to the point that I don't see someones house and think, "gosh, I'd love to have that!"  We are human.  But I think by praying about anything we decide we "need" has helped with this a LOT!  I know that we have what we have because God allowed us to.  He has blessed us with so much more than we will ever deserve. Why would I want for anything??  I don't take things for granted as much now... and I truly appreciate all of our blessings.  

Anyway... I just felt led to share this.  Mainly for me to look back on one day and read.  I write down things that I am really praying hard about and I LOVE to look back and see how God answers them or does not answer them months or years later.  In fact, I would encourage anyone to keep a prayer journal - it is by far one of the best things I've done!  Isn't it amazing how He has everything under control and ALWAYS knows best. 

If you are reading this and you have never been saved I hope this pulls at your heart. Imagine waking up every morning with a sense of purpose and importance.  Imagine going through every dark time in life with hope, knowing that your pain is not unnoticed and that it really will all turn out for the best.  Imagine also having someone to thank for every one of the brightest moments and best parts of life - for love and success and contentment.  Most of all - imagine an ETERNAL life in HEAVEN!!  All you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart.  Pray about it.  Write me, I'd be happy to talk to you about it and pray with you.  Most of all, come with me to church!!  We attend Kibler Baptist Church and it's not just a church... it's so much more... we are a family!  

Easter

PERFECT pretty much sums up our Easter weekend.  It was raining Saturday morning so our egg hunt at church got cancelled.  We decorated bunny cookies instead and Christian loved it.  He loves making things in the kitchen with me and he gets SO excited any time I tell him to go get his stool.  He runs as fast as he can, scoots the rug over to wherever I am, puts his stool down, and hops right up!  It is one of my favorite things.  It was nice to relax all morning.  We went to my Aunt Vickie and Uncle Warren's house later that afternoon for a cook out and egg hunt.  Christian had so much fun playing with Madley!  It was just as much fun watching Corey and Jason hide the eggs as it was watching the kids find them... lol  Jason and I grew up being very close... he was like my brother because we were only children, so it's awesome to see our kids playing together.  We stayed over there for hours just hanging out and visiting... It was a great time!

 

Precious, right??

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Saturday night we had fun playing the Easter Bunny.  We put bunny signs on each of the boys doors so the bunny would know where to go. ;)  Christian enjoys my cheesiness! haha  The Easter Bunny also sent him a letter earlier that week.  We only put silly little fun things he could play with and candy in their baskets.  I really want to stress the importance of Easter and what it's TRUE meaning is.  I found this little printable that you put with an empty egg and it talks about how the tomb was found empty - perfect!  We made a line of eggs that went from C's room to his Easter basket and he just loved that.  It was fun watching him find it and dig through it. =)  Then, got everyone ready for church and off we went!  After church we ate with my dad and spent the rest of the day napping.  We went to my moms for dinner and had a great time there too... The boys got another basket of goodies.  We came home and gave them their big basket from their Mimi too... Christian was so excited he kept getting things! haha  We read The Easter Story to Christian before we put him to bed and he really listened... He pointed to Jesus on every page.  There is nothing better than hearing a 2 year old say, Jesus.. SO sweet!!  Corey and I watched The Bible finale after the boys went to bed and cried like a baby.  I can not fathom what He went through for MY sins.  I am not deserving of His love but I am so thankful that He believes I am.  It really puts things into perspective when you watch Him being beat and nailed to a cross.  Petty sins that I am guilty of every day are definitely on my mind a whole lot more now to be cautious of what comes out of my mouth.  I can do better... I will always be able to do better... and that is exactly what I plan on doing!  Corey and I talked about how we want so badly to get to a point that our ENTIRE life and being is 100% focused on God... all of our decisions, moves, and everything we do.  I don't want to do anything that is not in His will for our life.  We will also continue to pray together every night that our boys will grow up knowing the Lord, for their salvation, and they both marry Godly women that bring out the very best in them.  The MOST important thing I will do in this world is teach my boys about God, to know Him, and to honor Him in everything they do.  

I am HIS because HE is ALIVE!!!