Random Thoughts

I am so encouraged right now in so many ways. I just sat for the last hour and caught up on my friends blogs. I haven't done that in weeks and felt somewhat behind on things. It is quiet in my house. Drew is sleeping. Went to bed at 7:30! Jere and Aly are on a Father/Daughter date night. Out to eat, ice cream, and to see High School Musical that an area High School is performing. I can't help but just smile!

We cleaned out our basement today. Started at 8:30 this morning and finished at 2:30 this afternoon. I don't know that I can even start to guess how much we got rid of. At least 4 bags and boxes of trash and a stack of stuff for Hannah Home to pick up. Can I guesstimate about 300 - 500 items or more? It was so refreshing. My sweet friend, J, has inspired me to count what we are getting rid of. We even told Aly to clean her room and pull out 20 things to get rid of. She did! Smiling again!

My brother just called and let me know that AL lost today to Louisiana Monroe - NOT smiling now! But I digress...

Our Bible Study group is studying the life of John right now. I am learning so much from this study. Beth Moore asked a question of us last week, "Deep in your heart, what are you most afraid of?". My first thought was the fear of losing people that I love and not having them here with me. This is a huge fear of mine! I was then reminded of 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV),"God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind." I can't live in constant fear about what will happen to those I love. It isn't from God. I have to remind myself of that often.

My second thought was, "What if I'm not doing enough?" One of the girls in our group captured exactly what I meant by saying, "I fear that I might disappoint God." This has really had me thinking and praying this week. I pray a lot for others. I do pray when I get requests by email and by word of mouth. Anytime that God brings others to my mind, I am praying for them. What I don't do enough, it to stay in constant fellowship with Christ personally. I am not always aware of His presence in my life day to day, minute by minute. I'm learning more about the Holy Spirit and how He works in my life. John 14:26 tell us that the Holy Spirit is the Blessed Reminder. I need to pray for more of the Holy Spirit each day to keep me reminded of God's constant presence. This week, a couple of verses really stood out to me.

I John 3:19-20 "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."

I John 4:16 "We know and rely on the love God has for us." How comforting it is to know that we can rely on His love. Abide in it, behold it, experience it.

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I'm praying for more of the Holy Spirit this week to keep me reminded about everything I have to be thankful for. Not just the easy things to remember, like my family, my home, the wonderful food, but for knowing that I'm never alone, that I can seek His forgiveness and know that I'm forgiven and have constant fellowship with him, that He keeps His promises, that He knows everything, that I can even get up and breathe each day, etc...

I'm not real eloquent with words and am definitely not a "writer" but I do hope this makes sense and that whoever is reading this will know that all of His promises apply to you too! Rely on God's love and rejoice in all that we have to be thankful for!