A wreck, Halloween, and a little random

This is how my day started off yesterday...... In a PARKING LOT.  A teenager wasn't paying attention and plowed into me. It was horrible. My van was already totaled after the hailstorm. Now it's not worth taking it out to pasture and shooting. Soooo.... For now, we wait and see how insurance will handle it. If the other guy's insurance refuses to pay out a whole lot, car shopping we will go. That may be exciting to most people. Me? Notsomuch. We haven't had a car payment in over 8 years. I was shooting for at least 10. I'm not ready. But I know God will provide. Sigh. Never a dull moment. Never, never, never. 

Meanwhile........ Happy Halloween! We went trick-or-treating last night due to inclement weather tonight. 

If you're wondering what Brennan is, he's a preacher. Yes. A preacher. He came up with that all on his own! 

Tuesday night we had a pizza picnic and watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

And finally.... Some random pics of random happenings in our crazy, beautiful, wonderful family life. 

My grandfather and Brennan-- twinkies

My first 5k in 6 years, and Chad's first EVER. 

The Walking Dead

I don't like gore, horror movies, or violence. But......... Somehow...... I've become the latest addict to the AMC series "The Walking Dead". We started from the beginning on Netflix a few weeks ago. It's like our crack before bedtime! 

First: I'm in love with Darryl. The redneck everyone hated to begin with. 

Second: I'm in love with Rick. Who is from the UK in real life and can master a southern accent on the show better than any true southerner I know. 

Third: I'm in love with Glenn and Maggie. 

Fourth: I love the show. Period. Just enough of everything for every kind of person out there. 

Prayers needed!

Hi guys! If you read my blog from time to time and are on Fb, but we aren't Fb friends, please go and like the group "Prayers For Denise". This is my cousin. Paralyzed from the chest down in her final weeks of pregnancy. Her baby was born healthy and successfully by C-Section. But the doctors have said she will never walk again and in the process of this all, they found tumors all up and down her spine and she has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. She also has a 9 year old named Katie. Please, please, PLEASE pray!!!!

The "Coolness" of God....

So, in my periods of spiritual highs and lows (and yes, I realize we ALL get them), God has done some amazing things in my spirit this week. 

I told you about my friend in Jesus who lifted my spirits. Daily he has been sending me very encouraging text messages and scriptures. The past few days I have had an unspeakable peace. A peace that goes way beyond any understanding. I haven't questioned God's motives. I haven't questioned His timing. And I haven't doubted for one moment that he's put me on a journey for His kingdom. It's a huge task. A potentially overwhelming one, at that. And that's what happened. Satan used my thoughts to overwhelm me. Panic me. But it ultimately backfired on the evil one. It sent me to my knees. Not in defeat. But in prayer. And focus. And bathed in Scripture. 

To add to the coolness of God's awesome provision and sovereignty, there were 2 stories in Scripture that, like a lock and key, just fit perfectly into my life exactly, and I mean EXACTLY, when I needed it. 

The first passage was in my reading plan from my Study Bible Monday night. The day I had been overcome with doubt and questions and fear. And tears. And it came from Exodus 3. Exodus 3:11-18. As Moses questions God about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. "Who am I", asks Moses, "that I should bring them out of Egypt?"  And God simply responds with (and this is my paraphrase) "I will be with you. I am Who I Am. The Lord, the God of your fathers has sent you". 

Wow. MIND. BLOWING. 

Then this morning...... When I think of the task that lies ahead with our mission work..... It can seem daunting. And I know it will be hard. It will be a battle of the mind and soul at times. And it will be a showdown with Satan. Well, this morning's read was 1 Samuel 17. When David faces Goliath. People thought he was nuts. People questioned his motives. And they just knew he was barking up the wrong tree. His brother was jealous of the honor that David had received by Saul. Everything was against David. Everything and everyone........ Except the One. The only One. The One who had equipped David for this special task. The One who went before David and provided the way. David was equipped with only 3 things: a slingshot, some measely pebbles, and God. And we all know the rest of the story........ The giant went down and David was anointed as the man after God's own heart. Even later when he became a murderer, an adulterer, and struggled in the sorrows of his own sins. God chose him to do great things. God chose him to be a king. God chose him to slay a giant with nothing more than a pebble from a creek and faith in his heart that God's got this. 

So..... These are the types of things God does in all of his awesomeness. He provides, He encourages, He knows the path ahead of you, and He's already making a way for you. There will be valleys and there will be mountains. But there's never a low or a high that God can't handle. I am a Warrior Princess of the Most High God. The King. The King that loves us so much He ultimately died for us. 

I'm getting back up!

Today I felt defeated. Hopeless. Worthless. I felt beaten down. Frustrated. Sad. Maybe even a sense of being overwhelmed. Like "What have I gotten myself into? Why did I start this journey? I don't feel like I can continue, much less accomplish anything". Those thoughts invaded my heart, my head. My attitude. Then just as He always does...... God sent me some encouragement in my valley of defeat. 

A dear brother in Christ, who was under my grandfather's ministry and is now a minister himself, told me to call him right away. I was worried. Was this going to be another roadblock? But I knew better than that. I called him. And I actually took notes while he was speaking to me. The first thing he shared was this:

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

New International Version (NIV)

3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

He told me to take captive of any of my negative thoughts and turn them to be obedient in Christ and through Christ. 

He said there are 4 places where our thoughts can come from: the world, Satan, ourselves, and God. And any thought that's NOT from God, we are to tear them down. And replace any negative thoughts with Scripture from the Word of God. 

He assured me I'm a WARRIOR PRINCESS OF THE KING and God has anointed me to do a special task. How powerful is that? A warrior princess of THE KING! 

He reminded me of what God called my grandfather to do for his lifetime and that I have been uniquely anointed through the family bloodline to continue the task for God's kingdom. That my grandfather's granddaughter and great-grandson have been given a gift to continue on for the Kingdom of God. 

Thank you, God, for reminding me that I am a child of God. And that in Your name I need to be as wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove and cast out any thoughts that aren't from you. This world IS a battlefield, but through Your protection and guidance, you've embraced and equipped me to stand firm and resist the devil. 

Meet Me at the Well.

Alright!!!! Good news. Things are starting to move in the right direction with our ministry. If you are on FB, find our page and "like" and share. We need support! The name of our FB page is "Meet Me at the Well--- Come Thirsty". 

Quick update

It's been awhile since I've blogged!  Life has been so busy. I have a full plate these days! Three kids, TWO part-time jobs (I just started a teaching job as an adjunct instructor teaching a dental assisting course two nights a week), and a mission project about to get off the ground.  Whew.  That's my life and it just made me tired typing it! 

This Saturday we are getting things ready to kick off a major mission outreach.  It's a long story.  Most who keep up with me on FB know the details.  It's going to be a challenge.  It's going to take a lot of time and prayer.  It's going to take dedication and commitment.  But so many need to hear the love of Christ and experience the peace only he can offer.  Please pray with us and for us.  If you would like to know more about this, please email me or leave me a comment.  Eventually we will set up funds for people who may not be able to go out into the community physically, but would like to help in some way.  My hopes are to set up a fund in my grandparent's memory.  We've created a name and a logo for this ministry and I will be able to share more details after we meet Saturday.

Please just remember us as we try and be the hands and feet of Christ.  Prayer is the most powerful weapon and this world needs it!