What is Driving Your Home?

Week 7 focused our hearts and minds on Our Ministries.  Those in and out of the home.
As a wife and potential mother in the future, it was important for me this week to focus on my role, where my ministry is, where it should be, and how this might change in the future.

{Week 7 Challenge}: Pray that God lays on our hearts people we can minister too.  Then think of some practical ways that we can bless them.

{Week 7 Memory Verse}:

{Week 7 Statement}: This week I'm going to be intentionally focused on where and how I am ministering.  

{Week 7 Lessons}:

• invest your time and talents where they will make an eternal difference (1Peter 4: 9-10)
• invest in people
• use our gifts for others - not to please ourselves
• my first priority for ministry is in my home (Proverbs 31:27)
• be intentional about ministering in my home - attentive to their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness
• devote time and energy to help those around you (1 Tim 5: 10)
• do not hesitate to offer hospitality (Romans 12:13)
• do not entertain, but practice hospitality
• build your home on the foundation of God's love (Proverbs 14:1)
• sometimes tearing down what is not God driven is necessary
• guide our home with Christ as the center

When speaking ---> speak as if you are speaking the very words of God!

When serving ----> do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God will be praised through Jesus Christ!

{How to use our abilities}

1. as God directs
2. to help others
3. see Jesus in our service - "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me" (Matthew 25: 40)

{Characteristics of a faithful woman}

1. care for those around her
2. does good deeds
3. raises or helps raise children to know the love of God
4. shows hospitality
5. does humble deeds for others
6. is a caring ear to come too
7. help for those in trouble
8. takes time out of her day to help those around her

{How to practice true hospitality}

1. focus on the guests and their needs
2. be a place for others to stay
3. offer food for nourishment
4. be a listening ear
5. show genuine acceptance and support

*Hospitality is not about inviting people into our perfect homes; it is about inviting people into our imperfect hearts!*

{Characteristics a Godly home should embody}

1. be a sanctuary for our husbands and children
2. be safe from worldly seductions and temptations
3. where the weary find rest
4. where the sad find comfort
5. environment where character is formed
6. be joyful
7. be peaceful
8. be filled with love!

During this week, Adam and I took time discussing practical ways to build our home on God's foundation and maintain it with Christ as the center.  We spent time answering this question: "What is driving our home?"  The discuss that developed from this question was profound and enlightening for our family.  I encourage you; whether married, married with kids, or single to answer this question honestly.  We found it to be pivotal for our relationship and how we build our home and will continue to build our home as it grows and changes.    

"What is driving your home?"

"Are you building up your home or tearing it down?

"What are some practical ways to make Jesus the center of your home?"

{Quote}  

"Home is the true wife's kingdom.  There, first of all places, she must be strong and beautiful.  She may touch life outside in many ways, if she can do it without slighting the duties that are hers within her own doors.  These are hers, and no other one's."  - J.R. Miller

{Prayer}

"I pray for each of you, that you be encouraged to minister using the gifts God has given you, to serve others, please God, and grow closer to him.  I pray for your homes, that you let God lead them and take time to assess what is driving your home, your schedules, your meals, your free time.  I pray you grow closer to God with each passing second and that your ministries inside and outside the home are blessed and prosperous in showing and sharing love." - Amen

Blessings,

Kristin Noel

Preparation for the Future

Week 6 was about children.....hope for the future!
I found this to be an enlightening week full of thoughts and ideas to store up and consider.

{Week 6 Challenge} Spend time with children around you and intentionally make a point to talk about the praise worthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.

{Week 6 Memory Verse}

{Week 6 Statement} "This week I will be intentionally focused on my example and discussions with the children in my life."

{Week 6 Lessons}:

• Make God apart of your everyday life (Deut. 6:7-9)
• Teach children to see God in every aspect of their life
• Children have a RIGHT to knw about God. They are 1st His children! (Psalm 78: 3-4,6-7)
• Tell children of God's love
• Show children God's love by your actions so they will trust in Him!
• Children are a blessing, not an inconvenience (Psalm 127: 3-5)
• It is an honor to be asked to raise God's children
• God regards children highly
• Interact with children with an open heart and mind....they may have things to teach us
• Show children the importance of serving rather than status (Matthew 18:5)
• Do not be a stumbling block for children (Matthew 18:6)
• It is our responsibility as adults/parents to share God's love with children (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
• Teach children to analyze, trust, and use God's word
• Seek the scriptures often to know how to do God's work

Action steps to living with God everyday and being an example for the children around us:

1. Know God's word - spend time in the scriptures as often as possible
2. Use God's word - ineract with God's word and apply it to your everyday life
3. Speak God's word - share God's love and forgiveness

This week I found myself focusing on these lessons in 2 ways: 1) preparing if the day comes when God calls us to have children, and 2) in the present with the children and families I interact with daily. Although it might not always be appropriate to sit down and talk about Jesus, specifically in a school setting or during therapy, but I can ALWAYS show God's love through my service and interaction with them. I found myself spending more time contemplating how I would speak to the children and how I would engage with them in a loving way to intentionally show them God's love and encourage them to trust me and therefore learn to trust God. This is a huge responsibility as a therapist and teacher, one that I do not take lightly and take even more intentionally after this week's study. I also spent a fair amount of time thinking and mostly praying about the future. Praying for God's timing, praying that I will have what it takes, that if we are called to raise children that we do it right, that we lead them to God and that we show His love. This week's recap questions Adam and I actually went through together and these are the points we came up with--->


How do we plan on incorporating God into our everyday life when/if we do have children:

1. Teach and model radical forgiveness
2. Teach and model critical thinking and analysis
3. Be intentional with our actions and words that they show love and forgiveness above all.
4. Spend time daily in God's word as a family
5. Spend time daily in God's word as a couple
6. Encourage our children to spend time and interact with God's word individually
7. Make child-approachable material available for our children to learn God's word
8. Highlight an attitude of thankfulness in our actions and words
9. Spend time daily in prayer as a family
10. Spend time daily in prayer as a couple and individually

This was an extremely informative and thought provoking week of study. One I am thankful I worked through. One final note that Adam actually mentioned while we were discussing the recap questions together. We were discussing the importance of preparing ourselves for God's calling and he said:
"Well, it's just like if you were to raise bilingual children. You can't learn the language along with them, it has to be something you already know and live." - A

This was a profound statement to me. God is a language, He is that essential and we can't begin to think that we can teach our children God if we don't already know Him. We are preparing NOW for God's calling. Thankful for my husband and thankful for this week of study!


{Prayer} "I pray for each of you, for your influence on children. I pray that you first look to God for guidance and then lead little ones. I pray your heart is open to the children around you and that you recognize that they are 1st God's children. You have been honored to raise them and influence them, they are a blessing. I pray you own this blessing and take responsibility for it by showing them the radical forgiveness and love God has for you. Amen." - K

Blessings,
Kristin Noel

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What's in a Wedding?

         After a wedding-filled spring and summer I spent time this morning looking back over the 5 weddings we had the privilege to be apart of.  I have always loved weddings since dreaming of my prince charming riding in on his white horse after watching Cinderella and many other "princess movies" .....many of which I still watch and love today.  There is something about weddings that I love....that most of us love.  It's not the details or the dress.....it's something else.  Even the most cynical of people can tear up at a wedding.  So why?

        Naturally I remember my own romance and was brought to a very special book Adam and I read during our dating and courtship...The Book of Romance by Tommy Nelson.  This delightful book reads as a commentary of the Song of Solomon and leads you through dating, courtship, engagement, wedding, wedding night, honeymoon, and the biggest chapters...marriage.  It is a book that has stuck with us and one we have read parallel with each of the stages of our relationship.

        Chapter 4, The Wedding God Desires for You to Have starts of by explaining that "God's plan for a young couple is to have a holy, pure, and joyful wedding celebration to unite their lives as one spiritually, emotionally, and socially."  These characteristics can be easily overlooked in this age of wedding prep and details, but I can honestly say that each wedding we witnessed this year, as different as they all were, embodied each of these.  Nelson continues by pointing out several hallmark moments of a great wedding: "a wedding is a holy and divine moment....it is a moment in which God is fully present as the foremost witness to the wedding vows."  Maybe the fact that God is PRESENT is the reason a wedding is such a special time.  As a body of faith we believe God is everywhere, all the time, but there are times when we "feel" God present....a wedding is one place I feel God the most.

         Another hallmark is that a wedding is a time of celebration and joy.  Whether the wedding is on a rainy Thursday afternoon or at the peak of summer on a Saturday....in a church, on the farm, or in a yard.......it is a joyous occasion.  Nelson describes the atmosphere as being "filled with laughter, praise, and song.  The emotional climate of the room should be warm, with a feeling that no matter what might happen in the way of glitches in the pomp and circumstance, nothing truly matters except the love and happiness of the couple being united in marriage."  Looking back on our own wedding I remember bits and pieces of the details...our family probably remembers more, but 3 years later what you remember is the look on your husbands face when you walk down the aisle, the feeling of love and support from your family and friends, and the overflow of emotions when you first enter into this union before God.  It truly is a day of celebration!

         After looking back on the importance of the wedding day for the couple....what about the family and friends....the ones left behind when the couple sails off for their honeymoon and their new life!?!  There is a bittersweet feeling we get as we wave goodbye as the ones left behind.  Maybe it's the fact that even though you may have seen that couple weekly or daily before the wedding...the day after their wedding....the moments after their union....they are different.....they actually "look" different....they are no longer 1 but 2!  If you know me well at all you know I could never claim to NOT be emotional....I am mostly a blubbering mess at weddings.  I can't help it.....I never have been able to go to a wedding and not tear up....not feel emotionally connected to the couple and their union.  This summer has been an emotional roller coaster for me as we have witnessed a best friend, 2-1st cousins, and our siblings say "I do."  What a blessing it has been to witness these unions, but boy o boy has it been tear jerking and emotional!

          Things I have learned:  1) I am certainly an extrovert at heart........I LOVE weddings.....I wake up ready for the day....I love the build up with the showers and wedding prep.....I love setting up....and absolutely LOVE the ceremony and reception...I could literally dance until my feel fall off!  But at some point during the reception my energy starts to leave....right about the time the guests start to go back to their lives and by the end of the night (when the couple leaves) my mood drops from high to low....I always say "I could live a wedding day, everyday"....crazy I know, but I never feel as alive as I do at weddings....  2) The next morning is the hardest....knowing that the celebration is over.....I find myself yearning for that fuzzy feeling we all had the day before.  This is where God speaks to me the most.....there is an important mental shift that happens as I again celebrate (although more internally and with less dancing) their new life and the wonderful journey they are about to embark on....and  3) You inevitably reminisce your own union.......I always remember vividly the same points during our own wedding and the emotions I felt as a bride looking at my groom.  I realized that after our wedding, I look at weddings differently.  They are not just a fairy tale....they are no longer about the dress and the reception....they are about the union....the family....the relationships.....God.  They are so much more.....and believe me I built weddings and marriage up to be this wonderful moment of perfection as a little girl gazing at her own mother's wedding dress.  What I have realized is that a wedding is not perfect....a marriage is not perfect.....it is SO much better than perfect...it is real!

          I love weddings for the emotions, for the memories, for the cake, and the dancing......but most of all I love the fact that even though the union is the same under God.......every wedding is uniquely perfect in it's own way!  Whether you say "I do" in an intimate chapel on a Thursday evening, a blissful rainy afternoon, on your parent's front porch surrounded by memories, on a farm in the middle of nowhere, or literally tying the knot on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon........God was there and we all felt it!  We thank you for sharing your special moment with us and pray for your marriage each and everyday!

Now for the memories --------->

Mr. & Mrs. Dugan Corsolini

Mr. & Mrs. Trey Lewis

Mr. & Mrs. Kyle Simmons

Mr. & Mrs. Cody Harden

Mr. & Mrs. Austin Veteto

Congratulations!

Rejoice, Rejoice!

Rejoice, Rejoice.....again I say Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say Rejoice!

What a glorious day, what a perfect day!

Today was a day I've been waiting for this entire week!  It was the light at the end of my tunnel in the midst of the "t" word challenge......how perfect that this day shall be Easter!  The day our Lord rose from the dead and gave us peace in the midst of fear!

It began bright and early with a workout at 5:15am, by 6:30am we were at sunrise service in the shelter house at our church!  It was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen - maybe it was the dreams I had, had of how it would be after the challenge was over.....it was even better then I had imagined!

It followed by grocery shopping for baking stuff as we gave up sweets for lent and haven't had a sweet in 40 days!  So we stocked up so I could do a little baking!

By 9am we were back at church where I corralled my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders around to the Easter festivities at church where we heard all about the Easter story.....o and hunted for eggs also!  Adam was one of the readers for the children and did a great job!  It was certainly a great way to jumpstart Easter celebrations!

10am I am chatting with a few ladies and who comes up behind me to surprise me......my mom and dad!  O MY GOSH!  I had NO idea and being overcome with emotion I cried right then and there like a little kid coming home from camp.....weeping and wiping tears from my eyes......mom cried, I cried......and I think even dad cried!  I hadn't seen them since Christmas and it was joyously overwhelming to see them.  With LOTS of hugs and LOTS of tears we gathered ourselves there in the middle of the gathering area at church and then enjoyed a PERFECTLY lovely church service!  What a service!  We are normally in the choir, but with the business of our life at this time, we had the great pleasure to LISTEN.....I know right!  It was beautiful with a full orchestra and chorus, with children and the joy they bring, with a peaceful and encouraging sermon.......what a day already and it isn't even noon yet!

By noon we were on our way to a lovely lunch with my parents where we sat outside with the beautiful sun and enjoyed a perfectly delicious meal together!

By 2pm we were back at our apartment telling stories, laughing, smiling, ......eating candy.....and enjoying every second of our time together!  There truly is nothing like family and wish for everyone to know the joy that is family and the joy they bring to life!

By 5pm they were on their way back to the farm and the two of us sat and enjoyed the sun of the afternoon, planted a few more herbs (Rosemary and Mint), and soaked in every ounce of the day!

I truly can't imagine a more perfect day.....a more perfect life!  In the midst of trial and hard, hard work......there is nothing like a perfect day to refill your battery to go out and do it all again!

Today was everything and more that I dreamt it to be......much more!

My Lord rose today, Your Lord rose today and as a result we can LIVE!  So LIVE and live fully in all you do!

Day 4 - I DID IT!

The day I finished!

Yes, that's right I FINISHED!!!!!! I met my goal at 10:24pm on Saturday night!  Deadline Sunday @ 6:15am........I made it...early even!

I owe day 4's success to my husband, Adam!  He encouraged me every second and even spent the day reading and editing my literature review.  If you have ever read a lit. review you know it is extremely interesting to the researcher and well......not to anyone else.......that's saying a lot!

That man spend the day cleaning the house....as I had definitely NOT done the previous 3 days and with various runs to the kitchen.....I had tea cups sitting here and there and well......he is a saint for helping so much!

I finished...with the encouragement of my parents and Adam......it is finished!

Well.......that being said, a thesis is really never FINISHED until it is handed in and approved so we have months until it is really FINISHED, but the big start is in......I'm waiting on a few method things and will probably add a few more articles here and there as I come across them in the next month and edit phases, but for now, it is in a working order and I did it!

Close to 100 articles read and put into place.......for now I can say....I did it!

Ok....now the 100lbs of weight can be lifted from my shoulders that I've been carrying around for the past 10 months.......no wonder I felt so heavy at times!

In true "t" word fashion:

Acknowledgments


Adam Veteto:  To my husband, you are the bread to my life and the life to my bread and I love you for all that you are and the strength you encourage in me each day!  Thank you for the smiles!

Melinda Whiteman:  To my mother who taught me never to give up and who has encouraged me every second of this project with famous words of wisdom "it will all get done, don't stress." I love you and I thank you.

Vince Whiteman:  To my daddy, you have taught me so much about life and loving life even when you have to work hard at it.  For always reminding me that life is all about what you enjoy and about enjoying what you do!  I love you and I thank you.

Kayla Whiteman:  To my sister who always loves me even when I seem too busy to call and who always reminds that things will get done in their time and in God's time!  I love you, I thank you, and I miss you!

Rev. Steve:  I thank you for the encouragement and the sincere thoughtfulness you bring to every conversation we have.  I thank you!

Family and Friends:  To all of you, you know exactly when to send a thoughtful card, text, or message to encourage me and for your caring I thank you!  For your friendship I thank you!

To my GOD:  You are truly what brings me every joy!  You are what gives me strength to continue when all feels worthless.  You are who makes me laugh and cry all at the same time which somehow makes everything feel right.  You are where my hope and dreams are from.  You are the reason I get up every morning, the reason I sing, and the reason I want to be a better person - even when it hurts to grow.  You are my strength and my ever constant companion and to YOU I give my heart and my life to Your will and Your plan!  To You I thank you!

Singing Over Me

You know those songs that touch you and make you cry uncontrollably and you can only account such an emotional outburst to God.  Well today was one of those days and this is the song that took me there.

 I can only hope it was God calling something of me and I wanted to share this beautiful song in the hope that it might bring just one person closer to the feeling it gave me.  A feeling of extreme helplessness and extreme hope at the same time knowing that I (each of us) are here for a reason and it is through these small moments that God leads and calls us to be greater people!

Singing Over Me by: Kari Jobe

Sometimes He makes me laugh out loud!

Some might not think of God as a humorous creature, but I know this to be false.  Why you ask......well I'll tell you:

After a few horrible nights sleep that felt much more purposeful and much less of a mistake on my end, I find myself searching before bed for answers.  I grab the book I've been reading "Having a Mary Spirit" by Joanna Weaver and think I'll dive in and get some answers.  Well, much to my surprise the answers were not found on the pages of the book, but between the pages (on my bookmark that reads "Where to look when.....").  The ending that caught my eye was "when you feel too busy" - which directly linked me to Ecclesiastes 3:1-15.

 Please look this verse up if you do not know it - it speaks that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven - much like the famous tune "Turn, Turn, Turn" by the Byrds. "To everything turn, turn, turn, there is a season turn, turn, turn, and a time to every purpose under heaven."  These lyrics were directly adapted from this verse! Beautifully written if I do say so myself.

As I began to read I literally began to chuckle out loud that a bookmark would lead me to exactly what I needed to hear and exactly what I thought God wanted me to hear.

Verse 12 and 13 state: "I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.  That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil - this is the gift of God." 

  

This struck me as so simple and yet so powerful that even with a full plate it is not what this world wants us to get done that is important, it might not even be what we do that is important, but HOW we do it that is the key to this life.  

I, of course, began to correlate these words into my current questioning of the meaning of life and came to this conclusion:  God designed me exactly the way I am and He intends me to use all of me.  I  was not designed to find a previous life to fit into like a cookie cutter, I was designed to create a new shape and to use all the characteristics and talents I've been given to do just that.  Sometimes I feel God telling me "don't you see, there isn't any perfect job, there isn't a specific place I want you to be.  I simply want you to use all that I created to do something you enjoy."  Wow....when that actually comes out on paper I understand how powerful that is.

This meansYOU too ------ this is a statement that is true for all of us.  I believe God is reminding us that we will serve the best when we are enjoying what we do.  God will spark ideas and lead when we begin to acknowledge this.

It is my hope for you today that you look at your life and enjoy what you do!
Have a happy Friday!

You know He's a calling when.....

Last night was undoubtable the worst night sleep I have had in probably years.  I couldn't sleep ---- for some reason I just couldn't sleep.  I've been getting up more in the middle of the night the past week than I can ever remember.........and last night was the worst.......but why?

The first things that come to mind are:  coffee, sick, napping during the day, stressed, and the list goes on, but not any of those are the reason.  The most likely one would be stress, but I am getting lots of exercise so that is releasing a lot of my stress......hmmmmmm

As I tossed and turned last night I remember praying........God this is You and I know it.  What are you calling of me at this hour?  What are you speaking to me that I'm not hearing during my waking hours?  I can't answer these questions, but I know God had me right where He wanted me.........praying for answers, praying for guidance, praying for His input!

If you have been following the past few blogs, you know I'm coming up against some career altering decisions with lots of questions.   Questions I know God is leading me to ask.  At this point, I'm awake at night, praying for guidance and praying for answers.

That being said, I'm in no rush - for the first time in my life I don't want the perfect ending to be here right now, I think I need the journey and I'm looking forward to it!  So God, thank You for the sleepless night and for this unsettling feeling inside that encourages me to look up!

To blog or not to blog.....

That is the question I have for you!

Through a series of heart-to-hearts with myself over the past few weeks I have found that I am desiring more from my life and I feel God is calling me to do more.  For the past few years, since beginning the work on my professional website and blog, I have found that I not only LOVE website design, I am a blog-aholic! I can't even begin to count the number of blogs that I read and are familiar with.  I came across an iPad app called Feedler Pro that allows me to read all my blogs that I subscribe through Google Reader all in one place! I can't get enough of this form of social media and social sharing.

I find myself getting excited with the mere thought of doing something new to my website and find myself spending hours a day dreaming of what I could do with it.  This overwhelming feeling of happiness with this form of communication seems to be more to me than I had first thought.

I've been struggling with what I call - living 2 lives - music therapist by day and wanna-be expert blogger by night.

After finding the Julie/Julia project movie in the bargin bin and waiting all week to see the 1 (30 minute) episode of The Pioneer Woman (blogger turned Food Network Star) -------- my heart is asking me to stop making this a hidden desire and come right out with the statement!

I LOVE BLOGGING!!!! I love everything there has to do with blogging! I get lost for hours and sometimes days editing and thinking of things to blog.

So! I decided....what if I really did put the effort into making this blogging fetish less of a secret desire and  more of a product.  There are millions of ways to professionally blog and I've been doing my reading!

Pros:
- possibility of making a little extra cash or a lot of extra cash
- getting to add all the things I love (homemaking, music, cooking, baking, exercising, crafts,
   photography, etc.....believe me the list goes on and on) together in 1 place!
- inexpensive to start-up
- share all the things I love with family, friends, and other bloggers around the world
- business that can be done anywhere I have a computer, phone, or iPad
- possibility of this actually becoming a way of life and part of our income
- working on my bucket list (becoming a proficient web designer and blogger)
- encourage me to think out of the box and reach a different audience with my passions
- *The possibility that this might actually be a place God wants me to share His word!*

The last pro is where I find myself smiling the most!  I have felt for years that God is calling me to use all the things I do and do something unique with them.  My character pulls me in so many directions, so many things I want to do and maybe...just maybe this is where He has been calling me the whole time.  I'm not one to witness out loud and upfront - unless it is behind my guitar that is ----> I think we are all called to witness to His love in different ways and I'm coming to an understanding that this just might be where He desires me to witness!

Cons:
- lots of work to develop the website (especially if you know me and my perfectionism in design)
- the possibility that I am a horrible blogger and have nothing to say
- it might be lots of time and little product
- takes time away from my thesis - that being said it might also help keep myself accountable if I have
  to blog about it.
- no one wants to read what I have to say

So the question I have been praying about in my heart for months, maybe years is: "What is God calling me to do?"  ------This is where that prayer has led me!

My question for you is:  "Do I take on this challenge of creating a blog to 1) witness 2) share resources 3) fulfill my secret passions for blogging and 4) be financially productive?"

To blog or not to blog......that is the question!

We Are Waiting......

A beautiful song that I have the pleasure of singing at worship services and one I have come to love very much.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

It is a song I can get lost in and that is the true test!  

God is so great and so mighty and I feel truly blessed to share music everyday.  

 This is one that I hope you will continue to share!  

Flesh Woman

      Ever have the feeling you have no control over your body? Example: when you know your husband isnt't really doing anything wrong but you are making his life miserable and it is as if you can't stop. You think to yourself "why am I acting this way" "why do I not have any control over my words and emotions?" That ladies is the earthly part of you Joanna Weaver refers to as "Flesh Woman."

     Joanna Weaver describes this feeling by sayaing "I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead I do the very thing I hate." This is the part of you that you hide from the world and that many times your immediate family is the only one to see.......the part you are hoping isn't the real you. The truth----> it is the real you, but it is ONLY part of you. Thankfully we have an inner spirit that God controls....not Flesh Woman.

      The way I understand it is that there are many different areas of our heart and it is a constant fight for  who controls each part.....it is possible to have God control one area and Flesh Woman another.  For example: you could be doing great with setting aside quiet time with God but you are still battling the way you treat others when you feel less than appreciated or you aren't getting enough attention from your family. This is an example where parts of your inner self are stable and others are not.......ring a bell? Feel like just when you conquer one area another area slips? I know I do and the truth is that feeling won't likely go away and that it will probably take a lifetime to allow God to control your whole heart. It is that sinful part of us that is battling for control.

      This is not to say that these actions from the Flesh Woman in you are ok and justified, it is just a way of wrapping your mind around it.......instead of accepting Flesh Woman's presence it is a time to call in for reinforcement......you know who that is.....God! I've found one of the most helpful things to do is to identify out loud either in a journal or in prayer the behavior I wish to change and ask God for help.

 It is this awareness of my inner Flesh Woman that is the first step in letting God change me piece by piece.

 I again invite you to let God change you.....you won't regret it! Peace