Invitation of encouragement

This came to me as way of an e-mail. I have altered it for this blog but the message is still clear and amazing. The best part of receiving this was the timing. My husband lost his job last week and this morning I was trying to stay positive and leave it in the lords hands but was struggling. The lord will always answer our prayer and be with us if we learn to listen even via e-mail.

Jeremiah 29:11 "for I know the plans I have for YOU, declares the LORD
"Never give the devil a ride, he will want to take over the driving."

Dear Woman of God be still for a while and praise God for His favor, His grace and His awesomeness God is able to do the impossible and is always near, He loves us unconditionally. Together, let’s get 1000's of ladies to praise Him with one voice.

Dear God: this is my friend, whom I love and this is my prayer for her Help her live her life
to the fullest. Please promote her and cause her to excel above her expectations. Help her to shine in the darkest places where it is impossible to love. Protect her at all times, lift her up when she needs you the most, and let her know when she walks with You, She will always
be safe.

Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet.

Many hats one day

Today I learned what it meant to be many things. This is one of those days where life lessons were taught, given and learned. What an amazing day it was.

I was a superhero to my youngest child because I was able to find a swimsuit so we could go swimming.

I was a cool aunt because I went when my girlfriends daughter called. All she wanted was someone to watch her favourite show with her and her mom was sick. I stayed and watched her show with her. I was sure to tell her before I left that I was glad she called and that this is what family and friends do. This was a neat experience for me because I am an Aunt by choice not blood.

I learned that being a heart sister means that no matter who else is in your life they are the ones that will be there at your brightest and darkest hour. I also learned that when I choose not to call in my darkest hour feelings can be hurt but forgivness is also quick to be given.

I got to be a good wife to my hubby tonight when I told our oldest that he would have to find a ride for his girlfriend because my hubby was too sick to go out. My hubby would've gone had I asked but he really appreciated not having to go.

I also learned what it means to be a true cousin. This is the most interesting to me. My cousin Tasha is getting married and is being given some grief over the fact that kids are not invited. I for one totally agree with her. We have a cousin who has said he will not be at the wedding because his youngest will be too little to be left with a sitter. Her wedding is in August. This weekend on FB we find out that he left his little one for the night with a sitter so him and his wife could go out. Tasha was very hurt over this and I totally get where she is coming from. So I told her I have her back sent her a virtual hug and him a virtual kick in the butt (we live too far from each other for them to be real). The interesting part is the cousin I gave the kick in the butt to used to have no faults in my eyes but I am learing that he is not perfect and that Tasha needs all the love and support she can get.

What a crazy but educational day. These are lessons I will keep and pass on. It's amazing what can happen when we open our lives and bodies to the lord.

Jodi King

We had the privlege of hearing Jodi at church this past Sunday (February 13)

I purchased her CD Little Smile. It is such a powerful CD that women of all ages and seasons can realate to.

Below is the link for her video for Breathe In/Breathe Out. Take the time to check out this video it is so powerful.

http://jodiking.com/video.php

This video and website is a great way to make connections with other women.

Living Practical Life for Jesus

I am a very busy women with a very chaotic household and I have always struggled with how do I make time daily for Jesus. So in December as a new year was approaching I prayed and asked the lord for guidance in this area. I knew I didn't lack the desire for a relationship but I also knew I was not going to be able to commit to reading my bible every day. I also realized that for me I need to have a daily and weekly walk with the lord to keep my life in balance.

So as the month of December came to a close I found myself with a rare gift of a quiet day at home. So as I sat there preparing to do chores the lord stopped me and told me to take this time to quiet myself and make a plan for the year ahead. I argued with the lord because I do not like schedules, routine or to do lists. As the morning wore on I found myself with pen in hand and writing out a schedule and a routine.

I was amazed at how much free time I could find in my day if I just stuck to the routine he gave me. The lord also told me repeatedly that a routine is not evil but actually a useful tool.

The one thing I realized is that I love to listen to music especially my Itouch so I decided to use this as a tool for my daily walk. I have now made a playlist of inspirational and christian music. I listen to this on my way to work everyday and it settles my mind and spirt for the day ahead. I have also learned that not only can I pray to the lord daily but also speak to him like he is my best friend. With this realization I have found these first few weeks of the new year to be amazing and so blessed.

I also love my Kobo (an e-reader) and I was amazed that I was able to find so many cheap Christian Women's Books that I could download and have at my fingertips. So I downloaded the book God Chicks and it is such an easy read and so powerful that I have added this to my weekly walk.

The lord for me has gone from just being a teacher/father figure to being a more intimate and personal being. So now when I need to vent or just think out loud I do it to the lord instead of my girlfriends and it has been such a powerful experience.

Just Ask!

I have found myself doing a lot of asking lately. Asking for help, asking to switch dates, asking for donations and asking if someone would like to join me somehow. And I've discovered a few things: It's not that hard to ask. People genuinely like to help and give. It's not up to me to provide the answer, just to ask the question. And, it's contagious.

Here are just a few "asks":

I asked people to help me with many aspects of the Jingle Bell Blitz. They all pitched in.

Using Facebook, I invited many Facebook friends to come to the Jingle Bell Blitz. They in turn invited their friends until there were 175 invites.

I watched volunteers ask if shoppers wanted to shop for the Food Pantry. They grabbed a bag and filled it with food.

I was invited to join a friend and her mother to an art show. I accepted and then asked them to coffee.

Together with a friend, I invited another friend out for her birthday. We had a great time together.

I have been invited to many Christmas events, and I also have extended invitations to others. What a wonderful time of year to "ask"! I hope we all continue to look for opportunities to ask and invite in the new year too.

One Plus One...They are Growing!

What else does one do at 4:25 in the morning, but blog? I am obviously not sleeping and have found something to do that wont disturb my whole family. Someone has to be first so, why not me. I am going to make an attempt to remember as many invitations as I can that I have extended or received since the inception of our theme for WAVE this coming year. At this point I am not going to force the notion of listing them chronologically. Just remembering them will be a feet in itself. The invitation was extended to the women of Valley View to consider collecting their pennies to represent their invitations and place them in our jar. These will then be counted and added to our Alliance Women's global project in May. Each month our leadership team has been sharing their stories and adding their pennies diligently. An invitation was given to family and friends to serve at our community dinner. Over twenty accepted and since then two clients of our community dinner are now serving on a regular basis. That is so cool. I accepted a lunch invitation to reconnect with a young woman who is now a high school senior that I took care of for two years when she was just the precious age of two. What a beautiful princess she is, and she has such an amazing story for such a young thing. We extended an invitation to two couples to join us for American Thanksgiving. One couple was able to join us and it has been really special to connect with them since then. Three invitations were personally given to friends in our community to join us for our JBB. I personally handed out about 100 invitations to community shoppers to join us for the JBB. The invitation was given to fourteen of our youth to serve at the JBB and each one accepted. For three weeks I have been inviting others to purchase products that will help support the costs of our community free breakfast as a way of saying thank you for helping us fill the Newmarket Food pantry in one day! I have accepted an invitaion to join a group of women who have a desire to change the life of another one project at a time. Most recently four invitatoins have been personally given to friends to join us on Christmas Eve for the production of Uncle Phil's Christmas Diner. Well, hope this has inspired you to not only blog your invitations, but to keep extending and accepting invitations with a desire to see one ife changed, one inviation at a time. Who know's, maybe that life changed will be yours! Don't forget to collect and add your pennies to our jar...they are growing one penny at a time!

Craving the word of the lord

My life has become busy with day to day comings and goings. I have been praying and attending my small group but I realized that I have not been reading my bible. Not that I am very good about being faithful and reading my bible daily but I normally don't let so much time pass that I can't remember the last time I read my bible.

Well today on my way to work I started to crave reading Ephesians this was such a new and wonderful feeling for me. I am a huge reader so craving reading a book is not new but I have never craved the lords word before. So I came home tonight and picked up my bible to Ephesians and I felt like I was home being comforted by my family. I am so excited about this growth that I feel happening inside of me that even as I haven't been reading my bible I was still talking and praying to God.

I have always felt that praying and talking to God are two different things. Praying is like a child asking permission for something or confessing something. Talking is like a child telling about their day or just chatting about nothing really important just stuff.

I find myself talking to the lord about what I should make for supper, how am I ever going to tackle all the items on my to do list or just telling him about the latest book I read. I am so glad to have reached this stage in my christian walk.