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Christmas at Dad’s

glcreations — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:35:33 +0000

This weekend will be the second Christmas I have with my dad since the birth of my son Jordan. Few know the story behind that – it’s been one I’ve carried almost alone (there is an awesome story behind this I will share another time). Short version: For a serious reason we did not speak for nearly 8 years. We are now patching things up (by that I mean not talking about what happened and just moving on). He seems to have accepted having grandchildren well and has starting spoiling my kids. They are really looking forward to this weekend! Keep this relationship in your prayers – it’s a tough one (as most of mine seem to be).

The Shack

glcreations — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:14:40 +0000

“Jesus? I feel so lost.”
A hand reached out and squeezed his, and didn’t let go. “I know. But it’s not true. I am with you and I’m not lost. I’m sorry it feels that way, but hear me clearly. You are not lost.”

I heard there is some controversy over this book, “The Shack” by William P. Young. But I love it. I love the imagination he had in imagining what it would be like to meet God. Everything he describes is the relationship I have learn to have with God. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it – read it with an open mind. And remember, it is fiction.

This Christmas

glcreations — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:40:04 +0000

“Father of the fatherless be with your sons & daughters this Christmas, this Christmas. Father let us not forget the children who are all alone this Christmas, this Christmas” – Tobymac

James 1:27 (New International Version)

27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Absent

glcreations — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:10:21 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Things have been a little hard to balance. Getting the kids kicked off at school with practices and everything else has made it hard to get back to “basics” so to speak. Summer was good for the most part, but it seems like when summer is over every thing piles on. I get the pleasure of appearing in child support court in two weeks (I am highly dreading). My ex, who for the past year, handled his visitation, but did not pay any of child support. He has been missing for about three weeks now – I do believe he has violated his probation (if so he will be looking at 4-6 years). I have spoken to him on the phone once or twice, but one thing I’ve learned over the summer is that he is a compulsive liar – you can not believe a word that comes out of his mouth. He was going to therapy, which at first seem to be making progress – NOPE. Even though there’s no fear of him actually showing up lately, I have banned him from taking the kids on the fear that he has violated his probation – I don’t want to risk the kids being there if he is arrested. Unfortunately this is hard to deal with – the older kids are use to his disappearances and deal better, but the baby doesn’t understand and there’s no way to make a two year old understand anything.

I’ve come to the conclusion that people really don’t like to hear about this, it seems to repeat itself over and over (believe me I see it), but I have to vent somewhere. I will re-start posting tomorrow.

Direction

glcreations — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:29:29 +0000

I’ve been struggling lately with finding direction. I guess you could say purpose. Most know my dream is to design for christian music. Music has impacted my life so much that I find peace in just listening. Sometimes I feel like God is leading me in that direction, and others I feel like my place is here with the ties that bond me here. I feel like there I have responsibilities to people here that I can’t abandon. There are things that emotionally bond me to my life as it is now, even though I always feel that there is more for me to give.

First, we must serve God with loyalty. The apostle Paul wrote: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV) No matter what season of your life you are in right now, God has entrusted you with certain gifts, talents, and resources that He expects you to use wisely. He has also entrusted you with certain people that He has put in your circle of influence, and He requires you to have a positive impact on their lives. You can prove yourself faithful by allowing Jesus to live His life through you. It doesn’t matter if you are a stay-at-home mother, a high-powered executive, or a bus driver–you can make an eternal difference in people’s lives if you will faithfully follow God’s will and ways. Scripture says: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV) God is constantly looking for people to bless and reward, often with greater opportunities and promotions. We all want to hear from the Master–”Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things”–and loyalty will pave the way for us. (Matthew 25:23 NIV)

Secondly, we must serve the Lord with humility. The Bible says: “Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].” (James 4:10 AMP) We all want our lives to count for something. It’s natural for us to want to make an impact on our world. But we get into trouble when we try to do that apart from God. One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to devise our own plans, and then ask the Lord to bless them. Instead, we should remind ourselves that God has His own plans for us in mind–and they’re already blessed. As we humble ourselves before Him, and ask Him to guide our every step, He will lead us to the opportunities and open doors that He has prepared ahead of time. Scripture says: “Give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits.” (Romans 12:16 AMP) Sometimes, the Lord will assign us jobs that are hard on our flesh. We may have to answer to people we don’t particularly like. And there may be times when the Lord will expect us to serve Him without pay. Our jobs may not be glamorous in the eyes of the world, but if we remain humble and faithful, God will reward us in unexpected and extraordinary ways.

I pray everyday that I’m in the right direction, but I painfully know that for the most part I feel I’m not.

Throw your burdens all away

glcreations — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:54:29 +0000

One of my favorite passages in the bible:
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am glentle an dhumble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Times are getting tough for everybody, and I believe it will only get worse before it gets better. A lot of my friends are are going through rough times and stress is building. Money is tight and bills are piling. The more we spend on gas and food, the less we have to pay bills. All this stress builds and creates arguments among family and friends. But reading this passage this morning has reminded me to turn all problems over to God and let him take care of you like no one else can.

As gas and food prices rise and bills pile up throw your burdens all away to God and don’t let them come between you, your friends, your family and the Lord!

Finding Comfort

glcreations — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:56:10 +0000

I receive devotional emails weekly from jesusfreakhidout.com, and this weeks email was a good one. I had a really rough weekend. Another weekend of dealing with my son and his father’s anger. Jason and Jordan recently starting going to anger management therapy. They are both in great need of finding outlets for their anger other then hitting, throwing and other violent means. Given the fact that Jordan was not around his father barely any through his past years of growing up, this is clearly a situation of nature over nurture. I have done everything I can to try to get Jordan’s rage under control. He has even gone to the extreme of hitting his sister every time he’s mad (and if you know Faith, she is a very passive little girl). Now to my frustration Jase has began showing the early signs of this violence. This weekend he was caught bitting a toy and growling at a toy because he couldn’t get it to do what he wanted. Both boys have the habit of hitting themselves when they are upset.
Just talking about all this makes me frustrated, I’ve now forgot where I was going with this … this is an excerpt from my weekly devotional email..

“Jesus said: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter…that He may remain with you forever.” (John 14:16 AMP) When we received Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, He sent His Spirit to indwell us, and to minister to us every moment of every day. But while the Holy Spirit’s power is always available to us, it helps if we carry our hurts and heartaches to the Lord in prayer, and ask Him to help and heal us. Sometimes I’m hurting so much that I can’t think of anything else but my pain–it literally consumes me. If I will take some time out to be alone with God and His Word, I always discover just how eager and able He is to calm me down and cheer me up. Scripture says: “I, even I, am He who comforts you.” (Isaiah 51:12-13 NIV) God longs for us to reach out to Him in times of trouble. When we do, He rewards us with the kind of comfort that only He can give.”

In my frustration with dealing with the daily issues of the seemingly genetic attributes my boys have picked up from their father I will seek comfort from the Lord. I will pray that he will give be strength and wisdom to deal with these ongoing issues and that they will find the peace needed inside themselves to let the anger go.

Support

glcreations — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:24:55 +0000

“Let us go back and visit the brother in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” (Paul to Barnabas) Acts 15:36

We should support and nurture those we lead to the Lord.
Paul realized that others would not stop trying to spread their destructive views, and he wanted to make sure the churches they’d planted were still honoring Christ. We also have a responsibility to those we lead to the Lord; we must make sure they have what they need to follow the Lord. Though we can’t always be the ones who daily teach them to walk with Christ, we should be concerned for their welfare and spiritual growth.
The blogs that have been started by S.O.A.P. are a good way to do just that. They have given me inspiration and hope. They are good to turn to when I need a “pick-me-up.” Seeing something through someone else’s eyes can sometimes open different uplifting perspectives.

Music

glcreations — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:17:01 +0000

“Music touches feelings words cannot”

My friend Lindsay recently wrote a blog on music and what it means to her (Finding Macedonia). Music can transport us to periods in our lives, good or bad. Examples for me are tobyMac’s “Irene.” If you’ve heard the song and read my testimony you can fill in the blanks as to why (other than I am a huge tobyMac fan). This song gave me hope for a future and forgiveness; and let me know that God would take care of me, I’m not alone. Another song(s) from Chris Tomlin take me back to the first time I walked into the Vineyard. Everytime I hear Chris Tomlin it’s like I’m walking in and feeling God’s presence for the first time all over again.

Music and Worship
In 1 Chronicles 25 David instituted music for the temple worship services. Music and worship go hand in hand. Worship should involve the whole person, and music helps lift a person’s thoughts and emotions to God. Through music we can reflect on our needs and shortcomings as well as celebrate God’s greatness.
This is exactly what I feel and see in our church every Sunday. People worshiping God with their whole bodies as they lift their hands and sing. It is a great feeling to experience. I like to sing in the car. Those are the times I express my worship with my “whole body.” I pray that someday I loose the “chains” that hold me back from fully expressing my worship in church.

Worries

glcreations — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:46:47 +0000

Most know that I was blessed with a job at Goody’s corporate offices. I was fortunate to be the advertising designer for the Ashley Judd Collection. Although my designs will always be a stapler in my portfolio, the work was a burden that I did not recognize. I spent most of my time at work away from my babies. It was a very difficult career to live with. I was destroyed after I lost my job; for about 24 hours. After the first day at home with my youngest I realized what the true blessing was: not having to worry with that job anymore. God took care of my during that period I didn’t have a job. And I realized how much of my kids I missed during that two years. I am glad to say that I have been blessed with another great job. Only this job leaves me plenty of time for home and church!

Scripture: Matthew 6: 25, 27, 32-34
(25) That is why I tell not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more that food, and your body more than clothing?
(27) Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
(32) These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. (33) Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
(34) So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it’s own worries. Today’s troubles are enough for today.