Weekly Verse: 5/5

This week's verse focuses on prayer.
"First of all, I ask that you pray for all people. Ask God to bless them and give them what they need. And give thanks." (1 Timothy 2:1 ERV)

In December, I started my first ever "Prayer List", when I did this I was reminded of my Grandmaw Spaugh. She has always had a prayer list. Removing and adding names as necessary, "I need to add so-and-so to my prayer list. They mentioned her at church today". I remember a little spiral notepad, worn and tattered; she still has a notepad and continues to add the names and needs to the list.
I enjoy having a prayer list. I can pull it out at any time and pray for those in need, add names, and remove them. My list may not be old, wrinkled, or worn, but it serves the same purpose.

Who in your life needs prayer?Do you know someone with a specific need? Can you give thanks for someone? Have you seen God at work in someone's life? Give Him the glory and the praise for His work!

Weekly Verse: 4/28

It's Sunday evening, you know what that means?  Time for the grumbling "tomorrow is Monday" status to start filling our Facebook news feeds.  I too do not like for my weekend to end.  In fact, I have enjoyed 2 days of getting caught up with things to do around the house.  I have especially enjoyed today: a rainy, lazy Sunday in which Barrett Dabbs and I laid around and cooked some yummy treats.  However as today comes to a close and the work week looms around the corner, I challenge each of you to not look to tomorrow with a daunting attitude.  If you wake up Monday morning with the forethought that "it's going to be ANOTHER terrible Monday" then it probably will be.  But what if you wake up and begin your day with prayer and ask God to help you throughout your Monday.  If you have a positive attitude, and have hope that Monday will be a great day, you may just be surprised at how awesome your day turns out to be.  I am just asking that you start your morning on a positive note, even tomorrow when it's going to be a cold, and rainy Monday (prepare yourself). 

I will be opening car doors in the morning, from 7:00-7:30am, in the pouring rain.  I have 2 choices to make here:  I can be negative and complain about getting to school early just to start my day cold and wet, or I can be positive and take pleasure that I might be the 1st smiling face a student sees tomorrow.  I plan to be positive and welcome each student as they get out of their cars with smile on my face and a cheerful "Good Morning!"  How will you start your day?

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13, NIV)

Have a Blessed week, everyone!

Weekly Verse 4/21

"This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way." (2 Timothy 4:7, The Message).

I've recently taken up running and have completed 3 5k races since February. I try to improve with each race, and have set personal goals each time. I would like to win my age group this year and this is an important goal I've set for myself. To do this I must focus on my training, and continue to improve. There will be days when I don't want to train, and I will need to remember my goal, my finish line. We have a similar situation as Christians and throughout this race we are tempted not to train. We're too busy, too tired, or just don't want to obey; the list of temptations is endless, but we can stay strong through prayer, belief, trust, hope, and faith.

Our most important race is the one we are in right now. Our finish line doesn't come with a shiny gold medal that will fade and get packed away or lost during a move. Our finish line is everlasting life with a Father who loves us unconditionally.

As I finish this entry, I am reminded of the Boston Marathon tragedy. I ask that you continue to keep the victims and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Have a blessed week!

Weekly Verse 4/14: Part 2

Over 250 brand new computers sit at school. They need to be unboxed, inventoried, labeled, and imaged. Teachers and students are anxious to get their hands on all of this new technology (rightfully so), but this is a huge task for myself.

Before I left for Spring Break I felt overwhelmed with the amount of work I had on my plate upon my return. I have 2 options when it comes to dealing with all of this:
1. I can stress out, make myself sick, and worry to death that I'm not working fast enough to satisfy everyone's wants.
2. I can turn to God and ask Him to help my anxiety, and give Him control of the situation.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34 NKJV)

Before I returned to work this past Thursday, I prayed and released all of my worries, anxieties, and stresses. Thursday and Friday were both great days. I've made a dent in the project and will continue to make significant progress if I rely on God through this process. What's more, is I'm enjoying this project and am happy to be responsible for rolling out all of this new technology. It is such an exciting time for our school!

If you're feeling overwhelmed or worried right now, tell God about your problem(s), but more importantly tell your problem(s) about our God!

Have a blessed week!

Weekly Verse 4/14: Part 1

Since we were out of the country last week and sick as dogs, I neglected my weekly post. So this week I have 2 verses.
The first is from my devotional that stuck out to me last week while I was studying.
Psalms 45:4 tells us to "Go out in your greatness to win the victory for what is true and right. Let us see the amazing things you can do with your powerful right arm" (ERV). Upon first reading this I was thinking very literally, that we are to be great and what is right. I began to think more and meditate on this verse and realized that there is so much more meaning. Yes, we are to do what is right, but this doesn't just refer to right vs wrong. Instead we are to look to our greatness, or look to our talents. How can our talents be used for the good of God? After all, He is our Creator and therefore responsible for our talents. How can we use what He has given us to worship Him and lead others to Christ?

Weekly Verse 3/31

Temptation is probably one of our hardest struggles on this earth, partly because they appear in many different forms. The easiest temptation to overcome is that which is right in front of us, dressed brightly and flashing like a slot machine in Vegas saying, "Come over here. Play with me, waste your time and lose your money". It is still a victory to overcome that temptation, but we expected that, right? However, this is not the only form of temptation. There are other times when something looks so beautiful and smells so sweet, that we allow our senses to drive us and we end up in a pitfall that we are struggling to get out of.

For the past few months, I have been working out a lot (you're probably annoyed by my gym check-ins) and eating healthier. I have cut out a lot of "temptations" (chocolate, caffeine, cookies, ice cream, the list goes on and on). However, when one of my best friend's Shannon Royals came to visit recently she dropped off the MANY, MANY boxes of girl scout cookies I had ordered back in January. I always order 2 varieties, Thin Mints (yuck) for the hubby and Samoas for myself (B hates coconut). I know what you're thinking (condescendingly), "You gave into the temptation, and ate a Samoa. Wow!" But that isn't the temptation, of course I would eat a Samoa; I ordered them for that sole purpose. So, yes you're right. I at a Samoa, but then I ate another and another, then 3 more and finished off an entire row. But their sweet deliciousness kept calling my name and now that I had tasted the temptation and knew how sweet it was I couldn't hold back! I ate 2 boxes in 2 days! I was satisfied for a short period of time, but I had to work out even harder to rid my body of the calories, and sugar, that I had consumed. This is the temptation that tests us the most, before we know it we're half a box in and enjoying every morsel. But our God gives us a way to escape and his is not a treadmill that keeps us running in place; his is a surreal path (one less traveled) that leads us to his Kingdom. Sometimes our temptations are so great, that we don't think we can overcome them, but if we turn to God he will show us a way out.

This week's verse comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 "The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it."

PS - I have found a way to overcome the seductive Samoas as I still have a few boxes left. I placed them in the freezer. This works 2 ways: 1. They are out of sight out of mind. 2. Since I'm impatient, when I start craving them I think "Eh, I don't want to wait for them to thaw"

Weekly Verse 3/24

I heard this week's verse in church today and it has stuck with me all day. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10 NKJV).
Our pastor's message was about the "waiting room" we are in, or will be in, as God prepares His will for us. While you're in the waiting room there are some things to ask yourself: 1. Is my spirit (belief, faith) strong, firm and unwavering? Am I trusting in God to fulfill His promise to me (whatever it may be)? 2. Who is in the "waiting room" with me? Is it other believers who are praying for me?

Leading into this week, I have this question for you. Are you in your own waiting room right now? If so, trust that God is working on something and know that He will provide. If you're not in a waiting period, are you in the room with someone? Continue to pray for this person. He or she needs your steadfast spirit!

Have a wonderful week! God bless!