Encouraging Ourselves In the Lord - My Prayer Journal

The recent ruling of the supreme court had me frazzled.  Growing up a Military Brat, we were proud to be American, proud to be a part of "we the people".  I never thought anything like this would ever happen to MY country.  And the scariest part of all {for me} is that the American people don't want any of this to happen.  No one is listening to "we the people".  This is not the way our country was set up to operate.  Not American.  Unconstitutional.  Illegal.  So many questions and fears...

But we don't have to fear.  We MUST NOT fear!!  Fear is a lack of faith. We can't accomplish anything in fear.  And we are mothers and wives.  We have plenty to accomplish!!  :)

Here's what I do to quiet my heart and encourage myself in the Lord:

My husband knows I like to make lists, so he brought me this journal back from his recent trip to Peru.  I knew exactly what I was going to do with it when he handed it to me: A Prayer Journal!!

I keep track of my prayer requests by writing them on notebook paper and keeping them in a binder along with another list of answered prayer requests.  When a prayer request has been answered, it gets marked off the "Prayer Request List" and gets put on the list of "Answered  Prayers".

This new journal that my husband brought me is going to be used only for "Answered Prayers".  I'm so excited about this journal.  I can't wait until it's completely filled with answered prayers and I can move on to the next! 

I've found that the most encouraging thing I can do in troubled times is to read through all the things that God has done for me personally.  If He can do those things - some big, some small - who am I to think He can't do more of the same?  Especially when He promised to meet our needs and be right there with us the whole time!

If you don't have a prayer journal, I suggest you start one.  All you have to do is sit down and think of all the things God has done for you.  I'm thinking you could fill up a complete journal of all the things He's done in the past.  All the things He's provided.  All the ways He's blessed.  Write it down - all of it that you can remember.  When you can't think of anymore, put it down and do the laundry - that's what I did :P  - God will bring more things to remembrance.  You will be so completely amazed at all the wonderful things He's done for you and your family!!

Then, at the end of every day, you can add a few more praises and answered prayers in your journal.  It's amazing!  A new pair of shoes - even if from a yard sale.   Did you accomplish something you were dreading?  Did one of the kids complete a goal or reach a mile stone?  Maybe you're just thankful that the laundry got caught up?  {You can put as much or as little as you want in your journal.  It's yours.  And it's a great way to praise the Lord, and to remind yourself of the blessing and faithfulness of God!}

It may help you to have a prayer list too.  You can keep up with all the things you are asking God for.  You will be amazed at all the ways He provides!  You will learn that He blesses us far more than we realize and we take so much for granted!  My favorite thing to do with a prayer list is mark things off.  Even if they weren't answered according to my will.  They were answered and they can still go in the "answered prayers" column.  God is good and sovereign.  He knows what's best. 

If He has done all of these things for us in the past and the present, who are we to doubt what He can/will do in the future?? 

Don't have a prayer journal??  GET ONE!!  It's sooo encouraging!! 

Oh, and did I mention, it would be a great thing to leave to your children and grandchildren...a list of all the ways God blessed, and things God provided.  It's a great way to praise the Lord, encourage ourselves, and leave a legacy to our children. 

And, here's a fun way to teach our children to pray and praise the Lord for answered prayers!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Gift of Dyslexia

photo credit

My daughter is dyslexic.  She has a hard time with reading, writing, and spelling.  She tries to avoid the situation.  She tries to pretend it's not a problem in hopes that no one will notice.  We are working on this.  Not, the dyslexia per say - although we do work on that; but, rather, the fact that she tries to hide how God made her instead of being proud, or at least, not ashamed of who she is.

It is my prayer that she will learn to accept it without embarrassment.  To admit it to her friends, to work at it and be thankful that God has a plan for her life. 

And the dyslexia?  Well, it quite possibly could fit right in with that plan.  It could help shape her into the person God wants her to be.

Dyslexia is a gift!

It's God's way of making her different. She has to work a little harder, but that just means she'll have a great work ethic and, quite possibly will be even more successful because of it.

God gets glory when a bird flies and eats worms because that's what He created that bird to do!  He gets glory when bees make honey and flowers bloom on the prairie because that's what he created them to do.

It's the same with us.  God gets glory when we live for Him and do what He has for us to do...not what He has for someone else to do.   Most of us, myself included, need to stop trying to live up to someone else' standard and start living the life He has given us to live.

We all have a place in God's world.  We have a spot to fill.  A job to do.  I am not called to do what my husband does.  I'm called to be his wife.  I'd be miserable, and so would he, if I should decide that I'd rather do what God has called him to do.  Just as a honey bee would never try to eat a worm, or a bird make honey - it's just not natural.  It goes against everything God created them to do.

She may never be what someone else is, but then she wasn't created to be someone else.  She was created to be her.  And, God has a plan especially for her.  No one else can do her job, fill her spot or take her place!  She was made just the way God wanted her.  

Her strengths and weakness were chosen by God and tailored to her before the foundation of the world.  They will help her to become the person He wants her to be.  They will make her stronger and because of that, they will actually be able to help her through her life. It is for that reason that each of these strengths, and even the weaknesses, can and should be considered gifts from an Almighty God who knows what He's doing!

Amy Carmichael wanted blue eyes, but had brown.  Later she was called to be a missionary to India where she needed to have brown eyes.  God knew what He was doing.

Gladys Aylward hated that she had dark hair and was only 4 feet; 10 inches tall when all of her friends were taller and beautiful blond hair.  Years later she said she realized that God knew exactly what He was doing when she stepped off the boat in China, and all the people had dark hair and her height.

God knows what He's doing!! 

Famous Dyslexic People

 George Patton
Nelson Rockefeller
Woodrow Wilson
Winston Churchill
Thomas Edison
Leonardo Da Vinci
Albert Einstein
Alexander Graham Bell
And let's not forget the Fonz (Henry Winkler) ;D 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Layered Taco Dip

My husband and I do a lot with teenagers and THAT is why I love this recipe: because I've never met a teenager, or anyone for that matter, who didn't like it.

photo credit

It's so easy and so yummy.

What you need:

• ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning
• beans ~ you can do re-fried, or you can do what I prefer, and just fix black beans
• sour cream
• shredded cheese
• lettuce
• tomatoes
• black olives
• chopped green onions

Directions:

Layer each of the above ingredients in the order they are listed.  I mix the meat and black beans for my first layer.  If you chose to use re-fried beans, you can make them your first layer and the meat the second.

{I don't use re-fried because I don't like them.  I have make my own and those are ok, but have you read the ingredients on a can of re-fried beans?  I also try to stay away from anything packaged in aluminum cans as much as possible.}

Then add sour cream and shredded cheese.  You can then sprinkle the chopped veggies on the top in which ever order you like and to your heart's desire.

I like the way it looks.  So pretty, in my opinion.  And the more colorful your food the better it is for you - IF it's natural color without the dyes and food colorings!  :)

Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.  Also taste great with a side of salsa and/or avocado dip.

It's a great snack, or even meal.  I've never had anyone not like it and it's so simple to make.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He's My Man!

I told you all about the fun my girls and I had with my wedding dress.  It really was a lot of fun!  My son didn't think it was quite as much fun as the rest of us, however.  And, since he is the lone son among many sister, I promised him some "boy fun" later that night if he'd just "put up" with it for a little bit.  ;) 

I think he had fun jumping in all the pictures...even if it was just a head, hand, or a foot..as long as he had some small, {very unwanted} part in most of the pictures.  ;) 

To make it up to him we all camped out in the living room on cots!  Because that's what Army men do, right?  Sleep on cots in the living room? 

Isn't he the CUTEST little soldier you've ever seen?? 

Yes, yes he is! :)  

We didn't have any MREs, so we had to settle for yogurt!

He slept in his camo gear and face paint. 

AND ~ he went to the grocery store in the same outfit the next day!  We did touch up his war paint since he, being the tough soldier that he is, climbed in bed with me that morning and left most of his face paint on MY pillow!!  :)  

I love to snuggle with my little army man!

I figured if soldiers can wear the same thing for a few days in the field, my little soldier could wear the same thing for 18 hours.  And he was so excited to have nothing but "boy fun" on the agenda for that day.

What fun things do you do with your son(s)?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here Comes the Bride{s}

So, my husband is gone on a Missions Trip for a while and we're bored!  Here's something we did for fun.  And it was FUN!  

We all dressed up in my wedding dress and took pictures!  

I couldn't believe how my oldest very nearly fits into it!!  Makes me realize how quickly she's growing up.  Won't be long until she'll be wearing her own dress and I'll be the mother of the bride!  Makes me wonder if I've done everything I can, or should to prepare her for what God wants her to do??

Daughter #2 in my wedding dress! 

She doesn't fit it very well.  She's my skinny one.  :P  It was so fun to be feminine and dress up.  I loved that dress and I love to see my little girls in it too.  So far they are wanting to wear MY dress in their own weddings!!  That's a compliment, I must say.  But, I'm not holding my breath.  By the time they're old enough to get married, they might wake up and think my dress "old fashioned".  :)

Daughter #3 DEFINITELY doesn't fit the dress yet, but she had fun with it too.  

What little girl doesn't want to feel like a princess in a long, beautiful {in our opinion} dress?? 

We had so much fun with this Mommy/Daughter time!!  If you still have your wedding dress and a couple of little girls that love to dress up, I think you should definitely get it out and make some memories.  

The only terrible part of the whole thing is that they couldn't all wear it at the same time.  Oh, yeah, and eventually you do have to take it off!  :) 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fun Bible Facts to Teach Our Children

Here are some fun Bible facts for us to teach our children.  They may already know most of them, depending on their ages.  Some of them are just fun facts and not really anything that would help them live their spiritual lives.  Others are things every Christian can benefit from.  I've marked these beneficial facts in green.  

There's a whole slew of other facts.  These are just the ones I put together for my children.  

photo credit

The Bible:

There are 66 books in the Bible ~ Written by 40 different authors and yet they all agree and compliment each other.

• 39 in the Old Testament
• 27 in the New Testament

The Old Testament:

• Every young person should be expected to learn the books of the Bible by heart as soon as possible.  There are plenty of songs to help with this.  
• First book ~ Genesis
• Last book ~ Malachi
• 5 books of the "Law" were written by Moses {Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy}
• Books of History were written by different authors {Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther}
• Books of Poetry ~ Songs and poems the Jews sang {Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, & Song of Solomon
• Major Prophets ~ not any more important than the minor prophets, but larger in size {Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, & Daniel}
• Minor Prophets ~ {Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, & Malachi}

The New Testament:

• First book ~ Matthew
• Last book ~ Revelation
• 4 Gospels {Matthew, Mark, Luke & John}
• Early Church History ~ Acts written by Luke
• Paul's letters to the churches and other individuals {Romans, I &II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, & Hebrews}  We are not told who wrote the book of Hebrews.
  
• Other Epistles {James, I &II Peter, I, II, & III John & Jude}
• Book of prophecy {Revelation}

Other Fun Facts:

• 1,189 Chapters
• Longest Chapter - Psalm 119 has 176 verses!!
• Shortest Chapter - Psalm 117 only has 2 verses.
• The very center of the Bible is Psalm 118:8 -- It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.  "The Lord" is in the center of this verse, which would put "The Lord" in the very center of the entire Bible! 
• The "Love Chapter" is I Corinthians 13
• The "Faith Chapter" or "Hall of Faith" is Hebrews 11
• Longest Verse - Esther 8:9
• Shortest Verse - John 11:35 - "Jesus wept"
• Chapter divisions were not added until 1227 AD  ~ This year may not be an important detail, but this fact is important when learning to study you Bible as you may need to go a little further to finish a thought, or, you may need to look into the last chapter for a little "background"
• The Bible is NOT written in chronological order.
  
• The longest man that ever lived - Methuselah who was the son of Enoch and the Grandfather of Noah.  He lived 969 years.
• The first martyr - Steven was killed by Saul who later became the Apostle Paul - to clarify, Paul was responsible for the killing of Stephen {and the persecution of other Christians before his own conversion on the road to Damascus}.  He did not personally throw any stones, but he was there to be sure the deed was carried out and accomplished.  he held the coats of the men that did the stoning and therefore was guilty of the crime.  {Aren't you glad God is a God of forgiveness and second chances!?!} 
• Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer are the three angels mentioned by name in the Bible.
• There are 49 different foods mentioned in the Bible.
• Almonds and pistachios are the only nuts mentioned in the Bible.
• Cats are the only domestic animals NOT mentioned in the Bible.
•  "God" occurs 4,370 times.
• "Jehovah" occurs  6,855 times.
• "Lord" occurs  7,736 times.
• There are some 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but over 2000 verses on money and possessions.  Money is discussed up to 140 times.  "The LOVE of money is the root of all evil."  - I Timothy 6:10 
  
• Heaven is mentioned 577 times.
• Hell is mentioned 54 times.
• A parable is a story that was told by Jesus.  They were earthly stories with Heavenly meanings. No names were ever mentioned in parables.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saving You Money

We've been crazy busy with life in general.  {Vacation Bible School, starting up new bus routes at church, missions trips, and much more...did I mention my youngest broke her collar bone and that has been an extra chore - just keeping her quiet and still!!!!!}   Add to all of that, the start of this new business and you have a mess!!

Because of this "mess" we have not been able to find the time to figure out how to get this site set up so that you can order from it.  Don't get me wrong, you can order from our site, but as it is now, pay pall will charge you $4.00 per bar of soap for shipping rather than $4.00 for 2 bars and $6.00 for 4 bars. 

To save you money, we are asking that you send your order and your email address to my facebook inbox or my email, which is searching4hiddentreasures @gmail {dot} com.  I will then send you an invoice via pay pal and you can pay for your items when you get your invoice.  I am sorry for the inconvenience, but it will save you money in the long run!

If you are like me, you'd rather save the money anyway.  :) 

Obviously, if you live in our local area, you are more than welcome to come pick up your order, or I can deliver it to you at church.

Click here for a list of soaps and other items we have on hand at the moment!

We hope you will love our natural, organic products and come back for more!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Homemade Butter

It's easy!  I promise!  The first time I made it I was so proud of myself AND the fact that it tasted just like...get this...it tasted just like BUTTER!!!  I even called my dad to tell him.  He didn't seem as thrilled - more like confused at my excitement.  All he said was, "what did you expect it to taste like?".  

hmmm...butter, I guess...????     :) 

Here's how you make it....

First you take your fresh cream and put it in your food processor.  1 Cup of raw, fresh cream will give you about a 1/2 cup of fresh, healthy butter.

Then you turn it on high and leave the room for about 10 minutes. 

{If your processor is as loud as mine you won't want to wash dishes or even stay in the kitchen for that amount of time!!  Too much noise for too long a time makes me crazy!}

Check the cream to see how it looks...

If it looks thick and even, you have yourself some wonderful whipped cream!  You could stop right there and have dessert.  It actually tastes pretty good and kinda sweet.  If you want, you could add some healthy sweeter such as sucanat or raw honey and maybe even some organic vanilla extract. 

...or you could put the lid back on and continue processing....

We continued.

Check again a few moments later... if and when it starts to separate you know that you're on your way to butter.  At this point, I simply drain the liquid off the butter and put in a bag or jar marked "butter milk" to be used at a later time.  It has lots of vitamins and can be used to make biscuits and/or pancakes, or it can be used in a cake or other recipes in place of milk.

You can use molds to mold your butter into cute little shapes or you can be creative like me and just make blobs.  In my professional opinion, butter blobs taste just as good as the cute little molds and much better than the store bought stuff!!  And you know there's not any additives, salt or hormones added to it.  Just plain, healthy fats. 

Did you know the fat content in butter actually helps your body to absorb the nutrients, vitamins and minerals in your veggies??   I threw that little fact in for free.

So, don't feel bad ~ eat up!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

Potato Salad is one of those things my husband doesn't like it and for that reason I've never made it. I love my Grandma's potato salad.  Lots of mustard, eggs and onions!  It really is so good. 

Reciently, I was asked to make one for a get together.  I was determined to make something that my husband would eat and I'm very happy to report that I was successful! 

photo credit

Here's my recipe - Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

3 pounds organic potatoes
16 ounces sour cream - or more
bacon - fried and chopped - I didn't measure this
chopped green onions - I didn't measure this either  :)
 2 - 3 Tablespoons ranch mix
1 Tablespoon celery seed
sea salt to taste

I left the skins on the potatoes.  You will need to peel yours if they aren't organic since they grow under ground and soak in all the pesticides. 

Mix ingredients together and chill.  So simple and yet everyone loved it! 

What would you do to make my recipe better?  I thought about cheese, but changed my mind.  More sour cream could have been a good thing.  Cream cheese would be good in it too.  What are your thoughts on this recipe? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Secrets of My Heart

This is hard story to tell.  It's the testimony of a little 5 year old girl.  I can tell it because I was that 5 year old girl.  I tell it, not in pity for myself, but in hopes that God can take my story and use it to help and encourage someone who is facing something of similar nature.

Here's my story...

My parents were out.  Babysitters.  The son of a very respected man in our church....  These things shouldn't be happening.  How could I stop it?  What should I do?  Should I tell someone?  What if they didn't believe me?  My word against his.  Would they think I had made it up?  What if someone found out?  Would I be in trouble?  What would they think?  Guilt.  Shame.  Fear.  My stomach was upset.  "Come with me...  Watch this...  Sit on my lap..."

The memories are still clear.  Some of them - not all.  28 years later I still re-live it in dream form every once in a while. I wake up scared.  I try to remember it, but most of the memories are gone within seconds of my waking and I'm once again only able to remember the bits and pieces vaguely described above.  What else happened?  I don't know.  I'd kinda like to know.  I think.  I've tried to write it all down, but I don't have time to grab a pen and paper before it's gone from memory again.  Probably for the best.

I did eventually tell my dad.  I don't remember what I said exactly.  I just remember crying and telling him I was afraid.  I didn't want to go near 'him'.  He scared me.  Touched me.

I remember my dad telling me that everything would be ok and that 'it' would never happen again.  Then he left the house.  He didn't seem mad.  Just in a hurry.  That was the last time 'it' was mentioned.  I never knew if he ever did anything about it until years later when his {my dad's} mother told me that he had indeed taken care of the situation.  I still don't know how.  Never had the guts to ask. 

As the years passed, I learned to deal with it my own way.  Don't talk about it.  Hopefully no one would know.  I was afraid of what they would think of me.  What if they didn't like me for it?  What if no one ever loved me...?

Worse than the memories of what happened were the thoughts and feelings that came from it as I grew older. Yes, even desires that I would never have admitted to.  I was embarrassed. Ashamed.  I was supposed to be a good Christian girl.  I wanted to be.  I tried to be.  But I had thoughts and feelings that were not good.  Not pure.

photo credit

I was ashamed and humiliated.  I was afraid that everyone that looked at me knew what had happened.  Or, worse, what if they could read my thoughts?  What if they knew the secrets that were in my heart?  No one would ever want to be my friend then!  I'd be the disgrace of my family.  What if no one ever wanted to marry me because...? 

I prayed.  God was with me.  I could feel Him.  I was always amazed at how close and sweet He seemed to be even though I knew I didn't deserve Him!  I asked Him to help me to forgive.  Help me to keep my own thoughts and desires in check.  I didn't want this to bring me down, but rather, to make me stronger.

I got to the place where I was even able to ask God to bless 'him' and not let it ruin his life as well.

You see, he was a young boy - a teenager - when it all happened.  I suppose anyone is capable of making such foolish decisions.  Not sure what he remembers or how he feels about it all today, and honestly, I don't want to know.  I just know that God has helped me to come to the place where I sincerely hope things go well for him. 

How did I get to this place?  Forgiveness.

You know the old adage, "Forgive and forget"?  Some believe that to forgive is to forget.  That simply is not true.  There are things that I'll never forget.  I can't.  But through God's grace, I can and have been able to forgive.

The more you pray and ask God for help, the more you can forgive, and as the days go by, you'll realize that you really don't need to ask God to help you to forgive as often.  It may start out a daily thing.  It may need to be an hourly thing, but as the hours and the days go by, you'll realize that you have to ask for His help in this area less and less.  He'll give you peace and joy and make you stronger because of it all.  Stronger because of HIS strength and not your own. 

It has been said that being bitter is like drinking poison and hoping the person that offended you dies.  Your bitterness will only hurt you.  Not the person that hurt you.  We must ask God to take the bitterness and replace it with His love and forgiveness.

So, what do I recommend if you've been through such a thing?  Forgive!!   

It's not easy, but it's not hard either.  Just ask God to help you and He will.  Ask Him to help you as many times as you need to.  You will find that you are asking less and less as the days go by.  Don't try to forget.  You won't.  Just know that what has happened has the potential to make you into something stronger than you are now.  {Or, you can let bitterness and guilt ruin you.} 

And all those thoughts and feelings that came as a result?  II Corinthians 10:5 ~ bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ"   It's a long, continuous struggle, but one that must be learned.  As soon as those thoughts pop up - give them to God.  Lord, you know my thoughts, please help!  Lord, help me to think about things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report. Philippians 4:8  Sing a song like "All to Jesus I surrender..."

If your children are young, you can take measures to be sure it doesn't happen to them.  And be sure to tell them that they can come to you if something should happen.  They need to know that you will believe them and help them.  They need to know that they MUST come to you even if they were threatened against it!!

You can also take steps to make sure they aren't put in a situation where they could be tempted or even accused falsely of doing such a thing!

I remember telling my husband the day our son was born that he would NEVER be allowed to babysit.  I'm pretty sure my husband thought I was crazy to be thinking about my son as a teenager when we were still in the hospital, but I was planning on ways that would save him this grief. 

I don't enjoy the memory, but I don't face the guilt anymore.  I have been able to share my story with a few here and there.  Never in mixed company and never with large numbers.  I do pray that somehow my story has been a help to someone that needed it.  Someone that needs to know that they aren't alone.  

It's not been an easy post to write.  I do still wonder what some may think, but I also know that God allows things for a reason, and maybe the reason for my story was that I might help someone else.  God is good to give me such an opportunity!!  To take my troubles and turn them into good!

We must give our troubles to Him over and over again - as many times as necessary.  He'll know what to do with it all.  Before long you'll be able to look back and see how strong He is and what a wonderful peace He can give!    It's so worth it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post is linked with:

Wednesday Wisdom