Basket Case

***This is the lesson from our first Secret Sister meeting***

I got the main message off a website (Can't remember which one)

but I changed some of it to fit our Bible study.

If God is in Control, Why am I a Basket Case?

Are you receiving the full benefits of a Christian life? Are you so focused on the circumstances around you, that you are missing the abundant life that God planned for you? In John 10:10 Jesus said, "I came so they may have life, and have it abundantly."

What Kind Of Life Are You Living?

This is a quick check list to find out if you are living a basket case life or the abundant life:

• I don't make time to daily replenish my mind and heart with God's Word.
• I fill the basket of my mind with worldly thoughts.
• I don't take time to memorize God's Word.
• I meditate on my problems instead of God's promises.
• I hide my sin, not God's word in my heart.
• I base my identity on what other people say rather than who I am in Christ.
• I respond to stress with worry rather than prayer.
• I don't sit with God and quietly receive His instruction.
• I hold to my bad feelings toward people rather than forgive them.
• My hope is placed on people or things.
• I am not daily filled with God's glorious might.
• I don't walk in a way that pleases the Lord.
• I get caught up in insignificant details of the world.
• I don't pray and use Scripture to stand against my enemy.
• I live in fear rather than freedom.
• I work to hold everything together rather than resting in Jesus.
• I let my thoughts run wild rather than taking them captive.
• I don't look for Christ in others.
• I am a person pleaser.
• I don't rest. I'm exhausted.

If you have checked three or more of these you are NOT living the abundant life. So what is the good news?

God gave us instructions for exactly how we leave the life of stress, worry, and exhaustion, so we can receive all the goodness and blessings he intended for us here on earth. He gives us exact instructions for how to have an ABUNDANT LIFE!

Keep Reading!

The book of Colossians gives God's instructions for how to have the abundant life. There are three sections: reasons not to be a basket case, reasons to give God control, ans extraordinary choices for a joy filled life.

Ten Reasons NOT to be a Basket Case:

(Remember all the numbers correspond to verses in Colossians!)

• God has a will for my life. 1:1
• I have the potential to be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 1:9
• I have potential to walk in a manner worthy if the Lord. 1:10
• I can praise God in all circumstances.
• I can grow in the knowledge of God. 1:10
• I can be strengthened by all power according to God's glorious might. 1:11
• Christ's power mightily works within me. 1:29
• I have laid aside the old self. 3:9
• I have a NEW self image which is being renewed according to the image of Christ. 3:10
• I have been chosen by GOD! 3:12

Now that we understand that we may not be living in the full grace, goodness and blessings Christ has for us we need to take control of our lives. How do we do that? By giving that control to God.

We need to eat, breath, and live Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not the things of earth. Sometimes this can be nerve-racking. A lot of times, we will know we should trust God and say we trust Him, but that trust never makes it from our head into our heart. Sometimes that trust works really well in areas that we do not care about as much or areas we perceive as being out of our hands. The problem with that is, if we never give God full and complete trust and control of our lives then we will never live the abundant life.

Reasons to Give God Control of My Life:

(Remember all the numbers correspond the verses in Colossians!)

• God rescued me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of His beloved Son! 1:13
• God has redeemed me and forgiven me 1:14
• Jesus made peace between you and God through His blood.
• Jesus is the one who will present me to God as holy, blameless, and beyond reproach. 1:22
• God's will is for me to know the mystery: Christ in me, the hope of glory. 1:27
• God canceled out my certificate of debt and decrees against me. He's nailed it to Christ's cross. 2:14
• Christ has triumphed over all rule and authority. 2:15

We now know a few of the reasons to give God control, but it can be a difficult process. The Devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy; he would love to rob you of your joy! Don't let him!! There are specific choices we make that will allow us to have the joy filled life God intends for us!

Extraordinary Choices For a Joy Filled Life:

(Remember all the numbers correspond to verses in Colossians!)

• Set your mind on the things above, not the things of earth. 3:2
• Consider the members of your body as dead to sin, immortality, evil desires, greed, evil passions.... 3:5
• Do not lie to one another. 3:9 (Have someone who is also seeking God to hold you accountable.)
• LET Christ rule in my heart. 3:15
• Whatever I do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. 3:16
• Whatever I do, work heartily, as to the Lord, aware I am serving God. 3:23-24
• Give control of my life to Christ, who is in me, the hope of glory. 1:27

I hope this has given you a lot to meditate on for the next month. God loves you and wants you to live an abundant life and He doesn't want you to be a basket case. I challenge you to memorize Colossians 3:2 - Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of earth and learn to apply it in your daily life!

Secret Life of CeeCee: Chapters 1-10

MY TAKE 1. What was your first impression of Tim? Well my first impression of Tim was kind of like my first impression of my husband. We met we he was 23 and I was 17, sound almost familiar? My first thoughts were, he knows a whole lot more about "life" than CeeCee and she should go slowly. Don't get me wrong I was lucky to get such a great guy, but not all are like my husband. 2. If you were in CeeCee's position, would you be willing to help your boyfriend in the way that she is willing to help Tim? Absolutely, Positively, NOT!!! That is crazy. Who would risk their life, and freedom for a guy she barely even knows. Without definite details. 3. Why do you thin CeeCee is eager to please Tim? Because she doesn't have anyone to fill that void in her heart and she is willing to overlook some things in order to keep that spot in her heart filled. 4. Who do you think has it harder? Tim or CeeCee? Tim has his problem with his sister, but I think CeeCee has it harder, because her heart is into the situation so much. Tim just seems to be going on Auto Pilot and doing what needs to be done. 5. What character trait(s) about CeeCee stuck out the most to you in these first ten chapters? She self reliant, and strong, but still seeks the love and comfort from someone. 6.Do you think CeeCee is as mature as she seems? She is mature about some things, like being able to work and support herself, but not so much about others, like how much she is sacrificing to save a woman she knows nothing about for a boy friend she hasn't known very long. This is a very good book, and I have gone way past the first 10 chapters and can't wait until I finish it. I didn't expect it to be the kind of book that it is, and I wouldn't recommend it to others just because of some of it's content. Am I the only one that feels that way?

Kids

I took a quiz today, not because I take hundreds of them, just because I was curious on what it would say. And the results were "You will have 4 boys and 4 girls." Wow-wee-mama!!! I would love that!

I don't think people should put a number on how many kids that God should bless them with. If you are suppose to have 20 kids like the Duggars...then you are just suppose too. I see parents today with their kids and they just don't act like those babies are a blessing to them. It's hard not to say something to them about it, and maybe I should. But I cannot stand that. God gave you that baby or babies to love and to raise according to His will, not yours.

Kids should have fun growing up. We spend the first year of their lives teaching them how to talk and walk. Then what? We spend the next 17 years telling them to sit down and shut up. Each kid has a different personality and that personality should shine! And most importantly shine for none other than GOD!

Anyways, I wouldn't mind having 8 kids. And maybe that is just because we have tried for so long, but I still feel that way!!!!!

Staying at Home is Not a Waste of time if You Don't Waste It

I got this article from another blog, Making a House a Home, and I just love it. I wish more women would think like this and care for their family and house as much as they care for themselves. Many women seem almost selfish with how much "me-time" they get. I am sure that some women feel that staying at home is taking the "easy" way in life, but like any job, it has it's joyful times and it's grunge times. When most women were homemakers, they learned what to so with the time they had. I can tell you just a few things that are important. 1. Meals and clean dishes are a priority. 2. Clean clothes are next, and in most cases, outer clothing can be worn more than once before washing, so that the laundry pile is limited and does not get really overwhelming. 3. A clean floor and a sanitary bathroom is necessary. Things that are not necessary: 1. Gourmet meals are not important. Families can be happy with very simple food. 2. Entertainment is not a priority. A lot of time is wasted watching television. 3. Impressing other people is not something a homemaker needs to do. There are no set ways to keep house, because every family has a slightly different way of life. As long as it suits you and your family's schedule and style of living, that is what is important. As for what you should be doing to fill up the time, women usually had needlework and interesting hobbies like knitting or sewing, painting, writing, etc. that they did when they are not doing the main things of the home, such as meals and getting people ready for the next day. If you will visit antique stores, you will see that a lot of this crochet and embroidery is now surfacing from estate sales. These are works of art that were most often done in the home, during a lull in family activity, while waiting for something, or inbetween jobs of the house. Most women liked to keep busy, and doing things with their hands created some results like doilies and runners and table cloths, curtains, and various items of clothing. You can still see some of these things in the antique stores. They are highly treasured by collectors and by people like me, who know they represent the time and patience of women who loved their home and wanted to make them beautiful. I find it fasinating that even though mothers at home were very busy, they still did something like this. Some of these women still talk about the "slower life" when they made their own soap or baked a pie, and yet still managed to knit a hat or a pair of socks for every member of the family in winter. They were not in their cars all the time, and the family car was reserved for the breadwinner, so they learned to stock up on things that they needed, in order to spend a lot of time at the home place. Catalogs contained handicraft kits you could order, which would also include books that helped you learn to knit or crochet or some other thing. Being at home did not mean complete confinement. There was plenty to do, and if the women wanted to, they could always read a good book. Some of our mothers spent a lot of time reading. In those days, people would go through their books and magazines and load them up into a big box, and give them on to another family. Not all of the books were good, but it was easy to find some valuable reading material that would absorb a woman at home. The important thing about being home and having the responsiblity of the family and the house, is not that others think it is okay, or that anyone approves, but that it is something that God gave us permission to do. By being able to be home, women are freed from the repetive work and endless travelling toto and fro, to get a paycheck. At home, they have the liberty to use their creativity to gaurd their husband's money and help him make a profit. Thay are hoem to gaurd the family posessions and see that eveything is cared for. Over the years, there has been an attitude that it doesn't matter how we treat our clothes, our sheets, and blankets, our furniture, or our dishes, but if they are treated gently and cleaned properly, repaired, and stored adequately, they will last much longer and not require replacement, which will mean there will be less money going out. The purpose of women at home go far deeper than just being in the house. She is on gaurd. She is looking for ways to be effecient with time and money. She is learning to be resourceful by using things she already has. She also preserves her marriage, because her time and her emotions are not divided between the outside world and home. She has more time to think about her husband and more time to take care of him. She will be better-rested and have more patience to listen to his troubles. There have always been women who will waste their time at home, complaining of boredom. That does not mean it is a standard or a truth. It just means they haven't learned how to deal with the responsiblities of the home. The Bible says that they should keep house, lest the word of God be blasphemed. If a woman has let her house go to ruin and decay, it is a shame, because it doesn't glorify God.

WOW!

So we did get to go on a vacation. We went to Branson and had a great time! I do wish we had kids to do things with though. Everytime we did something we would think of a kid that would really enjoy doing that particular activity. I know that most of them won't ever get a chance to do some of that stuff and it makes me sad! Kids just want to have fun and learn new things, just like adults do. But many parents think that it's to much of a hassle to take their kids to do anything remotely fun. Anyways. We did have fun, but ended up leaving early because of a stinkin hotel.

I am glad we came home when we did though. It gave us a chance to get laundry done and the house cleaned up a little more, before we got some bad news...

We got a phone call last Tuesday saying that Daddy had been in a wreck on the 25th and no one has heard from him since. The hospital said that he was treated and released, so everyone was wandering where he was. Come to find out he was at another hospital and had been life flighted there in order to have brain surgery! He looked horrible when we got there and it was really scary. I know God works in crazy ways, but it hurts so much to see him laying in that bed. When we arrived he would open his eyes and even tried to say my name. But the next day he had a set back and wouldn't even wake up. He has continued to improve daily though and that is good. We had to come home in order to take care of some things and get Derreck ready to leave for work. It's hard calling up there and hearing the reports, instead of being able to see for myself how much he is improving. And when the phone rings at 12:30 at night I panic for good reason. It then makes me mad when it is nothing at all and somoeone just wants to be silly.

I hope and pray that everyone realizes that God has had a HUGE hand in keeping Daddy alive through this. I pray that they realize that the lives that they are leading aren't pleasing to God and that they should want to please HIM! I want to serve God because he loves me...not because of what he can give me. I want my family to serve God and it is so hard to see them doing stuff that isn't pleasing to Him. My heart has been slowly breaking this past week for my family and for my Daddy. I know that I have to live my life according to the Word and that is the only way I am going to reach them because they aren't going to listen to me, or Derreck, or even Aunt Serita and Uncle Richard. So please if anyone is reading any of this pray for my family and their relationships with God!

Decisions, Decisions

We have a lot going on right now!!!

1st- Derreck and I are wanting to take a trip together. Just to get away. We are always so busy, even when he is at work. I really believe that since we don't have kids of our own (yet), that everyone thinks that we have all the free time in the world. It seems like here lately, Derreck and I are constantly going in the opposite direction! The problem is...Where do we go? We want to go somewhere where we can relax but do fun stuff. It can't be to far of a drive away. It can't be way too expensive. So the question still remains...where do we go?

2nd- We are wanting to buy a new to us car. One that has less miles on it than mine does! We will be giving my truck to Nanny to drive, and giving Nanny's car to Mikey & Roze to drive. But so far we haven't found anything that fits just right. So we are still looking!

3rd- We are trying to get the church legal and all the business parts situated. Then Derreck gets this bright idea about opening yet another church. I feel like he is going 100 miles an hour and I am struggling to catch up! And when I almost get to the same place he is, he takes of again! I know that God has this in His hands and He will guide us!

4th- Everyone around us is having babies and it just makes us want one even worse than before! I think we have decided to do foster care with the possibility to adopt. It is such a big decision that could end up breaking my heart over an over again. Then I think, we can help some kids have a great home if we do this! The more and more I think about it though...the more excited I get. I am ready for this and so is Derreck! Know we just have to wait to do all the classes, and qualification stuff! And of course for kids!!!! Couldn't you see us with a house full of kids? I can!!!

I have never gave up hope that one day I will have kids to call my own. Does that mean I have to have them naturally? NOPE!!!! I love every kid that we come into contact with and each one has a special place in my heart!

BELLA!!!

Taking it up a Notch!

"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idelness."

Proverbs 31:27

I feel like I need to step it up a notch, for some reason. I don't think that I am lazy by any means, and my house for the most part is taking care of. I just feel like I'm not going any where. I think I need to seek God more in my daily life and not have so much time to sit. Because if I am not spreading the message about Jesus, then what am I doing?

"And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things that they ought not."

1 Timothy 5:13

I don't want to be labeled as one of those busy bodied housewives that don't have anything better to do than sit around, and talk about everyone and their problems. I could spend my time better by praying for those people and praising God! When Derreck got ordained as a deacon and then a minister they told us that it will be like we are living in a glass house for everyone to see. Well I know people are watching our every move. I also know that some are waiting for us to slip. I want them to be able to us in our daily lives and say "They are living their lives for Jesus and they want everyone else to live that way too."