Shine 4 Jesus!: 2007

So here it is 9:49 pm on December 31st 2007. Hard to believe a whole year of life has flown by at unmeasurable speeds. 2007 had so many hopes and dreams, some of which are still in the making, but overall many were fulfilled. Early, early, early into the new year of 07, I was diagnosed with my gall bladder issues and had that fixed within the first month. I spent the next few months trying to get use to life without a gall bladder and am actually still doing so. Let me tell ya, there's more to it than you think, at least for some of us.

February showed up with a new little man who has really brought our family together and got my mind rolling about my own baby future. By April, I had decided that I was ready to start trying for a baby of our own. In May, I signed up on my insurance at work that deals with maternity leave and began trying. The summer brought on lots and lots of work stress and drama. All of which ended up coming to a close right as the new school year began.

September brought "pregnancy" excitement and twisted ankles, and exited with my still messed up, no baby in sight, and my mother falling ill and being flown via helicopter to Lexington, Ky for treatment. From then until now, it has been my mission to try to help my mother and my family even more so, while still trying to maintain my own home and trying to conceive adventure. And it all ends in about 2 hours so that it can resume in another time frame. Who knows what 2008 will hold? I sure don't. If I had have known this time last year, what 2007 would have brought, I am not sure I could have handled it. But ahhh our Precious Savior! He knows our frame and what we can withstand. He surely knows that we could not handle the stress of knowing what the next year would bring. He knows that it must come one day at a time. I am so thankful to Him for that.

I'll admit... as much as I love the holidays, they do sort of bring out a blue feeling in me. New Year's especially does that. I look back over all the past memories and I begin to miss the times, the people, and the situations that were once a huge part of my life. It is then I must turn and look unto Jesus and realize that our life is a vapor and in a short time it will vanish away. But those memories are eternal and the love I have shared with those who have gone on will never fade away. Actually, it gives us something to look forward to in our eternal future.
I could never thank God enough for all that He has done for me and continues to do in my life. I am so undeserving. I deserve nothing that He has done, yet He has done each and every thing. Instead of the plenty of whippings I deserve for disobedience, my Heavenly Father has shined his mercies and grace upon me and spared me again. I praise Him for all that He is and all that He always will be.

My prayer for those of you reading is this......... If you don't know Jesus, please don't waste another day without Him. You can't fix yourself enough to be ready to accept Him. Being Saved isn't about how perfect you can be. It's about realizing that this awesome, awesome King took the form of a human and came to this earth 2,00o years ago. He died a gruesome death upon the Cross just so that you could have eternal life. That's what salvation is about. Believe that truth, tell Jesus you believe it. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and tell Him that you believe that He came to complete the Father's will and to provide salvation to ALL mankind. Tell Him you want Him to be your personal Savior. And you know what? He will do just that. He will come into your heart that simply and He will help you with each situation that you feel is not good enough to give to Him. Jesus didn't die for people who were sinless, perfect and without problems or issues. The Bible says that He died for all mankind........and do you honestly know anyone who fits the above standards? I don't. Please, please realize that this is the hour for you! Don't put off this decision that you have been wanting to make for so long. God knows who this post is for even if I am not positive who this is speaking to. Please, heed this calling and get saved before it's too late. Not too late even in the sense of dying, rather the sense of seeing this all powerful King come back to earth to claim His children, and you are left standing because technically you never became his blood bought child. One simple, loving gift and you didn't accept it. Please don't let that be the case!

Dear Heavenly Father,

God I come to you tonight with a heavy heart. Lord you know who this message is for. I have thoughts but you know each individual that will read it and that will be pricked in their hearts. Lord, let them let down there guard and resist satan's warfare of using excuses to keep them from you. Save their souls Jesus. Please Lord just save them before it is too late. Let them see that the time is at hand and that we will not dwell on this earth for much longer. Now is the time for the accepting of your perfect gift!

God I thank you for all of your many blessings this past year. Lord, through many of a trial, you have comforted my grieving heart. Oh Lord when I have been so overwhelmed I didn't know if I could make it, You lifted me and held me in your strong loving arms and rocked me. I am adult, but I am your baby. I still need you to rock me into sweet peace and I thank you for still doing that for me Jesus. Lord, thank you for the health and the lives that you have spared this year in my family. Thank you for the relationships that you have restored throughout my family and friends. Thank you for the advanced notices of situations that we have no control over that you have given us. Most importantly, thank you for Saving me 17 years ago and never "letting me alone." Thank you for my family's salvation now and for those that I know you will save. I thank you for the precious child that I know you are molding and creating even now and preparing to send our way. You are a faithful God! The Heavens proclaim your goodness!

God I pray for the lost in my family, friends, coworkers, and folks that I come in contact with. I pray for the lost throughout the entire nation and world Jesus. Please send a revival to their hearts and to the hearts of the Christians who are asleep. Lord, I pray for the continued safety, good health and well being of my parents, brother, husband, in-luvs, and friends. God I pray that you would touch my mom's heart even now and just continue to heal each artery, vein, and vessel. Heal her of each disease and issue that plagues her body. I pray for my dad's body and health and for that of my brother and husbands. Heal each of them physically. Heal each organ and each ailment. Lord, heal each of them spiritually, help them to continue to grow in grace and knowledge. Heal them emotionally. Lord, you know what may being looming ahead for them, Jesus heal them even now if it be possible in thy perfect will and use them for years to come to bring glory and honor to you as you have for so many years in the past. Use my little brother God to continue to point to You. Lord, I pray that each decision he makes will be guided by Your influence and fit perfectly into Your will. Use him in mighty ways to bring glory to You. I pray for each member of my extended family and my in-luvs and their health throughout 2008. I pray for each situation that may arise throughout our lives and for your guidance. Lord, I pray that you would just continue to bathe us in your wonderful blessings from on high and help us to recognize each of them and where they are from. And God, I Pray for that one special blessing that I know is on His/Her way even now. Lord, save my child's soul at an early age and just use him/her to bring You glory. Help Michael and I to be mindful of the parents we need to be and help us to continue to grow to be just that. I ask that you guide Michael and I in the year ahead to make correct decisions and good choices. Help us in all areas that we need help in. Most importantly, help us to totally surrender all to you. Lord, I also pray for the salvation of my precious cousin/nephew baby Gavy at an early age and for that of his precious parents soon. Lord just cover my family in your blessings and protection. Lord, bless my pastor and his family and our church and sister churches. God just continue to do mighty things with us. Bless us with more souls saved and more opportunities and help us to realize each opportunity that we have. I thank You for answering my end of 2006 prayer God and for blessing me so greatly with those answers. I thank You and I praise You for all that You are. I praise You for being a Constant in a world of change.
In Your Precious and Holy Name..... Amen.

ONE MORE THING... PLEASE READ THE LYRICS OF THIS SONG.........

IT IS SO TRUE...

While You Were Sleeping Lyrics
Artist(Band):Casting Crowns

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you’re lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem
Looks like another silent night
The Father gave His only Son
The Way, the Truth, the Life had come
But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today
Jerusalem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

United States of America Looks like another silent night As we’re sung to sleep by philosophies That save the trees and kill the children And while we’re lying in the dark There’s a shout heard ‘cross the eastern sky For the Bridegroom has returned And has carried His bride away in the night, in the night America, what will we miss while we are sleeping Will Jesus come again And leave us slumbering where we lay America, will we go down in history As a nation with no room for its King Will we be sleeping? Will we be sleeping? United States of America Looks like another silent night.