New Verse!

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalm 40:2

I have found a new "now" verse. I know a lot of people who have life verses, but I like to have a now verse. I was recently introduced to this verse by a very good friend. As soon as I heard it I knew it would be something I would dwell on for a long time. I have been living with depression for a while. I try to describe it to people and it is very hard unless they have experienced it for themselves. I think this verse very accurately describes how I feel sometimes. You are just stuck in a pit. You tend to get it on others you come in contact with on a daily basis, just like the mud in this verse. Know matter what you try it just seems to linger on your mind.

No matter what we have done so far, we need to make a choice what we are going to do next. If we are unhappy about something we need to make a change or move on. We can't let yesterday's failure take away what we may have today.

I love to visualize God as a rock. They are so strong and beautiful. Right now I am on a mission to find the perfect rock to take a picture of my feet on, so I can put it on my wall. I will put this verse with the picture, so I will never forget where to place myself.
There is much more I want to say about depression. It is something I am working on daily. I am not sure it will ever go away completely, but I will get better each and every day. Even something small is better than nothing at all!

P.S. One of the things I love to do to lift my spirits is to look for beauty in nature and take pictures!

Tiaras for Everyone!

"I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics; even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young. They're still princesses. All of us. Didn't your father ever tell you that? Didn't he?"

-A Little Princess-



If your father never told you that you are a princess, I am here to tell you that you ARE! Anyone who is a child of God, the King of Kings, is a princess. If you haven't worn your tiara in quite some time, now is the time to dust it off and wear it with pride!

Right now I am reading a fabulous book called Raising A Modern-Day Princess by Pam Farrel and Doreen Hanna. I recommend it to anyone who is raising a girl. It is all about teaching a young woman how to grow into the princess that they truly are. There is also a book called Becoming a Modern-Day Princess by the same authors for your daughter to read too. I will be looking into that for my girls a little later. The books for the daughters are geared for someone a little bit older than Pie Pie.

I had the pleasure of enjoying a Princess's Sweet Sixteen this past weekend.

 It was very uplifting to see my friend putting together a special event for her daughter.

 Girls need these milestone events so they can understand their worth to God and us.

I look forward to celebrating many special events with my daughters as they grow into young ladies.

Don't forget you are growing too! We need to learn everyday so we can be the best Moms we can be to our daughters and sons!

"For you must teach others those thing you and many others have heard me speak about. Teach these great truths to trustworthy men and women who will, in turn, pass them on to others.

-2 Timothy 2:2-

P.S. There is also a book for boys called Raising A Modern-Day Knight by Robert Lewis. I have not read this book because I do not have any boys. There are so many good books about girls written that I focus on those. If I have a boy one day then you will get some reviews about those books! I hope you understand. There is so many books, so little time!

Hide and Found

I have been trying to hide lately. From a lot of things in general, but also from something specific. Sometimes you can hide and the problem goes away. In my situation, even I knew, my problem was not going away. I knew eventually I was going to have to come out and face it.

You may be wondering what my problem is and I am willing to share it with you. Vacation Bible School! (Since I was willing to share my problem with you, will you be willing to pray for me!) You may be thinking didn't you tackle this last year and find success in the end! If you need proof of this check out this post. (If you're just curious you can check it out too!) Maybe I need to read it a couple times as well.
For some reason I have gotten it into my thought process that I just couldn't do it this year! It just wasn't going to happen as far as I was concerned.  I didn't pick up my supplies. I even went as far as skipping church! I had forgotten that I can't do Vacation Bible School..........ALONE! I need God to help me during this difficult time.
Check out the theme verse for Vacation Bible School this year! I guess God was trying to get my attention all along!

I have recently been gifted by God with some amazing books! I love books and I feel God helps you find the right books to read when you need them. The first is actually a Bible study by Chip Ingram called The Invisible War.


It comes with a DVD as well. My husband and I are working through this study with our good friends. In the third session, Chip Ingram talks about putting on the Belt of Truth. I have not been utilizing this important tool with the thinking that I had to run Vacation Bible School alone. The truth is God runs the program, I help Him!
Another book that has greatly helped me is Water Into Wine by Kelly Minter.



It is all about Jesus's first miracle. (If you would like to read about this miracle in the Bible you can find it in John 2:2-11.) I knew of this story, but have never really thought about it before. The servants had such faith. They filled up the jars to the brim with water, drew water out of the jars and served it to the Master of the Banquet. Along the way it miraculously turned into the best wine ever! I'm not sure I'd be willing to do that. What if nothing happened? How embarrassed would I be if all the Master of the Banquet got was water? They did what they were told to do by Jesus and they were rewarded by being part of His first miracle. It really made me think, I just have to do what I am asked and able to do. It is God's job to turn our water into wine. We can't be perfect and do everything exactly right. We are to do what God asks, He will make it amazing!
So, am I still anxious? I would be lying if I didn't say, Yes. I just have to keep telling myself the truth.
I can't do this without God!
 I CAN do this with God!

Smiles

It's time for another Smile!

Proverbs 15:13a

A happy heart makes the face cheerful.

We recently had the chance to visit my Ema (my Grandma). When Pie Pie was little she couldn't say Great Grandma so she decided to call her Ema and it has been her name ever since. I can't say enough about this special lady. She is the greatest Grandma you could wish for. As you can see in the picture Pants loves her too! We haven't been able to visit her as much since she moved, but we are going to change that. She needs children around, just like all of us do, to remind us to laugh! Life is short, let's enjoy all of the smiles and laughs that we can along the way!

Pants and Ema were having a great time playing puppets. It's the simple things in life that bring the real smiles to our faces. Jesus knew that too. In the Bible He said "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.". Matthew 19:14 I know our kids can drive us all a little crazy sometimes, but they can also give us the greatest smiles and laughter in our lives. Never forget that and you are in possession of some of the greatest wisdom in the world!

Smiles,

Nikki!

The Blue Bracelet Challenge

My Blue Bracelet

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13

If you get a chance to read my blog regularly you already know that I've been reading Beth Moore's book titled Believing God. In the book there is a challenge to help you draw closer to God. You can pick pretty much anything do do as long as in doing it you are improving your closeness to God. To help you remember your challenge you wear a blue bracelet daily.   
I chose to read my Bible twice every day. I am still working on my challenge. Some days I remember and some days I don't. It's not about being perfect because nobody is. It's about improvement.
You are supposed to wear your bracelet until what you've challenged yourself to do becomes a habit or you feel comfortable taking it off. My bracelet will probably get moldy and fall off before I take it off. ( I like a visual reminder.) I'll just have to make a new one when that happens!

Is It Time To Harvest?!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Galatians 6:9

I think this verse is amazing! I read it in the book I talked about recently called Believing God by Beth Moore. This is a great book! If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend it! In this part of the book she is talking about living the day to day. I can totally relate. I get so sick of doing the same tasks all of the time. Such as loading and unloading the dishwasher (I know I should be thankful I even have one!), washing laundry ( at least we have clothes), and making another meal for my kids ( I have kids?!). There are many more areas, but I think you get where I am going with this idea.

It is so hard to be thankful for the chores we have to do all the time, but our families benefit from every little thing we do! We save money by washing dishes instead of buying new ones. They wear clean and neat clothes. They grow and are healthy from the meals we prepare.

On that small list my least favorite is making meals. I feel like I am constantly serving someone. Most of the time my girls don't even appreciate it. They come to the table and look at the food like it is going to kill them. Pants usually runs away crying. Pie Pie will choke it down if there is dessert. Don't worry my husband ALWAYS appreciates any meal! That's who I actually cook for. 

Every once in a while I make something Pie Pie loves. It is totally worth the effort to see her happily eating a meal. A meal she would eat even without dessert! Pants is still a mystery to me in the food department.

So whatever your least favorite task of the day is you just have to keep at it. Eventually you will get your own, "Yum, this is ACTUALLY good, Mom!"!

God is Love

I am currently reading a Beth Moore book titled Believing God. It has some challenges in the book. One of them is memorizing five statements about God. The first one is:

God is who He says He is!

(I added the exclamation point! I am sure Beth Moore would approve.)

This week Pants is learning the Bible Verse God is Love. 1 John 4:8. Now I know there are many other qualities God is, but I thought this was pretty neat. These two learning experiences matched up so sweetly. I could see a little bow right on top of the present God has given to me. I thought I'd pass it on to whoever happens to be reading this post. By the way my bow is green with pink polka dots, you can pick whatever colors you like!



I also wanted to share some more verses about God's love!

God loved us and sent His Son. 1 John 4:10

For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

The Lord is gracious and compassionate slow to anger and rich in love. Psalm 145:8

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

The earth is filled with your love, O Lord; teach me your decrees. Psalm 119:64



There are many more verses about God's love! What is your favorite?

Join the Club!

A.W.A.N.A.

Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed

2 Timothy 2:15

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

My church, along with many other churches, started AWANA recently. I am a big fan! It is a Bible Club for kids. The kids get to enjoy games, a Bible Lesson and snacks every week!

This year Pie Pie is in her 3rd book in SPARKS. SPARKS is the program for K-2nd grade. You are supposed to try your best to finish one book each year. So Pie Pie is right on track.

Pants is in her 2nd year as a Cubbie. Cubbies is the group for preschoolers. She was much more interested in learning verses last year, but I think she will warm up to it soon.

Learning verses is another part of AWANA. Each week the kids learn verses. When they learn a verse they earn points, patches and/or jewels. The points they earn get accumulated for a trip to the AWANA store. The amount of points they have determines what they can pick at the store.My girls usually come home with stuffed animals! The kids love store night!

AWANA is not just for kids. I am one of the lucky leaders of the kids in the 1st book of SPARKS.Brand New Sparkies! I enjoyed my first night and am looking forward to many more!

See if you can find an AWANA club near you.  For you and your kids!



Remember

We Will Never Forget


(Photo Credit: Kayleigh Kline)


The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8

This Is Pie Pie and my memory verse for the week.  I like to memorize the verses my girls are learning right along with them.
I think this verse can apply to our lives today and the events that happened ten years ago. Many people were and are afraid. We also get discouraged when things don't go our way. We can be assured that the Lord will never leave us!
I am thankful that I can teach my children such wonderful verses from the Bible!