Y'all!  I'm so excited!  The Chief and I are leading our first ever eGroup (online small group)!  We have small groups at our church throughout the year and enjoy those so much!  When we were choosing a topic for our next group, we really wanted to do something to encourage the Family.  Cause you know, if we want praying churches we need praying families.  And you know, the most important small group we'll ever lead is at home.  But we just couldn't imagine asking parents to take time away from their families to talk about family.  So, the idea was developed to have an eGroup.  That way, parents can "show up" for meetings on their own time and at their own convenience.  Love it!

Want to join?  Go here to sign up.  (See the contact form at the bottom of the page.  Choose "Family Devotions eGroup" from the drop down menu.)

Session starts Monday, June 11!

Do you ever feel like this poor donkey?  More burdens then you can carry?

Usually the things that burden us down are regrets from the past or fear of the future. 

Let's lighten our loads by choosing to believe God's word. 

Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  (Matt 11:28)

To the burdens of the past,

Philippians 3:13 says:  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 43:18 tells us to, Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!

To the burdens of the future, 

Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Lay those burdens down.

Every day is a new day. Every hour is a new hour. Every second is a new second.
Every moment is a new moment. We can't go back into the past so there's no point
in living there.  It's a brand new day! 

(This chalkboard table message greeted me early this morning.)

My husband is the lead pastor at LHC Hampton (Lighthouse Church).  Every so often he asks me to share something during our morning service.  How my husband does it week after week, I don't know.  (He'll tell you it is all God.) 

He gave me the honor of speaking to the mothers today.  After a lot of prayer (A LOT), I felt led to challenge mother's everywhere to be the prayer warriors of the home.  Here's a portion of what the Lord gave me to say:

Y’all have heard the saying, If momma ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.  Well, if momma ain’t praying, nobody’s praying.  Ladies’ we are the thermostat of the home.  Rather than being a thermometer and registering what we think is going on around us, we can choose to be a thermostat and set the temperature of our home. 

Young ladies, the Lord has a plan for your life.  The enemy tries to deceive you.  The enemy wants to give you a counterfeit plan.  The enemy wants you to settle.  Don’t be deceived.  God doesn’t do things half way.  He doesn’t give you a half way future.  He gives you the total package.  Purpose in your heart today to not settle for anything less than the total package.

Friends who are aching to be mothers, we feel your longing.  We long with you and we desire to bear your burden to the Lord.  We desire to pray over you and ask that the Lord open your womb.  We have the faith for this.  You have the faith for this.  We ask right now that the Lord raise up intercessors all over the world to pray for you. 

Mommas of small children, God is with you.  Each day that you face another day of too much to do - God is with you.  You are never alone.  He is your rest, your peace, he will see you through this season.  And someday not so long from now, you will remember these days with joy and even longing to return to them.  We pray that you feel his presence, his rest, his peace, and his joy each day!

Mommas of grown children, be at peace.  God carries your children in the palm of his hand.  You don’t have to be the fixer, just be the pray-er.  Bear the burden of prayer.  Lean heavily upon the Lord to lead and guide.  Exercise your authority as the prayer warrior of your family. 

Mommas of spiritual children, The privilege of carrying a soul is always yours. Your heart is always open and welcoming another person to find nourishment and comfort.  You are an influencer.  You pour into the lives of others.

Happy Mother's Day, sweet friends!  My gift (prayer) for you:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7

Isn't it neat when you meet new people and God uses them to remind you of an important truth? 

I had the pleasure of conversation with an older gentleman who just happened to be from my mountains.  He shared a story about a friend of his whose son came home drunk.  He said his friend looked his son up and down, then looked toward the heavens and said, "Lord, looks to me like you have a problem."  He turned around and went to bed.  Two weeks later, his son got saved and never came home drunk again.  And there you have it.  The profound truth. 

The man couldn't do anything about his son's choices.  Worrying wasn't going to change it.  Being upset wasn't going to change it.  He did the one thing that would change it.  He gave the problem to the Lord. 

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"  Matthew 6:25-27

My husband recently had a worry offering at our church.  He gave everyone the opportunity to write their worries on a card and give them in an offering to the Lord. Perhaps you'd like to offer God your worries?  Give them to Him and rest easy knowing He's got it. 

1.  Obedience leads to honor. 

"Nothing is really lost by a life of sacrifice; everything is lost by a failure to obey God's call."  Henry Parry Liddon

"Greatness in the kingdom of God is measured in terms of obedience."  John Stott

2.  Obedience leads to blessing.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

"You will be a blessing...and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."  Genesis 12:2-3

3.  Obedience leads to joy. 

"If you obey my commands you will remain in my love just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."  John 15:10-11

Sometimes the Lord asks us to do things that seem impossible.  Be confident that with the Lord all things are possible.  Obey him!  A miracle is ready to happen in your life!  Obey him!  Your breakthrough is on the other side of your obedience!

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"  Matthew 6:2-27

Josiah's not worried. 

The way we spend our days is, of course, the way we spend our lives. - Annie Dillard

I have a sense of certainty about being exactly where God wants me.  Just as solid is the fact that I wonder at times what on earth I am doing here. I have two choices, I can look back like Lot's wife or I can look forward to God's perfect plan. I can choose today to live each day looking forward.  I can take steps toward my goals and my passions. 

Don't wait "until" to do the things we are passionate about.  Live with purpose.  Life doesn't have to just happen to us, we can happen to life.  Today is the best day to live our dreams. 

I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.  - Henry David Thoreau

I recently finished the book, Kisses From Katie. 

I cried and cried as I read it.  I cried because reading it during the Christmas season, a time of excess (excess food, toys, gifts...) reminded me of how truly blessed we all really are.  Even those of us here in America with little have so much more than these precious children of Uganda. 

My husband is a pastor of a church in the second poorest county of South Carolina.  It adjoins the poorest county in SC.  I blogged the other day about the culture or mentality of poverty.  Unless you have worked in a culture of poverty, you might not "get it" and that's okay.  It is kinda like trying to empty the ocean with an eyedropper. What little you can do is never enough.  There is always more need.  Thankfully, when God calls you to something the discouragement lasts only a moment and God moves in hearts to keep going. To keep filling the eyedropper, emptying the ocean one drop at a time. We will not eliminate poverty. We're just here to love, give, and because of God's great goodness - receive.  Katie in Uganda reminded me of that. 

I believe anyone can be and should be a missionary right where they are. Luke 12:48 says, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." And we have been given so much.  We are truly blessed. 

P.S. We had a wonderful Christmas.  So very blessed by God's provision and goodness.  We are remembering in prayer several of our friends/family who have lost their jobs in recent days.  And finally, we are STILL waiting for baby to make an appearance.  Due date is four days away.