Ephesians 6:12

 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

grand scheme

There is a plan at work in my life that I'm so grateful NOT to be in charge of.


To move or not to move,  is the question on the table.  Just as i thought that door closed,  it got flung wide open again.

Those of you who are tired of hearing about it,  i don't blame you one bit. I'm sick of hearing about it.

But there IS a plan at work here.  And i just have to wait for it to unfold.

"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed ishe that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame"


You may just come to my door one day, and i just might not live there anymore.

how do you measure a man?

If one day you discover him
Broken down he's lost everything
No cars, no fancy clothes to make him who he's not
The woman at his side is all that he has got
Why do you ask him move heaven and earth
To prove his love has worth?

Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
When it's down to the wire
Would he give his life up
To be all he can
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?

If by chance all he had to give you
Was three words wrapped around your finger
Would that be deep enough at the end of every day
And how will you ever know
If a man is what he says?

Why do you ask him to move heaven and earth
To prove his love has worth
Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
When it's down to the wire
Would he give his life up to be all he can
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?

He never gives up
Lets go of his dream
His world goes around for his one true belief
Is that how you know
Is that what it means?

Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
Would he will be your anchor when the dark unfolds
Would he always love you the best that he knows?

Would he give his life up
To be all that he can
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?

Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
When it's down to the wire
Would he give his life up
To be all he can

Is that, is that, is that, how you measure oh...

Is that, is that, is that, how you measure a man?

maybe it's not the problem. maybe it's the solution

I want to shout "Wake up! "

I want you to look at me. 

I want the blindness to come to an end.

I want those with eyes to see. 

How many of you read your scriptures EVERY day.....Or have taught your children to,  and yet wouldn't recognize the literal manifestation of those words? 

I say to Jacob sometimes: "You can't save the world until you learn to follow directions."

It's a great metaphor. Yes.  It is.  But for Jacob,  it's literal.

So we read these words about the "end of times", but would we know them if we were in the middle of them? 

Meanwhile, here's some food for thought:

A Christian poetess, Annie Johnson Flint, wrote:

"It is not for a sign we are watching

 For wonders above and below,

The pouring of vials of judgment,
The sounding of trumpets of woe;
It is not for a Day we are looking,
Not even the time yet to be
When the earth shall be filled with God's glory
As the waters cover the sea;
It is not for a King we are longing
To make the world-kingdoms His own;
It is not for a Judge who shall summon
The nations of earth to His throne.

Not for these, though we know they are coming;
For they are but adjuncts of Him,
Before whom all glory is clouded,
Besides whom all splendor grows dim.
We wait for the Lord, our Beloved,
Our Comforter, Master and Friend,
The substance of all that we hope for,
Beginning of faith, and its end;
We watch for our Savior and Bridegroom,
Who loved us and made us His own;
For Him we are looking and longing:
For Jesus, and Jesus alone."*

The great Scottish minister, Horatio Bonar, on one occasion sat with a number of fellow ministers. He said to them, "Do you really expect Jesus Christ to come today?" One by one he went around the circle and put that question to each. And one by one they shook their heads and said, "No, not today." Then without comment he wrote on a piece of paper these words and passed it around:

"Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect"

Exercise

"Some people transcend the norm."

I learned in Basic Training that I can move my body excessively with only minimal strain.  But my MIND is another story.

Hard work for me is all mental.I envy those who only deal with physical work.  Physical work I am GREAT at.  The hard work is the emotional stuff.  Take David's job vs mine for instance:  He works primarily on equipment.  And while a piece of equipment may not perform the way one would like, it stays out of your head and allows you to figure it out with minimal input from itself.  My job consists almost exclusively of the "pieces of equipment" (Primarily Children) I'm attempting maintenance on, to interrupt frequently and even attempt to tell me how I'm doing it wrong.

This wears me out so much more than the physical labor.

And at the end of the day, I truly want to sit on my butt and indulge..... thus my cushiness.

The reason this comes up is because I have started using my "muscles" (emotionally, mentally and spiritually) so much more lately that I'm seeing strides of progress.I'm seeing progress I never imagined.  And now, I am TRULY exhausted.

'Night

inspiration

My house may not get cleaned today.  But i totally did it....i bought some boxing gloves. And i hit something for 15 minutes straight.  And it felt AMAZING. And now I'm cycling.

I have a LOT of frustration these days.  But after 13 years,  it's HEALTHY frustration.  It's purging my self of the garbage I've allowed to build up.  The weight....cushion really,  I've allowed myself to build up...
I'm tired of being a by product of other people's dumping ground.

Have you ever written via swipe on your blog posts?  One of these times I'm going to let the "accidental" word stay.  Just for giggles.  For example,  i swipe "dumping ", it puts "drinking" lol.

So Abby flow (;-))....Any how

Back to the beginning :

In may of last year,  we decided to build a fantastic,  $350,000 house in Herriman,  Utah.  We put in $6500 CASH to have this house built.  we sacrificed for that extra expense.in November, right in time for Thanksgiving,  our house was complete. And the lender said, "No loan for you. " So the Builder said, "No house for you. "

DEVASTATING. I had been given a blessing right before the bad news that told me i was going to get the house i wanted.  BLAH! OF COURSE i have faith that things will work out if My God says they will.  But.....

So. I went back to normal life and tried to learn the important lessons i needed to learn.

Feb comes around.  And we're ready to once again,  buy this house.  NOPE.

So here we are.  Round 3. And we're waiting on our decision.

However.  In the past 4 months of waiting to buy this house,  my world has completely changed.

I have become a power house of determination.  i have realized it's time to shine.

Picture this if you will: I.DO.NOT. ALLOW. SHOES. to be worn in my home. THAT. WILL.NEVER.EVER.CHANGE.

However,  i have a Father in Law who will NOT remove his shoes. PERIOD.  PLUS, when we come into our home.....Or visitors come, everyone gets stuck at the door trying to remove shoes before breaking my cardinal rule and stepping on the carpet.

So i built this fabulous house with 1/2 of the main level non carpeted.  And we spent the winter (UGH) Not having that available to us.

And all of a sudden, there's this huge incident with my In Laws where David has FINALLY let them know that NO SHOES will be allowed anymore.  And just as we're FINALLY about to move into this house that was built to accommodate.  Coincidence?  I think not.  In my opinion,  my In Laws would have continued to expect that rule to be bent. And that's not what my LOVING Father in Heaven wants for me.

I know I'm not His only child.  But He is the PERFECT Parent.  And i am an obedient child (more often than not ;)). Therefore He rewards me with a little more of what makes me happy.

So.  Not to drag this on.  But it goes back to a couple of posts ago.  Who i am.

I am a SUPER clean conscious person. And i have been TOLD by My Father in Heaven that my personality is a strength.  And i was compromising who i am for people who aren't interested in my shine.  And He wants better for me.

So.  Here i am.  Getting my shine back.  With a NO shoes in the house rule,  and some boxing gloves. And hopefully moving SOON

you expected what?

so, I think I'm actually supposed to clean my house and somehow do laundry today. But don't see that happening. First of all, I think I'm going to buy some boxing gloves. this is following an impromptu meeting with the school counselor and Elizabeth teacher in my pajamas with my hair sticking up and no bra on

Who i am and what it could mean for you.....

I was very fortunate to have a Dear Friend of mine answer a very important question for me today: What am I REALLY like deep down inside?
Here is the Honest as
ANYTHING  answer:
I am CLEAN.

I am a CLEAN FREAK. Cleanliness is of the UTMOST importance to me.

We're not just talking about my OCD and having to take your shoes of in my home.  This is about my soul as well.  And yours.

I not only cannot stand dirty carpets in my home,  i cannot endure dirty souls.

However,  that does NOT apply to people with mistakes.  It means people who are downright icky inside.

I am a purist to the fullest extent possible. If a person doesn't like me,  they may want to examine their own soul and see where the clutter is.

alright everyone, let's get down to it

Here are some key point pictures from today:
Look at this Doll. This is my 3 year old. She looked so cute today.

This is my $269.00 painting that I scored for $99. It's a 30x40 and I LOVE it.  Hanging it up meant major rearranging of our living room. Primarily because it looked off balance over the tv of almost but not quite equal size. And i will not have the picture compete with the tv since i feel that in our home,  what this picture represents should take the focus.