Coffee Coke and Cockiness

Well I've cut Coke and coffee out of my diet. I'm showing classic signs of a stomach ulcer and these are 2 things that I consume daily that have become the product of my demise. Being that we have had a lot of stress in the past year that has also contributed to these health issues, I've decided that I will use this time to take advantage of the spiral of positivity that has begun. I want to be in the right mind as decisions have to be made. I want to be sure that the decisions we are making are what God has intended for us. We are truly excited about this upcoming year and I honestly don't want to get caught up in it. So many times before we have had an upward spiral and our relationship with God falters because we don't give Him the glory He deserves. Almost as if we get cocky and give ourselves the Glory when its due elsewhere. This truly is a struggle for me. It's about my money, my house, my kids, my health, my,my,my,my. I don't want that kind of heart. I want one of humility and Grace. So this is what I'm going to work on during this time. My prayer life has been lacking and I want an unceasing prayer life style. Or at least continue to try. I want prayer to be my first reaction to everything that comes up not the last thing I turn to.  So this is me challenging myself when I want to grab a cup of Joe or a coke instead I'm challenging myself to pray about a family member or issue or decision that needs to be made. Just a few minutes. With my constant want for my recent physical crutch, I should be doing a lot of praying lol. So I'll be working on my stomach and my spirituality by try to eliminate coffee, coke, and cockiness. 

One is the loneliest number - something has been bothering me about single people

I have quite a few friends who are single so here are some things I've been thinking about, and feel free to give me feedback. I hope that I can give you some encouragement. If you are 15 or 50 it all works the same. 

I have been married for going on 11 years and its been both hard and rewarding. I'm feeling as though I'm lucky that I met Robert so young but at the same time I feel as if our dating life was misunderstood a lot. Most people don't know that the summer Robert and I met we were 15 and 17 years old and we had  both vowed to no longer date. Instead we would focus on our relationship with God. We just didn't know that we had both made that same commitment at the same time until a few years later. Through a bible study that summer I learned that God had a plan for my life. If I focus on Him and making myself a woman after God's own heart than the man I marry would be presented to me when He knows I'm ready. I was really happy to hand over my dating life to God because that meant that I wouldn't be swooning over any cute boys. I could get down to business and focus on what I wanted in a husband not a boyfriend. That summer I wrote down all the qualities that I wanted in a man that I could spend the rest of my life with. I vowed to wait for Gods timing because His is perfect, and pray for the one that He set apart for me. That's what I did. I look back now and realized that God gave me a gift like no other by focusing on Him and our relationship I started viewing young men differently. My thoughts went from " Wow he's cute" to "Would he make a good spiritual leader?". I was no longer looking at them as cute boys, I was looking at them as brothers. I realized that the boys at home that I had crushes on were somebody else's husband and if he wasn't mine then I didn't want to ruin his integrity. I didn't want to kiss another woman's husband. I didn't want to kiss my "brother". I decided that at the beginning of each relationship I would pray and ask God to reveal Himself and help guide the relationship to where it should go. Now did that mean that I didn't look around? No in fact there were 3 boys that I looked at and thought about as serious contenders to that "spiritual leaders" part of my list. Then I took that list and prayed over it "God you know who he is please keep him safe and healthy and guide his path. Give him your heart. If he doesn't know you lead him to someone who does. Be with him and his family." I know it sounds weird but I felt connected to him in some way even though I had no idea who he is. I believe with my whole heart that we each have someone perfectly made for us, just like Eve was made for Adam. So here are few things that may help your situation. 

1# Hand it over! Are you truely happy and content with where you are?Well know this God knows where he or she is and one of you may not be ready. You or he or she maybe having trouble trusting in The Lord. One of you may be having a faith problem. Just because your not happy being single doesn't mean you can't be content with where God has you. You really need to focus on you not where he or she is and focus on where you are which brings me to my next point. 

#2 Where is your walk with God? Is it ok, good or the best it's ever been? I was so focused on God that I didn't see Robert sitting in front of me for awhile. I was really getting to know who HE is. When was the last time you studied I mean truely studied Gods word? Could you work on your relationship with Him so that He can focus on blessing you? What are you doing to make yourself a better child of God? Are you focusing on Holliness? Don't you want to be ready for that person when they do come your way? 

#3 Stop looking but make contact. I know this sounds contradicting but it's not. Stop looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend. Stop looking for a mate period. Instead refocus your attention on making contacts socially while you are out and about. I've heard that some make a goal for themselves of 5 a day. Having a conversation with some one you meet anywhere can always lead to more. Here is the thing, if you are trusting Him but having conversations with 5 people of the opposite sex a day then you won't miss your special someone. God will use one of those Contacts as the One. You can say you did your part. Sorry but  you are not going to get a relationship by sitting in your house and never going anywhere. Unless your special someone is the postman God is not bringing you anything to the door. You must get out there but trust that God will put them in front of you when you are ready. Most married couples I've talked to said that their Mr. Or Mrs. Right didn't come along till they weren't expecting them. So stop looking!

#4 Humble your self and pray. 

Pray for your future spouse its amazing how much God will reveal to you about yourself. Make a list and pray over it. He wants you to have high standards for yourself and don't back down. 

Here's what really bothers me about single people stop complaining about Valentines Day! God demonstrated the Greatest love ever, use it as a day to share that with people. We don't use the day as a lovers day we can go out anytime we want. Instead our kids draw from a hat and buy a gift for each other. It's a huge family day for us. Lots of treats and a big fancy family dinner areamongst  our festivities. What is the most important festivity though? Reminding them that For God so loved the world..............