Day 31: Transformed

"Tiger Jordan"

I really do have two kids.  My daughter, as you can see in the picture, does not mind her picture being taken.  My son does mind.  I have lots of pictures of the back of him and of his hand in front of the camera.  Haha!  Hopefully one day soon I can include another picture of him as part of my blog, too!

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year.  Despite the negative connotation surrounding the day in some circles, I enjoy the good, clean fun of the day.  It's cool how we can transform ourselves into lions, and tigers, and bears (oh my!).......or any other thing we want to "be" that year.  All it takes is a tiger hat/mask and a grrrrr face, and viola!  Cutest tiger in Walmart!

A Confident Heart, by Renee Swope, talks a lot about transforming yourself--specifically your heart and  your mind.  Chapter 6 has been talking about how to do this in your life.

We can hear and read about the fact that we need to transform our mind and hearts, but if no one or nothing tells us how, then we tend to have a hard time getting started. The Bible tells how to transform ourselves very simply.

The verse that comes to my mind is:

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 (emphasis mine)

1.  I need to be transformed.

2.  In order to be transformed, I have to renew my mind.  That means that I need to think in a different way--different than how I have been thinking.

3.  Then, I will know what God's will in my life is.

This is the "how-to" verse.

God's Word is so awesome!  It is always new and always speaks to me.

It will speak to you, too!

Days 27-28....AM or FM? Word-Association

Jordan

This is my daughter, Jordan.  She is a High School freshman this year, and plays the french horn in the marching band.  The band is doing an outstanding job this year.  In fact, they got a Division 1 rating last weekend at the District marching competition, and are advancing to the Area marching competition this weekend.  Needless to say, much excitement is in the air!

I L O V E music.  I loved being in marching band when I was in high school.  Music reminds me of the analogy in Chapter 6 in Renee Swope's book A Confident Heart.


She talks about having AM thoughts or FM thoughts.  In the book, AM means "Against Me," and FM means "For Me."  This is awesome!

I think if I can put a title or a name on an issue I deal with, then I think I can deal better with it. AM thoughts can be identified and dealt with when they have a name like that.  I also usually have AM thoughts in the A.M. (the morning time), and so it all works for me.  I need a lot of word-association for things to sink in sometimes. HaHa!

FM thoughts are cool.  FM radio is better than AM (in my opinion), so the FM thoughts are the better thoughts.

Word-association.

Love it!

**Once again, I just want to give  little "plug" for Renee's book.  A Confident Heart is a life-changing book!  It is amazing how Renee put into words the many things that God is impressing on my  heart.  Being confident in who you are in Christ is so very important.  Christ wants that deep relationship with you and for you to put your whole trust in Him confidently.  Pick up a copy today!  It will change your life for the better!

Day 25: Friends are the Best Bible Study Buddies!

(My hubby Seth, me, her hubby Terry, & Traci)

I have some great friends.

I love doing Bible study with my friends. :)

My hope is that all of my friends will want to remain my friends after the Bible study. Haha!

All of that said, I want to praise God and tell y'all a little about my current Bible study group.
There are 4 of us ladies, and we are following an online/Facebook-driven study on Renee Swope's book A Confident Heart.  It is organized and done by Melissa Taylor with Proverbs 31 Ministries.  We meet on Monday evenings in each other's homes and have a  simple supper.  Then we review the previous week's chapter, the end of the chapter questions, and anything else Melissa wants us to focus on.  Lately, we are good to get through all the questions!  However, if life gets in the way and we can't meet, then we can still do the study because of the online community.  It has been a great study.

Like I said, there are four of us in the group. I'd like to tell you about them.

1.  One of the wonderful ladies in our group, who has become a good friend to all of us, is Cassie.  Now, Cassie has some spunk to her, although she seems quiet.  She has such wonderful stories of God working in her life to share with us all.  I am always so encouraged by her.  She is just as cute as a bug, has a wonderful husband who is still trying to "find himself", and two beautiful daughters--one of which is a part of our youth group at church.  Such a fantastic family centered around God's will in their life!

2.  Another good friend in the group is Carol.  Now Carol loves the Lord more than anyone I have seen.  She does have a very hard life.  Her health keeps her down a lot, but she is powering through it.  She has twin 16-year old boys that she is raising alone, and she tougher than I could ever be as a mama. She has had a lot of hard knocks in her life, but the glory of it is this:  She is consciously trying to rely on God to get her through all of it!  Praise God!  Thank you for Carol in my life and thank you for making her part of this group.

3.  The third dear friend in our group is Traci.  Traci and I have such similar thoughts and "issues" sometimes that it is a little "spooky."  We get each other on a level that is very rare.  That is so cool to me!  Traci adds a very confident dynamic to our group.  She shares her heart, her life, and her thoughts from God.  She's honest with us all, but she very loving about it.  Traci is one of those beautiful ladies that looks absolutely perfect without makeup, in a T-shirt and sweats, and/or out in the yard working.  During study, she digs deep into the Word to pull out more of what God is saying in scripture and then shares her insights. She is married to a great guy (who is friends with my husband) and has 2 daughters. 

4.  And then there is little 'ole me.  I felt God leading me to start another Bible study group that was a little more flexible and self-sustaining than the ones we have at our church currently.  I try so hard to be honest with our group and hospitable.  My husband is the youth pastor at our church, so I feel like everyone thinks I have to "have it all together." News flash:  I don't!  This group lets that be OK, and I am so grateful for that.

I hope, when we are done with this book, that we can continue in the study of God's Word together.  I really am enjoying this season of study--even though it has been very tough as well.  Having good friends as a part of your study time with God makes a great difference, too. I hope you have the chance to study God's Word with your friends, too!

Lots of laughs, tears, inside jokes, and love.

Thank you Lord for this time together and thank you for Traci, Carol, and Cassie.