Replenish

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy of ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
- Matthew 11: 28-30 (Message)

Replenish - to make full or complete again

Women of all ages are invited to join us for a time of fellowship and renewal in Christ. You will find a relaxed and open atmosphere where everyone is willing to share and identify with each other on anything from the daily struggles of life to what God is speaking to them about. Come with a willing heart and an open mind to share and receive what the Lord has for you.
We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month. We will be meeting at the home of Marla Rourk: 264 Redwood Dr in Dry Ridge. Please contact her at 859-816-4285 with any questions.

Josh's Birthday

I cooked dinner last night to celebrate Josh’s birthday, even though it was on Wednesday, June 17th. I made Zucchini Bread on Saturday to surprise him because it is his favorite. He loved it, although he was dying to know what the surprise was! J He says he “hates” surprises, but I just tell him he hates the waiting part, not the actual surprise, which I know is true. Here is the menu from last night:

Baked Savory BBQ Chicken Breasts
Country Style Mashed Potatoes w/ sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Normandy Vegetable Blend w/ Salt Free Seasoning
Multigrain French Bread w/ Garlic and Herb Seasoning

Like I said, everything was delicious! If you want any of the recipes please let me know. I may be posting them later as well.

All for now, I have to get ready for work.

I Pray

I did pray for you...every single day I thought of you. I have wondered, worried, hoped, prayed, and thought about you for months now...but from so far away... It feels the distance between us will never be as close as it once was... It will take time...and only with His help.

Much love...

Romans 3:23

“For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.” Romans 3: 23-24.

This morning at church there was something that held me there, my attention, it would not let go. Obviously I want to listen or I wouldn’t go, but today it was different. In spite of this trying week, trying in many ways, God was pulling at my heart and speaking just to me. It was definitely for a reason, and He had a purpose. But doesn’t He always?

I have read this verse and heard it spoken over and over again, so many times and in different ways my entire life. God has a way of doing that though, where it’s almost like He hides a certain meaning in there on purpose so that we will dig just a little deeper, and one day when we find it, that’s when we need it most.

In a nutshell this is what He spoke to me: What He has given us, the salvation that we have, is “a pure gift” given to us through His son Jesus Christ and simply because He chose us and drew us to Him. When He looks at us He sees righteousness now that we are saved. This does not mean that we are anything special, and this righteousness that He sees is not because of us, but because His Son was willing to die for us. He sent His Son to die for us as substitute atonement for our sins.

Expiation – the means by which atonement or reparation is made.

Salvation cannot be manufactured, manipulated, or talked into. It can only be done by God and the ones He draws to himself by repentance and submission to His will.

Redemption – Theology. deliverance from sin; salvation.

Christ delivers us from sin, and although we choose to follow Him and repent of those sins, we cannot do it on our own. We need our God in heaven. Without him we would not have been forgiven or redeemed of our sins. His sovereign expiation, His grace atonement, His redeeming blood, and His everlasting, eternal, magnificent love is what truly saves us. It is only through Him that we can call ourselves saved, redeemed, forgiven…

New bed & stress

We finally got our new bed (except we got the plush one) this weekend and I don’t know how or why we waited as long as we did. It is so comfortable, it’s bigger, and we wake up in the morning and our backs are not in pain! It is truly amazing… Now that the back, neck, and arm pain/numbness is taken care of, we will just have to work on Josh’s headaches, although that’s something we need to take up with God on behalf of the weather which I believe has a lot to do with it. Hopefully those will begin to lessen as well.


So after we bought our bed on Sunday we had to drive up to Tri-County to their warehouse to pick it up. It just so happened that this is right across from our Staples warehouse (or Fulfillment Center) in London, OH, which may sound goofy to some (Josh in particular) but I thought it was very exciting to actually get to see (at least the outside) of the place that delivers the orders we place every single day to this entire area! In fact, any order that I have ever placed, the stock has come from that FC, and I think that that is just cool that I got to see it and that it just worked out that way. Once again, I don’t care how goofy that sounds.

Speaking of my job, it has been going quite a bit better than it had been, and I really have to give all the praise to God for that. A few weeks ago I thought I wouldn’t be able to even make it through the end of each hour there, and now I am just taking it a day, or a week at a time, and He is helping me all the way. I am taking everything in stride, learning and teaching myself better how to deal with the customers and diffuse any heated situation. God has helped me so much with the stress and how to reduce it a great deal, but also how to learn to cope with the stress that is there. I am trying with all my might, and all my strength, but even with all of that it is in vain because without Him I will fail regardless; “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” Philippians 4:13 (The Message) I just need to continue to hold on to the One and I will be able continue on this journey He has set out for me.

BRAVE

I would just like to start off by saying my life has truly been blessed by God, my Father. Two of my good friends and I, among the many others I became friends with this weekend, just got back from a Women's Retreat in Lexington.

When I first heard about the opportunity to go, I was so excited and I just felt like with everything else going on in my life right now, it was exactly what God wanted me to do. Let's just say, I will never be the same…

The theme of the whole weekend was BRAVE, which in itself is such a strong word, something that I never felt I was until now. The words of this song come to mind, and describe well the way that I feel.

So hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf

You have been King of my glory

Won't you be Prince of Peace…

– Rich Mullins

To me as I am sure to many others as well, that does not form a picture of braveness, but what God has taught me, especially what he has been opening my eyes to this weekend, is that being broken before Him and surrendering to Him is the epitome of bravery. And so, as I take this step towards braveness and feeling more and more as though I am His child, He is reminding me that by losing control, He is taking complete control.

With this I leave you these words:

Please let Him take over your life and in total surrender to Him, you will not have to worry about being in control. By trusting Him to take the lead, you are freed.

Oh, and one more thing, this is coming from someone who always feels like she has to have control over every detail of her life, especially when it comes to things like this. So take it from me when I say, this is something that God has been trying to teach me for a long time…

Just let Him in your life and you too will become a brave soul that is humbled in His presence, and in awe at His amazing and beautiful greatness.