Friday reflections - week 8

Wow. I have to share an amazing Joel Osteen sermon I had the pleasure of listening to this morning. I have been feeling forlorn lately. I'm struggling in my situation and I feel a bit overwhelmed at times. Well that weight was lifted  when Joel spoke God's words of hope, joy, peace and life into my own life today. He made things a whole lot clearer for me. I tell you, God uses people to speak truth into your circumstances and turn things around for you when you least expect it. 

For a few weeks now I've felt rather 'bleurgh', and quite frankly; I DON'T WANT TO FEEL LIKE THIS. I have no reason to, I have life, health, healthy children, healthy family and friends, a roof over my head, so much to be thankful for. Well you know what? I have authority over my feelings.  I am an overcomer through Christ who strengthens me. God hears my prayers, He knows the desires of my heart. My job now is to stop grumbling and dwelling on how my situation is going to change and start praising God for the changes He is already making. Amen!

Joel's sermon went something like this;

When we pray, yet our situation continues to look bleak we can sometimes begin to beg God for deliverance by praying the same prayers over and over. This is not the correct approach because God hears our prayers the first time. The right approach is to switch worry, doubt and complaining into PRAISE. We must thank God that our prayers have been heard and He is changing our situation even though we can't see it yet.

Praise, worship and thanksgiving is what changes situations. Joel gave the analogy of his family. When his son passed his driving test he bought him a car, his 13 year old daughter asked if she could get a car when she passed her test. Joel said yes. From that point onwards she trusted her father's word and even began to speak as though she had the car already, giving thanks to her father for his love and kindness. She had faith in her father and believed she would have the car she was promised. Imagine if his daughter on a daily basis kept asking 'Daddy, can I have a car? Daddy where is my car?'. It would make no sense if the car had already been promised. And would only serve to upset her father who would be heartbroken that his daughter had no confidence or trust in his word. That is what God must think about us when we don't have faith in Him and His glory.

Be a believer not a beggar. Pray then Praise. Believe God will do what He says He will. We grab God's attention by thanking Him for the answers to our prayers before they come. We must thank Him for His grace and mercy, for the favour that he pours in our lives and the abundant blessings that are in store.

'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight'

Proverbs 3:5-6

Let us learn to speak positively into our lives, to have faith, hope and joy.

Have a blessed weekend x

LEGO DUPLO - On Safari

It's that time again. Another great review post courtesy of the fantastic Lego DUPLO. This time we go on safari and oh my, were my children excited to get this parcel.

I was as excited as my girls to get stuck into this set, however I must confess I have struggled to get decent pictures, mainly because my 17 month old was more interested in breaking everything as fast as my girls and I were building, then he felt the need to throw the pieces around, but hey that's the joy of toddlers right? They throw EVERYTHING and cause chaos where ever they go. Nevertheless we had lots of fun and there are lots of pieces to play with. We built trees, bridges, towers, not to mention the safari trucks, aeroplanes AND all the fantastic animals; a hippo, a leopard, a giraffe, an ostrich, an elephant and even a scary crocodile with a fish in its mouth. Aaarrgghh!! It really is a brilliant set and there was something for us all to get stuck into, despite my mischievous toddler.

You'll also be happy to know that
as a special holiday treat, Toys-r-Us are running a special promotion nationwide where you will receive a super cute DUPLO bunny plush toy as a free gift when you spend over £25 on LEGO DUPLO. Now that is great timing if I do say so myself, especially with Christmas around the corner.

This set retails for £49.99. This is a review post. All views are my own.

Let's do this!

Snap, Snap, SNAP!!

We managed to build a tree. (Just about)

That's a bridge.

More of the bridge and safari animals.

Plush bunny is so cute. Big Squeeze from little sis.

Friday reflections (a late one) - week 7

I really wanted to get my Friday reflections post up on Friday, but hey stuff happens and things kept cropping up, so here it is on Monday. Will try not to make a habit of this..... 

I've realised that I've been pretty hard on myself lately, what with everything that's been going, (or not going) on. But I must always remember how far I have come, not how far I have to go. It really is all too easy to forget, when you are in the midst of a storm.

I've been listening to a few Joyce Meyer sermons to feed my faith; for those who don't know her, she is a spirit filled woman of God who motivates and encourages through God's word. She's like a teacher, preacher and Momma all rolled into one. She's been through some terrible things in her life, but through God's magnificent grace and mercy she's turned her life AROUND and has been ministering the Gospel to millions for over 30 years. Glory to God! Anyway her sermons have been speaking  to me massively. 

So many of us have God given talents that we just sit on. We don't use them to bless others or ourselves we just let them go to waste and wonder why nothing good seems to happen to us. I'd like to encourage everyone out there to take whatever talent they have, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem and use it to make a difference to the lives of others NOW. Often the cure to lifting your own spirits is to lift the spirits of someone else. 









Go and be a blessing to someone today! 

bibleblockscreens.org

God wants me to blog

During my frustrated moments this past few weeks, I began to wonder if I should quit blogging. I didn't see the point, or maybe I felt that I was talking too much, or getting too personal, or whatever, whatever, whatever. Well as you know I've been missing in action for a bit on the blog front, and my sisters were asking me what was happening, and why I wasn't posting as much.

To be honest I really didn't have much to say and I was feeling a bit fed up with everything, but then the last few posts I wrote have had some of the highest viewing figures in RECORD time. Now it could very well be an anomaly, or one of those google glitch things, I don't know, but I think it's way too much of a coincidence for this not to be God's doing. You know, His way of showing me a sign.

Come on, think about it, I'm down in the dumps, contemplating quitting blogging, then I get prompted to write some posts and those very posts have over 600 and 2000 views respectively in a matter of days. I don't care what anyone says, that is INDEED a sign from God. He wants me to keep blogging people and what He says goes, so looks like I'm here to stay guys.

For now anyway........ : )

The story so far......

Image from God Quotes on Instagram

Soooooooooooooo things have gone a bit quiet around these parts haven't they? Lets's rectify that.

The past few weeks have been very reflective for me. As previously mentioned things that I wanted to happen imminently like GET MARRIED, seemed to stall and I couldn't understand why. We have found a beautiful, reasonably priced venue, I won our invites, I bought a dress, but then OH started talking about using what money we have to buy a house which makes sense, but really? How much longer are we going to wait to get wed? I began to question why these things were happening - Doesn't God want me to rectify my situation? Doesn't God want me to get married to the father of my children? If so then why were all these little barriers being put in the way?

I was beginning to get frustrated because here I was breaking my neck, to buy this and buy that and plan this and plan that, but when I stepped back I realised that it was me doing all the work, I wasn't taking time to properly sit and listen to God's direction and guidance. I was too busy trying to do everything in my power to get out of the sinful situation I had found myself in. But it is not for me to do, it is for the Lord to do. Now I have come to realise that I must rest in Him COMPLETELY. I relinquish all control of my situation and I am waiting patiently for His revelations and promptings. His timing is perfect and He knows best. While I am waiting, I will praise Him and worship Him, pray and read the Bible, so I can draw nearer to Him and stand confidently on His promises. In other words I'm building up my faith muscles. Lol. Yes Lord!

I think what it boils down to was that I was beginning to feel embarrassed about calling myself a Christian when my situation (unmarried mother of three) made me feel like a fraud, but then God revealed to me that He doesn't call us to be perfect, because it is through our imperfections and our weaknesses that His greatest miracles can be achieved. It doesn't matter where we are in our lives or what we have done in our past, if we put all our faith and trust in Him, He will restore us, lead us on the right path and deliver us to victory. The God I serve is an awesome God y'all.

This Bible verse sums it all up beautifully...

'...My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.'

2 Corinthians 12:9

Five

At 10.10am five years ago today. This little girl came into the world. She was due on Christmas day, but she obviously took pity on her perpetually sick and exhausted mother and decided to make a very unexpected early exit!

My eldest daughter is a joy. Chatty, inquisitive, giggly, clever, she is a bundle of fun and I thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful child.

Happy birthday beautiful girl. Have a glorious day. I know you will.

I love you forever. Mummy xxx

Treading water

You may have noticed my posts have been a bit sporadic lately. I've not wanted it to be this way, but sometimes you just have to take a step back and assess things from afar. Yes I'm talking about my life and the fact that I feel like I'm treading water at the moment. Not going anywhere but feeling really exhausted nonetheless. Phew.

I must say I'm learning a lot about myself, namely that I'm impatient and a bit of a control freak. Lol. Not to worry though, the good Lord is ironing out all of my creases and I know, that I know, that I know He has a whole lot of plans in store for me. Yes Lord! Praise His holy name forever!

Friday reflections - Week 6

I'm not gonna lie. This week has been tough. There have been a variety of things that haven't seemed to 'go my way', so I've been pondering my actions and digging deeper into God's word.

I don't want to do anything if God's not 100% in it, so I've been praying intensely for His wisdom and guidance. I want to be sure I am following His will for my life and not my own. It hasn't been easy, but by taking each day at a time He has slowly revealed to me the way I should go. Thank you Jesus. Today I'm feeling recharged and back on top. God is so good.

I'll leave you with some words of encouragement - truly, nothing beats the word of God.

'Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.'

1Peter 5:6-7

Have a blessed weekend x

Friday reflections - Week 5

It's Friday Reflection time and there is a lot to reflect on and be thankful for. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen the pictures I posted from my wedding dress shopping experience last week. Well exciting news.....The dress has been bought!

Yes I did it, I bought my wedding dress and I'm really happy with it. Thank you Lord for your wisdom and guidance. I paid a fraction of the cost because it was a closing down sale, so; 'chuffed to bits' doesn't come close to how excited I am. I'll have to get it dry cleaned, the bust area needs altering and there are a few little snaggy bits that need tidying up, but other than that it fits like a glove. I'll really need to watch what I eat though because if anything, I could do with dropping a pound or two - it fits that well!

I'm so glad my little sister was able to come with me, her opinion was invaluable and she took some great photos which further allowed me to take a good look at what worked and what didn't. I even tried on some veils which really added the WOW factor (so that'll be my next purchase). It was such an amazing experience. I was quite apprehensive to begin with, but once I started putting the dresses on I really did feel like a princess.

On another note, getting married in a tropical setting is looking highly unlikely. Little man's passport still hasn't arrived. There is a slight delay due to extra checks having to be made as it's his first passport, but not to worry as we have found a fabulous venue in the UK, which exceeds anything we could have hoped for. Thank God for His wisdom and mercy. The pace is really beginning to pick up on the wedding front and more will be revealed as it happens.

In the meantime I've been reading some fabulous Christian books which are completely enriching my life. Pastor and author Francis Chan is an amazing Spirit filled man of God who is really opening my eyes to what it means to be a Christian who is on fire for Jesus. Within the space of a week and a half I've read three of his books and they have really intensified my walk with God. The Bible is becoming clearer to me the more I read it. My life is forever changed for the better and I often ask myself; 'What took you so long to realise how real and how great, a close, personal relationship with God really is?' I could have saved myself a lot of pain and heartache; (not saying the Christian walk is easy, because it is not. But I have a peace and a comfort I never experienced before), He knew, and He knows everything I was and am going to do before I did or do it. He knows the deepest part of my being, He knows my heart, He knows what is best for me and His timing is perfect.

I'm going to leave you all with a powerful prayer that Francis wrote in his book 'Erasing Hell'. It pierced my heart and soul and had me in tears. I want to be the kind of Christian that reaches out to those in need and puts others before myself. I want to live in a way that glorifies Christ and pleases him. I want to be more like Him and less like me. His way is perfect. (Psalms 18:30).

Father I put all my faith and trust in You. Only You can change me, only You can make me Holy. I submit to Your will for my life in Jesus mighty name. Amen!

Have a wonderful weekend lovely readers. God bless x

Goodbye first tooth

Last Saturday night my eldest's first tooth fell out. Well I say fell out, I gave it a bit of a pluck. Don't be grossed out, it was hanging on by a thread. How she was managing to eat I really don't know. This is how it happened.

For the past few days I'd been giving the tooth a wobble but it wasn't really ready. Well on Saturday night after giving the girls a shower and washing and doing their hair I got them ready for bed and read them a story. It was after the story I asked to see my eldest's tooth. I wobbled it and it was just hanging there. It got me remembering when I was a little girl and my dad used to do all kinds of unexpected things to pop our wobbly teeth out.

Anyway I was wiggling away, and my daughter was flinching a little so I stopped then I asked to look at it again and I wiggled it bit harder then I quickly tugged at it and it fell out onto her duvet. She was giggling and I was cheering. Daddy went wild too. There was a little bit of blood but that was sorted with a bit of a wash out with water. Such a big brave girl.