Mary Kay

For all of my "GO-Getters" out there, this is for you!!! I am currently building my MK team and I am super excited at what is in the works right now. You may think, "Oh, I'm just so busy" or " I don't know that many people" or you may even say to yourself "Eh, I'm not that good with makeup" Well get all of those thoughts OUT of your head!!! Here is why, 1. the most successful women in Mary Kay are busy women BEFORE they start their business. 2. You do not have to know a lot of people, & you will be amazed at how well our products sell themselves, people already LOVE our products! 3. If your not confident with make up and others, that is NO PROBLEM at all. As Mary Kay Beauty Consultants, our training is tremendous and unlimited! All you need is DRIVE & a Good Heart! With that being said, if any of you feel like your who I'm talking about, we at least need to talk, this IS the opportunity of a life time! For those who are interested, shoot me a msg or txt and Ill set you up with our interview line! Listen to Executive Senior Sales Director Krista Warner share her "I" story, etc. Dial 641-715-3900, access code 108028#. This is NOT an actual person, it is a recorded MSG from my director, so u will not be put on the spot, afterwards just let me know 2 things! 1. what shocked you the most?! 2. On a scale of 1-10 how interested are you in starting your own Mary Kay business?! Leave me a message and I will get with you right away. Thank you, Rebecca

Results of Temperance! Praise the Lord!

My last post was in May about Temperance. I wanted to share with you what the Lord has given me grace to accomplish since my last post. I started really watching my calorie intake and I began walking lots of miles. I have lost 18.9 pounds since May. I want to give God all the Glory for helping me with temperance and giving me some Victory in my life over the past couple of months. http://thelifeofachristianfamily.blogspot.com/2013/05/temperance.html

Temperance

I have been thinking and pondering and chewing on the word temperance. Temperance- moderation or self restraint in action, statement, etc. self control, restraint or moderation, esp in yielding to ones appetites or desires. We as children of God are told in Romans 6 that we have victory in Christ but yet in my own life the only victory at times seems to be going to my flesh. I will start to eat right and before long I give into the temptation of Sonic, Starbucks or anything else that appeals to the fleshly desires of food at the moment that the temptation arises. In the today's society our minds are constantly being programmed to fulfil our fleshly desires, but if you will look at Romans 12: 1 & 2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. The Lord tells us not to be conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. We need to constantly be filling our minds with the Word of God so that when we are confronted with a situation of temptation we have the word of God in our hearts to be able to combat that temptation and then we can overcome sin in our flesh. It is easy to fall into temptation even with the word of God in our hearts but we must realize that the moment of instant gratification is just that, instant gratification that brings guilt and shame if we are truly trying to have Victory in Christ. God is always willing to help us but we have to have the faith and desire to overcome the things that are dragging us down. Our flesh hates to be told no! You don't believe me, spend some time in the line at Walmart behind the mother that has just told her two year old that he/she cannot have candy, you say, well that is a two year old, Ok, tell me how your flesh acts the next time you fall into temptation of something you are trying to get under control in your life. Christ tells us to crucify our flesh in Galatians 5:24, He wants us to have self control over the affections and lusts of our flesh. We have raised a generation that does not know how to tell its flesh no. Matter of fact, I am not even sure it even crosses the minds of some people today that they should have boundaries in their lives. We as parents need to set the example of temperance and enforce boundaries in the lives of our children today so that when they are adults they have been taught to have victory over thier flesh. A lot of times we tackle the surface problem rather than attacking the root of the problem, which is self control, which a lack thereof is sin. We are not dealing with the sin issue we are putting a band aid on the problem by trying to change ourselves and not tapping into the Lord's power to overcome sin. It is in Him and through HIM that we can obtain Victory in our lives. We must hide his word in our heart, yield to his word when we are confronted, and die to our fleshly desires, whatever they may be. Real joy comes when we die to ourselves not endulge ourselves. Look at our ultimate example, he died to himself and endured the Cross so that we might have life and have life more abundantly.

Aged women? Are you?

It has been forever since I have posted anything to my blog but for the last couple of days I have been pondering these verses and felt the need to share my heart. 1 Timothy 2: 3-5 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Early on in my walk with the Lord I had several aged women (in the Lord) that I looked to for guidance in raising my children, loving my husband, keeping my home etc. I thank the Lord that he set such Godly examples in my life to teach me what the Lord expected from a Christian wife and mother and I am so thankful they ministered to me with such grace and mercy (not all but most did) As I grew in the Lord and as my family grew, God also allowed me the opportunity to become an aged women to some younger women. Now before you think I am bragging on oneself, that is not it at all. What I want to convey is the joy that came in my life was like non-other. Those younger women were so hungry for truth, they had so many questions that made me keep my nose in the book, it made me walk more circumspectantly and it made me very aware of how others were watching my walk with the Lord, it made me want to strive to newer heights with the Lord, it created within me a zeal to show those women how rewarding it is to be a Christian women that is doing what God intended us to do. Not by choice but by necessity, over the last couple of years I have had to leave the home and go into the work force and I feel this area of my life has taken a beating or maybe the Lord has put me on the backside of the desert to drudge out some ugly that no one should ever see. :) Non the less, God has once again brought some amazing aged women into my life to once again set the example of what the aged women are to look like and I am so thankful that the Lord is still working in my life. We are all an older women to someone, remember someone is watching you and you may be the only Bible they ever see. I will tell you a story to back this truth up. I was going to get my hair cut and I just did not know where to go so I prayed about it and I looked up a Salon and I called, they were normally closed on Mondays but there happen to be one lady in that day that had one opening and they placed me in that spot. As I arrived I was greeted by a very sweet young lady and she was very comfortable to talk with, she explained that her husband was having surgery that week and that she was doing all of her appointments this day so she could be off for his surgery. During our conversation she asked me if I lived in a certain neighborhood and I said, yes I do, she said yeah, I know you, I was shocked because I did not know her, she said you are known as the church lady in our neighbourhood, it floored me, I said really, why? she said because we see you out with your children walking with them and passing out tracts and inviting others to church and we see you in your skirts all the time, that cracked me up, but made me very grateful that others knew me as the church lady and not something else. Mike and I told her we would pray for her husband and I asked for her number so that I could call and check on him to see if everything went ok. Long story short, this young lady became one of the young ladies I was talking about earlier. God allow me to lead her to him and she was that newborn that desired the sensere milk of the word, she fanned my fire for a couple of years and still to this day she is serving the Lord and raising her family to serve him. Having experienced both sides of the spectrum aged/younger, I encourage each of you to ask God to send you what he feels you need in your life at this time, or send both, an aged women that you can gleen from and listen to and not buck up against when she tells you what God's word says (with grace, hopefully) and the younger that you can nurture (with Grace). I think we get so caught up in busy that we forget our roles as women. God intended us to pour ourselves into others and if we are not doing that we are robbing ourselves of some huge blessings. Thank you to all the aged women that have made an impact on my Christian walk.

Obedient, Are You?

Have your children ever done something you told them not to do? Of course,right? What are the reactions of that child around you when it has knowingly disobeyed you? It seems to get quiet, it seems to become distant, it seems to find pleasure in other things besides your relationship. I have recently experienced this very thing in my walk with my heavenly father. I have felt very distant, my Bible reading had become dull, my prayers seem to hit the ceiling and come straight down and hit me on top the head. Every time I would hear preaching, no matter the subject it would seem that the Holy Spirit would put his finger on this thing I was choosing to hold on to, knowing the Lord said DO NOT DO THAT! Just like we as parents do not put out vague requests for obedience to our children (at least we shouldn't) Our father in Heaven does not put out vague requests to us either. When we have the Holy Spirit living within our hearts He makes it very clear what he expects from his children. When we chose to ignore what the Lord has put his finger on in our lives is the very moment we break that fellowship with the Lord and we begin loosing battles in our lives. This week I finally surrendered the white flag and have taken a step toward obedience. What a breath of fresh air. I have felt the Lord closer to me this week and his presence is so sweet, I have even seen answers to prayers. Why do we hold so tightly to things we know the Lord is asking us to give up? I have tried to justify this thing from every angle as to continue on in disobedience. Like I know better than God? I think not! The minute we chose to stop obeying the voice of the Lord is the minute we stop growing in him. I am so thankful for the long-suffering of my Savior and his ever sweet voice asking me to obey him. Are you walking in obedience today? Has the Lord put his finger on something in your life that you know he wants you to purge from your life? Do we really think we know more than God? What is the motive behind the Lord asking us to purge things from our life? It is to make us look more like him. Have you looked into the mirror of the Word of God lately? Who do you desire to look more like today? My prayer today is that we all would desire to look more like HIM each and everyday. Let me encourage you to step back into obedience. Whatever you are hanging onto is by far not near as good as the sweet fellowship of our loving father.

Prayer

Lately I have heard a lot of preaching on prayer and it has challenged me to walk more closely in prayer with my Lord I have always desired a strong prayer life, a close relationship with my Lord but so many things draw me from this special privilege. I have had prayers answered that I knew that only God could have heard my request and fulfilled the desire or need, you would think that alone would encourage me to stay on my knees and take every burden to him. My heart is heavy today and I desire an answer and a burden lifted this morning and as I approached the throne of heaven I felt the closeness of his presence there to comfort me. I am so thankful that I have a heavenly father that is there to help me through times of hardship. I believe that one of the things that is very needful in our prayer time is a time of true soul searching and admitting where we really are. Confession is good for the soul is such a true statement. I know I have been quilty of approaching the Lord and saying things like, I love you Lord, I want to serve you with all my heart, I want to do your perfect will but in all actuality if I were honest and get down to the knitty gritty of my heart, my confession should be as follows: I do not love you the way I should, give me a heart that wants to love you. I do not really want to serve you with all my heart because I let other things come before my service to you. I do not really want your will for my life because I throw fits and want my way far to much in my life. God really knows our heart and who are we really trying to fool? I know we would never openly stand and say I DO NOT WANT God's will for my life, GASP! What would people think of us? But our actions already show where our heart is and we are not fooling God. I am thankful that a man and his wife taught me early in my walk with the Lord that telling God where you really are in your life will grow you quicker than trying to convince yourself, God and others around you that you are something that you really are not! We are all sinners saved by grace and we ought not think more highly of ourselves than what we really are. Roman 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. I desire to serve the Lord but in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. If not for the grace of God to help me do his will, I will not do it, but I need to acknowledge who I truly am and see my true need for his help in my life. I pray that this will encourage you to humble yourself and seek God's help as you walk with him today.

My Family On Easter Sunday 2012

Easter 2012

Nail Ideas

Trust In the Lord with all Thine Heart

This morning as I was doing my devotions I began to ponder a thought that has been on my heart for the last several days. How much do we really trust the Lord?


When we cease from trying to figure out how the chair is going to hold us up and begin to rest in the provision of that chair is when we truly begin to understand the meaning of trust! We spend so much time trying to figure out how the Lord is going to hold us up that we forget to rest in him. How do we let go and rest?
I think this next verse really speaks volumes of how we let go and rest.

Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

The Lord wants us to learn of him and through the trials in our lives we do learn of him and we do learn how to trust him as time passes in our lives.

Go back to the analogy of the chair. Now if you gave me a chair to sit in and you told me that a 10 year old made the chair I would be a little apprehensive to sit in the chair because of the knowledge I have of its maker. Would you?
If I went ahead and had a seat and it did not collapse to the floor I would learn to trust the ability of the 10 year old. As days pass and I realize the sturdiness of the chair I realize that this chair was made to sustain me, I would over time become so comfortable and fully trusting that the chair is going to hold that it would just become my nature to sit in that chair daily without hesitation.

Now to compare my maker to a 10 year old craftsman is so very inadequate but how many times do we by our actions treat him as such?
Have you checked out his handywork lately?
Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
I think he is perfectly capible of handling our circumstances all on his own without our interference and our prayers of telling him how to be God!
What? You have never told him how to take care of your situation? I need you to fix this, or I need you to fix that, God, I need the money by such and such date! God, I need you to change my circumstances, I need a bigger house, I need a nicer car, I need you to_______________ (fill in the blank!) Then when he does not come through on our demands we feel like he failed us. Are we planning our life or are we resting in the will of God for our lives?

Does the model prayer go like this? Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Should we let go and let God? Should we bear our burdens to him, tell him how we are feeling in the situation? YES! but putting demands on God, I think not!
I think I spend a lot of time telling God what I want and not spending much time asking him to do what he wants to do with my life and resting in the fact that my Father knows best.
Are you learning of HIM? Are you resting?
Over my life as a Christian I have learned of HIM, He is sweet, loving, kind, and knows so much more what I need in my life than I do. I have found a resting place that is like none other!
Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.

Some Shelves My hubby has made for me!

Funny but Thought Provoking!

I came across this on the internet today and thought it would be interesting to share with you all…

The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for our church leader.

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart; believes in dream-interpreting and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator - even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.

Solomon: Great preacher, but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.

Elijah: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.

Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.

Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things; reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.

Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.

Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Melchizedek: Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date.

John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Arrogant, brash, and lacking self control. Often speaks without thinking and claims to have walked on water.

Paul: Has a long record of torchering and murdering people. Physically impaired, and claims to have actually heard THE actual, audible voice of God.

Jesus: Befriends prostitutes, hangs out with publicans, and bashes religious leaders. Often wanders off into the mountains or quiet gardens. Claims to be three people all at once – seems a bit schizophrenic.

I wonder which of the people on this list we would have turned away from our churches? Who would we have deemed worthy or unworthy to serve Christ? Who would we have denied time to preach in our church’s pulpit?

I’m glad God can see through all the rubble and mistakes and use a person regardless of his past.
Thank you to Blooger: Grow up

Stay at home mom?

Are you a stay at home mom, or have you desired to be one?
For twenty years I was a stay at home mom and had the privilege of being home with my five children, but as most of you know, I have had to since go to the work force and help make ends meet since hubby had become disabled. It has been an adjustment for the whole family, but God in his graciousness has given me very good jobs that have helped with the family needs.

One way the Lord has dropped in my lap of making extra income has been Mary Kay and eventually I desire to use this as a vehicle to drive myself back home.
I have always loved the product and used it for years, I have also desired to sell it for many years, but never really thought to pursue it seriously plus hubby was never really on board. This year the Lord had a lady present the opportunity to my husband and I and for the first time my husband was really for it.

In April I began a Mary Kay consultant and have loved it! I pray and ask the Lord to do it for me. I have been amazed at what he has done with the business. It is totally in his hands. If he wants me to be successful he will open doors, if he wants me to just make a few extra bucks, he will do it for me. Of course when the doors are open, I must walk through them, but he gives me the brain power to see the doors when they are set before me.

If you have ever considered selling Mary Kay, why don't you just give this opportunity a shot just to see if you can do it. Even if you do not want to do this challenge and you desire to sign up to be a consultant or just place an order with me, Visit my website today.

Rebecca Estep
Mary Kay Independent Consultant





If you can sell 10 MK Ultimate Mascara's buy Sept 30th,2011 You will earn your very own Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara and Oil Free makeup remover, if you sell 5 of these, you will earn your very own MK Ultimate Mascara. Call all your friends and see if they will help you out today!
Visit my website today and register and when you have gathered your orders, place your order and When your order is registered I will add your earnings to your order when it is shipped.
Leave a comment below and let me know you visited my site.

Giveaway ending September 23, 2011

GO HERE TO ENTER

85-piece Complete The Look Palette - Limited Edition
Makeup Artist Brush Belt
10 - Single Eyeshadow
10 - Blush
Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder
Mineral Face Primer
Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
2 - Conditioning Lip Balm SPF 15
Mineral Infused Mascara
Eyeliner & Shadow Stick
Pout Perfecter
Cream Liner


Second Prize



85-piece Complete The Look Palette - Limited Edition
Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
2 - Hello Kitty Flavored Lip Balm

**Please read Requirements carefully**

Open to ANYONE and EVERYONE ;]

Naysayer or Encourager?

Are you a Naysayer? One who frequently engages in excessive complaining, negative banter and/or a genuinely poor and downbeat attitude.
OR
Are you an encourager? One who inspires with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.

Over the last few years our trials have at times been so unbearable and I had allowed myself to fall into a WOE IS ME, mentality. Such a terrible state to be in, I could hardly stand myself, let alone expecting anyone else to put up with me.
The very week (Jan, 2011) we moved to Ok City, my husband was bit by something, not sure if it was a brown recluse or a snake, but it quickly turned into a staph infection and landed him in the hospital for 5 days. (with no insurance, mind you) There was a pocket of about a month that he was going to be with out insurance and this fell right into that pocket of time. This is now August 2011 and he is still battling the healing process of this wound on his ankle. Through this time, Mike has been the sickest I have ever seen him. He has battled with Adema and recently diagnosed with full blown diabetes,and has just has been one sick man.
It is also different living in the City, we are just some country folks and Mike really does not like the city life.
In May I injured my knee at work and immediately was taken from the sales floor and put in customer service sitting, and the sitting has earned me about 10 of my twenty pounds I had lost the previous 4 months before moving to the city.
With much therapy and trying to get my knee back to par, they finally did an MRI and found a few tears that needed to be surgically repaired. On June 24th, I had the pleasure of surgery, which now I am very thankful I had done.

With all of these trials of course the trial of finances comes into play, having to be off work for three weeks and having to pay my full insurance premium (which are not cheap). We came to Ok City almost completely debt free and now I can no longer say that.
I said all of this to make a point. There are so many other circumstances that I could bore you with to allow you to understand the magnitude of the depression I found myself in and feeling like, What is God doing to us? Did we make the right decision to move to Ok. City? OH WOE IS ME mixed with lots of tears.

One day a dear friends had taken the time to invite us to their home while our children were out of town to teen camp. We had a great night of fellowship but the one thing I personally walked away from that night is this. These two dear folks spent the whole night talking about my dear Saviour and how good He has been to them and how real He is in their lives and how much He has done for them and how HE loves them and blesses them, and how He had moved mountains in their life and answered prayers for them. For the first time in months, the black cloud cracked open and a ray of hope shined through. I could see HIM again.

When we get our eyes on circumstances of life and we loose sight of WHO HE REALLY IS, a black cloud appears and blinds our eyes. God wants us to be constantly adding things to our life. Faith, Virtue, Knowledge,etc. and when we stop adding these things we become blind to HIM. We have to continually claim his word and fight the neg thoughts of despair and constantly learn who is is and if we do not we become blind and forget where he brought us from.
2 Peter 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

After that night of fellowship something clicked in my heart and I began to seek HIM again and I have realized how important it is to constantly reach out to others to encourage them rather than sit and feel sorry for myself.
I pray that today you will take time to look around to others and see who God has put in your path and take a minute to just encourage them and let them know, God is still on the THRONE! Because when He is lifted up, he promises he will draw all men unto Himself! Someone needs to see him today!

Praising the Lord for his goodness to me!

DID YOU KNOW?

Did anyone else know that now you can earn a MARY KAY MUSTANG? OH MY WORD!
I thought the pink Cadillac was amazing but come on....Who does not want to drive
a brand new Ford Mustang of your very own with NO CAR PAYMENT? I went to my very first Mary Kay meeting tonight and I am excited at the desire I have and the vision I see to be home again with my children.
I have been working outside of the home now for a year and I miss being a stay at home mom. I was in the home or with my children in their Christian school over the past 20 years. It has been very different being away from them all day.
Tonight I got a glimps of a hope that I can once again be home. It is going to take a lot of hard work and get to it ism, but if I am ever going to do it, now is the time.

I learned tonight that a subconscious mind is a problem solver. Get one goal and get it in front of your eyes and push until that goal is met. ONE GOAL! My one goal is to be back where I belong! In my home with my children!
If you have a financial issue that you need to earn some extra money. Mary Kay is a great company to work for. The benefits are out of this world! Please send me a comment on here or email me at mommiesgotfive at hotmail dot com and let me tell you more about Mary Kay today!

Are We Really a Peculiar People?

Life has been very hectic since moving to Oklahoma City. I have not taken a minute to even update my blog. Today I have a day off so I thought I would take a minute to post a few words.

I have been a stay at home mom for over 20 years and since August of 2010 I have entered back into the work force. It is very different working with people that have no sense of God or truth. It is easier to serve the Lord while in a controlled and protected enviroment. I have heard parents say that children need to be exposed to the world so they can better adapt when they are adults......NOT ON YOUR LIFE! I am so glad I have protected my children from the world for as long as I have.

I desire to be a light in the world but it is very hard if we do not depend upon the Lord for help. We too can begin to act like they do. It amazes me how people will treat you so sweet to your face and then turn and stab you right in the back. No wonder people have a hard time trusting us as Christians when we are telling them truth. They do not know how to believe in something, people are good at being so believable to your face but doing something different when they walk away. It is very, very important for us as believers to be real, I mean really real!

There is no truth out there! People are surrounded by NON-TRUTH so much that an absolute is such a foreign concept. If we as Christians want to really make an impact in the lives of others we must not just speak truth but we must really live it in front of them. We hear it preached and I personally have taken it for granted the importance of really living truth. In the circle of Christianity I have been guilty of being laxed in my seriousness of truth in my own life. Yes, I have tried to live what I have been taught but if we are all truthful we pick and choose what we will take on and what we will not take on in our lives and we justify it in our own little minds. (I know this is gossip but it will not hurt to tell another person of this...I mean they need our prayers, don't they?)

People really hate when you try to do right and it will not be long before you will make enemies by doing what it right but I have to believe what God's word says in Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
If we truly live by God's truths, I believe God can change the heart of people around us, our problem is that we try to fix things the way the world would.

We see in Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. We will be a peculiar people out there in the world if we live according to HIS truths.

Let me encourage you to become a peculiar people, zealous of good works!

Start Earning Swagbucks today. Join and earn 50 Swagbucks today.

To help celebrate Swag Bucks' 3rd birthday, they're offering a brand new code for new members! Just click HERE and enter promo code: 3rdBirthday91 during registration.

The code will get you an additional 50 swag bucks, on top of the traditional 30 swag bucks = 80 bucks to get you started!! You are already on your way to earning a $5 Amazon Gift Card (which is only 450 swag bucks).

This code is valid until 2/28, so don't delay!

Not familiar with Swag Bucks?


* Swagbucks is an awesome search engine where you earn "Bucks" for redeeming SwagCodes, searching, by answering poll questions, and by watching videos!
* These Swagbucks can be used to redeem rewards such as gift cards, electronics, and much more! (My favorite is the Amazon.com gift cards! You can get a $5 gift card for only 450 Swag Bucks!
* If you haven't already, be sure to join SwagBucks. Make sure to confirm your e-mail.
* Make sure to log in frequently to search. Using their search engine regularly is the best way to rack up a lot of SwagBucks!

Personal Portraits Done By Corey Estep

Corey M. Estep
Personal Portrait Drawings
http://coreyestepportraitdrawings.yolasite.com/

Are our Walls Broken Down?

I have been reading in Nehemiah and as I have been reading I realized that the broken heart I once had for the ruins in my own life or that I see around me has disappeared. Nehemiah was broken and in anguish for the ruins that Jerusalem had become. He desired to be that man that God would use to rebuild that city. Now Nehemiah was not a preacher, or a man of importance, he was the cupbearer to the King but God still chose to use him because of his willingness to be used. I think many times we think it is the job of the preachers or the leaders to do great things but what about us? God can use any of us we just have to be willing to be used.

The first thing that Nehemiah did was he rebuilt the walls, we too have to rebuild the walls to keep the enemy out of our lives. We have to many breaches in our lives where satan can freely attack us. We must rebuild the walls of our lives and take back our lives from satan having free reign. He attacks and we just sit down and we do not fight back. We must take back our lives and allow God to have control. We fill our minds with the worlds thoughts until we have no more power to defeat and we become defeated.

The second thing they did was they returned to reading the law (WORD OF GOD)(King James Version) They wept when the word of God was read. We need to return to the Word of God in our lives. Some have turned to watered down versions of the Word of God, other translations that have no power and no ability to really change who we are. We have simple biblical truths without the power behind it to give us true victory or life changing power. These people wept as it was being read, when was the last time we just sat and wept as we read God's words? How much do we really appreciate that we have God's word in our homes and the freedom to read it and live it.
Be careful we may not have this much longer, we need to hide as much of his word in our hearts as we can while we still have this freedom to do so.

The third thing they did was they fasted and repented. When was the last time we took a day and fasted and really asked God to search our hearts so that we could be clean before Him?

Psalms 139: 23 and 24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

This is a very hard thing to do because we as a people do not like to think there is anything wrong with us. We want to believe the best about ourselves.
But I assure you if you will do this, God will show you things in your life that need to be changed and when you make a conscious effort to change those things, more peace and more joy comes to your life.

I know when I was 25 years old my life was in shambles and I had no peace in my life, I was trying to be a good church member and I was trying very hard to live good, but still had no peace in my heart. God was drawing me to him and I did not understand true salvation. I began to search the scriptures for the truth and I began to pray that God would search my heart and show me if there was anything that was not pleasing him. I would read scriptures like.....

Psalms 9:17
THE WICKED SHALL BE TURNED INTO HELL, [and] all the nations that forget God.
Psalms 14:3
They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that DOETH GOOD, no, not one.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
For [there is] not a just man upon earth, that DOETH GOOD, and sinneth not.

As I would read these scriptures, I would deny their truth....because I was trying to do good, and I was not wicked....
But on May 7th 1992, I was tired of not having peace and once again asked someone if they ever doubted whether they were truly a child of God and this lady showed me a verse that forever changed my life.

Romans 10:3 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

I wanted to know God, I was trying to know God but I had never submitted myself to his truths, I had to take sides against my thoughts and believe his WORDS.
I was wicked, none of my goodness was going to get me to heaven and I had to submit myself to his truth. I repented of my thoughts and believed his words and
for the first time in my life I had perfect peace.

As time goes by we can tend to walk away from his truths and take on our own thoughts and not his truth in our lives thus comes confusion, and emptiness in our daily walk.
Let's be like Nehemiah and start rebuilding those walls and get back to serving our Lord.
I hope your walls are not broken down but If they are I encourage you to get alone with God and his word and begin to search the scriptures daily and allow God to change your life.
I have several posts on Salvation and if I did not make it clear in this posting what true salvation is please go to my labels on my sidebar and look up Salvation posts. Keep searching until you have peace of knowing that you have an eternal home in heaven, the scriptures tell us in 1 John 5:13 that we can know we have eternal life.

1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Are we truly Thankful?

As I sit here today and think about the many things I am thankful for I began to ponder my true heart. Are we truly thankful when we say it in one breath and complain in the next.
Thank you Lord for my family, but in the next breathe I complain that they are not what I want them to be.
Thank you Lord for the food you give me, but in the next breath I complain about what kind of food I have to eat.
Thank you Lord for my church, but in the next breath I complain about the people I go to church with.
Thank you Lord for my home but in the next breath I complain and desire a bigger and better home.
Our actions speak louder than our words. Our children hear the complaining and soon take on our form of gratefulness. Do you children complain and it bothers you?
Take a minute and listen to your everyday language, are they just living what they see?
A truly grateful heart speaks and lives thankfulness everyday not just on Thanksgiving!
The more time we spend speaking thankfulness the more contentment comes to our heart!
Are we really content with our lives just the way it is?
I am not talking of contentment with our walk with the Lord, because that should always be something we should never be content with and we should always be striving to walk closer and more pleasing to the Lord, but in our everyday life, Are we truly thankful?
I hope that this will provoke each of us to diligently search our hearts and see if we truly have a grateful heart today!

Happy Thanksgiving!