Spiritually Healthy

Hello all! While I may be rather inconsistent, I actually do enjoy writing and sharing these End-Of-The-Year posts. The look back on all what the Lord has done; how He has answered prayers, well it's truly a gift and one that is definitely worth documenting.  Grab some tea, and let us look back on all the wonderful things the Lord has done in 2025! January :  What a honest blessing from the Lord - He not only blessed us with another year, but He also gave us the sweet and "magical" gift of snow. In all my years of living in Florida, this was the first time I have ever seen the snow stick on the ground for more than a minute. It was truly amazing and I am SO glad I got to see it.  So many wonderful things took place in the month of January - all gifts from God. :)  February : Between family birthdays, cold weather, walks on the beach with three of my lovely sisters, and sweet cards sent in the mail, February was a pretty good month. A bunch of my siblings run a 5k on ...

As I laid in bed one night, the idea of this blog post came to mind. I try to jot down whenever the Lord prompts so here it is.  But first - what's new with ya'll? How have you been? Life for me lately has been rather busy because well...I've met someone. *cue happy dance and praise hands* Eeeek! Can you believe it?! God is so very good!  Who is this man you may wonder..well, he's a pretty awesome fella who shares a lot of the same passions, morals, goals, hopes and dreams as I do. And how we met is pretty cool - another amazing story of how God moves and works out His plan for our lives.  Since the nature of this particular post isn't about how I met Missouri Man, if that is something you are curious about, I can write a separate blog post and give all the fun details. Just let me know in the comments if that is something ya'll want to hear about and I will gladly write that. *winks* Back to the nature of the post: Something the Lord has been teaching me lately...

Last week I ordered a few clothing items online. With each passing day that they didn't arrive, I kept checking back via the tracking number to see were the parcels were located. Each time I would be a little bit disappointed because it didn't seem like they were any closer to my house.  As I was thinking on my little packages this morning, I had this thought of God's will. I thought to myself, How many times do I pray and ask God, "Oh please let this package come" or, "Please make the rain stop", OR "Lord, please let this sickness pass." Many many times I have cried those little prayers out to God, but like the human that I am, I try to keep a grasp of "control" on the outcome. In other words, not fully surrendering that outcome to God.   I would put so much pressure on that very little thing that I requested, and if it didn't come to pass, well then something's wrong, right? Not so.  I've realized (again and again) that ...

As I walked the family dog this morning, I talked with God (something I try to do whenever I'm taking a walk). The past few days I've been feeling down - or rather, frustrated. Until sharing this feeling with God, I didn't realize that I was placing my worth and value in what I can do. As some of you know, I just recently walked away from a really fun job (click  here  to read more), and since then, I've been in this season of waiting.  As I seek new employment, I am reminded how I must must place my hope, worth, peace; my everything in Christ and what He has done for me: which is that He has saved me from Darkness, Death, and Separation from God. Therefore my worth is not in what I am - for I am a sinner, rather my worth is in who He is.  May the Lord continue to bring these thoughts to mind as I navigate this season of waiting on Him to provide (and I know He will for He is faithful to provide for all our needs). Philippians 4:19 says, "But my God shall supply al...

Ya'll, I love my flowers.  This morning I made my normal trek outside to check on my chickens, pigs, puppy dog (not really a puppy lol, but he's cute like a puppy), and of course, my flower garden. As I gazed upon the little faces of bright joy, a smile came upon me.  This year I wanted to plant ALL THE FLOWERS, which in actuality I didn't do, but I did gather quite a large amount of seeds that I planned to plant. Which is exactly what I did. I planted, watered and waited.  As my flowers began to pop up, it doesn't mater if I've planted this type before, I always become giddy with excitement. So when my flowers started to bloom, you can imagine how enraptured I was!  I've often wondered why flowers are such a happy place for me. Part of it is I think in my blood. Both sets of my grandparents were fantastic gardeners, and then of course my mom and dad grew lots of things when I was a child. So, I guess you could say that growing things is part of who I am. And I ...

Seasons come and go and this past week saw the end of one season. After almost three years of helping teach gymnastics, God has closed that door and I said goodbye to a bunch of precious children/coaches.  I've said it here before, but I absolutely love working with and teaching children. Throughout my life, the Lord has blessed me many opportunities to work alongside kids. Whether that was teaching Bible class, helping with gymnastics, volunteering at a summer camp, or simply baby-sitting, God has given me many moments where I have had the blessed opportunity to be a positive example in a child's life. There is a weight that comes with that though. Knowing that children watch by example is HUGE - at least to me. Every week when when class would start, I would try to remind myself that some of these kids don't have both sets of parents raising them, some of them don't attend a Bible-preaching church, and some of them come from terrible backgrounds. Keeping the thought o...