Faithful Moments

Thought for the Week-Livin' On A Prayer

Good Afternoon, Girlfriends!

Hopefully my new arrangement will make it to you...y'all know my technical skills leave A LOT to be desired!  Thank you for making the transition with me.  This is a really exciting time in my life right now...exciting, but uncertain as well.  As I'm typing this out to y'all, I'm being serenaded by Bon Jovi.  Odd music choice for me, considering that I'm usually rockin' out to old school Country!  Hey, every now and then even country girls need a little rock-n-roll.

I was actually listening to them a couple of days ago, and that's when this Thought originated.  Livin' On A Prayer was blasting through my bathroom as I was getting ready for the day.  It made me think: isn't that what we are all really doing?  Living on a prayer?  It's not been a secret that the past few years have been more than a little stressful (financially) at my house.  My husband has been riding a wave of unstability in the Marketplace for the past three and a half years.  All praise to God that a.) we made it through that alive and b.) the tide seems to be turning.  Living on a prayer.  There were days when I couldn't do anything but pray.  When you find yourself in times and situations like that, it would be very easy to roll up under the cover and protection of your favorite blanket and just lock the world outside your door.  But is that reality?  Can we really live like that?  No.  Probably not.

Let's take a look at the Book and see what it has to say about living on a prayer. As you can imagine, there are many verses and places that speak on the topic of prayer.  Let me ask you, how do you pray?  When do you pray?  Do you know that prayer is a gift?  It is.  The ability to talk openly with our heavenly Father was only made available to us through the redeeming work of His Son Jesus Christ on the Cross.  Before the Cross, a lot of things were different.  Does that mean that God couldn't hear the prayers and groans of His people...no, of course not.  God is all-powerful, all-knowing.  But the relationship was different.  For instance, when the Israelites were enslaved to the Egyptians, do you think God was oblivious to their conditions and their sufferings?  He most certainly was not.  Exodus 2:23-25, "...The Isaelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.  God heard their groaning...So God looked on the Isaelites and was concerned about them."  God knew.  God knows.  He always knows.  We can skip ahead to the New Testament, Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  And one of my all time favorite verses, (yes--it's in the NEW TESTAMENT, for those of you gasping from shock, just because I spend most of my time in the Old Testament, doesn't mean I can't LOVE the New!) is from Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

So, what do we walk away with?  Well, God knows when we are suffering.  He knows when we are enslaved, tangled and distracted by the things of this world.  We are called to be patient during our afflictions.  Girls, I can tell you first-hand that is one tough order to fill.  But, God through His infinite wisdom and mercy will help you.  His Spirit will enable you and me to find the joyful hope in every situation, and leads us to be faithful in prayer.  If I'm completely honest with you, my prayers on a lot of those darkest days, were murmuring the Name, "Jesus. Jesus." Over and over and over again.  I didn't have the strength to put one foot in front of the other.  But that was alright, because in my weakness, I am made strong through Him.  He was holding on to me the entire time.  He will hold on to you, too.  Will trust Him today?  Will you live on a prayer this day?  I encourage you to try.  The results are out of this world.  Blessings on your weekend!

"We've got to hold on ready or not; You live for the fight when it's all that you've got" -Jon Bon Jovi

Thought for the Week-Fabricated

Good Afternoon Girlfriends!

I want to thank all of you who went to my website and registered for the new version of these Thoughts.  I will be sending out a "test" message in the next week or so, so be prepared for that.  This will most likely be the last traditional Thought I send out, the rest will come through the new site (provided I figure out how the new system works!).  So, if you haven't registered to continue receiving these, please visit www.dallaslouis.com to sign up for them.  You can't miss the sign up button!  It's pink.  Also, my new book is out!  It would make a fabulous Mother's Day gift (May 10th), visit my site and click on the STORE tab to order.  Or for those of you in the Houston area, email me and we can meet up.

Okay, that's all the announcements I have!  On with the Thought.  So last week I sort of unloaded a fair amount of my neurosis on y'all.  Thanks for listening, responding to me and most of all: Thanks for praying for me.  Throughout the past week, I've been thinking.  I talked about lions last week.  Lions hunt in a pack, but when they go in for the kill, they isolate the weak link or the one who has strayed from the herd.  It made me think of myself.  I began to wonder...I began to doubt...I began to think....Come with me while we try and untangle my mind.

When are we at our most vulnerable?  It's when we are alone and separated.  At least that's the way it for me.  When I am all by myself, that's when the doubts and the shadows of darkness begin to fill my mind.  My imagination takes over, and I begin to doubt what I believe; and what's worse--I begin to believe my doubts.  But how does that happen?  Easy.  Satan.  He (or most likely his minions) begin to whisper to us, follow us around and plant the seeds of doubt into our minds.  In short, they lie to us.  When the absolute truth of that statement hit me, I literally almost fell over.  Of course the devil and his army would lie to us.  If we have doubts about the people around us, if we doubt their motives, their affections...we will naturally begin to pull away from them.  We will isolate ourselves, and then the roaring lion will have a much easier target to devour.

We shouldn't be surprised that the enemy uses this tactic on us.  The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that this will be his weapon of choice simply because he knows no other way, "'...He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.'" John 8:44  Now, if those words were not amazing enough to us as a warning, if you check this verse in a red-letter Bible, you will see that they are written in red, which means they are spoken by Jesus.  Girls, Jesus knew we were--we are going to be tempted and lied to by the enemy.  If this was not going to be a stumbling block for us, He wouldn't have gone to the trouble of warning us about it.  But, as it stands, this is a problem for us.  Jesus warned us ahead of time.  Think of it this way: When a hurricane is brewing in the Gulf, we have severe weather warnings alerting the folks on the coast to brace themselves.  John 8:44 is our severe weather warning.  The enemy is actively fabricating a web of lies against each and every one of us the size of a Category 5 hurricane.  He starts by getting us to believe them.

So, where are you today?  Are you bracing for a storm of lies?  Are you in the middle of it right now?  Might I offer you some provisions...shore yourself up.  Protection from the storm is only a breath away, "'I am the way and the truth and the life.'" John 14:6a  When your world is closing in on you, and you feel hard pressed on every side, yet distant and removed from everyone you know...remember One word: Jesus.  He IS the truth.  Repeat it over and over and over again, until it resonates inside your head and your heart.  Everything the enemy throws at you will be fabricated--false--fake.  Even though some of lies have the look and feel of truth...remember he convinced Eve in the Garden of Eden of something that was a downright lie, by simply twisting a few words around.  When nothing else is clear, utter one word--one Name, Jesus.  He's the only truth in the fabrication of destruction that the enemy weaves for us.  Jesus.  Just Jesus.  He is the way, the truth and the life.  He will save you.  He saved me.  Have a great week!!

Thought for the Week-The Lion

Good Afternoon, Girlfriends!

I have some housekeeping to attend to...

I have a new program that will help me keep track of all of you on my Thought for the Week list.  If you would like to continue to get these, please GO TO my website and sign up for them!!  www.dallaslouis.com  Hopefully this won't be a train wreck, many of you know how limited my skill set is when it comes to technology!  This is an easy sign-up on your end.  Name and email, and BOOM! you're done.  I don't want to continue to send these out to girls that may not have the time to read them any more, so this is a great way to start fresh.  You can also, look around on the site, check it out...follow me on TWITTER, all that fun new stuff!!

Please keep me in your prayers over the next few weeks.  My new book, The Mommy Diaries: How I'm Surviving Parenting Without Killing Anyone releases on May 1st, and I've already started the radio interview campaign.  Please pray for peace of mind for me, the right words (no um's, and's or L-O-N-G pauses) to come out of my mouth.  Pray also that this book will be a blessing and a giggle to those who read it.  Thanks so much!!  Now, on with the Thought!

Have you ever looked at a lion?  Lions are beautiful animals.  One cannot help, but to stand back after gazing at a lion and simply say, "Good job, God."  I've been thinking about lions this week.  Obviously.  A couple of weeks ago, The Lion King was on TV.  The kids and I hadn't watched that movie in eons, so we all snuggled down on the couch and had a movie night.  I was reminded, as I watched it, how a pride of lions actually works.  Did you know that it is, indeed, the lioness that goes out on the hunt?  It's true.  But she doesn't hunt alone.  The lions go out en masse.  They hunt in a pack.  They surround their prey...it is a sneak attack.  Now bear with me for a bit, as I cross my images for you.  From The Lion King, there was a jilted brother, Scar.  He just couldn't get over Mufasa being the king.  He had to get even.  He concocted plan after plan to do away with his brother.  That is the angle I'm taking today...although instead of an angle, it will probably be a merry-go-round!  Hold on tight, here we go!

Have you ever felt that you were under attack?  Like maybe Satan really was setting up camp right outside your front door, and just lobbing nasty stink bombs inside your house every time you opened the door?  Nothing was going right...work was a mess...your friends seemed to have vanished...you look at your children and think they are miniature aliens...you burned dinner, again....  I've felt exactly like that this week.  So much so, that I went and talked to my Senior Pastor about it.  I told him I felt like I was under attack--there's really no other way to say it.  His response, "You are."  How's that for good news?!  In that moment, everything became crystal clear; read with me 1 Peter 5:8, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  Our enemy is real, Girls.  Satan is absolutely digging into his plush and deep bag of tricks to make sure we know he's still around, circling us. 

Some days/weeks/months he's lying in wait, stalking us; just as the lions do.  He's got his minions out circling us, doing his dirty-little-recon work during those times.  Then there are times like this week.  Times when it is an all-out attack!  You see, as I watched The Lion King, there came a point when Scar didn't really care anymore.  He was trying any- and everything to keep the throne that he had stolen.  He was telling lies to Simba and lies to the hyenas.  Scar is just like the devil.  The devil will say anything to try and get you to think unhealthy thoughts.  We cannot let him into our heads!  Keep reading with me in 1 Peter 5:9, "Resist him, standing firm in the faith..."  Resist him.  Put up a fight.

So, what kind of stink bombs is he throwing at you this week?  Is he circling you in stealth mode?  Or has he launched into action and is chasing you at top speed?  You know, something interesting about lions, sure they are fast and big and scary...in the short run.  But when it comes to the long run...distance running...the marathon event, they're no good.  They can't go the distance.  Satan has the same ailment.  He's great, in the short run torture, but in the long run-final-say....we win.  How?  "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." 1 Peter 5:10

God's got your back.  He always has.  He always will.  So be alert this week.  Don't back down.  The God of ALL grace with strengthen you today, and always!!

Be blessed--

Thought for the Week-Written in Red

Good Afternoon Girlfriends!

I pray that each of you had a blessed Easter!  He is RISEN!!  Y'all have been on my mind since I sent out your Thought last week.  Thank you for emails in response to my absence from your inbox.  Your kind words mean so much me.  I also want to thank you for challenging me.  It seems that last week's Thought hit a nerve of sorts, as well as bringing comfort.  I thank you for bringing that to my attention as well.  Struggles are not new.  However, when we share our struggles with each other, we open ourselves up to the awesome power of prayer and the ultimate protection of the Father.  Today, because of one of those struggles, I want to share with all of you, that which has been on my heart for the past week.

On Sunday of this week, we visited the Empty Tomb of Jesus.  We've been to the Cross of Calvary, we've been to the grave, and now we can rejoice in the risen Lord and Savior.  Our sins no longer cover us.  I mentioned that last week.  I spend a lot of time in the Old Testament...that's not a real big secret.  I think it is vital to know where we've been, in order to have a more clear picture of where we are going.  Everything in the Old Testament paints the picture, sets the stage for and points to Christ.  God set everything in motion before the foundation of the world was laid.  We are still operating on Plan A.  God the Father has such an unimaginable love for us that we cannot even fathom how deep, wide, long and vast it is.  We know that--we believe that.  However, if we reject the ultimate expression of God's love for us--our belief in God will not be enough to save us eternally.  Don't take my word for it.  Let's go to the Book, and I'll show you.  Today we are going to spend some time with John.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life...Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (John 3:16,18)  It's all about Jesus, girls.  If you've got a red letter Bible, those two verses are written in red, meaning Jesus Himself said them.  He also said this next one: "'I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6)  Jesus is the answer.  We can't get to the Father without Jesus.

You see, before Jesus, there was this chasm, this great divide, between us and the Father...our sin separated us.  We needed a way to cross it...to bridge it.  The Cross bridged that chasm.  Jesus did it all.  But you must believe that.  Yes, there is a God.  Only one, true God.  He sent His one and only Son to save us, without Him, we'd be lost for eternity.  God loves us just as we are, that much is true; but He loves us too much to leave us in this condition, so He sent Jesus to save us.  Will you believe that today?  Will you allow Jesus to take your sins?  Your guilt?  Your doubt?  He's willing and He's more than able.  I pray that He will strengthen you in what you need today.  Take a closer look at those words written in red, I promise there's power in them.  There's healing in them.  There's love and forgiveness in them, too.  Be blessed.

Thought for the Week-For Kitty

Good Morning Girlfriends!

Wow, it's been so long since I've done this, I've almost forgotten how!!  Kitty, my sweet friend, this Thought is for you.  Thank you for giving me the verse for it.  I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get this out.  I've been waiting for the right time, and the right connection point to pair up with it.  Last night, this Thought was dropped right into my lap.  Today is Good Friday, which means that last night was Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday...the day in which we celebrate the Last Supper.  Holy Week is my absolute favorite time of year.  Everything we believe as Christians, hinges on the events of this week.  It all comes down to this.  Last night we dedicated an entire church service to the sacrament of Holy Communion.  We walked through the Old Testament set up of how Jesus IS the Passover Lamb.

Now, I told you that, to tell you this: my friend Kitty told me two weeks ago that her inbox had not received one of my Thoughts in some time.  She fussed at me in such a way, that I felt reprimanded and loved all at once.  I explained to her that I was sort of stuck, and needed some help with a topic.  In short, I was out of ammo, my kids were walking the line (kinda), my husband rarely gives me material, and I asked her if she had anything for me.  Without hesitation she rattled off Psalm 27:1-2.  I just looked at her.  She said, "You'll find something to do with that."  She didn't even tell me what the verse said.  Let's look at it together, "The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?  When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall."  As our service ended last night, the Men's Choir sang these two verses.  They gave me chills.  Let me try and tell you why.  Bear with me for just a minute.

Those verses in Psalm are wonderful verses of comfort, and they stand alone--meaning if you prayed them daily (as Kitty does) they would wash over you like an elixir of comfort.  However, when you look at them through the lens of the Crucifixion, they are so much more.  As Jesus sat in the Upper Room with His disciples and shared the Last Supper, He tried to tell them of the events that would take place in their very near future.  He told them one would betray Him (Judas), He told them one would deny Him (Peter), and He told them they all would fall away--meaning when the guards arrested Him, the disciples would scatter and run.  But they didn't need to.  "The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?"  The disciples' humanity got in the way of them being able to see  Jesus' divinity.  They didn't know, they didn't understand that what would happen--had to happen...for them, for you, for me.  "The LORD is my...salvation..."

Let me ask you, what evil men (women) are coming at you today?  Do you feel as though you are being attacked?  Do you know that the Lord Jesus Christ is your light and your salvation?  Do you know that He went to the Cross for you?  Do you know...do you really know that today--of all days, you can rejoice because your sin no longer covers you?  Good Friday.  Evil will not prevail.  It can't.  I know there are times when it looks like evil has the upper hand.  Evil looked like it had the upper hand as Jesus, the Light of the World hung broken, beaten and bleeding on the Cross.  Evil thought it had the upper hand when His followers laid His cold body in a tomb.  The ground shook.  The stones cried out.  The earth, the whole earth was shrouded in darkness, as He died...it looked like evil had the upper hand.  Is that where you are today?  Sweet sister, I pray for you right now that you may know beyond a shadow of a doubt that evil DOES NOT have the upper hand.  "The LORD is my light and my salvation"  The awesome and majestic power of the Almighty God cannot be defeated or broken.  Death, darkness...evil will not overtake you today.  It could not keep Jesus.  We remember the Cross today, but soon we will celebrate the Resurrection, the Victory and Life everlasting.

Be blessed this day.

Thought for the Week-Figgy Pudding

Good Morning Girlfriends!!

Okay, we have a little bit of housekeeping: I don't want y'all to panic, this is just a heads-up, over the next few weeks I'm going to (try) transition to a blog version of my Thoughts for the Week only.  I know that for some of you, email is the preferred method of transportation for these weekly pick-me-ups, but I promise to make this move as painless as possible.  Trust me--it HAS to be easy, or I will not be able to do it in the first place!  For now, we will continue as is.  I'll keep you posted on any updates as they arise.

I was driving my kids to school this morning and a thought occurred to me: I totally did not see the path that I am currently traveling on.  No, I'm not talking about the road I was driving on!  I mean, my life's path.  This journey (cheesy word) I'm on.  I've been slowly and methodically moving toward a goal for the last ten years, sort of like a chess game.  I suppose it's like a chess game--I don't really play chess.  All of the people that I have met and become incredibly close to, were all part of God's plan.  All of the decisions that I have made, both the good and the bad...The leadership positions that I have held--both the ones I asked for and the ones that were thrust into my lap: They were all part of God's Master Plan for me.  Most of these things I didn't see coming.  I didn't know that all of those things were all part of God's plan for me.  I had no idea He had been watching me, and planning for me.

Let's go to the Book and see what God has to say about His plans.  I'm going to break from my usual routine and spend a little time in the New Testament.  We are going to pick up with Jesus as He is calling His first disciples.  Can you even imagine being chosen for that team?  That would be a little bit different than being chosen for a dodge ball or Red Rover team.  Here we've got Philip, Andrew and Peter, and they are all excited because they've found the Messiah that Old Testament Scriptures spoke of.  This was a big deal.  Philip goes off to find his buddy, Nathanael.  Philip is thrilled about his find of Jesus of Nazareth , but Nathanael is a bit skeptical.  Read his reply, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" John 1:46  Philip is undeterred.  "'Come and see,' said Philip." John 1:46  Here's where the whole thing comes together, and gets really interesting.

"When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said to him, 'Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.'  'How do you know me?' Nathanael asked.  Jesus answered, 'I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.'" John 1:47-48 emphasis added

Jesus already saw Nathanael before Philip even spoke his first word to him.  Jesus had Nathanael's story laid out on a great big storyboard before Nathanael even knew what was going on.  Jesus spoke to Nate in terms he could understand.  Let me give you a little background info: the fig tree was a great place to go to sit and be still.  People would often sit under their fig tree in the early morning to pray.  It also represented God's provision, protection and His blessing.  Jesus knew everything about Nathanael.  He knew about Nate's doubts, and still He spoke nothing but words of encouragement to him.  So, what does this have to with us, right now, in today's day and time?

Well, I don't have a physical fig tree in my back yard that I regularly sit under, but I do have a spot that I like to go to sit and be still.  I like that spot.  It's my quiet place.  I know Jesus sees me there.  I know He saw me there before I even had that quiet spot in my house.  He had this path that I'm on all planned out.  I could have never seen this journey coming.  God did.  He purposefully put people in front of me to guide, direct and encourage me, so that I could fulfill the plan He has laid out for me.  My fig tree is somewhat figurative.  But His provisions are solid and real...even when the fruit that is falling looks a little shriveled and dried out.  Figgy pudding.  One of the sweetest dishes, uses the ugliest ingredients.  So, let me ask you: Where is your fig tree?  God can see you.  He has a plan for you.  Trust in Him, even if the only fruit you can see looks dried up and shriveled; trust in Him to make something sweet and wonderful from it.  Have a blessed week!

 

Thought for the Week-Pirates & Princesses

Good Morning Girlfriends!

Is anyone else rushing around?  I feel like I'm always running--although the type of running I do, doesn't seem to burn very many calories!  Jeff and I flew to Florida this past weekend to celebrate my grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary.  That kinda makes your breath catch, doesn't it?  Sixty-five years.  Wow.  I could write a completely other Thought just about that!  But today, I want to focus on direction...or rather sometimes our lack of.  You see, while we were in Florida, we actually had the opportunity to see Jeff's grandparents as well.  Ours was an incredibly fast trip.  We flew in late Thursday and booked a hotel close to the airport.  We got up early Friday and drove the hour and change down the road to spend the day with his grandparents, then drove the hour back to the hotel.  We got up early on Saturday to repeat this process, but travel an hour in the opposite direction to see my grandparents.  All of this information is important, I promise!  Many of you know how challenged I am when it comes to directions.  To put it bluntly--I'm a total disaster.  It's a miracle I can get out of my garage, it's that bad.  Well, as we were coming back to the hotel Saturday night, we rolled up to the intersection that would eventually take us to our hotel.  Jeff looked over at me and asked, "Babe, do you know which way we go?"  I was stunned speechless.  I honestly thought he needed my help for directions!  And if that was the case, we'd still be sitting at that intersection.  He just shook his head, made the turn (I still don't know which way) and said to me, "You would've made a terrible pirate! You would've been lost at sea before you got out of the bay!" 

Naturally, my mind began to circle around that.  It's true, I would have made an awful pirate!  But I would've made a fantastic princess--they never need to know where they are because other people are always around to help out!  I wanted to go to the Book and see what God had to say about this. I began to think about Spiritual gifts.  From 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 we read, "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."  God created each one of us to be uniquely different, yet to still be crafted in His image.  Of course He wouldn't make us the same.  However, the common denominator in each and every person is the same God with the same powerful and Holy Spirit.  God knows each of our strengths and each of our weaknesses.  If all of us were good at everything, we wouldn't need each other.  How much fun would that be?  We are relational beings.  We were created to be in relationship--first with God, then with each other.  Having a balance in our Spiritual gifts is an excellent way to stir all that up.

You see, I know I have no sense of direction.  It simply is not one of my gifts.  That doesn't mean I'm not useful on car trips! For instance, I'm an excellent co-pilot.  I can wrap a hamburger so that it won't leak or drip when you bite into it!  I can look for road signs that are impossible to find.  I always keep the music going.  I'm a good driver, if someone else is navigating.  What about you?  The Spirit gives different gifts to different people "as He determines" (1 Corinthians 12:11).  Maybe you have the patience of Job.  Maybe you are an excellent cook.  Do people come to you for advice?  You are gifted with wisdom.  Each of you (us) has been blessed with Spiritual gifts.  Ask God to show you what yours is today.  I would not have made a very good pirate...but I would've made an excellent princess!  Have a great week!  Be blessed!!

Thought for the Week-Inventory

Good Morning Girlfriends!

Have you ever had a job that required you to take an inventory of your merchandise?  Taking inventory is an extremely tedious task.  You have to be meticulous about cataloging everything, to be sure that you missed nothing and didn't leave anything out.  You must count items and check those items off of a list, and in many cases, check them off of a master list of some sort as well.  Now, let me ask you: Have you ever taken a internal inventory?  Have you ever taken a look at the items stocked in your personal shelves located in your heart?  Items like selfishness, pride, vanity, unforgiveness or just your everyday meanness?  This notion of a personal or internal inventory has been rolling around in my head for several days.  To be perfectly honest with y'all...it's making me uncomfortable.

I don't like looking at those items that I have shoved way back in the back recesses of my heart.  I don't like thinking that those items are taking up space on my shelves.  I prefer to look at the nice and neat and orderly "store front windows" that everyone else can see.  But, just like businesses that need to take an inventory, so too, do we.

Let's see what the Book has to say about this.  "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:8-9.  You see, we if say that these store front windows that we present to everyone is the truth, or the real us, we are really only kidding ourselves.  Everyone around us knows we aren't perfect, and God certainly knows that we aren't perfect.  The trouble is admitting that we're not.  Admitting (confessing) it means, we have to take a look, or an inventory of the ugly stuff: the greed, the pride, the selfishness, the meanness, and lay it all out there.  We have to be real.  Transparent.  Vulnerable.  That is difficult.

Now, to go along with all the yuck...here's the good: did you see the part about God forgiving us?  God knows all of our secrets.  He knows the skeletons that are in our closets.  He knows the struggles we fight daily and the ones that only show up every now and again.  He knows which ones of us are sharp-tongued and quick-witted, so that words fly like knives at unsuspecting victims.  He knows which ones of us are so tied to technology that the wires connecting their gadgets serve as their lifelines, so that they forget the actual people around them.  He knows which ones of us are clinging with both hands to bitter unforgiveness, and projecting those hurts onto others.  He knows all of this, and yet, He still loves us, and will still forgive when we ask Him. 

No one really likes to take inventory.  It's a tedious and time consuming task, however it is totally necessary in order to keep things running smoothly.  So, let me ask you: How's your heart today?  Is it time for a little internal inventory?  Have a little sit-down with your heavenly Father today.  Invite Him in to have a look around at your messy shelves.  I promise that you'll be amazed at how well His Holy Spirit remodels!  Today, open your doors wide, stand back, and let Him in.  You'll be glad you did.  Have a great week!


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Thought for the Week-Rubber Ducky

Good Afternoon Girlfriends!

Did anyone ever watch Sesame Street?  I grew up watching Sesame Street.  I could tell you how to get to Sesame Street.  I loved to meet friendly neighbors...neighbors like Ernie...of Bert and Ernie.  Do you remember him?  Ernie had a yellow rubber duck.  He loved his rubber duck.  He even had a song.  As if the lyrics to Sesame Street weren't bad enough, now I'm going to plant the lyrics to an even more annoying song deep in your mind!  Here we go...

Rubber ducky you're the one,
You make bath time lots of fun,
Rubber ducky I'm awfully fond of you.

Rubber ducky, joy of joys,
When I squeeze you, you make noise,
Rubber ducky, you're my very best friend it's true.

Stay with me, I have a point--I promise.  When children become fearful, many have something like a rubber duck, that brings them comfort.  Sometimes it is a rubber duck that they bathe with.  Sometimes it's a blanket that they must have with them everywhere they go (all three of my children were blanket babies).  Some children have imaginary friends.  My point is that we all have had something that has brought us comfort in the past.

Now, I told you that to tell you this: I collect Nativity scenes.  I've mentioned this before.  I have Nativity scenes from all over the world.  This past Christmas, I was given a very unique, new scene to add to my collection.  It is a Rubber Ducky Nativity scene.  Ducky Mary.  Ducky Joseph.  Ducky Sheep.  Ducky Donkey.  All the other important players, and of course....Ducky Baby Jesus.  This thoughtful and unique gift made me think:

What brings us comfort?  As a child, we were easily comforted by objects: blankets, dolls, or rubber ducks.  As adults, we find it exceedingly more difficult to be comforted by objects.  What comforts you?  Money?  A house?  Your car?  Perhaps.  Read with me from 2 Corinthians 1:1-4 (NLT) "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our troubles so we can comfort others.  When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." (emphasis added)  You see, as grown-ups our troubles will be greater than being afraid of the dark or being left at school for the day.  And because our troubles are greater, our source of comfort needs to be greater still.  That's where God the Father comes in.  He is the only source of comfort we need.  He sent His Son, His one and only Son to be here with us, to live with us, to die for us, and to rise again.  Then, in a stroke of sheer God-powered genius, He gave us His Holy Spirit, to comfort us until we get to see Him face-to-face.

So, what does this have to do with my Rubber Ducky Baby Jesus?  Well, Think about Ernie's song: "Rubber ducky, you're my very best friend it's true".  Now think about Jesus.  He is truly our very best friend.  He brings us comfort like no one or no thing ever can.  Are you troubled today?  Are you afraid today?  Are you lonely today?  Do you need a friend?  Can I introduce you to my Friend?  There's no one like Him anywhere.  He's loyal, faithful, and true.  He will protect you and love you--just as you are.  He's the One.  Have a great week!!




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Thought for the Week-The Force

Good Afternoon Girlfriends!!

I have some housekeeping things to attend to this week.  First of all, I'm so thankful and happy to be starting off another year with y'all!  Can I just tell you that?!  I also want to remind you that I am now available on TWITTER!  I know, super high-tech.  Don't worry if you're not totally on board with the whole Twitter-craze.  I wasn't either.  But, I've been strongly encouraged to tweet...so I am.  The only trouble is: almost no one is following me!  (Sad face)  So I thought to myself, Self, let's make it real easy for our girls to follow us on Twitter.  Voila!  https://twitter.com/#!/DallasLouis   Simply click on this link, and you will be directed to my Twitter homepage. Then it will look like lots of folks are following me!!  At least, that's how it's supposed to work!  Now, on with today's Thought...

A while back I received a phone call from one of my dearest friends.  I answered the phone, and instead of hearing Tracy's voice, I hear her wheezing for air.  I instantly became alarmed, thinking that there was something terribly wrong with her.  No.  There was nothing wrong with her.  She was laughing.  In fact, she was laughing so hard, she could not speak.  What was so funny?  Well, it seems that I am not the only one raising miniature Jedi Knights.  Nope.  She too, is bringing up a couple of Padawans.  This particular afternoon she picked her children up from school.  It seemed like a normal day, they were discussing the day: lunch room antics, science tests, spelling, this and that.  When, she glances into her rear-view mirror and sees her her oldest son staring back at her, hands raised, as though he were framing her face in a magic trick.  She didn't know what, exactly to make of this.  So she asked him,
"Sean, what are you doing?" 
"Ssshhh. Mom.  I'm Forcing you."
"You're what?"
"Mom.  Ssshhh.  I'm Forcing you.  You want to take us for ice-cream. You want to take us for ice-cream."

Even though she was thoroughly entertained and extremely impressed at the creativity used in his attempt to gain an ice-cream sundae for himself, his brother and his sister...sadly the Force didn't work.  Sean was at a loss.  It didn't stop him from trying again a couple of days later...with Sonic.  Again, disappointment.  Made me think of something else. 

Today we are going to pick up with the prophets of the pagan god Baal.  Baal was a god (notice the little "g") in the Old Testament.  He was an idol, meaning he wasn't really a god, well, he most certainly was not THE GOD.  But the people liked to think that he was.  In fact, in today's Thought, we are going to look at a portion of Scripture that highlights a showdown of sorts between Baal's prophets and God's prophet.  Any guesses as to which one comes out on top?  Baal had 450 prophets...meaning there were 450 men trying to use the Force in the passage we are about to read.  1 Kings 18:25-29, "Elijah [the good guy] said to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you.  Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.' So they took the bull...and called on the name of Baal from morning till noon...But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made...Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for evening sacrifice. But there was no response..."

What went wrong?  Well, the obvious answer is they were dancing, jumping and sacrificing to an IDOL.  They were never going to be able to call down fire on their bull.  Not in their power.  Not in their own strength.  Not even with the Force.  See, the rest of the story shows that Elijah had a bull and an altar, too.  He soaked his altar with water three times.  Then he prayed to God, the One True God, and BAM! Everything was incenerated.  Even the stones. 

So, what do we walk away with?  Hopefully, what you see is that you don't have to do things on your own.  You can't do things on your own.  Elijah was a great man of God.  But he knew the Source from which he got his strength.  You have strength and power that is yet untapped.  I just know it!  So, today don't tap the Force...tap your Source.  Open up that line of communication with your heavenly Father.  It's a new year, the lines are open and ready to get some really good conversation flowing.  Have a blessed week!!


UPDATES:

My radio show is ON THE AIR!!  This is an Internet station, Girls.  Go to www.wowradionetwork.com  You can pick your station to listen to: Top 40, Country or Lite.  Coming Soon is a Christian station.  I personally like the Country station, big surprise there!  I come on at various times throughout the day.  I'll try and get my time slot nailed down and emailed out to you by next week.  I've been coming on in the 11:00 AM hour.  Listen in.  Follow me on Twitter, because I send out Tweets when I'm on!!

My new book, The Mommy Diaries: How I'm Surviving Parenting Without Killing Anyone is coming out soon.  I still have several boxes of Girlfriends, Giggles & God here at home!!  If anyone needs a couple of books, please email me, I'd love to get rid of them, BEFORE more boxes of books arrive!!!    

Thought for the Week-Back to Work

Good Morning Girlfriends!

Happy New Year! I trust that everyone is rested and ready for the new year!  I hope and pray that each of you had a very warm and special Christmas.  We had a wonderfully relaxing Christmas.  We stayed home for the entire Christmas break for the first time in several years!  It was terrific!  New Year's was nice, and I thought things were rolling along just swimmingly, until...yesterday.  You see, the kids have been home for about two and half weeks.  Oh sure, they've had playdates.  Kids have been at my house.  My kids have been farmed out to other people's houses.  But still, the days of Christmas vacation were wearing on them.  They were becoming more restless.  Think of the animals at the zoo.  They began to pace.  In fact, they began to run...and to jump...to jump off of stairs.  Yesterday Elliott ran, and jumped off of the steps in our upstairs playroom and broke his leg.  Now, don't panic.  This is not a big deal, at least not as big of a deal as it was last year when he broke his arm.  After we dried the tears, found some ice and took some x-rays, we soon found out that are dealing with a break that will heal in about three weeks as opposed to the ten weeks from last May (through July). 

Now, I told you that story, to tell you this one: It's time to go back to work...or school, whichever boat you happen to be in.  We've had some time off, but now is the time to get back into the groove and put our noses to the grindstone, pick your cliche.  I've been holding onto this account for quite some time, just waiting for the right time to turn it lose.  Do you know how utterly amazing God's Word really is?  Can you even fathom?  I've read certain accounts so many times, I can literally see the words and the verse notation in my mind's eye.  Luke 2:1-20 is one of them.  Luke 2 is a very detailed account of the birth of Jesus.  My children recite all twenty verses for their school Christmas program every December, so about mid-October Luke 2 makes its first appearance in our home.  I hear it.  I study it.  It's written on my heart, and yet there is still something new each time I read it.  Today I pray you see it in a new light. 

God does things big.  He does.  It's who He is.  When His Son was born, He sent a multitude of angels down to announce it.  He set an enormous star in the sky over Bethlehem to guide the Wise Men from afar.  In all of His big-ness and His overwhelming greatness, He also shows great attention to detail.  Read with me, "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:8-12  And then, with that one angel, there appeared a whole host of angels!  Don't you know that was a sight to behold!  How's that for a birth announcement?  Immediately the shepherds got up and went into town to see what was going on.  They found the Baby exactly as the angels said.  What does all of this have to do with going back to work?  I'm getting to that. 

Having a visit from a multitude of heavenly hosts would be something that you wouldn't easily forget.  At least, I wouldn't be able to.  Then they get up and truck it on into town and see the Baby that was told to them.  My mind would've exploded and my eyes would've popped right out of my head.  But not these shepherds.  Girls, they were there.  They went to the manger.  They knelt before the King of Kings.  They worshipped Him in His purest form.  Then...."The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." Luke 2:20 (emphasis added)  The shepherds went back to work.  They witnessed this miracle, the key to salvation, and yet, they returned--they went back to work. 

So, what about you?  What have you witnessed?  Are you back at work?  Are you praising God?  Are you thinking right now: But, I'm nobody special...who am I to give a witness to anything?  Let me stop you right there for a moment, did I mention that shepherds in Biblical times weren't really considered the most reliable witnesses or sources of information...yet, here we are more than 2000 years later reading about their testimony to birth of our Savior.  I want to offer you some encouragement today: God does BIG things with small starts.  God wrapped His awesome and unimaginable glory and power in the tiny, soft and vulnerable package of a newborn Baby.  That Baby was the BIGGEST thing to ever hit mankind.  Don't second-guess God's plan for you.  It was no accident that God spoke first to the shepherds...unreliable...outcasts of society...but it worked.  They went away praising God.  I challenge you to go back to work today.  Praise Him.  Be His witness.  Have a blessed week!

Please pray for me this week: The Mommy Diaries goes to print this week!!  My new Publicist starts my campaign this week--pray she is able to make some really good and strong connections for The Mommy Diaries.
If I can pray for you, please let me know!

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER, and TELL YOUR FRIENDS, TOO!! @DallasLouis