REACHING HURTING WOMEN MINISTRIES

The holidays are behind us and we’re finally getting settled in our new home in McKinney, TX.

It’s been quite a transition experience after living in a hotel in California for 16 months with all our worldly possessions in storage.

While unpacking I’ve found all kinds of things I’d forgotten about…

Recently I discovered Our Family Dream Board; a bulletin board I’d put together when we lived in Colleyville,TX in 2008 just before we moved to California. The board had cut out magazine photos of things we wanted along with a Bible scripture to cement our belief:

A spacious backyard swimming pool/spa, white wicker patio furniture, a beautiful garden and frog pond, a work space with built in shelves and desks, an outdoor grill, and a media room.

Now you must remember this board has been boxed up and in storage for almost 2 years. So I’d completely forgotten about the board and the things we were dreaming for. While looking at the photos, I began to realize almost everything on the board was here in our new house. Not only that, but the things in our home look almost exactly like the photos on the board!

I was stunned, amazed and humbled at the goodness and faithfulness of God.

Even though I’d forgotten the things I had dared to dream for over 2 years ago, God has been at work, behind the scenes, bringing them to pass for our family! Another thing that’s interesting about this situation… The previous family moved out 2 years ago and the house has been vacant this whole time as if waiting for us to return from California.

Now that’s God!

Do you have something you’re dreaming for?

Gather some pictures and with God’s help… Create your dreams!

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4

Temptations are tricky. They sneak up on you when you least expect it. You’re going along, thinking you’ve got it all together and then…

WHAM!

A big fat temptation hits you!

Well, that’s not exactly true. We may be going along alright, but somehow, we’ve let an old thought or pattern creep back in. We become complacent or simply lazy with our boundaries.

Either way, it’s very dangerous.

In October my daily 12 Step devotional focuses on Step 10:

We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

So far the readings have hit home. Hard!

Check out these samples:

Dealing with Anger: Deal with short-term anger before it turns into long-term destruction.

Preventing Relapse: Only God’s Word will help us continue in recovery and avoid the devastation of relapse.

Dangerous Pride: Even the pride we feel in recovery can set us up for temptation and relapse.

Spiritual Exercises: Continued inventory will keep us spiritual fit and strong in the face of temptation.

Personal Boundaries: Honest inventories help us maintain boundaries important to recovery.

Positive Thoughts: What we keep in our mind and heart determines what we do and say.

Perseverance: We cannot win the race for recovery by going just part of the way.

No Shortcuts: On our journey toward recovery, shortcuts are only stepping stones to a relapse.

Daily Recovery: We will always be tempted by our old lives; but we need not always fall prey to them.

Needless to say, I’ve been doing some serious reflecting.

I don’t know about you, but an enticing temptation is not worth what it could cost me; all the ground I’ve gained in my marriage and my family, not to mention my health and my very life. More than anything, I don’t want to compromise the testimony I have today.

It’s time to reassess boundaries. Put back up the concrete barriers that can protect my heart, mind and soul.

Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. – Romans 13:14