I once read the statement, “The more you worry, the less faith you have”. Ouch! That’s convicting. I have great faith; enough to cover me and countless friends and family members, but I still worry at times. Some of the things that I worry about are small, but others are large.

“Where will we go for vacation?”

“Will I have enough time to complete my to-do list?”

“Will I make it to my destination on time?”

“Am I a good wife, parent, and friend?”

“Are my prayers bold?”

“Do I pray enough?”

“Will my children always follow God?”

When I catch myself feeling guilty (convicted) for having the audacity to stress out about things over which God reigns, I worry that I don’t have enough faith.

Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”.

I am thankful for the knowledge that not only does He hear our prayers and know our thoughts, but He has already worked out all of the details and He knows what we need before we know what we need.

The song below was suggested by a former manager at work. It aided me during some very tough times and still reminds me that God is sovereign, there’s nothing He can’t do, and He provides our every need in perfect timing. I need to take my worries to the Lord in prayer.

CC

The month of November is the time of year when many of us remember to be thankful. We try harder to truly focus on the things for which we should be grateful. Some of us even post daily messages on our favorite social networking sites, so that others can see how appreciative we are. I’ve never had the urge to publicly share daily messages of gratefulness…until now.

I’m always grateful – even during the times when I grumble about one silly circumstance or another. But something washed over me this morning. Literally! So, here I am, sharing a message about something for which I am more grateful than words can describe. It may seem silly to some, but it is a genuine gratefulness for being able to do something that most people on the planet, and to a smaller extent (but no less important), people in this country, can’t do…

…wash their faces in warm water that comes from a faucet with a seemingly endless supply.

Washing my face in warm water is a privilege that I don’t think about often enough. Stopping to remember that the world is filled with people who desperately need clean water for drinking and for hygienic purposes makes me recognize how truly blessed I am.

So each day this month, I’ll share a prayer of thanksgiving, much like the one that I said to God as I cleaned my face this morning.

Dear Father,

Thank you for supplying the warm water that I had access to this morning. I understand that something as basic as this is not within easy reach of others, so I do not take it for granted. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Follow the links below to see just how blessed you are if you have full-time access to running water.

The Water Project

In love,

CC

My weekly routine includes Sunday morning service and Sunday school and Wednesday evening worship and prayer. I love being in His house and in the presence of other believers. Only sickness and distance have kept me from a Sunday morning service, but Wednesday evenings are another story.

Don’t get me wrong! Worship and prayer are top priorities in my world, but I do get tempted – and admittedly give in – to being too tired to drag myself into service on Wednesday evening. If I were to guess a percentage for attending mid-week service, I’d say I’m somewhere in the ballpark of 70% and, to me, that’s not good enough.

God is never too tired to hear me worship Him. He is never too tired to hear my prayers. He is never too tired to meet me wherever I am. So why is it so easy for me to be so dismissive of my need to shut out the world and hear whatever message He has prepared for one of our pastors to deliver?

Today was one of those days when staying at home was incredibly tempting. Sometime this afternoon, I began to feel utterly exhausted. I started trying to make myself feel better about staying in for the night. For every reason that I had for staying home, I had a response to make it seem OK.

“If I can muster up enough energy to go to church, I will, but if not, it’ll be OK – right?”

“I deserve to relax, so I will stop stressing about missing just one night.”

“If I stay home, I’ll just do my own personal Bible study and spend time in prayer.”

“It’s just one service. What’s the harm?”

The harm is that had I given in to the enemy’s attempt to keep me from being in the presence of other believers, I wouldn’t have experienced a wonderful message of how we function better when we practice the ABC’s of growing deeper in our walk with God.

Accountability – I am not in this world alone and the choices that I make have an impact on others. An accountability group helps to keep us on track. Christ-centered accountability groups are small groups of people whose main goal is to grow deeper in a relationship with Him while holding one another accountable for each member’s actions.

Belonging – We all have the need to belong and getting into a small group satisfies that human desire.

Caring – We have a natural tendency to want to care for others who are in need. Small groups tend to give care and receive care whenever needed.

Tonight’s scriptural focus was Acts 2:42-47

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (NIV)

I have never regretted going to church and being amongst other believers; there always seem to be a message that is tailor-made for me. I have, however, regretted staying at home, running a silly errand, or spending my Wednesday evenings doing something far less fulfilling.

Praise Him for leading me out of the my house and into His !

CC

How many times per week does your family have dinner together? With busy work and activity schedules, it can be difficult to sit face-to-face with everyone each night of the week. However, having dinner with your family creates memories that can last a lifetime.

I’m the super silly one in my house, so antics like kicking my husband (gently) under the table, making funny faces, and saying long prayers while everyone eagerly waits to dive into dinner lightens the mood for an event that could sometimes seem too formal for children.

I love having dinner with my family, because it allows us to spend undivided time together to discuss what’s on our minds, and pray together. Speaking of praying, one tradition that we established is for one person at the table to give thanks, offer praises, and pray for the needs of our family as well as those of others. We work our way around the table until we begin the rotation again six days later (we’re a family of six). Another tradition that we tried was to for each person present to compliment someone else at the table. Initially, we tried to do that for every person every night. Needless to say with six people having to compliment five other people each night, dinner was cold by the time we were done.

How to Make Meals Enjoyable

• Ask about each other’s day
• Get input from each member of the family for meal plans
• Ignore the telephone and turn off the television
• Keep your meals simple and save the multi-course meals for the holidays
• Save serious topics of discussion for family meetings
• Set mood music; in our house, it’s Christian music

Family meals are believed to positively impact your children’s grades, bring about lower levels of stress, instill better table manners, and encouraghealthy eating habits. So why not begin the tradition of family meals in your household today?

Let’s chat!

Love to all!

CC

I love Jesus! I love being in His presence, I love talking to Him, I love the peace that the Holy Spirit showers upon me, and I love that Father God showed me mercy that I did not deserve.

In a few hours, I will go to church to worship in His house with hundreds of like-minded Christ-followers. The highlight of each week is attending Wednesday evening prayer service and Sunday’s sermon and Bible study. Looking forward to tomorrow’s message!

Love to all!

CC