I have been thinking for quite some time and I have come to the conclusion that I, Julie O'Connor, was born in the wrong decade. Thinking about what I enjoy in life and how I enjoy people, it makes me sad that in today's world people are too busy to do much with the ones they love. I heard a saying once (thanks to Brad Moss) about how the world changed after there were garage door openers and air conditioners. At first I didn't get it but then it all made sense. People talked to their neighbors outside and hung out and ate pie together before the invention of air conditioners. Think about it, to get cooled off, they probably sat on their porches and while out there saw their neighbors doing the same. They would talk, one would invite the other over for tea or lemonade and they would fellowship.
Same thing with garage door openers. Now we have the luxury of sitting in the car, opening the door, and backing out; never have once had to step out into the fresh air or in view of anyone else. We are so closed off as a society that we have so many things to entertain us, yet most of us end up feeling alone and disconnected. Facebook, Twitter, E-Mails, texting, etc. can be great tools. But they cannot replace true authentic friendships.
I believe friendships happen by spending time with those you love. I so wish that the times were different and people would just "pop" over and sit down for coffee and dessert. But, now if I were to "pop" over to someone's house, they would more than likely whip out some sort of online calendar and have to move 57 appointments just to "fit me in." How sad...am I the only one wanting this kind of relationship with others? Why wasn't I born in the 50's??? I really think I need to start a change in my relationships or just stay convinced that I was born in the wrong decade and get over it. Thoughts??
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Ask!
So my devotional that I read today got me thinking...here it is for those that want to read it...it looks long but it is very good! Keep reading to see my comments and leave yours as well!
Today's Truth
"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us" (1 John 3:21-23, NIV).
Friend To Friend
Christmas morning is serious business at the Southerland home and is steeped in tradition that is not to be tampered with. We open stockings first. Then comes breakfast - during which the Christmas story is read - followed by the grand finale of opening the gifts under the Christmas tree. I could hardly wait for our eighteen-month-old grandson to open the presents we had so carefully chosen, purchased and wrapped for him this year. Justus quickly got the hang of opening gifts as he happily ripped off the brightly colored paper covering his new fire truck. And then it happened. Justus immediately sat down and began to play with the truck - which is the whole point - right? No! There were more gifts for him under the tree. In fact, the fire truck was the smallest and least expensive toy we had purchased. It didn't matter. Justus was happy with one gift. He had no idea what was waiting for him under that tree. In fact, he did not even open all of his gifts on Christmas morning. His very wise mother said, "Let's save a couple of gifts for him to open later this week." What? Was she kidding me? Nope! Those unopened boxes sat under the tree for days. It just about drove me crazy! I knew what was in each box. I also knew Justus was going to love each gift. But he is just a baby. He didn't realize that all he had to do was ask and those gifts would be opened in a flash.
One morning, as I walked by the Christmas tree and saw the unopened gifts, the Father whispered, "Mary, you know I want to bless you. Why won't you ask?" My thoughts immediately went to a story I often tell when I speak at conferences.
A man died and went to heaven. He was met at the pearly gates by Saint Peter who offered to show him the home God had prepared for him. The man's excitement grew as he and Saint Peter passed a street lined with beautiful mansions - but they did not stop. The man was still enthusiastic as he and Saint Peter walked by a street lined with smaller but still lovely houses, but they did not stop. The man began to wonder just what kind of home was waiting for him when Saint Peter stopped in front of an attractive but tiny house. "This is your home," Peter explained. Even though it was not a spectacular mansion or magnificent house, the man was thrilled. After all, the little house was in Heaven.
The man's excitement faded as he opened the front door of his heavenly home. Instead of beautifully furnished rooms, he saw stacks of unopened boxes. In fact, every room was filled with boxes stacked from the ceiling to the floor. When the man asked Saint Peter what was inside the boxes, Peter smiled sadly and said, "These are the gifts and blessings God had for you on earth" The now very confused man responded, "Why didn't He send them to me?" Saint Peter smiled sadly and said, "Because you never asked."
I want every blessing God has for me. I know you feel the same way. God is not a heavenly vending machine that dispenses blessings simply because we want them. Every promise of God is accompanied by at least one condition we must meet in order to experience the blessing of God. That condition is always rooted in obedience to Him.
1 John 3:21-23 "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us" (NIV).
When we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and seek to obey His commands, we can come before God in confidence, knowing that He wants to pour out His blessings on our life. He is waiting. We just need to ask.
Let's Pray
Father, thank You for loving me. Please help me walk in obedience to Your commands and live my life in a way that pleases You. I really do want to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Right now, I surrender all that I am to You and ask for Your blessings in my life.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
· Read Psalm 51:10. How is a clean heart related to the blessings of God?
· Focus on the blessings God has already given you and praise Him for each one.
· Read Proverbs 21:2. "A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart."How does this verse apply to the blessings of God in your life?
More From The Girlfriends
One of my problems with asking God to bless my life is that I don't think I deserve His blessings. I really don't ... and neither do you. God's blessings are not based on who we are or what we deserve. I am so glad! God's blessings are unmerited gifts that are backed by the honor of His name. God loves you and wants to bless your life. Just ask.
Ok, so it makes me sad as to how much God wants to bless us and I am sure a lot of the time we miss out on so much because we either don't ask or we don't want to live in obedience to Him and so we never receive those blessings. Or, we really don't think we should ask because we are unworthy. Yes, we are undeserving, but GOD LOVES you and me so much. Think of how much you love your kids and how no matter what they ever did or said, you would do anything for them! I would literally jump in front of a bus to save any one of my kids and I would do the same for Brent. We just love those silly, smelly, snotty kids! And God is the ultimate parent and so think of how much MORE He loves you and me. He WANTS to bless us!
I really don't want to get to heaven and have a house full of boxes! I feel like that is what we are living in now here as we are renting someone else's house for 3 more months. I am counting on heaven being way better than this house full of thrown together boxes of our "junk." :)
So what do we do? Do we ask for things that we want from God all the time? I feel that I already do that...my prayers are sometime like this, "Pray for the people with cancer that you would heal them, if that's in your will. Help us to have a restful night sleep and a good day tomorrow. Continue to guide and direct us and give us wisdom. Thank you for all you have blessed us with and continue to take care of us."
Maybe my prayers should change. I know they should. I know I need to make more lists of all of who God is -- to stand back in awe of Him as creator and sustainer of everything. I need lists of all the "things" that I have. These are good things, but I think here is one key point: if we are seeking God and constantly asking Him to mold us into more like Him, then His will becomes our will. So maybe the first thing to start asking for is God's will in your life.
I never once imagined that 6 months ago our lives were about to drastically change. But Brent and my prayer had been that "we would do your will, God." I truly don't think I would be sitting here in this foreign land in Washington if I wasn't a Christian. I would be doing what I wanted and living my life for me. But I have chosen differently. I have chosen God as LORD of my life. I serve no one but God. Many people questioned why we would move so far away from everything we knew and loved. My simple response, "God wants us to, and we serve God so we will go." Is it easy? NO! This is the hardest thing we have ever done! Have we received blessings for our obedience? YES, we have.
I often think of what would have happened if we didn't move. If we didn't obey God and continued our "comfortable" life. I don't know...but we didn't want to take a chance and act selfishly. God is all-knowing, all-wise, and all-everything. He knows much more what He wants of us and who He wants us to become than we ever could. Brent and I are choosing to make God's will our will and live in obedience. Will we have an easy life? No, it's probably harder than if we did whatever we wanted. But I would rather try and do what God wants me to do than not. What is God calling you to do today? What blessings are you missing out on? I encourage you to ASK God His will for your life, whatever that may be. Our 5-year-old is praying that prayer already...for God's will to be revealed to him. Take a leap of faith and trust the One who knows you and loves you more than anyone or anything else!
Sorry, I am not sure if what my devo talked about really went with what I just spouted out. But that is me...kind of scatter-brained when trying to get out my thoughts. I wrote from my heart. Let me know what's on yours. :)
Just Ask
Today's Truth
"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us" (1 John 3:21-23, NIV).
Friend To Friend
Christmas morning is serious business at the Southerland home and is steeped in tradition that is not to be tampered with. We open stockings first. Then comes breakfast - during which the Christmas story is read - followed by the grand finale of opening the gifts under the Christmas tree. I could hardly wait for our eighteen-month-old grandson to open the presents we had so carefully chosen, purchased and wrapped for him this year. Justus quickly got the hang of opening gifts as he happily ripped off the brightly colored paper covering his new fire truck. And then it happened. Justus immediately sat down and began to play with the truck - which is the whole point - right? No! There were more gifts for him under the tree. In fact, the fire truck was the smallest and least expensive toy we had purchased. It didn't matter. Justus was happy with one gift. He had no idea what was waiting for him under that tree. In fact, he did not even open all of his gifts on Christmas morning. His very wise mother said, "Let's save a couple of gifts for him to open later this week." What? Was she kidding me? Nope! Those unopened boxes sat under the tree for days. It just about drove me crazy! I knew what was in each box. I also knew Justus was going to love each gift. But he is just a baby. He didn't realize that all he had to do was ask and those gifts would be opened in a flash.
One morning, as I walked by the Christmas tree and saw the unopened gifts, the Father whispered, "Mary, you know I want to bless you. Why won't you ask?" My thoughts immediately went to a story I often tell when I speak at conferences.
A man died and went to heaven. He was met at the pearly gates by Saint Peter who offered to show him the home God had prepared for him. The man's excitement grew as he and Saint Peter passed a street lined with beautiful mansions - but they did not stop. The man was still enthusiastic as he and Saint Peter walked by a street lined with smaller but still lovely houses, but they did not stop. The man began to wonder just what kind of home was waiting for him when Saint Peter stopped in front of an attractive but tiny house. "This is your home," Peter explained. Even though it was not a spectacular mansion or magnificent house, the man was thrilled. After all, the little house was in Heaven.
The man's excitement faded as he opened the front door of his heavenly home. Instead of beautifully furnished rooms, he saw stacks of unopened boxes. In fact, every room was filled with boxes stacked from the ceiling to the floor. When the man asked Saint Peter what was inside the boxes, Peter smiled sadly and said, "These are the gifts and blessings God had for you on earth" The now very confused man responded, "Why didn't He send them to me?" Saint Peter smiled sadly and said, "Because you never asked."
I want every blessing God has for me. I know you feel the same way. God is not a heavenly vending machine that dispenses blessings simply because we want them. Every promise of God is accompanied by at least one condition we must meet in order to experience the blessing of God. That condition is always rooted in obedience to Him.
1 John 3:21-23 "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us" (NIV).
When we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and seek to obey His commands, we can come before God in confidence, knowing that He wants to pour out His blessings on our life. He is waiting. We just need to ask.
Let's Pray
Father, thank You for loving me. Please help me walk in obedience to Your commands and live my life in a way that pleases You. I really do want to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Right now, I surrender all that I am to You and ask for Your blessings in my life.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
· Read Psalm 51:10. How is a clean heart related to the blessings of God?
· Focus on the blessings God has already given you and praise Him for each one.
· Read Proverbs 21:2. "A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart."How does this verse apply to the blessings of God in your life?
More From The Girlfriends
One of my problems with asking God to bless my life is that I don't think I deserve His blessings. I really don't ... and neither do you. God's blessings are not based on who we are or what we deserve. I am so glad! God's blessings are unmerited gifts that are backed by the honor of His name. God loves you and wants to bless your life. Just ask.
I really don't want to get to heaven and have a house full of boxes! I feel like that is what we are living in now here as we are renting someone else's house for 3 more months. I am counting on heaven being way better than this house full of thrown together boxes of our "junk." :)
So what do we do? Do we ask for things that we want from God all the time? I feel that I already do that...my prayers are sometime like this, "Pray for the people with cancer that you would heal them, if that's in your will. Help us to have a restful night sleep and a good day tomorrow. Continue to guide and direct us and give us wisdom. Thank you for all you have blessed us with and continue to take care of us."
Maybe my prayers should change. I know they should. I know I need to make more lists of all of who God is -- to stand back in awe of Him as creator and sustainer of everything. I need lists of all the "things" that I have. These are good things, but I think here is one key point: if we are seeking God and constantly asking Him to mold us into more like Him, then His will becomes our will. So maybe the first thing to start asking for is God's will in your life.
I never once imagined that 6 months ago our lives were about to drastically change. But Brent and my prayer had been that "we would do your will, God." I truly don't think I would be sitting here in this foreign land in Washington if I wasn't a Christian. I would be doing what I wanted and living my life for me. But I have chosen differently. I have chosen God as LORD of my life. I serve no one but God. Many people questioned why we would move so far away from everything we knew and loved. My simple response, "God wants us to, and we serve God so we will go." Is it easy? NO! This is the hardest thing we have ever done! Have we received blessings for our obedience? YES, we have.
I often think of what would have happened if we didn't move. If we didn't obey God and continued our "comfortable" life. I don't know...but we didn't want to take a chance and act selfishly. God is all-knowing, all-wise, and all-everything. He knows much more what He wants of us and who He wants us to become than we ever could. Brent and I are choosing to make God's will our will and live in obedience. Will we have an easy life? No, it's probably harder than if we did whatever we wanted. But I would rather try and do what God wants me to do than not. What is God calling you to do today? What blessings are you missing out on? I encourage you to ASK God His will for your life, whatever that may be. Our 5-year-old is praying that prayer already...for God's will to be revealed to him. Take a leap of faith and trust the One who knows you and loves you more than anyone or anything else!
Sorry, I am not sure if what my devo talked about really went with what I just spouted out. But that is me...kind of scatter-brained when trying to get out my thoughts. I wrote from my heart. Let me know what's on yours. :)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
What in the world do you do???
So some of you might be wondering what a family does that moves half-way across the United States. "What do you do for fun?" you might ask...or "how do you even start over in life when you are a foreigner in that land?" Well, I guess I would start by saying that it is NOT easy. We totally feel like missionaries to a foreign land. We don't know anybody, the climate is different, there's these huge rocky things jetting up into the sky called mountains, the grocery stores are different, the restaurants are different, and the only thing the same is your family. I totally feel that we as a family have a special bond now because we are all that we have here. I think we have more love for each other, more patience for each other, and I think we may even enjoy each other more because we are all we have. Sure we see people and are just now starting to get to know a handful of people, but us 4 have a unique bond as a family unit.
The biggest thing that has helped is prayer. We try to be in constant prayer about what God wants us to do, where He wants us, and what we should be doing. God has consistently provided for everything. He fills the voids we have in our hearts for our families, our church back home, and for our friends. And he even helps fill the emptiness with the lack of restaurants like "Freddy's." :) Oh how we miss you Freddy's! We have yet to find a place that is comparable. Enough about food. I am getting hungry for fries. And for those of you who might ever been on a game show and need to know my favorite food, think FRENCH FRIES! Anyway, back to real important issues...:)
The next tip I would give is that we try to get out and do new things. We have hiked a couple of times a mountain that is within walking distance from our house. We ask anybody that we talk to about things to do or places to go or good restaurants. The check-out people at the grocery stores can be good sources of info! The biggest challenge has been trying new churches. We know that once we get plugged into a church, it will really help to be in a place where we can serve and that we can build some solid friendships. We have been attending a church for 3 weeks now. It was the 6th church we tried out. You HAVE to get out of your box and ask around and then try new things.
Another thing we do is hang out as a family. We do puzzles, play games, draw, etc. It's amazing how special family time is, even if you do the same puzzle 20 times! Just being together has been such a blessing. We truly value each other and have seen how each one of us is unique and it's fun to see how the kids are so unique and changing all the time.
So now you know some of our secrets as to what we have done and what we do. It's simple stuff. There is nothing tricky or complicated about this family. We try and live our lives by putting God first, our spouse 2nd, and family 3rd. Everything else comes after that. It has worked out so far. Thanks for visiting our simple life. Send comments or let me know if you're bored. :)
The biggest thing that has helped is prayer. We try to be in constant prayer about what God wants us to do, where He wants us, and what we should be doing. God has consistently provided for everything. He fills the voids we have in our hearts for our families, our church back home, and for our friends. And he even helps fill the emptiness with the lack of restaurants like "Freddy's." :) Oh how we miss you Freddy's! We have yet to find a place that is comparable. Enough about food. I am getting hungry for fries. And for those of you who might ever been on a game show and need to know my favorite food, think FRENCH FRIES! Anyway, back to real important issues...:)
The next tip I would give is that we try to get out and do new things. We have hiked a couple of times a mountain that is within walking distance from our house. We ask anybody that we talk to about things to do or places to go or good restaurants. The check-out people at the grocery stores can be good sources of info! The biggest challenge has been trying new churches. We know that once we get plugged into a church, it will really help to be in a place where we can serve and that we can build some solid friendships. We have been attending a church for 3 weeks now. It was the 6th church we tried out. You HAVE to get out of your box and ask around and then try new things.
Another thing we do is hang out as a family. We do puzzles, play games, draw, etc. It's amazing how special family time is, even if you do the same puzzle 20 times! Just being together has been such a blessing. We truly value each other and have seen how each one of us is unique and it's fun to see how the kids are so unique and changing all the time.
So now you know some of our secrets as to what we have done and what we do. It's simple stuff. There is nothing tricky or complicated about this family. We try and live our lives by putting God first, our spouse 2nd, and family 3rd. Everything else comes after that. It has worked out so far. Thanks for visiting our simple life. Send comments or let me know if you're bored. :)
My First Blog!
So, I have decided to start blogging. Not sure anyone will want to read what I write, but that is ok. Not even sure I will know what to write. It's probably going to be random things that I think of, recipes, tips that help our lives run smoother, or maybe once in a blue moon, I will offer up some wisdom. Yeah, crazy, huh? Like I said, it will be "once in a blue moon."
So here goes...not sure where to start...guess I will start with a little bit about me. I am a mother of two and a wife of one. :) I love God, my family, and my friends. I try to live my life how God intended it to be, although I fail at this sometimes too. I am married to the most amazing husband, father, friend, and person anyone could hope for. Sorry, everyone...I got the best. He treats me like a queen and would do anything for us. Brent is such an intelligent, good-looking, fun, creative, unpredictable, loving, caring, passionate, hard working person and we have a great life together. I couldn't have asked for a better person to spend my life with.
Our kids are amazing! Joshua is 5 1/2 and Brayton is 3. They bring so much joy and love into our lives that we feel like we don't deserve such neat kids. We thank God everyday for our family and how blessed we are.
We moved to Wenatchee, Washington in November of this last year as we felt God wanting us to trust Him and move out here. We sold some things, packed the rest, loaded a Budget truck and I followed (in the swagger wagon) Brent in the Budget and we trucked 2,017 miles across the United States, going solely on faith. It has been amazing how God opened doors and provided everything that we have needed. We are still waiting to see what the reason for us was to move here, but we have a peace that we are supposed to be here. We are trusting God to fill our loneliness and our hearts as we are really missing friends, family, and our church back home.
Well, that is enough for now. I think I will be adding more soon about things I enjoy doing. Sounds selfish, huh? Guess that is partly what blogging is. I really enjoy my kids and also cooking/baking. So bare (or is it bear ??) with me as I will be sharing thoughts and experiences on my life with kids and running a household. Maybe some cooking or baking tips, experiences with raising boys, budgeting, and probably some random stuff. I know there is tons out there on all these things and I am no expert in any of them...but maybe something will strike a chord with someone sometime. Thanks for visting! And this concludes my first blog post. :)
So here goes...not sure where to start...guess I will start with a little bit about me. I am a mother of two and a wife of one. :) I love God, my family, and my friends. I try to live my life how God intended it to be, although I fail at this sometimes too. I am married to the most amazing husband, father, friend, and person anyone could hope for. Sorry, everyone...I got the best. He treats me like a queen and would do anything for us. Brent is such an intelligent, good-looking, fun, creative, unpredictable, loving, caring, passionate, hard working person and we have a great life together. I couldn't have asked for a better person to spend my life with.
Our kids are amazing! Joshua is 5 1/2 and Brayton is 3. They bring so much joy and love into our lives that we feel like we don't deserve such neat kids. We thank God everyday for our family and how blessed we are.
We moved to Wenatchee, Washington in November of this last year as we felt God wanting us to trust Him and move out here. We sold some things, packed the rest, loaded a Budget truck and I followed (in the swagger wagon) Brent in the Budget and we trucked 2,017 miles across the United States, going solely on faith. It has been amazing how God opened doors and provided everything that we have needed. We are still waiting to see what the reason for us was to move here, but we have a peace that we are supposed to be here. We are trusting God to fill our loneliness and our hearts as we are really missing friends, family, and our church back home.
Well, that is enough for now. I think I will be adding more soon about things I enjoy doing. Sounds selfish, huh? Guess that is partly what blogging is. I really enjoy my kids and also cooking/baking. So bare (or is it bear ??) with me as I will be sharing thoughts and experiences on my life with kids and running a household. Maybe some cooking or baking tips, experiences with raising boys, budgeting, and probably some random stuff. I know there is tons out there on all these things and I am no expert in any of them...but maybe something will strike a chord with someone sometime. Thanks for visting! And this concludes my first blog post. :)
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