Multitude Monday ~ One Thousand Gifts ~ No. 13

     Click this link, http://littlekissesfromgod.blogspot.com/p/one-thousand-gifts.html, and scroll to the bottom of the page to see my newly added gratitude list items.  

Trusting you're being blessed today by little kisses from God!

A Fellow Blogger sent me the Versatile Blogger Award!

     Thanks to Theresa at Being Refined as Silver for sending me the Versatile Blogger Award. You can visit her blog at http://beingrefinedassilver.blogspot.com/.  You'll definitely be encouraged!

The rules are easy:

1. Thank the person who gave the award to you.

2. Share 7 random things about yourself.

3: Pass it on.

So here are 7 random things about me - it's a mini bio:

1. I've always lived in Alabama and will be happy to stay here for the rest of my life if that's God's plan.

2. My handsome, gregarious, larger-than-life, fun-loving husband and I only knew each other for 2 months when we got engaged. Six months later we were married.

3. This Saturday will be our 17th anniversary. Happy Anniversary David!

4. We have 3 children, totally by God's hand, yet I was told by a fertility specialist that I would never get  pregnant without undergoing in-vitro fertilization.

5. I thought I was saved at the age of 7 but realized when I began seriously reading through the Bible at age 33 that I wasn't truly a Christian. I owe everything to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

6. My family never thought I'd have one child, much less three.

7. Imagine their shock when I decided to homeschool! That was six years ago and we're still plugging along.

*Bonus trivia: I've always been a dog person, not a cat person yet we have two cats now plus almost one dog. She only weighs 3 lbs. I actually do think cats are sweet now. One of our cats, Scout, was the catalyst God used to prompt me to start this blog. You can find that story here, http://littlekissesfromgod.blogspot.com/2010/03/amazing-true-animal-adventure.html , if you're interested.

Of course, Theresa's blog, Being Refined as Silver, has been so encouraging to me. Here are a few more of my favorites:

Aspiring Homemaker

Barefoot Voyage

Live, Love, Learn

Pebblekeeper's Ponderings

Pioneer Beauty

Raising Future Leaders

Simply VintageGirl Blog

The Last Frontier

Treasures of Darkness

Whatever State I Am

Winning Readings

I know you'll be blessed if you take time to visit any of these blogs.  I definitely have been.

Continuing to look for little kisses from God each day!

Giveaway Contest: Daughters of His Story Paper Dolls plus more

     I just found out about this fun giveaway contest.  Here's the link:  http://www.simplyvintagegirl.com/blog/index.php/2010/08/23/giving-away-a-copy-of-our-latest-project-its-a/comment-page-5/#comment-7841 if you want to enter for your daughter/daughters to have a chance to win.

Keep looking for little kisses from God!

Multitude Monday ~ One Thousand Gifts ~ No. 12

     Again this week I'm late posting my gratitude list.  Yet better late than never.  Thanks be to God for all things.  If we are truly His, then we must believe everything from His hand is all grace!  Click on the following link and scroll to the bottom of the page for my most recent additions to my gratitude list - http://littlekissesfromgod.blogspot.com/p/one-thousand-gifts.html.

Blessings to you this week!

Multitude Monday ~ One Thousand Gifts ~ No. 11

Again this week I've added to my gratitude list.  It slipped my mind yesterday so I guess this is an oddball Tuesday edition. To see the items I've added to my list, click here: http://littlekissesfromgod.blogspot.com/p/one-thousand-gifts.html.

Trusting you're being blessed by little kisses from God today and every day!

Renewing your Spirit in God's Word

     As I have been pondering over the words I read this morning during my time with the Lord, I felt compelled to share my thoughts.  I am currently reading through the Bible chronologically.  At the beginning of this year, I made a conscious choice to read the Bible through chronologically so that the bits and pieces of the Bible would fall together in the order that they occurred.  For me, that means getting a clearer overall picture of the Bible.  If you're interested in reading the Bible through chronologically, there's a chart at this link:  http://www.esv.org/assets/pdfs/rp.chronological.pdf.  

          Image by jeffpyle                 via Flickr

     My friend, Mandie, shared with me recently what God has been impressing upon her heart.  We should not meet with the Lord expecting nothing.  We should be expectant when we meet with God - expecting Him to do great things in us through the reading of His Word, expecting Him to use His Word for the transformation of our hearts, and expecting Him to bless us through the verses we're reading.  We should look for God to show up during our quiet times and anticipate that He will accomplish great things when we read and meditate on His Holy Word.  Another thing my sweet friend mentioned is writing down the passages that God is really impressing upon her heart during her quiet time.  Later she can go back and be reminded of how the Lord blessed her during that particular meeting with Him.

     So this morning, I decided to implement my friend's ideas during my own quiet time.  I cannot tell you how blessed I was during this time spent with the Lord.  I had 90 minutes alone with God.  It was just Him and me and the chirping birds.  I felt like I'd received a breath of fresh air once I was finished.  I was genuinely renewed in my spirit.  To start with, I prayed and asked the Lord to show Himself to me through His Word.  He did.  Then, I expected to have some special verses revealed to me by the Lord.  They were.  I wrote down three passages in II Chronicles that really spoke to my heart this morning and I want to share them with you below.

II Chronicles 30:9 - If you return to the Lord, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate.  He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.

II Chronicles 30:18b-20 - But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God - the Lord, the God of his fathers - even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary."  And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

II Chronicles 31:21 - In everything that he (Hezekiah) undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.  And so he prospered.

     What did I hear God saying to me this morning? Basically this - He is faithful!  Although reading these verses in context would give you a much better picture of how they worked to penetrate my heart, I trust you will be blessed by God's faithfulness which is shown in these passages.  The verse that really hits the nail on the head is Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.  How awesome that Biblical truth is!

     I was truly encouraged by my friend sharing with me and so grateful that she did.  What a blessing this little bit of information has been to my soul!  Thanks, Mandie!  Yes, Biblical truths and godly friendships...more blessings to be thankful to the Lord for.

Continuing to look for and recognize little kisses from God every day!

Multitude Monday ~ One Thousand Gifts ~ No. 10

     While I desire to give thanks to the Lord for all the many blessings I've received from Him, I also want to be honest.  My heart is heavy today so my list is probably shorter than usual.  However, although my heart is burdened, I am still grateful, knowing I have the Hope that many don't.  I trust that others will find that Hope through the One and Only who can impart it, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.  And that this blog will be used to share that with those who need to hear it.  To go to my gratitude list for this week, click here: http://littlekissesfromgod.blogspot.com/p/one-thousand-gifts.html.
Blessings to you this week!

   

Giveaway Scout

     I'm posting this info for those of you who love giveaways.  Recently, I found out about a website, Giveaway Scout, where you can subscribe to receive updates on the latest giveaways on the web.  

     For those of you who are bloggers, you can add your blog to their website and your giveaways will be shared with their large network of users.  Not only will Giveaway Scout publish your giveaways on multiple channels, but you'll also get more exposure to your blog in the process.  You can visit their website at this link:  http://www.giveawayscout.com/.  

Have a blessed day!

Multitude Monday ~ One Thousand Gifts ~ No. 9

     For my edition of this week's Multitude Monday, click here:  http://littlekissesfromgod.blogspot.com/p/one-thousand-gifts.html.

Blessings to you and yours,

Book Review ~ Voices of the True Woman Movement, Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

by Mary A. Kassian

     The title of this chapter came from a cigarette ad geared toward females in the late 1960s.  The lie that this ad was pushing and that women bought into during that time period was that they could decide for themselves what was right.  No other authority, besides themselves, could decide what was right or best for them, including God. Mary states that women have come a long way in the past fifty years but that's not necessarily a good thing.  We're definitely not living in the Leave It to Beaver times any more.

Image via Wikipedia

     So many of the world's ideals have drastically changed in the past 50 years due to the feminist movement.  Prior to this new thinking, most men and women agreed on and accepted the differences of the roles of men and women.  Mary writes, "Furthermore, for both men and women, their sense of duty and responsibility to family was greater than the pursuit of personal fulfillment."  This is one change that is completely evident in our society today.  Families today, many times, are living under the same roof, yet they all have their own personal pursuits separate from one another.

     Going back over this chapter, I found a few of Mary's quotes that really caused me to lament over where feminism has taken us...

• "In the new worldview, men are whiny, needy, not too bright, and totally unreliable."
• "Whether or not you know it or care to admit it, feminism is a philosophy that has profoundly affected virtually every woman, man, and child alive in the Western world today."
• Simone de Beauvoir, a female French philosopher in the 1950s, "proposed that in order to gain equality with men, women needed to get out of the home and intentionally deconstruct Judeo-Christian ideas about marriage, motherhood, and morality."
• American political activist and journalist, Betty Friedan, followed de Beauvoir's beliefs suggesting that "a woman could only be fulfilled if she had a life plan that included education, a career, and work that was of "serious importance to society." "
• "Once woman accepted this basic premise of needing and trusting no other authority than her own, she set her foot on a path that would rapidly take her - and ultimately the whole of society - in a direction diametrically opposed to the heart and purposes and ways of God."        

     While I disagree with this frame of thinking that originated around 50 years ago, many in our world today completely embrace it.  They have bought into the lie that external things can fill a void that only the God of the universe can fill.  "The heart of true womanhood is to understand and agree with the purposes of our Creator," Mary writes.  I concur.        

     If you are interested in finding out more about this book, go to http://store.reviveourhearts.com/voiceofthetruewomanmovement.aspx.  I have also reviewed the first two chapters which you can find at the links below:
     Chapter 1 - http://littlekissesfromgod.blogspot.com/2010/06/book-reviewvoices-of-true-woman.html
     Chapter 2 - http://littlekissesfromgod.blogspot.com/2010/07/book-review-voices-of-true-woman.html.

Blessings!

FREE Christian Audiobook Download of the Month - Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller

     This month, Christionaudio.com is offering a FREE download of the book, Ministries of Mercy, by Tim Keller.  If you're interested, click on this link and follow directions to get your free copy - http://christianaudio.com/free.

Blessings to you this week!