35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
36 (As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.")
37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is our through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.
39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below--indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God loves us no matter what we have going on in our lives. We need to have an intimate relationship with him. Get to know him and rely on him only. I have never known this to be true as I have these past six months. It was such a struggle and a big test not living with my husband and having our family living in two cities until we were able to get permission to move. But it was a great reminder on relying on God. The only thing that sustained me was my relationship with God and knowing that he is in control. My life will be what he has created. I held tight to his words and his love. There were times that I did doubt because I was relying on myself and my own knowledge. God's knowledge and power is awesome! We just need to let Him be who He is and rely on his power. We are here in the RC and I'm excited to see where God leads us!
I was talking to my husband, Jon the other day about all the things I have floating in my head and what I want to accomplish now that we are moved to Rancho Cucamonga. I want to streamline our lives, I've never been a great planner but I feel like now is the time to plan and organize. Here are the things that top my list.
- Cooking once a month
- The concept seems to be doable. Have a cooking marathon on one day and have your freezer stocked for a whole month of meals. I'm tired of thinking what to make and shop everyday. I was doing menu planning for a week in the past and I enjoyed it. It not only cut down on our grocery bills but it was nice to go into our refrigerator/freezer and pantry and have everything there for the week and not have to worry about it. The reason that stepping up the notch and doing a whole month of cooking and planning seems that it will help us budget better and save time. I've researched a lot and the idea seems more appealing to me every time I find more information. I don't really like grocery shopping, especially with two young children, also we will, hopefully, stop with all the impulsive buying that we do - have a list and stick to it.
- Which leads me to my second "I want to do" - Grocery shopping online.
- Jon and I have looked in on this in the past and even though there is a nominal fee, I believe that it will be worth it. It will help us get back a couple of hours per week in our lives, save on gas (have you encountered those prices?) and just help with organization.
- Organize
- Everything back in it's place. I think I have made great strides in organizing our new place. I like that, although it still a mess with boxes, there is a sense of semblance. I can see what I want this place to be and look like. Jon doesn't like disorder and neither do I. It's good to move every 5 years, is what I've read, and I truly believe it. Having to go through all this stuff and realizing that I haven't seen or used some of this stuff in years. It makes me realize that all this material stuff is just stuff.
- Figure out a budget and stick to it
- Like I said above, I've never been a great planner but now that we are down to one income, I need to find a way to help contribute and that means save and stretch our dollars far. I'm actually excited about this endeavor. Being single for so long and being a single mom for four years, I really only had myself to deal with finances and I didn't have the best information on how to live within my means. Now we are a family of four and we want to eventually purchase a house, well that mean save. I'm hoping the above bullet points help me in accomplishing this point.
- Get closer to God and find my ministry
- I'm doing OK in this area but I know I can always improve. God has called us to Rancho Cucamonga and I know that there are great things that are happening all around us and I want to be a part of it. I love helping people and I know God has gifted me in helping out and caring for others. I just don't know where that is or what that ministry looks like. Jon works at Water Of Life church and he loves it. We met at Eastlake Church and doing ministry really brought us together. I miss being involved in the church and I look forward to the day I can either work there again or volunteer on a high capacity and on a daily level. Right now Jon says my ministry is taking care of our family. I really believe that but I also feel like I need to be there to help others. When I was working at Eastlake Church, Caleb and I were able to serve in ministry together and I'm just wanting to do the same with Tessa. I'm praying that God leads me to something. I've had many ideas one is baking or a cafe for ministry where I could bake, serve others, and have the profits go to support other ministries or missions. Just don't know if that is God's plan. He has put so many things in my head, I just want him to put the idea in my heart. I'm praying more and getting in His word more often these day but I miss journaling. I need to find the time to do this more. I believe, for me, that it is when I journal and get everything on paper, is when I really hear him in my life. I've been missing that...
- Raise my children and have my family follow God more closely
- I want Caleb and Tessa to really know and rely on God. I'm still learning but I want us to learn and grow together. There is too much out there these days and I want my children to be able to come to me and talk to me. I want us to teamwork with God to raise these kids and have him speak to me to lead me into being a better mom. I want to parent my kids that will lift them up and know God intimately.
Thank you for letting me rant about my life and where my head is right now. My focus is on so many things I need to take a checklist for life and figure it out.
