I Have Been Justified

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1 NIV)

I have been justified.

It is fitting that this particular post is being written today since tomorrow is Good Friday. My justification was purchased by Jesus when He died on the cross at Calvary. He willingly paid the price for my sin because I could not.

But before Good Friday, there was a Thursday night of betrayal and agony. He met with his disciples and revealed that one of them would betray Him. Then He took his closest friends to Gethsemane, where He agonized in prayer over what His Father was asking of Him.

"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:36 NIV)

He knew what faced Him. He knew the physical pain He would have to endure. He knew the crushing rejection He would face when His Father turned from the sin He would carry. He knew the fear and despair that His friends and family would endure.

He knew...and He obeyed.

I am so thankful for His obedience.

I am so thankful that I have been justified.

I Am a Friend of Jesus Christ

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 NIV

As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.

Today I am pondering what it means to be a friend.

Friends want to be known and accepted for who they really are.

Friends want to spend time together.

Friends are there for each others when times get hard and to share a laugh when times are good.

Friends are loyal to each other.

Jesus is my friend and I am His...or am I?

I'm afraid that I am often found guilty of being unfaithful to that friendship, but He is always faithful. What an awesome privilege to call him friend.

I Am God's Child

But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, [even] to them that believe on his name. John 1:12 ASV

I am God's child.

As I begin the journey to rediscover my identity in Christ, I can't help but think how easy it is to be a little flippant when we utter those words - I am God's child.

I mean, perhaps it should at least give us pause to think about how wonderous it is to be a child of the Creator of the universe, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.

He is my Father and I am His child. He loves me with an everlasting and unconditional love that will endure until the end of time.

I have access to Him 24/7. Not only can I go to Him with the desires of my heart, He wants me to depend on Him for everything...just as my daughter depends on me to take care of her.

The storms are raging in my life right now. Those close to me know that the future looks uncertain. I do not have all the answers. In fact, I'm not sure that I know all the questions.

But I am God's child and I know that He will take care of me.

For today, that is enough.

Who I Am In Christ

Years ago, Mike and I discovered Neil Anderson's book Victory Over the Darkness. This is such a powerful book that discusses how Christians can find freedom from bondage through knowing their identity in Christ.

Bondage is such an insidious thing. It rarely attacks all at once, but rather beckons...entices...little by little, until a person has relinquished control and their freedom is stolen.

The world has other names for the condition, such as addiction, or even disease, but it is bondage. There are many things that people use to help them handle the stresses of life and to attempt to escape; cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, food, sex, even Internet "relationships."

The first step to find freedom is to realized (or remember) who we really are, because of who God is. Anderson compiled a list of Bible verses that affirm who we are in Christ. It is a great resource to read out loud daily in the process to renew our minds.

In the next few days and weeks, I will be featuring each of these verses. If you can't wait and want to see the whole list in it's entirety, click here.

If you would like to join me in the journey to rediscover who we really are and take back any area of our lives that the enemy has stolen, I hope that you will take a few minutes to leave some comments so that we can encourage each other.

Lord, You're Holy

I love this song. It's one of my all-time favorites.

What makes this video even more special is that the woman who is signing the song has Down's Syndrome. Watching her sign and praise the Lord had me in tears.

What's for Dinner?

This is a new recipe that I tried tonight. It came out pretty good.

Baked Chicken & Potatoes

2 - 3 lb. boneless chicken
3 large russet potatoes, cut in large chunks
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
2 tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. basil
2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken and potatoes in pan. Sprinkle tomatoes, parsley, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper over the chicken and potatoes. Lastly, sprinkle with the oil and grated cheese. Bake for 1–1 ½ hours or until chicken is done.

My CVS Deals

I just LOVE a bargain! Today's deals came from CVS. Here is what I got:

4 boxes Kellogg cereal - sale price 4/$10 minus two $1 off 2 boxes coupons = $8, plus I got back $5 Extra Care Bucks (final price $3.00)

2 bottles Pantene shampoo - sale price 2/$6.97 minus $3.00/2 coupon = $3.97, plus I got back $2 Extra Care Bucks (final price $1.97)

This sale ends Saturday and the coupons I used came from the Sunday paper.

Have you found any good sales lately?

Free Samples

Click here to get a free Spring Cleaning Gift Pack including:

• One box of Ziploc® Brand Storage Bags (quart size)
• One Scrubbing Bubbles® Toilet Cleaning Gel
• One pouch of Pledge® Multi Surface Wipes

Click below to get a sample of Dunkin Donuts coffee.

Faith Under Fire

My friend Elysa and her family lost their home to a fire last night. She and her husband have seven wonderful children. This precious family loves the Lord and wants above all else to follow Him. I know that they would appreciate your prayers for the challenging days ahead.

I learned of the fire from Elysa's FaceBook post this morning, in which she was praising God for their safety and for His provision. She also told of the work that He had already begun in her heart to help her to be able to "let go of stuff and be ready to GO!" This is in reference to the mission work that she had done and plans to do in Swaziland, Africa.

One of the comments from her friends spoke to my heart: "Thanks for the gift of your faith and attitude!"

The more I thought about that statement, the more I realized how true it is. We all go through trouble of varying degrees every day. Being a Christian does not exempt us from problems, but the difference between us and the other people in the world should be our response.

Do we grumble, complain, whine, speak words of worry and fear?

I admit that I am guilty of doing this way too often.

What a gift we offer to our family and friends when instead we speak words of faith. Not denying our trouble or even our pain, but looking to Him to provide and work all things for good as He has promised us.

I am so thankful for the friends that God has put in my life who share this gift with me. May I be found more faithful to Him in sharing this gift with others.

Busy Day - Fun Times

Yesterday was a day full of fun for Bonnie Kate. We met Angela and the Bubbies (my 4 grandsons) at Wendy's for lunch. After we ate, we had an impromptu birthday party for Seth, complete with decorated cupcakes. It's hard for me to believe that sweet little Seth will be four-years-old tomorrow. Of course there were Valentine's treats for everyone.

Then we headed to Pump It Up for another party. The birthday girl is one of BK's classmates. Kids absolutely love that place and BK had a blast. I have to admit that it makes me a little nervous, starting with the waiver that is required for admittance that said I would hold then harmless if my child was seriously injured or killed. Seriously.

Thankfully no one was hurt and a good time was had by all. I forgot my camera on my mad dash out the door, so no photos. :( I will try to do better.

Snow Day

We woke up Friday morning to a Winter Wonderland. I don't think I have ever seen snow like this in Mississippi before. Schools were canceled and children played all around our neighborhood. Our electricity went off around 8:30 and I started wondering what we were going to do if it didn't come back on soon, since our gas heat is dependent on electricity to run. Thankfully it was only off about four hours.

Here are a few photos of Mike and BK playing in our front yard.



















The trees were just beautiful, thickly covered with snow.

















Of course, there has to be a snowball fight. Get ready.....

















TOSS!



















SPLAT! What a good sport Daddy is.
























Here is BK with her first snowman. He only has one eye because one grape fell off and she couldn't find it. She was so proud of her creation.

The snow was still there Saturday too, so she was able to play again. I heard on the news last night that there was snow on the ground in 49 of the states. The government has no record of that ever happening before. So much for global warming...heh.

He Did It!

Massachusetts voters sent a loud message to Washington today.

Let's hope that they are listening.

Find the full story here.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

It is so hard for me to believe, but my angel-girl is five years old today.

When I think about the last five years, it is hard to even put into words what a blessing this little girl has been for her Daddy and me.

Happy Birthday my precious daughter!

Yummy Steak Pasta

I got the inspiration from my friend Ashley (thanks girl!). I tweaked her recipe a little. This recipe comes together so quickly and is absolutely delicious.

Steak Pasta

1/2 lb. John Soules Beef Fajita Strips (these come frozen from Walmart or Sams)

Wide egg noodles

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped (I used frozen chopped)

1 1/2 teaspoons basil

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 can diced tomatoes

Parmesan cheese

While the egg noodles are boiling, heat olive oil in a pan. Saute the fajita strips and onion. Add the tomatoes, basil and garlic powder. After draining pasta, mix together with the meat mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle had a dream. The forty-eight year old wanted to be a professional singer. When she arrived on the stage for Britain's Got Talent in April, the judges and the audience scoffed as she proclaimed this dream.

But then she opened her mouth to sing and the scoffs turned to amazement. Hers is truly a Cinderella story.

I was excited to receive her CD in the mail today that I ordered from Amazon.com. The CD was released November 23rd and became Amazon's best-selling album in pre-sales. Think about that for a minute...wow.

Try as I might, I cannot listen to "I Dreamed a Dream" (the title song) without tears. There is something about it that touches me deeply.

Inside the CD jacket, there is a quote from Susan: "I would like to dedicate this album to my beloved Mother, to whom I made a promise to be someone."

You are someone alright, Ms. Boyle, and we love you!