I Don't Like Waiting!

I'm so impatient! Yes...I admit it. I guess I'm hoping that through admittance, healing will come! Well, after 38 years, I'm still just as impatient as the day I was born. I quit praying for patience a long time ago, because I quickly learned that God's way of answering that prayer was not simply filling me up with a new dose of patience...it was continually putting me in situations that demanded I learn some! Ouch!

Have you ever known beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has revealed a future plan to you? You know that he's preparing you for something or planning to do something in your life or finally planning to answer a prayer request? Yep...me too! It was a little over a year ago that I felt that clear tug on my spirit saying that an answer to prayer is clearly coming. But...He didn't tell me that over a year later I'd still be waiting on it.

As I was sharing with my prayer group of gals last night, I continued to say that I know...that I know...that I know what God has revealed to me is true. But...He's waiting, and I don't know why. And...He's asking me to be patient! Ugh!

But, in His sweet and gentle way, my precious Lord reminded me that a year of waiting is nothing...Noah waited almost 100 years for the flood to come, but that didn't stop him from building the ark; Abraham waited 25 years from the time God told him he would be the father of many nations until Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old; the Israelites spent 40 long years wandering in the desert on their way to the promised land; and Christians have been waiting over 2000 years so far for the return of Jesus. So, what's a year? I guess not much in the grand scheme of things, but to me...it feels like an eternity. So, what am I to do now?

I keep believing, by faith, that God will do what He said He will do, and it will be in His perfect timing - not mine. I also keep praying that He would show what he wants me to do as I wait. Then...it's up to me to be obedient even while I'm waiting. Who knows? Maybe I'll learn a little patience along the way!

Birthday Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone that participated in my first ever blog giveaway! It really was a lot of fun to do, and I loved reading all of the birthday memories! Fun stuff (even the tombstone memory!)!

Thanks also to the new gals that visited my blog for the first time. I certainly hope you'll come back to visit often! I just write from the heart - sometimes lighthearted things and sometimes I'll share whatever I feel God is teaching me - which has been A LOT lately! I continue to pray to have a teachable spirit, and He always seems to honor that!

So...without further ado...the winner of the birthday giveaway is...

Kathleen of "Anonymous" posting - January 22 at 2:57 pm

Congratulations! Be sure to email me your mailing address, so that I can send the giveaway items to you (leahgillen89@yahoo.com).

I pray this next week is full of blessings for all of you!

Birthday Giveaway Day is Here!

My first blog giveaway is finally here! I've been talking about doing a blog giveaway since last year (yes...I know last year was only 22 days ago), and the day has finally arrived. Today also happens to be my 38th birthday, and I REALLY want to share this day with my blog friends and their friends and anyone else who happens to stop by here over the next couple of days. So...would you help me celebrate my birthday? I don't need any gifts...actually, I'd rather give one of you a gift! As a matter of fact, my giveaway will be a compilation of a couple of my favorite things, and I want nothing more than to share some of those things with you! So, here's how it's going to work. I'm not trying to make things complicated, but I'm trying to give as many people as possible the opportunity to get in on this. So...bear with me while I explain how we're going to do this thing!

I guess I first ought to announce what I'm giving away. Let me first say that I wouldn't be surprised if some of you already have one or more of these items, so if you are the winner - I encourage you to "pay it forward" to someone else and allow yourself to also be blessed in giving. So...here we go...ONE person, chosen at random, will get ALL of the following:

(1) His Princess: Love Letters from Your King by Sheri Rose Shepherd - one of my all-time favorite devotionals for women.

(2) The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns - one of my most recent reads...this book has changed my life!

(3) Blank journal for you to doodle in, write poetry, journal your thoughts, color, whatever...it's blank! I think I actually have 3 or so that I'm keeping up with right now - one for favorite quotes that I like, one for my weight loss notes, and one for pure randomness.

(4) $10 Starbucks gift card - one of my favorite hangouts!

OK - back to the rules...

You have 4 opportunities to enter:

(1) Leave a comment on my blog. I'd love to hear your favorite birthday memory, but if you're pressed for time...simply say "count me in". If you log in as "anonymous" ...please include your email address, so I can contact you if you're the winner!

(2) Post about this giveaway on your own blog, and then come back here and leave a second comment telling me you've done that!

(3) Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter by leaving a link my blog and by using my Twitter name @All4Him89 so that I know that you've done it and give you credit for another entry.

(4) Lastly, become one of my blog "Followers" and enter another comment saying that you've done that. I just recently included the "Followers" gadget to the right (see right below my Twitter updates) to make it easier for you to sign on as a Follower. If you're already following...you can simply post another comment saying that you are already a follower.

So...clear as mud? Just kidding...actually, if all you have time for is one little comment...then do that. You'll still be entered in the giveaway.

I will leave this open through midnight on January 23 (this Saturday) and will announce the winner Sunday evening! My daughter's birthday is Saturday, and we're used to sharing "birthday week" together, so that's why I'm allowing the birthday giveaway to remain open for a little longer!

Thanks for stopping by! You are a blessing to me!

Bible Study WOWs and Giveaway Alert!

Yesterday evening, I had the privilege of attending a women's Bible study at The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, NC. This was our first night, and let me just say...WOW! Why WOW? I'm glad you asked...

1) Doing ANYTHING at The Cove is such a blessing! It's a beautiful place full of God's Spirit, and the sweet staff and volunteers always make you feel so very special. You've got to visit there sometime if you've never been!
2) Getting together with a bunch of women - one of my favorite things to do!
3) Getting together and studying God's Word with a bunch of women - one of my VERY favorite things to do!
4) I was privileged to be filled up by the refreshing teaching of Kendra Graham. That girl is VERY gifted!
5) I learned new ways of maximizing my Bible study time. I NEED to hear from God as often as possible, and I discovered ways to do that more effectively.

It really was that good!

Tonight, we studied Genesis 32:22-31. Just to refresh your memory, this is the story of Jacob wrestling with God. Do you know how many times I've read that story? Too many to count anymore. But...do you know that I read that story again tonight, and with Kendra's teaching - it felt like the very first time. New insight. New understanding. New amazement. WOW!

If you live in the Asheville area, I encourage you to join me and a few new friends out at The Cove on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:00. If you live outside the area, I encourage you to check out these Bible study tips produce by Anne Graham Lotz, and they can be found on her website by clicking here. You won't be disappointed!

Please come back tomorrow. I'm doing my first ever BLOG GIVEAWAY!!! I'll announce what I'm giving away then, so stay tuned...and BE BLESSED!

Scripture memory verse 2!

Good evening friends!

Guess what today is? It's January 15! You know what that means? It's time to start memorizing scripture #2 for the month (and the year)! If you have no idea what I'm talking about...you can read about it here first! We'd love to have some newbies join us on this amazing journey! It doesn't matter if you didn't get started on January 1. You can start right now and either (1) memorize 2 verses for this month to get completely "caught up", or (2) simply begin your scripture memorization journey this year on January 15! Simple as that! But...whatever you do...simply join us! You won't be disappointed!


In choosing my second verse for the month, I searched for something that would speak to God as being my all sufficiency, my provider...Jehovah Jireh. I feel so weak and so defeated sometimes, and I need to know God as Jehovah Jireh during those times especially. He's the One who provides not only financially (Praise God!), but He also provides emotionally, Spiritually, mentally, and physically. Sometimes...I need Him to provide peace...sometimes strength...sometimes comfort...sometimes resources. So, the verse I am choosing to memorize now is 2 Corinthians 12:9 from the NIV:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

So, let's hear it scripture memory verse buddies...post a comment with your first name, city and state, your chosen verse, and the translation you're using this time. I can't wait to hear what you're working on. If you're stuck or don't have a particular verse in mind to use, you are always more than welcome to join me in memorizing the one I've chosen. And...most importantly...don't forget to record your verse in your spiral (you have gotten it...haven't you?)!

Continue to work on verse 1. Last year, I would daily recite all verses I memorized up to that point until I knew that I knew them. I might then work on old verses every other day but continue to work on my newest verse each day. Once you've committed them to memory, you can even drive down the road simply saying them out loud. You'll be amazed how quickly you can amass a bunch of memorized scriptures!

Have a great weekend!

Haiti

Friends...

I honestly intended to give you another weekly weight loss update, because I know that many of you are praying for me and helping to hold me accountable. Thank you! But, honestly...I feel like I have no words. I've been reading and reading and reading and watching the news and reading more about the devastation in Haiti following yesterday's earthquake. My weight loss update seems so trivial in comparision to the bigger issues going on right now in Haiti.

My heart is breaking for the Haitian people. The nation was already so terribly broken due to poverty, disease, spiritual depravity, and vial wickedness. We have missionary friends of our Connect Group at church that are living in Jacmel, Haiti - 3 hours south of Port au Prince, and their account of the early hours of the earthquake continue to astound me. Knowing that they were three hours away and experienced what they did makes me shutter to think of those areas closer to the center of the quake. Click here to hear their account of yesterday's events from their location in Haiti.

I feel so helpless from where I sit. Yet...I am still called to do something. I will PRAY for starters. This is one of those times that I truly don't know how to pray. The situation seems so large. But, I also know that my God is larger...he IS in control, and this was NOT a surprise to Him.

So, Lord please pour out your mercy on the people in Haiti. Please stir Americans to respond financially in a way that will blow my mind. Please guide our hearts as we seek your will in how to help!

I'll follow up soon on the weight loss world. Be blessed dear friends!

Powerful Cardboard Testimonies...

This past Sunday at church was the most powerful service I've ever attended at our church. This was part of the reason why...

Cardboard Testimonies 1/10/10 from Biltmore Baptist Church on Vimeo.

What would be on your cardboard for something God has already done in your life? What would be on your cardboard for something God is presently doing?
What, by faith, will be on your cardboard for something God is yet to do?

My Weight Loss World Update...

Happy Wednesday blog friends...

WOW...after writing continuously for 40 days, I suddenly feel as if I've abandoned my blog by simply taking a few days off. Never fear - I haven't. Just trying to get back into "normalcy". This is my first full work week in a month. Forgot what that was like. I've also been working on some of my 2010 goals, so that's kept my focus on other areas, but so far so good. One of those goals is to improve my physical health, so here's an update on how that's going...

Unlike many, I didn't re-start my diet until January 4! I never like to start on January 1, because I feel almost like it's a setup for a failure - one of those "resolution curses" so to speak. Additionally, this year, I attended a wedding on January 1, and January 2-3 were the first weekend days of the year. So...I talked myself into one more weekend of blatant disobedience in the area of food and exercise. Shameful - I know. The holidays really took a toll on this body of mine, but I'm sad to admit that it was worse than I thought (or at least that's what the scale revealed to me). OK - that's in the past - moving forward (not dwelling there)...

So, I'm beginning day 3 of my adventure. So far...so good. I'm back to my low-carb way of eating. This really worked for me before the holidays, and I can't tell you how GOOD I felt. I felt so much more energy than I recall in recent years, and the weight fell off at a reasonable rate also. Initially, I find that I lose a lot of water weight, so this first week is proving to be pretty high in pounds lost, but that will shift within a week or so, I'm sure.

In addition to the low carb way of eating, I'm also back to drinking lots and lots of water and one cup of coffee in the morning. I've really been failing at hydration lately, and our bodies need water desperately, so I'm flooding my system again! It shows...my bathroom trips have more than doubled!

I'm also trying to do some form of exercise daily. Something. Anything. On Monday, I went to the gym and worked out for almost an hour doing a combo of cardio and weights. However, my foot pain has returned with a vengeance (and seems to be worse on the treadmill), so last night...I exercised using my daughter's Wii Fit! I only did this for about 15 minutes, but it was something!

Lastly...and perhaps the most important piece of this journey...I'm journaling. Right now - I'm journaling in a notebook. I'm too chicken to put it on here. I have a couple blog friends that have chronicled their weight loss journey in a blog format, and I so applaud them (especially sweet Charlie - you've got to check out her blogsite if you haven't already)! However, I just can't seem to do so yet. I hope that will change, because I think it will hold me more accountable and will be an inspiration to others on the same type of journey. We'll see what the future holds on that...

On another note, I'm so tickled to see that some of you have decided to join me this year in a scripture memorization challenge. Kudos to you! Not only do we need to focus on our physical health, but our spiritual health needs to be kept in check also (even more so, in my opinion). What better way to do that than to focus on knowing God and knowing Him more intimately by hiding His Word deep in our hearts! I know some of you are doing this scripture memorization "thing" on your own, but I really, really encourage you to do so publicly, and I've given you an opportunity to join a group of us two times a month in a way that will cause us to be more accountable to each other. If you haven't read about it yet...here's my original post on the matter.

It's hard to believe we're at the halfway mark on the first week of the new year. I'm praying the rest of the week is a great one for you!

Oh...here's a little heads up for you...I'll be doing my first blog giveaway later this month! I mentioned last year that they would be coming in 2010, and my birthday is later this month, so I will be giving away a gift on my birthday this year! Stay tuned...check back often! Be blessed sweet friends!!!

Happy New Year! Scripture memory verse 1!

Happy New Year blog friends!

I love this day that ushers in a new year, a new month, and a new decade. New beginnings! Gotta love 'em!

For those of you that have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that one of my focuses in 2009 was on scripture memory. I joined my "Scripture Mama" Beth Moore via her blog community at Living Proof Ministries last year two times a month to post the scripture passages I worked on memorizing. I'm not sure if Mama Beth is going to continue this in a blog format again this year, but I loved it so much that I have determined to do so. It really made a huge impact on me last year - got me deeper into God's word and enabled me opportunities to use the scriptures that I memorized in very tangible ways.

So, I'm going to follow the same format that we were instructed to do last year. It worked very well and works even better to have friends doing it together for accountability purposes! Care to join me? Here's how it's going to work...

1. Go to your local Walmart, Walgreens, Target or something similar and pick up a spiral bound index card set (like in the picture below). They really are inexpensive, and will help to keep your scriptures organized all in one place.



2. On the 1st and 15th of each month, we'll be choosing a verse from scripture to memorize. It can be as short or as long as you'd like, but I would encourage you to choose something challenging and yet not so challenging that you set yourself up for failure from the get-go. These need to be scriptures that you've never committed to memory before. They don't have to be ones you've never heard just ones you've never memorized. Some of the ones that I chose last year were ones I've heard my whole but never took the time to memorize. If you're struggling with choosing a scripture, then I invite you to memorize the same one that I'm doing. I certainly don't mind sharing!

3. Then, write your scripture, book and verse(s), and Bible translation on one of your index cards. Carry that spiral around with you everywhere - car, work, bathroom, whatever it takes to write that verse on your heart.

4. After writing it down, come back here and post a comment and include the same things in the verse above...the actual Biblical reference with book and verse(s) as well as your first name, city and state. That's it! It's simply a way to hold each of us accountable. We'll do this each month on the 1st and 15th, and you'll be amazed at how God uses this discipline in your life!

Now...I realize that with this being New Year's Day, you may not have time or desire to rush right out and buy a spiral notebook. That's okay. Just try to do so as soon as possible. For today, you can just write the verse down on a piece of paper and transfer to your spiral later. Just start!

Some of you may happen upon this blog post after January 1 and still wish to be included. OF COURSE you may still join us. This is not a selective community. The more the merrier, and if I happen to be the only one posting on the 1st and 15th - I'm still going to do it. However, the more public I make this - the more accountable I'm going to be.

Lastly - tell all your friends to stop by! I'd love to see this scripture community grow. It's one of my passions! I honestly don't care if they don't want to read a single one of my blog posts, but I'd be tickled pink to have them join us these two days a month!

So...are you going to join me? What's holding you back? Here we go...

My first scripture passage of the month (and year) is coming from my absolutely favorite New Testament book of the Bible - James! I've really thought a lot about the fact that I use the faith word rather loosely. Yes, I have faith about this or I have faith about that...blah blah blah. The real question is this - am I putting feet to my faith or is it all talk? That's where this verse comes in.

James 2:17 (NLT)
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Ouch! James gave us some pretty tough words to chew on, and I especially love the New Living Translation of this verse.

Another tool for you to use if you'd like to examine different translations of a verse to help you decide which to use is BibleGateway.com. I love that website!

So...are you in? Are you going to walk this scripture memorization journey with me in 2010? Ready to get spiritually healthier? Jump aboard! Let's embark!