Inspirations for Faith and Family

I have been silent for a long time because I wanted to be sure that when I speak out to this issue that I could back up my beliefs with strong conviction.  I had to be sure that I was inline with the Spirit of God and His truth.  I wanted to make sure that speaking out would be worth the conflict and strong opposition that I may experience.  Well, the time has come and I have been convinced that what I believe is worth anything that may come my way. One of the inspirations that has lead me to speak out on this issue is a book I have been reading by Carolyn Custis James called Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women.   She addresses the global issue of gender inequality and how it has not only hindered the churches kingdom work, but has in many ways damaged it.  She believes that God's kingdom purposes cannot be fully done until women are empowered and have equal opportunity to serve in God's church. Another inspiration that has lead me to ...

One of the tasks on my list today was managing the budget.  Today happens to be a day where there is not much in the bank account and I am looking forward to pay day. I have to be creative with what I do on my day off and I will have to be very creative with what I make for dinner since there is not much food in the kitchen.  A budget is one of those things that seems to always change, one moment there is money in abundance and then the bills are paid and there isn't much left.  There are a lot of things in life that seems to change, friends come and go, health comes and goes, jobs come and they go and the list goes on. This morning my reading took me to Psalm 148. "Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.  Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.   Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.  Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.  Let them ...

Just to update you from my last post, my car was officially deemed totaled and has been taken away to a far away land never to be seen again, well something like that.  So my husband and I decided that we could get along with one car for a few months while we save up for another one.  This has worked out for the most part and has actually been kinda nice riding in the car together more often.  Well, except for the time when he almost hit a lady walking by our alleyway in the pouring rain, oh and the time he was swerving in and out of heavy rush hour traffic that made me want to yell, "Let me out!" In all seriousness my husband is a better driver than I, though I don't like to admit it because he can get a little prideful about it.  However, lets all admit it, there is something challenging about being in close quarters with someone for what sometime feels like too long! Speaking of this my husband and I were having a discussion about an important decision that I ...

Last night I had to drive home from work in a bad snow storm. It had rained a few hours before it snowed and created a nice slippery coating under the newly fallen snow. I am still not used to my cars anti-lock brake system and have felt little control in these kind of conditions. As I was driving down I-35W I hit an slippery spot and lost all control of the brakes and the steering, I slid right into the side rail. I had spun 180 degrees facing oncoming traffic.  I wasn't hurt at all and was able to drive home, but I couldn't help getting very upset. I couldn't help it get mad at God, I mean isn't He supposed to protect me from these things? I had just prayed the day before that He would help us to pay off the car loan and now here I had caused $500 more of damages! I told myself it was a silly thing to get to upset about and I should be thankful for our good insurance and that I felt completely safe in the vehicle while I was sliding, but I hated the feeling o...