Happy New Year!

I cannot believe we are already saying goodbye to 2015. Where has this year gone? Like so many others I have taken this past week and reflected on this year and all the many things that have happened. So many new things and changes have been made. Many trials were overcome. And many achievements were made. But looking back on 2015 there is one thing that I can say: Everything that God allowed to happen in 2015 was beneficial to me.  Not a single hard time, trial, struggle, or pain hurt me. In fact, every single thing that happened this year made my year and my life so much better. What a picture of what a loving and merciful God we serve. He never tells us or causes things to happen that will hurt us. I am amazed looking back that Joel and I have made it through this year. It's been a wonderful but very tough year. But God saw us through. 

As I focused on 2016 I decided that this year I will make it less about me and more about God. So instead of setting goals for what I want to achieve for my personal life, I have decided to set goals for what I want to achieve this year in my spiritual life. I have assigned each goal a verse or verses that I can memorize to help me stay on track and remind me of my goals for this year. So here they are!

1. To show more kindness, encouragement, and love to those around me.
     -Galations 5:22-26
     - Ephesians 4:32
     - Luke 6:35
     - Micah 6:8

2. To finish a study on Psalms, Hosea, and Galatians
     - Joshua 1:8

3. To be more confident in sharing the Gospel with others
     - 1 Peter 3:15
     - Romans 1:16
     - Matthew 5:16

4. To intentionally strive to know my Savior and create a bonding relationship with Him
     - James 4:6-10
     - John 15:5
     - Proverbs 1:1-33

I will be writing my verses down and putting them on display to remind me each day of my spiritual goals. I encourage each of you to do the same! I love each of you and hope you all have a very Happy and Blessed New Year!

Psalm 119 Study: My Delight

Today's Reading is Psalm 119: 169-176

Psalm 119: 174- " I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight."

This is the last day of the Psalm 119 Study, and it did not disappoint! I have enjoyed this study so much. Who would have thought you could find so many promises, blessings, and wonderful facts about Christ in one small chapter of the Bible?? I feel like so many times we overlook the book of Psalm because we associate it with poetry. But poetry is a love language and David, Solomon, and the other authors of Psalm definitely wrote about the deep, immense love of God. So here is my thoughts from the final day: 

God and His Word is my DELIGHT. When we cry out, the Lord gives us understanding. When we ask or beg God for something He delivers it. He gives us restitution, grace, mercy, a new life! We just have to ask!! He gives us knowledge, righteousness, help, and delight. And each and every one of these things can be found in and gotten from Scripture. All these things can be gained from a ritual study of God and His Word. 

The Lord provides each of our needs, right when we need them. He gives us a clean slate each and every day. He gives us every single tool we need to succeed in life so that we can succeed in eternity. 

The more we study the Bible, the more we learn about Christ, and in turn the more we desire to learn more and more about Him. And the more you know, the more you gain from a deep relationship and interaction with Christ. 

God is love. Everyday, He does things that prove that He loves us. He gave His only Son to prove how much He loves us, and He sent the Bible to show, throughout the pages, His steadfast and unyielding love for us. Unyielding love. It never stops, Never runs out. Never fails. All these things God has given a wretched sinner like me and you. 

When you stop and just dwell on this, God's Love should bring you the greatest delight in your life. It should be something you desire each and every day. Everything in the Bible points back to Christ and His love for us. Every day remember how much we need the Lord and His Word. And He gives it freely because he loves you.

HIS WORD IS OUR DELIGHT

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

The month of December is practically over! Can y'all believe it? There is so much going on at the Best house right now! We started out the month by waking up one morning to Joel's tires being slashed on this Patrol Car. Not a very good feeling knowing your home is being targeted because of your husband's occupation. This incident turned into us moving out of our current house a month early....... like moving out by this Thursday! Yikes! So it was time for me to kick it into gear. The house we are moving into needs A LOT of work. We have put in all new tile and carpet in the entire house and are busy painting and refinishing cabinets in the kitchen right now, but it's not even close to being done. I have packed up one room in my house..... and we had our current move-out inspection this past week where we had to fix all the messes the dogs had made haha! It's so nice to have that done. On top of all that Joel and I have both had a respitory/sinus infection for 3 weeks. Merry Christmas to us! 

We both had the week of Christmas off, which was a nice change of pace since Joel has worked all night shift this month and I haven't seen him. If only we hadn't been sick! I'll admit, I am a grinch at Christmas. It is not my favorite time of the year. It's a rush rush season and so stressful with constant running around to Joel's family.

 We kicked off the holidays with Christmas at Grandmother's on Christmas Eve. I got to bring a dessert this year and I chose a Oreo-Brownie Trifle. It's one of the most decadent deserts I've ever had! Here is the recipe:

1 Box of Brownie mix (and all the ingredients to make them)

8 oz of Cream Cheese, softened

1 C. Powdered Sugar

1/4 C. Butter softened

3 C. Milk

2 small packages of instant fudge/chocolate pudding

12 oz. tub of Cool Whip

1 Pkg. Oreos, Crushed

8 ox. Tub of Cool Whip

Instructions: Prepare and bake Brownies as instructed on box. Let cool completely and cut into bite sized pieces, then set aside. Blend together Cream Cheese, Butter and powdered sugar until creamy. In a separate Bowl mix milk and pudding until thick. Add pudding to cream cheese mixture. Fold in 12 oz. tub of Cool Whip. Begin layering trifle. Brownies, half of the pudding cream cheese mixture. Half of your crushed oreos. 8 oz. of cool whip. Then repeat. Garnish with any left over oreos. Keep refrigerated. 

Because Joel's family is so large we draw names to see who we get a gift for. This year Joel's Aunt Jane drew my name and she bought me a beautiful journaling Bible I had been asking for for months! It is amazing and I recommend it to everyone! 

Christmas morning Joel and I shared our Christmas together. We didn't purchase any big ticket items this year. However, I did get a carpet cleaner specifically for pets! I was so excited! I guess that's when you know your officially an adult... carpet cleaners make you happy! I'm glad my husband understands my need for a spotless house haha! We headed up to my In-laws about mid morning to gather with Joel's immediate family. This consisted of his two nieces opening up a bazillion presents! But they were so happy! Then we headed to Joel's Dad's side of the family. (I told you we do a lot of running around!) We gather for Christmas dinner and some socializing before heading home. This year we ended Christmas by going to see the new Star Wars movie. It ended differently than I would have liked, but overall it was good. 

Whew! Next year I think Joel and I will be making some changes so that we can slow down and enjoy our Christmas together. 

OH! I did get an amazing gift this year from my sister. She purchased an Emily Ley Simplified Planner for me. If you don't know what that is, you are missing out! It is a necessity for all OCD and organizational people out there! And even better. it comes in a gold foil pineapple print! Be still my beating heart! 

This week we will be busy moving and getting ready for the New Year! Hopefully I will have a new home tour up on the blog soon! 

Merry Christmas! and I hope y'all have a very BLESSED New Year!

Psalm 119 Study: Great Peace

Today's Passage is Psalm 119: 161-168

Psalm 119: 165: "Great peace have those who love your law; nothing shall make them stumble."

There will always be good and bad circumstances in life. Things that we can't control and some things that we can. But because we are Christians we can have a different outlook on life. When you consume yourself in the Lord and His promises it is easier to stand tall and fight through your daily battles than to turn tail and run. We have the promises, love, and encouragement of Christ in our hearts and lives. He promises us these things all through out the Bible! These promises are sweet treasures that we need to hide in our hearts to remind us when things get tough.

We have a peace in our lives that only God can give us; and because of that peace, we don't take to heart the challenges of life. This peace is ours no matter what we face in life and no one can take it from us. When we pursue God fervently and submerge ourselves in His Word, He in turn, uses His Word to bring us wisdom, knowledge, comfort, and strength each and every day. He gives us a peace beyond our understanding so that we can worship and praise Him in every step of life. 

HE IS OUR PEACE

Psalm 119 Study: Great Mercy

Today's Reading Passage: Psalm 119: 153-160

Psalm 119: 156- "Great is your mercy, O Lord; give me life according to your rules."

Deliver me! Deliver me! DELIVERANCE. Christ sees you suffering. He sees your trials and He promises you deliverance. His mercies are so great each day and they NEVER run out! They never fail! When you reach a dark season in life, you can cry out to Jesus for mercy. He is there to pick you up in His arms and guide you through every season and trial of your life. He promises to be there. You only have to trust and call on Him.

We find truth & love in who God is. When we understand these things about God, we are able to identify with Him and who He is and ultimately find ourselves in Him. He continuously shows us the way He wants us to be. He is the perfect picture of love & mercy. Unconditional. Knowing this, we can go to Christ in the good and bad times knowing that He will accept us as His child. We never have to fear rejection from God. He accepts us, loves us, shows us mercy, and gives us His strength to continue on our path! He never gives up on you. That is a promise you can hold on to for eternity.

HIS LOVE NEVER FAILS