The Wisdom of God, part 4

Romans 12:16b

Be not wise in your own conceits.

Another way I see people dismiss God's wisdom doesn't seem like a big deal to many, but it can speak volumes. This is through changing our looks.

I am asked multiple times a year by different people why I don't color my hair or wear makeup (which I will wear occasionally, but not very often). One reason is because I don't see the need to stress our budget on those things, but another is because why would I want to change how God made me?

I think back to when I was younger and I would dye my hair or change my eye color using contacts and remember it was because I didn't like how I looked; I was craving acceptance from the world instead of resting in who God created me to be.

God gave me dark, brown hair. Do I truly think that changing it to another color is going to change me? No! I now have gray hair. Is covering that up going to make me younger? No! Why not embrace who God made me to be and the wisdom I've gained from living these years that brought on the gray hair?

Psalms 104:1-35 KJV

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: 4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: 5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. 6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. 7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. 8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. 9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. 10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. 11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst. 12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. 13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. 14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; 15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart. 16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; 17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. 18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. 19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. 20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. 21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. 22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. 23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening. 24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. 26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. 27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. 28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. 29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. 31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works. 32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke. 33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. 35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

Kingdom Heirs - Heaven Just Got Sweeter For You (NQC 2017)

This song was shared with us after discussing how we still haven't completely grieved the loss of my father-in-law. While I don't think that heaven can get any sweeter than us being with God, it does bring comfort in reminding us that we will see him one day again.

Remembering Grandpa

My husband and I had been discussing about how we don't feel any of us really processed the loss of his father since his passing back in October. We decided to have a time of all of us sharing our favorite memories of Grandpa as well as how it makes us feel that he is no longer with us. It was a good time of sharing happy memories. We laughed. We cried. It was helpful.

Although it has helped, I still don't think we have fully mourned his loss. Our family has a tendency to bottle up emotions so we still have some digging to do.

This time of sharing did remind me, however, of a poem that I had thought about sharing back in October but never got around to sharing. Our third born shared a birthday with Grandpa, therefore, had a special connection with him. She is also our child who likes to express herself through writing. She wrote this beautiful poem and read it at the funeral.

"The Grandpa in My Heart"

On a day lovingly chosen,

A blessing was brought to life,

Who blessed his God given family,

And later his children and wife.

Six decades and nine years later,

I took my very first breath,

My heart was filled with love for him,

To give abundantly, until his death.

And even after he leaves me,

To live with Love, in a place so fair,

For him, there will be a place in my heart,

A place so exquisite and rare.

I will always remember his legacy,

His smile so teasing and sincere,

Toothpicks and cards will forever always,

To my heart, bring him so near.

I pray he knows how much I love him,

How much he means to me,

For him, I will lovingly sing,

On the day, he was brought to be.

In my memories he will stand,

So vivid and so real,

And in my heart,  

Love for him, I'll feel. 

Written from her heart

by Allyn Carmichael

                                                                                                           

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 31:9

Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

As I read this verse, my mind went immediately to the issue of abortion.

Many people talk about a woman's choice of the child in the womb? Is not that child "the poor and needy"? That child needs someone to plead his cause. We cannot stand silently by and allow precious lives to be destroyed. This also goes for the handicapped and elderly. We must plead their cause!

Although I wrote this months ago, it is ever true now in light of what has passed in New York and other states. We must open our mouths and plead for the unborn!

Transformation Tuesday

I have been enjoying Plexus since the end of April 2018. While I have seen many benefits, I was pregnant when I started taking it and have been nursing since my son was born so I didn't realize the full extent of what the benefits are of balancing hormones.

My cycles usually return between three and five months regardless of the fact that I exclusively breastfeed. Well, I am happy to say that my flow has been drastically less than it was in the past. In fact, I think it has been at least 10 years since I've had a normal flow during my cycles. Usually I am on many herbs trying to balance my hormones because the flow is so heavy that I am scared to even leave the house.

I can not even express how excited I am about this benefit!

I am also aware that my hormones overall are balanced because I don't have the ups and downs I used to experience. I am doing better at keeping calm at times that used to send me into a tailspin. I have also noticed that my anxiety levels are way down.

Do you suffer from heavy flows during your cycles? Do you know that your hormones are off? Then it might be the time to give Plexus a shot!

This month I have six-yes 6!-codes to help you save money on your journey to health! Contact me today if you have any questions!

Sunday Psalms

Psalms 82:1-8 KJV 

1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. 

2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. 

3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 

4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. 

5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. 

6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 

7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. 

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Perseverance

James 1:2-4 KJV 

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Testimony Tuesday

Today's testimony is another one of how God provides.


Since the baby was born, we had been thinking about what we wanted to do when he grew too big for the bassinet.

We had considered having the 2 year old share a twin bed with the 3 year old. We have transitioned to twin beds out of the crib for the past eight children and since we really didn't have room for another twin, we figured the two of them could share (the twins shared when they transitioned out of a crib). If we did this, then the baby could move into the crib. Unfortunately, there were a few problems with this. 1. The baby still wakes at night and he would then be in another room. 2. The other children may wake him up during naps, at night, etc. and 3. The 2 year old wasn't adjusting well to sleeping with her sister (we did a trial time).

Another option was to keep the 2 year old in the crib and put the baby in a pack-n-play in our room. This wasn't ideal because it would mean leaning over so far to put the baby in and take him out as well as the loss of storage space because you can't store anything under a pack-n-play.

A third option was to put a twin back under the lofted bed (the crib has been under the loft) and move the crib to our room. The issue with this is that we would have to buy a twin mattress and we would lose some storage space (we store things around the crib under the loft).

A fourth option came to mind two weeks ago. We could try to find a toddler bed and mattress to put where the crib used to be and move the crib into our room. This seemed like the best option since I was sure I could find a toddler bed and mattress for less than or equal to a twin bed and it would still allow us to keep our storage space.

I posted on my personal facebook page that I was looking for a toddler bed and mattress. I hadn't been successful looking at local sale pages to find anything in our price range in our area. God worked through our friends to provide for us! One friend had an extra crib mattress and another friend had an extra toddler bed. They both gave them to us! What a blessing! The one friend also gave us an entire tote of clothes for the baby ranging from 6/9 months up to 3T!

People often ask us how we can afford to raise a large family with just my husband working. This is how! God provides above our imaginations!

How has God provided for you?

Don't Stop Asking Questions

Testimony Tuesday

For the past month, I have been able to use almost all of my Plexus supplements again. I am taking Slim, BioCleanse, Ease, and VitalBiome (ProBio5 still upsets Gordon's tummy so I'm not taking that yet) and have added Xfactor Plus and the Lean Whey. I usually have a Lean shake 3-4 times a week. I have also been more focused on making sure I drink enough water every day. I am happy to report that I lost 6 lbs last month!

I have yet to start an exercise regimen because the times I have figured I would start, something would happen such as the baby being up a lot the night before, a child being sick and/or myself being sick. I do plan to start something, however. My neighbor and I have discussed walking together, but then the Polar Vortex hit and we weren't about to go walking in 20 below weather (with wind chills even lower!).

I would love for you to share your own weight loss victories below. It is always nice to hear encouraging stories!