Merry Christmas

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." -John 1:14

I am so thankful for the CHRISTmas season and the amazing birth that gave me salvation and eternal life! If you don't have a relationship with Jesus, I encourage you to trust in Him, He will never let you down. He loves YOU. He came for YOU. He died for YOU. 

 Merry Christmas!

Tuesday Truth - What Are Your Goals

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”                      

-1 John 2: 15-17

We are to be IN the world, not OF the world. God has created us and placed inside of us hopes, dreams and goals. It’s exciting to have a plan in front of us. The world tells us to move forward, do what’s best for us and acquire our plans and goals for ourselves. All our goals and dreams should revolve around one thing: Jesus. Everything we do, achieve, desire, work for – should be for the greater good of God’s Kingdom! We can’t hide our intentions from God, he knows our hearts. In Proverbs 16: 1-3 it reads, “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” In my study Bible it asks three questions about your plans/goals/dreams/desires: Is this plan in harmony with God’s truth? Will it work under real-life conditions? Is my attitude pleasing to God? These are all great things to keep in mind when pursuing the plans God has for you. Remember years ago when the Jabez prayer hit our Christian community? I often find myself going back to this prayer when faced with a new goal or plan. 1 Chronicles 4:10, “Jabez cried out to the God of Isreal, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.” Let’s break this prayer down. Oh that you would bless me – I often ask for God to bless me so that I can bless Him! And enlarge my territory – When I ask God to enlarge my territory I ask that He would expand the number of people that I can reach for Him. That He would open doors for me to do His work. Let your hand be with me – When I am doing God’s work, if He is not walking alongside me, then I am doing it all in vain. So I ask Him to guide me and direct my footsteps so that I stay in His will. And keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. It is so easy to fall into the trap of sin. Satan doesn’t like it when we are working for God, so I always want to be on guard and ask that God would keep me safe from sinful attitudes, thoughts and actions. In your walk with the Lord, how are you being IN the world, but not OF the world? Are there any changes that you need to make? Talk to God about that right now.

Heavenly Father, as I immerse myself into the world, guide me as I make plans and goals for my life. In 1 Corinthians 16: 13-14, your word says, “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” Through you, help me to be all those things as I work at keeping in step with your will for my life. Amen.

Love Language Cards

When writing a romance novel, you have to put into account how others want to receive love and what makes them feel appreciated! The same goes for those in our lives. God made us all different - and we all give and receive love differently. The key is to know who needs what and when. I'm happy to share the idea that my friend Sara Hochstetler had on helping us along on figuring that out...

Love Language Cards and why I made themWhat is your love language? What acts speak to the heart of your spouse and children?  It gets overwhelming to remember what each child needs from me. Am I praising them enough? Hugging them enough? Am I making them feel like they are a priority to ME in the ways that matter to THEM? I felt frustrated by feeling as if I was not doing "enough" at the end of the day. So I made these cards for my boys so THEY could tell ME what they needed. Now it is up to them to communicate to mom and dad what they are feeling. All they have to do is put it on the fridge (where it will get my attention) and then I can love on them in the way they need it! Of course this works for Mom and Dad too. If you are not familiar with the 5 Love Languages-here they are:

Quality Time, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service and Receiving Gifts

You can take the test for your family here.

What I've come up with is a set of 6 magnetic cards on a ring (easily hung on a Command strip hook on the side of the fridge). One for each love language plus one for mom and dad. You can pick from the titles shown plus some others I have or come up with your own. Your family is unique-embrace that! Come up with as many cards as you want. Extra cards will be $1 each. Cost of 6 cards is $10 plus shipping (if necessary).
Contact me through my Facebook page where you can see all the example cards. Please know each card design will be different but you can pick out of 3 options for style. They are Girly, Boyish or Both. Or tell me what  style you would prefer per card if that works better for your family.
Here's a sneak peak at the cards!
Thanks for reading!
Sara Hochstetler