Leader

Significant leaders lead by example - Can you say to someone follow me as I follow Christ?  Can you say that to those who know you best? Better yet, would they follow you because they know you know the way?

Lead by example

"Set an example for others in life in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Tim 4:12

I have a sick baby girl :(

I am now the proud mom of a walker!  Addy's walking 2 days before she turns 9 months! Oh man we are in trouble.

These are my three favorite people in the entire world. I love, love, love them.

Delight

Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

This is my most fav scriptures. The desires of my heart. I just love the way God works. He knows that when we delight in Him His heart becomes our heart. His loves become our loves. When we truly surrender our lives and begin to live the way He wants us to live His will becomes what we want. Ultimately, by delighting in the Lord we don't change Him, He changes us. He moves into our hearts and our lives and begins reshaping our goals, our values, our priorities. I love this. Everything starts with delight. You MUST fall in love with Jesus. You must seek after Him. Give yourself to Him. Learn who He is. Study His Word. Worship Him. Praise Him. Adore Him. Beg Him to shape your heart to His. The Lord is faithful. He never leaves you, He never forsakes you. And He will be true to His promises. You will receive the desires of your heart - every single one - because His heart will become your heart. 

So I ask you this- Do you have the desires of your heart? Do you feel satisfied? Is something missing? If so, find it in Jesus.

sweet babies

You know what one of the best sounds in the world is? 

 When you sweet child is old enough to remember the words of songs and they are sitting in their car seat singing, "This little light of mine,"  

I love that Ella loves to sing about her God.  She is etching his words on her heart before she even knows how bad she will need them.  

Love it

Proverbs 3:3-4

 "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man."

Believing God

Most of us say that we believe in God but do we truly show that we BELIEVE in God.  

-God is who He says He is

-He can do what He says He can do

-I am who God says I am

-I can do all things through Christ

-Gods word is alive and active in me

God promises us so many things.  Do we live our lives expecting these promises of God or do we live our lives in disbelief, missing out on the promises of God?  

I believe that God has placed a calling on my life.  I know I have been called and gifted to preach and teach.  I want to share his promises with everyone. But I am also a mom at heart. I love, love, love being with my girls.  If God's promises really are true then why have I been living with the excuse of being a busy mom with small kids here lately.  God is so much bigger than me and my children. 

Father- forgive me for my disbelief.  I know you are bigger than the box I have put you in lately. I am so past ready to find my place in ministry in this new chapter of our lives. Open my eyes to where you are moving. I believe you have called and equipped me and I believe that I can do your will and raise my girls at the same time. I believe you will provide all that I need along the way. Thank you for your blessings.  I need you so much.

lucky

guess we are one of the lucky ones around since our power kicked on about 4 this morning.  yea!!! I don't know what we would do without Dora this morning.  Yesterday was crazy.  I have never been in so much wind.  Imagine what it felt like on the coast.  Now I can see.  We probably didn't even experience 10% of what went on there.  

can I join you?

I will never forget Brianne.  Brianne walked in to our youth ministry as a confused, alone 6th grader.  She came from a broken family.  Had a dad that did drugs and a mom that was always working and wasn't extremely involved in her life.  At one point in time her dad was put into jail for selling drugs and her mom moved her boyfriend (which bri didn't like) into their house.  And before long they were living each week in a hotel because they didn't have a house.

Bri just wanted someone to follow, someone to show her how to live her life.  When she was first given the message of Jesus she ran with it.  She gave her whole life to this God who she believed really had an amazing plan for her. She had every reason to give up but she never did.  she dove straight in to ministry. She began inviting her friends to church every week. Some weeks she would come in to the church and work for hours on making up invitations for them. Whatever it took to get them there. She worked her butt off. She began living her life for Jesus. She really bought into the fact that He had a plan for her and that he was going to use her to do something big in life. All through jr. high and high school she never allowed herself to get caught up in her own life. She never allowed things to take priority over her relationship with God. She constantly looked for more opportunities to serve him and to minister to her friends. Each week she would make time to come to the church and make phone calls inviting people to church. When she went out with friends it was only once her ministry was done and her work for the Lord at the Church was finished. And even when she was with her friends she was always looking for opportunity to love and serve others. It wasn't long before Bri was in high school and she was helping teach in the jr. high ministry. She began to live her life as a role model for the girls. She poured herself into them, telling them to call her if they needed anyone to talk to.  offering them advice from what type of clothes they should wear to what type of friends they should have.  Bri lived her life for others.  She allowed God to use her and take hold of every part of her life.

Pretty soon Bri was feeling a call from the Lord into full time ministry.  She began to preach on Sunday nights in our youth program, she got an internship at the Church and became a huge leader in every way.  Now Bri is a beautiful, chrisitan young lady on a scholarship at Christian college majoring in ministry.  God has already used her to reach many young people and her future in Him is limitless

Julie came to youth the same day as Bri.  She too had issues in her family.  Her dad was out of work on disability and her mom had to work a lot.  Her older sister was 16 and having her first baby.  Soon she would be 18 and pregnant with her second.  They struggled to pay their bills each week as most families do. 

Julie was presented with the same message of Jesus the same day as Bri.  Julie too wanted someone to follow, someone to show her how to live.  She wanted this God that was talked about.  He sounded like just what she needed.  he could probably do big things in her life.  So she tried it , she started doing her Bible study, she started writing in her prayer journal, and she started going to youth each Wednesday and Sunday.  Through all of this something still seemed like it was missing.  Julie still didn't feel quite complete.  It wasn't too long before Julie started looking elsewhere for acceptance and satisfaction.  She started hanging out with the wrong crowd, doing things she shouldn't do, going places she shouldn't go.  She began to drift farther and farther away from the Jesus that she once was so excited about.  Julie began to live her life for herself.  She wanted to be pretty, she wanted to be popular, she wanted whatever seemed to be the latest and greatest thing.  She allowed sports to get in the way of Church always choosing practice over Disicpleship, she allowed being cool to get in the way of doing what pleased God.  She began to fight with her mom and dad over the rules they had set in their house - thinking she was big enough to make her own choices. She acted out in school, got caught cheating, lying, you name it she was a part of it.  she lived life so that she would have fun and didn't spend too much time thinking about others.  

Today Julie is searching.  She has graduated high school and knows that there has to be more to life that what she is living right now.  She is unsatisfied.  no matter what she buys, how many friends she has, or what job she is doing she just feels like something is always missing. Will this ever end? Will she ever feel like enough is enough? Will she ever find joy, peace, acceptance, love?  Where did she go wrong?  All these questions she asks over and over again in her mind.

So what's the difference?  Julie and Bri both come from similar families.  They both received the message of Jesus on the same day, at the same time.  How could two, young, beautiful girls turn out so different.  

Here's the difference - 

When Bri gave her life to Christ she gave it to him completely.  she handed him everything - her family, her friends, her future, her school, her popularity, her ministry.  she said here I am God do with me what you want - I am here for you to use.  Take my life.  Julie on the other hand gave her life to the Lord saying, Here i am Lord come join me where I am.  I am going to keep the same friends but I want you to bless our friendship, I am going to watch and listen to what I want to but I want you to bless me anyway.  I am going to follow my own rules but I want you to honor that.  I will serve you if you will adapt your life to me.  Here I am Lord - join me

God has a plan for us - but we must surrender our lives completely.  We must empty ourselves and allow him to fill us up in whatever way he chooses.  When we give God this opportunity he promises not only to fill our lives but to overflow our lives. He promises to give us a hope and a future. He promises to give us joy even when we are going through the worst times, He promises never to leave us and always to love us.

Have you joined God today?

Preschooler

I am now the proud mom of a preschooler.  Ella went to her first day of Tuesday school at SpringHill Church of Christ.  She loved it!  I am so sad - I can't believe I have a preschooler!  I love that girl.

No Mommy

"Mommy did God make the sky?"

"Yea, Ella, and the clouds, and the grass, and the flowers."

"No Mommy, God didn't make OUR flowers, we buyed our flowers from the store."

This was my conversation with my 3 year old daughter as we walked earlier this week.  She has also just recently informed me that her name is no longer Ella because she has changed it to Isabelle.

mastititus

yea, I've got it.  And unless you are a nursing mom or have been at one point in time you don't know what that is but it stinks!  We are having fun in the Dooley house.  

Love Ya

presence

Prayer has become  different for me with two kids running around, interrupting my every thought.  I run through my day taking care of everyone's needs.  Changing diapers, fixing princess noodles, watching dance recitals, and cleaning up the same things over and over again.  Through all of this madness the daily quiet time I used to spend with God has changed so much.  I find myself taking extra long in the shower because those are the few minutes, if any, that I have to myself.  And once the kids are asleep (which is sometimes a chore) I find that it is much easier to turn on the t.v. and allow myself to get distracted by the noise rather than spend a few minutes alone with the Father.  I have had to move my prayer from my to-do list to my to-live list.  Praying and being with the Father is something that we live out.  It is something that can go with us every day should we choose to take it with us.  When we take the Father with us things change because He begins to carry our loads, He begins to ease our pains, He begins to open our eyes.  Though it has taken some getting used to I love taking God with me everywhere I go.  I love mixing it up all the time and staying on the edge of my relationship with him.  I am also challenged to grow through this because of the new awareness of the presence of God in my life.  

What would happen in your everyday life if you lived like the Father  was literally in the room with you. How would you respond to your spouse? How patient would you be with your 3 year old? How would you treat those that are not so nice to you? I challenge you to practice the presence of God (and read that book if you haven't). Get used to living like He is right next to you (because He is), allow His presence to overwhelm your every move, your every decision, your every word. Allow it to completely change you.  Then the world will notice your prayer life and they will praise your Father in heaven.  

Father, thank you for your mercy, thank you for your grace.  Thank you for being beside me even when I do not take the time to acknowledge your presence.  May I live my life to be a blessing to you.

Vacation was good