More to be thankful for......

After the post on yesterday, I decided to ask my kids what they were thankful for. Beatrice said that she was thankful for:
*a roof over our heads
*food on the table
*that we have heat

Gertie said:
*thankful for drink-cause if we are eating something and choke, we have something to wash it down with. Can't say I have ever thought about it that way!

Today I am saying:
*I am thankful for my church. If you love your church, hear God's word every Sunday, this is a rarity. I know this to be true, churches are trying more and more to be politically correct. I don't remember anywhere in God's word where it says, "Sugar coat all that is in this book, it can be hard to hear!" Quite the opposite actually......anyway, you get my point! Perhaps this is a post within itself-I'll have to remember this one!

*For my Bible. It has gotten me through some very dark times and has seen me have immeasurable joy.

I am gonna continue this until next week........I will post everyday on the things that I am thankful for!

Blessings,
Kim

Today I am thankful....

Over the next week, I would like to share a few things that I am thankful for. We take so much for granted, and it is nice to know that we are truly appreciative of what God has entrusted us with. I realize that this may be a bit cliche'd but I really want to acknowledge all of my blessings for Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for:

*My salvation
*My ability to serve and worship my living Lord
*That I have been born in a time that allows me such freedoms in my country
*That freedom, although not free, is paid for daily by such giving and amazing men and women every day.

There is many more things that I am thankful for! I will continue to post some new things everyday until Thanksgiving.

What are you thankful for?

Blessings,
Kim

Excuse me, what........

Yesterday, I decided to buy a new pair of hair clippers. I did this because I am the one who cuts everyone's hair in the house.

I know, how multi-talented am I?

Anywho, I decided that Mr. Man needed a haircut and opened up the package and left some of the contents on my bed. I cut his hair and realized that he needed to have his nails trimmed also. After all, when your hair is so freshly coifed you should look perfect from head to toe, right?

I put Mr. Man on my bed while I looked for the nail clippers.

Remember that I said there was stuff on my bed from the clippers?

He found the oil that you use for the blades, opened it and spilled it all over his hands!

I grab the oil put the lid back on and found another place for safe keeping.

He then was smelling his hands.........when I asked him what he was doing, he replied,

"my hands smell like a jellyfish"

Ya'll I can't make this stuff up! I have no idea that he even knew what a jellyfish is, much less what it smelled like!

Barrel of laughs, that boy.

Blessings,
Kim

God's prompting.......

Okay, remember back when I posted this http://cogdillfamily.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-do-i-do-this.html

And I said that I would blog sometimes about things that would be painful or not shed a favorable light on me?

Well, I have one to share.

I share not for any other reason but to say that it hurts God's heart when we are not obedient, and I am proof of that today.

A few years ago, I had a friend that was going through some rough spots in her life. We were not best friends, but she became someone that I enjoyed talking to, and sharing about what God was doing in each of our lives. I went to church with this woman, and she was an active member. I grew to care about her and her family deeply.

When the rough patches hit, I tried to be there for her, but she was a private person, and had a hard time sharing about the intimate details of her life. I vowed to pray for her and her family, and would listen when she needed a ear.

Over the last 2 years or so, she became very wrapped up in the events of her life and began to slowly move away from church and eventually even stopped coming. I was greatly saddened by this, and kept feeling that God was prompting me to contact her.

Did I?

I am ashamed to say, no.

I even got a phone call from a family member.
I told them that I would call or go see her.

I didn't.

What has happened next is something that I will forever have etched in my mind.

I received a phone call from the family member on my home from church this evening. I spoke to this person about how their life is going and was absolutely thrilled to hear from them! Then, God prompted me to ask about this dear woman. What I heard broke my heart.

Not only does this person not live in my hometown anymore, but her marriage has crumbled.

Devastated could not be a more appropriate word for what I felt at that moment.

I missed it.

The opportunity that I had to be there for this woman, I totally missed it.

God spoke to me, and I ignored Him. He gave me a chance to minister to someone and I blew it.

As I spoke to the family member, all I could do was cry.

And apologize.

But somehow, the apology doesn't matter much. It is just another word that flows from my mouth that ended up being an empty promise.

How ashamed I feel right now, knowing that this lady needed someone to be there for her, and I choose to not be there. After all, we are all adults here..........when we don't listen to the prompting of God, we are choosing to be disobedient. I mean, lets call it what it truly is! We are saying that in spite of all He has done for us, that our work that we have planned for ourselves is of greater importance than what He is asking us to do.

As I type this, I wonder........what were my reasons for not reaching out when I was told to.

Was I too busy?
Was it a little too inconvenient?
Was I a little uncomfortable?

Whatever the reason that I gave at the time, I guess it seemed to be good enough for me to have been completely disobedient.

How wrong I was.

I guess that you could say that the purpose of writing this post is simply this.

Follow God's prompting.

We may not understand the reasons that God has behind it, but we should never second guess God.

I am now left in a place of shame and guilt. How could I have done this to another Christian? How could I have been so blinded by my own life that I didn't care that someone needed me?

Here's the neat part, this is where the good stuff kicks in.

God's forgiveness and grace.

In a world filled with bitterness, anger, resentment and unforgiveness, I can turn to my Heavenly Father and know that:
-I am forgiven
-He still loves me
-He will never leave me, nor forsake me
-He will always be there to hold me in His arms and tell me that He is still in control!

See, I am so thankful that God loves me enough to give me that spiritual spanking when I need it, but then turns around and gives me all the love I will ever need.

As for my dear friend, I am going to contact her and ask for forgiveness. I know that she will forgive me, cause that is the kind of person she is!

I can honestly say that I don't know how people who are not saved get through this life. I tried to make it on my own for 27 years and didn't do a very good job. The last 6 years of my life have been the best ever! I am thankful that God didn't give up on me!

Please listen to the prompting of God. You may not understand, but the important thing is to be obedient!

Blessings,
Kim

Tis the season.....

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? I have been trying for many years to get organized enough to start early and finish early. I have had better luck this year. I have gotten a few gifts for a couple of people and wow......I sure feel a sense of relief! I am one of those people who wait until the last minute. Not purposely, but it seems as though there is always a reason why I cannot go sooner. Money, time, money, money, did I say money?
I ran across this the other day, and thought that it has a great message behind it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU

I am not sure of the church behind it, but I do know that the message definitely rings true. There are many other things that we should be focused on. We have lost the sense of the true Christmas spirit, and what that means for us as Christians.

As we enter into the season, let us not forget that Jesus is the reason for the season! Let your focus be on the miracle of His birth and His life. But never forget that He died to set you free so that you may be able to live and live abundantly!

Because God has given us so much, share some of the goodness that God has provided you with! Invest in some extra gifts for children that may not be as fortunate. If will make your heart smile and bless that child!

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php

This organization is a wonderful way to give to children around the world. Check out their website and you will find yourself wanting to spread the Christmas spirit.

I hope that this day has found you in the house of the Lord!

Blessings,
Kim

Want some change?

I know that it has been a week since I last blogged. To be honest, I have had a hard time trying to finds words for my feelings about the election. I hope that this simple statement will allow you to hear my heartbeat in this situation.

I am sad that the person I voted for did not win the election, however, I respect the office of the Commander in Chief and will continue to pray for the office. It is my sincere hope that President Obama will lead our country with lots of prayer and discernment.

That is my 2 cents, in case you were wondering ;0)

Blessings,
Kim

Your right to vote........

Tomorrow is a big day for our country. As we finally get a chance to have our voice heard, it is so important that we take the opportunity to do the right thing. As I wouldn't want to turn this into a political forum, I thought that I would give my reasons for going and casting your vote tomorrow:

My voice truly does count!
cause many have fought for this privilege that we have freely
Christians should unite together and make sure that the issues that are important are
at the forefront of our choices.
it is important that we are informed about the morals of the candidates.
not letting the media give us a false representation of what they want us to believe.

Praying for the candidate of your choice,
and feeling confident in that decision.
learning what each candidate stands for
in all areas of the election
not just the ones that the media wants you to hear about!

If you read between the lines, you will hear my heart in this election..........
I pray that all of you will go and exercise your right to vote-if you choose not to-don't complain!

This country is the best in the world! I am proud to be an American and love my country! Don't take this responsibility lightly,

Please vote!

Blessings,
Kim

Because all are created equal.....

After the last few posts, I realized that I have only been talking about Mr. Man. It is not that he is favored, it is just that he does some pretty priceless stuff!

I mean after all, I think that I would be a little upset if Beatrice or Gertie came to me with a can of opened soup and a bucket full of the soup!

So I decided to ask Beatrice if she was offended. She quickly told me no. That made me feel better...........then I replied-

"You really should do some funny stuff, then I could blog about it!"

Enough said.

I truly do love my girls and all of their interesting personality traits.

I realize that Beatrice has my sense of humor, and the older she gets that she is alot of fun to hang out with.

Gertie marches to the beat of a different drum all together, and wears her heart on her sleeve. She is my most giving child, truly wanting for everyone to be happy.

So as of today, I have nothing to share with you........except that they fight alot, but I am sure that you don't want to hear about that anymore than I do!

I pray that tomorrow will find you in the house of the Lord!

Blessings,
Kim