New Thought

Just heard this on the radio and it really made me think...

It's not so much what we do, but the motive behind what we do.

So true! Whatever we do, big or small, easy or hard...we should be doing it as if we were doing if for Jesus! Whether I'm picking up the toys for the thousandth time, or driving down the road...my motive should be to please Jesus. Whatever that may look like.

It actually takes some of the pressure off. I don't have to find a bunch of new ways to love God, I just have to take all these small things that I'm already doing and do them to the best of my ability, with the attitude I need to have because everything that I do, no matter how trivial or routine it seems is done for one reason, to glorify my Father.

I am His

As I was praying this morning, I was thanking God for his love. grace. forgiveness. patience. Then, as I was praying I felt like God was saying, Yes, I give you those things, but how long is it going to take for you to seek me fully? Yes, I am patient with you, but are you taking that for granted? I want a relationship with you, Renee. I want you to fully depend on Me.

Our God is a loving, forgiving, patient, full of grace God, but I believe there is a time when we have to decide that it's not all about what He can do for us, but what we are doing for Him.

So, what am I doing for Him? What am I doing to deepen my relationship with Him? I have to admit that I am at least talking to him more regularly, but what else? What else will help me to get to know Him better? Spending time in His Word. Singing praises and worshiping all day long. Remembering who He is, and that He is holy...and He chose me.

God has been using me, stretching me, teaching me. I am His. Now, I just want my life to show it.

Back to It

Who knows who will read this...if anyone since I haven't been here in over a year and a half. But, I need a place to write what God is teaching me right now in life. I am so thankful for my family and friends and church family. God has been using them to teach me new things.

Craig and I just recently returned from a mission trip to Haiti. While I was there, I saw a lot of poverty and sickness. One thing that really stood out to me was the fact that even though these people had practically nothing, they were still happy. They were still smiling. They still loved Jesus. They would approach me and ask if I knew who Jesus was! I was there to tell them about Him.

One thing that has been hard since being back is continuing to let God shine through me and use me. We prepared ourselves to go and be Christ to everyone we came into contact with. We had time for everyone. We smiled to anyone we saw. We waved, we said "Bonjour!" Why can't I be that way here at home? I get so caught up in life that I forget to see people. I don't look for those who may need someone to smile at them, someone to tell them that Jesus loves them. My goodness, I'm even intimidated to say hi to another mom at the playground!

I want to be the kind of person who loves the Lord so much more than myself that I can not wait to show that love to others. I want it to be a part of who I am...to the point that I don't even have to try.

I'm working on it. It's a daily challenge. God is slowly pointing out things in my life that I need to surrender to Him. It is my desire to peel away everything that is getting in the way so that I can learn to love God more than myself, more than my husband, more than my kids, more thananything.

I'm on a journey. And I'm hoping to fall more in love with God, my husband, and my kids in the process!