I think I Can...

My friend and work out buddy and I have been faithful to our P90 for a couple of weeks now.

Though there are days that I wish she had something else to do so I could rest that night.

She is so much better about keeping us accountable that I am. If she wasn't coming over to do the workout I would probably stop.

But alas, God always knows what we need when we need it.

He knows that I have been struggling with wanting to work out. I have good days and bad days.

When she arrived last night, she gave me this from Lysa Turkeurst, "Made To Crave".

"I fully realize that my body as a temple, may not be God's most grand dwelling. However, I want to lift up to the Lord my willingness to dedicate my exercise as a gift to Him and myself. This one act "un-divides" my heart and reminds me of the deeper purpose for moving my body."

God knew I needed to read this.

To hear this deep with my heart.

Every work out is a gift that I am giving to God and myself.

My temple is not grand right now, for sure.

But it can be if I will continue to eat right and stand on my desire to work out each day.

Praying my heart will no longer be divided!

Psalm 86:11-12 (New King James Version)

Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

I think I can, I think I can....

Saying goodbye to my sidekick!

Last week I received some really sad news. My sidekick, Becky, was resigning her position as my assistant and treasure for the SC WM's department.

She has been doing this job for many years and though I knew the day was coming, I had hoped it would be latter than sooner.

Mostly out of selfishness on my part. I love this sweet lady. She keeps me under control and within my boundaries. When it comes to women's ministry, I can dream and dream big.

She doesn't stop me from dreaming, she encourages it but remind's me of the cost to get my dreams out there. I need this sometimes and she always knows when.

She stretches me and strengthens me and is the voice of reason I sometimes need to hear.

I was apointed the District WM Director for SoCarolina just over a year ago. I am not the traditional leader by any means.

I am somewhat tech savvy and love to use social media to get our message out. This was brand new territory for the district womens department.

She recognized this right off and welcomed me in my new office with open arms!

She once told me she learned real quick that she had to hold on to my shirt or she might loose me. We both have laughed at this a few times.

She is a pure joy and one of the sweetest gifts God has given me in my life and ministry.
I can't imagine running the womens department without her.

I love you, Becky!!

I Think I Can.....

The work out Amanda and I is the P90. I bought it a few months ago and tried it but

I liked the workout but I didn't see results as fast as I should have... so I gave up.

This time around is a lot different.

My mind is set on the things of God and His will for me.

No longer on allowing my emotions to control my eating or happiness.

My identity in this area has been in food.

I now choose to find my identity in Christ...

Yay! I am on my way.

Amanda and are keeping each other accountable to our work out time.

My knee is doing ok. Instead of putting pressure on my knees doing the push-ups I use Bill's weight bench and bar. Yep, that bar weighs 45 pounds and I'm doing good to lift it without extra weight on it.

Bill also has be doing leg lifts with the weights to strengthen my the inside and out side of my knee. It seems to be working though I'm no where near wanting to do another jumping jack!

Thank you so much to those of you who have let me know your praying for me. I really appreciate it! :)

Change is on the horizon....

I think I can, I can I can....

I think I Can...

During our work out last night t I popped my knee cap out of place three times. Yes, I said 3! I felt each one and my friend Amanda heard them!

I lost my balance and fell to the floor in agony and tears telling God.. NO!

I knew my knee would be the end of my workouts for a while.

Thankfully I had two Navy Corpsman in the house. Bill and Amanda and they both knew just what to do and went right into action.

The pain was more than I could take but I knew I had no choice. I gave it to God and tried my best to collect my self.

I am not a pretty crier.. I have seen myself in the mirror. Not a sight I want any one else to see.

I was in pain and I felt defeated once again in my work outs. We iced my knee and Amanda went home.

I checked me email before going to bed and this is what I found.

Amanda wrote:

I came home and was thinking about you....I hope that this helps:

"For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness - James 1:3"

This is just a test of our faith, sweet sister....God is always faithful to us, and He wants us to continue in faith with what was started even through injury and adversity. We will succeed and rebuild His temple!

I was in tears as I read her email. Steadfastness..... Just what I needed to hear. My faith was being tested and I had to STAND!

But not just this. God is faithful to us and I can continue in faith and know that God is going to take care of my knee.

The work out was off for last night but today is a new day. I will work out tonight. Even if I only have one leg to use.

We Are rebuilding our temples and this temple will not stop now.

There is a way, I just have to find it.

I think I can, I think I can......

I think I Can.....

My friend I talked about in my last post and I decided to by the book "Made To Crave" by Lysa Terkuerst.

In the first chapter, Lysa says this: "you crave what you eat"!

Wow, talk about eye opening.

No wonder I have such a hard time saying no to fried foods.

If I eat them, I will crave them! Well duh!!!

In all honesty, food makes me happy.

I knew this wasn't the way God designed me to be, the day I realized thinking about what we where going to have for dinner made me happy.

I wanted to think of God and find that same happiness and I wasn't. I had a real issue and it was time to set things right..

That was a sad day for me.. I don't want to put food before God nor allow the food to take the place He so rightly deserves.

What a journey we have before us.

I have to begin to say no to fried food and say yes to healthier food. I can eat grilled chicken and catfish...

I think I can, I think I can......

I think I Can......

Can I please be as skinny as the girl to the right?

Every time I see her I think about this question.

Is this to much to ask? I think not, and yet I struggle in this everyday.

A good friend of mine sent a few of us an email detailing her struggle with food and her weight.

It was a very raw and open letter. She was eating sweets on her way to and from work and hiding this from her husband. WOW... none of us knew this!

I was convicted and encouraged by her strength and bravery to share so openly about her struggles to say no to certain foods.

Food is a an addiction for so many. Even me.

Mine; fried food and sweet tea.

I just haven't been brave enough to tell anyone other than God.

Growing up a southern girl, fried food is a staple of many meals and one I truly love, but for the wrong reasons.

My friend gave me the courage to say it out loud.

I was sure Bill knew it but had given me time to realize it for my self.

He has dropped hints and encouraged me in this area, but I chose to deny it to him and my self, even though I knew he was right.

For me, telling others is the first, biggest step I think I can take.

I want to loose the weight but I can't just change what I eat, I have to change the way I think about food.

She was brave enough to obey Gods voice and share her broken journey with us. It became clear that God had more in mind than just her own confessions. He used her as a catalyst for rest of us to look deep within our selves and admit we had a problem as well.

An amazing thing happened once her email went out. Almost everyone on her list revealed they too where having issues with carving food and these issues were hidden from the ones they love.

Through her confession and ours God bonded us together.

So..... we are now all on this journey together.

What does this journey look like?

We have renewed our walks with God.

Created a covenant with Him and each other to hold us accountable as we begin to heal our broken paths to food!

I think I can, I think I can....

One moves out and the other moves in!

There has been so much going on in my life lately! I went on my first missions trip to Cambodia and as soon as I can figure out how to post my pics I will. I took some really good ones. I've had to say good bye to one ministry and hello to another. My best friend and I are staring in our first ever radio show called "The Imperfect Wives" on Blog Talk Radio via CWA this Tuesday. I'm in the midst of a health scare. We are praying the doctors are wrong and I will be fine. And, Bill is in the process of retiring from the Navy. But with all this going on, the thing that has my attention the most is what's going on in the lives of our twins.

Bobby (the oldest twin by a minute and believe me when I say he claims it to the max announced he was moving out a year ago You can catch up on the story here September into his girlfriends home. She was pregnant and we were becoming grandparents. Wow!! I can't believe it has been just over a year. My heart broke that day in ways I didn't know it could.

This past Monday Bobby called and asked if he could move home. I had no clue what to say so I told him he would have to talk to both his dad and I before he could. It's not that I didn't want him to move home. My heart leap at the possibility. I knew I needed Bill to be with me when we talked. Bill and I needed to talk, not that we haven't already. We have actually talked about it a few times once we began to see the signs that he may want to come home. Ground rules had to be agreed upon and in place.

Bobby shared his heart and we shared ours. The ground rules were set on both sides and Bobby moved home yesterday. The twister in all this is Troy announced on Tuesday that he wanted to move out. Ok, a girl can only take so much in a week. We think Troy wanted to do this because he knew his brother needed to be home with us. Troy is a more serious type. He has a good job and is in collage full time. Though they are twins they are worlds apart in every other way!

The big moves took place yesterday. Troy moved into a friends house and Bobby moved into Troys room. When I woke up this morning it felt like Christmas.. You know that feeling of excitement when you can't wait to get up because you know the one gift you wanted the most is sitting under the tree? That's how I felt this morning. My gift was safe and sound asleep in his bed in our home. I'm sad that Troy decided to spread his wings and move out but I know he will be fine. He's just a few miles away. He never has been able to go to far from his mom. My boys have to grow up and I have to let them. With God by my side I know I can do this..

Simply,

Blessing Me First!

I woke up this morning with a feeling of great excitement, anticipation and butterflies in my tummy. I gave my day to God and tried to rest in His Word and not allow the butterflies to get the best of me.


There are times when God will tell me that something good is going to happen in my day. Often times the butterflies in my tummy are for other people in my life, usually when I have been praying for someone and God is letting me know they have a break through coming. However, this time I knew it was for me! As we listen to Gods voice, we learn His heart and begin to flow with Him. I knew God was about to do something and He had me in mind!

Can you imagine my day and how it went? I had to tell my heart a few times to relax and continue my day as normal. But this was big, my heart kept telling me so.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened that morning. It was a pretty uneventful though good day. Things were falling into place.

Then, with one phone call, my days takes a turn. My Daddy was on the other end of the phone. This is how the conversation went:

Daddy~ Pumpkineater, can I get the address to your district office so I can send you a check for your Cambodia trip?

Me~ sure daddy... I give him the address..

Daddy~ We are going to send you $700! $500 for the trip and $200 for you to spend while there.

Me~ what? Daddy you don't have to send me that much!

Daddy~ I know but we want to.. If I don't bless my daughter first I have no right to bless anyone else!

I was stunned first then in tears.. Not just at the amount of money my daddy is sending but that he feels he needs to bless me first.

He blesses everyone around him. He always has. I have watched him give to others so much over the years. If he has an extra car (he does often) he will bless someone with it who needs one. He gives money to those in need when God tells him to because he believes the Word whole heartedly.

The reason this statement means so much to me is because my Daddy and I have only been restored for 7 years. You can read "Breaking Down Walls" for the background of this story. God is in the restoration business. My daddy and I are living proof of this!

I however have only asked my daddy for something one time, when I was in 11th grade. We made the volley ball nationals heading to Tenn and I was first string. I had saved all but $70 to pay for my trip. I asked my daddy for the first time if he could give me the money. His then wife said no so he said no as well. I was heart broken because his NO meant so much more to me then he understood at the time. God still provided the money I needed but I was left hurt on so many levels.

Fast forward 20 plus years.. I called my Daddy to ask for help with this trip. Though God has restored our relationship it was hard for me to ask because the emotions from 11th grade came flooding back. I didn't want to be rejected by him again. By his answer I learned that my Daddy loves me and finds me precious. How sweet his voice when he shared his thoughts for me. This statement was so much louder than the $700.

My Daddy wants to "bless me first"! I couldn't have asked for a sweeter gift from God than this one. And as far as the trip goes, I now have $1300 left to raise. Not so daunting a task since I started with $3700. God brought a scripture to my heart;

"By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb." Genesis 49:25

One last thought; I just realized my daddy gave me $70 times 10. I wonder if this has crossed his heart as well?

Thank you Lord for a wonderful Daddy, who loves his daughter beyond measure. Only you can restore the broken hearted!

My emotions are everywhere!

28 days and counting. This is the amount of days I have to get ready for my first missions trip, ever! I'm nervous is an understatement. There are so many things going on in my mind.

Will I have enough money raised in time for the trip? I still have $1800 to go.

Will the pilots fall asleep during our 14 hour flight from Cali to Singapore?

Will our luggage make it with us?

What am I going to say to the ladies at the Women's Conference?

How am I going to react when I see the "Killing Fields" for the first time?

What have I got to say that can make a difference in their lives?

How do I talk to married women who's husbands have 5 wives at least?

What is God going to show me while I'm there?

What can I do to help the Doctors and Nurses during the medical part of our mission there? I'm not a Doctor or a Nurse.. though I can kiss and bandage booboos.

I've never had someone interpret for me. Can I slow down enough for her to understand me?

Can I love on these people and leave them so easily?

So many things are going through my mind. I do have faith that God is going to provide the rest of the money needed, not just for me but for the rest of our team.

If I sound overwhelmed it's because I am. I feel so out of my league on this. I have never gone over seas before to a country that is so impoverished the families live in cardboard and tin house. Where the income for the family is 50 cents a day and made mostly by their children. All of this is the norm for them.

My emotions are everywhere. Even so, I know my God is with me and His Will will be done in Cambodia.

Trusting in my Savior,

Check out my new Blog design!

Ok, Mary is over the top amazing with her designs and creative mind. Don't you agree!!
If your looking for a blog make over may I suggest MaryHessDesigns. She truly captured my heart and fun loving sides. So, what are you waiting for? Go check her out!!

Blessings,

Getting a New Look!!

Simply Cherie is getting a Blog Makeover thanks to MaryHessDesigns!!

I'm looking forward to seeing what we dream up..

Way to busy for me!

It's been a while since I have posted anything. My life has become so busy. My husband is getting ready to retire from the Navy. Our son is having a baby, well his girlfriend but you know what I mean. I am still walking and believeing for Sam's complete healing! Our other twin, Troy, is in Europe for 12 days. Poor kid is more worried about getting us something than he is about just relaxing and enjoying what God has created in places he has never set eyes on before.

Work wise, my days are as crazy as any one persons day can be. I'm up at 5:00am most mornings spending some time with God.. I so need this to start my day. Bill leaves at 5:30 and I get to enjoy the house quiet until 6:00am when the first of 6 little ones invade my day. At 6:15 I have to get Sam and James (our youngest) up for school. Sam has to have a bath ( she is in diapers still) and her hair done of course.. In between getting her ready I have to call James at least 4 times to get up. Sam's bus comes at 6:35 and James at 6:41. Then the house is quiet again for the most part. My first to little ones are watching Curious George. I have a few minuets to make a cup of tea and pray.. At 7:15 my next little one comes in. Then at 7:30 another one.. Whew that makes 4. by 8:00 my last two and my helper Mary come in and my day is off and running. In between the kids, breakfast, lunch (I take care of all food that is consumed and the cleaning up after them) I'm upstairs working tring to put as much time into my second job, my position as the AG District Women's Ministry Director, Praying Wives Club, and SALT (of course), as I can. Lots of phone calls and planning going on plus counseling.. God has given me a hand full of ladies to council each day. I love counciling women. I think it's one of favorite times of the day.

By 4:00 I'm back down stairs and spending time with our little one (the are a highlight of my day) and helping Mary get them ready for their parents. by 5:00 starting dinner. By 6:00 everyone is gone and Bill and our kids are home! Dinner, baths, a family game of monopoly or what every the kids choose and it's now 8:00. Sam has to be in bed by 8:00pm to cut down the seizures and then the house has to be as quiet as possible to keep her asleep so she does not wake up which causes the seizures. It's a pain but we do this because we love Sam and don't want to the cause of another seizure, though sometimes it doesn't matter how much we do she still has them. Arghh!!

Dishes have to be done now.. seems they refuse to do themselves, and the house has to be cleaned again. I clean my home at least 4 times a day. I have to with so many people here each day.

By the time I have completed everything it's 9:30 and I am dog tired and in need of my bed (you know what I mean). I realize that blogging is therapeutic for me. It allows me to get my thoughts out. Not that any one else would want to read them but it helps me make sense of my crazy life. I think I need to take a long look at my days and see how I can better organize my self so I can have some me time.. more time to read (I love reading but don't have near enough time anymore to do this), more time to spend with God ( I do a good job with spending time with Bill, Sam, the twins and James but feel I need to work on this one).

I wonder if other wives find them selves in the same place I have. My routine so routine that I am getting frustrated with my every day life! For now, I think I will take a walk with my husband and just breath.

Cherie

You Dance Over Me!!

I was reading the blog of our first pastor (as a family). He wrote on Luke 15 giving special attention to vs 10.

"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10

Like Pastor Frank, I thought God was always sitting on His throne watching over us (with exception to Stephen when he was stoned).

I never could see more than a smile on his face when I think about him..

But this scripture says that there IS rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Who is in the presence of the angels and who's presence do we long for each day? Gods!!! I got so excited.

I have read this passage so many time since I was in Christian school in 8th grade!! But I never saw it before.

Now I see more of who my Heavenly Father is!

As I was re-reading the passage, a song came into my heart.

God dances over us and we don't even know it.




Lets pray: Heavenly Father, allow us to know when your dancing over us! Let us hear your voice as you sing around us that we may draw closer to you and experience you presence as you are experiencing us!

New Thing!!

"Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19

How exciting is it to know God is starting a new thing in all of us!! It's time to lay the past down and begin to walk into God's calling for our life, our marriages, our relationships with our children..


Will you take a few minutes and share what God is wanting to start New in you?

Here are a few examples to get you thinker going:

~Behavioral changes with in our selves. (I have some as well) Remember, change can be fun! :o)

~New ministries that are hidden with in us and are exciting the pee out of us yet we're not doing anything about them!

~Things God is asking us to do but we are afraid to take the steps necessary to begin.

~Sins we don't want to let go of but know God is asking us too so we can begin fresh and new!


Don't be shy!! Remember our scripture..I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." God is not only wanting to do a new thing in us, He promises to make a way for it!!

So, What is stopping you???


♥ you ladies!!!

Can I Be Quiet?

Can I be quiet?



Hi ladies! I pray everyone is doing well and just about ready for Christmas..

There's something that's been on my heart for a couple weeks now and I want to share it with you. You know how God will give us a Word and we receive it but don't completely understand all of? So, we chew and meditate on it and ask questions (I do this all the time) until God brings it into full clarity for us. I have come to expected that my questions may be answered through a friend as well.

While Bill and I were home for Thanksgiving my Daddy took this opportunity to minister to my husband. My Daddy loves me greatly and wants Bill to be the best husband he can be for me but also wants him to grow in his relationship with God. He began to minister to Bill about something I have been praying over for a long time now.

As my Daddy began talking to Bill on this subject, girl, I got excited. I was ready and had some great things to say.. It was at this moment the Holy Spirit nudged me to be quiet. I listened and though I had a few things to share like "Way to go Daddy" or "You got that bud?", I sat in silence.

Now those of you who know me well know that a few years ago this would have been hard for me to do. I can hear you laughing now..

As he continued he said something powerful to Bill. I knew it as soon as it came out of Daddy's mouth.. Again I was reminded to be silent. Man!!!!.........................

I thought on this for a few days and decided to ask God why he wanted me quite. This was His answer and I pray you are as blown away as I was and still am! "As Bill changes you are required to change as well." Wow.... I could see exactly what God was saying to me.. Plus I'm reminded that I still don't have it all together but I'm learning. Still didn't answer my question but I was on my way to getting there.. I have learned over the years, God always has lessons inside the lesson..

God was sowing good seeds in Bill (seeds I have been asking for) and I needed to be quiet..

This is a change for me. I can be quiet at the time but I have to be honest with you guys, I will wait for the right moment and then pounce him with how I feel (as If my Daddy or who ever is talking to him didn't do a good enough job). Does any of this resonate with you as well?

Now this is the part where my friend comes in. Sheri is a long time friend of mine whom I have been walking (literally) in ministry with off and on for a few years now. . She has prayed over my marriage and sowed so many good seeds. So I was excited to share with her what God was doing. As I was sharing this lesson she said something very real and true.. She reminded me a certain scripture:

"And two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh." Mark 10:8

She said, "God made us one flesh"..... Pow!!! I got so excited and asked her if we could park right here for a few minutes.. I didn't want to miss what God was trying to say to me! As Bill changes I am required to change.. Why?? Because we are one Flesh.. What happens to one needs to happen to the other so the overall change will be complete!

I found this correction through revelations to be inspiring and joyful!

I still don't have the answer to my question but God was now ready to tell me. As Sheri and I were parked on this scripture, God took me back to His Word and reminded me of the parable of the sower and the seeds.

"Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved." Luke 8:12

Doesn't that just make you mad?!?!

So, why did I need to be quiet? Because, not only does satan desire to steal the Word from our loved ones hearts, he also desires to use us as a vessel to steal the Word as well. If I had disobeyed God and spoke anyway I could have done just that.

I sit here sure that I have many times before!! In this situation my words were extra and could have frustrated Bill or caused him to turn from God because they would have come out as an "I told you so" kind of tone. Ah, the answer!

In case your wondering, I'm still sitting perfectly quiet about the whole conversation and letting God grow the seeds he has sown in Bill! What is my reward for being quiet? I'm so glad you guys asked! My husband is becoming the husband I have longed for for many years.

We still aren't quite there but the fruit that is coming from Bills change and my obedience is simply wonderful. I'm enjoying my husband and my marriage. Because of his reactions to me since then, I have found my self letting go of thoughts, habits and beliefs which is giving Bill more room to move freely in our marriage and be less stressed. It's like the domino effect. One falling will break down the rest one by one!

I told you I don't have it all together but thankfully I too am a work in progress!!


God, we come to you and ask that you would help us hear your voice at all times. But not just this Lord, that we would be quick to obey. Let us not fall weary in our waiting to see our prayers come to fruition. Thank you Lord that you do require actions from us! As we grow in your Word we grow in our relationships with our husbands. Thank you Father for your faithfulness to your daughters! In Jesus name we pray, Amen!

Blessings to each of you!!

♥ Cherie

Celebrating 16 years of marriage and a life time of lessons!

Bill and I are celebrating 16 years of marriage this month. These days, sixteen years is a feat! We both have learned a lot of things about our selves and each other. Here are a few of things I have learned over the years from Bill and God!


1. Marriage doesn't mean I lead the way when I think he is wrong and I am right. It means I give way to his thoughts instead of mine, weather he is wrong or right.
2. The toilet doesn't clean it self no matter how much I want it too!
3. Men will be boys at a moments notice!
4. Love can be unpredictable at times along with my emotions.
5. People say crazy things when they think no one else is listening..
6. Bill can actually become a frozen chicken. You have to see it to believe it! :o)
7. My husband didn't come with the instructions I wanted to use.
8. God has the best sense of humor!
9. Living in a trailer isn't half bad when you have the one you love with you.
10. Letting go of my ideals and letting God's will come first is so much easier..
11. My husband can be the funniest person in the world!!
12. Sheets don't have to fit the mattress to be used!
13. A small towel to dry off with is all one needs after a bath! Or so they think!
14. If I want God to change my husband, I have to be willing to change first.
15. God will give me dreams to change my course and alert me to things I can't see in the natural.
16. There is something to be said for intimacy that doesn't have anything to do with sex! Who knew!!! :o)
17. Laughing with my husband is a greater high than shopping.
18. I don't want to be the one that steals the Word from my husbands heart by trying to add my two cents worth to it.
19. Praying with my husband is the greatest and sweetest gift we can give each other!
20. Hominy grits should not go up your nose!
21. Silence truly can be golden!



Cherie

Praying Gods Word, A Challenge to you !!

I was challenged through a book I'm reading titled "Praying the Bible, The Pathway to Spirituality", to begin to read God's Word out loud as my first prayer each day. I loved the challenge because I love a good challenge and the Word would be gravy. Plus, I needed to hear from God. The challenge this book is talking about is praying Psalms out loud to God!

I took the challenge and began on my journey at one of the hardest times in my life thus far. I started praying out loud five Psalms each morning. As I prayed God's Word to Him I began to learn something about David and the Psalms that I didn't necessarily see before. But for times sake I will offer just a few.

1. David truly loved Yahweh with all of his heart.
2. Even when David made mistakes he brought them to God fully expecting God to forgive and renew him.
3. David accepted the punishment for his sins with a righteous heart because he not only loved God he trusted Him as well!!
4. These are some of the reasons the Bible calls David "a man after God's own heart"!
5. If I want to run after God as David did then I need to allow God to work in me and trust Him just as David did.
6. To bring my complaints to God first instead of my friends and family. ( I didn't realize how much I said to others and left God out of it completely when they could only listen and God could to do so much more.


Within days, I began to see God answer my prayers. His answers didn't always come the was I wanted them to or expected them to. Some times they even caught me off guard. But in every way they came I received answers. Answers that changed me, my heart and the way I thought about my prayers, God, and how He works! God touched me every day!!

A sweet factor in this for me above all that I have stated already has been this: each time I honored God with the time I set aside for us God would honor me with a blessing/blessings. They came in all sizes. One day I received an email from a very good friend of whom I haven't talked to in years because he plays for a famous Southern Gospel group and constantly travels. Another day my husband brought home one of my favorite treats that I didn't even ask for just because the thought crossed his mind (thank you Holy Spirit). In fact, I received so many more blessings that God reminded me of the the old Hymn "Count your blessings" from the scripture:

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Th. 5:16-18)..

It didn't take but a couple of weeks to realize that God was showering me with blessings.. Blessings that were designed just for me.

Reading Gods Word out loud allows us to fulfill scripture within our selves as well.

But he said, Yes rather, blessed are they that Hear the word of God, and keep it. Luke 11:28

When I read God's Word, I have always read it to myself not realizing that hearing it in my head and hearing it out loud were two different concepts. I now read as much out loud as I possible can so I can be a Hearer of the Word! I also noticed the scripture that I'm reading attaches to my heart and mind better and I don't loose myself in thought as I tend to do when I read to my self.

Now for the challenge. I have started praying Psalms 5 chapters at a time over again today. Would you like to join me and see what you learn about you and God? I would love to hear from you. Please reply and let me know how things are going in your day to day prayer time with God and Psalms?

Another tool I love is "Praying God's Word" by Beth Moore. She has studied the Word and put together scriptures to pray over different areas of your life. I have found praying the scripture to be a POWERFUL tool in my prayer time and when I go to battle for myself, family, loves ones and friends!

Two Quick note:

1.God honors His Word and fulfills His promises so we need to be mindful to fulfill ours to Him. As you set time aside for God, your creating a covenant with Him and God honors our covenants by meeting us at our appointed time. So with this in mind remember, each day that you have set aside time with God, weather you show up or not God is there waiting for you.

2. This is the oldest model of prayer expanding over two thousand years. The length proves it works. As you do this, you too will experience a marked improvement in your own prayer life!

Remember, His scripture was written for us! Let's take hold of all He has for us in in His written Word!!

Many Blessings to you today,

Cherie

What my friend Rob learned while leading worship in Lake City FL. this past weekend!

My Friend Rob is a gifted and talented Worship leader back home in Pensacola Fl. We have been friends since our middle school years. He is not only a Worship leader but also a talented writer and so many other things. One area I would like to share is he just completed the design of "Sonicflood" new website. Check it out!


While in Lake City, Fl this weekend leading worship he learned 11 things. They are really good thoughts with my favorite being #6! Deep..... for me anyway.

Enjoy!! :o)


WHAT I LEARNED:
1. When money and glory are taken away, what you have left...is exactly what God wants.
2. A piano and a Baptist Hymnal are all you need to fill a nursing home with smiles.
3. If you do all the talking at a nursing home, you will miss hearing God talk through these wise men and women.
4. Worship Leaders should do more following and less leading.
5. Never underestimate what a handful of people can do, who just want to make a difference.
6. God has all the money in the world, but He doesn't need it to accomplish His will.
7. There are 2 guys out there that quit their jobs, to travel around and help worship leaders they don't even know with their musical abilities--just because God told them to.
8. You would be surprised how much of an impact you can have on someone by simply "not being a jerk" as a musician. You may even make a life-long friend.
9. Sometimes the floor is a much better option than a camp mattress.
10. The sweetest people ride Harley's, wear leather and bandannas and have tattoos.
11. Tea-cup Chihuahua's shake nervously when birds fly over. :)

Maybe these eleven things will change your world, or maybe they won't...But they sure changed mine!

Robert Weston

Seems I have learned a few things just by reading Robs list!

Have a Happy Monday! :o)

Cherie

Something to Think About!!

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her."— Max Lucado


My sisters reaction to this quote on my FB status was incredible. I believe God is moving in her heart to become the women He created her to be and so much more! She is precious in His sight and my heart!

I always find Max Lucado to be so profound! His thoughts cause me to stop and meditate on what he has said. I pray this "thought" causes you each to do the same!

I seek God on behalf of each marriage on our "Praying Wives Club" Facebook group. Please let me know if you have a prayer request that you would like me to bring before our Father during my prayer time for PWC.

May you be encouraged by the words and move of the Holy Spirit within you!

Do you dream Big Dreams like I do?

I am a huge dreamer. I always say God made me this way. But in my biggest of dreams I have never dreamed that I would receive a call from someone asking me to step into a position I never thought would come my way. It's a position for the Assemblies of God denomination.

I have always dreamed of working for God not to long since the day I came to salvation. I would ask him to put me to work for Him full time. But there was always a catch. Lord, I need to be paid. I didn't care what I did. I even told Him I would walk on the streets with a sackcloth bag for my dress and sandals witnessing to anyone who would listen. God knows what our needs are and where he is taking us. I'm convinced that if I knew ahead of time I would probably mess things up.

I got a taste of ministry at our first church in Jacksonville FL. Our pastors wife there was amazing. I loved her so much (and still do). She knew exactly how to love you and bring out the best in you. She even recognized qualities within me that I didn't know existed at the time. She mentored and nurtured me from the start. I realized pretty quickly that God had given me favor in her and that I needed to listen to her.

After about seven years of working under her, God began to move in my heart to take something I had been doing for years to the next level. He called me to start the Praying wives Club. I had been giving out the book "The Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie Omartian to just about every wife that I had come in contact with from the time my husband wanted a divorce to now (about 11 years). He was moving in my heart to invite women to my home to pray over our husbands using this book as a reference.

I prayed about "Who" God wanted me to invite and invited them. Once I knew who was coming I went to my favorite Christian book store and bought each of them the book and a journal to write their journeys in. It worked. Each of the ladies came and we started our club. We actually didn't have the name PWC until the second night when one of the wives said, "Hey, we should call this Praying Wives Club".

PWC started as me giving books, to holding PWC meetings in my home, to creating a private Facebook group reaching out all over the world literally, to creating a packet for other wives to start PWC groups in their area. In fact we are in the process of starting a group in Roberts Bay, South Africa! Isn't God so good!

But, I'm getting ahead of my self. My first ministry team is actually the home page of this blog! To check out how SALT got it's start click HERE!

Since the first SALT meeting, God has grown this ministry in many ways and given us much favor with pastors, Directors of areas we are called to and so many others. I have an amazing team of women who give their all to this ministry. They even followed me into the one of the hardest hit low income apartments in Jacksonville FL for four years! You can't ask for a better team than these ladies..

Please know, I made quite a few mistakes when I got started. But I've learned from them, picked my self up and received God's forgiveness for my falls. I get excited about God and had a tendency to run past Him leaving Him with my orders and how He wanted me to do the task he had before me! Thankfully I don't do this any longer but not until I had done it at least 50 times before hand.

In all that I learned in SALT and PWC, I never saw my new jorney coming. Funny thing is, when I got the call, I didn't even know what the lady on the other side of the phone was talking about. Funny, Right! Praise the Lord she thought so!

Now, I am humbled to be able to reach so many ladies on a much broader scale! I have been asked to receive the mantel of our current South Carolina District Womens Ministry Director. We currently have 97 churches in SC. that's 97 opportunities to share with women all over this state the many trials and victories that God has walked me through in my 12 years of ministry.

I was talking to God about this a couple weeks ago and he reminded me of something. Remember when I share with you that I was asking God to make a way for me to work in ministry? He told me this, "You asked me for a small group of women, I'm giving you a whole state to minister to!" Not only did he open a door for me to work for Him full time, it also comes with Pay, yes I said Pay and paid trips among other benefits. Amazing... Proof God dreams bigger for me than I can for myself!

I'm sure my story doesn't stop here. In fact, I look forward to experiencing as Paul Harvey says, "The rest of the story!"

Don't stop dreaming ladies! God will always dream bigger for you!!! :o)