Whole Heart Devotion

"Has God forgotten to be merciful?  Has he in anger witheld his compassion?"  Psalm 77:9 Have you ever laid the law down with God?  You know . . . tell God what He really shouldn't dare do or allow to happen.  Perhaps you are way more spiritual than I am, but in an effort to be transparent and honest, I have to admit that I have told God exactly what was fair game in my life and what was off limits. In 2012, when I thought we had faced the worst year imaginable after enduring two miscarriages -- one at 18 weeks gestation -- I reasoned with God that losing a child that I had never held in my arms was such a devastating experience, so certainly my two healthy, life-filled children were my reminder to be grateful for what He had already blessed me with.  Certainly we wouldn't be required to face anything worse than a broken bone or typical childhood illness with them.  Certainly God would see that our perseverance through such pain deserved...

Cheesecake Factory.  Those two words cause two things to happen inside my mind.  First, I unashamedly salivate for a giant slice of red velvet cheesecake that I will undoubtedly partake in at the end of a special meal there.  I never feel guilty when I eat that triangular slice of heaven!  Angels sing and forks clash like cymbals when it is delivered to the table.  I can hear them now! Second, I begin to break out in a sweat thinking about the massiveness of their dinner menu and wonder how many times I will change my mind before I settle on a selection.  Have you ever been there?  I have always compared their menu to a Bible because I think you would have to devise a pretty strict daily plan in order to read every word of it in a year's time, let alone the 3-5 minutes they give you to make your selection after placing your drink order.  Makes me a nervous wreck!  I mean, how do you choose just one thing?  It is completely overwhelm...

  I've added some additional titles to my name since my last blog.  In addition to wife, mom, aunt, friend, and Sunday School teacher, I am now a childhood cancer parent (will speak to this on a future blog), Christian school administrator, college student (again), and hold your horses...biker babe!  I say the "babe" part humorously, but the "biker" part is completely factual.  You can frequently find me perched on the back of my hubby's motorcycle, helmet-hair and all.  Here's a picture for proof: I've come a long way since my first ride.  Every time we would pull out of the driveway, I was overwrought with paranoia that my kids would never see their parents alive again.  I was trying to be a good wife and support my husband's new hobby, so I knew I had to overcome my fears, or I'd miss out on some great one-on-one time with him.  Well, not only did my fears subside, they did a complete 180.  I now love to ride and I'm the one w...