My pity party

The last few weeks, I have very successfully thrown myself quite a big party! A PITY party that is, and for no good reason. Maybe it was partially due to the pregnancy hormones or the fact that up until this week, I couldn't think of a day where I had felt good. Don't get me wrong -I am ecstatic about this new little life that we have prayed for and dreamed about, and he or she is worth any fits of crying or bouts of nausea. My pity party may have been induced by sheer exhaustion of traveling and dealing with a toddler and his fits. Again, I dearly love my peanut, but this is a hard and trying stage! But regardless of the reason, I was just feeling sorry for myself.
I was choosing to allow my emotions to reign over truth in my life. I had convinced myself no one cared, I had no friends, something was wrong with me, I was a terrible wife and mom, and on and on. Are you starting to feel sorry for me? Have any of you been there? The bottom line is, it was my emotions running wild, and there is no excuse.
Finally it hit me-the only one I was hurting was me by choosing to live this way! Well, my hubby and kiddo were certainly not benefitting from it, not to mention my poor house, which I had neglected due to my lethargy. I needed to consciously choose to believe what is TRUE. I do have friends, I do have a church that cares, I have a God who is working in my life to make me more like Him, which will make a better wife and mother. And I needed to start looking for people I could bless! So after weeks of living in loneliness and isolation of my own choosing, I called some friends and a funny thing happened - the feelings changed!
"Finally bretheren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8
Don't you just love how the Bible is so true!

Blessings,
Shannon

Money and Mission

So clearly I had much better intentions in updating this blog than I am currently doing. I keep thinking about writing, even know what I want to write about, but for some reason I keep waiting for the perfect time. Then I'm too tired, the computer is off, I'm too lazy, and the excuses continue! But this is NOT what I wanted to write about.
Actually, I had saved a list of facts that I wanted to share since last weekend, and now can I find them? Of course not! I'm going to do my best. My husband and I are missionaries with Word of Life Fellowship, and we are currently finishing raising support to go to the United Kingdom. Last weekend (the one before Mother's Day) we were at a missions conference in northern VA. Sunday morning that pastor gave one of the most compelling messages regarding giving to missions, and not simply because I am a missionary in need of support. I was convicted and saddened by the lack of emphasis we, I, put upon giving our money to God's Work!

• Only 15% of pastors say missions is one of their priorities
• Only $0.10 of every $100 goes to missions in the average church
• The average American family makes $34,000 a year and only gives about $15/weekly (This is one I'm not sure I cited exactly right, but it is an alarming statistic)
• The average American family only gives about $2.00 towards missions

I was stunned! The pastor went on to speak about eternal investments! It hit me later that week as I continued to think about what God calls us to give - that all of our money goes either towards our own desires (which are not always bad) or towards eternal rewards. When we give to God's work that others would know Him, we are investing in eternal things, not temporal ones. So where's my money going? Am I only concerned about things that will benefit me here or am I thinking heavenly and putting my money in what I say is the most important thing anyone could have - Jesus?
Here's Paul's thoughts:
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. 14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:12-19
You know the sweetest promise is at the end of this passage. When we give to the Lord so that others will know Him, He WILL meet all of our needs!

Blessings,
Shannon

Reaching Out

Tonight I attended my fourth Pampered Chef Party of 2010. Now don't get me wrong - I felt like a whole new world of products and ideas opened up to me when I was introduced to PC. In fact, one of the shows I attended was my own, and I've made a good friend in the consultant, Theresa! She's brilliant!
But what made this one different, and truthfully the main reason I went tonight was the outreach! My friend hosted a party with the specific purpose of reaching out to her neighbors to build better relationships with them and hopefully share Jesus with them. What a fantastic idea! She wasn't in it for the free products or the discounts; she saw it simply as a way to build relationships for the purpose of Christ. She inspires me! I definitely did not have that motivation when I hosted a show - I thought, "Wow a great time with my friends and free stuff for my kitchen!" Judy was eternally-minded and kingdom-focused.
It was a small crew of us, and in fact I was the only non-neighbor, but it was a fun time of laughing, eating, and getting to know one another. And Judy's neighbors were truly blessed by her and her family!
How about you? I know this in an area where I need improvement - sadly, living in an apartment, I don't even know my neighbors! What do you do to reach out to others for the purpose of Christ and sharing Him?

Peeling off the Mask

Here it is....my very first blog post!
You know in thinking about what to write for the first time, all of these thoughts were swimming through my head, but now that I'm sitting here, I can't think of anything!
What do you blog about? I suppose the answer could be yourself, although that does seem pretty egocentric. I could blog about the cutest toddler in the entire world, what God is teaching me, my lack of creativity but my attempt at it, and a host of other things. I think that's the novelty in blogging. There are blogs about everything and quite a few about nothing, but they hold one thing in common. They bring people together.
That reveals to me our desparate need for each other. We're all looking for someone to connect to, to talk to , to be transparent to, to listen to, to share to...That's why blogging communities exist. That's why this blog exists. There's something inside each of us just longing to be who we are with no expectations or judgments.
Thus the subtitle of this blog: peeling off the mask. Let's just be real with each other. I'm certainly not perfect, although most of the time I try to appear so. I'm just another Christian stay-at-home wife and mom who's attempting to live like Christ in a world that's anything but and learning daily to "Trust in the Lord WITH ALL MY HEART." Join me in this journey together!