This morning as I was putting away my dishes from the dishwasher I began to think through all of the obstacles that I need to overcome.  There has been a lot of; let's just say....hard times here in the Weinberg household.  Sometimes I feel so alone dealing with life, but I know that I am not alone, and that in my deepest and darkest hour Jesus is right by my side! As I finished up my cleaning in the kitchen an old hymn came into my mind, "I Need Thee Every Hour",  as I began to sing the lyrics to that old song that I remember singing when I was a child, tears began to stream down my cheeks!  I need thee, O I need thee, every hour I need thee!  I am so thankful that when I need my Lord and Saviour He is right there with open arms just waiting to embrace me!!  Thank you Jesus for ALWAYS being there!

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;



No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.



I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;


Every hour I need Thee;


Oh, bless me now, my Savior,


I come to Thee.



I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;


Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.



I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;


Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.



I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;


And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.



I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;


Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
 
Friends, family, strangers, whomever you are reading this blog; know that your heavenly father is just a prayer away.  He will calm your fears and wipe away all of your hurtful tears.  Cry out to him today!

Yesterday morning I took my daughter Addison to the doctor for her one year check-up.  After waiting PATIENTLY for 45 minutes in the waiting room, a nurse finally peeked out of the hallway door and called the name "Addison Weinberg", Ah....I was waiting to hear that name called for quite some time!  The nurse did all of the routine things they do at a check-up (as they would say, "take the vitals"), and then told me that our doctor would be right in.  The doctor suggested that Addison get the flu shot being that this is going to be a hard season of the flu.  I was hesitant at first, but then thought about all of the things that my daughter puts in her mouth at the library, the grocery store, and at our church nursery.  I decided that it was a good idea. 

After another 15 minutes of Humpty Dumpty while waiting for the nurse to come in to do the shots, The knock finally came at the door and in walked the nurse and three needles.  I saw my daughter's eye go from being filled with laughter to be filled with fear.  It's funny what a one year old really understands!  Addison looked up at me as the nurse prepared to give her the shots.  I felt so badly that I couldn't explain to my daughter that this was going to hurt for a minute, but in the long run it is going to help her and keep her healthy and out of pain!

As I was driving home from the doctor I started to think about the fact that this is exactly how God feels about HIS sons and daughters when we go through pain in life that we just don't understand. It's easy to get mad at God when we go through hard times, but we need to remember that God holds our lives in His hands.  It usually turns out that we learn something from that experience or we become people that God is molding us to be.

I encourage you to ask God during those difficult times what he wants to teach you through it. I am sure he will smile down upon you and fill you with his inexpressible joy and peace that passes understanding!

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."       Romans 5:3-5 

"He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:29-31

I have been meditating on this verse all day long!  My daughter Addison is sick with an ear infection and cold, and my husband is not feeling well either.  I have been holding down the fort so to speak, and in the process becoming very exhausted.  It's good to know though that when we are feeling tired and weary that God renew's our strength! 

Have you had one of those days, weeks, or even month's when you just feel completely drained?!  During those times it's amazing how we can be refilled when we just spend time quietly seeking after God. I encourage you to take time out of your busy schedule and find a quiet place to ask the Lord for renewed strength.  You will soar on wings like eagles!!

"Heavenly Father, I ask you to give strength to those who are feeling tired and weary.  As they put their hope in you fill them to overflowing with your presence.  Refill, restore, and renew us today Jesus!  May we soar on wings like eagles in your wonderful name I pray, Amen."

This past weekend Rick, Addison, and I traveled down to Urbana, IL so that Rick could attend a University of Illinois football game with our great friend, Papa G (Gary Grogan, Pastor of Stone Creek Church).  Although the U of I lost to Penn State, the guys had a fun time.

On Sunday morning we attended Stone Creek Church to hear Pastor Grogan preach a message on the Seven Deadly Sins.  He started the series with the first deadly sin which is pride.  It's funny because the minute that Pastor Grogan mentioned the first deadly sin, I thought to myself.....oh this message isn't going to be for me, because I don't have pride in my life!  Hmmm.....I think I was demonstrating pride with that very thought!  Needless to say the message spoke into my life! 

In his third point PG mentions being humble before God.  He also gave a list of 12 actions of Humility that were adapted from St. Benedicts sermon, "The 12 Steps to Humilitly." Now this list was first written in old English, so the list below was rewritten to make them easier to understand.

1. Intentionally seek humility as an act of obedience
2. Seek God's will above my own will
3. Confess your sins to God quickly
4. Persevere through sickness and affliction quietly
5. Study God's word and live it out daily
6. Practice praising and complimenting others
7. Use my gifts and talents to serve others
8. Plan regular times of fasting
9. Be a friend to others who are going through humbling times
10. Restrict my sarcasm
11. Speak gently and practice silence
12. Be modest in my appearance and actions

Wow....this is a list that I think each of us as Christians should live out daily!  I am going to do my best to make this list a model in my life to follow.  Just think if all of us lived our lives by these 12 actions, how many people would actually want to know Jesus too.  They will know HIM by our love!

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Submit yourselves, then, to God."
James 4:6-7

Every night before I go to bed I tip toe into my daughter's room to take one more look at her and thank the Lord for the blessing of Addison in our lives!  I think back to the months and months that my husband and I tried to conceive, and every month that the test came back negative I would again ask the Lord for blessing us with a child.  The day came at the end of January 2008 when the test came back positive.  I remember glancing down and seeing the + sign and then looking up toward heaven with tears in my eyes and thanking God over and over for this wonderful blessing!!

I thank the Lord daily for the wonderful GIFT of family that he has given me! 

Facebook....the first thing many of us do when we get up in the morning. We need to update our status, and of course see if any one has left us comments on our status from the night before! All of us, whether we are an introvert or extrovert, have this God given desire to communicate with one another. We want to feel loved and accepted, and Facebook is just the place to make that happen.

The problem is that in the few short minutes here and there that we have during our day we would rather jump on Facebook than communicate with our heavenly Father. I am the first to admit that when my little girl goes down for a nap or is playing quietly in her room (which is very rare), I quickly run to my laptop to see what's happening in the lives of all of my friends on Facebook. I am sure that this breaks God's heart! I have realized that I am putting the internet before my relationship with Jesus! It's easy to do, but definitely not worth it!

This morning instead of logging into my Facebook account I opened my Bible and asked the Lord what he wanted to speak to me today. It's amazing the things that God wants to say to us if we would just take the time to quiet ourselves before Him and listen. I feel a new sense of joy and peace in his presence! Facebook may fulfill that desire to communicate with others and feel love and accepted, but unfortunately this feeling is only temporary. With God ALONE we can feel loved and accepted ETERNALLY. HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.

I challenge you to take time today when you have a free moment to run to God rather than to run to your computer!

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
Jeremiah 33:3

Today I am starting a blog site that I have been wanting to start for quite sometime, but I just came up with excuses why I was way too busy to start it! The fact is we are all busy and we must make time for things that we want to do. This blog is just that....something that not only I have been wanting to do, but actually something that God has laid on my heart to do.

I am creating this blog to encourage others on their daily walk with the Lord. As Moms, Dads, Pastors, Teachers, people out in corporate America, I think we could all use a little encouragement along the way! My prayer is that those that stumble across this blog will be lifted up and be reminded that though life is tough...God is Good!

This morning I heard a song on the radio by a group called 33 Miles. The name of the song was "One Life To Love" and it spoke to me in a powerful way! The chorus went like this:

You only get just one time around,
You only get one shot at this,
One chance,
To find out,The one thing that you don't wanna miss,
One day when its all said and done
I hope you see that it was enough,
This one ride,
One try,
One life,To love.

The question came to my mind, what am I doing today to live my life to the fullest?!! I don't want live a life of regrets, or full of excuses of why I was just "too busy" to the things I know I should have done. Today I want to live my life to the FULLEST and be available for God use me in any way He has planned!

What are you doing today to live your life to the FULLEST for Jesus?

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."
1 Corinthians 2:9