The Whole Family

Here is a picture of Layton and his family. Kate, Andrew, Kelley (mom) and Kevin (dad)

Layton`s Birthday

A video game.

A Transformer that turns into a car.

Today December the 10th is Layton`s BD. Last evening we celebrated at his house and he got to open his gifts from mom and dad. Next weekend when Aunt Jess and Uncle Matt are here we will have another party and he will open gifts from the rest of us. We also had homemade cookies and ice cream.

Our Mind Is A Battlefield

In Isa.26:3 it says, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you". Want perfect peace? Keep your mind steadfast, stayed and focused on Him. We need to learn all that we can about the steadfast mind; embrace the concept, pray for a steadfast mind and seek understanding through God`s word.

Let us take seriously the role that Satan plays when it comes to how we think. Many Christians feel safe from Satan and many don`t really believe that Satan is alive and well and actively leading the spiritual warfare against us. The battlefield is our mind and our only defense is to surround our minds with the word of God. We are absolutely defenseless against the attacks of Satan. The way Beth explains how the mind works was truly an eye-opener for me. Two people see the same event, then Beth writes, “They put the event in different frames and act accordingly. Our reaction depends on how we have framed the event”. Think about this, how many times do we overreact to what we have framed (ideas, opinions, etc) in our own thinking?

Satan can`t make us overreact, but he knows what we are in bondage too. Let`s say your weakness is low self esteem and you see some ladies talking together in a corner of a room, one may glance at you not even seeing you, they may laugh, or seem secretive and you wonder what they are talking about. Believe me, Satan will come in and give you a few suggestions and if you dwell on it long enough you will be framing an idea in your mind that may end up devastating you. BUT, what if several months before at a “Breaking Free Bible Study” you were set free from the bondage of “low self esteem”? Satan may still come after you because he thinks you are not strong enough to be completely free from anything and he wants to convince you of that. Praise God, you prayed early in the morning for God to continue to protect you and to satisfy your every need. You have focused your thinking on God`s word and you are leaning on the truth to get you through the temptation of “wrong thinking”, you, have been set free.

Fill My Empty Places

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”Ps.:14
In order to be filled with the fullness of God so that we may sing His praises and be glad throughout the day, we must go to Him in the morning. If we wait until the afternoon or evening then we could be running on empty. Certainly this is not necessary, but I like to meet with God at about the same time and the same place everyday. It`s like meeting a friend for coffee in the morning. There is just something about the consistency of that meeting; you begin to look forward to it and soon you miss it when something comes up and you can`t make it and you think God has probably downed His cup and started on yours. Ok sorry, that was corny as my kids would say. Please don`t think you have to do what I do; you might have another way of meeting with God. The important thing is we need to be filled up everyday in order to have an abundant life in Christ. It only takes a few minutes for God to activate His love to the empty places and then you are equipped to fight the enemy and be satisfied with Him who blesses your day.
Satisfy me Lord, satisfy me with your love, fill up every empty place within me so I can sing for joy and be satisfied with you

Matt, Jess and Girls

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God`s Unfailing Love

Until I really, really accepted and believed that God loved me unconditionally I was in bondage to the fear that if I didn`t always do what pleased God, He was out to get me.

As I read over the study for this week about God`s unfailing love, I had to stop and thank Him because several years ago He set me free from this fear. I am so thankful that He didn`t give up on me. I honestly don`t know where I would be today if I didn`t know that God and God alone will always love me.

This past week has been very busy for me. Everyday was filled with something to do, people to call or see, preparing for the study and then the LFM and in-between having time for family. Today as I walked through the woods behind our home, I actually felt a little lonely; I fussed at myself and then prayed for God to release me quickly before I ended up feeling the same way at the end of the day. I was immediately reminded of the last of our benefits, “To enjoy God`s presence”. A peace came over me and I knew that I wasn`t alone at all, in fact I was with the only person that knew everything about me and still loved me.

God fills our every need and every empty place, but we have to know and believe that He loves us or we will miss the abundant life completely.

What an awesome study, “How wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”