Seek and Find

Have you ever played hide and seek? It can be a fun game but it can also be frustrating if you are playing with very good hiders and in a place that is big and has many good hiding places.  Have you ever played with a small child?  They often times can't stay put long enough to be found. They giggle when you are getting closer or they hear you looking for them. Their excitement just can't be contained. And I'm not sure if you ever noticed but if you are taking turns hiding and seeking with them, they often go and hide in the exact same place that you just hid. I find it cute & funny because they figure it was such a good hiding place for you that they should try it themselves.

Well, last week I was spending a little time with God and the Holy Spirit stirred up the verse Jeremiah 29:13
 It had been bopping around my head all day Thursday as I was taking care of my 9 year old since she broke her collar bone. While we were in the ER for 3 hours and while we waited for her medicine to be ready at the pharmacy. And while I ran a few errands to get her school work and make arrangements for her when she went to school today. And then when I picked up my other 2 school aged kids. I was rather tired from all the running around and waiting but this verse did not leave me. Then when I was talking with my sister, I shared this verse with her. I told her I couldn't remember where it was found but what she shared with me, it seemed that I should share this verse with her. She said, "thanks, I needed that." I told her that it's neat how the Holy Spirit works and that I was glad I could encourage her because in truth, that actually encouraged me too. And the verse seemed to be a good fit for both of us with completely different situations.

Today as I was listening to a teaching about God's Best for us, the teacher started out with the verse that many people know. Jeremiah 29:11  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  As powerful as that verse is, when you understand who it was written to, I think it speaks even more. It was inspired by God and Jeremiah the prophet wrote it. It was at the time when King Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Jerusalem and had taken the people captive. These people probably thought that God had forgotten about them but in truth, they were the ones that had forgotten what God had taught them, what he had done for them and they needed to know that God still loved them and had great plans for them. I think it is in the New King James Version it says "an expected end".  Which means that it was a better ending then they could ever hope for. What God wanted to remind them was that they needed to turn back to Him and call on Him and He would be there to answer. He didn't just up and quit like some kids do when they get tired of playing Hide and Seek. No, He never goes away but us silly humans seem to forget the things He has done for us and we turn away. We stop seeking Him. We quit looking for Him. I'm not saying that seeking Him is a game but since most of us have played that game, we can relate. It's rather annoying to play with someone that quits right in the middle. Thankfully God loves us so much that He will overlook that we quit. He's glad that we jumped back in and started seeking Him. We need to keep seeking Him and if we stopped, the super cool thing is, we can start seeking Him again and He will be there for us.

So the 4 verses read:

No matter what you need to seek God for, keep doing it, you WILL find Him. Sometimes it takes me quieting myself over and over before I hear what God has for me. It's not usually an audible voice that I hear but it is usually quite distinctive in my spirit and I know it's God. I have had some times where I thought I heard something and then wasn't sure and He confirms it for me by having someone share a Word with me or I read it in a devotion or hear it in a teaching and it cements it that it was God.  I hope that you will keep seeking God. I believe that you will find Him!

Blessings,

Jeannette :)

On the Cookie Train & Star Program

It's Thankful Thursday today and I've been praying for a few people as the prayer requests come to my email from church or I see a need on FB. I am thankful for a Good Heavenly Father that cares about the big and little things that affects us and He wants us to bring our prayers and concerns to Him & He wants us well!

I have been gaining some energy back and it feels good. I'm thankful that I have more energy and have been able to plan  and cook meals for my family & keep the laundry caught up with my little Laundry Helpers. I am trying to follow our budget better and see if our grocery allotment can be less than it has in the past but still have a variety of good foods to eat. It is a challenge. Anyone else struggle with this? I'm working on making some pretty/fun envelopes for the envelope system that are a great size to fit into my wallet. They will be much easier to carry & keep track of and being pretty will help me to stick with using them.

I am super grateful that I've had the energy that I need to take my little Girl Scout out selling her
cookies because we are on the Girl Scout Cookie Train right now. Morgan is working to earn herself the American Girl Doll of the Year for 2016, Lea Clark. And she's trying to help her troop get the funds they need for their 42 girls to complete their badges and trips for this year. She is learning that selling 600 boxes of cookies is a lot of work and takes a lot of time. It is not impossible but it is challenging. Last year was her first year and she sold a little over 300 boxes for the 10 weeks that they can sell. This year, she's been selling for almost 2 weeks out of the 10 weeks and she's up to 437 boxes, which is 73% of her goal. She also made another goal to try and sell 36 donated boxes of cookies. She's got 15 sold which is 42% of that goal. Her troop also has a goal of 3,000 boxes. So Morgan has been practicing her math skills along with her money skills and learning confidence and overcoming her shyness.  Tonight she gets to make Valentines for Vets which I think is a great event to attend. We all need to know that we are loved.  So if you want cookies, you can order from us if you are local or you can order online from her site and they will be shipped right to your door but the way you pick the boxes is limited and you pay shipping. We've had some people send money in the mail or I can collect money from Paypal as a gift if you'd like to contribute to her cookie donations (they go to our Military & food banks). To order & have shipped to your door, just visit Morgan's site at:  http://onlinemarketing.abcsmartcookies.com/GirlInternetOrders/Invitation/Open/806db845-70fd-4306-8fdc-55eb00db3931

Yesterday was my treatment appointment. And I have decided to utilize the STAR program that OSF has available. It stands for Survivorship Training and Rehabilitation and is a nationally recognized program to improve the lives of survivors who often suffer from side effects caused by cancer treatments. Even though I am doing super thanks to God's healing hands upon me, I thought it might help me strengthen myself and increase energy even more and give me information about lymphedema. Most of my arm, shoulder, and side have gained feeling back but it is still coming out of that 'pins & needles' phase. It's kinda hard to believe that it has been 6 months since the mastectomy surgery. I am so very thankful for God's guidance, for the prayers of His people and for His healing touch on my body. I'm hoping that this program will give me some knowledge in how to strengthen myself even more & help me have confidence in what I can do and help me to stick with health movements, even if they aren't the conventional ones I was used to doing. Maybe help me get past that and find a 'new' way of doing what I need to do.

I've been enjoying my time with Sadie this week. We've been practicing sounds that she has trouble with. I know it isn't uncommon for kids her age to have trouble with these but we practice and say silly things and make silly faces to make it fun while she learns. We've practiced writing some letters beyond those from her name and today we've been playing with the Littlest Pet Shop animals and the My Little Pony Friends that she has. She helped at Photography Club and when I told her that I finished the cross-stitch I was working on while at treatment yesterday, she asked me if I could make her a Rainbow Unicorn now. The problem with that is I don't have a good pattern to follow so I was trying to make one in my program but it is going to take me a long time and I'm not sure it's going to work. I think I'll resort to the more simple one instead. I think she'll be just as happy with it and maybe someday we can make this other picture into a good pattern.

Let me leave you with this...we've been teaching the kids about having the right attitude in our class on Sunday and the verse we've been working on is Psalm 51:10. One of the things we talked about last week was "Having an Attitude of Gratitude" and how being thankful can change one's attitude, even when times are difficult. This is a challenge sometimes but sooo worth it. What are you thankful for? Does that help give you a different perspective on a situation? Let's encourage each other to have an attitude of gratitude and get our hearts right with God. He desires us to have pure/clean hearts and a steadfast/right spirit. Enjoy your day!
~Best Regards  Jeannette :)