I have the secret to a good night sleep, EVERY NIGHT!

The ugly truth is that human beings do not have a thankful heart by nature. Nope. Some of us are more thankful in general, as a baseline frame of mind but by nature we are a selfish lot. Own it or not...that is the truth. However, being thankful, REALLY BEING thankful can become part of our everyday. It must be practiced and become a "habit". We don't get up in the morning and start cking off the things we need to do...like brush teeth, get dressed, take a shower, etc. We just do these things. Right? Well, having a heart of gratitude can be one of those automatic things you do. We must practice it though. For our country, November is a great time to get a booster shot of being thankful. I cherish the fact that I have come to this "thankful heart" realization while my kids are still young so I can train them up to be thankful. Being thankful will not be an afterthought for them like it is or was for me. Praise God!! (that is my hope anyway) Here are some interesting statistics as collected by a secular study.

Gratitude and Well-Being
A large body of recent work has suggested that people who are more grateful have higher levels of well-being. Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships [18][19][20]Grateful people also have higher levels of control of their environments, personal growth, purpose in life, and self acceptance. [21]Grateful people have more positive ways of coping with the difficulties they experience in life, being more likely to seek support from other people, reinterpreted and grow from the experience, and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem.[22] Grateful people also have less negative coping strategies, being less likely to try and avoid the problem, deny there is a problem, blame themselves, or cope through substance use.[22]Grateful people sleep better, and this seems to be because they think less negative and more positive thoughts just before going to sleep[

Ok...let me highlight THIS part again... grateful people sleep better. (Thus the title of this post! Who out there doesn't want this!)

Let me conclude by saying a few things.
1. I needed to go to scripture to see what God had to say about being thankful.
2. I am so flawed that I need to practice this type of heart attitude in order for it to become part of my life. I was not raised in a grateful environment. Lots of grumbling, arguing, negativity....I don't want that for my children. I want something better!


God is clear about being thankful. He asks us to ALWAYS be thankful. Yikes. Say again? Well, in several verses, we are called to focus on being thankful for everything. Even yucky stuff. Now, God is not wanting us to be happy and thankful FOR the yuck that happens in our lives but He wants us to get our eyes off that yuck (cause it is going to be there) and look at the good. Sometimes the best thing a person is able to see in a situation is their faith. As they look around they see nothing else good. They have only their faith to cling to. Some of us have tons of wonder around us but ONE thing that is yucky will drag us down into a huge pity party. (Don't you hate that when you do that? Me too!) Wherever you fall right now, get your eyes off you...get them on Jesus and read some of His word.

Psalm 100:4-5 from the Message bible says: Enter with the password: "Thank you!" Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. 5 For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.

Philippians 4:4-7 from NKJV says: Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 in the NIV says: 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

These are just a few verses. There are so many! This last one is a great one. Did you miss it? Verse 18 tells us what God wants for us. He wants us to be joyful, do lots of praying (cause that is how we get closer to Him so in essence He is telling us He things we rock and He wants to chat with us!!) and be thankful ALWAYS!

If the God of the universe, the creator of all things is telling me He wants me to be thankful....well, golly gee. I think I aught to make it a habit. Amen? Amen.

FREE refills!!

Free refills. We all love um right? Dinner is less stressful when we are out to eat at a place that gives free refills. You know what I am talking about. The bill is less, the kids are happy, there is no stress trying to make the food and the drink last the same length. Right?


You might be asking why on earth are you talking about this Michelle? Glad you asked. I can tie all things back to God and this is no exception. I serve a God that specializes in FREE REFILLS! Praise God for that cause this girl needs to have a refill quite often. A refill of what you ask? Well, I am a girl who always is in need of doing some self monitoring and checking to see if I need a refill of the power of the Holy Spirit and an infilling of the love of God.


As mom, homemaker, wife, daughter, friend, neighbor, ministry leader, etc....( I could go on with all my titles but that would be bragging! ;0) I find that my joy, peace, patients, kindness, and love for ANYTHING and ANYONE gets depleted often. Quickly and often to be exact. I have come to the realization that one person has put a label on me... (the label of Wonder Woman.) One person has me thinking that I have to be all things to all people that I come in contact with. One person is right there to point out when I fail miserably at being wonder woman. Guess who that one person is? It's ME! For crying out loud, I do it to myself. Then, when I am exhausted, fall short of what I expect, I start being rather feisty with all those around me. Now, by "around me" I mean...my kids, my husband, my friend, my in-laws, my kids teachers,....oh who am I kidding...the girl cashing out my groceries at Wal-mart is fair game for me when I am in need of a refill!


I am here to tell you that this exact mindset is what the Holy Spirit can completely take care of. Yep. I tell ya....if I am honest and come to the foot of the cross with all my shortcomings, my God is right there. Ready to help pick me up. Ready to fill me up with the love He has for me. Praise God, I have the Holy Spirit at work inside me and when my tank is on E, I know it. My soul is not feeling the way it should be feeling. It is at these times when my running to God has such a powerful impact on my life. In order to be helped though, I have to be real. I have to be honest about what is going on inside. God already knows...we just have to bring it to Him and He can then help us to heal. Sometimes I am all good and things are going wondrous!! Other times I need to "be healed" 10x's a day. I am a weak, leaky girl that needs a refill... often.

How do I know that I need a refill and not just cranky and I will get over it? Good question. I can tell because I have come to a place where I am honest with myself. Rather, I try hard to be honest with myself. Another way I know that I am in need of a refill is because the Word assures me (and you) that when we accept Christ, we get the Holy Spirit too! Cool! Sounds like a BOGO to me!! Scripture goes on to explain how the Holy Spirit has great power. One specific verse goes like this...

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;

Act 1:8

Let's face it...don't we need all the powerful help we can get! Amen!

You might NOW be asking...what kind of power? Again, such a great question! The power the Holy Spirit gives us is listed in scripture. It says...

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Galatians 5:22,23

Now...let's ponder this for a moment. On my very best days....I might possess these for a moment or two. Prior to my relationship with Christ, uuuummmmmm...never did I possess these. Maybe some of them for a while but never several of them or any of them for any length of time. I can testify that I am able to identify within myself when my Holy Spirit is NOT in full throttle. He's in there but my flesh has covered him up. All sorts of things cause this. All sorts of things that are either in my control or not in my control. The point is, I need a refill of what the Holy Spirit has for me. The world, my own poor choices, or maybe the people around me have eaten all the "fruit" of the Spirit. Time for a refill!!! Praise God they are FREE!!!

Here is how I get a free refill. It is an active process...I have to actually DO something. This is what it looks like in my life.

1. Ask God for what I need. Get on my knees and get into his presents. (scripture says you have not because you ask not! Ask and you shall receive)

2. Read some of the Word. ANYTHING! Just open it up! Sometimes I know where I need to go, other times I have no clue so I just open it.

3. Listen to praise and worship music. This fills me so quick!! It really does. Now, I am not talking about "churchy" music. For some, it might be "churchy" music that makes you think you are in a pew. For me, I need rockin' artists that are speaking God right to me!! If you don't have any favorite artists I encourage you to get some. Some of my favorites are listed on my web page (the link is on the left side of this blog). The wonderful, God directed songs out there are endless!!

The truth is, each person needs to figure out how to get an infilling, how to get refreshed by the Holy Spirit. This process is imperative in your Christian walk. Without refills, I would be just an empty vessel. Empty and available to be filled by the yuck of the world.

PS....you are not allowed to say..."that's great Michelle but you don't know my life. I am too busy to do any of that!" Remember, if our enemy can't get us sinning, he will just get us busy!

Recent Mom's Group discussion

I lead a mom's group bible study. Our discussion this week is on parenting in a way that God has instructed. Sounds like a lot to cover, right? Well, yes and no. With the guidance of a wonderful "study book" of sorts by Chip Ingram called House or Home we are getting what I feel to be such great, quick, concise parenting info. What parent doesn't want some help along the way! Amen! Any who, there is a verse that is kind of the Cliff Notes to parenting. (yall remember Cliff Notes! C'mon....you know you used them) It is Ephesians 6:4. Such a great verse. So much there in so few words. Here is how it goes...

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead,

bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)

Such great stuff! For dads, it is VERY easy to exasperate or provoke to anger, our children. Right? We can take out dad and insert mom and put in the word, NAG! You know we can do this sooooo easily. Per this study that Chip Ingram has done for us, there are four things in this one verse that we are to do as parents. Better put, what God has called us to do as parents.



1. Don't provoke

2. Bring them up

3. Train them

4. Instruct them

Don't provoke-

don't tease them or nag them to the point of anger. Our kids getting angry with us is going to happen but don't push buttons. Don't say things to try and make them angry cause they made us angry. Don't say things to them to proof you are the parent in the situation if your only point is to get back at them.

Bring them up-

simple and easily over looked. In order to bring them up, you have to BE there! Be present, be available. Parenting is a hands-on kind-a thing!

Train them.

In some versions of scripture the word used here is discipline them. These two words, when taken back to their original intent and meaning, are interchangeable. It means to train, to teach, to coach. The word disciple is part discipline. So often, parents use the word punishment and discipline to mean the same thing. Punishment might be part of discipline but only part of it. Do you see the difference? The "train them" or "discipline them" part of this verse is the active part of parenting. It is what you DO to change, encourage, stop, etc certain behaviors in your children. So often I see parents getting so frustrated with some of their child's behavior. Reality is, the parents have not done any training to NOT have them behave that way. Humans are a strange creature. We are born with all this sin tendency. It is just there! Has anyone ever had to teach a child to misbehave? It is up to the parents to train, teach the behaviors that are desirable. No matter what age our children are, they are going to do things that need correcting or training as to the proper, expected way to do them.

Instruct them.

This is similar to the above, "train them" but involves what we SAY to them. If you think about it, with small children, there is constant training going on. Rather there should be. As our children get older, the physical training of them decreases and the instruction part of parenting might edge out. However, if a child/teen does not respond appropriately when instruction is giving, then the parent has to revert back to training them. We might have to DO something rather than just talk to them. The hope is that our training has "worked" so well that the older they get, the instruction is all it takes. (please keep in mind, instruction is needed when they are you also.)

There is so much that can be talked about with this but I guess I would like to wrap up these parenting cliff notes. At the base of how God wants us to parent our children is love them. Love them unconditionally and make sure they feel the love that you have for them. Part of that love really is training them, instructing them and bringing them up to be Godly people. Some children are VERY strong-willed and take lots of training and instruction. VERY strong-willed. (did I say very?) These kids give us gray hair, cause us to loose sleep at night and bring doubt into our minds as to our parenting ability. Other children are easy as pie in all aspects. Most children are somewhere in between. So, if I stick to parenting the way God has instructed me to parent, I can cover all the different "types" of children that need to be parented. Some are easy some are hard but all of them are God given, precious and need me/us/ you to PARENT them. Love them, teach them, talk to them, show them how to be Godly people.

To make sure your child actually feels all that love you have for them, a great book to read is The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Blessings!

Scripture planted into my heart is invaluable!!

This blog comes after a few weeks of such great sadness. An eleven year old boy from my children's school died tragically. A few days after his death, a 16 year old boy from the high school my kids will attend died tragically. One, a practical joke gone horribly wrong. The other, a tire blow out causing the car to flip and no seat belt. So many families in my circle are involved with both these children in many ways. Both deaths seem so random. So difficult to make any kind of sense out of. Both children...good kids...just being kids. Complete accidents in the true sense of the word.


As a Christian, it is at these times that I get the most "benefit" from my belief. Because I have committed many verses to memory, the comfort that is promised from the Word becomes undeniable. (referring to James 1:21) Here is where my head goes...

Why on earth did this happen? It just does not make sense!

Scripture says..."lean not on your own understanding"

Both children appeared to be true believers. Why them?

Scripture says... being a Christian does not mean suffering will not exist.

Boy, such tragedy makes me wonder about my faith.

Scripture says..."if you falter in times of trouble, how strong is your faith!"

They were just children!

Scripture says...no one is promised tomorrow.

I know my God is good.

How on earth can something good come from this!!??

Scripture says...for those that believe in God, He will take everything and use it for good! What satan tries to use for bad, God will take it and use it for good.

Those are just a few verses that have come to mind over the past few days. For me, they are comforting. For me, they directly answer questions I have. How is possible that those verses come to mind? (I certainly am NOT a scholar. I am just a regular girl.) Well, scripture also says that the Holy Spirit will bring forth the Word when the Word that fits the situation is needed! How cool is that! So what is next?

1. I will pray for the families of these dear children.
2. I will rejoice because they are both in the arms of their creator and in complete bliss as I type this.
3. I will pray for a hedge of protection around my dear ones.
4. Most importantly, I will continue to get to know my God because without Him, life is just too full of ups and downs to give the soul any true, lasting comfort.

Amen? Amen.

Actions vs. Consequences

I was reading about a terribly sad story and it really got me thinking. There was a couple that had two children and really wanted another. After 10 years of trying, the decided to do IVF (invetro-fertilization). Basically, several eggs were harvested from the mom, fertilized in a test tube and then implanted into the mom. Several eggs developed into embryos so the couple decided to freeze some and implant some. They were overjoyed to welcome a baby girl into their family from that first implantation. I can only imagine the joy! As time went on, the decided to go ahead and implant the remaining frozen embryos. (thawed out of course!) Another success! The mom was expecting! As of right now, she has about two weeks to go in this pregnancy. Sounds great right? Well, a few weeks ago, the couple received a call from the infertility clinic. By accident, the wrong embryos had been implanted into her. She was not carrying her own child (no mention of where her actual embryos ended up. That is unsettling in and of itself). As if that news was not jarring enough...the couple has to give the baby to the biological parents after it is born.
Just as I could not imagine the joy of conceiving after so long, I could not imagine the anguish they felt after hearing they had to give this baby up. Now, there is so much in that story that gets my wheels turning but this is the point that came to mind. We get to freely choose our actions. Every action we take is from our free will which is God given. Right? Right. But...we do NOT get to choose the consequences. I am not saying that the IVF was wrong or against God's word. I have some very dear friends that did that and it really is all wonderful. Praise God I was able to have three children the usual way. But, it begs the question, if we are trusting God, if we really know him to be in control and will do for us what is in our best interest, then logic says that we will have the children he ordains. IF we take that decision into our own hands, he is still the one who creates that life but we have taken control of the situation. The outcome, the consequences of our moving outside of God's plan for us, kind of changes things. We never know what the consequences will be. We can be sure that (according to scripture) "all things work together for good" but we don't know what is going to occur in our lives in order for God to kind of....do his thing...to get all things working for good. Know what I mean? Now, I don't think any of that situation or ANY situation is a surprise to God but I do think that he simply wants us to stay in his will 'cause he knows what is best for us. He has a plan!
The next question is....how do I know what his will is? The best answer I can think of is the more I get to know God, the more confident I am that I am operating in his will. Selah

It's been a long, long time!

Ok...I have broken the #1 rule of blogging. I have not posted a new blog for so long. That is a no-no. Being a mom of three children, toss in summer vacation, throw in a menagerie of animals...the result.....no blogging til fall time! So much has happened in the past few months. So much excitement because I have been feeling the presents of God so strongly...can't get away from Him actually. Mom's Support Group is back in full swing and this blog is loosely following what is presented there. The topic of worry/worrying has been on my heart. So, as it goes, this is what I did some scripture study on. Then chat about what I discovered with my mom's at Mom's Group. This is what it looks like in my life...
My youngest child (age 6) was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome this summer. Think about that for a moment. A parent only has to think on that for a quick second to get all churned up inside. All I could think about was...."My heart is so sad. My girl, my beautiful baby girl is going to be the weird girl!" Then I thought, " no one will like her, she will now be a loner which is so different from what her personality is." Then of course I thought this..." no one will marry her, she will never know what it is like to be in love, she will never have children, her life will be empty....blah, blah, blah." Then, I of course I went to this place- "what did I do to cause this. What didn't I do?" Now, keep in mind, all these thoughts went through my head in about, oh, 3 seconds. Yeah. You know what I am talking about. As mom's we take one thing, one simple little thing...and boom! The rest of eternity is played out in our head. The result, we are mentally exhausted. We have not spoken a word, it has only taken us less than five minutes to get this way, AND we still have laundry to do! I am confident that anyone reading this knows exactly what I am talking about. Then, only by the grace of God, I come back down to reality. My everyday has God right in the middle. (this was not the case for years, even though I considered myself a Christian) I have learned so much about what God has to say to us about our everyday lives. He has a lot to say about worry. A wonderful place to start is in Matthew chapter 6. Good stuff! I encourage everyone to read it but here is what I get out of it. Worry is something we all do. It would not even be mentioned in the bible if no one dealt with it. Some are plagued by worry, but most suffer with it for a while and move on. Often we just move on to the new thing to worry about. HOWEVER...if you find yourself worrying, you are no better than a pagan or a heathen. (don't get feisty...those are God's words, not mine) A pagan, a heathen ( a person who does NOT believe in God and only cares for the things that make him/her feel good) operates in life thinking that there is no God that cares for them, does not believe the words God has given are true. BUT as believers, scripture says don't worry. The God who gave us life will not just let us go. He did not give us life just to let us twist in the wind. Even when not so great things happen, God is still in control and he has a plan. His plan always takes what occurs and uses it for good! Always! (Romans 8:28). With this, we can be assured that something good WILL be the outcome from all things. Kind of a broad statement but I so believe it. I have seen it time and time again in my own life! The word also points out (Matt. 6 still) that God cares for the sparrow. He takes care of them. They don't worry about food, shelter, etc. If God cares for a little ol' birdy, why would He not care for you. Following that thought, if you believe He cares for you deeply, then anything that comes up in your life is covered. Right? Yes. Sounds logical. The next thing is often....yeah, but. Well, no buts allowed. The word worry, brought back to Greek, which is what language the New Testament was written in, means divided mind. When we worry, it means our minds are divided. One side says, things will be fine. God is with me. My head knows that. The OTHER side says, "oh boy, oh boy...I need to do something! What can I do , what should I do. Not sure WHAT to do. I am not completely believing that God IS in control. After all, is He going to come down and take care of this situation?" See the division? It is there and it takes over. I know I have been long winded about this but I feel it so intensely. Worry is useless. It does not add one single thing to any of our lives. As a matter of fact the only thing is does is steal the joy from today! (Matt. 6) The best thing to do when this human feeling creeps in....lean on what God says. In order to lean on it you have to know it. Here are some other verses that I have come to know and taken so much comfort in...

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 hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Philippians 4:6,7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (love this version! The Message Bible)

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

This might be my favorite one. To me, this kind of looks like "hindsight is 20/20". Deuteronomy 31:8 says "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” How cool is that! If God is before us....he has 20/20 hindsight! He knows, he's got it covered!!

So, if you find yourself worrying (about work, your house, the bills, your friends, your family, your church, your kids, your kids friends, the weather, illnesses, riding in a plane, the stain you noticed on your shirt! ANY kind of worry) ....think on these verses. God has much to show us. He wants us to understand, I mean really understand, that He is in control. He was our own best interest in mind and He is right there along side us. Got to love that!

wacky "bible thumpers"

Not so many years ago, if I would see or hear someone that -was preachin' about Jesus, raising their hands during a "Jesus" song or saying "feeling blessed" when they were asked how they were doing- as a "bible thumper". Another term you may be familiar with is "Jesus Freak", "Holy Roller", "Bible Banger"...ya know what I'm talkin' about? Please understand, I would not necessarily think bad of these people but I would kind of discount them. I would just brush them off. After all, I believed in God right? I believed that Jesus as the Son of God, He was sent to for us, I belonged to a church and I even went to it on important holidays and even just any regular ol' Sunday! I was all set. Right? I certainly had a bible in my house. (uuuummmmm, not sure where but I KNOW I had one. ......somewhere) I knew there was 10 commandment's and I knew the big ones. Don't murder, don't sleep with someones husband, ...didn't do those. The other 8? Well, they must not have been super important but I knew there were 8 more which was better than others. Right? Any of that sound familiar?



Well, in God's endless mercy and love...He took the time for me. He got my attention and set me on a life long path of learning, understanding, peace, and joy!!



Now, you might be saying...."Well that is great for you Michelle but I am just fine with the above described way of expressing my faith. I am a reserved person and don't feel the need to be over the top with my church attendance, my bible reading, etc. I am doing just fine. I believe in God and thank you very much but I'm all set."



Well, I would like to be bold. I would like you to ponder this scripture...

Revelations 3:16 says...So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.



This is God's words to the church, a believing church, in end times. Selah.



In closing, THIS song and "these wacky bible thumper" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FObjd5wrgZ8 is how I feel and how I would like to worship my Creator. Enjoy.