missing it

Have you ever missed it?  Well I have!  Not just once or even a handful of times but A LOT!  I missed it yesterday and even though God tried to get my attention (twice) I still missed it.  Well guess what?  When you miss it you just repent, give it to God & ask Him how to fix it because His ways are perfect Psalm 18:30.  That's what I've done & God immediately restored me to right standing with Him.  Guess what else... He's guiding me along the best pathways for my life according to Psalm 32:8 on how to rectify the situation.  Ready for even MORE revelation?  Well I'm gonna tell you anyway...not only is my mistake forgiven, God is going to use it to His glory.  I believe in allowing Him into every moment and every little detail of my life---get your mind around that for a second....every detail....no matter how small....every moment---He will be glorified and exalted.  And you know what else?  Lives will be changed, because that's what its all about....MORE of Him and less of us, folks.  I fell flat on my face because God showed Marc & I where he wanted us to go & I took it one step further (without God).  Now I'm back on track with Him and will strive every day to not live a moment without His guidance & leading.  To be honest its SO easy....too easy.  All I do is give Him the first of my day and constantly bring Him into every moment through prayer, thanksgiving, meditating on a scripture, talking to my kids about God, praising & teaching them to do the same in all things and at all times. 

  We all miss it at one time or another but isn't it so sweet to be reprimanded by Him...our heavenly Father....who loves us more than we can imagine?  I know I felt so filled to the full to overflowing with the love of God after I had my little "spankin'" as Pastor John said today.  This is meant to give encouragement to someone, I know it has for me anyway.

I'm sorry for any damage I caused & know everything is gonna be ALL RIGHT!  Praise be to God...the Creator of heaven & earth!

scentsy sensation

Can you believe its already after midnight & I haven't even begun my nighttime routine.  wash face, brush teeth, cat inside, coffee prep (ooo, already did that one), blow out candles, get water...then bed.  In bed by 1? hopefully
God showed Marc & I some amazing things today about where our business is headed....more to come on that very soon.  All I can say is that its bigger than anything I could've hoped for or imagined.

Today I was reminded just how great it feels to obey God & minister His love to someone.  For the first time in a really long time I walked completely in God's will for my life in every moment today.  WOW!  Major strides for me. 

So, one of the facets God showed us, just for a sneak peak, is that we're to distribute Scentsy products.  Hoping for our "launch party" to happen SOON...find out tomorrow if it'll work.  Can you believe?  Me....selling anything?!?  Well I can guarantee you one thing....scentsy parties never looked so good:)

a new train... the favor of God

Tonight as I was laying with Tiernan gazing in his eyes he said "I'm not happy, I'm very sad."  To my dismay he was sad because "I don't have a tree."  I removed the huge fabric tree from his walls & ceiling.  To understand this you I must tell you that for nearly a week every day when asked any question, even "why did you hit your brother?" he would answer "because I don't like my tree & my bed".  After asking him repeatedly "do you like your tree?", "do you want me to take it down?"  he repeatedly said "no", "yes" respectively.  So he & I spent one morning tearing down brown fabric bark & brightly colored leaves of all sizes.  Wait, not only did I remove all vestige of fabric I also had to paint his entire ceiling because glue + fabric = dark mess on white ceiling.  So back to my story:  I asked him what he wanted on his wall next & after explaining there was no way I was doing another tree I suggested dinosaurs, then trains.  Trains it is!  He loved the idea so much he asked in a whisper "can we go tell Daddy?".  Of course we quietly & stealthily got down off his 4 ft high bed to find Daddy & share the most glorious news...."I get a train on my walls".  Adorable!!!

Completely off subject (but then again aren't I always); I just renamed my blog from The Grey Pear to F.O.G. blog for one reason only....God's Favor on my life has been increasing more & more & more.  When I look back to see what's changed I'm reminded of our church's Appreciation Banquet Marc & I attended in January where I had a conversation with 2 ladies about wanting more of God.  Last December Marc & I decided to start John Bevere's Drawing Near series.  They were so excited & asked if we could all do it together.....we were clearly hungry for more of Him.  So we started the series a couple weeks later.  Four weeks into this "small group" our drawing near turned into a small prayer group and still going strong.  This commitment and the daily striving to know Him and to hear from Him is beginning to produce fruit.  When Marc came home tonight we discussed some things that are happening in his business and all I could see was the favor...in a big way. As tithers we know the floodgates of heaven are opening and pouring out a blessing so great we can't even contain it according to Malachi 3.

We're only going to see greater & greater miracles happen around us.  I know people need prayer & we are here for just that.  The thought of what God is doing is way over my head right now but occasionally He'll open my eyes a bit to see something I didn't see before.  Maybe that's when I should blog or journal.  Journal is my sure-fire way of keeping my mouth shut about certain things I'm not to share.  Other times I just need to put pen to paper & sit in a cozy chair.....office chair =no= cozy

settling in

Today we're getting back in the groove only I feel like we're all so changed from our little trip.  God did a mighty work in us & showed us so many great things to come. Even T was a new little boy today.  Learning things he'd never even taken interest in before.  He created art with crayons, glue & magazine pages....that's my boy!

5 days in Houston

Was it only 5 days ago I was home getting ready to help friends/clients find a home/life in a strange land?  What an amazing trip it has been for us.  We were able to follow the leading of the Holy Ghost with conversations had between old friends as well as a couple of new friends.  God is truly moving mightily & I can no longer deny the power that is at work on the inside of me.  (Eph. 3)

God has good things for our dear friends.  Big things!  They will prosper & thrive in their new life through their knowing & serving God with all their hearts & focus.  Their children will make new friends easily.  They will get plugged into the church God wants their seeds planted & producing a healthy crop.  (I can tell them where that would be:)

Another amazing couple, when we visited their church, touched our lives in such a great way.  No distraction could keep us from cultivating heavenly appointed friendships. This anointed couple is surely on their way to success!!!

Aunt Sunday is stirring things up in Holiday Lakes & her prayers are being answered in powerful ways.  God restored that relationship and I'm blessed to be a part of their lives.  Not to mention she lets me do whatever I want with her house & she's always thrilled with the outcome. My favorite kind of client. 

I am starting now (well maybe tomorrow since I really missed my bed while traveling) believing God for ONE client and ONE client only who will trust me completely to translate their taste into a functional space for their family, allowing me total freedom!  My goal is to bill $1000 per month for this family which means I will work about 13.5 hours during that time.  Oooh, they will be so blessed with the life of their new space.
Since I'm just getting back in the game after having 2 sweet boys I only want one good, faithful, kind, trusting client who found out about me through a referral.....woohoo!

 I'm getting so excited.  Aunt Sunday always makes me feel so good about myself after leaving her house.  Last time was the front & back porches, this time was the dining room (Tom just painted the color we picked last time) which included her china cabinet.  Just need window treatments & chair slipcovers & this room is complete! 

Oh my, I flutter from one thought to another & here I am quite sleepy.  Realizing I went to bed @ 5am Monday night & last night about 1am so tonight I'm in bed a little earlier.  Still gotta set the coffee & drink WATER!!!!  hydrate..........ni-night

rise n shine; give God glory

Houston-bound at 8am. 
Friends watching house & cat.

OK, I have SO much to do in the morning, especially since I must have the house totally picked up (I would say "clean" but the chances of me cleaning my floors are nil), all trash taken out, hair did as well as pack the entire family & car (don't forget the ice chest) before we leave.

wake up at 5 for prayer. 

In my perfect world I would wake up NO earlier than 7:30 then have 2 hours of prayer.  Might have to wait till the kids have moved out but I'm holding out hope that I'll create a scheduled world where I stay up till 1 every morning & still maintain energy & spunk to keep up with my little ones & run both businesses as well as support my stellar husband.  For now the sweet sound of "Never Going Back" by the Binions starts at 5am, stretching in bed while giving God thanks for all He's done for me & marveling at Who He is for at least 30 minutes before actually moving from the bed.  Water on the night stand ready for a big guzzle then hunting down my only coffee for the day.  Hope its good this time. 

Did I even set the coffee for tomorrow?  NO!  Oh poo....too tired now at 12:30am. 

Maybe I'll change the clock to 5:30!

Do I have to eat?

I am surrounded by the most wonderful people!  People that love God.  People that know how to pray.  People that support, encourage & lift each other up.  People with a hunger for God & His will for our lives.  I am truly blessed!  Some great things....great big things are taking place right now.  Things I look forward to sharing one day, as the Lord allows.  Victory!  Breakthrough! 

Family's all in bed & I'm so excited I can create, blog, read my book "Heaven is for Real", or just chill with a cup of tea.  So why oh why is it that all I can think about is putting on my eye pillow & getting some much needed rest for body, rest for mind?  Why did God make us to need sleep?  I sure could get a LOT more done if I didn't have to sleep:)  Funny.......usually its 2am before I'm feeling this way thinking BED...NOW!

That brings up another question which I'll have to save for Jesus when I'm in heaven: why do we have to eat?  On occasion I enjoy eating.  You know, lunch after church with friends, dinner with my honey at a fancy restaurant, stinky cheese with fruit & crackers.  But for the most part I eat because I need it....my tummy screams & the room starts spinning if I don't get it.  You can't tell this by looking at me though.....excess fat BE GONE in the name of Jesus!  The name of Jesus is powerful folks!  Never doubt that.

Oh, then there's the nursing factor...baby's gotta eat too:)  Time for a bowl of cereal before bed!  Ciao

email to a friend about shopping

Tonight I sat to write a quick email to a friend about shopping for clothes.  This is just a little exerpt from that email:  Can you believe I now leave email messages that sound just like my 22 minute long phone messages (sorry Melissa).  Sometimes I even have to call back a few times to continue the message I was trying to leave until the voicemail service had to cut me off....the nerve!  To my many fans......lets shop!

What are your favorite brands?  Someone once (before Christ in my life) called me a "brand whore" and as awful as that sounds I think its a bit true (in a good way).  I have always loved that excellent brands grace the hangers in my closet.  (25lbs to go until I'm back to shopping--"deals find me everywhere I go in the name of Jesus")  My God is more than enough to supply ALL my needs.  He desires me to dress well….think of Solomon, yet God said that he wasn’t dressed nearly as well as the lilies in the field where are here today & gone tomorrow…..then He goes on to say that God loves us even more that those beautiful lilies in the field….so how much more does He want me to have beautiful things & honor Him with the way I look.   My Pastor’s wife looked so amazing this past Sunday!  I love her new style….classy, polished, modern, and hip.  She said she really loves White House/Black Market.  Well that used to be one of my favorite stores to shop.  I WILL be shopping there again friends….oh yes I will!  I also really like BCBG, Banana Republic, Express (for pants), Nordstrom’s, Victoria’s Secret, Saks, and the list goes on and on and on.  That Kate Spade diaper bag that was amazing!!!!  And it would work so wonderfully as my carry on for traveling the world with my family.  Would love to say I have it all planned out but one thing is for certain: I will go where God tells me to go & by the Grace of God & the help of the Holy Ghost I will do what He says to do.  Big things!  Big things! 

Oh, back to the email I sent to a friend a few minutes ago:

Here's the other side of that comment and this is really where my heart is:  I want NOTHING outside of God's will for my life....that applies to everything for me & I'm learning how to make that truth bigger than anything else I know.  That being said, please do not give ...to me or anyone else....unless the Holy Spirit says so:)  that wasn't correction....just a little taste of what I tell myself.  I love giving so I'm inclined to give anytime to anyone & sometimes I don't ask God first.  I've missed it several times & should've sown somewhere else.  Anyway....how much fun it'll be to give away my first car:)  wooohooo!!!!  I'm about to get up & dance right now!  Oh, wait....don't wanna wake Marc up! 
I'm so stirred up with the Word of God...the POWER & authority I have as a believer is working right now in the realm of the Spirit to cause my situation to change in the name of Jesus.  Our lives are about to get a whole lot more fun!  Grace, adventure, power, love, victory, healing, joy unspeakable, and all that other GOOD stuff!

I feel as if I'm just sitting here having a chat with you.  funny thing, technology...I can sit here & pour my heart out to you...my  friend....and I can edit (which I mistakenly rarely do)....I can leave, eat some frozen custard (who said I can't lose weight with a frozen custard treat at midnight), come back & continue my thoughts on an entirely different level or subject and you'll never feel a pause as you read this seemingly endless email.  All this just to say, yes.....lets shop! 

camping & other adventures with dad

Camping should almost be a requirement if you live in these great, free United States of America.  It is one of my fondest memories of my childhood.  Camping with my dad always, spontaneously, anywhere, for weeks on end sometimes.  One summer we went to Wisconsin to help family friends with their dairy farm by milking cows, painting their huge barn bright red and helping with just about every other chore you could think of.  My dad pitched a tent the first day & I found out a few days into this adventure that he intended this contraption to be our home for the next 3 months.  My sister & I thought it was funny, until we realized he was totally serious.  I went to Dixie (our family friend) and asked if she had room inside:)  Then after trying that out I realized I preferred the tent with my Papa & sis. 

What a great summer!  I learned to drive trucks & tractors (age 13 if my memory serves), we drank fresh cow milk all summer, which I grew to love, and I worked on trucks & machines with my dad among other things.  Oh, and I think this was the summer he taught me to hot wire a car; "in case you ever need to steal one" he said.  As it turns out I never "needed" to steal a car so the fact that I never remembered that "valuable" lesson is OK with me. 

One thing I'm grateful to my father for is that he taught me the value of hard work.  I was up on that 2 story ladder with a bucket in one hand & paint brush in the other.  You'd never seen so much red in all your life. 

Then there was the summer (2 actually) I worked for him in Corpus Christi while I was in high school.  I wanted extra money so I found myself to be a roofer.  HA!  Bet you couldn't have guess that one.  Yes, I worked on tile & shingle, repairs & new installs.  This one time we were repairing a blue tile roof of some condos on Padre Island that were so steep I about fell off.  Slid down quite a way before I caught myself....actually that must've been an angel because how in the world could I have caught myself while sliding down that roof is beyond me.  Thank you God for saving me. 

How did I get off on that?  Well, anyway...too many funny memories to recount now.  I might lose my huge following:) 

Camping tonight under the big oak trees of the Goebler Farm will be wonderful!  Looking forward to teaching Tiernan to pitch a tent & sleep under the stars!

rich word

I'm so saturated in the Word of God right now it feels amazing.  Marc & I have been watching the Southwest Believer's Convention live since Monday & boy do you get FULL of the Word. 
One thing that keeps going off in me is "the Word works"....every time. 

I'm putting my faith into action. 
I'm surrounding myself with people of like precious faith.
I'm standing on the Word of God stronger than ever.

Marc & I had the best night last night.  As we listened to Jerry Savelle's message he drew me a bath with candles then I did the same for him & we literally soaked in the word!  Then I went outside to gaze at the night sky while watering the grass.  Thoughts bounced around endlessly about God, His love for me, the authority I have been given to me by the shed blood of Jesus, the reality of living in The BLESSING and how I have been & will continue to appropriate the laws of seed time & harvest in my life for my future.  Whew!

We have so much seed in the ground, in good ground, and we continue to sow constantly.  Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 tells all about sowing all the time in many directions.  You'll get to the point where as you cast your seed on the water each wave will be bringing your harvest. 

Never stop giving....NEVER!!!!  Ask God where to sow, to whom, and what to give.  He will bless you, it is certain!  His word is truth....He is not a liar.  Luke 6:38 is just as true today as when it was written.  It is so big in me that I know that I know that I know He has called me to be blessed to be a blessing to others.  It's my job, it's my right, it's an honor to show people the love of God. 

I pray for boldness, divine appointments, debts deceased, open doors that no one is able to shut, peace, joy & prosperity for my family & yours.

Serving, winning, increasing.....going higher in the things of God!!!!

You 're needed here but your heart is there.  what do you do? you serve where you're needed.  I'm so blessed to give & serve in any & every capacity God wants me to give & serve.  He is doing a major work in me.  In several areas of my life.  I've now created a "Personal Win Accountability" spreadsheet where I have to give an account daily for which areas of my life I've actively steered my energy toward.  A "win" for me is to have several areas checked off in order to have had a well rounded day.  I have spiritual, marriage, kids, the grey pear business, me time, physical, church, household, fellowship & giving.  I actually took the idea from one of Pastor John's messages.  He said each ministry needs to define a "win" for that area of ministry and for us to celebrate the "wins".
 
I'm believing for a joy overflow, peace overflow, prosperity, anointing, giving, and overall INCREASE in our lives.  In the lives of the faithful ones in our church, in His church worldwide.  Outpouring of The BLESSING, as Kenneth Copeland would say. 

He is so good & He has a GOOD plan for Marc & me.  Plans to prosper us, heal us & give us a bright future.