Sunday, January 20, 2013

TFI: Back in the Game

So I took about 6 months off from being an Advocate for The Forgotten Initiative.  We had so much going on and so many changes happening in our house (or lack there of) that I just needed to regroup and get my feet up under me before I started doing ministry outside of my own family again.  The break was needed, but I'm SOOOO glad to be back in the game! 

Ministry and evangelism type stuff is a little bit strange in ways.  You need to take breaks to refill your tank at times (sebaticles, etc), but the more you do ministry activities, the more entrenched and excited you get.  I'm excited to say that I'm pumped about foster care ministry again!  The more I pray about it and talk to people about it, the more pumped I get.  So don't be surprised if I actually start talking about adoption issues and ministry opportunities and all kind of crazy stuff again soon. 

Heck, I might as well start now!

TFI Charleston is a GO! 

The facebook page is up and running and you can find a super short needs list for our area HERE

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Photo Dump!

Just in case you were wondering, Layla IS still alive and kicking.  She won't really sit still long enough for a proper photo shoot anymore, so here's a look at what we've been up to the last couple of months!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Dirty Little Lies

A little less than a year ago, I went to a women's retreat with our church at the beach.  God showed me A LOT about myself and about His place in my heart's desires.  At the time my struggle was letting fear rule my emotions and my actions.  While I was dealing with all the truths He was throwing at me, many of the other women were dealing with how to handle and recognize spiritual warfare.  To say that I wish I was able to spend more time soaking up their knowledge and experience with this subject would be the understatement of the year. 

It has been months since I last wrote a blog post.  Honestly, it has been months since I've done a whole lot of anything besides just survive.  I laid down my ministry with foster care, stopped being real with most of my friends, lost control of my emotions (and many times, my temper), and simply gave myself the goal of making it through the day.  This is no way to live. 

About a month ago, God sent me a message:  "Stop believing the lies.  Know who they are coming from."  I knew instantly what He meant.  Each day and night a voice had been whispering in my ear every time I was alone.

"You're going to lose this baby."
"You're not a good mother."
"You're house is never clean."
"You aren't a good cook."
"You're body is ugly."
"You're husband doesn't love you."
"You're husband is cheating on you."
"You don't have any friends."
"You're worthless."
"You're emotionally unstable."

Now that I've written them down, they look pretty ridiculous......  But when you've moved to a new city, you've quit working and are staying at home with a toddler, you know practically no one to hang out with, and you're freaked out about being pregnant, its pretty easy to believe every single one of those statements.  The real problem lies in the fact that the Devil doesn't get in your face and scream at you.  He is quiet and consistent.  You don't even know that he's been feeding you his garbage until you have already completely agreed with him and you can barely function anymore.  This is where I've been: in the pit.  (What's really strange is how many women go through this during or right after pregnancy.  We'll talk about this later though.)

These are the lies I refuse to accept as truth any longer. 

This is the pit that I'm climbing out of. 

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made"