I just came out of this place where I felt really blah. A small part of it was because I’ve been dealing with this cold for what feels like forever. That can zap your energy. But the biggest part was this: I wasn’t seeking God. I was bored with my relationship with Him. I felt good about our relationship even from what we had a year ago. But that’s not enough.

I realized I wasn’t hungry for more of Him. I was complacent. And, honestly, I didn’t really care about any of it.

So, last night, I told Him what was going on. I said, “I’m bored. I know you have more for Me but I guess I don’t care.”

And then I told Him I was sorry. I asked Him to put that hunger back in me. I want to want more of Him.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7, 8 NIV)

And He gave it to me. I can feel the hunger for more of Him starting again.

Is there something you need? Do you need more of Him? Do you need help with something? Are you stuck in a place you don’t want to be?

Tell Him this. He already knows. Ask Him what you need and He’ll give it to you.

I’m so thankful we have a good God who knows us, wants the best for us, will always listen when we speak, and is always there.

Have a blessed week, friends!

– Jill

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(photo credit from Ana Caroline Lessa)

Maybe this post should actually be titled “Keeping Hope,” instead of finding it. I find that when things get tough it’s easy to feel hopeless, to feel like things are never going to change. But that’s not true. The truth is we have a big ol’ Papa who takes care of us.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Matthew 6:25-27

This morning I found myself starting to worry. I knew I was about to agree with hopelessness and then I said, “No! I will not to agree with that.” Instead, I prayed and started to think about all that God has done for me, for us, and knew that worrying would get me no where. And then I realized something. I already had hope. The enemy was just trying to take it away from me. Things are never hopeless. God is always there, and He cares. So when those thoughts started coming, I threw them away, refused to even think about them, and started to think on the good things. I started looking up bible verses about hope and what He has to say about it.

“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

His plans are so good. And the awesome thing? He has a plan for everyone! A plan to prosper us and give us a hope and a future! Wow. Seriously. That’s awesome.

So, if you start feeling hopeless, like things aren’t going to change, think about what He has done in the past. Think on good things. Looking up Bible verses about the truth of a situation is so important.

Then when you have your hope back, your faith starts to build, and you can receive what He has for you. And miracles follow faith.

“And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” Matthew 17:20

If you want to see more verses about faith, believing, and miracles, here’s a great source.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Walk in what He has for you!

Blessings!

– Jill

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A few things I’ve realized this week while we’ve been on the Daniel Fast:

• It seems like we center everything around food; meeting friends for coffee, getting together for the Super Bowl or even just watching TV at night when the kids are in bed.
• I’m having a problem with giving up coffee. We’re best friends. What can I say?
• The first three days I slept many hours and had headaches. Headaches are gone now and the naps have stopped. Hallelujah!
• We’ve been eating a lot of homemade french fries with homemade ketchup. This stuff is seriously awesome. We will continue to eat this after our fast is over. Probably with a cheeseburger.
• It’s all just food, right? It’s not a big deal. That’s what I keep telling myself. I’m learning some good self-control, which I need. And I have to say my Jesus time has been really good this last week (when I haven’t been sleeping!). He’s been showing us new things, changing our way of thinking, bringing us from glory to glory. It’s been amazing! And I know things will continue to get even better from here on out. Jesus is so good!

Okay. I’m about to bore you with my meal plan. You can go to a different blog now if you want. I won’t be sad.

Potatoes and rice, people, that’s what we’re eating. For being a “foodie”, I’m kind of boring.

As I started typing this week’s meal plan I realized it was pretty much the same as last week. (Told you I was boring!). So, if you’re really curious to see what we’ll be eating you can look at our meal plan from last week. I do have plans for eating a ton of this Mexican Rice, though. I can’t get enough of it. It’s that good! And a friend gave me some vegetarian chili, which is about to end up on top of some baked potatoes. Yum!

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

– Jill

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Everywhere I look it seems like the enemy is trying to take out marriages. But we have a God who is bigger than the enemy and bigger than our problems.

These are just my thoughts about what I see going on around me. Take them with a grain of salt and grace. Thank you.

You know why I think we have problems in marriages besides our own selfishness, and other issues? I think the enemy wants to take out powerful marriages. God has a great plan for everyone and if the enemy can get us to fight with each other and believe his lies than he’s won.

But God has a plan for us all. A great plan. He gives us a hope. He gives us a future.

“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

He restores all things. If things have been bad, He will turn them around for His (and your!) good. If you have been weary, he will renew your strength.

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“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”– 2 Corinthians 10:5

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”– Romans 12:2

These verses have been changing my life. Literally. You never realize how important it is to have the right attitude, to think positively until you see someone else talking bad about themselves. Or in my case: seeing how I treat my kids. I want them to be full of life, and full of good things. I don’t want to tear them down.

So, we’re been going through some changes in our house. By the grace of God (and only through Him!), we have quieted our voices, been patient (most of the time), and we’ve been taking the time to stop and really listen to what our kids have to say.

So, every time I feel like I am out of control (which I think was at the root of it all to begin with, and I find could be at the root of a lot of problems), I tell myself I am not going to align myself with the spirit of control, and move on with my day. Amen! And you can do that with anything. But I think it all starts with realizing you have a problem, and wanting to change.

I daily try to renew my mind, to think on good things, heavenly things, and thank Jesus for the ability to change with His help. He is so good!

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8

– Just a little bit of what’s going on in our lives. Hope you all are having a fabulous week and new year!

– Jill

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I’m proud to announce the book that my hubby, Reinman, and his dad, Colonel Havoc, wrote is finally here to buy! Woohoo! You can get it on Amazon through this link. You can get it either for your Kindle (or Kindle Apps), or a printed version that will be shipped to your house. We are so excited!

Here’s the description:

Far from Earth, far from home, Captain Dex D’Felco leads the “Angels,” a renegade Navy fighter squadron on the run from their own government. Their crime? Clinging to their faith in a dystopian society that has outlawed all forms of religious expression.

Meanwhile, Darik Mason, an ambitious junior executive, uncovers a dark conspiracy within his own corporation. His search for the truth sets him on a collision course with the Angels, pitting both sides in an epic battle with the fate of thousands of Believers hanging in the balance.

In this first book in their Christian Sci-fi series Flight of the Angels, co-authors Allan and Aaron Reini introduce a dark, gritty universe where evil men plot destruction and heroes, while flawed, sacrifice everything to defend the defenseless.

Buy the book here (Kindle) or here (paperback)

Follow FOTA on Facebook here

Follow FOTA on Twitter here

– Jill

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During church this morning, I started to think about something that I should write about, something we’re going through (isn’t that always the case?), and then my mind started to wonder about all these things that I think need to be said, mostly for myself.

Jesus saved us by dying on the cross. He forgives us of all of our sins. Now when I was first “saved” like 8 years ago, I asked Jesus into my life, to become part of me (all of me really), and to forgive my sins. He did all of this, and then here we are. I’m wondering what’s next.

He forgave us, but that’s not all He wants to do. He wants to heal people. He wants to set people free. And the great thing? He wants to use us to do that! Isn’t that amazing?

Jesus wants to work in us, and through us, and when He does we will move in power because the Holy Spirit will use us! This is crazy. And I love it.

So, back to church– I was thinking about all of this during the end of worship, and then our pastor got up to speak. And what did he talk about? Basically everything I just said. We’re saved and forgiven, now go out and do something. Jesus wants us to reach out to other people. He wants us to step out in faith. I was ready to freak out listening to our pastor because everything he was saying, I was just thinking like 5 minutes before.

God is so good!

So, this week I am going to reach out to those around me. We just moved so I think we’re set with opportunities.

My whole revelation this month or so is that once Jesus saves you that’s not the end of the story. The story is just beginning. He wants to change you, to make you better, to make you more like Him. And then? Then He wants to set you free to help others. He wants to use you. He wants you to walk in power, to heal the sick, to set the captives free, to speak words of life into people who need to hear the Good News.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all those who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:1-3

Woah– Jesus is so good!

– Jill

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