Raise the Praise

Hello Darlings! I hope today has been as wonderful for you as it has for me. I woke up today with a little bit of a different outlook on my day ahead, as last night JD and I watched a movie called "The Peaceful Warrior". Now, please know that I wasn't a fan of some of the language they used and there were a couple parts of the movie that I would definitely cut out ;) - but all in all, the movie had a decent message and some awesome quotes. It basically said that if you focus too much on your final destination, then you will forget how you got there... pay attention to the journey. And I got to thinking of how often I do that! I can't count how many times I have been driving to a friend's house, or running a certain path, and when I finally pull in or stop, I can't for the life of me remember how I got there! Our minds get so cluttered with all of the things we have to do, or all of the things that people have said to us or about us, and we loose all of our Godly focus. I want to encourage you darlings to keep focusing on the Lord in every single step of your day. Take a moment every hour or so and look around at where God has placed you. "He knows the plans He has for us" (Jeremiah 29:11)... but we don't often know the plans He has for us because we are too busy trying to finish our own plans. I am so guilty of this! My prayer for both you and myself today is that we are not only blessed by the Lord, but that we can stop and recognize those blessings.
JD and I are particularly excited about tonight, because we are going to be heading to his parents house for a family dinner... and it just so happens that his mom is making our favorite meal - sweet & savory roast! mmmm I am seriously having trouble waiting until 7pm tonight!
As I close up for today, I want to leave you with a devotion, written by Beth Moore, that struck my heart in a major way:

Read Luke 1:39 - 40

*Then ask yourself who you look to for wisdom and advice, and how far are you willing to go to seek council from that one special person?

When Mary found out that she was going to bear the world's Savior... one of the first things that scripture tells us she did was run to her relative Elizabeth, who was also "with child." Now I always knew that this part of scripture urges us to seek council from others who are more mature and farther along in circumstances than we are... It is obvious that the Lord wants us to glean wisdom from others and learn from their mistakes. However, I guess I never realized the lengths that Mary went to in seeking council from Elizabeth. You see, Elizabeth lived fifty to seventy miles from Nazareth - that means that Mary, newly pregnant, had to travel fifty to seventy miles (BY FOOT) just to see her! How insane does that sound, and what a dedicated woman! And then I began to wonder if I, myself would have had the audacity to travel such a distance. I am truly praying that I will have such a desire to know the Lord's plan, that I will travel any length of miles to experience what He has for me & do His good work!

Good evening darlings, until we meet again!

Much Love,
Susan Elaine