I must begin by saying how much I respect our pastor. He is one of the best speakers I have ever heard and, more importantly, he has a true heart for Jesus. If you download sermons off of iTunes, his are worth checking out. His name is Gregg Matte and our church is Houston's First Baptist. Today he spoke from Acts 2:37-40. Part of his sermon focused on repentance. He emphasized that repentance is not regret and or guilt. It is deeper and more meaningful.
"Repentance is a change of our thinking that changes the core of our living"
This made me stop and reflect upon my prayer life and my relationship with Jesus. My repentance consisted of telling Jesus I was sorry for my sins, checking it off of my list, and going on with my prayer. My confession/repentance was more of a hand over my mouth mumble to Jesus. I wanted that part out of the way so I could put my good Christian girl hat on and pray for people and things that are important to me and my family. I have been missing a big part of building my relationship with Him. In order to truly have a meaningful relationship with Jesus, I need to set my pride and sometimes embarrassment aside and be completely honest. I must focus on my sin and ask God to change my heart so that I will grow towards Him. I feel like I have a very strong relationship with Jesus. I am looking forward to going even deeper with Him as I spend more time truly repenting and growing in our relationship.
10 Things I LOVED about our weekend....
1. Having dinner as an entire family on Saturday night. (Jorden usually works on Saturday nights, but didn't last night.)
2. Laughing with my witty husband. He cracks me up. :-)
3. All of our kids telling us at dinner last night how much they look forward to Sunday mornings at church. Be still my heart. :-)
4. Hearing my girl share and share AND share some more about a birthday party she attended on Saturday. I LOVE that she tells me so much. I love that we have a close relationship and she enjoys sharing her life with me. I love her something fierce!!
5. Taking in God's word at church this morning.
6. Watching Luke get a haircut. He loves his hair even more than I love mine. Haircuts are a big deal to him. He looks precious as he watches VERY intently as she cuts it.
7. Talking to my friend Jennifer as we stood in the rain without umbrellas. I could talk with her for hours. She is such a joy and a strong Christian woman. She is the true Proverbs 31 woman!
8. Hugging on my sweet Jorden. He is 16 and still lets me love on him. :-)
9. It rained most of the day on Saturday. It was wonderful.
10. Snuggling up on the couch with a blanket and watching Hawaii 5-0 with my man.
***I sure used the word LOVE a lot! I guess I really LOVED our weekend. LOL!!
Weekly Menu....
Monday - Creamy Artichoke and Mushroom Penne, balsamic salad
Tuesday - Beef Stew in the Crockpot, sourdough bread
Wednesday - Manicotti, Caesar salad
Thursday - White Chicken Chili, corn muffins
Friday - tacos, beans, and rice
As always, the recipes are listed in the recipe section at the top of my blog.
Thank you to everyone who prayed for my sweet Emily's bruised heart. I am ever grateful to all of her prayer warriors. She is totally better and stronger for the experience. As her mama, I hate to see her in pain, but to see her rely on Jesus during those times brings joy to my heart.
May everyone have a blessed week full of fun, laughter, and love.
