Today I thought I would share something that I am working on with myself, in the hopes it may help someone else with a similar issue in their life.

My husband and I are on a debt free journey.  I have come to a point in my life where I realize that I have a shopping addiction.  I never thought it was a problem because the things I purchase are not real costly, but shopping has become an idol in my life that takes my focus off my relationship with my Lord.  When we take a good hard look at our selves, we can then see more clearly the areas we need to work on.  

Our society is set up in a way where shopping has become a hobby, a way to false happiness for many, not to mention wasting the money that God may intend us to use to help others.  It seems where ever we look someone is trying to get us to spend our money.  When we are always on the hunt for something new, (even if it is not costly and from a thrift store) we are letting this become an idol in our life.  

Shopping can truly become an addiction.  When we purchase something new our body releases dopamine and if we purchase something on line we also release dopamine when the item arrives.  This is a false sense of happiness.  God wants our contentment to come from a personal relationship with Jesus.  He wants us to seek first His kingdom, and when we do this we will have the contentment that is true and lasting that only comes from the Lord.  

I have started doing my chapel time before all else in the morning.  I read my Bible and devotionals, do my prayer journal and then do all my daily house work as to the Lord.  I find when I put God first in my life, I truly seek His kingdom above all else, and I am not longing to collect the next thing. 

None of us know what our future may hold, so it is only wise to save our dollars, because we may need them to live if times get really hard, or God may call on us to meet a need for someone else.  I try to remind myself that our money is truly given to us to be good stewards for the Lord, and all things in this life belong to Him.  In that sense we should be wise and use it as he wills for us to.  

So this is an area that I am giving myself a good hard look at how I am handling the resources that God has entrusted to me.  Like all things I will be gentle with myself as I strive to please the Lord and break my shopping addiction.  I know that I alone may not be able to break it, but we should remember that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

I hope that if someone reading this suffers from any sort of addiction that you can put it in God's hands and put Him first above all else.  I thank you for stopping by my space.  May God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

~A Peek Into Our Weeks

I love the serenity prayer, it is a blessing to my life.  It is nice to have it in my kitchen and it helps me to remember to trust in the Lord for all things in my life. 

Here is one of my favorite little areas in our kitchen.  I love the old fashioned feel I get when I look at those signs.  They make my heart smile.

We went to visit my family the other weekend.  Lauren and Leo stayed the week.  Leo and his cousin Lilah just love to spend time together.

On our little travels we stopped at Lauren's favorite place the Russel Stover Outlet.  

Here is Megan with little Leo.  She is such a wonderful aunt to him.

Here is a picture of my parents with my sisters Tricia and Lori at Epcot.

 I have been sick this week with some flu like virus, so I have been resting while I get well.  I am so thankful that I have my books and my Bible and devotionals to read.  I also enjoy watching wholesome YouTube videos.  I don't usually watch TV shows, but I have been enjoying All Creatures Great and Small on PBS Masterpiece.  

I want to thank you for stopping by my little space.  I hope you have a cozy evening and enjoy some time doing something that makes you happy.  God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

~A Thought On My Heart

I like to listen to christian music while I do my work in our little kitchen.  This is one of my favorite songs sung by my favorite christian family, Sounds like Reign.  I was just thinking this morning how people will hurt us so deeply, even those we would not think could do so.  The only one who will never hurt us is Jesus.  

When my spirit is wounded by a loved one, I think of how I myself have wounded those that I love in my past.  I think of the great mercy that Jesus has given me and His unconditional love even when I sin now.  I of course try my hardest not to sin, but we are all human and we have a sin nature.  I am reminded to forgive as Jesus forgave me.  To show love and mercy to our loved ones when they have hurt us and not return evil with evil.  As followers of Christ Jesus, we must learn from His example on how to treat others.  

So it is my prayer to anyone who reads this post, that we lay anything that is an idol (including any relationship) at God's feet and trust in Him.  We should know that Jesus will be with us through any storm we must walk through on this Earth.  

So the next time someone lets you down, remember to show the same mercy that Jesus has shown us so clearly.  

This was just a thought on my heart this morning.  I thought I would share in case it may help someone reading my blog.  God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

~A Peek Into Our Weeks

Our little family has been enjoying some cozy moments this winter.  Here are my daughters, Lauren and Megan wearing a couple of my robes, and Leo wanted to be in the picture, so Megan got him a robe to wear.  It is the little moments of everyday life that are dear to my heart.

Here is a nook in one of our cubbies that reminds us to always trust in the Lord.  When we truly place our trust in Jesus he gives us peace in our hearts no matter what circumstances we are dealing with.  It is so important that we keep our focus on Him and not the storms in our lives.

I love books so very much.  Here are some of my most cherished books.  I am so thankful for the written word.

Here is the desk in my room.  I know for some, so much decor may be a bit much, but I truly believe we should make our homes cozy for us and our family's and not worry about our decor and the scrutiny of others.  It is for us to enjoy.

This is a page in my prayer journal.  It helps me to remember to keep Jesus in the center of my life and that all things in my life truly belong to Him.  When I lay down anything in my life that has become an idol and taken my focus off of the Lord, then I can see more clearly the will of God for my life.  When we are saved by the blood of Christ our salvation was bought at a very dear price.  He gave to us everything and we should give to Him all that we have to offer.  

I want to thank you for stopping by my little space.  I hope you are enjoying some cozy winter moments.  It is always a blessing to be inside where it is warm and happy when it is cold and grey outside our door.  God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

~A Thought On My Heart

 

Today I would like to share a thought on my heart.  In life sometimes it feels as if one hardship after another happens.  At times we may wonder if life will ever stop throwing hardships our way.   When we put our trust in God, we have a different outlook on things.  The beautiful thing about trusting in God is knowing that He will use even the bad things for our good.  Paul talks in the Bible 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 about how the Lord will allow a thorn in his side because His grace is all we need.  In this way we learn to trust in Him and count on Him to get us through each day, and this truly strengthens our walk with Christ, and keeps us humble of spirit.  God's power works best in weakness.  God's ways are far beyond our human comprehension.  So in my own life I have learned to thank God for everything and know that He is with me through sicknesses, and other hardships that we endure.  I know that He cares more about our character than our comfort in this life, and he is using all that we must walk through to prepare us for eternity.  It is good to know that even through our hardships Jesus is with us through them all.

This is just a thought on my heart today, and I thought I would share it in the hopes that it may help someone who also deals with hardships in this life.  God bless you and keep you in His loving care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli

A Peek Into Our Weeks

Here is my precious daughter Megan all dressed up for her work today.  They had a festive Christmas outfit day.  I'm so very proud of her.  Megan is such a hard worker and she just spreads sunshine to all that know her.  

This is the book that I am enjoying right now.  I'm not sure if it is still in print, but if you like to hear heartwarming stories about Christmas from long ago, it is worth reading.

Here is my little planner decorated for Christmas.  I always keep the cross in the middle and a painting of Jesus to remind me to keep Him in the center of my life in all seasons.

All of my dishes were clean at once, and this always makes me so happy.  These are my birthday dishes that I got so many years ago.  

I am always doing laundry, but I always feel blessed to have a washer and dryer that does the hard work for me.  This is another example of how having to go without such things for a time in my life, brings such joy and helps my heart to be thankful.

I always enjoy the glow of our little Christmas tree.  Christmas is my favorite time of year because Jesus is my everything and I love reflecting on the greatest gift ever given to the world.  The gift of salvation to all those who accept Him and have a personal relationship with Him is something that is more dear to me than anything else.  I am humbled by the fact that He loved me even when I was such a sinner in my past and even now when I try my hardest, I am still a sinner who needs His precious gift of salvation.  It is my prayer that anyone who reads this blog and has not yet been saved will ask with a humble heart for Jesus to save them.  He has transformed my heart and life.  Even with all of the hardships that my family and I endure, He is with us through it all and restores our peace in the midst of the storm.

I want to thank you for taking time to visit my blog.  May God keep you in His loving care.  Merry Christmas.  ~Juli

 

~A Thought On My Heart

 Today I would like to share a thought on my heart.  As Christians I believe that we are set apart from the world.  I also believe that this will look different for each of us.  Some people may live a life where they do not use modern things such as electricity and running water, and some are set apart in the way they choose to not allow certain books or movies and such that do not have wholesome and Godly values into their life.  We may try to live each day offering all that we do to the Lord and try to pray through out our days and have a closer walk with God.  Truly there are many ways in which God uses each of us and so our circumstances can be quite different.  In addition to this we are all on different stages in our journeys to try to live the best life we can to be pleasing to our Lord.  Because of all of these factors I believe we must be careful not to make assumptions about one another and try not to judge each other in anyway, we must leave these things to the Lord who knows the hearts intentions where we see only the very basic view of one another.  I know I am guilty of making assumptions about people that I should not do and I truly believe that many of us suffer from not always having that gentle and quiet spirit that is so pleasing to God.  So today it is my prayer that each of us try to be gentle in how we deal with fellow Christians, because we are one body as believers in Christ, and one day we will all live together in harmony in Heaven.  So I will try to focus on how I can be more pleasing to the Lord and continue to pray for all of the Lords children with out making harsh judgments if they do not live as we do.  

This was just a thought on my heart today.  I want to thank you for taking your time to visit my blog.  God bless you and keep you in His holy care.  Hugs to you.  ~Juli