By HIS Grace

Being a parent of a 17 year old, it seems like life is moving 100 mph. I can still remember her first day of kindergarten, the first time she learned how to ride a bike and her first volleyball game.  Today, she is preparing for her first round of ACT testing and looking at her first choices of colleges ... so many first!  Yesterday my husband and I were talking with our daughter about her future and the path she is on today.  Our concerns for her pertaining to college is not academics; she is a very good student, diligent and dedicated to her studies.  Our focus is on her character.  In choosing her college, her character will hold the biggest weight when it comes to which college is chosen.  As parents who are raising our children by Biblical standards, character is big for us. We understand that it will be her character that will fuel the choices and decisions that she makes.  Her gifts and talents will open doors for her, but , it will be her char...

I typically don't post on weekends, however, I really felt led to share with you today.  This morning I woke up with really bad heartburn. This week my eating habits haven't been the best. I have been eating late and the foods that I have eaten (right before bed), have consisted of caffeine, chocolate, and fatty foods.  So this morning when I woke and I could barely move because of the discomfort, I immediately started thinking about my intake throughout the week. I was now dealing with the consequences of the choices that I had made throughout the week. For 2 days straight, I have craved Funyun chips and pop, red pop to be exact :0 And the flip side of this, I am so not a pop drinker!  But I desired these foods and I fulfilled these cravings. So, here I am this morning, downing Pepto-Bismol, a glass of milk, Beano, and anything else that could give me release.  I was trying to correct the mistake that I had made of eating the wrong foods and eating them too late....

Have you ever stopped to think "What If..." What if you didn't make certain choices and decisions, good or bad? I think about this often.  Choices that I made as a child, decisions that I made when I was a young adult, and choices that I am making in my life today.  My choices as a child didn't have as much of an effect on my life today, as much as, the choices that I made when I was a teenager.  What if I had not made the choice to start dating. Could I have put that time and attention towards my academics, would I have gone off to college?  What if I didn't become a single mom at the age of 20, and I would have made the choice to remain pure? And I could have offered that gift of purity to my husband on our wedding day!  Continuing on the path of unguided choices and decisions, what if I would have not gotten out of that sinful relationship, that had "destruction" written all over it for my life.  What if .... I've gotten to a place in my lif...

The Lord has really been ministering to me lately about doing things in my own strength.  I have gotten better about not making decisions without the counsel and agreement of my husband and seeking the Lord for direction.  But, if I can be honest, that was really hard for me in the past. Before my husband and I married, I was a single-mom who lived by the "survival" principle; do whatever you need to do to survive, work hard, don't let anyone see you sweat or be weak, "rob Peter to pay Paul." I made the choices, I made the decisions, and if I messed up, I made the excuses! So when I got married, it was hard for me to get out of that mode and allow someone else to take over.  Early in our marriage, my husband would also allow me to function that way.  For him, it was easier to just let me have at it, and he didn't have to deal with the wrath of my behavior.  During those earlier years, the Lord would speak to me a lot about being vulnerable and trusting my ...