http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/finding_family/110623-adopting-siblings

This is a re-post from Proverbs 31 Ministries – could not help but pass it along as I sit here @ 11:30pm (yes, that is LATE for  ME!) with “stuff” on my mind.  God is good and bigger than all my anxious toil.  AMEN!!!! I think I will go to bed now, sweet dreams everyone!

Encouragement for Today From Proverbs 31 Ministries

Daily Devotions for Women
February 11, 2011
Sweet Dreams

Karen Ehman

“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”
Psalm 127:2 (ESV)

I restlessly rolled over and squinted sleepily trying to focus my eyes on the bright blue digits still taunting me in the night. The alarm clock on my dresser flashed the awful news:

3:18 AM. Ughhhh!

I had crawled into bed nearly four hours earlier, eager to rejuvenate my body with a sound night’s sleep. My ever-full schedule as a wife, mother, daughter, volunteer, neighbor, friend and part-time work-at-home woman had me worn and weary. Not only was my body tired, but my brain raced as well.

Random thoughts strung together like an annoying necklace of woes: Would my latest project be done in time? Is my adult daughter doing okay in her new job and living situation? Is my elderly mom going to slip and fall on the ice in this nasty winter weather? Did I offend my friend when she’d asked for my honest opinion about her child-rearing decision? Are my sons making wise choices when it comes to their peer groups? Would I gain back the twenty pounds I’d just lost…..for the third time?

And then…the dreaded “what ifs.” What if the young mom in my Bible study discovers her husband is having an affair just as she suspects? What if my high school son with special needs doesn’t do well on his ACT exam next year? What if my friends lose their home to foreclosure? What if my sister-in-law’s ex-husband threatens her again…or worse?

And so I tossed and turned; and tried to no avail to induce sweet slumber that would whisk me away from all of my fears, both real and imagined.

Finally giving up, I dragged my flannel-clad self into the kitchen to heat some boiling water in my kettle and steep a bag of chamomile tea. I hoped it might do the trick.

Then, I recalled today’s key verse.

Anxious toil. Yep. That pretty much sums up the state of mind in which I found myself:

ANXIOUS: “feeling nervous: worried or afraid, especially about something that is going to happen or might happen.”

TOIL: “hard exhausting work or effort.”

And all of this worry, unrest and wondering was costing me precious moments of sleep.

So that night, and many nights since, I have taken God at His Word. He says it is vain for me to toil anxiously. He says He gives sleep to His beloved. So I asked Him to give me the very sleep He promised!

As in many areas of my life, He doesn’t simply wave a magic wand and make everything disappear. Oh, He is willing to grant. But sometimes, I also need to be willing to help in the process. So now, when the restlessness creeps in and threatens to rob me of another night’s sleep, here is what I do:

With a notebook by my bed, I jot down my worries and leave them in the hands of the only One who never slumbers or sleeps. I transform my list of “what ifs” into a prayer page of “please advise,” asking the God who crafted the entire universe out of nothing to show me, when He is ready, what action, if any, I need to take with regards to my list. For the time being, I request that He work on them, so I can get some shut-eye.

I also ask Him to show me if there is work for me to do that will require a temporary loss of sleep. Oh, not the flustering worry-work of fretting, but the pure, sweet work of simple prayer. I slide out of my comfy covers and get down on my knees. Then I pray a child-like prayer (about the only kind I can muster at that hour) and solicit the Savior. At times, I’ve even fallen asleep at the edge of my bed. (It may sound un-spiritual, but I see it as an instant answer to prayer! After all, I was asking for sleep and He granted it!)

If you too are tired of sleepless nights, will you join me in this quest for slumber? Stop counting sheep. Come to the Great Shepherd instead. You are His beloved and He has a little gift for you: rest for both your body and your soul.

Dear Lord, I am tired. I am weary. I want to be at my best so I can serve You fully. Will you please grant me, Your beloved, sleep just as You promised? In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
For more on this topic and a Sweet Dreams basket giveaway, visit Karen’s blog

A Life That Says Welcome by Karen Ehman

His Princess: Love Letters from Your Prince by Sheri Rose Shepherd

31 Days of Power: Learning to Live in Spiritual Victory by Ruth and Warren Myers

When you purchase resources through Proverbs 31 Ministries, you touch eternity
because your purchase supports the many areas of hope-giving ministry we provide
at no cost. We wish we could, but we simply can’t compete with prices offered by
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every purchase you make with us. Thank you!

Application Steps:
Locate today’s key verse in your Bible. Read each word slowly, pausing to let the words penetrate straight to your soul. For added effect, look up the specific definitions to any key words.

Reflections:
When have I been unable to sleep? What did I do? Did it work?

What other ways can I combat sleeplessness and restless thoughts?

Power Verses:
Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (ESV)

© 2011 by Karen Ehman. All rights reserved.
Encouragement for Today

It is 11:30 at night. The house is quiet and slightly aglow with Christmas lights. It is WAY past my bed time!  So what keeps me up this late?  First, it was restlessness in my legs (so I thought) and the cure was some Advil and an ABC family movie (again, so I thought).  After the movie I was glancing around Facebook (yes I am addicted and need help!) and as I was looking at some pictures I had posted of my girls playing the snow I became overwhelmed at God’s goodness and blessing in my life. Not simply because I have two amazing daughters, a husband (and incredible father) who cherishes me and them, but because I have a Savior who loves me more than I love my husband and daughters, and more than they love me… how mind boggling is THAT! 

As I pondered all this I was brought to tears that I have lost sight of HIM during this season.  It’s as if along with the lights, the glitter, the glow and the gatherings of the season my brain was hijacked into “mission mode” as I call it and the mission was …GETTING THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS!!!!

How sad is that.  I know it is not Jesus’ actual birthday on December 25th (sorry if I just burst anyone’s bubble) yet this is a special time, not the ONLY time, to reflect on our Savior’s birth and all that it meant.  This has brought me to 2 Chronicles 20:17, a verse that stops me in my tracks.  This verse describes a paricular battle with an odd strategy – prepare to fight but let someone else do the actual fighting. It says “stand firm, hold your position and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.”

JINGLE BELLS!  In the quiet of this night, it dawned on me how God calls us to prepare for battle but reminds us it is not up to us to FIGHT every battle.  Sometimes God calls us to “see the salvation of the Lord on [our] behalf” or as I like to think of it, “watch God do HIS thing!”

I don’t know about you but so much of my time, I am realizing, is wasted on fighting battles God has not asked me to fight – battles too numerous to name so I won’t even try. It is no wonder I feel drained, complacent, and detached – I am squandering my energy fighting battles that are not mine to fight instead of simply standing firm and holding my position of faith and trust in God.

This season, I have been choosing to fight the battle of checking off my holiday list and it’s not a battle God has called me to fight.  During the special time of year, as with most of our year, God is asking me to focus on understanding more about him and how I can alter my life to be filled more by him, but the chaos once again distracted me.

Don’t think though that God has trained us to sit on the sidelines and watch while he does the work in all the battles of life.  OH NO, there are battles out there for us to take on (some hand-to-hand combat, no doubt).  But, I would dare say that all too often we get “trigger happy” and leap right into a battle without asking God if it is one HE has called us to fight.

My prayer is that you will seek God in the daily challenges of life, whether mundain or monumental. Maybe He is asking you to jump in there with both hands or maybe He wants you prepare for a battle but trust Him enough to rest in Him and watch Him win the battle and glorify Himself in your life.

Copyright United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

1 Kings 3:9 “So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

I know it has been a while since I actually blogged but I’m on a “scheduling” kick and set aside some time to ponder and write out what God has been speaking to me lately.  Going to be honest, it has been a WILD few weeks, and I still feel like my head is spinning (hence the feeble human attempt at control by trying to “schedule” my time with 2 pre-schoolers, I’ll keep you posted on how long THAT last!).  As I was looking back on passages I had read one came to mind that I hadn’t even marked, 1 Kings 3:9.

Here again is an example of how the Holy Spirit used a “familiar” story and opened my eyes to apply it to my life.  It’s the passage where King Solomon asks for wisdom.  I remember reading this passage after a stretch of feeling depleted, unqualified, frazzled and frankly at my wits end with life in general, and the light bulb went on – ASK FOR WISDOM…DUH!  It was so obvious and so profound at the same time.  I was racking my brain for how to exemplify Christ to my daughters, love my husband well,  build my home business, get involved in church etc.. and the one thing I wasn’t doing was every morning asking God for His wisdom.

One phrase that struck me was “For who is able to govern this great people of yours”.  Who was I to think I had all the answers… NEWSFLASH, I DON’T.  I can hear the collective gasp of unbelief from everyone reading this, right?  Emily doesn’t have all the answers, and the only person apparently shocked by that realization was me.  What a relief to know I did not have to come up with all the answers (and may never have many of the answers), but God is an endless source of wisdom that I can go to at any time!

Side note:  let’s not confuse wisdom with knowledge, as my sweet hubby has taught me.  The internet is full of knowledge, but it is simply information.  Wisdom is knowledge centered and based on the principles found in God’s word!

My charge to you today is pray for wisdom, how to love a friend, a spouse or family member, how to reach out to your neighbors or raise your kids, and release yourself from thinking you need all the answers!

Wednesday, Oct. 27-Oct. 31, AnchorSoul @ Faith Baptist Church, Youngsville, NC.
Faith Baptist Church holds an annual walk-through drama of over 100 cast members the week before Halloween.  This year, it is “The War of Realms” and is tagged, “A Haunted House Alternative Where Reality Is More Riveting Than Fantasy… ”  Why is GodSpotters part of the free event? One of the goals in this year’s drama is to raise awareness of opportunities for adoption and fostering.  We’ll be promoting domestic adoption, while other teams will present information on international adoption and fostering.  JOIN US!  Visit http://www.faithnc.org and click the AnchorSoul banner, or select AnchorSoul from the Engage menu.

Thursday, Oct. 28, Amazing Grace Adoptions Fundraising Banquet, Raleigh, NC.
We’ll be taking a break from AnchorSoul for one night to join with our friends at Amazing Grace Adoptions to not only raise awareness for adoption, but for the need for people to support local adoption agencies.  AGA is located in Raleigh, NC, but promotes adoption all over the world.  They serve both domestic and international adoption needs, and have a full staff of loving individuals.  The event starts at 6:30 and will be held at the Courtyard Raleigh-Crabtree Valley.

For more information on either of these events, just leave a comment – and we’ll get in touch!  You can also email us through our Contact Us page.

Here is my encouragement for anyone who is reading this, ask yourself, “Where am I?”  What season has God brought to you in your life right now, and RELISH in it, some may be easier or harder to relish in but seek HIM where you are and drink up every moment of where you are even if it’s between a rock and a hard place!  I’m not saying you will go around with a goofy grin on your face if you have faced job loss, a difficult health diagnosis or the passing of a loved one but soak up Christ in the midst of it.

Now I am preaching this to myself, just so you know.  Staying home with a 2 children under the age of 3 is sometimes like herding cats (just tried to take a “stroll” with them around our neighborhood – yeah that was fun!).  So I often find myself forgetting to BREATHE and adjust to focus and remember where I am.  I am in the middle of God’s plan for my life!  Wherever you are search for Christ and cling to Him!

We had noticed the dark clouds as we came in to the store but didn’t think much of it.  But, on our way to check-out God showed off His power over nature and let loose a HUGE thunderstorm.  As our cashier was scanning our items we were discussing the pros and cons of hanging out in the store a little longer, just to see if the storm would pass.

Then the lights began to flicker and, long story longer, the power goes out with only 3 of our items left un-scanned!  After a few moments of uncertainty and slight chaos we were shuffled to another register to start ALL over scanning our items.  Then, the power goes out again rendering our new cash register inactive, too.

By this time every other customer had discovered the remaining two working cash registers on battery backup (of which we were not in line for).  We were standing there wondering what to do and waiting for our cashier to help us figure it out.  Our girls’ patience was beginning to wear a little thin, so we start talking to the manager asking what we should do, politely saying that our girls are getting antsy and we really need to get home.  We hoped she’d let us go first in one of the check-out lines, but she realized that doing so would cause “mutiny” as she put it.  After a few moments, she just looked at us and said “you can just go, I’ll make it right” What? She was telling us as quietly as possible to just take our groceries and go home, that she would take care of everything!  We protested a little, but she was insistent.  So we walked out of the store – dumbfounded at what had just happened.  We had a FULL cart of groceries, and we were amazed at God’s provision.  Hours later, we still kept looking at each other, saying “God is SO good!”

Did I mention that we had just moved to a new city, and as moves go, we were still in financial recovery from moving expenses and the wait of new paychecks to start coming in?

This was a pretty obvious display of God’s provision, so I want to encourage you to ask God to open your eyes to the big and little ways that HE provides every day!  I would love to hear some stories of God’s provision in your life so PLEASE feel free to post a comment, sharing how you have seen Him work in your life!