Things I love....

I have been wrestling with the idea of posting the things I love.  I always post something fun for Valentine's Day...but seemed to have missed the boat this year.  I am in the midst of two amazing studies right now.  One is the Daniel study by Beth Moore and the other is a 40-day daily devotional on love.  I realize through out the last several weeks of study that I am living in a modern-day Babylon.  There are so many things of this world that pull and tug at me, that call me to put them before God and those less fortunate than me.  What I know for sure is that I am a blessed woman. I want to be more intentional about counting my blessings everyday, not just when I see sadness in the world or when I am feeling sorry for myself.  I want to be more intentional about looking at all the things I do have and appreciating those things and thanking God for blessing me!  I want to go against the grain and do what is RIGHT in God's eyes, not the eyes of the world.  I want to know the Lord more and deepen my relationship with him everyday.  I want to be more patient, kind, loving, giving and gentle.  I want to teach my children that what we believe to be ours really isn't, it belongs to God and we should honor him in everything, including our finances.  I want to work harder at being a woman of God. I want to focus on preparing for the Lord, rather than living up to the world's standards.

So, in light of all this...here are the things in my life that I am in love with right now:
- I have a husband who provides, honors me, loves my children, is faithful to me and God and puts our family above all other worldly things (it's okay with me if God comes first)

-I love that I have been blessed with 3 healthy amazing children - I count these little blessings everyday and feel extremely fortunate that my children are healthy. I know so many families that have little ones that are in the midst of fighting for their life or have fought hard for their little life. Thank you, Lord, for sparing me.

-I have a wonderful family - I have the most amazing sisters - we talk almost everyday and would do just about anything for one another. God has blessed me with marrying into a great family too. My sis-in-law who lives down the street from me is so wonderful and loves my kids and is there for me whenever I need her. I adore her kids and feel truly blessed to have her living so close to me.

-I have the most AMAZING friends in the entire world. They know me, love me, include me and love on me whenever I need them! I couldn't have asked the Lord for a better group of women to be my family here in O.C. thank you, girls, for always being there for me.

-I love that I live in a country where I can study God's word and go to church freely.

-I love that God has put some very special people in my life and I have been given the honor of praying for them right now - their situation is a challenge and for me it requires so much of me to pray for them and be a warrior for God for them. Some of them know Jesus and some do not....all I know is that I am called to pray for them.

-And, I love that you are here and reading this. I pray that as your eyes come upon my list, you would see the blessings in your life and be able to find the things you love that have no monetary value or cost. The things that are priceless in this modern-day Babylon we are living in.