Good Morning Girls!  I have a confession for you all.....sometimes I get a little wound up, stressed out, and irritable.  I find myself using sentences like "I know the Lord will work everything out, BUT, yada, yada, yada,".  It's like I feel the need to list the obstacles just in case the Lord hasn't noticed all of them.  The problem with the "BUT" is that it really negates the first part of the statement.  If my intent is to make a confession of faith, I should simply say "I know the Lord has worked everything out", and leave it at that.   To list the obstacles over and over, not only gives the enemy a list of things that we are worried about, but it reinforces the negatives in our mind.  Yesterday was a "BUT" day.  I found myself focusing on the "buts" instead of what really matters.  What matters is the fact that I serve an awesome God!  My God does not leave me when I need Him!  He does not give me more than I can handle.  He does not try to "teach me a lesson" by utilizing negative circumstances.  He is not a man of mystery, randomly showing up sometimes, and not on others.  NO!  He is faithful.  He is kind.  He is my protector.  He is my refuge.  He is my strength.  He gives me more than I will ever need.  He has a plan for me!  So, what turned my heart and my mind around yesterday?  That would be the workings of my 6 year old daughter, Charley.  Yesterday afternoon, after a long day of a scowley faced mom, Charley walked into the kitchen and said, "I think we should play this".  She was holding up her new Go Fish CD we bought her for her birthday.  I was like "whatever", (just don't bother your Cinderella mother here as she continues cleaning all day without any help).  She put the CD in her new Hello Kitty CD player and stands across the kitchen from me and starts singing (the wrong words which makes it even cuter), and shakin' her little body like she is giving the performance of a lifetime.  It didn't take long for the music and her to infect me.  I was hooked.  Next thing I knew I had my hands lifted up (dishrag still in one) singing and dancing at the top of my lungs.  We were laughing and dancing and singing, and I'm sure the neighbors think we are whacko!  The thing about singing praises to the Lord is that it is physically impossible to sing praises and think negative thoughts at the same time!  Of all the multi tasking talents us moms have, that is not one of them.  You can not confess your faith at the same time you are playing Jedi mind tricks (for those of you who have boys) with yourself.  Next time you feel wound up, stressed out, or anything other than joyful, lift your hands up, sing a little praise to the one who loves you, and most of all, get rid of the "buts"!

Psalm 33:1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him!

Love you all-
Jen