Hijacked

Have you ever felt like your dreams were hijacked?  You wake up after a dream confused and asking yourself, "where in the world did that come from?" 

I have had 3 dreams in the last couple of weeks that have left me with the feelings of fear, doubt and worry when I awoke from the dreams.  These feelings that I experienced can only come from the devil, himself.  The devil hijacked my dreams!!

I will paint you a little picture of each of my dreams, so you can see what I am talking about.  The setting of all 3 of my dreams either took place at night or on a cloudy, evening. The house that the 3 dreams took place in or around was a 2 story, old, white house.  Shutters were falling off and doors creaked when they were opened.  The stairs were very narrow and the stairs creaked with each step that you took.  Yes, I dream in vivid detail and sometimes that is a disadvantaged. 

My first dream was about me loosing a baby.  We are fostering a 3 yr old and a 3 month old right now and for some reason I kept loosing the baby in the house.  Every time I found her, I would loose her again.  Panic is an understatement.  What I felt was sheer terror! When I woke up I was thankful it was only a dream, but the feeling of fear was still running through my body.  I know I would never loose this precious baby, but the devil wanted to create fear in me to try and break me down.

My second dream consisted of both girls that we are fostering.  They have weekly visits with their parents in reality, but in my dream we kept getting questioned about how we parented the girls and the bio-parents kept saying what a horrible job we were doing.  The negativity went on and on.  The devil was trying to create doubt in my ability to parent these kids.  My husband and I went through extensive training in order to foster kids, not to mention that fact that we would never do anything to harm these kids, so I know in reality I am totally capable  of taking care of these two precious children.  If we weren't, we would not have been licensed by the state, and therefore, entrusted to take care of kids in need.

My third dream was two nights ago.  The thing that I worry about most is my family.  It's not a constant worry, but more of a concern, hope everyone is doing well sort of worry.  They cross my mind at least once a day.  I dreamed that my brother got jumped by a group of guys.  They were outside the little white house.  I was yelling for them to stop, and asking my husband and friends to go help him.  Fortunately I woke up!  Thankfully, once again it was all a dream.

I am thankful that all three of these scenarios were dreams.  The devil will try to get to you anyway that he can.  He tried to get to me through my dreams.  He used my dreams to try and create worry, fear, and doubt.  I could have allowed all those negative emotions to control me, allowing the devil to "hijack" me, but through the power of prayer I was able to overcome each emotion and allow God to provide me with peace. Giving me positive, real thoughts instead of the negative thoughts that the dreams had created.

Everyday, the battle between good and evil rages on.  The devil wants to "hijack" your thoughts and emotions so bad that he will try anything, and I mean anything to get his way.  You do have a choice, you can choose to prevail over him by praying and asking God for help or you can become a prisoner to your negative thoughts and emotions.

I know which one I chose; the one that gave me peace and happiness.  God will always prevail over the devil!!!

2 Timothy 1:7

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

P.S. Just FYI, God allows the devil to try and get to us.  So, in other words the devil had to ask permission from God, to "hijack" my dreams.  This is for another blog that will be posted in the near future!

Love In Christ,
Alicia

Resolution

It's the new year, and for most people, that means making a new resolutions!  I personally did not make any new year's resolutions for 2013!  I used to make resolutions in the past, but never seemed to keep them.

I am so glad that with God we always get a chance to start over at any point that we ask for forgivness!  When we accept Jesus as our persoanl Lord and Savior, we are given the great gift of enternal life and the fact that we can ask for forgivness whenever we mess up or do something wrong.

Our slates become clean again and we are given another chance to show God's love and do right in the world.  This is the best resolution that I can think of!  I am so thankful that God loves me so much that He gave his son to die on the cross, that I can have my sins washed away and I can become "white as snow" again.  Thank you Jesus, for the best resolution!

The Lord says, "Now, let's settle the matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool. "  Isaiah 1:18

And yet, I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you." Isaiah 43:25

Love In Christ,
Alicia

Wherever You Are

"Wherever God has placed you, he can use you to speak his truth-words of love, justice and faith to a lost world-even if it means being misunderstood or ridiculed.  Yes, it may be difficult and you may be weary; but, sister, "never tire of doing what is right" (2 Thessalonians 3:13)  Devotions to Go Vol. 3

This is a great reminder to us all, that no matter where we are or what we say or do, we can always be a witness for God!  EVERY LITTLE THING THAT WE SAY OR DO reflects who we are and what we stand for!

My Top Five of Thanks

It is that time of year again, the time of year when everywhere you look you see signs that the holidays are quickly approaching!  Well, here we are the day before Thanksgiving and I have a ton of things to be thankful for, but I thought I would narrow it down to my top 5!  I feel that Thanksgiving gets overshadowed by Christmas, so I always like to stop and reflect on the year and everything that God has blessed me with.  So, here you go, my Top Five Things I am Thankful for:

5.  I am thankful for the roof over my head and the food in my refrigerator.  Sometimes, I take for granted that I live in a solid structure, with a roof over my head and all the groceries that are in my pantry and fridge.  There are so many with out and I am blessed to have what I have.

4. My family and extended family.  I have a huge family!  Sometimes, it can be a little over whelming and LOUD, but we are all a close knit family and I love it.  We recently got another new addition to our family in our foster to adopt journey and my family did not hesitate to come and help out or send things that would help us out.  Truly blessed!!

3.  I am thankful for this foster to adopt journey that God has placed us in.  It has helped me grow stronger in my faith and trust in Him!  It is unbelievable how He has answered our prayers and is allowing us to help raise these 2 precious children that He created!  We are absorbing and loving every minute of it.

2.  I am thankful for my husband!  He is my biggest supporter and my partner in this crazy journey, called LIFE!  He gives up so much for me and the family.  Lately, it has been sleep, so I can make it through the day with 3 kids, even though he has to go to work as well.

1.  The number one thing that I am thankful for is MY GOD!!  Without Him I could not be thankful for anything and I would not be able to do anything.  He is my rock and I love Him with all my heart!  I am so THANKFUL that He did not turn His back on us and died for ALL of our sins so that we could be FREE.  He is a forgiving God and for that I am truly thankful!!

So, there you have it, MY top five things to be thankful for.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and know that God truly loves each and everyone of us.  You do not have to wait until Thanksgiving to reflect on the things you are thankful for, everyday you wake up you have something to be thankful for.

Psalm 107:1"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." (NIV)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Love in Christ,

Alicia

"Airing the Secrets"

"For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."  Hebrews 4:12-13

""If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly," wrote C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity. "But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding."

The rats within us cannot hide from God's sight.  What's more, we must give full account for what God's eyes see.  As ominous as that sounds, baring secrets to each other in marriage is really good news.  Rooting out our souls' vermin encourages healthier people and healthier marriages.

But what can you do if even you don't see the secrets of your heart?  Hebrews 4 tells us three things that we can do to expose our rats.  When we read the Bible and look carefully at ourselves in its mirror(see James 1:23-25), we begin to see ourselves as we really are.  God's ancient words speak frankly about our personal secrets.  So as we regularly read Scripture, we see our hearts in its mirror."

Devotional came from "Devotions to Go" Vol. 3 edited by Sharon Cole

All of have "rats"! The excert above talks about in a marriage, but this devotion can pertain to anybody and any relationship.  Friendships, co-workers, siblings, parent-child relationship, etc.  Having secrets from someone that you truly care about can really damage the relationship.  It can eat away at you if you hold it inside.  I am not saying to share just any and everything to just anybody, but if you truly care about the person or the relationship you should "get the rats" out! 

I hope everyone is having a blessed week and maybe this week you are able to let something go that you have been keeping locked up inside.  God wants us to let go and let Him, but we must first get rid of the baggage and give it to God and let Him take care of it.

Love In Christ,

Alicia

A Little Something

I am going to post one of the devotionals that I read yesterday during my quiet time.  I thought is what a good reminder for everyone.  God knew I needed to read it!  The title of the excert is called:  "All Things to all People"
"Juggling a hectic life is not new or unique to women in our culture.  However, our culture glorifies the multi-tasking woman.  Many times we over-schedule our lives because we can't say no.  Sometimes we don't want to miss out, so we try to do everything.  Moses could relate.  He led Israel as a prophet, guide, intercessor, teacher, lawyer and judge.  In short, he was trying to be all things to the Israelites.  But it was too much for him to handle by himself.
Many women struggle with the "need" to please everyone.  But we simply can't be everywhere at once.  We can't do everything everyone would like us to do.  We can't even do everythiing we would like to do.  Trying to be all things to all people puts us on the fast track to burnout.  But when we delegate, we are freed up to focus on the things God has given us to do.  Delegating also creates the opportunity for another capable person to grow into a new role.  Failing to share the load may impede another person's God-given potential.  Sometimes the best thing we can do, for others and ourselves, is to step aside so someone else can step up."

The bible passage that goes with this devotional can be found in Exodus 18:13-18

Devotions to Go Vol.3 edited by Sharon Cole

I love this devotional and it is so true!  Trying to do everything myself is a huge thing that I struggle with everyday.  I am trying my best to delegate where need be and to step back and let others help out!

I hope God uses this little excert to speak to you, like He used it to speak to me.

Love in Christ,
Alicia

Waiting

We live in a fast pace world. Everywhere we turn we have some reminder that waiting is " for the birds". We have fast food, high speed Internet, microwaveable meals and even the speed limit has increased. We do not like to wait! I especially have a hard time waiting. I have always been inpatient. It's not my best trait to admit, but it is true. Right now we are waiting for our first foster-child placement and it is rough. We have been licensed for about a week now and everyday I pray that my phone will ring and tell us we have a placement for you. We have been preparing for this since May.

I realized over the last week that God waits on me all the time. God is always right there patiently waiting for me to obey Him, talk to Him, to listen and yet I choose to make Him continue to wait. God never pushes us to answer Him. He merely gives us soft reminders that He is still waiting. He is so patient and kind. He never leaves us or forsakes us. He is the one that is constant in our busy lives. I feel like God is in away strengthening my faith with Him. He is in control of my life and the little one that we are supposed to take care of. On the same day that we were licensed, we also received a phone call that evening saying that we were getting our first placement, but 5 minutes later the placement was cancelled. I know God was giving me reassurance that it will happen, but not on my time, but on HIS!

So, this is my little lesson in faith and waiting. It is extremely hard, don't get me wrong, but I also have faith in God that He knows what is best for me and my family. Right now I will continue to pray for guidance and trust in Him.

Psalm 27:14 says "Wait for The Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for The Lord." ESV

Love in Christ,

Alicia


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