Trials May Bring Blessings!

"Thanking God through trials turns burdens into blessings." -Paul Van Gorder

Lately, I've fallen in love with the book of James - James 1:2-16 particularly, which says,

" ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
 ⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
 ¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
 ¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
 ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created."

How encouraging is this?
No matter what we are going through at this very moment; whether it be the pressure of juggling all of our committments, job issues or job loss, financial crisis, children who keep you on your toes, marriage, death in the family, etc. ... You may currently be in a "series" of trials or trying times in your life. I want to encourage you that God will bring you through it and if you call to Him, He will strenghten you. Each trial may bring hardships, but if you open your eyes, they may also bring blessings. 

Like the quote I listed at the very top, Thanking God through trials turns burdens into blessings, if you continue to seek the Lord and thank Him for getting you through these hardships, you may see that things end up even better than they were. A marriage that may be struggling, for example, if you and your spouse call on the Lord and stay hidden in His Word, you may find that your marriage is even stronger in the end than it ever was. I encourage you to look for those blessings - big or small. Open your eyes to see what God is doing that we often don't open our eyes too. God is faithful and will never leave you, so continue to see after Him.

Stay blessed,
Lizzy

Great Info: How To Clean Your Dishwasher

I thought this was very useful information - how often do we ever think about the filth and grime that builds up in our dishwasher - the tool that's supposed to "clean" our dishes?

http://www.household-management-101.com/how-to-clean-a-dishwasher.html

Timer Method: Quick & Effective Cleaning!

I'm a huge fan of the "timer method". For me, I love to set timers and jump back and forth from household tasks, to homework, bills, etc. This past Saturday, I set a 30-minute timer for housework chores and a 1-hour time for homework (and kept switching back and forth for several hours). I can't even begin to tell you how much you can get done if you are soley focused on that one task! Putting a timer on keeps you focused and helps from getting distracted (even for my husband who thinks he has "ADHD":).  If you want to work in 15-minute or 10-minute segments, that works too! You can also set timers for cleaning in rooms of your house. Fly Lady also has a similar method, see below.

Tips from Fly Lady:

What is the Weekly Home Blessing Hour?

The Weekly Home Blessing hour is the time FlyLady spends slipshod cleaning her home. No detailed cleaning required; vacuum the middle of the floors only!
FlyLady sets her timer for 10 minutes to work on each of 7 tasks:

Vacuum
Dust
Mop
Polish Mirrors and Doors
Purge magazines
Change Sheets
Empty all trash

This takes approximately one hour; some tasks take less than 10 minutes.
 

"Don't obsess, set your timer for 10 minutes for each task, then QUIT!" ~ Kelly

No More Masks!

Beauty in "today's society" is often known as popularity, expensive clothes and frilly dresses, layers of makeup, 6-inch heels, sparkly jewelry and so on. But, it seems our society has lost focus on "true beauty" - inner beauty. It isn't a sin or "wrong" by any means to have beautiful makeup and nice clothes. The sad part is that often times, the layers of make-up and the layers of expensive clothes are "masks" to try and hide a sad, broken, lonely human being. The good news? With God, we can be both beautiful on the outside and on the inside. It was once said that, ""Beauty is as beauty does. We're remembered not by what we looked like but how we behaved and changed the lives of others." The truth is, 20 years from now, will people care that you wore $250 shoes or will they remember you as changing others lives in the name of Jesus? It sure is something to ponder - what am I going to do to show what the Lord has done in my heart? I don't want to sound cliche', but if the saying, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" means the Creator of the Universe made me in His image, that's a pretty amazing feeling. Psalm 139:14 says, "For I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  Next time you are feeling down, sad, lonely or hiding behind a "mask," remember the Creator of the Universe; the Creator of all of the most beautiful islands, rare animals, waterfalls and every other beautiful creation in this Universe also created YOU. Wow. Now let's help those who are constantly feeling down about their self image, starving themselves because they want to be skinny and trying to hide behind a "mask" that will never fill the void our Savior can fill. Now it's their time.

Can you believe the Creator who created you and I also created these beautiful sights? This leaves me speechless and in awe of what God can do.