An Every Day Spiritual High

Have you ever had a "spiritual high?"  I have.  It's that feeling you get when you're at a convention like a state youth convention, or Promise Keepers, or Women of Faith - when your heart is in worship 100%, you want to do more, give more than you ever have.  You want to turn your life around, live the life Christ called you for.  You have tears of joy and awe, your arms are raised, unashamed, in worship.  But then a week after you get home and go back to your usual routine...that feeling is lost somewhere, forgotten alongside the road at the last rest stop.  But does it have to be like that?  I don't think so.

Deuteronomy 5:29 - Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever.

First of all, what does it means to "fear the Lord?"  According to Scofield, fear of the Lord means "reverential trust, with hatred of evil."  We've always heard that to fear the Lord means to be reverent, which is true.  According to Dictionary.com reverence means "a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe."  So, if we truly revere the Lord, if we truly respect Him, we trust Him and we hate what He hates, evil.  It reminds me of the lyrics from Hosanna - "Break my heart for what breaks Yours..."  

Next we are told, "keep all My commandments always."  "Keep" or shamar in the Hebrew can be defined as "guard" (Strong's H8104).  You only guard something that is important, something that truly matters!  And then there's the small matter of the word "always."  "Always" in this verse is a combination of two Hebrew words: kol ("coal") and yowm.  Kol is simply defined as "all" or "the whole" and yowm is defined as "day, time, year" (Strong's H3605, Strong's H3117).  So this could be translated as all of the days, all of the years, or all of the time.  Regardless, you get the picture: always!

As Henry states, "It would be well with many if there were always such a heart in them as there seems to be sometimes, when they are under conviction of sin...or when they come to look death in the face."  This is where I got the idea of the "spiritual high."  I would go to youth conventions and wish I could keep that feeling, that connection with God, all of the time.  If only my heart were like that always!?!  But why can't it be?  Why can't I worship with all of my heart every day?  Why can't I be open to His touch, His conviction, the leading of His Spirit every day?  It is only myself that stops me.  It is only my lack of trust and reliance on God that keeps me from having such a heart in me always.

If we take a look at the first word of this verse, "Oh," we get a little bit of a glimpse at how we can have a heart like that always.  "Oh" is translated from two words in the Hebrew, miy ("me") means "who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever" and nathan means "to give, put, set" (Strong's H4310, Strong's H5414).  So, it would actually be read something like this, "Who will give such a heart to them, that they may fear [always].  Receive such a heart from Me, [the Lord your God]" (Clarke).  The only place that we can have a heart like that, a heart that fears the Lord and keeps His commandments always is in Christ!  We receive the ability from Him!  Which means we must trust Him and rely on Him fully, 100%, completely...however you want to phrase it. But here is the problem: "We can know in our mind that this is what is best for us but until we know it in our heart, it can't change us" (Rev. Kenny Seidler)!

He gives us the ability to have a heart that fears Him, respects Him, hates what He hates, keeps and guards His commandments always.  We just have to fully surrender to Him and give Him our hearts.  I know it isn't easy, especially when times are tough.  But my challenge today is to start slow.  Take just one day this week and fully surrender to Christ.  Worship Him in everything you do, let Him speak to you, touch you...  Take full advantage of the "spiritual high" that is at your finger tips every day.  

God is so good.

Stealing Children

My dad's church (Dayton) has a rather small congregation.  Of that small congregation there are a lot of little one's.  Which, of course, makes my heart happy.  Though we don't attend Dayton regularly (as of yet), we still consider ourselves a part of the congregation and try to go to all of the extra stuff, like last night.  There was a family fun night and we made our way up to Dayton...which was so great!  There are two little boys that I constantly have - Benjamin and Max.  Natasha, Benjamin's mom says I am the child stealer.  I can't help myself.  Annette was walking in the door with Max and I just scooped him out of her arms...later, I "yelled" at Natasha because I hadn't gotten to hold Benjamin yet as I, rather abruptly, swept him from her arms.  It is a rare thing to see me at that church without a child in my arms.  I held Max after dinner until it was time for them to go home and he loved it...just sat there and clapped, played with my sunglasses for awhile, he was content for a really long time.  Annette even commented - "That is the longest I've seen him sit in anyone's lap and not try to escape - he is usually crawling all over the place by now."  Those are the kind of comments that make my heart warm.  God gave me a heart for kids and I love when that shows through.  From red spots on my tank top (strawberry juice) to finger smudged sunglasses to sloppy kisses...I love it all!  So yeah...I'm okay with being the "child stealer" (as long as their mom's don't mind of course).  ;)  

The Transforming Truth of God's Power!

Deuteronomy 4:39 – Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

I read that verse and I get chills.  There is such power behind those words!  Go ahead, take a moment and read it out loud and see how you feel.

(pause)

See?  I told you!  J

There isn’t very much I want to add to this today…I just had to share a glimpse of God’s power.  However, there are a couple of really great points that I don’t want you to miss.  The section that says to “take it to your heart” can also be translated as “to recall…to mind” (Strong's H7725).  So basically, what this verse is saying is that we need to know this truth, we need to consider, think about, ponder over this truth.  As Henry points out, “There are many things which we know, but are not the better for, because we do not consider them, we do not apply them to ourselves nor draw proper inferences from them.  This is a truth so evident that it cannot but be known, and so influential that, if it were duly considered, it would effectually reform the world!”   Read it again:

Deuteronomy 4:39 – Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

Those words are life changing!  If the world were to truly know the power of this truth, things would be changing…for the better!  And what about you, or me, personally?  What does this truth mean for us?  If “we consider what a God He is with whom we have to do, we should surely make conscience of our duty to Him and not dare to sin against Him” (Henry).  If we were to truly consider the truth and power behind these words we would never, ever neglect our duty to the One True God!  And sin?  Who would dare!?!  But sometimes I think we forget how truly magnificent and powerful He is.  We are to fear Him, to revere Him!  Let us never forget that the Lord, He IS God….”there is no other!”

Today I challenge you to pause for a moment.  Sit still, in silence, and read over these words two or three times until you can truly and literally feel their power!  Live today with that feeling, that emotion, driving your every move.  Allow the knowledge of God’s power to consume you!  It’s amazing isn’t it?

If...Then...

If…then.  We have all heard the phrase used for many cause and effect relationships.  Countless times I had to use the phrase in science class and I grew to have a love-hate relationship with the words “if” and “then.”  But maybe they aren’t so bad after all…

Deuteronomy 4:29 – But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

If you didn’t catch that, let me rephrase it a bit for you – If you search for the Lord your God then you will find Him!  That tiny “if…then” statement, that cause and effect, quickly becomes a major promise!

The word used for “seek,” baqash, can be defined as “to seek the face of God” (Strong's H1245). Then we move on to the word “search” or darash – “to seek with care” (Strong's H1875).  In order to find God, we must be seeking His face, seeking Him with care, or rather, with all of our hearts!  Henry notes, “Those, and those only, shall find God to their comfort, who seek Him with all their heart, that is who are entirely devoted to Him, earnestly desirous of His favor and [eager] to obtain it.”

But the amazing thing here is that there is not a single place where God is not!  We are never too far, we are never out of His reach – “Whatever place we are in, we may from thence seek Him.  There is no part of earth which has a gulf fixt between it and heaven” (Wesley).   And equally amazing – “God is longsuffering, and of tender mercy; and waits, ever ready, to receive a backsliding soul when it returns to Him” (Clarke).  There is not a single thing that can keep us from Him - there is no sin too large, no distance too great.  If you seek Him then you will find Him!  That is a promise!  All you have to do is seek…with all of your heart and soul…and He will be there, you will find Him! 

Our God is truly and wonderfully awesome.

Taking Teachings to Heart...and More

Deuteronomy 4:9 - Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.

This verse is referring to God's law, His commandments, His teachings.  The Israelites were just across the Jordan from the Promised Land and God was instructing, urging them to obey His law.  But, as with all Scripture, these words can surely be applied to our lives as well.

The first thing that piques my interest is the Hebrew word used for "forget" - shakach, which can also be translated as "whither" (Strong's H7911).  I love the imagery of "whither" - the verse could be read something like this, "so the the things which your eyes have seen do not whither away..."  We forget things all the time.  I forget to call my mom, I forget to water the plants once or twice, etc.  But the image of a flower withering - it holds the idea of neglect.  If we do not neglect the things we have seen, they will not whither, we will not forget!  "Do not forget" = remember.  And remembering means we must be active!  

Next we are not to let these things "depart from [our] heart."  After all, "it is not sufficient to lay up Divine things in the memory, they must be laid up in the heart" (Clarke).  I can remember a lot of things, but that does not mean I care about them.  I remember the lyrics to hundreds of songs, numerous ones that I don't even like, let alone care about!  The law of God, His teachings, all things Divine must be laid up in our memories AND our hearts!  For "those who let the grace of God depart from their hearts, lose that grace; and those who lose the grace, fall from the grace..." (Clarke).  You see, we "must be very cautious and walk circumspectly...we need to look about us and...keep our hearts with diligence. [We] cannot walk carelessly and at all adventures" (Henry).  

Lastly, we see that we are to "make [these teachings] known to [our] sons and [our] grandsons."  First of all, I find it interesting that not one generation, but two generations are mentioned here!  We are not only responsible for our sons and daughters but for our grandsons and granddaughters as well.  I am proud to say that my family exemplifies this.  My parents have done an excellent job in teaching me what Christian living is all about, so have my grandparents..and yes, even my great-grandparents.  I pray everyday that I will be able to do the same.  Anyhow, sorry about that side-note...back to Scripture.  Let us look at the Hebrew definition of "known" - yada means "to know" but more specifically, "to cause someone to know something" (Strong's H3045).  Two things jump out here: First, in order for there to be a cause ("to cause someone...") there has to be an effect!  And second, to know something is to be familiar with it!  So much in such a simple  statement!  The last thing I would like to note here is this: "Those who neglect family religion, neglect personal religion" (Clarke).  If you are clearly living the laws and teachings of God, it will effect your entire life - most directly and importantly, your family!  If these teachings are truly in your heart - your family will know them, they will be familiar with them!  

Today I challenge you to examine your heart.  First, find a scripture that is meaningful to you, something that has impacted you or changed you for the better...and memorize it by the end of the week.  Second, take a moment to consider and then jot down at least one area of your life where you are not exemplifying what is in your heart and take a step to change that!

Happy Monday - I hope it is a great one!

Sewing Adventures

So for those of you who don't know - my birthday present this year was a sewing machine.  And I am super excited about it.  However...I have no experience (with the exception of 8th grade Home-Ec).  So anything I try is quite the adventure. But I love the joy of learning on my own without the help of tutorials and what not - it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Last week...I decided to attempt to patch a pair of my hubby's work pants.  I grabbed a dress shirt out of my scraps box and started snipping away.  I don't like to measure, so I just laid the shirt on top of the hole and snipped away (luckily, the shirt was striped, so cutting straight lines was a no brainer!).  I added push pins and then went to the sewing machine.  Now here was the problem - how was I supposed to patch the knee without sewing the leg together?!?!  I remembered Mom telling me I could remove some pieces if I needed to sew in a circle - so I did that and managed to shimmy the leg the whole way to the knee (it was pretty bunched up...).  It actually worked pretty well...but you really had to keep an eye on the material and needle in order to keep the stitch straight.  And of course...about half way through, my bobbin ran out of thread (genius me forgot to check it...).  It took me awhile, and it isn't very pretty...but they are just work pants.  Here is the finished product:

UPDATE 5/23/12 - The large patch was a fail.  Hubby text me at lunch to let me know - "your patch worked for a little while :)."  He is so good at letting me down easy.  haha.  I will have to try again...and hope that it will at least last a full day.  Gotta love the learning process! 

Awhile ago, I had ripped apart...wait for it...an old Vera Bradley (*gasp*).  It was grungy (even after being washed) and was teared and frayed from excessive use...but I couldn't bring myself to just throw it away...so I started to take it apart.  In the end...I had quite a bit of usable material - the inside had stayed pretty white...and there are quite a few layers in those purses!  So after stitching hubby's pants, I took a couple pieces of the inside material and sewed them together:

I am quite proud of this idea...I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet, maybe add a strap or something...we will see!  I also have another bag I hand stitched when I first tore the purse apart, but I don't have any pics so I'll have to show that later.  Plus...there is STILL material left!  Just one more reason I love Vera Bradley - it is the gift that, now, keeps on giving!  But trust me...I will NOT be ripping apart my new ones any time soon!

On to more adventures!

This is Where it Begins...

I first worked at a daycare the summer between my junior and senior year of college.  This is when I truly discovered my love for watching children day in and day out (though I have known all along that my purpose in life is to be a stay-at-home mom).  I had to leave that job at the end of the summer due to previously undiagnosed health issues (which turned out to be a good thing since they were later shut down by DHS...).  I missed those kids every single day of my senior year.  When I graduated I had to find a new job and I stumbled across KKCA - which became a genuine blessing (that keeps on blessing me from 1200 miles away).  It was there that I learned how to teach children from ages 3 months to 5 years.  It was exhilarating - after weeks of teaching basic sign language, little by little each child would pick up one sign or the other and start communicating with me!  Or when one of my babies took one of her first steps after countless tries...these are the moments I will never forget.  It was so hard to leave them and move closer to home, one of the hardest decisions I think I have ever had to make.

Then, I was hired as an on-call nanny.  While I desperately loved the kids (and families often requested me) it was not a job I was suited for - different families every day, a commute of no less than 30 minutes, 10+ hour days, inconsistent hours, I could go on and on... However, I was placed with a family on a permanent basis on Tuesday/Thursday of every other week.  I am fortunate enough now to be working solely for that family.  Mostly, I work with the twins, age 3: Charlie & Mary.  But I will have the opportunity over the summer to work with their 2 older siblings.  I love it.  The twins and I have been practicing the letter "A."  And Charlie could have cared less the first time we talked about it - but when I had him circle all of the letter "A's" on a worksheet just 3 days later, he nailed it!  And had fun!  And when we were playing with their four-wheelers later Mary looked up - "Bri?"  "Yes Mary?"  "I love you."  It melts your heart!

I love working with kids!  They are so unique and so loveable, they teach you things every moment, and everyday is an adventure.  That is why I decided to start this blog.  I want to remember the simple things I learn.  I imagine I will have an array of different things on here - from game ideas, to resources, to funny things the kids say...  I hope if you're reading this that you enjoy!

Pinterest Accomplished!

Thought I would share a couple of the projects I've taken off of Pinterest - and succeeded!  

Even though I finished this project awhile ago (in November when I discovered it on Pinterest) I thought I would share - a Memory Jar!  My husband was a little skeptical of the idea at first.  What guy wants to write down memories and stick them in a jar?!?  But I made him. (Just remember to put it in a place he will see everyday - for Justin, that means the dining room table where he eats breakfast and does his devos everyday).  The pin I had seen had the family opening the jar and reading the memories together on New Years.  Since we didn't start our jar until November, I thought it would be best to postpone until our anniversary (March 19th).  So last week, we sat down to read our memories - some on post-its, some on notebook paper, others on the back of receipts.  It was SO much fun!  We laughed so hard and I even got emotional a couple of times.  And yes, my hubby did enjoy it.  He even mentioned wishing we had more memories and things he would have written if we'd had the jar before November.  I am so excited for our next anniversary!  And I'm looking forward to doing this when we have kids.  

I simply took a Mason Jar - removed the seal part so we could just drop our memories in and added a few stickers on the front.  It's kind of empty now - but it can fill up pretty fast.  Here is the finished product:

Update: 

I went ahead and made a jar for a wedding gift and I'm super excited about it!  I thought it was a super cute idea.  See?

Now onto the spice jar project... I hated our mess of a cupboard shelf full of herbs and spices - It took 5 minutes to find what you were looking for, stuff usually fell out onto the counter, and there was no organization whatsoever.  I'm proud to say, thanks to Pinterest, that we now have a much better system.  I used baby food jars!  First I removed the labels from the jars (this was quite a process...even with help from Pinterest).  But they look good (at least I think so...)!

Then I painted the lids with acrylic paint I already had (probably would have worked better with a metal friendly paint or spray paint...but I used what I had).  After a few coats of paint had dried, I filled each jar with an herb or spice and labeled each lid with a permanent marker.  My handwriting is pretty bad, so please don't judge...I should have had my hubby do it.  

Now, I keep our spices in drawers and you can find what you need with a simple look - no more digging, no more falling, MUCH more organization...and it looks nice!  I love it (and I think my hubby loves it too)!

Thanks for reading - if you have done something similar - please share!  I love to see what other people have accomplished with their creativeness!

Organization & Date Night

Leave it to Pinterest to show me how to organize date night - and make it fun!  

Let me introduce you to what I call Date Night Pick 'N' Pull: 

I found the original idea for this here and then tweeked it a little bit to suit my taste (and I hope you will do the same if you like the idea).  You could use anything to hold the sticks - a jar, a cup (leftover from our wedding centerpieces), or even a can covered in some cute scrapbook paper!  :)  
I painted the sticks with acrylic paint because it was what I had but I'm guessing it would be much easier with spray-paint or maybe even markers... And I wrote with colored pencils (it was the only thing that would show up on black!)...pardon my handwriting.  

You could easily change the categories to suit your needs...I'm just SUPER particular about our budget so I tried to give us a lot of options.  The attached "key" was made on Publisher...which I LOVE for crafty projects like this!  

And BONUS!  - Justin even thought this would be fun for date nights...he likes to be a little spontaneous.  But, yes, I had him approve the list of date ideas before I started making the sticks!  Speaking of, after I made my own list I got a few other ideas from these two blogs: The Dating Divas and Six Sisters' Stuff.  They both have some really great ideas.  Some are simple and others are rather extravagant - just pick what suits your taste!  We haven't actually tried it but I'm very hopeful and I will definitely let you know how it goes!

Along the lines of organization, I also got this great idea from Pinterest:

A cereal box re-purposed into an organizer!

The tutorial can be found here.  I had a different sized cereal box so I had to adjust measurements but it still wasn't very difficult.  Just pick out 3 sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper and some cute stickers or embellishments and you're set!  

We use this ALL the time.  All the clutter that gets left on the kitchen table or coffee table or recliner (in our case) when you walk in the door - goes in the box!  The down side - eventually all of that clutter has to go somewhere...so, yes, you will have to go through the organizer eventually.  But being a little organized helps in the mean time!

Hopefully I've inspired some creativity!  Have fun crafting!

Herb Gardening & Discovering Pinterest

Today I planted an herb garden.  This is the first time I have touched anything garden related since the days of chores and weeding.  After reading over a few different posts and trying to remember everything that my plant-loving husband told me, I will hopefully have 7 different tasty herbs and a few pretty flowers starting to grow within 25 days or so.  Now it's the waiting that will drive me crazy! Here are my two pots:

I will keep you posted on whether or not I am successful and what all I end up doing with my lovely herbs.

As I was cleaning today (after my gardening adventure), I realized I had neglected to share my very first Pinterest adventure!  Justin and I were short on funds after we got married and I moved in.  After spending the money we received from the wedding, I was still not 100% satisfied with our decor...that is when I discovered Pinterest.  It was unbelievable - a fascinating, limitless world at my fingertips (and, little did I know, very addicting).  I came across this craft that involved canvas, elmer's glue, and paint...hey, wait a second, I have all of those things!  This amazing new corner of the world wide web was an answer to prayer!  I gathered up the items and went to work.  This was the end result:

Our bathroom in our first apartment was much bigger so they had a nice place on the wall.  Our new bathroom is much smaller but since I love them so much I had to squeeze them in some where...so they ended up on the mirror.

Leaves were a simple design for me (and fit our decor if you can see the tree in the background) but for someone that has more drawing talent, the possibilities are endless.  Directions are here: Take a blank canvas and draw with elmer's glue (I drew with a pencil first so I could see what it looked like).  I had to do 3 or 4 layers, letting the glue dry between each.  Then, after you are happy with the "3-D look" just paint over it.  Like I said: endless possibilities.  I also went ahead and watered down some gold acrylic paint in order to add a shimmer and give the 3 separate canvas's a more cohesive look.

Happy crafting!

The Truth of the Impossible

There are times in life when we feel like we have hit a wall, a wall that is impossible to climb and lacking even a single door to get through to the other side.  All the odds are against us, we've come to a dead end, there is no way we can get past this roadblock.  Let's face it, we are stuck with the impossible.

Deuteronomy 1:28 - Where can we go up?  Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven.  And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there."

This idea of hearts melting could be phrased, in our language, as "losing heart," or being discouraged.  And if we examine this verse, the Israelites had every reason to lose heart - they were facing an impossible situation.  Clarke's research shows that some walls then (and now) were built without gates - the only way in or out was via a basket that was either raised to or lowered from a small window high above the ground.  It is unclear if these are the walls referred to in verse 28 or not, but regardless, the walls of these cities were very tall (fortified to heaven) and very intimidating.  And then there is the small matter of the people who were greater than the Israelites in every aspect: "in number and strength and valor" (Wesley).  And if you forget about the incredibly tall walls and these highly intimidating people, there is the small matter of the Anakim which is literally translated as "long-necked" (Strong's H6062).  They were, simply put, a tribe of giants, quite possibly the same tribe Goliath belonged to (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia). The Israelites were facing an impossible situation: giants, walls that were impossible to scale, people that were greater than them in every way imaginable.  The "Promised Land" seemed a distant, foggy dream and they, understandably, lost heart.

But wait...

Deuteronomy 1:30 - The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes.

YOUR God, who goes before you, WILL fight on your behalf!  The amazing thing here (at least to me anyhow) is the definition of "before."  In the original Hebrew, the word for "before" can be defined as "before and behind" (Strong's).  The Lord your God who goes before you AND behind you...  We are not left vulnerable in any manner - He is before us and behind us!  And He will fight on our behalf!  Here Moses reminds the Israelites of their escape from Egypt - was that not an impossible situation?  Leaving Egypt they were outnumbered by an enemy with the advantage - but God fought for them and won!  Can He not do the same again?  And again?

It is so hard sometimes, when we have our nose pressed flat up against a wall, to see anything else, to see that God is fighting for us!  All we can see is the wall, the wall that reaches to the heavens and doesn't even have a gate!  But in the midst of that impossible situation, He is there!  He is in front of us, behind us, fighting on our behalf!  Grab that truth, that hope, and run with it!  Victory is on our side, yesterday, today, and forevermore!

I challenge you today to step back from that wall, give your nose some breathing room, and focus on the Truth.

Thank you God for fighting on my behalf.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

A peer of mine in college was doing a fast during lent.  At this point I can't remember if he was fasting from all food or just specific foods.  What I do remember is the rubber band he wore on his wrist.  When he would get a craving for food, he would snap the rubber band on his wrist in order to remind him of what he was doing and to avoid the temptation of food.  I remember sitting at a cafeteria table with him, watching him repeatedly snap the rubber ban on his wrist, and wondering why he didn't just avoid the cafeteria...but it was the social hub of the school.  Anywho, I'm sure you may have come across something like this at one point in time or another.  I actually read somewhere that it is scientifically proven to help those struggling with addictions.

Numbers 15:38-40 - 38 Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.  39 It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, 40 so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God.

These tassels, these cords of blue, were very much like my colleagues rubber band.  They were a visual reminder to obey God's commands and to avoid sin (Henry).  I found the significance of the color blue to be very interesting.  Yes, it made the cord more observable, for the fringe without the blue was the same color as the rest of the garment (Wesley).  But you see, blue was the heavenly color.  Therefore, it "signified that the servants of God were to be heavenly in obedience and character, and separate from earthly ambition and desires" (Scofield).  

As I was reflecting on today's study, I kept thinking to myself, "Man, I really wish I had a blue tassel to see everyday - I could put it on my purse, or maybe my key ring...it would be such a helpful device to keep me from sinning."  But then I realized, we already have that - we have access to the power of Christ every single day to help keep us from sin!  "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" came to mind with a whole new understanding.  Our own hearts, our own souls deceive us at times but we must learn to turn our eyes upon Jesus so that we do not stumble into sin but, rather, obey His commands in our every action, our every thought, our everything.

Turn you eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace