Saturday, February 23, 2008

This morning, we installed cabinets and a clock in the laundry room, so it's almost finished! Here's a photo, it's so pretty. :) We've got TONS of storage in there, it is a dream come true.

After that, Scott puttered with some other stuff (cleaning up some old hardware to put back on a door- that photo later) and I spent some quality time on a ladder scraping and caulking the tongue and groove ceiling in the center hall, praying and thanking God the entire time for who He is and for all He's done in our lives. We give Him all the praise and glory for everything, He is so awesome!

Bathroom reborn as the Laundry Room, as of February 2008

That's right, back in January 2007, the bathroom next to the dining room looked like this:

By October, we had installed a window (in an original opening that had been blocked and covered by the shower!), plumbing, lighting, uncovered the tongue and groove on the walls and installed slate flooring, so it looked like this:

And this past weekend we spent some time in there covering the holes in the walls where the plumbing was installed, putting framing around the window, installing base & corner molding, caulking, priming and painting. Now it's mostly done and looks like this:
Voila, it's pretty! Scott has installed the ductwork for the dryer through the chase into the attic space above. One day, when it is nice out, we'll finish the installation through the soffit. Until then, we vent the warm moist air into the house where we need it since it's still chilly here. :) We praise and thank God for His wisdom, His direction and His leading through every part of this house project, including cutting molding, caulking, etc. He has blessed us with an amazing ability to work together...we are so grateful for that! The way we communicate is so much better than ever before. We praise God and give Him ALL the glory!!! :)

DECLARE RESTORATION TODAY!!

My dear friend, Beth, whom I love so much received this email yesterday from Pastor Bob. And she sent it to us because she loves us and knows how much I miss this kind of teaching.

Have I mentioned how much I miss Pastor Bob's teaching and Cornerstone Church?? A LOT!! Anyway, what I miss is this kind of bible based "empowering, in your face, stand on faith, be who God created you to be" kind of teaching... I need it to wake me up and stand firmly for Jesus! If we can't walk in faith, talk about our faith and be Jesus to people, why bother being saved??

*WE ARE VICTORIOUS!! THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S AND IT IS ALREADY WON!! WE JUST HAVE TO SHOUT ABOUT IT!!* So, in the spirit of restoration and squashing satan and his plans, I'm standing firmly for Jesus and sharing this empowering word.


02/13/08

Dear Victorious One,

Last Sunday I brought a message about restoration and how God wants you and me to have restored to us the things that have been taken from us. All of us can agree that we have had things stolen from our lives: dreams, jobs, health, relationships, joy, etc. This is not God’s will for our lives. In fact, Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and, and that they may have it more abundantly.” This verse shows us clearly that the enemy is against us and that God is for us. The devil takes – God gives. The devil kills – God resurrects. The devil destroys – God restores!!!!!

Since Jesus identified the devil as a thief, we can have an expectation that God will hold him responsible. In fact, in Proverbs 6:31 the Bible says, “Yet when he [the thief] is found, he must restore sevenfold…” You should get excited about that because what was taken from you must be restored BACK TO YOU!

Restoration is the heart of God. Look at what God said in Joel 2:25 – “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust…” God said that He would restore! Say that out loud – “God will restore!” You have God’s Word on it. He promises us that whether the enemy takes a little or a lot – God will restore!

Do you want God to bring back to you what the enemy has stolen? Of course you do. In order for that to happen, God needs our cooperation. Notice Isaiah 42:22 - "But this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey, and no one delivers; for plunder…" Does that sound like your life at all? Things taken, you live in fear that the blessing you have may be stolen. Did you ever feel like it’s just not fair? I’m sure you have. Well, even though that verse may describe your life, notice what the rest of the verse is saying: “…and no one says, ‘Restore!’” Did you catch that? God didn’t say, “No one felt the pain” or “No one prayed to Me.” He said, “No one says, ‘RESTORE!’” No one speaks His promise out loud, no one speaks the Word out loud. No one is saying restore!

We all know how easy it is to complain when bad things happen, but God is saying that no one is speaking any faith – RESTORE! Look at what God said to Esau when he had the blessing STOLEN from him by his brother – “By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; [life is tough] and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck” Genesis 27:40. Notice the words, “…when you become restless.” I have written in my Bible right next to that verse, "When I get fed up.” Are you fed up? Are you restless? When you get to the place in your life that deep down inside of you, you have truly had enough, you can begin to shout: “I am fed up! RESTORE!” THEN you can break the yoke of the enemy off of your neck. THAT’S GOOD NEWS!

Finally, in Job 22:28, the Word says, “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.” It’s time for you to “declare a thing” and then watch it come to pass. It’s time for you to get fed up and restless and say, “No more, devil! RESTORE!” That takes faith, boldness and commitment. I want to encourage you this week to feed upon the promises of God’s Word and allow the Word to work within you. Keep planting the seed of God’s Word until something begins to grow. All this week stay restless and shout, “RESTORE!” You can do it!

You are a winner and you are loved,

Pastor Bob

Our Rebel Star!

Each term, the middle school teachers nominate one student from all of their classes to be a Rebel Star. A Rebel Star is a student who is enthusiastic, curious, outstanding student...and Steven's science teacher nominated him. :) Mrs. Morgan's nomination paragraph is posted with his photograph in the middle school wing. We're so very proud of the curious, inquisitive, enthusiastic young man God created Steven to be!!