God Personally Cares for You - Isaiah 40:11

Verse of the Day - Day 4

God Personally Cares for You - Isaiah 40:11

Welcome to Verse of the Day!

Today's Bible Verse:

Isaiah 40:11
He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (ESV)

Today's Inspiring Thought: God Personally Cares for You

This picture of a shepherd reminds us of God's personal love as he watches over us. When we're feeling weak and helpless, like a lamb, the Lord will gather us in his arms and carry us close.

When we need guidance, we can trust him to gently lead. He personally knows our needs, and we can rest in the safety of his sheltering care.

"Smoke Signals" -- Harvest Daily Devotion for 7/6/2013

Amen! I love this!!

Daily Devotion with Greg Laurie

SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2013 Smoke Signals And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." —Luke 18:26–27 I once heard a story about a man who was shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. Seeing that rescue might not happen for a long time, he painstakingly built a little hut to provide himself protection from the elements and a place to store the few items he had managed to salvage from the wreck. Every day he would prayerfully scan the horizon, hoping for the approach of a ship. But he saw nothing. Then one evening, after he had been out and about on the island, searching for food, he came back to see that his little hut was in flames. He tried to put out the fire, but it was too late. Everything he owned in this world had gone up in smoke. He went to sleep that night listening to the pounding of the surf, stunned by his own misfortune. The next morning he awoke to find a ship anchored off the island—the first ship he had seen since he had been marooned. Still trying to believe his eyes, he heard footsteps, and then a human voice, saying, "We saw your smoke signal and we came to rescue you." That's how it happens sometimes. In divine sovereignty and grace, the worst-case scenario somehow becomes the best-case scenario. Disasters can turn out to be great opportunities for God to work in your life. The Lord is always present with us, always intimately acquainted with our circumstances, and He specializes in taking "impossible" situations and turning them around, for His glory and our benefit.

Verse of the Day - Day 3 Treasures in Heaven - Matthew 6:19–21

Today's Bible Verse:

Matthew 6:19–21
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (ESV)

Today's Inspiring Thought: Treasures in Heaven

No matter how much money or stuff we accumulate, we will still feel a certain amount of dissatisfaction with life here on earth. This is to be expected for a believer. Our hearts will always be disappointed with the fleeting, fading, false treasures this side of eternity.

While we can still enjoy this life, our hearts should not be too invested here. The most satisfying, lasting treasures are being stored in heaven, our true home.

Amen; Praise God!

Scripture that stands out from today's bible reading:

Luke 11:1-2, 4 NKJV

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

Luke 11:9-13 NKJV

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

You are faithful, You are faithful, You are faithful!
I know who goes before me, I know who goes behind
The God of Angel armies, is always by my side!
The One who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine
The God of Angel armies, is always by my side!
- Chris Tomlin

Still thinking about a prayer journal. I think I'm more of an electronic journaler, than a handwritten journaler. I like being able to cut and paste scripture and I find typing easier, at least when I have a lot to write about. I also like having a copy stored online. I think I'd be worried about losing a handwritten one. But then it seems like a handwritten one would be very personal. I'll have to think about this more.

Prayer Journal - Handwritten or Typed in a Blog? Also, the A.C.T.S. Prayer.

So, I'm trying to decide whether to start a handwritten prayer journal or whether it's easier to continue writing in here. I'm leaning toward writing in here. I just find it easier to type out my thoughts, rather than handwriting them out.

During my research on how to set up prayer journals tonight, I came across this article about How to Pray the A.C.T.S. Prayer. I really like this and might start praying this way. I naturally pray these things often to God, but it might be nice to incorporate this into my everyday prayers.

I'm starting to wonder if having a written journal would be easier because it would be easier to organize it into categories vs. a blog. I don't think I am able to organize blogs into categories. I'll have to think about this a big more.

We're here, at Crystal Cove, First night!

I'm having a fantastic day today! We're here at the Crystal Cove campsite. This is our first night here; we'll be here for three nights (until Wed at 11am). We love Crystal Cove! This is our third summer in a row, staying here! It seems to be becomming a Nguyen Family Tradition!

This morning was so awesome at church! It was just Kenny, Zach and I (Thao and Vincent stayed home to prepare for the camping trip). The worship service was amazing! I was in tears; the holy spirit was very strong this morning! God was in that place! There was even a message by one of the ladies at the church, talking about how God wants us to know how much we are loved by Him. It was awesome! After fellowship, Amber preached a sermon called, Identity Theft, Robbed By Relationships. "What a person desires is unfailing love." - Proverbs 19:22. It was about how people who don't know God, put all of their faith into human relationships, only to be disappointed and longing for unfailing love. It was very good!

Praise God for this awesome day!!

God is so faithful!!

So, there's a lot of exciting things that have happened this year that I've been meaning to write about and today, I finally feel like writing about them, so here it goes:

On Friday, Feb 8, 2013, at dinner time, I mentioned to Thao that I wanted to check out the new church (The Master's Plan). Upon hearing this,  the kids asked if they could come with me and then Thao said, "Well, if the kids go, I want to go too!" Well, of course, this blew me away! I NEVER thought he'd ever say that he wanted to go to church!! So, this was a very big step for him and a very special event for the kids and I! It is something I will never, ever forget!!

Saturday, February 16, 2013 was the first time we went to church as a family at The Master's Plan! It was very special and exciting, yet I was kind of nervous, not knowing how it was going to go, but all went great! Both the kids and Thao had a great time and of course, everyone was very welcoming and sweet. I met Heidi that day and got reaquainted with Roby. I also met Jessica Di Bella. 

Sometime in February, I started going to the Women's Bible Study at Heidi's house. We studied the Book of Daniel, using a workbook by Beth Moore. It was so interesting and came at the perfect time, since I'd been reading the Left Behind Series and had a bunch of questions about what the Bible says about the end times. I also met a bunch of wonderful women, whom I will never forget: Heidi, Jessica, Julie, Julia, Courtney, Roby, Jana, Jordyn and one more lady (can't remember her name, right now). And of course, Sharon was there too! :)

Friday, March 1st, 2013 holds a special place in my heart, which is when Zach asked Jesus to come into his heart, so that he could live forever. He wanted to do this after asking me about Jesus. I told him that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and if he accepts Him, he will live forever with Jesus. It was so sweet and special and I'll never forget it. He was 5 years old. I remember I was 4 when I accepted Jesus into my heart. I was at Cecile's house and she helped me pray to Jesus, asking Him to come into my heart.

3/25/13 -  At church in the main sanctuary with Zach (he wanted to stay with me - Thao stayed home that night), Zach saw me clapping to a song, so he was clapping his heart out and then, when he saw me lifting my hands, praising the Lord, I looked over and he was raising his hands, praising God too! It was so sweet and special. <3

3/30/13 - Zach and I were driving in the car and Zach was talking about how daddy doesn't believe in God and he asked me if I could pray for his daddy so that he will know that God is real. So, I prayed with him that God would reveal himself to Thao and show him that He's real. It was special and sweet of Zach to ask for that.

3/30/13 - There was an Easter Seder at my church and Jessica, Janet, Nick, the kids and I went. We had a great time. It's so interesting, learning all about the Easter Seder, which they've been doing since Jesus was on the Earth.

Sometime in March, Jana (who is a chiropractor and nutritionist) put me on a gluten free, dairy free diet and so far, I've lost 6 lbs. I've also discovered that I'm allergic to gluten because I have a bad reaction when I accidentally eat it. I get a bad headache and body aches (in my muscles and joints) for 2 or 3 days! I'm also starting to wonder if the meds I'm on are messing up my gut because the gut and the brain are tied in together. The gut is made up of the same material that the brain is, so if your gut it damaged, it can affect your brain. So either 1.) I've always been allergic to gluten and it's the reason for my mental issues and being underweight in the past or 2.) the meds I'm on have messed up my gut (actually, I know they have) and caused me to gain all of this weight in my stomach. Or all of the above! It seems that before I took my meds, there was an imbalance in my system and now that I'm on the meds, there is an imbalance in my system. So, I need to find the proper balance somehow, which may mean, getting off of these meds! Oh, in addiction to the diet I am on, I am also taking a bunch of vitamins, as well as some Chinese medicine (Mood Enhancer TCM and Liver Balance TCM) and they all make a big difference in the way I feel. I also need to start exercising again! I am so out of shape, it's not even funny! I even have back issues now; it's really bad!

In other news, last Sunday (Mother's Day), Thao, the kids and I tried out the Vineyard Church, which is across the street from our new condo. It's called Vineyard North OC. It's so close that we walked there, which was nice. The people there were very welcoming, the kids made friends (except for Zach, because he sat with us. He was too shy to stay with the little kids), the sermon was good and the worship was awesome! Some people noticed we were new and introduced themselves to us. We also introduced ourselves to the pastor, Sid Rogers. He's real nice and I liked what he had to say, during the sermon. 

Then this past Thursday, I went to a women's bible study at Amber's church and had a great time! There were 6 of us, including Amber and I and they were all so friendly, sweet and easy to talk to! We were all talking up a storm, in between the study. Two people there, besides Amber and I, are into natural health, so we had a lot to talk about. :) I'm planning to go every Thursday because it feels good to get out and have "me" time with the girls! I love the support I get from them too! And they have lots of good info about health and God! So every other Thursday is a bible study and every Thursday in between is a women's night out! So much fun!! So, it was Amber, Rebecca, Dana, Jessica, Tamara and I. 

And this Sunday, we are going to try out Amber's church, as a family. It's called Faith Community Nazarene. From talking to Amber, I've realized that we both have the same beliefs. I've also listened to two sermons from her pastor online, as well as one from Amber (she's the assistant pastor at that church) and I've really liked what they've had to say. Plus, the people I've met from there, so far, are so friendly and easy to talk to, so I thought we might as well try it out! It's in Yorba Linda, so it's a 15 minute drive, rather than a walk across the street, like the Vineyard, but I figure it's good to try out a few churches before settling on one. 

So anyway, that's it for now. Time to go relax before we head out to The Master's Plan, to visit our friends! TTFN!! :)