Good Morning.... LOOK UP!

Here is the regular morning devotional.  I don't know that I have to share my thoughts on this one... I think we can all relate!

Look Up!

by Kenneth Copeland

Look up...because in times like these, your very life may depend on it.

Some time ago, the Lord showed me that a spirit of weariness is trying to work its way into our lives these days through all the pressure and bad news that surround us. It's working to get our eyes off the Word of God by bombarding us with negative forces. It's trying to get us to look down at defeat instead of up at Jesus.

If you let that happen, your spirit man will begin to lose his dominion. And the Word tells us what the result of that is. It says you will "be wearied and faint in your minds."

Jesus put it this way in Mark 4. He said that when the cares of this world enter into your heart and mind, they'll choke the Word and cause it to become unfruitful. And since your faith is the product of the Word, that means your faith will wither. Once that happens, you're headed for disaster.

What can you do to stop this chain reaction of weariness?

Look up! Get your eyes back on Jesus. I remember on the field of athletic competition that when an opponent allowed himself to drop his head, he was no longer dangerous. He could be very easily defeated. So keep your head up. Keep considering Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Consider Him instead of the cares of this world. Consider what God says in His Word. Be moved by the thoughts of God. Let His thoughts become your thoughts.

Look up! Get your eyes off the circumstances around you and onto your heavenly source. Don't be afraid you're going to lose everything. God is your source, not the world. He can take care of you regardless of what happens around you.

If you've gotten weary lately, begin to lift your eyes. Raise your head up instead of looking down. God is up. Jesus is up. The devil is down―under your feet. Look up!

Starting New....

I am starting a new year devotional on YouVersion and wanted to share it with you.  I think it's perfect because we always look at starting over with a "It's best to do it on Monday or New Year's or the first of the month..."  This devotional is talking about the beginning of the year, but also says that we can start over any time we want.  Life is never too far gone to come back to the One who hears our hearts.  I hope you enjoy it!

From Faith to Faith

Day 1 of 366

A Happy New Year by Kenneth Copeland "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13 Today people everywhere are gathering together to celebrate the first bright moments of the new year. Yet, for thousands of others, this day will be the toughest 24 hours of their lives. For those people, New Year's Day will serve only as a dim reminder of loneliness and loss. It will simply mark the beginning of another year of failure. What about you? What's this year really going to be like for you? You may appear to be happy enough. You may be passing out seasonal smiles and holiday greetings just like everyone else. But inside, you may hurt. You may be disappointed. You may even feel like you can't go on. If so, I want you to know something. All of that can change in an instant. You can start your life over today and make this New Year's Day the most joyful day of your life! How many times have you said to yourself, "If I could just start over, I'd do it all differently"? That doesn't have to be simply an idle wish. Jesus Christ has actually made it possible. That's His Christmas present to you. He paid the price for all your sins. He paid the penalty for all your mistakes. That's the reason He came to earth. That's the reason He was born―so you could start over! You may look at your life and say, "But I've made some terrible mistakes. I've done some despicable things." That doesn't matter. Jesus paid the price for them all! How can you make a new start? Romans 10:9 says that "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." It's as easy as saying, "Jesus, I'm turning my life over to You. From this day forward I'm Yours." What better time to turn your life around than on this first day of the new year. Right now, wherever you are, just give your life to Jesus. Then jump up and down and holler, "Praise God, I'm starting all over!" And find out what it really means to have a happy new year! Romans 10:1-13 NIV 1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. 5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Before our 2nd Annual Baehr Crawfish Boil...

Before I blog about our 2nd Crawfish Boil, let me tell you about the "before"...

Somehow, our parties sneak up on us...(like the invitations we send out a month in advance don't quite remind us that we have something coming up.  HAHA!)  So the Saturday before we went into "get ready" mode and tried to get everything done before my Uncle arrived on Thursday.   Our RSVP's kept going up until Tuesday and we ended the week with 77 people RSVPing yes.  You read right.... 77 people!!!  We got about 80% done before Uncle Mike arrived, so we planned to do some odds and ends after dinner Thursday and Saturday morning.

Thursday came and Uncle Mike arrive in Spring around 4:30 pm.  I literally drove up the street from work and he was getting out of the car.  :)  Mom bought Rudy's BBQ for dinner and brought it over to the house, and the weekend began!

We had a grand time catching up!  On Friday, Baehr and I headed off to work, and Mom and Uncle Mike held down the fort.  To be totally honest, without Mom and Uncle Mike we would have never been ready!  They spent Friday cooking, shopping, mowing... you name it, they did it. We knew we weren't going to have time to do anything Friday night so this was such a blessing!!!!!!


Friday was going to be a big day.  My cousin Lindsey and her boys, my Aunt Lauri, and my Uncle Bill were coming in town from Shreveport and then we were all (13 of us) heading to the Astros game.  Uncle Mike had sent an e-mail asking if this would be something we could do if we had time... I think he thought it would be a boy thing... I said OF COURSE and proceeded to get 13 tickets!  haha!  We had so much fun!  Great family time and the Astros ACTUALLY WON!  Thank you Astros!

Courtney, Donnie, Uncle Mike, and Dad left around 6:00 pm so that Uncle Mike could see the whole game.  Then when the fam from Louisiana came in around 7:30 pm, the rest of us headed out.

Group minus Dad and Cal... (B is at the bottom)

They had the roof open so we were a little chilly, but overall we had so much fun.  Plus they had AWESOME fireworks!  Definitely something I would do again with my family!

Lindsey's Astros Recap Here!

This was all "before" 77 (turned out to be 66) people showed up at our house on Saturday.  Family filled and probably my favorite part of the weekend. Busy but good and I cherished every moment of it!

Blogging from thekitchen table,
Happy Sunday Night!  :)
Carrie

Update...

It's been a while since my brain has been on "blog" overload.  The past few months I think, BLOG, but then I get here and have nothing I want to share.  My brain is finally back in blogging mode.  I even sent myself an e-mail this week on topics I want to write about.  So first, let me update you on our lives in February, March, and April...

In February...

I got a new job.  YES, another one.  I left my old new job at the end of February and started my new new job at the beginning of April.  (More on that later!)

AND my sister got engaged...

Courtney and her fiance, Donnie

In March...

With no job until April, that left the month of March to finish Middle School Track and to be bored out of my ever loving mind!  (haha)  Normally, a person would find things that needed to be done like working out, preparing for an upcoming party, or anything besides sitting on the couch watching the Jodi Arias trial, but I just couldn't find the motivation.  So after track practice every morning I did a lot of TV watching, laundry, and asking people to go to lunch.  LAME!  

In April...

It was time to start my new new job, and finish up Middle School Track.  On April 5 we had the District Track Meet and once again we are DISTRICT CHAMPIONS!  :) (2012 District Track Meet) WOOT!

A few of our Middle School Track Stars

Baehr had Easter with his fam and I had Easter with mine...

And we had our 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil...

It's been a very busy 2 months, but some great ones.  We continue to be blessed at our house, and we hope you do as well.  

Happy Saturday from The Baehr Block!