Desire: To long or hope for. To ache, crave, yearn, or wish for.
Let me ask,  {What is your heart's desire?}
let this settle. simmer. 
Psalm 37:4 {that oh so famous (and abused if I may say so) verse} "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Oooohhhh...
so, we pray, we worship, we do good things that bring God glory... Then we get what we want, right?!
Seriously though, raise your hand if you ever prayed for a new car or a boyfriend or girlfriend or an A on the test you didn't study for... {you don't actually have to raise your hand} How many times did it happen? Maybe it did. But was it because you "did good stuff for God?"
Uhhh... No.  God is not a magic genie! Your wish is {NOT} His command. 
It's because God is gracious and merciful. 
Otherwise,  we'd all get a whole lot worse that coal in our stockings. {amiright?}
Let's continue down to the more important {in my opinion} and frequently ignored subsequent verses.
Psalm 37:5-7 "5Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will act. 6He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7{here's the kicker!!!} Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!"
Be Still?
Wait Patiently?! {anyone else shiver when they read that "P" word?}
Want to know my desire?
I really, really want to have another baby.
Surprised? Probably not. 
I've "delighted myself in the Lord." I've praised Him in the "good and bad".
WHY. AM. I. NOT. PREGNANT?!
Am I being punished? No. Am I unworthy? No.
I've become SO obsessed with all the ways to "ensure conception" {betcha didn't know you could do that!} I've done all the tricks to try and time  {things} just right... No Success. 
I've pleaded and pleaded with God to just fill my womb with life. I've been good! I read my Bible. I pray!
But... Where is my focus? Am I reading and praying so that I might grow with the Lord? Am I seeking that His will would be made real in my life? Am I allowing myself to be {delighted} by Him? I mean true delight.
Delight: A high degree of gratification;  extreme satisfaction.
Am I delighted? Am I {Extremely Satisfied} by God?
Usually? ... no. And it's usually because I'm distracted by what I want and don't have. 
We've stopped "trying" to get Pregnant.  We've decided that there's nothing we can or cannot do to make this happen.
The Lord knows when He {if} He will bless us again. 
I'm learning to let my heart and my yearning be {delighted} by the God who has been so faithful to us. 
Am I perfect? Most certainly not.  I fail daily. But I'm learning. 
So let me ask again... {What is your heart's desire?}



A beautiful song. A great reminder.  Blessings, dear friends!

Here's to stirring up the pot...

I will start this post by stating that  this is not directed toward anyone in specific {my thoughts have accumulated over time} I simply want to ask this question to get thoughts moving and start some inward inspection... and perhaps change.
"What example are we setting?" I'm really overwhelmed and discouraged at the number of women I know that are absolutely wrapped up in the "Fifty Shades" drama.  Women who {boldly proclaim their faith in Christ} Women who {are openly opposed to men viewing pornography}
Women who {are saving their sexual purity for marriage}
Women who... {Are Married}    And the open dialogue of how "amazing" the books are. Or better yet, the excitement surrounding that fact that it's going to be a movie!! {seriously?! You're going to to go to the movies} {IN PUBLIC} {and watch this?!}
I just can't handle it...

As Christians,  we are called to live a life that is pleasing to God.  And to glorify Him in all we do. I'm not here to say "You Sinner's! Stop and Repent!!!"
My cry is that you consider the costs.  If you were to walk into a room and see your Husband, Fiancee, Boyfriend, Brother or {SON} even flipping through a nudy magazine,  Lets be honest... You'd be ticked! {I know I sure as heck would be!} And chances are you would feel like you aren't enough. You would feel like your husband wasn't satisfied by you. Or for those of you that aren't married yet  you would feel that you aren't worth waiting for. Or that you aren't a good enough example of a woman for the younger men in your life to keep their eyes pure.
Having all of this in mind, consider this... Sitting in your room,  enjoying the steamy, erotic, pages of a Fifty Shades book and in walks your Husband, Fiancee, Boyfriend, Brother...{SON}... How is your husband going to feel? Will he feel like you aren't satisfied by him? Your Fiancee? Boyfriend? Are they not enough for you to wait for to experience these things that are intended to be shared in your marriage? Your brother? Your Son?  What are they to think? Here you are reading {in detail} about other people having sex... {Pornography} What example are we setting for the men in our lives?
I think this is something that Christian and Non-Christian alike should be considering. 
{and side note ** it's a total slap in the face that the main character of this series is named "Christian"**}
We all want to set a solid example for our loved ones,  {right?}
"I think I want to encourage my children to sexual frivolity" {said No Parent Ever!}
What is it going to take to wake us up to the junk that is infiltrating our lives?
What image of sexual intimacy are we painting for our children? I pray that this be a question that you ask yourself. 
What example is set before your children, your siblings, Your Husband/Fiancee? 
Please hear me,  {Sin. Is. Sin} We cannot judge and say that one sin is greater than another.  We all sin.  We all struggle with right and wrong.  But that doesn't mean we go on doing it because it's fun or because {it feels good.}
Sin comes in many shades and apparently this "Fifty Shades of Grey" is a stumbling block for a lot of women. 
I know that many of you who read this aren't necessarily  self proclaiming followers of the Christian Faith. I appreciate your thoughts and input in my life,  so please understand that I find this crude and wrong even outside of my beliefs of Christianity.   
For my fellow believers in Christ, I'm going to leave you with this challenge...
Romans 6: 1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was. 6 Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life. 9 We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.