Causes That Stop Revival

1. When we do not love Him as we once did.

2. When earthly interests and occupations are more important to us than eternal ones.

3. When we would rather watch TV and read secular books and magazines than read the Bible and pray.

4. When we have little or no desire for prayer.

5. When we would rather make money than give money.

6. When our Christianity is joyless and passionless.

7. When we know truth in our heads that we are not practicing in our lives.

8. When we make little effort to witness to the lost.

9. When we have time for sports, recreation, and entertainment, but not for Bible study and prayer.

10. When we do not tremble at the Word of God.

11. When we seldom think thoughts of eternity.

12. When we are more concerned about our jobs and careers than about the Kingdom of Christ and the salvation of the lost.

13. When Christian husbands and wives are not praying together.

14. When our children are growing up to adopt worldly values, secular philosophies and ungodly lifestyles.

15. When we watch things on TV and movies that we would not show in church.

16. When our prayers lack fervency.

17. When our hearts are cold and our eyes are dry.

18. When our singing is half-hearted and our worship lifeless.

19. When we aren't seeing regular evidence of the supernatural power of God.

20. When we are bored with worship.

21. When we are more concerned about what others think about us than what God thinks about us.

22. When we are making little or no difference in the secular world around us.

23. When we are unmoved by the thought of our neighbors, business associates and acquaintances going to hell.

24. When we have ceased to weep and mourn and grieve over our sin.

25. When we aren't exercising faith and believing God for the impossible.

26. When the fire has gone out in our hearts, our marriages and our church.

27. When we are blind to the extent of our need and don't think we need revival.

This is very convicting to me. I would have to be honest and say that I have been guilty in some of these areas. I desire to see revival in my own heart, in my family, and in my country. I decided to put this list in a place where I will see it often. I hope it will be an encouragement for someone else also. Thank you to my Father in Law for posting this on FB.
~Tobitha

My Daddy

These pictures of my daddy was last April on his 80th birthday!

Hello from Rockport, IN :)

We have been very busy with school since our Christmas break. Vacations and breaks off are nice but they really do make it hard to get back to the grindstone. It really is good to be back on schedule though!

As some of you know, my daddy has cancer. He has been through about 8 months of chemo. He became very weak, his appetite suffered badly, he lost most of his fingernails and toenails. They finally took a break from the chemo long enouph to allow his nails to heal. He had decided to not take the chemo any longer but when he returned to the cancer center the doctor talked him into continuing. This last trip home to Alabama was hard because I've never seen him this feeble before. I'm so saddened to see my daddy like this but God has been so good through it all.

My daddy is not a complainer. He always has a kind word and he has complete faith in the Lord to either heal him or give him the strength to go through this trial. My daddy knows the Lord and he is ready to see Jesus. He loves his family though and is fighting this disease more for us than for himself. He is such a wonderful kind man. Anyone who knows my dad will tell you how wonderful he is!

I'm so thankful to be his daughter. I'm a daddy's girl! I feel very blessed to have him in my life!

I love you, Daddy!!

Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58:1-14 KJV

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

A Stronghold

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Nahum 1:7

I'm thankful for that stronghold! Sometimes, as I face daily testings and struggles I lose sight of my stonghold. God is faithful though. He is strong when I am weak. It is so wonderful to have His strength to carry me through life. As I grow in my relationship with my Saviour, God's Word has become more and more precious to me.

When I was a little girl I remember learning Bible verses at church to earn a prize. It was all about getting a prize. The real prize and joy is when those Words began to change my life. I began to long for His Word just a few years ago. Words of peace and joy when I faced heartache and trouble has proved to me that the Bible is alive. As the years have went by and I have watched God work in my life and the lives of those around me, I have seen his promises come true over and over.

It is this truth that makes me want to share this with others and especially my children. We have an obligation as Christian parents to make sure our children are fed spiritually. Our devotion time is a time to gather around God's Word and feast upon it. I'm trusting that if I continue to
share this precious gift with my boys they will also come to rely upon the Scripture to carry them through their life.

There are some great resources available online. I find these devotions very helpful but they shouldn't replace reading your Bible. Always read the Scriptures that go along with the devotion! If you would like to know some of the devotions that we use please let me know!


Job 23:12b ...I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Ps 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Changes!

I'm sitting here in an extended stay hotel with two of our boys, Caleb & Jacob, in Newburgh, Indiana.  Wow, if you would have asked me a month ago where I would be in one month I would have no doubt said, "Right here in Charleston, SC, where else?".  I mean we just moved there less than a year ago and really had no plans of leaving.  The last few weeks of our life has been a roller coaster.  Don't misunderstand, I am happy and excited about all the things that are taking place in our life. Sometimes it moves faster than I'm expecting and I just have to sit back and say, "whoa"! 
I am a bit overwhelmed and feel a little stretched thin at the moment but I know that things will settle down before too long.  One reason I'm feeling this way is because our family hasn't been together through all this transition.  This week two of our boys and myself came up to Indiana to help my husband look for an apartment.  Jesse stayed with my parents and is watching over our little yorkie there while spending some time with his grandparents.  I'm thankful that he had such a good attitude about all of this!  I realize that change is hard for kids but he has really been a trooper.  They are all good troopers.  I'm so proud for my boys.  God has blessed me with 3 amazing sons that are loving and very understanding.  (Not perfect) but they are a blessing to me and their dad.
Anyway, my hubby recieved a job offer in scheduling for an AEP power plant and at the moment he is in Rockport, IN.  We were in Ohio for one week and then my husband took us to Alabama to spend a week with my parents and it also gave me an opportunity to do some spring cleaning at our house in Alabama.  We still haven't moved all our things from South Carolina and I know that contributes to my feeling so strown right now.... it will all come together though and I'll be glad when we are all in one spot with all of our things in their rightful place!
If you think of us over the next few weeks please just pray that God will continue to bless and help us along this journey and transition time in our lives. We are also praying that God will show us where he wants us to attent church here and in Alabama as we will be back and forth. 
Thanks for reading and praying!

God's Gift (written by my cousin)

Flesh covered in darkness

Surrounded by evil,
There is a place;
For which I long.
Time is but a vapor
To the One who's Truth.
A shelter amidst the storm
A shelter from one's fears;
The depths of one's heart;
Exposes a dirty house.
The soul longs for peace;
A place away from time;
A place of honour,
A place of truth,
A place of loyalty.
Darkness disguises peace.
Darkness distorts your fears.
Darkness replaces hope with despair.
Fiery darts pierce the soul;
The Spirit convicts.
The heart cries out
Accepting the gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Written by Paula Ann Douglas Wood
1986

The Simple Woman's Daybook #28

Outside my window...

It's a cool, cloudy and windy day outside.  I really enjoyed the showers of rain yesterday :)

I am thinking...

That heaven is getting sweeter every day. I've got so many loved ones there that I'm starting to feel homesick!

I am thankful for...

I'm so thankful for my family!

I am praying for...

One of our friends that is having some health problems, several of my family that have special prayer request, and for God to draw my family closer to Him.

From the kitchen...

Baked Chicken and Veggies

I am reading....

Exodus and Matthew

I am hoping...

to go visit my parents in February :)

I am hearing...

Jesse making tea in the kitchen and the other two boys are making their usual school day noises :)

Around the house...

The only thing new is Jacob's little Christmas tree that he planted.  It just started peeking up through the soil this week!

One of my favorite things...

The #3 breakfast combo at Dunkin Doughnuts (Warmed Sesame Bagel with cream cheese and coffee with cream)!!

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Church tonight, school, and relaxing with the family unit :)

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

 You may read more daybooks by visiting HERE!!

What's For Dinner This Coming Game Day!

Potato Soup

32 oz. chicken broth

3 lbs. potatoes, diced

1 medium onion, quartered

1/2 tsp. dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz. half & half
Cheese, optional

Combine all ingredients except half & half in your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours (high, 3-4 hours). Just before serving, add the half & half. Stir in cheese if you like.
I usually serve with yeast rolls but cornbread is great with this also :)

The Simple Woman's Daybook # 27

Outside my window...It's a beautiful day!  November is here!

I am thinking... that GOD IS GOOD!  Even when I feel lost and confused I know that God is good and He will bring me thru :)

I am thankful for... bite size snickers candy bars :)

I am praying for... my dad (he's has stage 4 cancer); my relationship with God to be better.

From the kitchen... turkey sandwiches... leftover holiday candy :)

I am reading....Ezekiel & Titus in my Bible and I just finished reading a Christian fiction novel.

I am hoping... to bring my parents to visit SC sometime soon!

I am hearing... my puppy snoring :D

Around the house... I did some cleaning this morning but I have more to do.. we had a busy weekend and the dirty laundry has taken over the house :(

One of my favorite things... my early morning quiet time :)

A few plans for the rest of the week...My boys football season is OVER so no mo football practices!! We are going to the mall tonight!  Not much planned this week which is just the way I want it right now.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

My sweet Dad & Mom

You may read more daybooks by visiting  HERE!!