In Other Words...Satan's lies

"Satan's ultimate lie is that you are capable of being the god of your own life, and his ultimate bondage is getting you to live as though his lie in the truth."
~Neil Anderson~

Ultimate bondage. Wow. That struck me hard. We all know that no one wants to live in bondage, but looking at this statement makes me realize that you can think you are living and yet be in complete bondage. So...how do we set ourselves free? By not making ourselves God! Sounds simple, huh?

I have a favorite verse..."I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images." Isaiah 42:8

That pretty much sums it up for me! :) Anything that I give glory to that is not the Lord is a graven image. When I give glory to Karen, you know, because I deserve it or I need it, that's a graven image. When I give glory to my husband, or to my son, or to anyone, or to my bank account, or to my car, or to my office...all graven images and all cause me to be in bondage. This is a constant state of checking myself to make sure I am focusing my praise and acknowledgment in the right direction.

Lord, I pray that you would make our souls sensitive to your Word, to your Truth, to YOU. Help us learn to hold everything up against your Word...when it doesn't line up, we come to the crossroads and may you be the One guiding our steps. may we serve your FREELY!

In Christ-

Karen

Tags: Christian Women Online

Pottying Excitement

We began the potty adventure several months ago, with the addition of pull-ups into our lives and every once in a while thinking about sitting on the potty. From August till about December it was just something he tried and occasionally it happened, but after Christmas, it started clicking.
Last Tuesday I sent him in underwear to school. I had an idea of what might happen, and although it took all I had not to call every 5 minutes to check on him, I did quite well...and I didn't call once, thank you. :) He managed to go through the three pairs of underwear and had a pullup on when I got there. He is still learning.
So, we talked about it. Prayed about it. Put him back in the pullups and went another couple of days. I was out of town this past weekend, so I was unsure if Jeremy would want to try and help him get over this hump...luckily for me...he was!! So, he worked with him on Friday night and all day Saturday and do you know that boy stayed dry!!! He even went to the potty at Sunday School yesterday!!! That boy is so funny.
He sat in the bathroom with me yesterday and looked at me and said "Mom, isn't this pee-peein' fun?" Oh yeah, buddy, it's fun.
He's at school right now in big boy pants. He is excited and just loves that I get so excited with him. So, say a little prayer for the boo today. He is turning more and more into a man everyday.

In Love-
Karen

Tags: potty training

Pictures

It may be time to update the pictures...the family is getting ansy...
Decorating the tree...Boo helped Jeremy decorate the tree by stretching out the lights across the room and moving slowly closer to the tree as Jeremy needed them. This is him posing by the tree after the lights were on.

Boo helped me put the ornaments on...

We went to Jeremy's parents house on Christmas Eve Eve (23rd) and Boo got a taste of what it's like having a big family...lots of people, lots of food, and you have to share your toys! :) Here are a few pictures from the day. Boo and Papa. Cousins - Caleb (4), Andrew (1), Boo (2). We marveled at the fact that next Christmas Mom and Dad will be in a new house and the boys (the last four grandkids have been boys!) will be 5, 3, 2, and 1. WOW! The Greer household next Christmas will need to be boy-proofed!

I started this post on Saturday and today is Monday, so I am going to go ahead and publish it and add more pics to my next post.

Love,

Karen

Do Something Now!

While at Passion 2007, we were able to be small participants in doing something now to change the world. I was one small participant, but combined with over 22,000 others, we made a huge impact for the Kingdom. If you haven't heard or checked it out recently, you should go and read and give glory to the Most High God. He is moving...He is blowing...

Are you on the boat??

268 Generation Blog

In Him-

Karen

Tags: Passion 2007, Do Something Now

His Embrace

"Wherever you are spiritually, whatever you have been through emotionally, you are already wrapped in the Lord's embrace. Held close by nail-scarred hands."

~Liz Curtis Higgs~

I love this quote because it's in two tenses - present and past. Right now and just then...wherever and whatever, I am already wrapped in His embrace. Just the thought makes me want to curl up with a blanket and lay my head on Him. I can trust that whether I sit in the calm or in the eye of the storm, He wraps His hands tightly around me and doesn't let me go.

Matt Redman - You Never Let Go; Passion 2006 Album and Matt's new album

Chorus:

Oh no, You never let go

Through the calm and through the storm

Oh no, You never let go

In every high and every low

Oh no, You never let go

Lord, You never let go of me

Lord, thank you that you never let go of us. We are never not in your sight and never so far out of reach from your hand. Thank you that you call us your children and we have the freedom to come and sit with you any time we want. Cover us in you.

For more "In Other Words" participants, check out Sting my Heart today.

--Karen

Tags: In Other Words

Shine! Passion 2007

I am just now getting around to telling you all about the incredible four days that Jeremy and I spent with 22,000 of our closest friends in downtown Atlanta. Passion 2007 was...well...as they said on the 268 blog, God. It was GOD. The post-passion dilema they they describe on there is so true...I will never in all my days be able to describe and share all the incredible things God did.The main point that you need to know is He showed up. HE. God. HE SHOWED UP! Now anything is going to be cool when God shows up, but this, well, it took my breath away several times.
I must give props to our small group of Katelyn, Sarah, Trey, Ben and Mark, because they were just an incredible group of college students. They are extremely good kids, but more than that, they get IT. They get God, and I couldn't ask for much more than that.
The speakers. They were AWESOME. God spoke through each of them and they completely poured out all God had for them to say. They spoke of sexual sin and humility and kept our attention with laughter and truth. Beth Moore did a breakout session for just girls and we (me, Sarah and Katelyn) all had a good time laughing it up during that. Sarah and I attended a session with Christy Nockels and Rachel Hughes in which we found equal enjoyment discussing life, boundaries, and juggling all that with career and raising kids.
The music. If you know me, you know I love worship. The songs bring you in and force you to deal with the glory and majesty of our Lord. He is awesome and beautiful and He is just. He is incredible and the reason for my joy and He is also calling me. He knows my name. He calls me friend. It was an awesome experience to worship for those four days. I came home saying every year should be spent opening in four days of worship.
The result. I absolutely went expecting and praying for the Lord to move and speak mightily. I know we were there with college students and I want them so badly to change their campuses for Christ...to change their lives for HIM. And I absolutely knew He would speak to me and Jeremy during it...but, oh, I was not expecting all that. My life is continuing to be burned in the fire and re-molded as I seek to follow His heart, His way, His purpose for my life. Jeremy and I stayed up late several nights sharing about all God was speaking to us about. Changing lives. Changing hearts. This is our heart's cry.
My thoughts. For the past several months I have read Jim Cymbala's books, Fresh Faith and just finished reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. My thoughts and life have been moved by the scripture and realizing all that God can do if we call on Him. Attending Passion 2007 just made it more real and gave confirmation of all that God can do through the lives of those who will call upon His name. Putting truth into action and relying on God's power instead of our own...well, it can change your life. :)

May the power of His word be alive in your heart and in your life today.
In Christ-
Karen

Tags: Passion 2007

The New Year!

Whew! We made it through Christmas and New Year's with no major or minor incidents in our family and for that, I am grateful and blessed. It has been a long two weeks that I have been gone, so I will do my best to catch you up...

We began Christmas on the 23rd, celebrating with Jeremy's family. We got to see our new nephew, Joshua, and he is quite the cutie pie. Boo had a great time playing with his cousins and all we could do was imagine what next year would be like with FOUR boys that will be 5 years old and younger. WOW! Good thing mom and dad are moving...yep, that's right, Jeremy's parents are moving out of their little cape cod home to a ranch with a basement closer to the church that Jeremy's dad is serving at. The next few weeks they will pack up, so we will celebrate that.
Christmas Eve was busy (it was Sunday, so it's a work day), but we managed to have a great time. We decided against the child-friendly 4:00 service, since uh, my toddler is still sleeping at that time, and went to the 8:00 Lord's Supper service. I gotta say, Boo did pretty well, and the funniest part of the whole evening...well, let me just say, it was probably the funniest moment of 2006! So, Jeremy has a part in the service...his part is to read the scripture, you know, the Christmas story from the Bible. Boo and I are in the balcony, so he can see, and maybe behave through most of it, and when Jeremy starts reading, Boo starts repeating!!!! Here's how it went down...
Jeremy: "there were some shepherds..."
Boo: "SHEPHERDS?"
Jeremy: "an angel of the Lord..."
Boo: "ANGEL? Mom, Angel!"
Jeremy: "today in the city of David..."
Boo: "DAVID? That's me!"
The caps are stressing the LOUDNESS of the words coming out of his mouth. Ahh, yes, he wants to be just like his daddy. I love that!

Christmas Day was awesome. Grandma came up and we waited till she got there to open presents. That kid could not get enough...he kept asking for more presents pretty much up until we took the tree down days later. :) Boo got lots of goodies, mostly trains, but he did get a new chair and Cars sheets and bedspread. WOO HOO! He was thrilled. Jeremy's parents came over for dinner and we all had a great time.
The day after Christmas we went to my family's house and spent time with my aunt and uncle, cousin and grandmother. It was good and Boo racked up again, getting a huge tool set with tool box. WAY COOL! Thanks to Aunt She-She and Uncle Apple Juice. :)
We both returned to work after Christmas and Boo returned to school...although, it was so dead around there that he actually said it was only him and one other girl there. That was kind of sad, but I knew he was having a great time despite that his best buddy wasn't there.
And then...and then...it was time for the New Year. As is customary in our household since we got married, we have yet to stay up and ring in the New Year. In Texas it was easier, because of the time change, so we actually did stay up till 11:00 that year and rung it in with the Eastern Time Zone, however, after that year it just didn't happen. So, we went to bed at a decent time, because the next four days would hold to be the most incredible, tiring, awesome days in our lives...but that will have to be saved for the next post. :)

In Christ-
Karen