Close your eyes for a moment. Did you see anything? Most likely not. Saul felt like this for three days when he temporarily lost his sight. Let's take a look at Saul's story. In Acts 9, we read the story of Saul. He went to the high priest and asked for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. Saul's goal was to take anyone who believed in Jesus and put them in prison.

There would not be enough room. Every time I read this scripture verse, I stop in my tracks. Every. Single. Time. Throughout scriptures, we read many amazing stories about the things Jesus did. The miracles He performed and the people He set free.

A successful day starts the night before. It really does. Realizing this truth and putting it into action has been life-changing for me. At the end of last week, I started to look over the previous week by asking “Did I meet my goals for the week?” I answered no to that question several times as I looked over my weekly goals. It was a busier week but I also realized a pattern. I did not plan my days the night before. This impacted how my week went.

Despite the dreary weather, it has been a great week around here. How has yours been? As I look back on the last couple weeks, I am grateful for the movies, muffins, and a mattress. Read on to see the other two things I am grateful for.

Idolatry. What is it really? According to dictionary.com idolatry is "excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc." In today’s reading, the Israelites are being warned against idolatry. The author of Deuteronomy warns about the prophets among the Israelites who encourage the people to worship other gods. God is using this example to test His people. Do they truly love Him with all their heart and soul?

Last week, I shared some of my 2017 goals and some habits I am working on. Today, I am going to share the rest of my personal goals (Motherhood and My Community) and my Big Dreams for 2017.

Marriage is one of the most beautiful relationships but it can also be one of the hardest. My husband Jonathan and I have been married for 16 ½ years and are still going strong. We have had many ups and downs in these years but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. If I could give wives one piece of advice, I would tell them to focus on changing themselves. “Wait! What? Change me? Why? He is the problem!” This is the response so many women have given over the years, myself included. It wasn’t until I realized that I was the problem that things began to change.

Our words are powerful. They can be used to build up or tear down. The words we speak have a greater impact than we realize. In today’s reading found in Numbers 12, the words of Aaron and Miriam tear down Moses. It was just a little bit of complaining. This doesn’t seem like a very big deal, does it? But, it was a big deal. It resulted in a life-threatening condition for Miriam and negatively affected the whole Israelite community. What can we learn from this incident? First, our words reveal what is in our hearts. Secondly, there are consequences for the words we speak.

It’s a new year! This past weekend I worked on fine tuning my personal goals for 2017. I am excited to see what God has in store for this year. My goals are broken down by categories. This was something I learned from Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Year course. My four categories are Myself, Marriage, Motherhood, and My Community. In this post, I will share the Myself and Marriage Goals. I will also share about the Habits I am working on developing.

It has been a fast but fun week around here. How has yours been? These are the five things I am grateful for this past couple of weeks.