Good morning, my bloggy friends! I'm back to normal life and normal schedule. No more time off now, for a LONG time!! :( I have really enjoyed the last two weeks. I had lots of time with my family.

Thank you for praying for me, yesterday. I spoke at Arrowsmith Christian Church and Colfax Christian church. I was amazed, once again, at God's faithfulness. His words flowed from my mouth and not only impacted those I spoke to but also my own heart. He is so good and reminded us all that NOTHING is impossible with Him.

Since the pastor was gone, a woman in each church, stepped forward to facilitate the service. They both shared how nervous they were and how far from their comfort zone they felt. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only one God was making uncomfortable, but even more, it was a great seg-way into the message that nothing is impossible with God. He has such a great way of putting people exactly where they need to be.

God knows what is best for us, whether we agree or not. I was reading Mark 2:23-28this morning, about Jesus' disciples picking grain on the Sabbath and the Pharisees getting their noses out of joint about it. God didn't give us the Sabbath for His benefit, but for our own. He doesn't gain anything from it, but knows that we need physical rest and spiritual connection. It is our choice to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy, not to follow the rules or to appease others, but to realize and respect that God knows what is best for us.

Do you believe that God knows what is best for you? Are you willing to submit to His will even if it is different from your own? Be careful of your answer - it may mean coming far from your comfort zone!! :)

Have a great Monday!
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

I've shared with you before, about the old pig farm behind our house. Yes, the one that our puppies love to get into trouble in. The unused, but still full hog pits made me nervous with so many children and animals around here. Well, work has begun on eliminating those dangerous pits and the 5 buildings. There's only one more left to go! Check out these pictures of the work in progress. Oh, and by the way, the puppies are having a great time in all the mud too! :)





There is always some type of action going on around here so, just thought I'd keep you updated. Well, I'm going to be enjoying some additional time off this week, so I may not be posting again until Monday. Hope you enjoy your week and Happy New Year!!!

Have a great day
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie :)

What a wonderful Christmas we had! I've been so far out of schedule, that it is nice to go back to a little bit of normalcy this morning. Normal schedule won't last for long though, I'm only working today and tomorrow and then back to taking some much needed time off.
Here's some highlights of the last few days of my crazy life.

We lost alot of tree limbs during last weeks ice storm. My husband, children, dogs and I, worked for several hours at cleaning up the yard. This was Liz, Nate, Cooper and Grace taking a break in the trailer.



When all our work was complete, we had this finished result. Now that's a pile of wood, I tell you!! Whew! Glad that's done - at least until the wind begins to blow! :)


Now, on to Christmas fun. Check out this awesome shirt that my mom got for Nathan. It says "My Mom Rocks". I loved it - Nate did not. He wouldn't even put it on for a picture! This was the only picture I got - him holding it. He said he'd never wear it and I couldn't even convince him to keep it for pj's. He says it's just not cool. What??!!! Who wouldn't think this mom isn't cool? (except for my own children, of course.)


We enjoyed so much time with friends and family over the Christmas holiday. Here's me with our cousin's baby, Bethanie, and Nate and Liz with their cousin Chase.



What a joyous time! Celebrating the birth of our Savior with family. It just doesn't get any better! I hope you enjoyed your family and friends too.

More pictures coming tomorrow
P.S. I will be speaking at 2 churches on Sunday and I ask that you will be praying for me as God prepares my heart to share His Word.

Have a great day
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Good morning all my bloggy friends! My husband and I, both started feeling puny yesterday and by this morning, felt even worse. We've both got sore throats and body aches. I took the day off work to rest, but my poor hubby is the manager, so he can't take off. Please pray for us as we really want to be better to celebrate our daughter's birthday tomorrow and Christmas on Thursday.

Have a great day and Merry Christmas!

Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Hey all! I'm finally back after some craziness around here. We had a nasty ice storm on Thursday night which caused us to lose power about 1 am until 8 pm the next day. Thankfully, we have a wood burning stove on our four-seasons porch. So, we spent all day Friday hanging out by the fire. Saturday was full with practice for the dramas on Sunday morning, then to McLean for 2 basketball games and then our daughter's birthday party.

Sunday, oh how wonderful Sunday was. Our pastors always do an amazing job of proclaiming Christ to the world, but yesterday was even more amazing. Their desire for others to see Christ was apparent as they planned and prepared for our Christmas outreach yesterday. God has blessed our church with many gift-filled people who are so very willing to serve and I am thankful for each one of them. God's presence is so apparent there and I'm so glad to be a part of it all. It was a touching and moving experience. Praise God! Check out the website at www.pontiacbible.org

As if that wasn't good enough, we just happen to run into some really great friends at a restaurant after church and had a wonderful time visiting with them. Our plan was to then run to Bloomington to pick up our last Christmas gift but when my husband decided that we should stay home, I was excited to take a long afternoon nap. Mmmm mmmmm GOOD!

Hope your weekend was good too!

Have a great day
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

O.K. - get ready - I'm about to approach a very touchy subject. A subject that has brought much disagreement and hurtful times to my life. Are you ready?? Today, we will discuss tradition. Tradition vs. inner purity was the subject as I read Matthew 15:1-20 this morning. Now, I totally understand that different people enjoy different things. I understand that some people enjoy history and traditions and some people enjoy new and different things. In no way, am I saying that one is wrong and one is right. I'm just saying that either way, we must never allow what we want to overpower what God wants. If we are more focused on keeping with tradition than what God wants - we are in the wrong. If we are more focused on keeping up with keeping everything different so we don't create a tradition than what God wants - we are in the wrong.

In these verses, some Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus why His disciples broke their traditions and did not wash their hands before they ate. Jesus came right back at them about their willingness to defy God's instruction to honor your father and mother. They would make excuses about why they could not give their money to help their parents because they were giving it to God. While this seems to be a worthy cause, it became an excuse to not obey God. In vs. 6 Jesus says "And by this you invalidate the Word of God for the sake of your tradition."

Jesus goes on to explain that it is not what we put in our mouths that defiles us but what comes out of them that defiles us. For what comes out of them is what is in our hearts.

Sometimes, traditions can be good and sometimes, they can be bad. I believe it's all about our focus and whether these traditions affect our obedience to God.

Do you hang on to traditions too tightly? Are you more concerned with keeping traditions than obeying God or loving others? Keep the ones that enhance your relationship with God and be rid of the ones that hinder.

Have a great day

Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Good morning - and what a good morning it is in the Todd house. Our Nathan has woke pain free for two mornings. His doctor gave us some pills to try for his stomach which he has taken the last two days. We're waiting to see if this is just another good couple days or if the meds are working. Either way, we're so glad to see him up, about and going to school. Praise God for His faithfulness.

Last week at our Bible study, my reaction to others' pain came up. In a very loving way, I was told that I probably should work on having a little more compassion with others. See, I was brought up with a motto of "suck it up and move on" and find this is the way I tend to see life. The older I get, the worse it seems to get. I know that when I'm down and out, I really need someone to come along and give me a good kick in the behind to get me going again. So, I assume that's what everyone else needs - right??!!

Being strong minded can be good at times, but it makes me miss out on so many opportunities to show God's love to others. Sometimes, people may need a good kick in the pants, but many times, they just need to be listened to and loved on.

Overcoming emotions has been a huge obstacle in my life but God continues to work on me. It really doesn't matter what we feel or what we want to do, but how God feels and what He wants us to do. This is a minute by minute fight for me on some days. Guess what - it's not about me and it's not about you! We really have to learn to get over ourselves!

All of this came to mind this morning as I read 2 Timothy 2:1-10 "Be Strong". Vs. 1 says this "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Check out the commentary:
How can someone be strong in grace? Grace means undeserved favor. Just as we are saved by grace, we should live by grace. This means trusting completely in Christ and His power, and not trying to live for Christ in our strength alone. Receive and utilize Christ's power. He will give you the strength to do His work.

GOOD STUFF!!!

Have a great day
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie