Wow, I don't know where to start pouring and where to stop........the chapter for this wk. of Biblestudy is so packed with treasure! The Mind of Christ ~ We have the mind of Christ? And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. Ezekial 36:27 We can choose to flow in the mind of Christ. Think Positive Thoughts - The mind of Christ in us is positive: Anytime we get negative we are not operating with the mind of Christ. Psalm 3:3 GOD IS OUR GLORY AND THE LIFTER OF OUR HEADS. He wants to lift everything; our hopes, our attitudes, our moods, our head, hands and heart - our whole LIFE! He is our Divine Lifter! Be God Minded - YOU will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on YOU, because he commits himself to YOU, leans on YOU, and hopes confidently in YOU. Isaiah 26;3 Meditating on God and His ways and works will need to become a regular part of your thought life if you want to experience victory. Be God-Loves-Me Minded - And we know and believe the love God cherishes for us. God is LOVE, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him. 1John 4;16 I (Joyce) have learned that the same thing is true of God's love that is true of His presence. If we never meditate on His love for us, we will not experience it. Have an Exhortative Mind - He who exhorts, to his exhortation Romans 12:8 The person with the mind of Christ thinks positive, uplifting, edifying thoughts about other people as well as about himself and his own circumstances. Send thoughts of love toward other people. Speak words of encouragement to them. TO LIVE IN VICTORY, YOU MUST BEGIN BY LINING UP YOUR THOUGHTS WITH GOD'S WORD! Develop a Thankful Mind - Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name Psalm 100:4 A POWERFUL LIFE CANNOT BE LIVED WITHOUT THANKSGIVING. When do we offer thanksgiving? At all times-- in every situation, in all things and by so doing we enter into the victorious life where the devil cannot control us. Be Word Minded _ And you have not His word living in your hearts, because you do not believe and adhere to and trust in and rely on Him Whom He has sent. ( that is why you do not keep His message living in you, because you do not believe in the Messenger Whom He has sent.) John 5:38 Meditating on the Word of God is one of the most important life principles that we can learn. Will you flow in the mind of the flesh or in the mind of the Spirit? One leads to death, the other to life. The choice is ours. CHOOSE LIFE! This book just continues to convict and challenge me in new ways, and how I'm trying to choose Life! It is some days a moment by moment battle, just to take the negative thoughts captive in Jesus Name, and then to fill the empty space with His thoughts. I'm learning............little glimpses of growth here and there, but still finding myself learning more and more that it is His Spirit in me that brings fruit. Just abiding in Him for my life. I'm spending the evening alone......well, how alone am I with 5 kiddos milling, crashing and bashing around? Maybe not as alone as comfort would permit, but that's my life and I'm gonna give thanks even for a little crashing ;) Israel and Shad are off to hunt, why Shad would need to go I can't imagine. He shot his 5th doe the other morning. Got up went out in the dark, the real kicker......wearing his Dad's 18in. boots that for sure he was swimming in. Climbed his tree with the one in the same boots, makes me shudder, and shot the deer. He came back and got Misty and Grant, they all went and tracked it and Shad drug her out of the woods himself and then insisted that he gut her himself. The child is running on some male stamina.........so we're in for alot more evenings alone than I care to rejoice in :) 
We have so few leaves, that this little pile was a rare treat. The kids even hauled them into the storage barn so they wouldn't get wet ;) Desperate I know. 
One of my brave geraniums, I can't believe my plants on the porch are still so green. 
I love the color these leaves are trimmed in............... 
Most of the lovely colors are gone, but I'm still soaking them in for all I'm worth. 
My dear rose bush keeps trying to bloom too......................I guess it's not quite ready for winter either. 
Aren't these trees just glorious. When ever I drive anywhere I feel like I'm constantly saying "oh look at that, oh that tree is just beautiful" will we get Fall in Heaven? 
Oh, yes I really splurged on this throw. Never have I been a fur person, but I was looking for brown accents and when I saw this and then carried it around the store luxerating (I know that's really not a word, but that's the feeling I had) in it's softness I couldn't resist even after the 30% off wasn't for real. It's been worth every dollar though, we all love it's coziness! I also added the brown pillows and have my eyes peeled for more with different patterns and textures. 
This table has been so fun too. We bought it at a going out of business auction, and I've loved having it to work with. 
And I finally just took matters in to my own hands and hung Misty's chinese lanterns. I always forget to tell Iz I need him to do it for me, so I finally tried and woohoo I did it! So there's the few new things in my life, and I can't wait to show you a large stack of other new things, but that will have to wait for a few weeks, because I'm not finished adding to it ;) Hey, love you all and hope you have a beautiful Friday! I get to spend mine with friends from church for the day... Blessings to you, Jess | 
