Christmas Pearls

First of all...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Golds!

Dear friends,

I have missed you all so very much over the last few weeks. I never would have imagined how many friends that God would bless me with in the blogosphere. I am so thankful for you all. A few weeks ago when our internet service went down I was about to go crazy. My husband said, "It will be okay. The the internet will back up tomorrow." However, as I pointed to my computer I said, "You don't understand. I have friends in there." It was then that I realized how very special you are to me. I have been so encouraged by all of you.

During the Christmas season I decided to take a little break from the blogosphere. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I had a wonderful Christmas with my savior, family, and friends.

I wanted to share with you what my sweet husband got me for Christmas. He surprised me with pearls. If you remember reading my first post about the pearl necklace and the whole reason why my blog name is God's Girl Pearl, you will understand why this was so special to me. I was so speechless I could hardly get a word out without crying. They are so precious to me as I think about the story of the pearl necklace and what God has done in my life over the last few years. Just like we sometimes try to hold on to the worldly treasures that don't have eternal value, he is just waiting for us to give up the dime-store stuff so that he can give us the beautiful, genuine treasures in its place. God will never ask for something from you without giving you something better in its place.

Matthew: 44-45: 44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Me and Doug

Me with my new pearls. It looks like I used my big hairspray that day. That stuff is powerful.

Maybe this year, I will post about diamonds. Just kidding.

Have a blessed day!

John 3:19-21

John 3:19-21 (New International Version)
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Lord,
Help me to decrease so that you may increase.

Psalm 103

From Psalm 103

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all."

Prissy Business

If you are wondering why I haven't been posting lately, yes...some of it is because of the Christmas season, but most of my time is spent taking care of this little thing. She has fit right in with our family and almost thinks she owns the place.

A Hunting We Will Go........

This past weekend Doug went on his first hunting trip with his dad. This was a special time for both of them. Doug has wanted to go for the last couple of years but could never work it out with his busy schedule. So finally the day had arrived. I have never seen so much hunting gear in my life and what is it all for. I think Doug's dad could open up a sporting goods store. They worked for a couple of hours getting everything ready for the trip. Although they came back with no deer, the time spent together was invaluable.

I just had to include this picture which I titled "Men in Trees". Last year Doug had planned on going on the hunting trip but had to cancel last minute. His parents and sister got him camouflage coveralls, an orange vest, and other hunting accessories. So he was really sad that he couldn't go and wear his new gear. One morning he came downstairs all dressed up in his gear. So I handed him Jack's toy gun. It was so funny that I immediately grabbed my camera and took a few pictures. I begged him to get by this tree so that I could take his picture.....THIS IS MY MAN!!!! I feel so safe when he is around.

To My Friend, Maria

This was a poster our family made before she ran the Chicago Marathon this year.

This post is dedicated to my dear friend, Maria. She and I go way back. Our friendship began in college when we became roommates. We have shared so many special memories together: college, weddings, hanging out on the weekends together with our husbands (before kids), having babies, vacations, women's conferences, girls' weekends, and most important....growing in Christ.


Here are a few things I love about Maria:

• She has five wonderful children from the ages 2 to 10


• She homeschools


• She bakes her own homemade bread and waffles


• She ran the Chicago marathon this year


• She leads womens' bible studies in her home


• She is the most unselfish person I know


• She is consistently studying God's word and living it out


• She loves coffee probably more than I do


• She has a heart for the poor


• She is very genuine, no fluff, what you see is what you get


• She is one of the funniest people I know


• She drives a 12 seater, commercial, white van that looks like a church bus


• When we go on trips together with our kids I feel like we are on a fieldtrip


• She loves the same kind of music that I do


• She is humble


• She is a great cook
• She has a funny husband who dresses up as the Elf at Christmas time and Pizza Pat at birthday parties


• Her Christmas letter is one of the highlights of my year


• She has a Christ-centered home


• She perseveres in whatever she does

She does not do this in her own strength. Her strength comes from the Lord.

This past February Maria's mother, Janie Fuquay, passed away. She was also an extra special mom and friend. She was a great example of putting others before herself. She raised five children alone. I see alot of Janie in Maria. This past weekend would have been Janie's birthday. Thank you Lord for her life and the love of such a dedicated mother and friend.

Like mother....like daughter.

Changing Lives One Heartbeat At A Time

If I Have Not Love, I Have Nothing

This morning my daughter and I were reading through 1 Corinthians 13. We decided to read it in several different versions. One of my favorites was from the Amplified Version.

1 Corinthians 13
1IF I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).
3Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God's love in me), I gain nothing.
4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
9For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).
10But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).
11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.
12For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God].
13And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.

We are not talking about worldly love that is self-seeking, we are talking about the love that comes from God. God's love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward ourselves. This has made me reexamine why I do the things that I do. Is it because of God's love in me or is it to glorify myself? I want so badly to care for others more than myself, but I can't do this on my own. His love goes against our natural inclinations. It is impossible to have this love unless God helps us set aside our own natural desires so that we can love and not expect anything in return. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love. Thus, the more we become like Christ, the more love we will show to others.

Today, the world has contaminated the meaning of the word "love". Love is not a feeling. It is a choice and an action. The world thinks that love is what makes a person feel good and that it is all right to sacrifice moral principles and others' rights in order to obtain such "love".

When was the last time :

• you were secretly envious or jealous of someone?
• you were boastful in your accomplishments instead of giving the glory to God?
• you demanded your own way?
• you looked for the worst in a person instead of pointing out the best?
• your love faded because you got tired or didn't feel like loving someone or because they didn't love you in return, or because it was too hard?
• you were rude to someone in traffic, in the grocery store line, in a restaurant, at a ballgame, or even in your own home with your own family members? Sometimes we are more rude to our own family than we are to others. "Treat your guests like family and your family like guests".

I have probably covered most of these in the past week, but Jesus is working on my heart as we speak or I wouldn't be writing this.

How about you? What is the purpose of your love to people? Is it to gain attention from others or to gain something for yourself? Or is it to show your love to God by loving others and glorifying Him? So no matter what we say to others, what we believe, and what we do, we have gained nothing, if we have not loved. If we truly know God, we will love as He does.

1 John 4:7-10 (The Message)

God Is Love

7-10My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.