I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12
Category: Christian Faith
On the heels of Day 23 and of being thankful for blogging as Hallee the Homemaker for the last four years, doing so, living my life so openly before the world has made me a target. I deal with a string of emails, comments that never get published, Facebook or Twitter messages, and even blog posts that ridicule my ideas, tear down my faith, or outright insult and threaten me. Gregg, in his creation ministry, has especially been a target.
I started this blog on a whim. I woke up one morning having no idea what a homemaking blog even was, and went to bed that night having written my first post. It has been an incredible 4-year journey. Through this blog I’ve learned, I’ve opened up, I’ve searched inside of myself, and I’ve made many friends. More so, I’ve grown closer daily to God by having a ministry so focused on Him that when I sit down at my computer, He is sitting right next to me.
I posted a Facebook and Twitter status yesterday and asked, “How can I pray for you today?”
It is amazing the responses I got, publicly and privately. I was blessed all day long with the ability and freedom to pray for my friends and their friends. My asking and people responding blessed others as well, and they were open in sharing how much they appreciated it.
I love our church. When we walked in the doors of that building, we knew we belonged there. After we’d been there for about a year, I said something in a class one time about it, and a friend there said, “You’ve been going here longer than a year, haven’t you?” It feels like we’ve always been there.
As I’ve worked on this list of 30 things for which I’m thankful, I’ve found that I often quote Bible verses to elaborate on the subject. That’s when it occurred to me that I’m extremely grateful for the gift of God’s word.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
I believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, that He used the Holy Spirit to move men to write the Bible, (2 Peter 1:21) and that it is a living, breathing document that is always relevant. I think that with any situation in my entire life, I can find where the Bible will speak to me. I believe that the “Old” Testament is just as important as the “New” Testament. I believe that the Word of God is a weapon against evil (Ephesians 6:17).
1 Peter 4:10 tells us that God, through His grace, has given each of us gifts, and wants us to use those gifts to minister to one another. I am so grateful that He has given me the gift of storytelling.
Whether it’s a full length novel of Christian romantic suspense or a blog post about parenting a special needs child, I am able to entertain, engage, or enlighten. God determined that my ministry would be the written word, and for years now, I have I given of it freely, using it to minister to the world.
At 5, Jeb is our absolute joy. I don’t say that to take anything away from our other children, but Jeb is just…joy. He is highly emotional and has a happy nature, which means he is almost always just bubbling over with happiness. A friend at church says often that she wishes she could capture his laugh and just have it throughout her day.
At 7, Scott is our middle child. He is also our miracle.
Born at 30 weeks, weighing in at 3 lbs. 5 oz., Scott is a testimony of God’s amazing grace, and the power of prayer. There should be a dozen things wrong with him, from poor eyesight to breathing issues. As it is, he is perfectly and wonderfully healthy as any 7-year-old boy out there.
Despite the fact that neither one of us were looking for a relationship when we met, within a day of meeting Gregg in person, he and I were talking about marriage. Forget the fact that I was recently separated from my husband of nearly 10 years, forget the fact that it was 3 short months after 9/11 and Gregg was in a Special Forces unit about to deploy, forget the fact that he lived 354 miles away from my house — we KNEW we would be married.
