More, More, More

The picture above a little blurred, but you are able to see our beautiful girl, Sadie hanging out the window anticipating a branch or limb in the road above.  She loves to try and grab anything that gets in her way.  She absolutely loves to ride in Colorado and explore.  Every evening I ask her Sadie are you ready to go riding and she is standing at the back door jumping and going in circles.  Excitement is the only way to describe how she acts.  I love watching her.  She simply can't get enough!

Well, that is me.  I can't get enough of Jesus and I only want to share, share, share, and share some more!  I look a lot like Sadie, but I don't want to turn people off so I try not to jump up and down on them and turn in circles for fear they will think I need special meds or something.  It's so true though!  I only want everyone to desire more and more and be sure that I've done my part whatever that might be to give it to them or to provide an opportunity for God to show up!  It's exciting getting to see Him work and I hang out the window just like Sadie for the opportunity to be a part of God's Work!

Don't miss out on special times with Jesus!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

She even instructs me which fun path we might try each evening!  We even went on 4 wheel drive roads just the two of us and it's exciting watching moose, deer, and elk explore looking for their evening meals!  Again, are you excited for more of Jesus?  You don't have to jump and down like Sadie, but we should have a different look about us that others desire and want for themselves!

Where are you

Always, always I get chill bumps when I know without a doubt "THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE" sees little old me!  Many of you know that this week I stepped away from everyday life running to and fro being about the busy work of the Journey of Sisters Ministry to alone time with God and my hubby.  Well, we arrived to our restful spot in the world and Kenny had work to be done, so truly it's been alone time with God.  

I have been quiet and rested..  Truly rested.  I haven't picked up books like normal.  I haven't picked up the phone like normal to check in.  I've sat on the back porch and looked at God's creation, I've gotten in the jeep and traveled down the road to watch the animals that He designed and I've been quiet.  I've not talked.  I've not studied.  I've just been in His Presence and Wow I feel refreshed!

I finally picked up my Bible and study books and the first words were "Where are you" from the story in Genesis 3 that God spoke to Adam and Eve.  As if God doesn't know where they are, but I felt He was speaking them to me.  Saying Debbie where have you been, where are you now, where are you going to be?  I prayed, I listened, and I know that I am with Him.  I am wrapped in His arms and that it is words that I needed.  I needed Him.  

I fail so desperately in the real world seeking approval from those that surround me.  I want to fix the problem whatever that might be and I can't.  I accept it.  I am just Debbie and I might offer an opinion and I can be Jesus arms and love and be your friend, but I cannot fix anything.  Also, nobody can fix my issues and I must go to the One who is able to take care of all of this and more and honestly that is not the ones that surround me in daily in everyday life - nope it is God alone!

The story of Eve this week showed me that I am so much like Eve.  Go ahead read the story and see if you don't see a little bit of yourself in her too.  If not, good for you but if so take hope in knowing that God loves us in spite of ourselves!  Eve listened to that little seed of doubt that the serpent fed her and all of us are still paying for it with our own sins daily.  Yes, we are quick to want to point our fingers at Eve and say if I were Eve - well if you were Eve or I was Eve more than likely we would have done the exact same thing!  We listen to the doubts the serpent feeds us and we believe him just like Eve!

In my dream last night God gave me words from Isaiah 40 and they are a beautiful reminder of who God truly is ~ Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these?  He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

God reminded me before I begin the journey home tomorrow to look to Him in my everyday world just like do here in my resting place!  He reminded me that if He knows the names of over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way alone and that He sat them in place He will take care of little old Debbie if she will just allow Him the opportunity!  I get busy and allow the devil to feed doubt into my being, so God reminded me on this trip that just like He made the clothing to cover Adam and Eve He also made the covering for me!  Jesus died for me and as much as I wanted to return with humor this morning the truth of what Christ did for me had to be written about and that once again I must be real with my own failings in the hope of someone else being healed through my own shortcomings!

Tomorrow I head south refreshed and renewed in the LORD and ready to do His Work.  Ready to proceed where He leads and reminded to Look to Him for the guidance!

I love you LORD!

Grace, Grace, Grace ~ thank you LORD!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

God is love...

    Our cultures are so different that we can't even comprehend how blessed we are to freely worship Jesus!  I've been reading two books that have really opened my eyes to a world that truthfully I just can't grasp one is entitled "In the Land of Blue Burquas" and the other is "The Road of Lost Innocence" and let me tell you they are eye openers.

Women sharing truth if we want to read it.  Harsh truth that all of us would sometimes rather just close our eyes to the fact it exist.  The first is about a woman that went to Afghanistan to give to the women there and what she discovered.  One thing that broke my heart is never have they heard God described as loving the word they use is kind.  I can't imagine not realizing just how much God loves us.  Absolutely never is the word love used associated with God at all...Let that soak in for a moment.  If you don't know that God loves you, imagine the emptiness!

Next, is the harsh reality of a woman in Cambodia that was sold into the sex slave industry and her life story of emptiness.  Filled with tragedy, but she was very strong and courageous.  I am not quite half way through the book, because I just can't read it very much at a time.  The awful things that were done to her and the things she witnessed are terrible.  I want to stop reading, but know that I must finish it.  I must allow God to show me the things we need to work to change, the prayers that we might lift that would help these special women.

Today, pray that women will realize that indeed God does love each and every one of us!!!!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Only yesterday...

It seems like yesterday.  The phone rang Deb it's time and I jumped into my car to share the most beautiful experience of my first nephew coming into this world. Pam allowed me the gift of sharing in the experience of the boys coming into this world with Ken and her.  A gift that is treasured by couples and yet they loved me enough to share it with me.  A present that thank you will never express my gratitude.  Many of you know that I am not able to have children, but yet I do.  I did not feel the wiggles inside me or have the late night experiences of crying needing to be fed or just held, but I had all the good times!  I didn't get some of the hard stuff, because I'm the aunt of  the kids or  DeDe as they all call me. I get the fun stuff!  I get some of the confidential information and the words of warning  -  DeDe if you tell I'll have to get rid of you information that sometimes I would rather not know...but I love my babies.  Okay they aren't babies anymore, but as I told Vaughn just last week I don't care when you are sixty and I'm ....well you don't need to know that part you will still be our baby as will Kyle, Blake, Samantha, Sara, Sadie, and Holt...

I realized last night that even the kids are struggling with our first one graduating.  Samantha wrote this on facebook to her cousin ...

Man it seems like just yesterday we were little kids playing around even though we didn't see each other much! It's crazy that time has passed by so fast now ur a senior and going off to college! Ur the best cousin that anyone could ever have besides the times u pick on me bt I don't care! The night of ur graduation I'm going to burst in to tears and cry my eyes out! Bt I just want to tell u I love you and have a fantastic time at college! — with Vaughn Shapen and Debbie Covington.

I don't care who we are we struggle with change in our journeys and the words from Ecclesiastes 3 come to my mind right now almost daily...There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot...I've always wondered what got into Solomon with the whole book of Ecclesiastes, but I'm beginning to get it more with age.  We realize that indeed there is a time for everything for each of us to experience.  God's timing is so unique and special for each of us and we need to embrace every detail - even when it hurts!  The special times in our nephews and nieces journeys (or your kids) sometimes hurts, because we realize our time is not their time - just like God's timing with us.  His timing is not ours!  We each have our special unique time given to us by God to share with us and to share with Him uniquely made for each of us.

What I was reading Samantha's words to Vaughn I remembered  a special little league ballgame sitting in the bleachers with Vaughn, Kyle, and Samantha after the game where they were laughing, giggling, and having the time of their lives sharing it with their DeDe.  I never went anywhere without my camera during those days and the photos were lost in the fire, but the memory is stored right there in my head like it was yesterday.  Three little precious gifts from God with their blond hair and smiles shining for the whole world to watch as they shared a special moment of laughter and fun at the ball field and yesterday sitting at the banquet honoring Vaughn's baseball team we were still together laughing, hair a little darker for some of us, a little less hair for others, but we were still together laughing and giggling about the fun times.  I sat right there with them once again watching a special moment in our journey pass, but indeed the words came to mind that there is a time for everything...

I love each of you and words simply cannot tell you how much!

Sweet blessings,

DeDe