2009 begins with changes

So.....we have some news....David, Hope and their 5 kiddos moved in with us this week! He started a job here in town a couple months ago, and the rest of the family just joined him. They are praying that their house back in Florida will sell before too long. Granted, things look bleak in the housing market down there (or anywhere for that matter), but the Lord has brought them here...and we know He will keep leading and providing. So, for now, our home is full - and we are enjoying it!

We've been unpacking and organizing, doing laundry, setting up beds, and buying groceries (lots and lots of groceries), but things seem to be slowing down now. And I am enjoying the quiet tonight - 7 kids in bed, a cozy bed with a snack, and my laptop - oh, how I have missed thee!

We studied the book of Malachi in adult Sunday school this week, and I've been thinking about one verse ever since.

"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.....Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:8,10

Lord, open up the windows of heaven in my life this year! Help me to willingly give You what is rightfully Yours ... of everything - my money, my time, my thoughts, my pursuits, my goals - and make me more aware of areas where I'm holding back and robbing You of throne of my heart.

Because I want to see your blessing in 2009...and in the lives of others too!