New sight on Old Scripture

Hey ya'll -thanks for stopping by the GRILL ! As I read my Bible yesterday I read a verse I've probably read over several times within my life, but this time it stopped me and it found it's way to my heart.
Romans 15:13 "May the God that gives hope fill you with great joy. May you have perfect peace as you trust in Him. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope." WOW! that is a wonderul verse especially when you make it personal by adding your name in it. And that perfect peace is exactly what I felt last night as I ejoyed a wonderful evening with my family. I don't think the TV was even turned on yesterday at our home until after 9pm. We had the best time eating dinner, talking, laughing, and then Jim and I were studying God's word together for tonight's lesson at church. It was so enjoyable to be together in that process and to see God add and take from our lesson plan to make it what he intends for it to be tonight.
I hope that you will allow great joy and perfect peace in your life regardless of circumstances or current situations as you hope in our one God and have faith in His one son Jesus Christ. We would love to hear from you. Have a wonderful Wednesday! Be sure to drop by the Grill anytime you have a chance to hang out and see what's on fire for God's desire.
All 4 HIM,
Angela

Our weekend

Hey Guys,
We had such a great weekend with Jim's dad. He grilled steak Friday night (DELICIOUS!) We met up with our youth group from church on Saturday and headed to B'ham for StadiumFest. It was AWESOME! The kids really loved the BMX bikes. That was pretty amazing stuff! The best part of the event was they gave all the glory for their talent and ability to our Heavenly Father God. Afterwards we headed down onto the football field which was completely covered by white plastic (pretty cool-made me want to walk around barefoot) they had several Christian artist Chris Thomlin, Rush of Fools, & last but definitely not least one of my favorite Jeremy Camp. In between groups they had great motivational speakers like Louie Giglio, Rick Burgess & Bill (Bubba) Bussey. It was just an awesome experience. Alex and I spent over 2 hrs in the line at the concession stand. That wasn't the highlight for us. You know it's funny how when your standing out in the heat in a long line for water that you realize how ironic that can be. Here we were at a great worship event with wonderful speakers and incredible bands and we were behind a building watching 2hrs of it from a big screen tv. There was a point where I felt myself starting to get frustrated with the situation and then I heard someone behind me sounding very aggravated about having to stand in such a long line and I realized that it was that moment that situation that shows our true Christian character. It was easy to lift up my hands and praise and worship God when I was on that white football field standing in front of the stage listening, but what about behind the building in the LONG line waiting.... and I turned and said to my son and to the people around us, "You know this is when our true character is shown." From that point forward through the remainder of that line I was fine. And I shared with Alex that we can worship and sing for God right there in that long line. He laughed and said yeah, besides mom if we hadn't been in this hot slow line for so long we wouldn't have met all these people that we've been talking to for 2 hours. GREAT POINT!!!! So eventually we got to the window ordered the largest drinks they had and 2 packs of skittles and headed back down the hill to enjoy the rest of the event. It was a fabulous time.... even the long line contributed to an evening of fun and laughter. We came back home Sunday night and although we hate to leave from down there with our family it's ALWAYS so wonderful to get back home and sleep in your own bed.
I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend too. Thanks for spending time with us here at the GRILL!
All 4 HIM, Angela

Friday-Frinzy SMILE!

FRIDAY!!!!! It's been a great week, but I sure do love Fridays! Something about knowing that I'm heading into the weekend just makes me smile! Well our family is excited today we are heading out of town to visit Jim's dad this weekend. And also we're meeting up with our youth group from church and going to a stadium-fest Saturday afternoon. Guaranteed to be full of fun, sun/Son & worship!!!
Quick thought from yesterday. A lady in my office and I were talking about another lady who had mentioned a very frightening experience she had yesterday. In the course of her conversation she mentioned how she was glad it happened while it was daylight because she would have really been scared if it was after dark. I told the lady that was sharing the story, "Isn't it funny how we can handle things alot better in the daytime. She said, "Yes it's like the light has a protection field around us." Well, you know exactly what happened to me when she said that..... YEP.. LIGHT-bulb came on. I thought isn't that the perfect illustration of Jesus in our life. Jesus is the light and we feel so much safer and secure in light than we do in the dark. For me that was a God wink moment. Where God gave me a tidbit of logical truth to grab hold of and place in my heart. So the next time the topic of light and dark comes up I'll have a wonderful story to share. Have a fabulous Friday! All 4 HIM, Angela

What a day!

Yesterday somehow from my back door of "I love you guys, have a great day, make good choices" to stepping out at work I allowed myself to go from positive Christ filled heart and attitude to a negative Angela filled attitude. Before I even knew what hit me I was all about me! Whining and complaining about stuff that was really nothing for me to even be concerend with. And then it happened right in the middle of me being caught up in me... my God showed up. Actually it came in the form of an amazing inspirational text message from my incredible husband. Simply stated it said, He was praying that whatever is going on in our lives that we give it to God so that we may see and receive what He is blessing us with. I'll tell you ladies ...& guys that stopped me right in my seat. I had to come to God and ask for His undeserving forgiveness because my attitude and character had been all caught up in Angela. Thank God for moments of accountability and reflection. Moving forward into my evening with the right attitude and joy in my heart I headed home but not before stopping by the grocery store to pick up the essentials for what I knew would be a WONDERFUL meal..... Jim was grilling!! Yep there isn't much I would rather eat than anything my husband grills up. We had burgers and they were fabulous. Zack our 3 yr old said they were VERY messy. I told him my mama always said, Messy burgers mean they are REALLY good. And then it happened what started out earlier yesterday as realizing I was caught up in myself and being bitter about actual Godly blessings regarding the season I'm in within my life right now. All of a sudden from our little Zack came such a Godly comfirmation that we are training our children in the ways of the Lord and even little Zack is understanding. He asked for the chips because of course with our great grilled hamburgers I chose wholesome nutritious BBQ potato chips as a side.... Hey it says right on the back made with potatoes! Anyways as I passed him the back he said, "Thank you" And then he said, "That's good to say thank you momma because that's Jesus' word, did you know that?" And I felt my heart jump! I told him that yes the Bible tells us to be kind and when we say thank you that is being VERY KIND. WOW a God moment ! I figured out last night that God has us in our situations sometimes just so we can see His glory and also I figured out that all the junk I was frustrated about earlier yesterday doesn't add up to 1 single speck of even the smallest God moments in my life. I pray for you a day with God moments everywhere you look today. Thanks for taking the time to hang around the grill with me this wonderful Wednesday. I hope you will stop back by and see us again.
All 4 HIM, Angela

Dear Lord, I pray for everyone reading this post today. That they would have moments throughout their day to see You in the smallest of glimpses or the largest of situations. And thank you God for allowing me to step back and see what blessing is all around my life and the life of my family. In Jesus name, Amen

Say what I Mean & Mean what I Say!

WOW! I had a great conversation on my way in to work today with my mom. And right in the middle of our mother-daughter talk God showed up! Don't ya love when unexpectedly God shows up and teaches you a valuable lesson. In the midst of our conversation my mom shared with me that she had been speaking with a family member about me and sharing with that family member the changes she has seen in my life through Jesus Christ. And things that I had shared with her about my life and opportunities like the GRILL that God has opened up for me. When she mentioned that the family memeber said that I'm not suppose to brag about my accomplishments for God. Or in other words boast about things that I'm doing. I have to be honest here... my very first thought was that of hurt and I could have even been tittering slightly on being mad about the accusation (funny that would be a pride thing for sure if I would have allowed that feeling to come to the top) but in that same instance God revealed to me two very important truths. First of all not everyone who hears someone sharing how God is working through their life is going to understand that it's not at all a self compliment but a praise and witness to the incredible ability God has in EVERY single one of us .... even in ME! And then second it also made me realize that as a Chrisitian woman, wife, mom, daughter, friend, co-worker it is very important that as I go through life sharing what God is doing in and through me that I make double sure that I am expressing with full measure that all the glory is God's and that I'm merely a vessel for Him to work through as He desires.
All 4 HIM, Angela

Dear Lord, Please forgive me if I have at anytime given someone the impression that I am bragging on myself or taking credit for the gifts you have given me. I pray that I never mislead someone into thinking that I am full of pride or boasting about my accomplishments or opportunity that you will open up in my life. But that when I share my life in Jesus with people, you will always lay on my heart the right words to speak to people so that they see I give you all the glory for everything going on in my life not of my own will Lord God, but of your will. Amen

A Day of Rest

Today was not a usual Sunday at the Walker home. Most Sunday mornings you would find us busy getting breakfast out and getting everyone ready for church and then out the door we would go with Bibles in hand. This morning though was not that way, although when we went to bed last night we had all intentions of being seated in our close to the front usual seats at church worshiping with our wonderful church family, this morning came and everyone slept in. Now usually had I woke up late for church I would have made the day worse by feeling bad for missing and allowing the day to be filled with regret and passing that same shameful feeling off to the rest of my family in my actions. (Not the best attitude to portray but never the less that's usually where you would find me if I miss church service.) Because not only do I feel that by not being at church I'm letting down my family and my church members but more than that I always feel as though I'm letting God down and it is an extremely shameful feeling that I hold over myself usually for the entire day. However today was different. I'm not saying miss church it's a wonderful experience NOT at all. Jim and I both feel that our church is a fueling station a wonderful place filled with wonderful friends and family in Christ; a place to be filled with the message God has intended for each one of us if we go with an open heart and ears to receive what he has in store for us. And God's Word says do not forsake the assembling together! While being in church is deeply important to me and our family this morning when we woke up late I had a peace about being home today. Very different than how I would have normally felt about missing church. I didn't know right then but God was going to show me something today. I started out with the thought that I would use today as time to study God's Word with my children and to rest. I read with the boys frm Deut 6. We talked about God's desire that parents and their children think about God in EVERYTHING that we do. And we studied and talked about God's 10 commandments and how important they are not just to little children but also to their parents. This morning little Zack told a lie and while I could have spanked him and told him it was wrong and never do that I took that moment and told him about God's commandments and how important it is to remember God doesn't want us (I'm back blog tip#1 NEVER forget your potatoes on the stove when you start blogging... ok back to my story.) to tell lies it's one of the 10 commandments that he wants us to live by. And that's when it happened God spoke to my heart... to begin teaching my children that just like grown ups when they do something wrong they need to not only say I'm sorry to the person they wronged but also take it to God and ask for God's forgiveness. I've always tried to explain when my children do something wrong that God wants us to be good and to make good choices in everything we do, but until today I've never explained how important it is for them to also take their wrong behavior and talk to God about it and ask for His forgiveness and also to ask Him to help make better choices. So today while it started out as a Sunday missing church, it became a day that God used to show me a valuable truth as a parent in Christ. Children like adults need to realize that they should also take their wrong decisions and bad choices to God for His forgiveness and guidance. Thanks for stopping by to hang out with me at the GRILL! Come back and see us again soon and feel free to leave me a comment. Have a wonderful week!
All 4 HIM, Angela

Thank you God for showing me a parenting mistake I've been making for years. Thank you for showing me the importance of teaching my children to talk to you not just about prayer needs, or praises, but also when they make bad decisions in their lives to take those to you as well for your forgiveness, love, comfort, strength and guidance in their lives. In Jesus name, Amen.

The grill... God's redemption is lasting life.

Hey thanks for dropping by to hang out at the grill. Several years ago God laid on my heart and mind the topic The grill on fire for God's desire. At the time our church didn't have a children's church so I thought, "OK God's trying to tell me something about beginning a children's ministry." For whatever reason at the time the idea stayed pressing on me but the steps to begin moving toward God's direction with that title were not taken. And not long after that idea our church did begin a great children ministry called Kids Korner. I laid my title aside and once in a while over the past several years the thought (The GRILL -on fire for God's desire) would pop back up in my thoughts for what I figured was for no reason. And then over the past several months my heart has been leaning toward starting a family blog. As the desire to do this became stronger all of a sudden there it was again... (The GRILL -on fire for God's desire). Not only the title but also the meaning behind the word GRILL was laid on my heart for the first time. Because see although I could see the idea working I couldn't figure out what the word GRILL would have to do with God, my savior Jesus Christ or His love for everyone in the world. And then today it hit me GRILL -God's redemption is lasting life. That was confirmation for me that I needed to start this thing. Where it will lead only God knows, but I'm on board with it and what better time to start up a grill than as we move into spring & summer. Hope to see you back at the grill!!! all 4 HIM, Angela