I'm in the valley.

Have you ever felt lost? Have you felt as though you are just floating around in limbo waiting for something to happen? I've been feeling that way. Like a spool of thread come undone. I don't know what I am supposed to do. I can't get excited about anything. Where did my enthusiasm go? Did I even spell that right? I hate this feeling. Being in a funk. I guess you have to have valleys to appreciate the peaks. I'm definetly in a valley right now. There are worse things though. I'd rather be in a valley than in a desert. Being in a desert would be like not knowing God. Not knowing that things would get better, not having hope or faith. In a valley the grass is still green, the streams still flow and you can at least see the mountain. It may seem like some obstacle you can't overcome but it's there and you can overcome it with God's help. The next thing you know you will be sitting on that mountain top just enjoying the veiw. So right now I'm in the valley. I can see the mountain although it is very hazy. Surrounded by fog and clouds. Like I said, I'm in limbo. I'm not sure what I'm up against or what my next move is. I'm just waiting to hear from God. Looking and listening for signs to lead me on the right path. After all there may be more than one way up or around that mountain. Or maybe I'm meant to stay in the valley awhile? Only God knows what is in store for me. Only His guidance will lead me in the right direction. Satan will surely try to trick me into going the wrong way. He probably has an easy enticing way around the mountain, but at what cost? If I'm not listening to God's signal, if I'm not intune with Him I will be lead astray. Off into the wilderness. I pray.

My Father in Heaven, I pray that You will lead me where you want me to go. Give me the wisdom to see the signs and make the right decisions. Don't let me be lead astray by the enemy. Show me the route to take and be there with me to give me strength and grace. Amen

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" -Psalm 32:8

proverbs 31:30

"Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."





This is one of my favorite verses in the bible. Oddly enough the first time I ever heard it was in a D.C. Talk song. Then a bit later in life I heard it at my grandmother's funeral. If the catchy song put it in my head, hearing those words describe my grandmother as a woman who feared and loved the Lord, put it in my heart. So what does it mean to be a Godly woman?



Throughout the bible we see examples of what a woman who loves the Lord should be. Today we have amazing books like "Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild" by Mary A. Kassian. And if those references aren't enough we now have the True Woman Movement. What's that you ask? Well let me tell you, or better yet click the link at the bottom of this blog and see for yourself. Trust me, if you have time to read my blog you have time to see what God is doing in the lives of women today. Men, I encourage you to read up on the movement as well. And no, this isn't some bra burning we are women hear us roar thing. This is truely women wanting to live the lives that God created us for, the lives that he has planned for us. If we want to live in His word and carry out His will we need to be living the life of a Godly woman.

Please take the time to check this out.

http://www.truewoman.com/

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." -Proverbs 31:10

"Well I'm lookin' for a girl who's virtuous
Cause God laid it on my heart to search for this
So I open up the Word to the book of Proverbs
The 31rst chapter tells me all about her
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain
A woman who fears the Lord, she ain't playin'
Hear what I'm sayin', cause I'm sayin' it clearly
She's the kinda girl I gots to have near me"
-DC Talk

an everyday miracle

You may not think of this as a miracle, but I do. This morning when my husband went to take a shower no water came out. Oh no we both thought. The pipes have frozen and now they are going to bust if they haven't already and it's going to cost a fortune to fix it. We don't have the money for that. What are we going to do? Thinking the worst our day was off to a bad start. After my husband left for work I decided that I was not going to let this happen. Unless it was God's will ofcourse. I put into action what I call my own little prayer chain. I posted on facebook and twitter asking people to pray. I called Moody radio asking to be put on their prayer list. I called my best friend in Jesus and put her on speaker phone and asked her to pray aloud in my house. And most importantly I took the time to kneel at my bed and talk to God myself, giving him my full attention. I know he was listening because for once my 17 month old kept quite. I prayed and asked God for his will to be done, but if that including sparing us a busted pipe, that would be wonderful. Yes this may sound like a lot of whoop-de-do about nothing but to us it would have been a big deal to hire a plumber to fix our pipes. But God listened. Some people might say that it's just a silly coincidence but I know when God is listening and I know when he is looking out for me. I don't know how many people actually prayed for us. Maybe it was just me and my friend Linda. What I do know is we have running water and no broken pipes. Thank you Jesus. It may be a small miracle but I believe it is one just the same.

God listens to us pray. We are never ever alone. We are not subject to the whims of the universe. We are subjects of God. He can turn a circle into a square. He can divide a sea, make manna fall out of the sky, turn a small portion of food into enough to feed an army, He can create a storm and calm it. He can save a life. He can certainly save some old pipes. Our God is an awesome God. There is nothing he can't do. That doesn't mean he is going to grant all your "wishes". But he does listen to us pray.

hope

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." - Hebrews 10:23

Sometimes it is so hard to keep hope when a situation seems hopeless. Thankfully we have a God who keeps His promises. As long as we keep our faith in Him and strive to live in His word and carry out His will He will take care of us.

Paintings

Art has always been a very important part of my life. Before the coma I was an art major and had been creating art for as long as I could remember. Unfortunatly I lost almost everything I ever owned when I got sick, however by the grace of God I did manage to hang on to a few of my old paintings. I would like to show the progression of my art before the coma to my art after the coma. I think you will be able to see that I sort of had to relearn a lot of things. and ofcourse I am always learning. Here are the paintings from before the coma and here are some of the paintings from after the coma...

and finally getting back to my old self....

so what do you think?

Tribute

If you ever listen to Moody radio around 8 pm on a weeknight you'll probably be hearing Walk in the Word with Dr. James McDonald. Well, a few months ago he was doing a series called "Seven Words to Change Your Family" Word number three was honor. As in honor thy father and mother. Well he challenged his listeners to not only write a tribute but speak it alound infront of people. At the time I thought the idea sounded silly and it would never be something I could do. Then months later I marvel at how my parents help me in every way that they can. I'm thinking to myself, how can I ever repay them? Well, I don't think I can repay them but the least I could do is let them know how much they mean to me. So, I wrote a tribute and read it alound in front of our immediate family at our Christmas Eve gathering. And now I would like to share it with you.

Tribute to my Father and Mother

God is the number one most important thing in my life.
Family is the second.
My husband, who completes me.
My son, who is a part of me.
My sister, who understands me.
and my parents, who made me.

Exodus chapter 20 verse 12 is the fifth commandment.

Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth the.

How do I begin to honor you? Where would I be without you? Who would I be without you?

You have loved me and protected me and tried to steer me in the right direction, although I have often resisted and went my own way, you still love me.

When I was younger I thought unconditional love meant that you had to be happy with whatever choices I made. That to truly love me you had to accept all of my decisions however wrong they may be. Now I realize that your love is unconditional because you love me despite the bad decisions I have made.

You have given me life, not once but twice. You stood by me when I was sick and refused to give up faith. Then you nursed me back to health. You have turned your lives upside down to take care of me and even now you are still there for me. You not only help me but yhou hlep my family as well. You are a constant love.

These words alone cannot express how much you mean to me or how much I appreciate and love you but I hope it gives you an idea.

Love always,

Becky Susanne Altman

Okay so this is what I read to my parents. It cannot even begin to sum up how wonderful they are. I pray for Jesus to teach me how to be a good parent. I want to bring up Lukas so that he knows the Lord. Maybe he won't make the mistakes I made, maybe he will, but I want him to know the Lord and know that God will always be there for him. All he need to do is seek his will. If you're parents brought you up knowing the Lord, thank them. If they took care of you at all, thank them. Parenting isn't easy, and I've only been one for 16 months. I wish that everyone could know the Lord and feel the love that he gives us. Thank you Jesus for your love and for giving me such wonderful parents who love you and showed me your love.

12-20-10

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God"
1 Corinthians 10:31

This verse recently became one of my favorite verses. It is so simple and beautiful and yet if someone had said this to me earlier in life I would have stared at them blankly. When I was in college I was certainly not living to glorify God. I was living to please myself. Even now I have to remind myself that life isn't about God serving me, it's about me serving God. I find myself thinking to God how do I get out of this problem or how does this benefit me? When I need to be thinking how can I benefit God. It is a simple verse but a powerful reminder. Do all to the glory of God.