How is your vision?

Well, it is a big day in the Fender household today...Austin got his first pair of glasses! He was so excited when we got the call that they were in...we quickly packed our things and left the pool so that we could get cleaned up and head to the eye care center. All the way home he kept looking over his glasses and then through his glasses saying...fuzzy, clear, fuzzy, clear. I am so relieved that he is embracing this new addition with so much joy and excitement, because I hated my glasses and had a much harder time adjusting. But it got me to thinking....how many of us need our vision checked and we don't even know it? We just assume that which we see is well.....normal?

Well, God offers an eye care center like no other! He can not only make your physical eyes see more clearly but He can correct the eyes of your heart as well!

Are you lost and can't see which way to go?

Does your life seem dim and dark?

Are things a little fuzzy?

God has given us corrective lenses to use.... through the Bible. God can help you through day to day life without having to struggle to see. His word gives us answers and reveals His will for our life...but just like regular glasses you have to "put" on the Word in order to see. Just having the Word sit beside you is about as useful as having your glasses on a side table.

So how is your vision? Do you need a check-up? You can do this!!!

Donna

I can do this!

I can do this!

Yesterday I drove to a college campus with my oldest child. My little boy. College.
While he took placement tests I roamed the isles of a shopping outlet with his sweet girlfriend.
Looking for pants and shirts, just like I did when he was truly little.
After testing we meet with an admissions counselor.

I can do this!

We leave and continue looking for a few clothing items. The shirts in the men's department are tricky and still overwhelm his slender body. We make a quick purchase and venture out to meet a potential roommate and look at a house.
A house.
My little boy, leaving the nest soon.
I can do this!

I have done many difficult things throughout my life. Some were by my choice and some were not.
Moved from place to place between parents.
Started a new school at the age of 15.
Completed nursing school.
Moved away from home.
Looked for employment.
Given birth.
Prayed with dying patients.
Held my children at night when their eardrums ruptured.
Bathed frail bodies of sick people.
Watched a husband get on a plane for military duty and waited for his return.
Sat by the beside as my granny took her last breaths.
Ran races.
Suffered loss.
Said no when my heart wanted to say yes.
Started ministries from the ground up.
Stood in front of hundreds of women to speak.
And now...it's time to watch my firstborn fly!
I can do this!

Never once have I been alone.
Do you feel like you are alone in your struggles?
With Christ you are never alone. 
Never once have I been without the strength of someone stronger.
With Christ there is strength. 
Never once have I been without encouragement, hope, love?
With Christ we freely receive all of these. 

Whether you are watching a child prepare for college, struggling to hold together a marriage, looking for job, overcoming an addiction, caring for a dying loved one, wondering where your next month's rent will come from, whatever you may face today, look it straight in the eye and say,
"With Christ, I can do this!"
Say it, REPEAT it, believe it!

The very One who gave his life for you is there is see your through to the other side!

With Christ, you can do this!
Jodie

Soul Mates

I just dropped my "baby" Cailee off at Camp Willow Run for the first time. It will be the first time she has been away from us for a week. The most she has been away is about 3 or 4 days but that was with Mimi so, she was not responsible for her own care. I could not help but giggle a little when I noticed on the "chore" chart that her cleaning duty for tomorrow is toliets! Man, I love this camp already! LOL! Cailee, however, was not amused! She is growing up so fast.....and turning into a beautiful young lady. While we were packing the subject of modesty came up....one of many conversations that I will have with her about boys....oh my! (hang in there...the point is coming!)

The theme this summer at Camp Willow Run is "For the King" and is based off a wonderful scripture...the Faithfully Fit girls should know it...1 Corinthians 10:31.."So whether you eat or drink; or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." They are learning about what it looks like to live "for the King"...I wonder if the subject of being modest will be a part of that? I wonder if I am living my life as an example of what it looks like to live for the King? How do we live "for the King?" Hmmm, sounds like a lesson worth repeating.
I think that the answer is simple....to live for the King, you must be in love with the King. That's right, not just love the King, but be in love with the King.

Let's review. John 3:16 says " For God so LOVED the world that He gave His one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have eternal life." God LOVES you, and me, and Cailee, and Jodie, and the world!  He completes us. I love my husband very much, but does he complete me? Not the way Jesus does... and the best part? Justin is ok with it! Living for the King means to be in love with the King...for He is already in love with us. For God is our "soul mate" and He will love us more than any human on Earth ever could. And a good husband...or boyfriend......will not look to "complete" a girl. He will be a man of great character, who wants to share life together, working for God...for God is his soul mate too!

So, as I pray for my Cailee this week, I will pray that she will learn to do everything, to live, "for the King". That she will fall in love with Jesus and that He alone will make her complete. That she will one day find a mate who is complete in Christ and that they will serve Him together. That she will repeat her love for Christ daily and learn to not repeat mistakes. That she will know - have a heart knowledge - of John 3:16.

As I was walking away towards the jeep, this verse was posted at the exit of the camp...

JOY! I have Joy that Jesus is mine! And I have more Joy that Jesus is available to all!

Donna

Embracing Treasures in the Trash!

Taking out the trash.
Washing the dirty dishes.
Cleaning the grimy kitchen floor.
Dusting away the cobwebs.
Reorganizing the laundry room shoe closet.
Vacuuming up the cat hair.

These are just a few of things that I did yesterday that I know I will do again soon.
Without fail the trash will accumulate again. The clothes will pile into dirty loads again. The kitchen floor will become sticky again. The cobwebs will reappear. The shoe closet will become cluttered with things that are not shoes. And the cat hair will most assuredly accumulate! Why is that cat not bald?

My life and most likely your life are full of things that we must repeat on a daily and weekly basis. I used to spend time getting upset over this. I still catch myself wanting to get upset about these things. And then I do my very best to remember there is Joy in laundry! You heard me right. Joy in the dirty, smelly soccer socks. Joy in the clothes I know my daughter tried on once and then tossed in the dirty pile because she did not want to put them back away. Joy in the three sets of clothes my son wore in one day. The school clothes, the gym clothes, the golf clothes.
There are Joy in each of these repeat tasks when I take time to see the Joy.
The joy in being a wife to a husband who needs clean socks. (I would have said underwear but that's totally embarrassing, right?)
The joy in being the mother of an 18 year old son who will soon be leaving the nest for college and bringing me back his dirty golf shirts. (I just know it; it's what his dad did in college.)
The joy in being a mother to a 16 year old daughter who wants to try on a few things until she finds the outfit that fits that day's mood. (And trust me she is a mini-me so you never know what that mood may be.)
There is joy in the laundry. Every piece that I fold reminds me of blessings God has given me. Precious people he has given me to care for, to love and to cherish. Not to mention a home to keep clean.

So I will embrace the opportunity to do the things that I know will quickly be undone.
I will treasure these things from Proverbs 31:
Having a husband who has confidence in me.
Being able to work with eager hands.
Providing food for my family, even when it is takeout!
Planning my days work and having the strength of a healthy body to work diligently.
Keeping my light on all through the night to be available for whatever need may arise.
Offering help to those in need.
Having peace that my family is protected by the Lord.
Studying the word and sharing it with all!
Knowing that the blessing of embracing the treasures given to me in the things I must repeat far outweigh the bags of trash I will take out, the loads of laundry I will wash and the cobwebs I will clear.

Embrace the Joy in the Laundry!
Jodie

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

We had a student that was volunteering with us once at the physical therapy clinic who kept his head shaved. So, I asked him one day....do you wash your head with soap or shampoo? He looked at me with a look of astonishment and simply stated "Shampoo, of course...twice just like the bottle says...lather, rinse, repeat!" I really liked him and knew that one day he would be a  really good therapist.

But, I had to wonder..why? I don't usually have to repeat unless my hair has gotten really long and then I find it necessary. I was also struggling with the purpose of his repetition. The bottle usually promises "fullness" when you follow the directions, but I would think that hair would be required in order to gain fullness. Things to think about, right? But mainly what does this have to do with anything?

Do you do things in life "just because" the bottle (or someone) says to do it? Or do you make decisions based on the only Instructions that will always hold true? (you know, the BIBLE - basic instructions before leaving Earth) Do you repeat things in life that don't need to be repeated? Or on the other hand, do you not repeat things that should be repeated? Are you seeking God's fullness in your life? Is your cup overflowing?

Well, this summer in Faithfully Fit we will explore the need to REPEAT or the need not to REPEAT. We will explore how we can become full through repetition. We will learn how to pray, praise, study, and repeat! You may hear some music that you have heard before..which is not a bad thing...sometimes we need to hear things over again to get the message. You may hear a repeat of some of our favorite devotions...the instructors are ready and waiting to see what God is going to teach us to teach you! But my prayer is that at the end of the summer, you will have experienced all the fullness that God has to offer...but unlike that shampoo bottle, I promise that God will not disappoint!

 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19

Looking forward to spending the summer with you!

Donna

Faithfully Fit Conference Video 2014

Faithfully Fit was founded on the verse from 1 Corinthians 10:31 - "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." almost 4 years ago. Faithfully Fit continues to try to live out that verse and has had the opportunity to reach out to over 300+ women through weekly exercise classes and through yearly women's conferences. It is our pleasure and joy to share the love of Jesus to all those we meet and we are glad that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" so that we can share a constant in this ever-changing world! Hope you enjoy and feel free to join us whenever you can!

Details, He Knows Your Details!

Details, Details, Details.
We start planning the details of our annual women's conference a year in advance.
It starts with a "light-bulb" moment when we feel God give us direction toward a verse or idea and then it snowballs. We like to attend to every detail.

Months before the conference we felt led to the powerful verse in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever." Months before I felt led to develop a devotion about our cup overflowing. Those two things combined led to a search for over 300 teacups that would be prayed over, sit on my dinning room table for months, filled, wrapped and given with love and joy. Oh, the beautiful details.

God knows details.
He creates each one of us with special details.
Longer ago than I can even fathom he planned our special details.
The very hairs of your head are all numbered ~ Luke 12:7
He knits us together, knows our plans in the days ahead and loves all the details about us.

Details!

He knows our name. He collects of tears.

He hears of prayers.

"The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever."

Psalm 121:8 NLT

Months in advance we plan the details and we pray over what God wants in the details. We assign the tasks and trust the hands of our team to work together to make them all flow together with one hope in mind...that ladies will know His great love!

 

There are details you can see and some you just feel. Each chair has been touched and prayed over. You don't see it, but you feel it somehow. We don't always see God's detailed plan for us but we have faith that there is a plan, a beautiful, detailed plan.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Hebrews 11:1

 

God knows details.

He knows the exact measurements of His creation, the name of every child.

He sees our coming and our goings.

He loves and cares about all the details of our hearts, minds and souls.

So, yes, we plan the details.

We want the package to have the right bag, the tissue and the bow!

 

But not so everything is pretty.

That's nice.

The details are planned to say, "you are special, you are treasured, you are loved".

Details, Details, Details.

One detail is more important than any other.

Do you know the One who created you?

The One who knows the number of hairs on your head?

The One who catches your tears? Hears you cry?

Do you know Jesus loves you and He wants to be yours forever?

Savior that detail!

 

 

Overflowing for the One who knows the details~ Jodie