prayer requests

From time to time I am going to post this image. When you see it, feel free to leave your prayer request in the comment section. If you are not comfortable doing so, please feel free to email me at andreabeam@live.com. It is always good when you can share your requests with others and a lot of times, it reminds me that I am not alone in some of my battles.

I'll go ahead and share one of mine now. I am working very late every night (at home now that I have a new laptop!) preparing my portfolio of writing. I am sending many devotionals to several different magazines in an attempt to get them published. I would GREATLY appreciate your prayers! My hope is that I can eventually write as a full-time job. I have been writing articles/reviews for different Internet companies and making a small amount of extra cash, and while I am thankful for that, my desire is to phase out of the world of education in the (probably distant) future. It's just a goal as of now. Thank you so much for joining me...PLEASE let me know how I can pray for all of you!

We are home from Gatlinburg!! I will not be able to resume posting devotions until after the holidays. We are SUPER busy around our house preparing for Santa and other family functions!

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas so far!

sabbatical

I wanted to let everyone know that I am going on a MUCH NEEDED vacation with my husband and our son! I am soooo very excited! We are going to Gatlinburg until Friday. I will not have my laptop with me and I will not be answering my phone! So, devotions will resume after the holiday break!

So, I hope that everyone has a FABULOUS Christmas!!

DO NOT FEED THE ALLIGATORS!!!

Recently my mom and I took my son to Hilton Head for a long weekend. It was awesome! The weather was beautiful and the ocean was breathtaking, as usual. The condo we stayed in was equally as nice.

I had only one concern while there...

These signs were EVERYWHERE! Literally, they were posted on every corner of the grounds. Apparently, the alligators made their home in every body of water within the resort. Before I go any further, I'll tell you that we did not end up seeing any alligators. Thank goodness!

One afternoon, JP and I went for a walk. He was a little apprehensive about walking around the lake. I explained to him how there was nothing to be afraid of. We just needed to be cautious. I went on to say that the only way we would be attacked by the alligator is if we actually jumped into the water.

How stupid would that be?! With all the signs and warnings, who in the world would do that? (You can probably imagine what God had to say to me at this point!)

As Christians, we DAILY tread alongside Satan's murky waters. They are so filthy, most of the time we are not able to see what lies beneath. We do not need to see...God can! He places signs all around us warning us not to swim. And yet, somehow we are surprised when we are snapped up into the jaws of the reptile!

DO NOT SWIM!

STAY CLEAR OF THE WATER!

DO NOT FEED THE ALLIGATORS!

It would serve us well to pay close attention to the signs! The price of wading in the water with Satan will cost you a lot more than a $10,000 fine!

just because you can't see Him...

"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

John 3:8 (NAS)

I am always amused at how God chooses to speak to me. Could it be that if I spent more consistent time in the Word with Him, He would not have to go to such lengths to get my attention?!

Don't answer that!

My husband went to see the Carolina Panthers play today. (Courtesy of a SWEET friend!) He's not a die-hard fan of the Panthers, but he is a die-hard football fan. So, he was very excited to watch a NFL game live in their stadium. While he was gone, JP and I cleaned around the house a little and helped Nanny put the ornaments on her tree. When we came home, I put him in the bathtub and then we watched the Elf on the Shelf movie for the FIFTEENTH time! I'll admit, I was BARELY listening. I was just enjoying my five year old snuggling in my lap!

For those of you who are not familiar with the Elf on the Shelf, he is an Elf who comes to "live" in your home a few weeks before Christmas. Each night, while you're sleeping, he flies to the North Pole to report to Santa on your behavior. Good or bad. When you wake up each morning, he has moved to another location in your house and you have to find him. It is really cool! There is ONE rule, though. YOU CANNOT TOUCH HIM! He will lose his magic and will not be able to fly! How devastating that would be! Or, at least it would in my house!

In the movie, the older brother is having a hard time believing in Santa. In an attempt to "test" the Elf's powers, he dares him to fly around the room before his finger reaches his hat. Of course the Elf does not move, so the boy knocks him to the ground. You may be asking yourself the same question I did about this time in the movie...Why did the Elf not just fly? Well, after falling, his Elf friends sneak up and return him to the North Pole. Turns out, he had the same argument I did. "Why can I not just fly around the room and show him my powers?! It would be so easy and then Tommy would believe!" He screams in frustration. *This is the good part* The girl Elf looks at him, appalled that he even had to ask, and says, "You know you cannot do that! It is important that people not have to SEE Christmas magic to believe in it. It is something you feel inside your heart. That's when you TRULY believe."

How profound.

To me, God is sort of like that. I shouldn't have to SEE Him to know He's there. Yet, too often, I ask Him to "prove" Himself to me. I want Him to PROVE to me that He's listening. It is easy to believe God exists and loves us when we see Him working around us. It's not until things turn bad, or don't go our way that we question His "magic." I am thankful that God used this cute movie to remind me tonight that just because I may not feel His strong hand or see Him working, it doesn't mean He's not!

Just like the Christmas "magic," I can feel Christ in my heart. That's all I need to know to TRULY believe.

P.S. If you have young children, the Elf on the Shelf is a GREAT investment! He comes in a box with a book to read. It explains the story of the Elf. As a parent, I HIGHLY recommend it!

coming soon.....

Things have been CUH-RAZY at my house this week!! Man, Satan has been working OVERTIME! I have a devotion I want to share with you guys, so be patient with me, please!

I hope everyone is doing well...

re-post

* This is another re-post from my family blog. I thought that it would be an appropriate post here at Christmas time. I wrote this in honor of my cousin, Jonathan.*


We've probably all wondered before what we will see when we get to Heaven. I know I have. Well, I saw a glimpse of it tonight. We had the opportunity to go to the Christmas program at a local church. My uncle is the minister of music and my cousin, Jonathan, was making his drama debut as a Wise Man! We heard through the grapevine that Jonathan was so excited he had trouble sleeping the night before. I had to see this! Jonathan has special needs. He has a hearing impairment and learns differently than most. I don't have enough time to type out how special he is to our family, or all of his challenging abilities. However, what I can tell you is that EVERYTHING Jonathan sets out to do, he does it with excellence! Everything is important to him. Well, tonight was no different.

I was on my way back from the nursery about to take my seat when I saw him standing in the dark hallway awaiting his cue.... It wasn't hard to recognize him even though he was disguised in a beard and sandals. He was the most handsome of the three. No offense to the others! I found my seat just in time to watch the Wise Men make their way down the isle...towards the manger. Jonathan only has full use of his left hand. With that hand, he carried his gift to the Baby Jesus. He completed his mission with pride! He stood on the church platform proudly for more than half an hour with the rest of the cast making us all proud!

I was reminded tonight of how we all look different to God. We all come to Him carrying different gifts. None are the same. I may be blessed enough to carry my gifts with TWO hands, however, when I reach the Throne, all that matters is that I've brought my best. Like any other church Christmas program, I am sure that countless hours went in to the preparation. Some of the participants may have filled in for someone or decided to join at the last minute. Some may have felt obligated to join. I don't know. What I do know is that for Jonathan it was a precious honor that he did not take lightly. He carried his gift to Jesus with his whole heart. Jonathan has traveled a very long and difficult road to get to where he is today. Thankfully, he is oblivious to a lot of what has taken place. He's always just been happy. He loves God and his family. He loves life. I could learn a lot from Jonathan.....

He really is a Wise Man!

out of the mouths of.....smurfs?!

My son and I watched the Smurf Christmas Carol movie this morning. It was pretty cute. Aside from the obvious "cuteness", there was also a very profound lesson in it.

Grouchy smurf hates Christmas. In an attempt to find out where his hatred originated from, he is visited by the infamous three spirits. Christmas past, present and Christmas future.

Grouchy has asked Papa smurf for a hang glider every year. And every year, along with the other smurfs, he receives a new hat. And so begins the bitterness. "I hate Christmas!" Grouchy exclaims as he storms off to his mushroom hut.

Later in the movie, when Grouchy is visited by the ghost of Christmas present, he finds out that Papa smurf makes the smurf hats by hand and has tailored them specifically for each individual smurf. At the end of the movie when Grouchy resumes his yearly duty of hanging the star on the top of the tree, he falls from the ladder. While falling, his hat balloons up and he glides through the air. A hang glider. While it's true that Papa smurf didn't buy Grouchy an actual hang glider, the hat Papa made for him serves the same purpose.

If you watch the movie, you will also see that because he hates Christmas, Grouchy refuses to hang the star on the tree. This causes a ripple effect. Clumsy smurf knocks over the whole tree while trying to hang the star. The tree falls on the power lines and the lights go out in the whole village. My point? It's two-fold. 1) God may not always give us what we ask for, but like Papa smurf, He has uniquely tailored special gifts for each one of his children. 2.) God also has a job for all of us to fulfill. When we do not do our assigned part, it alters His original plan.

The point of me watching this movie with my son was to spend time with him and get into the Christmas spirit. I left having been reminded of a much more valuable lesson. Thank You, Lord, for speaking to me...

...out of the mouths of Smurfs!

mount up with wings like eagles

*The following is a re-post from my jpbeamer blog. I wrote it while I was waiting for my adoption to be over. I was waiting on JP and I was MISERABLE! I wanted to re post it for two reasons. 1) It means so much to me and represents a time in my life that I will never forget. 2) It is appropriate for this time in my life as well. I remember those LONG days of waiting, and at the time I thought it was the most painful thing I would ever go through. Unfortunately, I was wrong.*

There is a reason the Bible refers to eagles so many times. Did you know that during a storm eagles fly straight up in the air until they rise above it? It's not always easy for them. They struggle, but they never stop flying. Their goal is to get through it. How easy would it be for them to hide out somewhere in a tree or something? Avoiding the storm is not an option. With the wings God has given them, they fly right through it.When eagles get sick they fly to the top of a rock. Once there, they lie on their backs, spread their wings and allow the sun to beat down on their chest. The sun drains the poison out of their bodies.

Eagles are very smart birds. According to what I have learned about them, they are definitely smarter than me! The first thing they do when there's trouble is fly straight up. When they are not feeling well, they go straight to the rock. They understand where their energy comes from.I do not always do that. Sure, I know the Source of my power, but I do not always utilize it. I am in the middle of a storm right now and I am having trouble flying. I would rather hide out somewhere until it's over. How can I change this? I should probably start by planting myself on the Rock. While I'm there, I need to stand under the Son with outstretched arms and allow Him to fill me with His strength.That is my prayer for myself and all of my friends who are flying through this storm with me.

We need to find the Rock and place ourselves under the Son!

"..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."
Isaiah 40:31