<blockquote><strong>Joshua 1:9</strong> Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”</blockquote>
God gave this promise to Joshua, just after Moses died and Joshua found himself leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. What a wonderful promise to claim each time you start out on a new stage of motherhood!
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong> Deuteronomy 30:19 &amp;20, 11-16</strong>
This day I call the heavens and the earth
as witnesses that I have set before you
life and death, blessings and curses.
Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
and that you may love the Lord your God,
listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
For the Lord is your life, and
he will give you many years in the land
he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Now what I am commanding you today
is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask,
“Who will ascend into heaven to get it
and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”
Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask,
“Who will cross the sea to get it
and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”
No, the word is very near you;
it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
See, I set before you today life and prosperity,
death and destruction.
For I command you today to love the LORD your God,
to walk in obedience to him,
and to keep his commands, decrees and laws;
then you will live and increase,
and the LORD your God will bless you
in the land you are entering to possess.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;">I love this promise that what God asks me to do is not too difficult, or mysterious. That it is "very near" me, in my mouth and in my heart.</p>

<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Psalm 130: 7 &amp; 8</strong> (paraphrased)
Oh, Debi, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full and complete redemption.
The Lord himself will redeem Debi
from all her sins.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Psalm 103: 8, 10 - 19</strong>
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are made,
he remembers that we are only dust.
But the mercies of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting
for those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember his commandments to do them.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his sovereignty rules over all.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;">I am grateful that</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">(1)God's love for me is as high as the heavens are above the earth and,</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">(2) that He had removed my sins as far as the east is from the west and</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">(3) that He knows that I am only dust and</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">(4) He is sovereign or me and my family</p>

<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong> Phillipians 4:4 - 7</strong>
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentle spirit be evident to all.
The Lord is near.
Be anxious for nothing
but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.</p>
</blockquote>