tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51364754990555007822024-02-20T07:34:26.527-06:00Where is my Abundant Life?Jesus said that he has come to give us life and life more abundantly. Sometimes I wonder, where is that abundant life?Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-62194774414665742732015-02-01T18:59:00.001-06:002015-02-01T18:59:31.818-06:00The Daily Battle
Ever have one of those days that turns into one of those months or even one of those years. It seems like I am in that season. Like everywhere I turn there is opposition, or attack, something else challenging and overwhelming.
It has been this season at my school with my amazing co-workers. People who are working hard everyday, people giving of themselves and doing the right thing, but Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-71162150591070506112013-07-28T17:39:00.000-05:002013-07-28T17:39:11.018-05:00Who But God?
This morning I was sitting
in church between my husband and my son and I was feeling abundantly blessed. I
looked around and thought about how far God had brought us over the past year.
It has been a miraculous journey. As my friend Lainie would say, “Who but God?”
Who but God could take a
divorced mother of three living in Suburban Texas…
Unemployed
On Food Stamps
Giving up on church
Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-4871565980507784322012-07-17T23:53:00.001-05:002012-07-17T23:53:51.423-05:00Psalm 107 - God hears you
So tonight I was reading Psalm 107. I don't think I had read it before because it had no notes in the margins and now it has LOTS. I like to read the Psalms almost every night. My method? You take the date, so today was the 17th and then you keep adding 30 until you run out of Psalms. So tonight I read 17, 47, 77, 107, and 137. Get it? So if you do it consistently for a month then you have read Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-90403520185808548342012-07-16T23:29:00.000-05:002012-07-16T23:29:50.733-05:00God's Favor
God's Favor...this has been on my mind for the last few weeks. Several years ago when I worked at the church, my good friend Lainie Thomas introduced me to this idea of God's Favor. She said to me on several different occasions that she was praying God's Favor for me and my family. If you were to look in my Bible, especially in the book of Psalms, you would see notes by many verses praying Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-20339035046706330992012-07-08T23:27:00.001-05:002012-07-08T23:27:51.128-05:00Me and GaryMy Animoto VideoPam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-80678964315232641402012-06-28T22:00:00.000-05:002012-06-28T22:01:17.021-05:00A different day, a little hope
What a difference a day can make. Yesterday I was struggling and I took time to be with God and just lay it all out there. It one of those times when words fail. When it is just you and God and all you can do is cry out to Him. And friend I must tell you, He met me there. He met me in my despair. He listened to my hurting heart and he understood. And I came away a little different.
Today was aPam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-42934834267371283782012-06-27T23:16:00.002-05:002012-06-27T23:18:40.409-05:00Struggling
I have a confession to make tonight...I am struggling. All the verses that I read this morning were about God's love and His everlasting faithfulness and they were encouraging, but they didn't fill my soul as they normally would.
I am not struggling with God's goodness or faithfulness or His love for me. His blessings and provisions over the past few years still bring me to tears with an Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-49146415960905675182012-05-05T00:20:00.000-05:002012-05-05T00:20:54.840-05:00Who but God?
May. It is already May. I can't believe it. I have not written this entire school year. Life has been so crazy. I have not taken the time to reflect...but tonight is a different story.
It is almost midnight on Friday night. The house is quiet. The kids went to their dad's for the weekend for the first time in months (and that alone has made me grateful), but the big thing is...one week ago I Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-20015311023663900342011-08-22T13:48:00.000-05:002011-08-22T13:48:57.239-05:00A Fresh Start
Today is the 1st day of school, a brand new year. The house is quiet and I am very reflective, on so many things.
I LOVE the beginning of school. Being in education most of my life, as either a student or a teacher, there is something about the beginning of a new school year. No matter what happened in the previous year, the New Year brings a promise of a fresh start. All the bad grades, Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-4279616169962224922011-03-10T23:01:00.000-06:002011-03-10T23:01:01.517-06:00Psalm 40 - a moment of encouragementLess than 48 hours until Spring Break officially begins...my kids are wound up...I am wound up...we are ready for a break and to have some fun. This has been a good week overall...working, school, exercise, church, dinner, laundry...all the things that go into my week. I have been very proud of myself for sticking with my exercise goal...so things are rolling along...until tonight...
I have no Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-14564504450199979402011-03-08T20:32:00.000-06:002011-03-08T20:32:34.193-06:00Conference contestThis is my official entry for the She Speaks conference scholarship
Why I think I need it...for the past five years I have wanted to attend this conference. Last year I registered and then because my life went crazy I could not go...
About me...
My name is Pam West and I am (newly) a single mom of three kids. I have felt called to speak to women's groups and to write for several years. It tookPam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-22000953787643286472011-03-08T20:09:00.000-06:002011-03-08T20:09:47.288-06:00A moment of thankfulnessMost of you know that my life (our lives) took a very crazy turn over the past few years and even months...in the midst of that I can sometimes find myself focusing on my circumstances...
Our finances...as a single mom now, are we going to make it each month? Will I have enough to pay our bills and still buy clothes for the kids? I can easily get overwhelmed by all the responsibilities.
Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-39029465457732998382011-02-13T15:57:00.000-06:002011-02-13T15:57:18.227-06:00Starting over in 20112011...here it is already the middle of February, we are 6 weeks into this year and I am just now writing. 2010 was a very tough year...our life took a turn that I could have never predicted, but that is the way it is with life...uncertain and unpredictable. I was ready to say good-bye to last year and embrace the new...looking forward to all that was ahead in 2011. But it has not been easy Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-44665451547591127592010-10-05T22:05:00.000-05:002010-10-05T22:05:29.820-05:00Being GratefulToday my mind has been on gratefulness...there is so much crazy stuff in my life, my family's life, right now that it is easy to focus on the crazy and miss the blessings. I want to have a grateful spirit. Did you ever see that movie America's Sweethearts? John Cusak's character is focusing on being grateful. He is always closing his eyes saying "I'm grateful for you..."
In one of the Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-51475164252660381122010-09-26T22:54:00.000-05:002010-09-26T22:54:46.910-05:00A Long time awayIt has been a while...I have not written in this blog in so many months...I have been avoiding it, pushing it away like something I didn't want to look at...scared to write my thoughts and lessons...
This blog has always been about my relationship with the Lord and what He has been teaching me about Abundant Life...the problem is that I feel like my life has been anything but abundant...I Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-40533167873795594062010-04-27T20:37:00.001-05:002010-04-27T20:39:05.998-05:00trialsConsider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2 – 3
Today in the great state of Texas is a day that school teachers and students have been dreading all year, it was TAKS test day. This a day that the schools work for…the teaching and preparing and today was the day. Most everyone who Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-86875088537143793302010-04-26T21:26:00.000-05:002010-04-26T21:26:35.379-05:00RestCome to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give your rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
Rest.
Such a simple word with a big meaning. I have been thinking a lot about “rest” in the last few days. I think it is because I do not feel very Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-14339314669684468232010-04-21T10:29:00.001-05:002010-04-21T10:31:54.781-05:00Father of LiesAnybody remember the old Amy Grant Song “Are you Living in an Old Man’s rubble?”
It is an old song and the chorus goes something like this
Are you living in an Old Man’s Rubble?
Are you listening to the Father of Lies?
If you are then you’re headed for trouble
If you listen to long you’ll eventually die.
I don’t know why this song came to my mind this week. I could not get it out of Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-74864008312106898962010-03-28T18:28:00.000-05:002010-03-28T18:28:51.084-05:00God is still GodI’ve been thinking about how God is God because of who He is not because of what He does or what He gives…He is simply God.
Last week my mom told me about the song our choir was going to sing on Sunday. The song is called “He’d still have been God.” The premise of the song is that God would have still been God even if He hadn’t done all of those wonderful things that we read about in our BiblePam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-7235010878956286132010-02-28T00:53:00.000-06:002010-02-28T00:53:33.435-06:00All things newOne of my new favorite songs talks about God making all things new. This topic keeps coming up over and over during the past few days and just now it was in my Bible reading in Psalms. I was thinking about it and I turned off the light and it occurred to me to think about the phrase in a different way...
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul says that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, God can makePam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-56734665518100606222010-02-23T23:04:00.000-06:002010-02-23T23:04:57.100-06:00Are you all in??This is a question I heard this week about the Christian life. Chip Ingram was speaking and he was comparing life to a game of poker. The game just goes along fairly uneventful until someone looks at their cards and then puts them down and says "I am all in" and pushes ALL of their chips into the game. That is when the game takes an exciting turn. Everything is at stake...all the chips are on thePam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-63489630186362152642010-02-21T14:55:00.000-06:002010-02-21T14:55:48.752-06:00Finally posting in 2010Well, I am finally posting in 2010. My plan was to post at least once a week, and here it is almost the end of February and I am finally posting something. 2010 has been good so far. I have really been praying that this will be a year of God's favor and so far it has been. He gave me a couple of verses in Psalms at the very beginning of the year and I feel like these are my verses for this year.&Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-29602379620741416202009-12-31T16:18:00.000-06:002009-12-31T16:18:11.478-06:002009So it is the end of 2009 and everyone is in a thoughtful mood...thinking back over the past year and trying to set goals or dreams for the next year. I also, wanted to take a minute to look back over the past year.
2009 started as a year of challenges...last year at this time, Steve was in the midst of his depression. He hardly remember any of the holidays from last year. He was in a dark placePam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-43154277521527071042009-12-29T01:06:00.000-06:002009-12-29T01:06:49.993-06:00Late night during Christmas BreakIt is late at night and my family is all asleep. I am on a crazy schedule where I am staying up late and sleeping late. It is fine for now, but soon I will have to get back to school. I have not written in my blog lately. It seems like when I get busy with my everyday life, I don't have time to stop and put down my thoughts. But tonight I am doing a lot of thinking. I have been in a Melancholy Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136475499055500782.post-61060856850044146462009-10-17T21:51:00.000-05:002009-10-17T21:52:43.205-05:00about being a ChristianDo you ever get asked if you are a Christian? I was asked that this week and I said yes, but in mind I wanted to say much more. I wanted to say something like yes, I am really a Christian. I don’t mean super Christian, but I wanted this person to know that I am not just a casual Christian. I somehow wanted to identify myself as someone who truly loved Jesus and was trying to raise my family in Pam Armoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05263775411771401493noreply@blogger.com1