Today....

Today, I'm cleaning my house

Today, my feelings are following my spirit

Today, Noah and I are going for a bikeride

Today, my sister has taken Faith for the day

Today, I'm going to water my grass for the first time this season

Today, I'm thankful for exactly the way God made my husband

Today, I want to embrace all that he can offer me and be mindful of how he completes me

Today, I am praying for a dear friend that is on my heart

Today, I want to be all that God has created to be!!!

The word talks ALLOT about "today" God knows that anything outside of today is out of our power. Today is our only hope....


What are you doing today???

Time to try some thing new and plant some corn!

Growing up, we never had a yard. We always lived in apartments, town houses and such. Our grass was always freshly mowed and walks shoveled. When Joe and I got married, we rented a duplex for the first year or two. Or yard was......pittiful. I had no idea where to start....
Our second home was also a duplex and we got a little more ambitious! I planted a 3 by 3 foot garden LOL
I planted, watched it grow, looked at the weeds that grew in the midst of it, then it all died in the fall without me touching it for the whole time.
The next year I planted about 3 strawberry plants and probably ate only 3 or 4 actual berries!
Then we moved to where we are now. What a nice yard! So I decided to officially start "gardening". My next one was still pitiful, but we ate at least some carrots, peas and some onions. The weeds were taller than the veggies....
3 years after that, I am feeling alot more confident in what I'm doing. I'm excited to start composting this year, and expect a great harvest.
This makes me think of actually walking with Jesus.
You learn by DOING.
You just keep trying and trying again.
Each year you push yourself into new and intimidating things you have learned but have never tried.
My sister said I should start a corn field. (which is funny becuase my "corn field" would consist of one row of corn. She said that then my kids could go and play in the "corn field"......
I just imagined them running through the one row......LOL
The other thing about this is our attitude.

It's important that we don't get overwhelmed with these new things and don't beat ourselves up when we don't do it like someone whose been doing it for 20 years!
It really takes time to master, but God doesn't care about mastering as much as our hearts and efforts to pushing through.

That's it for today
Blessings

Night out for the girls

I got to go out with Crystal last night for a coffee.....but she had a coke....
It was nice to just be alone with her without any kids. She tried humus with me which I was very proud of her for!!
Her daughter babysat for me and was great. After our coffee/coke, me and her and her daughter sat and talked till 11:30!! They are great people.....
I will post pics of the passover as soon as i can get them off the camera!!
Toodles...

Passover

Tonight my family and extended family is celebrating passover. It's such a neat time to fellowship, eat and remember God's wonders. Although, I don't know in depth much about it, I still am so blessed to take in and soak in the ceremony of it all. The whole family has a part from the youngest to the oldest. We go through the exodus story where God sent the 10 plagues to free His chosen people. My kids and I colored all 10 plagues. We even looked up images of lice on the net....they were so glad that they weren't egyptian!! Each year I notice a little more soak into each of my kids. Noah has really grown spiritually in the last few months. I'm so proud of him.

I got to make Matzo ball soup!!! YUMMY! There's games for the kids, treats, and a seder plate to pass around with items on there to remind us of salvery and freedom! I can't wait. Each year I take in new depths of it and can't wait to hear what God will say to me this year! Post pics later....

Our house is almost clean!!.......GROAN.......The kitchen is a bomb, and I'm tired....
I got all the winter stuff put away. That's a load off.
Ate kraft dinner for lunch......feel sick
I'm getting a composter this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Super excited to make rotten stuff turn into nutrients!!!

Um, we watched "fun with dick and jane" last night.....it sucked. I love jim carrey and he had his moments, but over all, i wasn't impressed....

I've eaten a ton of choclate eggs this week, gotta stop that!
Well,
hE HAS RISEN, HE HAS RISEN INDEED!!!!!
WE SERVE AND VERY ALIVE LORD AND SAVIOR

No time to blog

sorry readers, my life has picked up dramatically. I barely have enough time to check my email!

I hope you still check in from time to time to see if I do post something......
It's swimming day today, so were off to splash in the pool and do the waterslide!

blessings to everyone

Praise God for His wrath!!!

This sunday, Kelly shared his heart on repentance. The joy that the Lord gives us new mercies every morning. Although we don't like to think about this part, God's wrath is also there and it is coming.

God's wrath is just another amazing quality that my God has! Our God is so loving that He is going to bring justice to all the wrong doings someday. I hear allot of people say that they don't want to believe in God because He allows bad things to happen to good people. They say that there is too much suffering in the world and that if He were God, He wouldn't allow that to happen.
As time passes in this world, we are given a gift.....free choice.
Without free will, there is no love. Without any choice, there would be no way to chose to offer peace, love, acceptance, forgiveness, joy. What a gift that God has given us. Through my free will, I am able to give Joe a huge squeeze to show I love him. I can chose to phone a friend when she's in need. And others can chose out of their own choice to show me how much they care for me.
Of course, with this gift, some people (actually ALL people, the bible says that all have fallen short of doing right) abuse this from one time to another. We use this precious gift to hurt one another, to fill our needs instead of others. Most of us have good intentions, but some do not.
Those that have been making bad choices for many years, have allowed their conscience to be seared (Hebrews 12) Once they have hardened their heart, these people can hurt alot of people.

God loves us so much that He will one day bring justice to all the wrong. That makes me feel secure and safe. There's a part of me too, that wants to make sure I'm in line so that I am not in the path of His wrath. You know what I love about all this? I love that I don't have to be the judge. It's hard being a judge! Let me tell you!!! Trying to break up my kids's fights and trying to bring them justice is very hard! Cause I wasn't there to witness it half the time! I'm only human. And I know that allot of times, I do not bring my children proper justice. But God sees all! He knows all and HAS PERFECT LOVE!! HE IS PERFECT! So I feel so incredibly safe to know that a PERFECT GOD will one day bring perfect justice! Now that's a load off my back!
When my neighbour harrases my guests for parking in front of her house, it's not for me to judge her.....it's my job to love her and let God do the judging.
When someone cuts me off,
When someone gossips about me
When someone backs out of a commitment on me
When someone steals from me
When someone smashes in my window.........
God will judge....and I don't have to

I was reading in Psalm 94 today. It's a psalm full of truth that God will pay back our enemies someday. and in the middle of the passage it says, Blessed is the man who God disciplines, for when trouble comes, he will be will find rest.

So there is always that choice.
Do we recieve His discipline.. and allow it to change us....which is for our own good and cause He loves us?
Or ingore His commands and pay for it later?
I think I'd rather have rest when trouble comes than strife and have Him take me out for hurting people.

God's laws are there for one reason only......
To love one another!!!
that's it!
And when you break those laws....you are for surely hurting someone, which will in turn ask for justice.
The beauty of having Jesus as my Lord and savior is that I recieve forgiveness through the price He payed on my behalf. He recieved the nails that should have been nailed through MY hands! And now through God's PERFECT plan of salvation...
He can turn all things to good....even my mistakes.

What an awesome God we serve!!

Joe has something to share

Please read the heart of my hubby....
It is beautiful

"A tribute to a Godly man"

Blue skies

I am need of some blue skies.
I've had a tough week.

Making some choices based out of fear. Fear that I won't be loved, that I'm not loved....
All those stupid lies.

I need to refocus. ALL ON JESUS
And when that happens, all is well. My spirit can rest.

On days of gray
When doubt clouds my view
It’s so hard to see past my fears
My strength seems to fade
And it’s all I can do
To hold on, ’til the light reappears
Still, I believe though some rain’s bound to fall
That you’re here next to me
And you’re over it all





Lord, the sky’s still blue
For my hope is in you
You’re my joy
You’re the dream that’s still alive
Like the wind at my back
And the sun on my face
You are life
You’re grace
You are blue skies
You’re my blue skies
When nights are long
Seems the dark has no end
For waiting beyond
Where the morning begins
Is the dawn, and you’re mercy anew
Oh, to believe we’re alive in you’re love
There is so much to see
If we keep looking up

Some pics for fun.....enjoy

My dad giving us some lovins....awwwww





This is our church 5 years ago. It's still as awesome as ever!






This is Isaiah when she was 1 year old! She had the most beautiful eyes....still does of course!




Noah trying to choke my sister!




This perticular day, I decided that it would be fun to unravel 3 rolls of toilet paper (double rolls) And have the kids play in it.....it was a blast.



Isaiah and Jonah on our swim day. I wonder what kind of relationship they will have as adults???




My sister having a moment......LOL




We forgot to bring Noah's bathing suit, so he had to swim in his gitchies!




My Amazing friend, support, laughing buddie, pilates partner, lighthouse forever!


Faithfulness with her first ponytail.




Playdate with Chancelle. She comes over to help me sometimes. She's great!



Another toilet paper shot......Glad that's all done.

Blessings!

blah blah

Have you ever said any of these things?

God has opened my eyes to some things. Even tho, we are continually learning....and sometimes, we RElearn the same thing over and over. That same thing, could be learned in many different ways, with different circumstances in our lives.

Even tho these things are serious, and commanded of us.....
Our God still has a great sense of humor and has made me chuckle over the nature of mankind!

Have you ever found yourself saying any of the following?
(I have reworded it, so that you can obviously see the irony)


"I can't believe you didn't forgive me for that! What more can I do? I've said I'm sorry, I'm only human, you need to have more mercy in your life!!! I don't think I can forgive you for not forgiving me....it just hurts too much!"

"HELLO......(talking to drivers on the road) You're cutting everyone off! Your going to cause an accident! You could certainly learn some patience!!!"

"Oh yeah, use some sarcasm.....that will really be useful!!"

"Why don't you listen to me, I mean I'm with the kids all day and I have no adults to talk to and it's so busy and I get really overwhelmed.....blah blah blah.....How come you don't spend time listening to me....it's not like I ask for much, just a lending ear.... I mean, You have no idea what I put up with during the day and you just don't listen....blah blah blah"(Did it ever occur to you that you aren't listening????)

"You are being so judgemental! I can't believe that in your heart, you are thinking these things! How can you be like that!???"

"KIDS!!!!COULD YOU PLEASE STOP YELLING!!! YOU'RE BEING TOOOO LOUD!!"


The only reason I can quote these is becuase I've said them all....I'm sure God is going to point out more as I'm watching for them. Just thought I would share that with y'all.

whole hearted

Life’s ambition occupies my time
Priorities confuse the mind
Happiness one step behind
This inner peace I’ve yet to find

Rivers flow into the sea
Yet even the sea is not so full of me
If I’m not blind why can’t I see
That a circle can’t fit
Where a square should be

There’s a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
And this hole in my heart
Can’t be filled with the things I do

Hole hearted
Hole hearted

This heart of stone is where I hide
These feet of clay kept warm inside
Day by day less satisfied
Not fade away before I die





That's a song by Extreme. It was done in 1990. What powerful words. They echo in my heart and spirit today.
God water the hole in my heart.




I am now
whole hearted
whole hearted

Joe's day off

We've had a great day.

First we all layed around in bed together. Then Joe made french toast. THe kids ate 12 pieces! I can't imagine when they are teens, and I thought we were broke now! We dropped off baby faither at Joe's sister's so that we could all go tobaggaining. Joe and I went down together and he landed on me.....figures....

Now he's going to work for the evening and I am going to go on my cross trainer, do my pilates. Plan some school work, and vacuum my house.

God is good.

My God

What do I say....

I think to when God met me.
In my little room in drug rehab.
Sitting on my bed crying. nowhere to turn.
He met me through a small bible in Psalm 121. His love FLOODED into my soul. It opened up a whole new world I never knew. A world of hope, peace, forgiveness and joy.



What if I were deaf and blind, what if I were mute
what if I could play the music, couldn't sing the tune
I guess I'd sit beside the palace gates
Hear the rumble of the church brigade
and have only my love to offer You.....

These lyrics go through my head all day for many days now....

God's uncondtional love is unmeasureable.
It's invaluable
It's unfathomable
It's overwhelming
It's my source of life

To live a life of worship is my only response to all that He is

Those are my thoughts today!!

I have to try this!

Okay janelle had this post where she just wrote all the interesting things about herself. and it looked like alot of fun and it was totally fun reading it!

Okay where do I start....

I told my sister to rollerskate down the basement stairs. We had a macaroni fight while our parents were at work when we were little. I love giving birth. The last baby, I even asked for a mirrior to see faith come out! My kids are supposed to be doing their "chore packs" right now. I am really good at drawing cartoons. I used to throw up before parties when I was a teen because I was so excited. I ran away when I was 12. I gave my mom a ton of gray hair, I made my dad loose his hair. My sister made the rest of mom's hair gray and the last strands of hair on my dad fall out.

I love dancing hip hop. I dance in front of my kids all the time. I used a pretend microphone as a kid. I bite my nails and the skin around it. when I paint my nails, I bite the polish off and spit it out. I am studying about laziness and being a Godly wife right now. My favorite movies are Labrinth, Italian job, Uncle Buck, signs and many more. I used to fold all underwear until the 3rd child. I usually can't eat anything unless it has a spicy kick to it. I absolutly love doing pilates! I can't stand changing other people's kids diapers, but my own can be as stinky as can be and I'm cool with that. My worst favorite chore is cleaning the bathroom. I LOVE rainbows! I will stay up at any hour to see a storm blow in, even if that means standing out in the hail and wind.

I was super good at Tae kwon do. I won the national championships in my belt level. I was a speed swimmer with the lasers. The best thing to do in the summer is get to some water, swim and watch your skin turn color. I slept in my closet when I was 13 for a whole month. I pierced my nose with my mom when I was 15. I pierced my belly button twice with a safety pin. I hated school. Homeschooling is my passion. I married my highschool sweetheart. I was the only married student in my highschool. I was in drug rehab twice. I absoulty love the movie "prince of egypt". I can't stand Teletubbies. I LOVE my church family.

My dad tried to spank me when I was 16! My mom stood on a chair while we flapped all around yelling at us to stop. LOL My mom broke her pinky finger on my head. I have the bestest parents ever!! They taught me how to have fun, to laugh and stay close! We always laugh about all we did. I love the book "every women's battle" I am careful to keep good boundries around our marriage to keep it safe. I twisted my knee off one time while I was doing the "carlton dance" and I hobbled to the doctors hanging off my sisters shoulder! She laughed uncontrolably at my pain. She also laughed her face off when I slammed my toe in the door(to which I still have no feeling in since December!) I left my 2 year old in minus forty weather one block away from Idlyld all alone and I drove away!

I love gardening! Still learning! I don't know if I want more kids. Some days I do, some days I DO NOT! I used to wear hippie dresses with combat boots. My parents had to hide those boots in the oven to keep me from running away. I have learned alot from the 12 step program. I love cooking. One time I cooked a whole turkey with an SOS pad at the bottom of the roaster. I secretly phoned the poison control center before feeding the turkey to my guests. After dinner I told them that the turkey was cooked with an SOS pad! I left a pan of brownies in the oven for 3 and half hours on christmas eve. when we got home from the candle light service, it was a big black brick!

I would always burn my head with my curling iron as a teen. I would wear my dad's clothes and shoes to school. I am a die hard Super Nintendo fan (the old kind) Mc kids, Super mario kart, mortal combat are my fav games. My mom used to sew our sheets to the matress every week! I used to have pet grasshoppers as a kid and take care of them. One time, I lost one and my whole family went out to look for "hoppy" for an hour! I had one job my whole life and got fired for stealing. My hubby got hired on at Sasktel!

I love/don't love how God doesn't tell us what's next! The word of God is the manual and source of life for all things!!!! Get to know Jesus, Life won't be so lonely and hopeless!! Without my fellow travellers in this journey with God, I would be lost!!!! I love how God designed us to sharpen eachother! I love/ don't love correction. I always thank God after being disciplined. I grieve for hurting marriages. I have a heart for those in bondage to overeating and eating disorders. I have a passionate hate towards sexual immorality. not for the person, but the sin.

I love blogging, sledding, swimming, exersicing, movies, eating out, hanging out with the best of friends, talking about the important things in life, and all of YOU!

How's that for useless information!!!

Well, that's it for now.

Guess who came over today?

So, I did get a chance to go to Superstore today and went through Crystal's lane!
So as I'm going through her lane, she says to me, "hey , I'm off in 15 minutes, wanna hang out??" So she got to come over to my house and meet all my family and I was so priveldged to meet her. She is soooo beautiful! Oh my goodness! We are going to get together again soon. Isn't that the coolest how God puts us together!?
Tanya phoned me too the other day and blessed my socks off! All the way from BC and she called me! I really wonder what God has up his sleeve for all these divine appointments~

Can't wait to meet the rest of you. We've all been connected for a reason and maybe the reason will unfold sooner than we think!
STay in touch yall!
Love you lots,
Sarah

a word of caution

I really feel led to just share what God's been teaching me.

God has torn the curtain in 2! HALLELUIA! He has chosen to live right inside of us. We have now become His temple. Our heart soul and body is His home. More and more God opens my eyes to show me the significance of taking care of HIS temple. Of being a good steward of what He has given me. All these years, I had it all wrong!!
I had it ALL BACKWARDS!
In our society, Satan has brainwashed us to a dangerous spot! Teens are getting sick and even dying from eating disorders! Wives have extremely low self esteem and depressed beacuse they are not air brushed by a computer. Everywhere we turn there is pressure to look like models, have wash board abs and not a single wrinkle, spot or stretch mark! (well, since most of us chose to have kids.....there's no hope for us ever having a normal stomach again!!!)

Who are we???????...................
Yes, yes, I know, we are children of God.....we are co heirs with Christ, we are the light of the world, we are being renewed day by day......yeah yeah yeah.....I know all that.........

No, but seriously......
Satan and OUR OWN EVIL DESIRES, are totally side tracking us. We are losing our focus. I see many many sisters around me jumping on the wagon to lose weight! AND THAT'S GREAT!
But I need to ask WHY?
To take care of your temple, or to boost our self image?
To honor God in obedience, or to look like the cover of a magazine?
To have no other gods before Him, or to feel like your "worth something" ?
Believe me people, I have to ask myself these questions everyday. I still have episodes of binging and purging. (they are becoming very few and farther between) but I just want you to know, I'm not perfect in this. I just want all us girls to stop and think for a second WHERE IS OUR HEARTS? WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVES?
I believe that when James said, "you don't get what you want because you will spend what you get on your OWN PLEASURES" It totally relates to us all going after weight loss.
Taking care of our temples is extremely spiritual! The more I get in shape, the more I under stand how I am a vessel. How I need strength and endurance for the work He has prepared IN ADVANCE for me to do. It was alot harder for me to serve God when I was out of breath and tired all the time. When I was always thinking of the next meal and not on God's work.

If you are on a journey to lose weight....please, I encourage you to go after God and change your heart. I know that if I don't fix my insides, my outsides will go right back to where I came from. I posted some pics in my last post to show you a PIECE of fruit. Not THE fruit.
I am of course telling all this to myself again......
I need to keep my eyes fixed on the author and perfector of my faith.
Otherwise, I'm toast.
God is moving. I see a call to greater strength and endurance. A call to purity of heart where God is all we need. Let's embrace it together and not let the enemy use our own weaknesses against us.

I love all of you! Tanya, crystal, jannelle, kim, tina, jenny..... and all my hopers! I love having you all in my life! Your encouragement means so much to me.!!!

He is able to do more than we could ever think or imagine!

God is so cool becuase He always has greater plans than our own little minds could ever think of.

His plans go way beyond our faith, go way beyond our imaginations! Whenever He does something, I am in shock, in awe, and can't help but to worship Him more! There are tons of things around me that I could share as an example, but I will share this one today.

When I started my weight loss journey, first of all, I never dreamed that I would get to where He's brought me! I honestly thought that I would of failed. That by now, I'd be back to where I was, even more over weight. I had many doubts. To jump off that cliff was defintily super hard. To trust that God had better plans for me, to trust that He would catch me, to trust that Through Him I can DO ALL THINGS>>>>>



I was looking in my head to loose about 20 pounds. I could live with that. I was going to settle. Along my weight loss journey, I've been tempted to just stop and be satisfied with where I was. But God goes all the way! Never stopping, never sleeping, until it's all done...TO COMPLETION!

42 pounds later, and I'm still called to go to the end. In order for me to be in a healthy range, I still have 8 more pounds to go. Form my perspective....I'M ONLY 8 POUNDS OVERWEIGHT!!!????? THAT'S NOTHING! I could surely live with that!!! But not God. He's into renovations. When He movers into a heart, He doesn't stop remoldeling until it's done!

The jewel in all of this is this: Last summer, I packed away my summer clothes. I was 6 weeks into my weightloss journey. I packed away pants and shorts that were way too small for me. I was filled with hope that when I go into the box next summer, that these things will fit! Well, 2 nights ago, I was looking for a pair of shorts to workout in, and had to go into this box of summer clothes to find a pair......
ALL THE PANTS, SHORTS AND TOPS ARE TOO BIG!!!! EVEN A PAIR THAT I'VE BEEN DYING TO GET IN FOR 6 YEARS!! I just kept thinking and praising God that He takes us all the way into the promised land. We have to remember that as humans we think that we could just settle on the horizon over looking the land flowing with milk and honey, but God has said THAT HE GAVE US THIS LAND TO POSSESS!! Let's go people, let not just over look to promised land with binoculars!! Let's not think that the grass is green enough on the out skirts! Let's go people..... it's been prepared for us in advance! Move our camp where it belongs!!!!

I'm just so excited of the truths of this example and many others that surround me. This has NOTHING to do with weight or me getting skinny. This is a heart transplant. without God I would be exactly where I was! Without the grace, without the power, without His love, Nothing is possible. I know full well, that it's only through Him that i've been able to get this far! I've been overweight it seems like my whole life. And not only that, but in bondage to bulemia since I was 12 years old!!!!! I've longed for this day....I've longed sooooo badly for the day that I could say that I've been set free. I would dream of the day that I could testify freedom and victory......

BUT I HAD TO SUBMIT FIRST. I HAD TO OBEY. I HAD TO BE VULNERABLE I HAD TO BE HUMBLE
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY I HAVE TO STAY ALL THOSE THINGS TO KEEP GOING.
I need Jesus more today than I did yesterday!

But yes, I can say now with an amazing joy and thankfulness that I am free.....free for today......if i so choose!!!!
Tomorrow, I again will have to choose freedom.....
and the next day and the next......

and in 10 years from now, the bondage of gluttony and bulemia will be a distant memory!!!

THINK BIG BECAUSE GOD DOES!

WHIZZING BY

Well, life is whiZZing by....but we aren't missing a thing!!!

Ever since Joe and I closed the business, God has been working double time to get His kingdom on the go through us.

Marriage is amazing! Hard.....but amazing!

Parenting is so rewarding! Extremely frustrating and challenging.....but rewarding!

The unknown of our future is exciting! Scary.....but exciting!

The bible says that God never slumbers or sleeps. My sister, living forgivin said the other day that as soon as God gets you through one thing and you sit down for a little rest, He's pulling you up for another round!!!
Yep, that's our God. When He knows that we know the power of walking in His grace....He gives you a workout!

That's how we feel. It's go go go....but not in the sense that we are running to and fro....but in our hearts, in our home, in our attitudes, we are being renewed day by day....with real purpose.

there's so much more. truths that are changing our lives each day.
Joe has his second interview with sasktel. Whatever the outcome, I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT GOD'S PLAN IS WHAT"S BEST AND HE"S WATCHING OVER US!
Tha's about it for now, gotta go

PLEASE COME TO THE CONCERT OF THE HEART THIS FRIDAY AT 7:30 AT HOPE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH. iT'S GOING TO BE GREAT!

Gotta check out these posts!

My husband is writting some amazing things about fellowship. Check out his latest posts on it.
"the company you keep"
"Covenant friendship"

Yo

Okay, since I've procrastinated on blogging for so long....I have to somehow share what's up without writing a book....

The post that I wrote on forgiveness is continuing to bear fruit. It is a daily choice, but since I made the step of obeDIEnce, God's has taken the burden and made it light on me.

Moving forward......moving into dreams.....moving past the fears.....moving into His destiny for us. These are the themes of our home.
Joe is increasingly taking more and more as leader in our family. I sit back in awe and in shock at times at how he's taking the reigns and saying, "okay family.....LET"S GO! Follow me...."

Our God is pretty smart at growing His kids. One way He trains us is NOT GIVING OR SHOWING US THE WHOLE PICTURE. He does that on purpose. If we knew all the answers, all the why's and howcome's.....we would never need faith. Trusting Him that His plans our for good gets easier and easier. The more and more our eyes see His unfailing faithfulness, and the more we choose to walk in that.....the more we bear fruit.
God keeps us on our toes with new training ground tests. In our home, marriage and in the safety of our church family. When we are earnestly seeking him, there's never a dull moment. Survival mode is NOT AN OPTION people!
Yesterday, I was spending time with God and I was remembering the "pretty white dress" song and dance. The song is based from Romans 8:1 "there is now no condemnation for those in Christ" (For those of you who don't know, "pretty white dress" is a song that livin forgiven, my sister wrote when she was first saved. During a concert of the heart at our church, I danced out the song in a white dress.)
When we did that song 4 years ago, it was a real eye opener to have that freedom that we don't have to feel like we are stained all the time, that Jesus really paid the debt and we really are free. But I'm realizing more and in more depth that the freedom he gave us was so that we could be empowered, confident and bold to go and make disciples!!! Not just so that we would feel good. Walking in purpose.....

My journey with food continues. I have lost a total of 37 pounds and have about 13 left to go. This journey never ceases to amaze me how many paralell's there are in our walk with God. The more I walk down this road, the more He shows me that it really has nothing to do with weight and body image at all. It's all in my obeDIEnce to him. it's all in showing him that I TRUST Him. it's all in staying commited. His word says that He will carry on the work to COMPLETION. The enemy has trying to tell me that it's good enough. You've gone far enough now. You're only 13 pounds overweight...no big deal. At least you're not of breath all the time...at least you're a size 12 and you were a 18....on and on it goes.
I'm not going down to my goal weight for my benifit, for me (even tho, all the fruit that comes from it is sure a blessing!)....I'm going all the way because God wants to show somehting here. He wants to be glorified, He wants people to see all he can do with a willing and obedient heart. He wants to fufill His promises through us! And Him doing things to the very end is His business.
I haven't at all done this perfectly. We will never do the walk perfectly. He knows that! There's a difference between rebellion and humility. I NEED Jesus every moment. And the second I think I can do it without him, I fall flat. We decieve ourselves sooooo sooo easily. The word says that He turns all things to good to those who love Him. I am starting to learn that it's not about the sin, it's about the needing Him. It's not about perfection, it's about direction. It's not about our power, but about His power through us. It's not about being strong, but weak.....

I NEED HIM and the closer I get to him, THE MORE I REALIZE I NEED HIM!

Well, that's it for now.
blessings!

fun stuff

Well, lighthouse forever and I went cross country skiing on Monday.....
That was such a hoot!
We fell over a million times! I'm sure the next people to take the path we did, won't know where the path is! Did I ever laugh!!!! The first half of our trip we mostly just screamed and fell. And then on the way pack we laughed at the spots in the snow where we had fallen. Big bum marks in the snow...... I think lighthouse was thinking of writting a post on all the paralells in our spiritual walk compared to cross country skiing....so watch for that.

Meet the newest member of our family

Jack Waldherr.

Getting ready for christmas, the anticipation is rising.

Lots in my heart and head that Icould write about....no time.....
Caleb's in the tub....still sleeping.....need to go get him out.
Chicken in oven.....possibly burning......
I can hear Isaiah in the kitchen upstairs.....probably getting into to gingerbread candy (as it is we have to go out and buy more candy for the gbread house casue people keep eating the decorations!
someone's here!.....
gotta go

Forgive

Just so that you know right off the bat, this one sounds really "preachy"....But I'm totally preaching to myself!!!

Monday, I have full faith that my character was watered and grown. I am really coming to see that it's in the crunch that your choices matter the most.

I was hurt.....badly.....Over a long period of time, I was taken advantage of, betrayed, lied to, and violated. The time came for me to make a choice. In the very core of hurt, anger, resentment and intense feelings, I had to make a choice. It was a life or death situation.

Please hear my heart. IN THE MIDST OF PAIN AND SUFFERING.....I STILL HAD TO MAKE THAT CHOICE.....TO FORGIVE.

I kept asking myself, "have I forgiven this person?" "what does forgiveness look like?" How do I find life in abundance in the MIDST of this pain????"
HOW DO I DO THIS!!??? GOD HELP!!!!!

He is faithful to pour lavishly wisdom and understanding, grace and mercy to all the broken places. ONLY BY HIS GRACE, I was able to chose to forgive. For me, this was a real milstone in my walk. I want to rememeber this moment for future encouragement...cause I will get hurt again. I will have to walk in forgiveness I'm sure many more times in my life.

God taught me alot through this trial about forgiveness.

1. The number one reason that we need to forgive is that it is commanded of us. It's not an option, it is a MUST. Nowhere in the word is there talk about you licking your wounds first...and THEN forgive.
In Luke 17 Jesus says that if your brother sins against you 7 times in a day (that means over and over and over in our language) and if that brother repents 7 times, FORGIVE HIM! Laying down our rights, dying to our hurts. Be that dead body that if you get pricked with million needles, nothing hurts.

2. There are several places in the word of God that Jesus says that "if you do not forgive those that sin against you, then my Father in heaven will not forgive your sins". He even tells a whole parable on this in Matthew 18. The parable of the unmerciful servant.

God has forgiven SO MUCH CRAP from us. Not only all the crap that we are AWARE OF, but all the crap we are UNAWARE OF....which is proabably...if you are a human....pretty bad....
It doesn't stop there, Not only all the crap aware and unaware......but all the crap that we haven't even done yet!!!!
Chew on that thought for a second....
Think of all the scripture that talks about His faithfulness to forgive us.


"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you" Ps 86:5

"He forgives all you sins and heals all your diseases. Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. Who satisfies your desires with good things sot hat your youth is renewed like the eagle's" Ps 103

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You don not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us, you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities in to the depth of the sea. " Micah 7:18-20

"As far as the east is from the west...(which a neverending gap)...that's how far, He has removed our transgressions from us."
"When we were overwhelmed with sin, you forgave our transgressions." Ps 65:3

They are endless. The whole bible has the unlying message of forgivness so that we may be reconciled to God.....

3.We need to forgive for our own good and for the good of the offender. The bible says that if we hold resentments and unforgiveness in our hearts, we are actually throwing that person in a prison cell. They are held captive until you let him go.
The word also says that holding on to bitterness and unforgiveness will make us sick and weak in our bones.

So after all that, do you still feel like holding on to unforgiveness?
Sometimes, all that truth still doesn't matter. The spirit was speaking to me all these freeing truths and I couldn't hear. I was sooo hurt!
That's how I felt on Monday. It was so hard to push all my hurt aside for a second. My hurt was so intense that I couldn't even see the truth of these scriptures. The mercy of God was clouded by my flesh. But I know God well enough to know that when He tells us to do something.....there is resurection on the other end. Obedience is always followed by peace. So by His power, I chose to verbally forgive and in prayer let this person go from my prison.
It still hurt. I thought that forgiveness meant that you no longer felt pain. But first is the action, then is followed by the fruit. I was waiting for the fruit before even planting the seed!

I also used to think that once you forgive, you never have to look at it again. It's done, over finished. But forgiveness is a moment by moment choice. I can chose right now to get all worked up about all those offenses again. I can easily take myself back to where I started from. And the next time that person crossed my path, I could easily put them back in my jail and hold them for abusing me.
But I want life for me and this person. So the next time "the accuser" comes to remind me of this person's past. I will take that thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I will rememeber all the Christ has done for my crap and walk in forgiveness.
I looked up in the dictionary a few months ago the word: CAPTIVE . I was curious of this verse. Sarah inturpreted goes like this,
"Every false thought, false claim, something not real, a joke must be taken captive, imprisoned, by force to MAKE it obey Christ."

I noticed that I didn't even mention the other person's reaction in this post at all. I've heard by others and certainly myself,
"Well, if the OTHER person is sorry for what they did, then,.....maybe......then.....I could forgive....."
"if the other person got down on their knees and actually cried or something, or SHOWED me that they were sorry.....like they have to PROVE it to me..... before I could even consider"
"I would have to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that person would never do it again! Well, for pete's sake, it would even be stupid for me to forgive again, just so that I would get hurt again! That wouldn't even be wise! I have to protect myself".......

Well, what if I told you that this person did say sorry like a million times?
What if I told you that this person wept out of sorrow? Then you would think it would be easy then?
No it wasn't. There will be times when the person won't be sorry and other where they will...But that doesn't matter.... the choice is still with you.....deciding to put yourself aside and walk in forgiveness.....

Well, I'll probably be reading my own post the next time I'm all stuck licking my wounds again.
But for this time.....I am victorious by His grace!!!

Holy moment

Come boldly to the throneroom of grace!

I have to share this "Holy moment" with you!
I was on my way to my friend Morgan's to drop off something and God met me powerfully in my car. By the time I got there, I was a pile of goo. God's faithfulness, His forgiveness, is overwhelming at times. My spirit was able to grasp His deep love for me, and His desires for me. Those of you that read my blog know that I've had a bad week. I returned to Eygpt thinking I may be able to have my cake and eat it too. Thinking that I had the right and ability to lead my own life. It's been very very hard to pick myself up out of my mud pile! But I did, and WOW, I can't believe how God meets you right there, with an open hand. My sister wrote this a couple of days ago in my comment box:

"When Peter looked down at the water, Jesus did not respond with contempt. He looked Peter in the eye and gently asked, why did you doubt? He picked him up and gently placed him back in the boat, to rest and recover until he was ready for another round. You have not failed, you have only looked down. You don't get a big fat "F", you get a first hand personal lift from the Son of the living God, who will carry you to your next place of testing. It's not about your perfection, it's about your direction. Know where you're headed and claim it. Your testimony is bigger than you know, through the times of victory and joy, as well as through the times of struggle and muck."

God's knows that we will doubt sometimes, that we will fall. That's why while we were STILL sinners, HE DIED FOR US. We all fall short and always will. I think God is really getting through that it's not about perfection.....BUT DIRECTION!

LISTEN! THIS IS THE BEST PART!
I was on my home from my friend's, driving down circle drive heading west at around 4:15 or so. Now at that time of day, the sun was glaring BRIGHT in my eyes, right in front of me. All of a sudden something bursted out of my spirit!

It reminded me of when you have been driving for hours to get to another city, you usually get there at night and can see the lights of the city beaming in the sky! You are so excited that you're almost there, you can't wait to get there! You can't take your eyes off the city lights that are getting closer and closer!
You drive and drive for it seems like forever, but eventually, you get there!

As I was driving into the son (I mean sun)..., I was listening to "Holy moment" And I had the most beautiful picture of a spiritual truth. I am driving into the SON! All I could see was a little bit of road, through the rays of brightness. I thought about putting my visor down, but NO, I wanted to see Him! I'll never forget that moment. THe words "run, run, run through your gates oh God. With my hands held high and my heart bowed down, We come with a shout of LOVE WITH SHOUTS OF LOVE.......let this be a holy moment now"


Well, I shouted so loud I think I could have blown the glass off my car!
I don't have to be afraid. I don't have to be ashamed. I don't have to be anything....JUST ME....and come......

His strentgh is made PERFECT in my weakness.
As I drove into the sun today, I want to keep that in my heart forever. That's where I'm headin! Into God's glory! Into His righteousness! Into His bright love for me! It's not out of my reach tho. I don't have to drive hours and hours to get there. If we drove around the world we would never actually get to the sun. Our God is there shining BRIGHTLY ON US whenever we are driving in the right direction. It's not about the destination, but about the journey, about RIGHT NOW. ABout making THIS moment a Holy moment!

I am overwhelmed people. What else can I say?

How can it be??

All I have to say is that I watched the concert of the Heart today. I heard myself give a powerful testimony of not giving up and persevering through. I saw a gracious and powerful God in me, declaring the I am a new creation and that He will complete the work He started. I watched the dance that me and my sis did to the song "Even If" by Zoegirl. Lyrics here. I watched the song that Lloanne, nin and Aline did. Bawled throught that too! I NEED ALL OF YOU! I NEED MY CHURCH FAMILY. without you, I would seriously die. I can't imagine walkin this road alone. I am so in awe of how much I need you and how God put me here in the midst of all of you. THANK YOU LORD! Those of you that read this and don't have a family----GET ONE! YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

I was so convicted, encouraged and relieved. I was refreshed renewed and amazed that it's really not about perfection. It's about direction. We all fall. We have all fallen short. We will always fall short.
But the good news of Jesus is that our debt is paid and He offers forgiveness and new mercy right NOW! He offers us grace to get up. Grace to repent. Grace to walk against the storm. These truths and everything else in the amazing living word of God NEEDS TO BE HIDDEN IN OUR HEARTS! It needs to be written there inside of us. When lies come, and they will, what are you going to do? Fight the spiritual battle around you with reason? With statistics? With exuses?

OUR ONLY WEAPON IS THE LIVING WORD OF GOD AND OUR RESPONSE TO THAT!

I choose to get up, brush the crusty mud off and walk as who I really am. A child of THE king. To face the mess I made and trust that God will help me clean it up.

It was just so weird to have myself preaching to myself.......(when I watched the video tape of the COTH)

What we have as kids of the king is a living hope that never spoils perishes or fades. The only way that can be stolen from you is if you believe a false claim. A lie, something NOT TRUE. I have the tools. I know the word and want to know it more. I know that nothing can steal my living hope if I choose to hold on to it.

As I've said before, time to keep on truckin' I'm not going to give up! By His grace I can DO THIS!

Help!

Well, I have pretty much fallen flat on my face this week! I am covered in muck, and even sulking in it. After you have chosen sin willfully, you get clouded, confused, and open to all kinds of enemy's attack. I really need prayer and encouragement. It's so crazy that last week looked like light to dark of this one.....(sigh)

God's word has been floating around my head today. I was talking to my sister about sin and repentance yesterday. Unless you know the grossness of your sin and the death it brings with NO EXCUSE, MINIMIZING, MAKING LIGHT OF..etc, you will never turn. You will never experience the Godly sorrow that leads to repentance and leaves no regret.

The other truth is that if you confess your sin, He is faithful to forgive and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. The pressure is on me now. I've revealed myself, my struggles to all my family. I've made declarations along the way and have lost 30 pounds. I really have thrown myself off the cliff into the arms of my father. But it last week what started with a slip, turned into another bad choice, then another. I am trying to climb up the side of the cliff hoping to sneek a peek at the land of Eygpt where I came from. The snowball effect of bad choices has landed me here and I need help. I know that spiritual family is there not to condemn but to build and lift up. Please pray that I can drop the chains that I myself have been trying to tie back to my feet and walk free. It's not a big process, it's just one choice followed by actions. Jesus died ONCE FOR ALL. I know the truth. I have no excuse. I feel sick to my stomach that it only takes choice after choice to return to your vomit.
I wrote a post about little by little, right choice after right choice gets you where you need to go. Same goes for the other way. I have believed the lie that I'm a failure and I might as well give up. I've believed the lie that "I've made it far enough, I don't have to go all the way...."

I need strength to get up....
I need His grace to face myself, and those around me.
I believe that God will get glory at the end of all this, maybe not right now, but soon.
I need faith that I can do this....to the end....no matter the cost.

signing off. I am hoping next post will be better. But I had to be honest. I have to stay honest. David said, against you and you alone have I sinned oh Lord.
That's where I am right now.
Shalom

Have to brag on my sis alittle bit......

You have to have to check out my sister's latest 3 posts. They are sooo good. One on family, one on seasons and the last one on mercy and grace.
Be encouraged, challenged and blessed!

I'm in a romance!!!

Tonight at transformations, the blogless one had an amazing revelation that greatly benefitted me! We were supposed to pray and ask God what lie we were believeing and what we needed to repent from. There was a guide for women, 3 things that women generally struggle with more than other things.
1. submission
2. romance
3. vanity
Well, I quickly ran through the list in my head and thought well, I'm not really any of those. I am in the process of renewing my mind as my body shape changes, but I know God is working on that one.....so I just kept praying.....
To my surprise, I am in desperate need to turn from romance!!!
Not in the way you are thinking. I am wholly devoted to my Joe with my mind body and spirit. But the kind of romance that the blogless one shared is one of EXPECTATIONS!
The romance of life. What I think in my head the way life should go. I picture in my head the way things should look. Here are a few examples:
-When I come home from coffee with a friend, I have in my brain that Joe should have at least done the dishes, read to the kids, brushed their teeth and so on.....
-We go swimming as a family and I have a picture in my head that we will have sooo much fun and that Joe is going to go down the slide a million times until they just can't take it anymore!
-It's our anniversary, and we just have moment after moment of meaningful, romantic, exciting conversation, planning our next year together and having some fun on the side (woo hoo!)
-Coming in the door and expecting all the shoes to be on the rack that I've so easily accessed for everyone
-Calling a friend 5 times and thinking that maybe this time it's THEIR turn to call ME back

What happens instead........
-come home from coffee, the house is a mess, the kids are running around super hyper, the dishes still on the table from supper, and Joe working on computers downstairs
-We go swimming as a familiy and Joe is so tired from the work week that he plants himself in the hotub and suggests that I take the kids on the waterslide.
-It's our anniversary and we are so tired from the hustle and bustle of life that we crash for the first day and the second day is spent trying to "make it good"
-Coming home, can't open the door.....shoes in the way.....have to kick my foot in sideways to open the door. Then after I GET in the door, there's 2 pairs of Joe's skiis...I mean, shoes (that takes up the whole entrance in itself) Boots, runners, and even coats on top of all the footwear!
-Realize that if I don't call that friend again, I may not talk to her.....

REALITY PEOPLE!
Someone said, "I no longer have any expectations of anyone anymore, not even my spouse or my kids!"
"well, isn't that UNHEALTHY?"
"doesn't that leave you open to abuse!?"
"who's going to hold them accountable??!"

Well, my fellow bloggers, Is God GOD or are you?
Cause I'm really getting weary here trying to keep control of all these people! I think it's time to let God do what he need to in these people. I really have realized that as long as I keep trying to be lord over life, It litterally holds these people in bondage!
How will Joe ever grow in character in serving his family if he's always trying to fulfill my romance???
How will my kids ever put their shoes away when they move out on their own when mom's wrath isn't there to force them???
How will we ever enjoy our anniversary's if I keep getting disappointed as soon as we get to the hotel??

Well, there you have it. I told Joe and he's quite excited to be free. (smirk) He told me that I will probably get tested in this!..........I know I will....... (groan)
But I am excited to see the fruit that will come from this act of obedience. I think it will be great peace and more than I can imagine for my family.....oh yeah, I'm supposed to stop trying to imagine!!! LOL

Reaping the fruit of righteousness and peace

Don't have time to blog much these days. Don't really have time right now....

Lots of stuff going through my spirit these days. God is faithful to continue on the good work. I've been spending alot more time with my kids in teaching them spiritual truths instead of academics. We've been spending time drawing out what the word is saying. In fact, right after I'm done this blog entry, we are off to paint Matthew chapter 7 on the wide and narrow gates. I am totally enjoying teaching them "the nuts and bolts" of christianity (as moose would say) It excites me to think that if they are learning this stuff at such an early age, just think of ALL they will posses as an adult!!!
I can see my character growing and changing by the power of the Holy spirit. I can't describe myself, becuase I don't really know who I am anymore! My old nature is truly dying and this new creation is kinda weird somtimes! I used to be up in the clouds for a day and then down in the dumps the day after. This steadyness is quite nice. I'm sure Joe appreciates it. I bet that the way I eat definitly has affected the physical changes in my mood swings. Being addicted to any substance causes serious physical cravings and withdrawls.
But not to take away from the spiritual changes!!!!!Just another addition to the reaping....

Joe continues to walk in leadership around here. He truly is amazing!
I have been called to a new and deeper level of commitment in my walk on SUnday. To step out and make disciples.....I am going to be discipling someone and that's been going through my head too. I am scared. But I know there is much to reap through this. To get rid of all fear is impossible, yet to replace unhealthy fears with a godly fear is where we need to be. This will stretch me I know, but I think I've jumped off this cliff enough to know with my spirit that "I will be FINE!"

Well, keep in touch all you hopers!
Love you family
Blessings

Meeting online people in person!

It was super funny and totally unexpected. I'm shopping for.....nevermind....I'm not going to say.....
anyway, I'm in walmart and this girl comes up to me and askes if I'm "carebear".....
She's from BC and visits my blog and recongnized me from the pictures I post! It was so cool! Her name is Tanya and has written some good stuff and has given me some wise advice. I asked her, "are you 'me, my thought and I'?"
To follow that, I introduced her to "livin forgiven" and "lighthouse forever" in person as well.
It was a cool blogger reunion!
Check out her comments of our meeting here!~

So good to meet you Tanya! I'll be visiting your blog more often!
Blessings

Happy anniversary!

So, those of you who don't know my husband Joe, you are missing out!!! BIG TIME!
I wanna take today to tell the world how great he is and how thankful I am that God gave him to me!


I was 16 years old and had just gotten out of drug rehab. On a mission to find some good clean, sober friends that were normal, I decided to go to a prayer group at my high school. I introduced myself to these "weird people" and told them I needed some friends that wouldn't go through my pockets while I was sleeping and only call me when I had something to share. After our meeting, this guy comes up to me with his phone number and says that he could offer me friendship and some clean fun......


Picture this:
A punk in combat boots, a hippie sixties dress and a half my head shaved.
A guy in prep "guess" jeans, his shirt tucked in, a race car that went REALLY FAST, that listened to "that fake dance music" (like, "I like to move it, move it)



He treated me like a queen. Open my doors for me, made me dinner (fake potatoes and fried homemade hamburgers) Gave me flowers, left notes in my locker, drove me ANYWHERE I wanted to go, whenever I wanted to go somewhere.
It wasn't long before we knew we were meant for eachother.
We did end up getting pregnant in our 9th month of dating....

I wanted to give up the baby for adoption. Joe had other plans. Even though he was super young (only 19), he was commited to me and the baby. He had an amazing faith that we would be okay if we got married and started our family alittle earlier. I wasn't convinced. I carried on, making adoption appointments, while he came and tried to convince me not to go through with it. Over and over, he asked me to marry him and start a family.
God filled me with a super natural faith and I said yes. Ever since that day, we always knew that we would be okay. No matter what. Only God knew what was on the otherside of the pregnancy......
a severely disabled child......


Our lives truly are a testimony to God's faithfulness! What Joe and I have been through and the fact that we are sooo in love, have happy kids and live to tell about God's love, says that God can take anyone's life and turn into something beautiful and fruitful.


I can't describe what it's been like to watch joe grow into a Godly man. Ever since the beginning of our marriage, he always had good intentions. His heart was always FOR his family. Growing togehter into learning how to be godly parents and godly spouses has been......eventful......to say the least!!!!
Our first years were filled with mounds of baggage. Sorting through bag after bag was not fun! Just when we thought that we were in the clear....BANG! Something new to work through. It was hard. But God has brought us to a beautiful place. There is peace in our home now. Storms still comes and knock off a few windows sometimes, but God has molded us into a useful vessel that can withstand the wind and rain.
I just wanted to share with y'all how much I appreciate him, love him and to say how proud I am of the man he is.
And the cool thing about all this, is that "this is the worst day of our lives!!!"
cause from this day on, we only get brighter and brighter!
To think that this is only the beginning.....that life just gets better, more abundant......
Glory!

follow through

a spiritual mother at church said to me, "YOU FOLLOW THROUGH...you do what you said you would do, you've commited to this, you show her that you won't ditch her or someone that's not to be trusted."

That's been echoing in my heart ever since then. You follow through. To the end, till it's done. Till you've put your whole heart into it and it's completed.
As a mom, I am seriously challenged with this often. I tell my kids their consequence and then out of ignorance or laziness or forgetfulness, they witness parents that don't follow through. That is NOT the heart of our God. One of my favorite verses these days is the promise that God will finish the work He started and carry on to COMPLETION. He won't give up on me.....ever. His love AND authority stay the same.
In my walk, I am starting to see the bigger picture (for once) of being a follower of Jesus. A sister in church cried out this calling in worship yesterday. "it's all for you Jesus! It's ALL for you! For your glory and your fame.... To take you to the lost world, to the broken hearted and the needy!"
I am tired of being fat! I am tired of feeding and feeding myself for selfish gain. So I can have peace, and joy so I can be free, so I can be happy, so I can prosper.....
you don't recieve because you ask with wrong motives.....so you can spend it on YOUR pleasures
Why do we want all those "blessings" from God?
Well, my heart is to ask to be blessed so that I can bless the hurting, the needy. To fulfull my calling, my awesome destiny! And you know, I don't seem to run dry when my heart is walking in those purposes. I'm not always tired or weary.
Following through means to show the world His faithfulness. Joe and I read the kids their bible story last night about moses and how he was called to go and set the Hebrews free. The word says that "God heard their cry and delivered them" through what means? Moses. God used the faithfulness of a son on earth to carry out to completion His deliverance for the people who were crying out.
I'm sure that after a few plagues, Moses wanted to pack it in. But he followed through and God got all the glory! And Moses got a million blessings beside!
Seek first His kingdom and then and then and then all those things will be added.
I've never up to this point been one to follow through. I usually just blamed it on my sanguine personality, which is a weakness of a sanguine, but I am made perfect in weakness halleluiah!!

I want to follow through in my marriage....everyday
follow through with my children.....everyday
follow through with my spiritual family....everyday
follow through with the world in need.....everyday

okay, now does that ever sound overwhelming
Good thing I can do it through grace and not human strength!!! Whew!!!
Then I won't be weary, but will renew my strength as I do it!!! Now isn't THAT the formula that everyone's been looking for!


What an amazing God we serve!
Praise you Jesus!

I'm pregnant!

Well, last week, I got up and looked in the mirror and said outloud to myself, "I'm pregnant" in a calm, yet very sure voice. I don't have any proof of this physically, but on this morning, I was totally convinced that I had a little life beginning to grow in my belly! I've been pregnant 4 times people....I know what it's like to "feel pregnant"
So later on I told Joe. We were in Walmart shopping and I said to him, "Joe, I'm pregnant" really calm and non chalantly. At first, he just laughed at me and then he looked at my face and realized that I was serious. That same look I gave him when I was pregnant with Faith. He got quiet and seemed to go into another world, in deep thought. It was cute.....:)
At the marriage teaching this weekend, we were taught about the God given roles of a man and a woman. It was such a blessing to hear and talk about our differences and how we make eachother complete! I was all full of joy thinking of how our LORD is so perfect and made it so fun at times on this walk! I love being married! And I ABSOULUTLY LOVE MY HUBBY! He is soooooo awesome....k, that's a rabbit trail for another time......
But in the teaching, Greg affirmed that the man is the seed sower and the woman is the nuturer and the one to give birth. and it is the job of our husbands to be sowing into our lives....LIFE! And that's exactly what Joe's been doing. He speaks into my life all the time! He leads and guides our family, He has direction and purpose....he has passion and conviction!
I am so blessed.

Anyway, God spoke to me in the midst of this and told me I'm pregnant.
"I know that already God...."
"No, my child, you are spiritually pregnant"
all of a sudden, I beamed up with this "pregnant glow" and passed Joe a note to tell him.
He writes me back, "so THAT"S why you've been nesting!"
totally!
I have been trying to get this house in order and really it's in line with that prophetic word about having lots of babies. spiritual and physical. I don't know if I'm physically pregnant or not....time will tell....but I know this is the time for our family to make spiritual babies!

Hee hee
threw you off heh?!
blessings!