Isabelle turns 3-Feb.26th!!!!!!

I can't believe it has already been 3 years since you were born, my sweet little Isabelle Marie. Since day one, you have been such a joy to have in our family. You make us laugh everyday and I'm amazed at how much you are changing. I love how you sing to me(especially"Tomorrow" that's my favorite)and I love your creative, joyful, fun-loving spirit! As you continue to grow, I pray that God blesses every move you make, teaching you and molding you into the princess that you are(the kings warrior princess). I pray that your Daddy and I will raise you in the ways of our God so that it will equip you for whatever He has for your future...we love you so much! Happy Birthday!

Totally clueless

So I finally get a chance to sit down and work on cleaning up my book before I send it to an editor and what happens? Nothing. Yes that's right. I spend most of my time trying to find which documents are which and what CD has my final draft. You see, I am completely and totally clueless when it comes to computers. I haphazzardly(sp) fumble my way thru making things work. I also am working off of two computers. Our home computer and a lap top while David is working on our home computer...yikes! So, because of my cluelessness...if that's a real word...I have been saving different files & different disks, CD's and whatever else I can get my slow hand onto that I'm just totally confused! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Almost in tears, I tell myself not to start "really" crying because God is not going to have me write this book for me to lose it...then I found it. WHEW! (sigh of relief)

I now realize that I need to get my clueless act together and put everything(I mean everything) in the same place & then save it there...yep, clueless. I guess I need some computer courses...are there any for the completely and totally computer stupid?
Look, even my 5 & 3 year old know more about computers than me....hee hee hee

God is good!

God is so cool! I'm amazed at Him everytime I actually give Him a chance to speak...unfortunatly I do most of the talking. I posted awhile ago about a meeting that I had with a friend of mine who is a well known speaker. He advised me to consider finding speaking events so that I could get comfortable with doing it and also to promote my upcoming book. I have known for awhile now that God was leading me in this direction(even though I've fought it for about 2 years now). I feel like God gave me a story to tell and that I have to tell it. No matter what. Well only a week after my meeting a friend approached me with an event. She wanted me to come and share my story with some young women. Amazing! I just about jumped out of the booth that I was sitting in. Again, God is good. He is always good, I just need to listen and pay attention more!

So, the event was a couple of weeks ago and let me say again...God is good! He gave me peace that I have never felt before while speaking in front of others. And He blessed the event dramatically. One mother who was at the event actually cried when I told her why I was there & what I was speaking on. Turns out that she had been praying for someone, like myself, who the young girls could talk to and open up to. Again, God is good! They heard my story on purity and now they want me to come and do another event for the rest of their friends...Should I say it one more time? Yeah, okay...God is good!

Since then I've gotten some Godly advice on how to better myself with public speaking and I'm excited to see how God is going to sharpen me in this area(I need a lot of sharpening too)...that's the exciting part of being in His will...when we seek Him, He will sharpen our gifts and He will open opportunities...God is good!

Real Beauty

I just got word of this campaign that Dove is promoting...check this out! WHat a breath of fresh air since all we are ever seeing in the media are these perfect, fake models(who are usually airbrushed to look thinner)...Dove is showing some REAL Women, REAL GIRLs with REAl Bodies...it's about time we get to REAL BEAUTY...later I will post about INNER Beauty and what an awesome weekend I had on this subject!!!!
www.campaignforrealbeauty.com

Are you a Theophilus?

Last night I met with an teen girl who I've known for about 9years. She is a beautiful girl who has always struggled with being "set apart". Now her situation is not a problem of how to be set apart...she really is set apart! She knows her calling from God(as a 16 year old!)and she serves Him in every opportunity that she can. We met and talked for about an hour. She gave me a glimpse of what it is like as a teen girl in 2006. I have to say the issues havent changed much but I've lost touch of what these girls are going thru. It brought me back to my "teen struggles" and it reminded me that I had no one to talk with about them. She told me about a friend of hers who actually said to her mom the other day"I just wish someone would talk to us about sex & purity".
Wow! She desired someone to share with her. To help her deal with her everyday struggles with this! She needed someone to listen. Someone to give her Godly advice. She just needed someone.

Last week I met with a friend who goes around speaking on different subjects and sex is one of them. I met with him hoping that he would give me insight on what to do with my book on this very topic. He encouraged me to get the book edited, send it out to several publishers and pray. He also told me that it had taken him 20 years to get published(yikes) but you know what, I wasnt discouraged...I know God has a plan for this. He also encouraged me to speak. Something I'm not comfortable with but know that God is pushing me towards. So, since my meeting with him I've been praying for opportunities to come up. How? Where? I'm a stay at home mom-who am I going to speak to-my 5 year old? That's a little too soon to share with her about purity...so back to my other meeting...this teen girl is having a night of fun, pampering, movies, food & speakers & the topics are on sex & self image...
Man, God is good! She asked me to share my story...share about what God has done for me...share about mistakes I've made and how God has transformed me, share about his mercy, his forgiveness, his love...God is good.

So what does this have to do with "Theophilus" and what is Theophilus you ask?

After this girl and I met, I headed to my bible study. We have been studying the gospel of Luke. In the beginning of the first chapter Luke writes to "his excellent Theophilus".
I thought this was a specific person. Our leader shared that it was not a person at all, it's Hebrew for "lover of God".
Who are lovers of God? Anyone who serves him, loves him & want to do his will. That's me. That's you if you are a believer. Luke is writing this beautiful story of Jesus' life for us! He carefully examined it, studied it & wrote down what he had seen & heard. I feel like this is what God is doing in my life. I've been examining my life, my story and now I'm about to share it with others. So, I'm looking for Theophilus's...Lover's of God...people willing to hear & tell the story of Christ and their own experiences of what God had done for them. As the book of Luke continues throughout the entire book it tells of different people sharing in their stories, sharing in their joys, their sorrows and how God has moved thru them...for example...in chapter 1:39-45 Mary hurries to Elizabeth's house to share in her joy!
Zechariah who was mute for several months after he had found out that he was going to have a son, in verse 67-80 he immediatly praises God & thanks him for his goodness and he runs to share it with others(notice how he didnt complain about being mute?)Another lesson, another time...

So, I'm on a journey to find more people like this. More people who are willing to "serve Him fearlessly" and share the gospel with unbelievers, share with eachother(lovers of God) on what he is doing for them! Are you a Theophilus?

The sun will come out tomorrow!

So last week I saw on television that the movie/musical "Annie" was on so I taped it! Since the 1982 film came out I have always loved it. If you can believe it I even cut my long hair(which came down to my butt)and I got a perm because I secretly wanted to BE Annie...crazy, I know. But my friend & I knew every line to the script, knew all the words to the songs & we would even dress up to look like little orphans. I remember walking thru JCPenny's one day(back in 1982ish)and seeing a red dress just like Annie's and begging my mom to buy it for me...well, I havent seen the movie in several years & I enjoyed sharing it with my daughters. The loved it just as much as I did when I was so little...from that moment on we've been playing "Annie" and David downloaded the songs for us so that we can sing along too!!!What fun it has been!
Then the other day I saw a commercial for Playhouse Square and what play are they putting on in Feb? None other than Annie!!!!

My girls(and myself included) are beside ourselves to think that we are going to see Annie in person(yes, I know that she is just an actress)so David is taking "us girls" on a date in Feb to see the play...I can see it now, David & 3 beautiful girls dressed in red!

Getting my head back together

Okay so I'll admit, I havent posted anything worthy of reading in the last...well, a really long time. My head has been "mush" lately. I now know why. 12 weeks before Thanksgiving I was training for a 4 mile race(I know it's not that BIG of a race but for me who has never ran long distance it was HUGE)and I was eating healthy, making time for my Heavenly Father every morning, and just plain...taking care of my outward & INward self. Well after the big snow storm which did not allow me to run the Thanksgiving race I pretty much stopped running, stopped getting up early to meet my Creator and my eating...well, let's not talk about that! So, a couple of nights ago when I saw my mom who has lost about 80 lbs and is walking everyday...I decided it was time for me to get my head back together again. This morning I woke up(almost at the time I wanted to)and I had some serious face time...confessed to God that I had been spoiled in my "loving sleep too much" and not waking in time for our morning meetings...how sad. Jesus just wants me to meet him, face to face. To chat with Him. To pursue Him. He desires intimacy with me. To speak to me. It's beautiful really. A God who created the whole earth, wants to talk with ME? Amazing...yet, I don't make time for him...

It was nice to sit with Him this morning...Just the two of us. I am looking forward to our meeting throughout the day when I call on Him or when He reminds me of His love thru my little girls sweet kisses, or from the sun coming up, or a uplifting song...I am also looking forward to my time in the morning...Thank you Lord, for loving me...always. And for always allowing me to come back to you...

Sisters

When Abby saw this picture she couldnt tell which one was her...can you tell?

And can I just say " Can they be any cuter?"

My family

Changes are everywhere

Change is in the air. I love change. I love seeing the new things that come my way that God brings. At first change is scarey. For some, it is intimidating. Because you don't know what change may bring. For me, change is good. It means I'm moving forward. My life isnt just sitting duck. Right now I'm not certain where God wants us. I feel like he is driving some sort of change within us but I'm not sure where or what exactly that means....

I will wait patiently...and this time I will WAIT upon Him. I will not push my ideas into the scenario...I will alow Him to do the changing. In chapter 23 of "Purpose Driven Life" Rick Warren speaks on how we grow. God did not intend for us to remain children. He intended us to grow, to mature, to develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ. "To be like Christ you must develop the mind of CHrist. The New Testament calls this mental shift repentance, which in Greek literally means "to change your mind". You repent whenever you change the way you think by adopting how God thinks-about yourself, sin, God, other people, life, your future, and everything else. You take on Christ's outlook and perspective. Philippians 2: 5 says" ...think the same way that Christ Jesus thought..."

During these times of change for us I want to "think the same way that Jesus thought" I want my desires to be put aside and I want His desires to be placed in my heart.
Change is good.
Godly change is even better.
Especially if your walking in His will and not your own.

A time to rest

Yesterday was my day to rest. I slept in late because my girls were staying at their Grandma's ...I didnt get out of bed until almost 10am...oh how glorious it was! I ran, did a quiet time, took a long bath, then got my hair cut. (something that I usually don't do anymore). I have to say, it was strange having the entire house to myself. It was quiet. I didnt hear pitter-patter of little feet or "mommy I need you"...and to be honest, it was nice. It was nice to just...be. It was nice to take my time eating my lunch. It was nice to watch something on tv that I enjoyed. It was nice to go to the bathroom by myself...hee hee, but you know...when those girls walked thru the door, I lit up! I really missed them. Even though it was nice to have some "mommy" time, I really missed being those things to my girls. I love hearing "mommy I need you". Those words will probably only last for a short time, I have to savor them...so today, I played hard with them. We played and played and I didnt worry about the house, or the mess, or the time, I just played and it was nice too! At one point we were playing "fox and the hound" and Isabelle wanted to put me to bed, so she covered me up and we "pretended" to sleep...well, I really did fall asleep...opps, okay, so most of the day I played hard, that time, I "pretended" really really, really good.

Dead Funeral

Last night my mom called to tell me that an old friend of ours father just passed away. We have been friends with this family since I was very young so it was really sad to hear. I knew that he wasnt doing well because he had been ill for some time now. It really was just a matter of time...sooooo....even though I hate funerals, I went. I went alone, because I didnt want my daughters to see death quite yet. Funerals are just plan no fun at all. I mean, this guy was a Christian...his family are Christians...so why all the saddness?

I would like a rockin' funeral...lots of music that I love, lots of friends and family there, laughter, smiles...people rejoicing over the fact that I was with the Lord! I mean, how awesome is that? We really miss the people that pass on from this world but when they have a faith in Christ, we should be happy...it's pretty easy for me to say because I havent lost anyone really close to me in a long time...but I guess my point is to tell you that when I die, I want a big party...

Abigail celebrates her 5th Birthday!!!!

To my sweet, sweet Abigail, (my sweet, sweet Petunia)
Wow! I can't believe you are already five!!!! These past five years have flown by so quickly...and you have grown into such a beautiful young girl. I thank God everyday for you Abby! You make me laugh, you make me smile, you challenge me daily with wondering questions about the world and you love God so much at your young age. What an amazing girl you are. I pray that I can be the mom that God designed me to be even on the hard days. I pray that you will continue to share you heart, your voice, your love, your creativity, your God & your mind with others so that they can see how wonderful you are and be blessed the way your family is to have you in our lives! I am so proud of you in so many ways...I love you Abigail Rose...Happy Birthday!!!!

prayers of a child

Sometimes as a parent you wonder if anything you do or say ever really gets into your kids heads. Well the other night when Cancun, Mexico was hit by the hurricane...Abby and I were surfing the net together. We came across pictures of the storm...I looked over at her and she said,"Mom, I just feel so sad about all of our friends in Cancun(we visit there a lot and have made several lasting relationships) I just feel like I need to pray."

I was taken back. We try to pray as often as we can with the girls, not just at meals or before bed, but about life too throughout the day, but wow...she got it...she felt sad, and wanted to take her heavy heart before God. How amazingly beautiful is that?

She then knelt down in prayer for our friends, by name who were going thru the storm...

Several days later we received a call from a friend that needed prayer. We were having dinner at the time the request came in and right away Abby said, "Can I be excused for just a minute please?" She walked away from the table, went right over to the couch and knelt again before her Heavenly Father to pray for our friend....

They watch and hear our every move. We have to be doing our best to live holy, blameless lives not only because God calls us to, but also because there are little people in our homes modeling their lives after ours... scary thought but it helps to keep us on our toes...I think I'm in trouble with this one, I have a feeling she is going to call me out on a lot of things as she gets older...

Thank you Lord, for giving me such a special little girl...may she grow to love and serve you with her whole heart...

Alive in His care

Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am. Empty handed but alive in your care. I love this song. I think it's one of my favorites now. As we were singing this at church sunday nite my soul began to weep. He takes care of me, no matter what is going on in my life.

We talked about the fall of man & how Adam & Eve were just "hanging out" around the tree of good & evil. They could go anywhere in the entire garden & there they were. They wanted to "take things into their own hands" to see if they could "be like God" to have the knowledge of Him. So what do they do? They hang out right next to the temptation. I desire to run from the temptations in life. I don't only want to RUN, but I want to run towards something amazing. I not only want to RUN into the arms of Christ but I want to BE like Christ. I want holiness. I want a holy, blameless life that is constantly running & doing my job here on earth. I desire to reach people to love people, to truely embrace the lost. That's the ultimate goal for my life. The goal that Christ himself asked of us. That's it. To love, to be one. To reach out. To run from evil & temptations. But here we are, like Adam & Eve, wanting more. Desiring more. Climbing the tree to just see if there is more. Then we are tempted. We fall. We leave the plan of God. We are ashamed. We run. We hide.
I'm learning more & more the importance of our brothers & sisters in Christ. They are not just there to hang out with. They are there to support us, to lift us up when we are tempted. So when you struggle, don't hide, don't run away in shame. Run towards someone(a brother or sister in Christ) and allow them to carry your burdens. It's much easier to bare when someone is right there beside you lifting you up. How awesome that God made us one & desires us to be one so that we can do this for one another. Not only do we have God to lift us up & to make us "alive in His care" but He also gave us friends. Come on brothers & sisters, let's embrace this whole "oneness" thing & be honest with one another. Life here on earth wouldnt seem quite so bad then...

Aqua-what?

So for our anniversary I planned a night out to the Melting P0t(a fondue restaurant)and after a concert at the House of Blues to see Aqualung. I know what most of you are thinking...Aqua-who? Well, I heard this group from a movie & I fell in love with their sound so I thought hey, I'm gonna check them out. They were playing on the date that we were going out so I thought"why not?" Matt & Emmy joined us for the concert & it was...well, it was interesting. It was not the normal environment that the four of us find ourselves in, but the music was okay. The funny thing is we listened to two groups before Aqualung came on & by the time they came on it was 11:30 and we were all smoked out(everyone was smoking & we stank!) But we did hear a couple songs from them...and I enjoyed those at least. Check them out...aqualung.com...my favorite song is" Brighter than sunshine"

11 years !

Well, 11 years have past since David & I became husband & wife...amazing! Our anniversary was on October 8th but it has been a whirlwind of a week already(and it's only Wednesday).
It was a beautiful, sunny October day. The leaves had just started to change colors. I was running late(as usual). I quickly dressed & got my hair done and looked in the mirror. Wow, I'm getting married...to the man of my dreams, to the Godly man that I prayed for. To the man that I never thought I'd ever have. To David. I didnt feel the normal gitters that a bride feels. I was just excited. I wanted to get the show on the road! Come on, just let me run down the aisle to him! But I waited until the right moment...when the photographer told me to & when my dad took my hand. Then I saw him. Pale as ever but he was standing at least. He looked ready too. We both talked about this moment for months now. Now the time had come. We were to be husband & wife.
After a beautiful ceremony of love, tears & some laughter(I almost caught my dress on fire from the unity candle-but David, already my hero came to my rescue & stopped the candle from falling from my hand) we said those magic words,"I do". And the rest is history!
Now 11 years later & I'm still learning how to love him the way God has designed me to. This past year has been the most rewarding & the most challenging...but God has gotten us thru. In fact, this past week we experienced something that we've never had to encounter-a wedge that we never imagined would enter our marriage, but God had victory! It's amazing how two truely become one & you feel the others heart. The way that God intended...it is so beautiful. I know that we have a long way to go but I also know that we have already come so far. God has revealed some holes in our marriage that we have begun to repair...holes that I didnt even think exsisted, but He is in control & David & I will grow even closer because of them. I look forward to another 11 years with this amazing man & many, many more...

Two is perfect...one for each hand!

I just returned from babysitting my nephews for the entire day...all I can say is "whew, I'm glad I'm home to my somewhat quiet house." My sister-in-law & her husband went away for a couple of days & I got the first stretch of kid-watching ...they are great boys(3 total-they are 2, 6, 11)but VERY different from having girls. Let me explain: I'm used to tea parties, dressing up as princesses, doing shows, and playing doggies...but today we played Star Wars, lions, cars, wrestling, tag, jump on Aunt Angie & other things that totally wore me out! Also, before my sister-in-law left I asked her if the youngest was peeing on the potty yet...then I said"Can he get up on the potty by himself okay?" She looked at me, laughed & said"uh, he stands up"...opps, I forgot that boys do that...hee hee! Anyway, I'm home, my girls are in bed & I'm going to do a very "girl" thing and scrapbook for awhile...oh, and I'm glad that I have just one kid for each hand...five kids today was stretching it for me!

A kiss on the lips

"An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips." Proverbs 24:26

As I was reading this morning that Proverbs hit me. A kiss is so innocent & so sweet(especially from your child)...it brings such joy when I am kissed by my girls...& David's kisses are sweet too. Just last night we were shopping & Abby stuck to me like glue kissing me & saying"your the best mom, I love you"and then she'd give yet another sweet kiss. It brought me joy! Joy beyond what I could ever describe! So, now God is telling me that honesty brings on that same type of joy? Wow!
As I'm slowing reading "Boundaries" by Townsend & Cloud I am being constantly reminded of how little I am truly honest with people. I don't tell lies or anything, I'm just not honest...I don't truly speak the truth. When I'm asked "how are you?" I give them the "I'm great, my life is perfect, I can do everything & ANYthing that comes my way, so there is nothing in my life that is wrong" answer. Ohhhh....kkkk...whatever!
So, why can't I just be honest with people and say, "you know, my life is hard. I struggle daily. Can you pray for me?"
Is this so hard to do? Yes. But God says that I need to be honest. Honest about my limitations, honest about my boundaries(No, I can't do everything), honest when someone askes my opinion, honest to my sweet David, honest to my friends, to my mom...the list goes on & on. When I'm asked about how I feel, I need to tell people. Now, I don't want to be one of those people that spew stuff for no reason at all, those people that are constantly "complaining"...that is not what I speak of. Because God also calls us to have "joyful hearts even during a storm". I'm talking about raw, honest answers. "Yes, I'm hurt because...no, I can't do that for you...yes, I feel sad, lonely, afraid, angry..."God gave us feelings to express them. When we do express them in a loving matter people will respect us even more. They will see that we are true, honest people that they can rely on. And it will help you grow together with other believers. Cool consept.

This is my prayer today...
"Take control of what I say, oh Lord..." Psalm 141:3
May my honest answers be "like a kiss on the lips"

Pampering session number one

Yesterday was Emily's birthday. So this morning I took her to a salon for a little pampering. She is a new mom & I thought she'd enjoy a little time for herself...well, actually, I went with her...I needed some mommy time too(and some friend time).So we got our nails done(since we both bite them).Yes, Stumpy got filed, buffed & polished.(for those of you that don't know, I named one of my fingers "Stumpy" because it is my favorite to bite & it literally looks like a stump because it is so short-gross, I know). My goal is to stop my childhood habit!!!! The girl doing my nails suggested that I come in every week to have my nails done, so that I can take better care of them & to help break the habit-yeah, okay, like I have the time or the money for that...so, Em & I agreed that we need at least a once every couple months "pampering" and friend time(it might not be every week but it's better then never. )This was only my 2nd manicure in my 31 years of exsistence...
Anyway, we had a great time & then headed to a scrapbooking store & bought a couple of things on sale. It was a fun morning spending time with you Emmy! And even though your feet hurt you looked so adorable!!!!I love ya!Happy B-day yesterday!