Let the fear vanish!

^"14 Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵ You didn't receive a spirit that makes you a slave to fear once again. Instead you received the Holy Spirit, who makes you God's child. By the Spirit's power we call God "Abba." Abba means Father. ¹⁶ The Spirit himself joins with our spirits. Together they give witness that we are God's children." Romans 8:14-16


I have been talking about "fear not". Why? because I think it is a good reminder. God says it 365 times in the Bible so it must be something that He wants. He does not want us to live in a spirit of Fear! God wants us living a life full of faith. Faith and hope in God! That HE CAN in our lives even when we cant! To know that God loves us so much that He will see us through even the hardest of circumstances! When we allow God's spirit to lead us we are living like His child! No matter where the Spirit brings us we will follow and we will obey and be an open and willing vessel ready to do God's will! When we received the Spirit of God, it wasn't a spirit of fear, it says above. It wasn't a spirit that would enslave us and cause fear to enter our lives. It was the Holy Spirit that we received who makes us God's Child! God's spirit in us should cause great faith to rise up! It should cause us to walk in a different way because God's spirit is not a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (1 Timothy 1:7). And because we have that Spirit in us, we can call to God like a child calls for their father! We are HIS child! He hears His children when we call! We can call Him father because we have God's spirit in us. 
When we allow our Spirit to join with God's spirit (when we believe in Jesus and what He did on the cross), that is how God can recognize us as His children! I love how it is put above, "The Spirit himself joins with our spirit." I am a very visual person and I can just see that in a picture in my head! God's Spirit joining with ours Spirit and causing fear to vanish and faith to rise!!! We are His children! Why fear when we are HIS! He loves us and wants good things for our lives! He has a specific call on each one of us, He has a purpose for each one of His children! We serve a GOOD God!!! Let God's Spirit rise us up in faith and let that fear vanish! Give the fears to Him! He wants to bear our burdens!!!

feeling worthless? your worth more to God!

I have to be honest here. I live in much fear. I am fearful of everything going wrong and I being the cause. I am fearful that I will bring ruin or destruction because of my fears, or because of my lack of talent. I stay away from confrontation because I am convinced people will hate me for it. I have always been the "peace keeper" and do anything (even keep my mouth quiet as I silently go through things). I don't want to be like this. I don't want to go through life, living in fear of what others think or what others might do. I know that God cares about me too, and what I feel, but my fear of what people might do get me a lot. I have been feeling pretty down. And I hate feeling like this. I am writing about fear, and thinking about how I can change these fears in my life, and start living by faith and other things just keep coming up. Like why care, because your going to fail anyways. Or why try because you know your fear will keep overtaking you. Your going to disappoint someone and then you will have no one. Then the thoughts of worthlessness start flooding in. I am not very talented, I am not very good at anything even if  I try hard..... Well, this has been my thought pattern. This morning I definitely stumbled on a great "fear not" verse. I think it is one that I needed to see and be reminded of. I feel at times that I am not worth much, but God knows better than my fear, and God knows me better than I know myself. And God wants to bring out more in me than I can even imagine. Sometimes the question is "will you let Him?" Will you let Him take away the fear and carry it for you? Will you let Him show you your worth from HIS point of view? I want to let Him show me, because I know that talent wise, I don't have much to offer. People have said that I am talent less. But will I listen to them or to God who created me? I try to listen to God but satan has a way of convincing you to listen to what others say. It can be a constant struggle but the verse I am about to share with you is one of those verses that can take away worthless feelings and let us see God's heart for us! He made us all unique and created us for a purpose and reason. We need to let God show us our "why" for life. Ask God today "God, what is my purpose? God what is my reason for being on this earth? Show me, Lord!" I am going to do the same. Let us find our true purpose from the one who created us, instead of believing what the world around us says just to bring us down..... Here is the verse, I hope you enjoy and are uplifted today!!!

"What's the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries."           ~Matthew 10:29-31! 

Fear Not Continues....

Isaiah 43

The Lord Saves Israel

 ¹ Family of Jacob, the Lord created you. 
      People of Israel, he formed you. 
   He says, "Do not be afraid. 
      I will set you free. 
   I will send for you by name. 
      You belong to me. 
 ² You will pass through deep waters. 
      But I will be with you. 
   You will pass through the rivers. 
      But their waters will not sweep over you. 
   You will walk through fire. 
      But you will not be burned. 
      The flames will not harm you.


I have to say, I love these verses. They offer so much hope. They offer so much compassion. They offer a reason not to fear! It is a command that God gives 365 times in the Bible and one that is so hard to keep at times. Why is it hard to fear? Well, I have to say that I think its because we are human and satan likes to get us where he knows we fear the most. Each one of us have different fears in life and some that feel like they can overtake us. At times our fears can seem to be the ruling factor in our lives. How do we fight off these fears that are in our lives? Well, Reading these fear not verses can help! Giving them to God can help too! Keep on trying to work through the fear and facing it head on can help! I love this portion of scripture above because  it first says "family of Jacob, the Lord created you, People of Israel, He formed you". If you think about the fact that God formed you and in Genesis it says He formed us in "HIS IMAGE"! How awesome! We were made in the image of God! If you look up what image means this is what you will find it is a "reproduction of the form of a person or object".This is what God did when making us. We are not the exact thing, but we have likenesses of God's character! God wants us to have traits of Him in us. This also lets us see that He loves us and that He took time and that He gave thought into making us. We are not just haphasardly placed here, but we are here for a purpose, we 
were made by Him for a reason and He loves His creation. It is like an artist who makes a 
great masterpiece and takes their times and thought into making this great work of art! It 
is their thought, their precious time, and their hard work put into that peice. They have a love for that peice in the end and know that they created it for a reason. Whether to show an emotion, or to show a time in their life or to show a loved one. There will always be a special place in their heart for that peice, and that is how we are with God. We are His great masterpeice! 
He then goes on to say "DO NOT BE AFRAID!" Then goes on to say "I will set you free". Like I already stated, sometimes our fears can keep us in bondage, but God wants to set us free from our fears so that we can live a life of faith and hope!
The next part says "I will send for you by name". How amazing is our God. He knows each of us by name! He knows us all personally! 
"You belong to me!" God made us, we are His masterpiece  and we belong to Him. We are His children! We are in God's family.  
It goes on to say "You will pass through deep waters, but I will be with you! You will pass through the rivers, but their waves will not sweep over you! You will walk through fire, but you will not be burned! The flames will not harm you." PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS PROTECTION! This talks of God's protection. This speaks of God's power. It doesn't say that we wont go through bad things, but it says God will bring us through safely to the other side. At times we feel like we are going through water, rivers, and fire. Life can be difficult. We live in an imperfect world, with imperfect people. God doesn't say that we will never have trials but He says He will bring us through to the other side. Through these trials God says "fear not! I've got you!" He wants us to live in faith even when going through the hardest times! Sometimes this is hard to do, but if we keep in faith and try to get out of the fear, God will bless. He reminds us here that He will take us through anything! We are His and He loves His masterpieces! You are God's masterpiece, FEAR NOT! 

I have to say, health-wise, we are a lot better. The only thing left is a lingering cough. This cough has been the worst cough I have ever had, I think. It has been so bad I think that I have pulled something in  my back and stomach. BLAH! So sleeping has been a challenge now because I still cough a bit here and there, and my back has been in so much pain. Just laying down I felt the pain. So if you could keep me in prayer as I recover from the cough. lol. We are much better and praise the Lord for that!!! Kids are back in school, and life is pretty much back to  normal. Thank you for your prayers and continued prayers!

Do not be afraid!

⁸ The Lord says, “You, Israel, are my servant. 
   Jacob, I chose you. 
   You are from the family of my friend, Abraham. 
⁹ You were in a faraway country, 
   but I reached out to you. 
I called you from that faraway place. 
   I said, ‘You are my servant.’ 
I chose you, 
   and I have not rejected you. 
¹⁰ Don’t worry—I am with you. 
   Don’t be afraid—I am your God. 
I will make you strong and help you. 
   I will support you with my right hand that brings victory. 
¹¹ Look, some people are angry with you, 
   but they will be ashamed and disgraced. 
   Your enemies will be lost and disappear. 
¹² You will look for the people who were against you, 
   but you will not be able to find them. 
Those who fought against you 
   will disappear completely. 
¹³ I am the LORD your God, 
   who holds your right hand. 
And I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid! 
   I will help you.’ 
¹⁴ People of Israel, descendants of Jacob, you may be weak and worthless, ^[b] 
   but do not be afraid. 
   I myself will help you.”

   This is what the LORD himself says.

   “I am the Holy One of Israel,
   the one who saves you.

Isaiah 41:8-14

In the above passage it says "do not be afraid" three times! Usually when something is said three times or more in the Bible God wants to make sure that we get something. Here God is trying to say "DON'T be afraid!" He is with us, He is our God, I will help you, I myself will help you! Even though there are some who may be against you or angry with you, God has you! You may feel weak or worthless, but don't be afraid, God will save you, HE has you! God chose you and will not reject you! HE reached out to YOU! He wants you! You are important, you have a purpose! Do not be afraid! He will support you with His might hand that brings victory! He will make you strong and help you! What an amazing passage this is! Reading this and knowing God's heart and how HE wants to help us is amazing! God is so good! He doesn't want us to fear! He doesn't want us to be afraid. He wants us to be in faith and trust HIM and HIS plans! It doesn't say that you will bring yourself victory, but that God will bring victory. He will take us by the hand and lead us! Will you let Him take you by the hand and lead you to victory?? Will you cast your fears and cares on HIM and let Him help you? 

Fear vs faith!

I think there is one command that God gave that so many people do not follow. This command is told to God's people in the Bible time and time again. Do you know what that command is? DO NOT FEAR! or FEAR NOT! This phrase, Fear not, is used 365 times! For one, that is a lot of times! For us that is once a day. I encourage you to do a study on this and do one a day and see it in context. I find this fascinating! It is something that is said so many times yet, we fear A LOT! I know in myself, I do not follow this. I try not to be, but I am a fearful person. WHY?? Well I think that sometimes we are brought up to fear. I think that we can have preconceived notions about people or things that will make fear creep in. Kids are fearless, but over time that fear starts to creep in and at times seem to over power that fearlessness! I am always afraid to upset someone, I am always afraid to let someone down, I am always afraid of what people will think or say. ETC. I need to start living in the command "fear  not"! Every time that fear creeps in, I am living in fear and not in faith! I want to be a woman of faith and not fear! I want to show my kids that they can! I dont want them to think "they cant"! and that is what I am showing them through this attitude of fear! Why does it matter what people think? As long as we are following God and His will, we are all set! We need to start taking the limits off of us through fear and start living in faith and in faith in God. We say that God can do the impossible, we say that God can do anything, but why cant we believe that for us? If we really think that God can, then we need to start taking off the limits that we set on ourselves through fear, and step out in faith! God wants to do great things through you and your life, but we limit what He will do by living in fear. We let the fear control us and we let the fear direct our lives instead of living in faith! Stop letting fear rule your life! Lets take a step of faith and walk in what God has for us! Fear NOT!
Today's fear not verse: Genesis 15:1 Later the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don’t be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.”
This verse was spoken to Abram when he was losing hope of ever getting a son. He was getting older and he was losing hope. God told him "fear not!" Then God brought Abram outside to look at the stars and said, "Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That’s how many descendants you will have". How amazing is our God. He wants to bless us and will take us beyond what our human minds can even think or imagine! How do you think Abram felt after God took him out to look at the stars! I think I would have felt foolish for fearing! We need to take our mind off of what is not happening, and start trusting in God and what He has already promised us! Stand firm on those promises and believe! God loves us. We are His children! He wants good things for our lives! The Bible says God has GOOD plans for us, with a good future! Take a stand on the promises and never give in to the fear! Remember this fear not verse and know that the sky is the limit! Be blessed!  

I apologize. I have not been on blogging too much lately. I love to blog, but the past week, week and a half, we have been a sickly household and we are trying to get back to some sort of normalcy here! The break seemed to take forever to get through only because we were pretty sick and it just seemed to linger on. We are already half way through another school week and only one of my kids have been able to go back finally today. I am really hoping that the other will be able to tomorrow. I don't like them to get too behind in their work or with what they are doing in class. It is during times like this when I need to remember that God shows Himself strongest when we are at our weakest! I have felt very weak in body lately and being a mom you still have to go on and take care of everyone. So even though it seemed like I was just trying to get through, I was really relying on God to pull me through. There were definitely days that I didn't think I would make it. I was pretty sick and my body seemed drained at times, but God showed His strength and got me through some tired days, and sleepless nights! Praise the Lord He was there! Well, I hope to get back to my normal blogging soon. We are getting there and are almost better! Thank you for any and all prayers! It has helped more than you know! God hears and knows our hearts! Be blessed!!

Things are looking up

Well, the family is getting there. We are still pretty sick and coughing up a storm, but I think the fevers have passed. Looking forward to full health for us all. The hubby ended up getting it and needing rest as well. Sometimes our bodies just need us to slow down, and rest! We all  missed church yesterday, and definitely missed seeing everyone, but we needed the day to just relax and lay low so that we can get better. I am praying that today is the last day and that the kids can head back to school tomorrow. Thank you for any and all prayers. We definitely needed them! Be blessed and get well!

quick note

We have been a sickly house lately. That is why I have not been able to get on and write. I apologize for that! The kids and I have been sick and now I think the hubby might have it! So a quick note, to ask you to keep us in your prayers. Praying we get better very fast! Thank you all and have a blessed Sunday! No matter where you are (even if your at home sick) you can always meet with God and praise Him and get in His word.

Too bad when you are mom you cant call in and get a sick day... ugh. The kids and I are not at our best. I think I am worse which is good, but it gives me no energy at all to chase after the little ones. And with it being spring break even the two older kids are home. The kids have been coughing as well, and not 100% REALLY praying that we are better by tomorrow!!! Please join with me in prayer for my family and that none of the kids get any worse, and that we are all better in no time. This is all for now.... Need to clean as much as I can.

Can you handle it?

Psalm 139: ²³ Search me, God, and know my heart; 
   test me and know my anxious thoughts. 
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, 
   and lead me in the way everlasting.

Can you handle this prayer? I watched an awesome skit on this verse, It was funny, but it made an impact! It really showed that most of us probably couldn't handle this prayer and its true meaning. If you really look at it and really think about it, it has some hard stuff in there. You are asking God to search you and know your heart! Your heart is one of the places that needs the most guarding and protecting. If we really choose to admit it, we have all had some issues going on in our heart. We have all had some issues of maybe jealousy, fear, doubt, hate, anger and so on! "Test me and know my anxious thoughts". Our thoughts can turn into actions and we have to know when our thoughts are heading that way. If our thoughts are not in line with God's word, we can cause some damage. The Bible says "what ever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of GOOD report" to think on THESE things. Do our thoughts line up to this verse found in Philippians 4:8? We need to think the way that God thinks and not the way the world or the enemy want us to. "see if there is any offensive way in me", WOW this can be a lot of things, one version says "anything that makes you sad". Wow, that hits hard. How can we make God sad? There are many ways. But do you intentionally wake up and tell God that you want to make Him happy today and ask for HIS help and guidance through the day? I know this is one area I could use some help in. I usually wake up to kids screaming or getting into the fridge and squirting stuff all over the kitchen floor (lets just say my morning was rougher!). I Tend not to wake up and ask God how I can make Him happy and how He can lead me through the day! Could you handle this? could you handle every thing that has made God sad? I have to ask this question... Can you handle it not? You have to ask yourself. God knows you better than anyone else. He sees the potential in you. He sees the Good in you. He sees what you don't see! He wants you to make His name great! Sometimes we need to pray this prayer and be willing to change our heart, our mind, our thoughts and the things that we do that make God sad. We need to be willing to let go every selfish ambition so that God's name can be great! Sometimes we need to be willing to change so that God can shine through in our lives and He can get the glory instead of ourselves. Can you handle this prayer? Can you afford NOT to pray this prayer! Here is the link to the skit I watched. It was funny, but soo good! We need to let God "lead us in the way everlasting!" This life isn't about what nice car or house we have, its about bringing glory to God. Its about showing Gods love to those around us! Its about living a life that God would be happy about and not sad about! I encourage you to pray this prayer above and see what God can do out of it. There might be some hard things that we need to deal with, there might need to be some "spring cleaning" inside our hearts, minds, thoughts, and actions, but the outcome will be so worth it! The outcome will be amazing! Let God lead you today!
http://youtu.be/SRmB-a1axkg    I hope you enjoy!

Pep talks.

Today is a pep talk kind of day. I have a question for you... How do you give your self a pep talk? OR do you just give in to the bad feelings that you are having? I encourage you today to start giving yourself pep talks if you don't already. You are someone special! There are people who love you! God loves you!
I will share what I do when I need a lift! I open the WORD OF GOD! Or I bring back to my mind all those great verses that say you are someone! God loves you! You were born with a purpose! God has a GOOD purpose and plan for your life! There are so many great verses that are encouraging and uplifting! AND if you cant for some reason get yourself to believe the word, email me! I will encourage you! I will help lift you up! We all need a little (or maybe a lot) of encouragement from time to time! If you feel you  have no one you can talk to, email! If you feel all alone, Email! If you feel at the end of your rope, EMAIL!  I want to help and be there. I have been there, and every now and then get there, But when we have people to help and uplift us and talk to we can overcome the depression, we can overcome the hurt and pain! You are loved!!! Don't stay in silence, that is where the enemy wants you. It is when you can rely on someone, and especially God and His words, that we can overcome! Be blessed today! If you need  verses of encouragement email me! If you have a favorite verse of encouragement, Email! We can help each other! Love you and be blessed!

my Easter

Well, I was not able to go online yesterday for Resurrection Sunday, but..... HAPPY EASTER! HE IS RISEN!
It was a good Sunday. The kids did a short telling of Easter through our own handmade resurrection eggs. They were able to say what was in the eggs and what it had to do with Easter. Even though they didn't know their own eggs that they were assigned to, one of them knew what it meant and they all were able to share what we learned about Easter with the adults. Then we went up to class, and with the amount of sugar that was in their bodies already, they were NOT able to sit still. The adults said they were impressed with their sharing of Easter with them. So that is good, I was proud of my little group! I hear that the service was one of the best Easter services they have been in or been apart of. I missed a good one it sounds like! Then had a good time with some people we haven't seen a a while! The kids had a blast and we had a good time of fellowship.
It was a good Easter. God definitely gave me a good view of Easter this year and that it is not about me at all! It is HIM! Always HIM! I am here to do HIS will and not mine! At times we fight against what God wants, but it is when we surrrender to HIM that we find peace, joy, rest and fulfillment in life! Do I know everything that God wants to do or what He wants me to do? Not yet, but He will show me as I travel through this <life: the great adventure> continues. As long as I am traveling closer to Him, I know that He wont let me off track! He will guide my steps and light my path! Sometimes it seems like the road is long and dark.... it is only when we shine God's light on it, and ask for HIS direction that the way will shine forth! Be blessed!

Day after Friday thoughts

I cant help but think, what is about today? What about today? I think about the things that are mentioned in Matthew about today and it only said that the tomb was sealed and the guards were put in place to watch the tomb. What were those who were closest to Jesus thinking today? I have to imagine that their hope was long gone! They just watched the brutal and horrific execution of an innocent man, their best friend, their teacher, their Lord! They must have felt alone, devastated, lacking hope and faith. They must have though... "now what?" What are we supposed to do? And then to see and hear that the tomb was guarded and the tomb sealed, that must have just sealed their fate of hopelessness. Then they were probably also asking themselves, "are we next??" The thoughts that went through their mind were probably endless! The thing is many of us feel devastated by life's circumstances. We feel down and like there is no hope and no reason for faith! The thing is SUNDAY IS COMING!!! Jesus did not stay in that grave and He miraculously did what He said He would do. HE ROSE!! God is not dead! The tomb is empty! Then why do we still live like God is dead?? Why do we not think that He CAN in our lives! Your Sunday is coming! You might have to get through a brutal Friday and a devastating and depressing Saturday but your Sunday is coming! Your victory is coming! Your breakthrough is coming!!! Don't be cast down oh my soul!!! HAVE FAITH IN GOD!!! He is not in a tomb rotting away! He is in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father. He is ALIVE and wants to show you everyday that He can bring a breakthrough to where you thought there was no hope! We may see no hope, nothing good, and despair, BUT GOD sees all the potential for a great miracle! God sees His chance to step in and show us HE IS GOD! When we are at our lowest, weakest point, God steps in and shows us His strength, might, power, and LOVE!!! So even though you may feel like you are going through that horrific Friday or that down and depressive Saturday, SUNDAY IS COMING! Your breakthrough, your victory, the answer to your prayers is on its way! Sunday! That glorious Sunday is coming in your life! Tomorrow as you celebrate Easter, celebrate the breakthrough that God wants to do in your life! Even if you have yet to experience it, praise Him for it now! He wants to and He will. Are you willing??

Great is our God!

As I sit and think about things, we can easily get into the mode of asking,  why?  The fact of the matter is, sometimes we don't have the answers, and we sometimes never will. The fact of the matter is, sometimes the answer doesn't really need to come. Sometimes we just need to turn our focus off of us, and onto HIM! Today I am going to do just that. In years past I have asked God for a new revelation of Him during the Easter season. I have been raised in the church and have heard the story many times, and I have and always will believe the story to be true and to be the redemption of mankind! I think that at times, that we forget it is also OUR redemption story of Gods love not just to mankind but to US! We forget to make it a personal love story, one that should always bring us to our knees in thanks, in admiration, in hope and in a forgiving heart. In that one day on the cross so much was accomplished by God. In this one day on the cross Jesus felt so much pain, abandonment, rejection, the subject of mockery, betrayal, and I am sure he felt the weight of our sin on His shoulders. The sin of the ages... Just think of the pain that you alone went through in life and your life is still going and multiply that by all the people that ever lived! That is a great GREAT weight! It says in the account of Jesus' death that He cried out to God "My God, why have you abandoned me!?" I know that we have felt like this from time to time as well. That someone in our life has abandoned us, and this was Jesus, the son of God who felt like this.
In the moments after Jesus' death there were certain things that happened. I have to say that the things that happened would have either scared me to death or would have made me a believer right then and there if I was there.
 Matthew 27: ^51-53At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.) 
Reading the above verses makes me think of what everyone there would have thought. 


The first thing that happened was the Temple curtain was ripped in two, from top to bottom. This is important thing that happened. The curtain was the separation of the holy of hollies and the most holy place which only the high priest was able to enter. This gave us as just regular access to God. Not through another person like in the Old Testament, but we ourselves can talk to God face to face, and enter into His presence because of Jesus' work on the cross. This is an amazing thing to think about! Think about it.... God's presence was behind that veil, and when Jesus died on the cross that veil ripped. It was like God grabbed it, ripped it and let His presence out to be among the people! He was no longer trapped behind a curtain where only one person (the high priest) had access. Now God had personal access with all His children! Jesus made this possible through making His body the final perfect sacrifice! There was no need to sacrifice a spotless lamb since now, the perfect son of God had taken the sins of the world on Himself and made God accessible to all! 
The next thing that happened was an earthquake and rocks split into pieces. This you might not think is an amazing thing but if you think about it for a bit, at this time the Jewish people, Israel,  were against Jesus  and rejected Him and the Romans were against Jesus, all mocking Him. They did not yet recognize Jesus as the savior or Messiah. But Even though people were mocking Jesus and not recognizing the authority that Jesus had, the Earth always recognized. It says in the Bible that if we don't praise God that the rock will! I think that in some way this was the earth crying out for the Messiah. Creation always recognized Jesus. Jesus hushed the storm, quieted the waves, water turned to wine, fish and bread multiplied, Jesus was able to walk on water, the wind stopped when He spoke. Creation always listened and responded to Jesus. Was Jesus' death a traumatic event for God's creation? The creator breathed His last and the earth shook and trembled at the moment He died; it instantly felt the loss. 
The next thing that happened would have been an amazing sight to see! I don't know what I would have done if I were there at the time. But it is amazing to think of these events that revolve around the death of our savior. The veil tore, the earthquake, the rocks split and then the bodies of believers that came to life. Did this account happen because the veil ripped and God was free to be among the people for the first time? There was so much power and presence released at once that even the dead believers rose from death?? There is so many thoughts on this portion, but we can still look at it and say that we serve an amazing God. The events that surround Jesus' death are amazing to say the least. We serve a loving, all powerful God. Who took the place for our sins and who wants to have an intimate relationship with us! How great is our God! This story doesn't end at the cross but its just the beginning! Jesus rose to live forever more and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He sent the Holy Spirit to help us, direct us, and comfort us! The trinity seen in great and awesome power! Remember why we celebrate Easter and that it is not just another story or another day, but it is a great day that our God paid the price for our sins so that we may have eternal life!!! 

Stay strong!

‎"This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my 


place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.For he will 


rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly 


disease." (Psalm 91:2-3) - NLT

I have said it a million times: life can be tough! But we serve a tougher God than we even give him credit for. In times of trouble I have to say that I have not always turned to Him. I have let other things control my feelings, i have run to other people or things when the going got tough. But I have to say that my I have learned from this and I am so glad that I have Him to turn to through tough times. At times life seems like its one trial after another. You fight one battle just to be faced with the next. At times there seems to be a glimmer of hope or a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel just to find that the tunnel goes on for another 20 miles it seems. I have to say that I see the glimmer, actually it is more like a bright light at this point. I see the good, I see the hope, I see the potential, and I can say that I am optimistic! When we get a glimmer of hope, there will always be someone or something to try and take that away from us! And if we let them take it away, they will! We need to stay strong through those times! We need to walk toward the light that God is placing in front of us! If we see the light and walk away from it, it is our foolishness or it is the enemy winning. It is in these times of choice that we need to run to our refuge! Run to that place of safety found in God alone! We need to remember who it is that we trust in: God NOT man! We need to remember that all we do IS FOR HIM AND HIS KINGDOM! I feel that if we don't run toward that light and run to God to keep us going toward the light, that we will be trapped again, and we will find that deadly disease awaiting us in the dark. I know I may seem vague and not everyone will know what I am saying, but those who need to will know. I am very optimistic that the things that God wants to happen will, but we need to keep running toward the light without giving in to the temptation to go backward, not give in to the temptation to stay stagnant, not give in to the temptation to beat our selves up, not give in to the temptation to sulk. We need to know that this is God and RUN and not waver. Run and not question. The more we question the more we let the enemy get a chance to change our mind. Will you choose to follow after God and His will or will you decide to stay stagnant with death at the doorstep? I think that this question is good for all. We all need to know that we have much growth and growing to do. Even Paul said that he hadn't yet arrived to where he could be, but He knew not to give up when the going got tough! Stay strong through the tough times! Stay closer to Him through the tough times, and He will lead you to the place He wants to. It is when we take our eyes off of HIM and start to question what He is placing in front of us that we give the enemy a chance to talk us into running away in fear. Stay strong, Be courageous for the Lord your God is with you!!!!

Making the most of this adventure we call life!

Part of this great adventure we call life, is the idea of staying healthy and fit. Why is this an important thing? Why is is so hard to keep at times? 

Well I find a few different things in the Bible that can go with this. For one it says not to be a gluten and to be balanced or everything in moderation! There are the verses about us being the temple of God and that we want a clean temple and that we want a temple that honors God. Then there are verses about being good stewards of our time money and resources. I think that includes being good stewards of our health and our bodies so that we may have a long life since our bodies were made to break down. being good stewards of our health will help extend our life a little bit longer. I think that the idea of health is a very important thing for a Christian. For one, you can do much more for God when you are in good health. you are not bogged down with doctor appointments, or in or out of hospital. I think that we do need to be good stewards of our bodies. We only get one, and the longer we are on earth the longer we have to impact the world for God. I think it also honors God when we are keeping our temple clean. 

I know I have not been a model of this. I have had many excuses. I have a lot of kids, and I use that as an excuse. (my hubby will love reading this post ;)  But I know that I need to keep a healthy lifestyle not only for my family but also for our ministry. If I want to do what God has called me to do, I need to be around to do it. I have been bad with my eating habits and have struggled with the love of food. I have had an addiction to food at times and I feel I am doing better in this area, but like many addictions it can be a struggle not to fall back into it especially if it is an addiction to something that you need to do to live! I am trying and I know I need to stick with it. I need God's help to stick with it! I am an emotional eater. So I need to teach myself not to run to food when I am happy, sad, hurt, etc, but to run to GOD! It is a learning of new habits. I have been doing really well with exercising since going to the Y. I have really enjoyed going and the kids go and play for a bit while I get a good workout in. Now it is time to revamp my food intake. I have been doing pretty good with it, but now its time to make it a lifestyle change. I have been working out for a few weeks with no weight loss, but since really deciding to make a change in diet I have finally lost 3 lbs! I was so happy to finally see the scale go down and not up or staying the same! So I am trying to really make it a lifestyle change this time and to stick with it. I need this! My body deserves it and I really feel like I need to be a good steward of this life and body that God gave me! Life is an adventure and I want to make the most of this adventure. 

abundant life!

Do you make life worthwhile?

Life is filled with ups and downs, choices of true bliss or total disaster... or so it may feel. We feel at times that if we make one wrong choice disaster is waiting around the corner to strike us down where we stand! At times it does feel as if we make a wrong choice that everything will fall apart, everything will crumble and we will be left to try and put the pieces back together again. I have to say that I am sure that we have made some choices that have felt very "life or death".... OK, not that bad, but very important choices that if it was the wrong move we felt that we would be punished or that we would have disaster on our hands. Well, I think that maybe at times we should have been more patient or maybe at times we should have waited a bit more on God for a clear answer, but I do feel that we are where God wants us at this time in life. A lot of things are going on, but I feel that we are making some right moves. Did any of the other choices that we made bring us disaster? No, we are still alive and kicking, God has more grace for us than we give Him credit for at times. He will always love us and always take us back! We serve a good God. When thinking about all this, this morning a verse came to my head: John 10:10 "A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good."  
God is the one who wants us to have a good and full life! He came to this earth to die for our sins, so that we may have a full life! One that is GOOD! He wants good for us! How awesome a God we serve that He cares for us, and wants a good and FULL life for us! Do we mess up at times? YES! But there is grace provided by God! and He will get us back on track so He can give us a good and full life! I pray that I make all the right choices, and that I never mess up, but I know that isn't going to happen. I am human and it is human nature to mess up. It is how we learn from our mistakes and get back up and keep trying not to make the same mistake again! We have the grace of God, but remember it isn't an excuse to keep doing wrong or to keep doing the same sin over and over again! We always have to be trying to do good and following God and what His word says! God knows and sees the heart. I really feel that we take life so serious at times and sometimes miss out on the little things that God wants us to see or experience because of our business, or our eyes are just not open to see what He wants us to! Sometimes we just get busy with things, and we forget to open our Spiritual eyes to what God wants us to see! At times it is the little things that God wants to speak through. I think at times we are too caught up with trying to make our own lives abundant, and God is the one who wants to do that! I think we miss that He has already richly blessed us and that we need to rely on Him and His wisdom and not on our own wisdom and our own strength! He wants to be our all, we just need to let Him take that first place over everything else in life!!! Will you let Him give you an abundant life today? Will you open your eyes today to see that you are already richly blessed?