I Am Taking A Bloggy Break (To Know Him Needs To Know Him...)

(Warning...this post will be long since it will be my last one for 6 weeks :)

Hey Bloggyville!!! I will be taking about a 6 week break (beginning on Monday) from all blogging (that includes my own blog and visiting other blogs). I debated on whether to go into detail about the break, because this bloggy break is more of a personal journey and conviction, and I didn't want it to seem like I was bragging on myself. However, I feel like if I share a little of the story it may encourage someone out there in blogville.

So funny that this week on my Friday meme I mentioned that the computer was a huge time waster for me :) In my title, you see that I wrote "To Know Him Needs To Get To Know Him". This blog is dedicated to documenting my journey to know Jesus better, but I think I have done more talking about "knowing" Jesus, than actually getting to "know" Him. This break will help me to focus more on the goal of knowing Jesus, my Savior.

Sadly, the computer (blogging) has become an idol to me. Girls, in my personal journey it doesn't take much for me to take up an idol. I do love Jesus so much more than I ever have, but yet I am still looking to outside things, sometimes they are even good things, to fill the empty spaces in my heart and soul. Those spaces are not to be filled by the things of the world, even if the things are wonderful and good.

Oh, how I wish I could be a woman of moderation... A little food, a little computer, a little TV, and at times maybe even a little bit of ministry. It just doesn't seem to work that way for me. If a little is good, than a whole lot is better in my book. NO!!! That is a lie.

I think part of my problem is that filling my life with all of the things mentioned above is easier to me than taking the time to let Jesus fill me up. It shouldn't be, but that is the way I have been living for 99% of my life. Girls, I don't want to miss what Jesus has for me by keeping so busy with all the other things that life can offer. I know that would be a tragedy.

I have a lot of hard work to do with God, not that He makes it hard, but the hard part will be the denial of myself and my fleshly desires and wants. I can tell you that not checking my blog or any other of your blogs will be hard for me. It shouldn't be, but I have definitely become attached to the blogging thing... Maybe because I felt my blog gave me a purpose, maybe because I like to be "in the know", maybe because I love making new friends and sharing experiences together... Who Knows? Whatever the reason, I hope that when I come off this break I have such wonderful stories to share with you all that have real purpose and meaning, but whatever happens I just feel it is what I need to do. Pray for me if you think of me during this time... I know I will need it :)

I hope in sharing that you were encouraged, and if God is calling you to do something then know it is always for a good purpose... Go For It!!!

To the few people who regularly check my blog, I hope that you will be around when I come back. I have so enjoyed getting to know so many of you (my Siestas and Friends), and all of you have encouraged me greatly. I look forward to catching up soon, and seeing what God is doing in all of your lives. Blessings to all!!!

PS. To the faithful "Know & Tell" community... I will miss coming up with questions every week, but I will start it back up when I return to my blog (I think I will :). Hopefully, when I come back I will bring even better questions for you all to answer :)

You are in Good Company!!!

I read this in Lysa Terkeurst's book, "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God". She actually quoted Pastor Rick Warren, but I thought you would like to read it too. (Everything below is from Lysa's book)

If God is calling you to do something you feel is beyond you, you are in good company. God has a history of calling people to things that were beyond themselves. Pastor Rick Warren put it this way:

Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zachaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid. That's quite a group of misfits, but God used each of them in his service. He will use you too.

Know & Tell Friday

Hello All :) I slept in this morning, and have been quite lazy to tell you the truth, but it was so nice :) I will get right to the questions, and remember anyone can participate... (Questions mostly come from me today, but I grabbed a few from my "Coke or Pepsi" book)

Question 1
Do you color your hair (give me some background info on this one)? I (or my mom) started coloring my hair in the 8th grade. I have been a blonde, brunette, red (more auburn) head, and to my displeasure I have also had white, green, grey, and purple hair (that is what happens when you do your own hair :( However, at present I do not do my own hair and I am more of a highlight girl now. I am pretty sure I will color my hair always :)
Question 2
What is one thing that you do with your family (or by yourself) to celebrate Easter? One thing that our family has been doing for several years now is telling the story of Easter through a set of "Resurrection Eggs" (click on link to see what they are about). It is so awesome to see the kids learn more about the Easter Story every year with the help of the "Resurrection Eggs".
Question 3
How old was your oldest living relative (still living or in the past)? I am not good with remembering exact information, but I think my great grandmother lived into her 90's, and we had four generations alive at one time...my great grandma, grandma, mom, and me :)
Question 4
What is one thing that can be a "time waster" to you? Sadly, the computer... I say sadly because I love it so much, but I find that I easily get lost in computer land or blogville, and waste a lot of time.
Question 5
Most annoying bug? I used to live in Florida, and I hated the Roaches (they call them Palmetto Bugs, but that is just a nice name for a gross bug), but I would have to say the most annoying bug would be the fly... Those little buzzy flies drive me batty when they get in my house...
Bonus Questions
Question 6
What does Easter mean to you? I know I have a long way to go to really comprehend all that Easter really means, and I hope as I grow in Christ I will come to truly understand and appreciate all (or as much as I can this side of Heaven) that Easter means. I see that I need a change in my heart so that I don't just think about Jesus' sacrifice only on Easter, or around the Lord's table. I want to live with a constant reminder of what Jesus did for me, and not only when someone, or the calendar reminds me to think about Jesus.
Question 7
(Feel free to pass on this question) Is there currently a sin that you are holding onto, and you know you should let go of? I know that we all sin everyday, and we will never get to a point of not sinning, but we can let go of sins with God's help and power, and be free of them. Although in my head, I would say I am not actively wanting to hold onto any sins, but I think again when I look at my life my actions may tell a different story. I could probably list a few sins that I still am not surrendering to God, but I think at the root of those sins is my desire to "control" my life, or the things in my life. So, I guess I would say the sin of "Control". I will be praying about this...

Blessings to all, and have a WONDERFUL EASTER!!! HE IS RISEN!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Revisiting the past when my boys were just a bit younger... I love Children's Place because I can always find outfits that match for all my boys (or almost match)... I am big on the matching thing :)

What do you think?

Hey Bloggy Friends :) You are on the right site... I just had a blog makeover done by an awesome blog designer. She worked so hard for me, and didn't stop until I was completely satisfied. She is also quite reasonable as far as blog makeovers go. Her name is Jennisa, and she is talented, super quick, dedicated, and very creative. Click on her button at the bottom of my sidebar to be directed to her site. THANKS JENNISA!!!

Check Out This Amazing Story...

Fireproof Trailer is Up...

Hey Bloggers. I wrote a post on this awhile ago, but I just found out today that the "Fireproof" trailer is up and running at this link

Click on it to see the trailer. "Fireproof" comes from the writers of "Facing the Giants" and stars Kirk Cameron as one of the main stars. It is all about marriage... Take a peek. I can't wait until it comes out at the theater.

Know & Tell Friday

Well, Friday is here (well almost here), and it is time for another edition of "Know & Tell Friday". I was so happy to see some new participants last week, and remember anyone can join in and answer questions at anytime. Gotta a lot of stuff to do tonight, so let's get going with the questions. (Soon, I promise that Mr. Linky thing will get going :) FYI: This week I made up my questions and pulled a few from my "Coke or Pepsi?" book.

Question 1
What can you draw well? Seriously, nothing. The side of the brain that helps one to draw is definitely suffering in my case :) You know what though, I can probably draw a cute little lady bug :)
Question 2
Name a TV show (at any period in your life) that you watched that you were probably a little too old to watch. Sadly, I probably have a long list of shows that I watched that I was just a little too old to watch. I was a TV addict so I watched everything. I will admit to watching Beverly Hills 90210, and I was in my early 20's and of course the show was about High Schoolers. Hey, the cast was my age, so maybe that was not to bad. The people of Melrose Place were probably more my age, but my life was nothing like old Melrose :) More recently, I adore Hannah Montana... It is just so squeaky clean and cute, and Billy Ray is just adorable with his hair :) I may have shared a little too much information on this question :)
Question 3
What color is the dominant color of your wardrobe? Probably Black... I remember when I was really young being told that black makes you look skinnier... That was all I needed to be a believer in the color of black for my wardrobe. However, I do have a lot of different colors going on in my closet.
Question 4
Favorite donut? I do enjoy a Krispy Kreme donut, but any donut with the white cream inside and chocolate on the outside is my favorite.
Question 5
Wear painful shoes just because they are cute? Yes I would, but it normally ends up being too painful and I either change shoes, or the minute I sit down the shoes come off. I love all the cute high heel, skinny toed shoes, but my wide foot and wobbly ankles make it almost impossible to keep up with the style of today :(

Bonus Questions
Question 6
Is there anything that you believe you do not believe God about? My quick answer is that I believe God about everything He says, but when I look at my life my actions do not always reflect what I believe... I feel that I still maybe struggling with believing God's deep love for me. After watching a DVD teaching recently I feel that I really need to go deep with God and settle this question in my mind and heart. In my head I know that He loves me, but I am not sure that belief has made it into the deep parts of my heart and soul. I want it to though!!!
Question 7
In general, do you think it is ok to be frustrated with people? This is a tricky question, and I think there may be a variety of answers... OK, I do believe that in an imperfect world we cannot help but get frustrated with people at times (I get frustrated with my own self), but I don't think we have a right, or that it is OK to stay frustrated with someone, even if they are in the wrong. I think that through God we have the power and strength to work through our frustration and get onto loving the person that is frustrating us. ONLY THROUGH HIM THOUGH... Also, in most cases for me when I am frustrated with someone I find that my frustration normally has nothing to do with the other person, it has to do with my own sin (IE: my impatience). I have not always put into practice what I believe on this question, but I hope that in the future I will go to God when I am frustrated and let Him work through me. I am looking forward to seeing what you all think...

I will try to visit all the participants this week. God Bless, and see you around blogville...

Thankful Thursday

Hello Blogville... I have been so busy this week I did not think I would get a Thankful Thursday post in today. Isn't that a sad state??? Too busy to be thankful. So here is my list today...

-I am thankful that I am feeling better. Thank you to all the sweet women that left me kind words hoping I would feel better last week. This blog thing is so SWEET!!!
-Most of you know that I am losing weight. I still am...very close to 20 pounds, but this week I realized that the main reason I started changing my eating habits was to attack it from a spiritual perspective (Food addiction is probably my number one or two struggle that I deal with), and I realized that I have really just been on a diet. Hey, dieting is good, but I have to tackle this problem with God, and have Him help and sustain me, or I will end up gaining all my weight back. If I didn't gain the weight back, I think without God I would still be having problems in my mind with obsessing about food. I really want to be free of this struggle, and this week I refocused with God about this journey. That is a Praise :)
-I am thankful for the open communication I shared with my hubby last night. Things have been kind of crazy in the household lately and my husband and I both know that we must keep communicating to have a healthy marriage.
-I also am thankful because I feel like I am working (so the beginning stage) with God to change the way I think. I still realize that I am so full of unbelief when it comes to God's Word. I know some part of me believes God, but my actions say a different thing. Also, I just think there are things that I grew up learning about God that just are not true, not to mention the things I believed in my own heart about God. I need to re wallpaper (I think Beth Moore used this term once) my mind with God's view and perspective on my life.

Well, I must go so I can run Moose's costume for his book report to school today. Moose is going to be "Johnny Appleseed". He is the most adorable Johnny A. I have ever seen :)

Wordless Wednesday

One of my favorite pictures of the "Terminator" :)

The Ultimate Blog Party 2008 Is Finally Here...

The Family...
Keep looking down for details on the "Ultimate Blog Party"

This is what normally happens when we try to take the perfect picture :)

Me and Hubby (the red eye reduction gave us blue eyes and me some blue eyeliner... I have always wanted blue eyes :)

Moose, Terminator, and Snake... These pictures are just little snapshots into my life...

It is Party Time...Bloggy Style...

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting "The Ultimate Blog Party". 5MFM hosted a blog party last year and it was a huge success. One of the reasons they created this was so that women could meet and connect with other women bloggers, and basically have FUN! I am suppose to do a party post that will give you all a little bit of background on my life and my blog, but first I will let you know that sometime this week I will be giving away a prize here at my blog...make sure to check back later on in the week (I have to figure out what I am giving away :)

10 Facts about the "To Know Him" blog...
1. This month is my one year anniversary of blogging.
2. One of the reasons I started blogging was that I read one of Lisa Whelchel's (Blair from "The Facts of Life) journal entries about how great blogging was...
3. In almost all of my posts I use multiple periods and exclamation points at the end of my sentences...it makes me feel like I am really talking (I never stop talking :)
4. The name of my blog is inspired by one of my passions in this life... To Know Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and Savior better and better. I ran into another blog with the same name, and the owner of that blog is inspiring with her love and passion for the Lord as well.
5. My posts range from the silliest things in life (like shopping for bathing suits) to deep confessions of my soul.
6. I am a boy mom... I have three boys... "Moose" , "Snake", and the "Terminator". All appropriately named I assure you :)
7. I have a wonderful husband (normally referred to as "hubby") that seeks after God's will for his life and our family's life. It was not always that way, but God stepped in and changed us both for the better (I needed a major overhaul myself...more than my hubby).
8. I am the host of a Friday meme (it took me a long time to figure out what a meme was :) called "Know & Tell Friday" . I ask some light hearted questions and then some deep ones, and anyone is welcome to participate. (See post below this one for an example).
9. This blog has become my journal.
10. I love when people comment... I am so social that it makes me happy to read your comments, even if it is just a hello.

Well, I can't wait to see how this "UBP 2008" turns out. Visit 5MFM (click on link in my sidebar, or click on the "UBP" button) to join in on the party!!! See you around blogville!!!

Oh, if I am one of the chosen winners for the prizes these are my top 3 choices...


Number 7... The Bead Dangle Photo Tile Necklace by Elemental Memories.
Number 117... 25 Gift Certificate to Target by Mommy Bytes.
Number 135... Handmade Silver Cross or Heart by Dandelion Dayz

I also would not mind winning numbers 54, 32, 8, 20, 38, 48, 49, 52, 59, 60, 61, 62, 78, 72, 87, 104, 105, 109, 119, 132, 140, 124, & 147. Thanks to all those who donated prizes for the UBP.

Know & Tell Friday (posted early :)

I think Friday is my favorite day of the week for blogging... Why? Because I know I get to go visit some awesome blogs, and read some very fun and deep answers to my questions. I hope that you all are enjoying reading each other's answers...if you have not visited other bloggers to see their answers, why not make this the week to pay them a little visit. Also, I am in the process of trying to get the Mr. Linky box attached to this meme. I am very technically challenged, and have not yet figured out all the directions... I am afraid I will mess up my whole blog :) So, let's get started with the questions...

Question 1
I have been blogging for a year this month, so my question is what made you start your blog?
If I remember correctly, I started my blog because I was reading one of Lisa Whelchel's journal entries from her website, and she was talking about how great blogging was... I visited some of her favorites blogs, and I was hooked. I also think I may have heard about blogging after visiting the Living Proof Ministries blog (Beth Moore's blog) too.
Question 2
Do you speak another language? If so, why or how did you learn it? I so wish I did. I took German in High School, and remember only a few German words... Ich Liebe Dich!!! Does anyone know what I wrote?
Question 3
Morning person, or night owl (or somewhere in between)? Generally speaking, I am a night person, although I can get a boost of energy in the late afternoon. However, I would not say I am a night "OWL" anymore. I can't stay up as late as I did about 10 years ago. Cinderella definitely turns into "Sleeping" Beauty after midnight :)
Question 4
Do you exercise on a regular basis? This has been a battle my whole life, but about the last two months I have exercised on a consistent basis. I hope it sticks this time!!!

Bonus Questions
Question 5
If money were not an object what is one thing you would like to do for another person? I would love to buy my mother a house. She has sacrificed her whole life for all of her children, and she is in a tiny rental at present. She is also very ill, so I might say that I would get her the best medical care (she has no insurance) there is first, and then buy her a house to live in... I love her so!!!
Question 6
What is one of your favorite attributes of our Lord God? I think it would be that He never gives up on His children. I can't believe how many chances the Lord has given me, and that He keeps pursuing me and drawing me closer to Him... it really blows my mind when I think of it...
Question 7
Have you ever thought about adoption or foster care? Many times... Sometimes I wonder if either of those things will be in my future. Although, when I look at my circumstances I feel very ill equipped, but I also want to make sure it is something that the Lord wants for my family, and not just something that I want.

I can't wait to visit your blogs, and read your answers... Blessings today and have a wonderful weekend!!!

Thankful Thursday

I have not been feeling so well the last couple of days, so I am not my normal bloggy self, but I must post something on "TT".

-First, I am thankful that my hubby's tooth extraction went relatively smooth. He was scared to death of going to the oral surgeon (bad experience when he was younger). He later admitted that it was not as bad as he thought it would be, and he seems to be back to normal. He ate dinner with us tonight :)
-Again, I am so thankful for my oldest son turning nine last week, and accepting Jesus as his Savior...This fact is worth mentioning twice :)
-I am thankful for the many wonderful Christian resources (books, Bible Studies, worship Cd's) that are out there today. I probably cannot count the times that God has used one of these resources as a tool for change in my life.
-I am thankful for continued financial provision for my family while we are in a transitional state.
-Last, I am thankful that God led our family to a wonderful Church when we moved about 4 years ago. The body of believers that we get to worship, serve, and live life with are such examples of what the Church is really suppose to be... We are so blessed!!!

Blessings today, and come back tomorrow for "Know & Tell Friday"...

Wordless Wednesday

When all my boys could still use a sippy :) No more sippys today...