15 years later...

See original post below to see what we looked like 15 years ago... My 5 year old took these pictures...

Today is our Anniversary :)

15 Years Ago... I will have an updated photo next week...We are going out for dinner on Saturday...

Our marriage is a testament to God's goodness. Marriage is probably the hardest thing I have ever done (motherhood is a close second). God has used my marriage to shape me into the person He wants me to be... I have a long way to go, but the work has begun :)

Love you "U"!!!

Thankful Thursday

Well, I almost missed "TT" thinking it was Wednesday tomorrow... I am a little messed up with my dates because of the holiday on Monday :)

-First I am thankful that all of my children made it through another school year. All of them did so well this year. I was so nervous for my "Moose" this year...he transitioned to the Intermediate School (4th and 5th Grades)... He was loved so much by everyone (most) at his school last year, and transition can be hard for a child with Autism, but I can confidently say that Moose has already captured the hearts of many at his new school. I don't know this for sure, but I feel like God has given Moose favor in the public school system.
-Our current house is almost ready for us to put the "For Sale" sign up in the yard. I have been cleaning and dusting like a mad woman. I only have a few more rooms to touch up and then we are open for business :)
-I am thankful for the energy that God has given me the last few days... I don't know how I would have done all that cleaning without it.
-My husband and I have been married (Thursday) for 15 years today... That is a miracle and we are thankful for today!!!

Well as always I could list several more things, but I need to get to bed as I have to get up early time... I just had a nice cup of sleepy time tea, and I am hoping to get sleepy soon :) Blessings

Winner of Giveaway 2

Laurie Ann... You won the book by Angela Thomas... I will be contacting you, but if you see this first, please send me your address :) Congrats!!!

(Feel free to send your address as a blog comment... I won't post it, but will delete it after I get your address)

I think my next Giveaway will be from one of my favorite Bible Studies Teachers... A Hint... Her last name is Moore, and her first name begins with a B :) Any Guesses???

Do you take risks???

(Taken from my weekly meme at the Internet Cafe... Would love to hear what you think)..


This week's Chat will be a little different, but I hope you will leave today feeling challenged in your spirit. A couple of days ago I watched a video that was posted on my friend's Facebook page. After viewing the video I started thinking about how I live out my walk with Jesus. I hope today you will do the same thing.

Before you answer the question, please click here to view a 3-4 minute video of pastor, Francis Chan (Make sure you are viewing the "Balance Beam" video).


In light of the Francis Chan video, how do you live out your Christian walk with Jesus? Do you always play it safe? Or do you take risks?

In one or two sentences, what do you want to be said of you, and how you lived out your life for Jesus when your time on earth is finished.


In answering the first question, I would like to say that I don't always play it safe, but when I watched Francis Chan's demonstration on the balance beam, I seemed to recognize myself holding on to that balance beam for dear life....requesting of God that my life just go pretty smoothly with maybe an occasional bump in the road. BUT, in my spirit there is a longing to take risks for God... Jump into living this Christian walk out in full abandon. Every now and then, I do take a "risk", but that is not the norm... I want that to be different...oh so different :)

There are probably many sentences I could come up with, but I guess the longing of every Christian would be that when they reach heaven, he or she wants to hear Jesus say, well done thy good and faithful servant.

Eye Candy...

I have recently discovered this cute little store called, "Eye Candy by Brandy". They make custom T-shirts (and a few other items). After attending a Kindergarten night with my youngest about a month ago, I decided that I wanted "ECbB" to make a shirt for me as a teacher of Pre-K students. That night I noticed that the Kindergarten teachers were all wearing black Tees with the words "Kindergarten Rocks (with a guitar on the shirt)"... Well, I didn't want to copy so a friend and I came up with this saying and design... The picture doesn't do it justice...it is so sparkly...blingy :)

I think now I may end up having myself a little Eye Candy collection :)

Thankful Thursday

Well it is 10 PM and my bedtime, but as always I like to get my "TT" list out on Wednesday nights, so here it goes...

-First, we are in the process of buying and selling our home...we had our inspection on the house we are purchasing and for the most part everything looks good :)

-Our dryer finally kicked the bucket, and we are planning on buying a new one, but my hubby doesn't want to transport it twice (once to our house now, and once to the new house)...he is afraid it could get damaged, so he has agreed to take our clothes to the laundry mat and dry them until we move. Sweet hubby, and we have a nice little air conditioned laundry mat right near our house... It reminds us of early marriage days :)

-I am thankful for my best bud as she encouraged me today and challenged me to do something hard that I have been thinking about doing for a long time, but resisting it because it goes against what I want to do in my flesh. So today, I am taking a small/big step with this challenge.

-I watched a great kids movie today... "The Velveteen Rabbit". It is a newer version of the classic story directed by Michael Landon Jr. (Love Comes Softly movies). Although it is not a Christian movie per se, it is a moral movie with a few Christian messages thrown in. I was in tears several times during this movie, and my five year old, Terminator thought that was kind of strange... Poor child shouldn't try to figure out women at five years old :) (I recommend this movie to families if you are looking for a movie to watch with your kids... You can rent it at most video stores)

-The Lord strengthened me several times this week to accomplish tasks that must be done as we are getting ready to sell our house. I am so thankful to the Lord, as in my flesh I am lazy...

-There is probably much more to be thankful for, but I must hit the hay...BUT if you are interested in winning an Angela Thomas book, please see the post directly below this "TT" post. You can either leave a comment on the giveaway post or even here on the"TT" post...just make sure to mention you would like a chance to win the book.

Blessings, and Laurie Ann I still want to get back to answering a question you asked me about 3 weeks ago about prayer time with my husband... Maybe I will have time today :)

Giveaway #2

Hey Bloggy Friends, or anyone else that stops by...

I am giving away an Angela Thomas book for this giveaway. The title is "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?". I bought it at a store (warehouse) that sells books, some new and some old. It looks like this one is almost new.

On the back cover it reads... In Do You Think I'm Beautiful? Angela Thomas invites you to awaken your passion and glimpse your deepest desires. To voice your longing to be loved with an ultimate love. And to fall into the embrace of the One who asks you to dance. Also, you can visit http://www.angelathomas.com/ to learn more about this book, and her ministry.

I have heard of Angela Thomas before, and seen her speak briefly on videos via the computer (love her accent :) I haven't had the pleasure of doing one of her studies yet, but I hope to in the future... So if you would like to have this book, just leave a little comment and in a week I will draw to see who wins... (Giveaway only open to shipping in the United States).

Thankful Thursday

Hey "TT" community... I can't believe it is Thursday already, but I have a good list of "thankfuls" today :)

-First, and I mentioned this last week (vaguely :), we bought a house. Well, we will close at the end of June. We will still be living in the same city, but after prayer we decided to put an offer on a house that will be a blessing to our growing family (no, not growing as in pregnant). This house also gives us a chance to cut down on our debt, and make another step toward our goal of being completely debt free one day. A little prayer request, we now have our house to sell... Things are already looking favorable for this request though.
-Second, my husband totally surprised me on Mother's Day by buying my Best Fwend a ticket to come see me in June. I was totally shocked and surprised. We have not seen each other in a long time, and this gift came at just the perfect time. Honey, this is the best gift you ever surprised me with :)
-Tomorrow is my last day of teaching my Pre-K class. It has been a wonderful year, and I will miss my little kiddos. My son, "Terminator" will be one of the kids graduating from the school that I teach at too.
- This might not seem like a thankful, but stick with it...I had a really trying time as a parent today with my child... Actually, our youngest has been going through a very defiant, trying stage lately, and my husband and I are really kind of lost as to what to do that will really, really help him. However, this is a thankful because my husband and I want to make sure we go to God in prayer on "Terminator's" behalf, and I believe that in and of itself, this will be a thing that will help us grow closer to God.
-I will end here today, but I am just thankful that I have God to come to when life gets hard. Lately, I have been struggling a bit spiritually, and I know that things will only get better if I pursue after God... Lord, forgive me for not valuing time with You, and putting things of the world above You....it effects me more than I realize...

Blessings today, and if you think about it would you lift a prayer on behalf of a blogging friend/siesta today... Her name is Bev, and she is a wonderful example of a Christ follower. She will be having surgery Thursday at 7am (Texas Time) for cancer. I know any prayers she receives will be a blessing to her and her family...

How Can We Best Help???

Hey Bloggyville... I need your wisdom here. This question was taken from my "Cafe Chat" meme that I host at the "Internet Cafe". However, I think these questions and the answers to these questions can be helpful to us all... Please leave a comment answering the questions if you get the chance...


I am hoping this week’s question will encourage women who maybe experiencing the issue we will be discussing today. In the last month, several women I have come in contact with have shared their hearts about being burdened with praying for their husbands. Sometimes the prayer is that their husband will come to know the Lord as Savior. Some of the prayers have been for their husbands to come back to the Lord as they have drifted away, and others are just for the Lord to continue to draw their husbands into a deeper relationship with Him.

Now I know that not everyone who reads this devotion today will be married, but I do believe that you still can answer the questions I will pose today. If you are not married, you could apply the question to anyone in your life that maybe experiencing some of the same issues.

What are things we can do as wife (friend, relative, etc.) when we have a husband (friend, relative, etc) who does not know the Lord?

What are things we can do as wives when are husbands once had a growing relationship with the Lord that now seems to be stagnant? (Remember feel free to substitute the wife/husband relationship if you are not married)

Last, what are things wives can do to help our husbands grow deeper in their walk with Christ?

I can’t wait to see your answers this week. I am sure many of you will be sharing out of your own personal experiences. Be blessed this week, and I hope to stop and visit your blogs later today.

Thankful Thursday

(SORRY "TT" COMMUNITY... I wrote my post before I saw today's theme...thankful for your mom. I will have to write that post later :)

Hey "TT" community... I was able to get around to more of your blogs last week to say hello, and that was nice :) So onto my list as I need to take a shower before bed... I am in an allergy haze, and I need to wash off all the pollen and allergens :)

I am Thankful for...

-First, as mentioned on my last "TT" post I started praying again with my husband, and I think we are going on about 10 days of prayer together. That is a good start, as we have not done that consistently for over a year or more. I know this discipline is going to bear spiritual fruit in the future.

-I will be a bit vague here, but my husband took a step toward a big decision for our family (possibly in the future) this week. I feel I am already on board with this decision, but my husband is not quite there, and together we are praying for the Lord to lead us to what He wants for our family. (One day I hope to share more details)

-I had my evaluation at work this week...Even if I know I am going to do good, I get myself all in a tizzy. It went so well, and the evaluation was great.

-Again a little vague, but I hope to let you know about the details next week. After seeking the Lord in prayer my husband and I made a big decision this week. We will soon know the outcome...Again, I will share the details later about this decision.

-I am thankful for the posts at the Living Proof Ministries Blog this past week. Beth Moore's daughter, Melissa went to India on a Compassion Ministries trip and she wrote about her experiences while in India... After reading the posts this past week, my heart has been stirred. I don't know what will become of it, but I want to pray about it and see what happens. Click here to visit the blog, and then read the posts from about the last two weeks.

Well, a shower is calling my name... I don't think I will quite make my 10 PM bedtime tonight :)

Blessings

Time Flies

This picture was taken in January 2005

This picture was taken on Easter of this year (2009)...

It is so much fun to watch my kids get older, but I do at times when they were babies and toddlers...My mother always warned me that time flies, and she was right :)

Popped Into My Head...

I know I don't have a large number of people that visit this blog, but for those of you that do I just had some questions pop in my head...

Are you truly happy and content with your relationship with Jesus? Are you experiencing the abundant life that He wants for you? What are you going to do to get where you need to be?

For me, I think although things seem good in my walk, I would have to answer no... There is this longing in me that has been there for a long time now, and I am either going to do something with it through God's power, or I am not... That is a sobering thought... I have so much more to say, but I need to think it through a bit more...