365-#100-107 (includes Sunday)

I love these Red Boots...

It is so hard to smile and look cute when the sun is shining directly in your eyes...

A job well done....

Six Flags Fun...

Proud of his Art Show Exhibit...

I love Celery...

I don't know how this child does it, but he wears his food at almost every meal :)


Boy did I get off track with posting my pictures... Life is busy :) But, I would like to finish the project that I started 99 days ago :) (these are older pics... I am going to start taking more new pics)

In a Nutshell (Spiritually Speaking)

My GOAL for today's post is to catch you up (the ones that visit my blog) on how I have been doing the last six months, spiritually. I began this blog as a journal about my relationship with Jesus and how that plays out in my life, but lately I have not been able to write much on my blog about that journey...So today I am going to try to do this...bullet point style :)

Lessons I am Learning

-Be careful when you think you know others' motives of why they are mistreating you (or at least mistreating you in your own eyes)... You maybe very surprised when God allows you to see into their lives and see what is going on with them. You will probably be humbled.

-I need to really REPENT in several areas of my life... Repentance will be the open door to personal revival in my life.

-I still don't see my sin as Jesus does...

-I am finding out that many of the things I want to do for the Lord...things I believe that the Lord wants for my life are still too connected to how it will benefit me, and not done from the point of bringing God Glory first.

-Parenting is hard :)

-Learning to figure out where the Lord is working, or wants to work in my life and then going there with Him. Giving up things that I don't believe the Lord wants me doing, even if I think I can do them pretty well.

-I can't pick and choose the areas I want to be selfless in... That is selfishness...

-It is time to stand up for Truth, even if it is uncomfortable... To the ones that do not know Jesus, and even to the ones that do.

-I am a big work in progress, but I know God will complete the work He began in me :)

365-#96,97,98 and 99

Trying on our Halloween costumes...

I found my youngest two hiding in the bathroom cabinet playing their video games...

Cafe Chat

To do or not to do...that is the question
Do you ever find yourself measuring how good you are doing in your relationship with God by the things you do, or the things you don't do? In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself looking at the things I am NOT doing, or shall I say some things I have given up (or tried to) because they were not things that were drawing me to Jesus, or helping me in my relationship with Him.
For me, I think I am discovering that if I look at my "DO NOT" list, it is pushes me a bit toward legalism, and causes me to focus in on my works more than I should. So today I want to see where my sisters in Christ stand on the "to do or not to do" dilemma.


Do you focus in more on what you are doing for Jesus, or on what you are not doing for Him? Is there a balance? Do you think this is even a healthy approach when you are examining yourself in regards to your relationship with Christ?

I am looking forward to seeing your answers this week.
Blessings

Thomas Nelson Book Review (Let Go)

Many of you may recognize the author of the book "Let Go". Shelia Walsh is a very well known author, and one of the main speakers at the "Women of Faith" conferences. Her newest book will encourage readers to live free in Christ by "letting go" of the many things in life that can weigh them down.

Walsh's new book is an easy read, but yet it is challenging at the same time. You may find yourself not wanting to put the book down until you have finished reading it. Walsh's writing style draws you in as the reader as if you were having a conversation with her. Her authenticity in her writing makes you feel as if you have known her your whole life.

Each chapter begins with quotes and Bible verses that relate to the specific topic of the chapter. Walsh also begins each chapter with a short story that again relates to the chapter which sets the stage in your mind for what she will be discussing. Walsh ends each chapter with a set of questions you can ask yourself, and a prayer that you can pray.

I think what I appreciate so much about this book is Walsh's honesty as she shares some very personal painful experiences that happened in her life. My favorite part of the book is what Walsh has learned about God through all her experiences. I would definitely recommend this book.

365-#94 and #95

I just love the 3x zoom feature of my camera :)

365-#91, 92 and 93 (Sunday too)

365-#88, 89 and 90

Capturing Critter Week with my youngest... I am so not a bug mom, but I am trying :)

Thomas Nelson Book Review (Max Lucado)

When I read about getting the chance to review Max Lucado's new book, "Fearless" I jumped at the opportunity. What a timely book for the world that we live in today. I would venture to say that every person on planet earth struggles with some type of fear. For some it may be an occasional fear that creeps up every now and then, but for others fear is a constant companion that paralyzes them from really living.

First of all, Max Lucado has written over 80 books (books listed inside cover of Fearless) which in and of itself is pretty amazing. God has really gifted Lucado with the ability to write beautifully, and he is an extraordinary story teller. Lucado shares from his heart many of his own personal stories, as well as extraordinary stories of others from the past and present.

Fearless is an easy read and is one of those books that you won't want to put down until you have finished reading it. I love that Lucado adds Scripture to his book so that the reader can see what the Bible has to say about what he is discussing in the book. The book is divided into 15 chapters, and Lucado covers 13 different kinds of "Fear" that people struggle with today.

"Fearless" is a great book that can be used in Churches, Small Groups, Home Groups and any other kind of ministry. In the back of the book, Lucado has included a discussion guide with thought provoking questions for individual or group studies.

I highly recommend Max Lucado's new book "Fearless" whether you want to read it for yourself, or gather a group of people together and read it as a group. There are many practical and spiritual lessons that you will be able to take with you from this book. I believe this may be one of Max Lucado's best books yet.

365-#85, 86 and 87

This picture is of my Dad... I have the most awesome dad in the world... Even though I am heading to my 40's soon, I still feel like a little girl that wants to sit beside her dad and hug him for hours on end :) My dad loves to get a laugh...look really hard at this picture...the hair on the top of his head...NOT REAL :)

Tough Question #4

Here is another question that was asked on my blog...Again feel free to add your questions or keep the conversation going :) Thanks Friend for helping me with this :)



The original question was "
This may sound really weird, and even a bit "technical", but I have always wondered about this. In the bible, I believe it is only the case that people prayed to God - and I have heard so many people pray - to Jesus. Now, I know He is God/God's Son, but is it biblical to pray TO Jesus (instead of praying to God THROUGH Jesus)?




I did not want to answer this question without scripture to back it up. As I was researching I came across this website that I felt explained it very well. I copied and pasted the article here. I couldn't say it any better.



Who do we pray to, the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit?
by Matt Slick

If the concept of Trinity is true that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all the one God, then is it not possible that we can pray to each of the members of the Trinity? Or, should we only pray to the Father, or only pray to "God"? Jesus told us to pray to the Father in Matt. 6:9 when He said, "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name." What is the proper method of prayer?
We can answer this question when we realize that God Himself is worthy of prayer and God is a Trinity of persons. Therefore, it would seem fair to say that we can pray to each member of the Godhead.
Jesus said in John 14:14, "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." Therefore, it would seem safe to say that we can pray to Jesus and ask Him to answer our prayers. Also, we can see further confirmation of this by looking at the phrase, "call upon the name of the Lord." In the Old Testament that phrase is used only of God and it includes the meaning of worship, adoration, and prayer. Psalm 116:4 says, "Then I called upon the name of the Lord: 'O Lord, I beseech Thee, save my life!' What is interesting is that this phrase is applied to Jesus in 1 Cor. 1:2, "to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours." Paul obviously knew the significance of the phrase, which included prayerful appeal, and applied it to Jesus.
In 1 Cor. 1:9 it says, "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." The word "fellowship" is the Greek word "koinonia" which is also translated as the word "communion." 1 Cor. 1:9 says that we are to have an intimate fellowship with Jesus. That is fine. But, how can we have fellowship with someone with whom we never talk? Therefore, this verse can also be used to support the idea of praying to Jesus.
If it is okay to pray to the Father, and the Son, is it alright to pray to the Holy Spirit? The answer would be yes because the Holy Spirit is also God. Nevertheless, we never see an instance in the Bible where anyone prays to the Holy Spirit. Why is that? The answer is that the Holy Spirit does not bear witness of Himself. He bears witness of the Son (John 15:26). But still, we can pray to the Spirit because we are also called into fellowship with the Spirit. 2 Cor. 13:14 says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."
Finally, we can simply pray to God. We can address God, the Lord, in our prayers and as we feel led, address the members of the Trinity.

Dogs Eat Meat

This video was inspired by my middle child "Snake"... He started chanting "Dogs Eat Meat"... We had been travelling for 3 days, hysteria might have set in. Then my other sons chimed in... Snake is terrified of dogs, so I ask him how he knew dogs eat meat... He won't get close enough to one to find out. He replied, "In my dreams, dogs eat meat.." Sounds perfectly logical to me.

Oh, please ignore the loud annoying cackle from myself... My hubby drove over a deep bump in the road and it surprised me :)

Are you being polluted?

James 1:27 (New International Version)
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

The verse above was one of my memory verses a couple of months ago. I chose it because my husband and I were talking about adopting in the future, and the first part of James 1:27 was a reminder that God is pleased when people look after orphans. For the record I just want to say that I know there are many ways one can look after orphans, and I would say adopting is one way. But today my post is not at all about orphans or adopting, but something that has been running through my mind the last week or so.

This past week I was going through my memory verses, and when I read James 1:27 it was not the first part of the verse that stood out, but the second part of the verse. The part "to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" just jumped write off my little index card, and into my heart. Why? Because without a doubt this week, and probably a good portion of my life I have been polluted by the world. I am of course speaking spiritually, and not at all about physical pollution.

I called a friend this week to tell her about how I was feeling. I shared this verse with her, and I told her that I thought it was so interesting that God paired looking after orphans and widows with also keeping oneself from being polluted by the world. Somehow to me those two things seem in different categories, but yet those two things were "Religion" that God accepts as pure and faultless. I think there is something that God wants me to see from this verse.

A second thought that came to me is that I am not a victim of the world. Yes, the world can press in on me from all sides, but I think for the most part I am the one that "pollutes" myself when I engage in what the world has to offer. Which I can tell you is pretty empty when I am laying in the bed at night thinking about everything I did during the day. So many things that I did seemed good or right at the moment, but in the end were empty and didn't contribute anything spiritually speaking.

So for today, I will end this post and will pick up with it later after I do some pondering about this verse with the Lord. But I leave you with a question, and I would love for you to share your responses with me... Are you being polluted by the world? How?

Blessings to you...

365-#82, 83 and 84

My "Moose"...he is a happy kid!!! Don't tell him I called him a kid...he is a student in his mind :)

365-#81

Why take a picture of this??? Because I grew up on Ixora Drive...so I thought that was pretty cool that there is a tree with that name :)