This MAKES my soul SING!!!!

The following clip is not a song, but BOY! does it make my soul SING!!! I cry every-time I see it! Even the three times I watched it to write this post.

Lord please forgive me! Forgive me for not giving you my whole heart, I want You to have it. I want You to be able to count on me when You are down here with me, yelling the encouragement in my face because I too often fail counting on my own strength. Lord please give me the Power to be driven by Your heart, not my own which is deceitfully wicked! I want my vapor on this earth to be one where I am constantly able to get past the burn, past the comparisons, past the failures!

I want this life to shine - I KNOW You have beaten sin and death! Lord I want to promise my best!!!! I WILL trust You to be the Lamp unto my feet and the light unto my path!!! I KNOW that You are telling me that I CAN DO THIS and I believe You!!! I KNOW that You will NEVER leave me or forsake me! I'm not gonna quit, even if I have nothing left Lord. I'm gonna keep driving, I'm gonna keep moving, I'll give it everything I've got! Lord I give my heart all over again tonight, take my life as a sacrifice oh Lord until I see You face to face and You can tell me that I did good, I made it with good effort. I want sooo much to be an example, but if I am walking defeated so will my children, my other family and my youth kids. I don't want to waste this life, please Lord help me not to look back, I LOVE YOU!

I urge you ladies, with tears down my face...

"Never give up - Never surrender!"

(lol - I know I'm a dork! - but I have a valid point ;0) Love you all... may you ALWAYS walk and talk with Jesus!

It's My 2 Year Blogoversary!!!

And I have a free gift for you :o)

You can use this new (Blogger only) background I made, follow the directions below...

Directions:

1. Sign-in to the Blogger Blog you would like to change.
   
2. Click on the tab labeled 'Layout'.
3. Click on 'Pick New Template' and change your template to 'Minima' (if it's not already there).
4. Click on 'Add a Gadget' and chose 'HTML/Javascript'.
5. In the window that pops up copy and past the following code (If you already have a background using this coding you will need to replace your previous code with this one - you cannot have two)...
6. Don't forget to 'Save' your changes.

<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/yeshua55/Toile.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; left:0px; top:30px;"><a href="http://scrappingservant.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/yeshua55/SScorner.png" /></a></div>

Now the font colors will probably be quite off as they will follow the Minima design pattern, so you could either follow the colors I had planned (below) or design your own :o).

1. Click on 'Layout' once again.
2. Click on 'Fonts and Colors'.
3. Then put the follow numbers in under 'Edit color hex code' for each color box (make sure you keep the # sign there and hint enter/return after you enter the number)...
4. Don't forget to 'Save' your changes.

• Page Background Color #ffffff
• Text Color #492C06
• Link Color #8F131F
• Blog Title Color #660000
• Blog Description Color #660000
• Post Title Color #B2340A
• Border Color #492C06
• Sidebar Title Color #6F3C1B
• Sidebar Text Color #804000
• Visited Link Color #993333

Be blessed ladies, and may you always walk and talk with Jesus!

Picture a Day

January 30: If you remember last week, then you would know my whole family was sick. I ended up not going to my Women's Bible Study on Thursday night and praise the Lord my brother's doctor said he shouldn't be with ALL the family yet on his night-pass home, so he "canceled" on me, not me on him (God knows). But he did have to go home early the next day from an eye infection that he ended up needing a small roto-rooter type surgery for, please pray for the infection to clear up!

January 31: On Saturday I was still mostly down for the count, hubby watched Wall-e with me :o) I like that movie! (This is a drawing my JJ did.)

February 1: On Sunday I stayed home alone from church and slept in till 2:00pm!!!! I totally needed that, I was sooo much better after that! (I love my lambie jammies - they used to have a sound chip that would make them "bahhh baahhh!" LOL)

February 2: This is me doing 'the seal' from my Pilates workout, LOL! My hubster took the picture just before we went to watch Heros together :o)

February 3: This is the first rose I have seen so far in our backyard - it was a nice day outside.
My kids went out to play - guess why these leaf things are wet?!

February 4: Wednesday is one of my laundry days :o) I live with my in-laws, so my days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, my M.I.L.'s are Tuesday and Thursday and my S.I.L's is Saturday... it's a free for all on Sunday! LOL.

February 5: And today we had some fun inside, since it is now rainy out again - I heart the rain!

Wordless from Words! (Regarding Matthew)

This morning I got an email from my sister, it was a forwarded email from her friend that also forwarded a message from her friend, this is what it said...

"We haven't spoken in awhile and your name came up in an email that I received today. My neighbor sent me an invite to attend a coming home party for Matthew. I saw your name and your family as being on the invite list. Matthew had his accident at my neighbor's house. I held him in my arms keeping his head stable and praying with all my might - I never I thought I could pray so hard and so deep. I was terrified that each labored breath was going to be his last. The EMT's finally arrived and took over, but I have never been so sacred yet so assured in my whole life. God answer every prayer from every person that day for Matthew. I am thrilled and overjoyed that he is coming home this weekend. I am going to stop by the house - they do not know me, but I feel that it might be a good day to see the real Matt.
I hope all is well with your family - God Bless and Keep all of you.
Jesus is awesome."

I am so blessed Lord that you put someone there right after my brother got in his accident to do exactly what I would have done!  I love You - thank you for looking out for him!!!!!!!

My Walk Monday

Yes, last week I talked about how relationships were heavy on my heart, well this week I have even more to reenforce that God is working with me in this area.

This time He took me to Philippians chapter 2 verses 1 through 8. I know years back when I was in ministry flippantly, we challenged the youth kids to memorize the first 11 verses and it was AMAZING to hear one of them recite it straight from her heart!!!!

In the margin of my Bible next to these verses it says, "kills selfishness & pride", just imagine if you were to have these verses memorized you would always be carrying with you the remedy for your selfishness and your pride!! WOW! -if only I would have been as serious as that blessed youth girl!!! (Bless you Amanda!)

So as I mentioned last week, not only do we need to determine EVERYDAY to step out of our self and bless someone, but we need to BE UNITED as well!

Just recently my family has been quite hurt regarding some pieces of disunited Christians, I actually had no words to describe how much I DIDN'T understand it all. I felt very much like Jesus in anger when He turned the tables over because the people where making His house a marketplace! Would God come with the same heart wanting to fix the disunity in His church???

I don't know, but I do know I felt very much like I myself could learn a bit more of what was need for unity and HOW to be united - well here it was! Philippians 2 tells us to...

• be encouraging - uplifting, inspiring, motivating, to stir/fire up!
• be consoling - sympathetic, supportive, reassuring.
• be in fellowship of the spirit - spend time together with other believers.
• be affectionate - loving, devoted, softhearted, demonstrative!
• be compassionate - caring, sensitive, considerate, charitable.

• have the same mind
• have the same love
• be united in spirit
• be intent on one purpose

• do not be selfish - get out of your "little world", out of your comfort zone, stop worrying about the next post you need to publish, or how long it has been since you ate or showered!
  
• be humble - and understand that other Christians around you are also fighting with their flesh! Try to understand where THEY are coming from and put their interests BEFORE your own!

That was what was needed, now this is how...

• Have an attitude like Christ.
• Get UNcomfortable.
• LET GO of your flesh - even to the point of death - Jesus did not stop on the via de la rosa, He went all the way to Calvary, all the way to DEATH... die to that flesh!
• Be humble and willing.
• Put your "old man"off.

• FEED YOUR SPIRIT!
• Read your Bible, pray everyday, pray everyday, pray everyday.
• Read your Bible, pray everyday and you'll grow, grOW, GROW!

"So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ is this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Espesians 4: 17-24

This is me trying to fire you up :)

I'm His!

I love those non-Christian songs that you can TOTALLY apply to the Lord when you are so in LOVE with HIM!

When you feel His love so strong it melts you, but not the kind of melting that comes from temptation, falling or failing, it's the kind melting that comes through refining. When I am tempted though I always try to get back and I give it my bestest with nothing to stop me.

Lord, I know that right now it's my time to run this race to win, and learn as I go! I won't hesitate no more, it can't wait!!! I am totally Yours Lord! I am willing to change the way I think, I want to subject myself to the path YOU laid before me, Lord I want to finally SEE and be FREE, I want to look into my heart and see nothing but a reflection of Your love!!!

I want to live in unity with the body of Christ my family and learn to really LOVE as YOU loved! Lord I won't hesitate no more, it can't wait, I'm sure there's no need to complicate. My time is short, this is my fate, I'm Yours!

I've been spending way too long checkin' the wrong things in this world and bendin' over backwards to hide from You when I do, but there's no point because You know me better than I do :o). You can also give me the strength to rid my life of these things, and You can teach me to plant myself and finally GROW, You tell me "the sky is yours!". But I won't hesitate no more, it cannot wait, Lord I'm Yours and Yours alone!

I think this song is very well known - it's 'I'm Yours' by Jason Mraz. (Sorry ladies for the ear nibbling part! lol - rest assured I don't relate that with my God!)

Picture a Day

I think I like this Meme :o) But I am noticing the most fun things to take pictures of happen to be the things that I wish would not happen at all, lol!... you'll see...

January 23: That's not trail-mix ladies! This is what I picked up off our carpeted dining-room floor before I vacuumed! Yum-yum!! My F.I.L was like "eewhh don't share a picture of that!" but I told him the other Mommy-Bloggers would be able to relate :o).

January 24: This was just some of the food we were blessed with from the church getting "left-overs" from Trader Joes... mmm Zucchini! Thank you Lord for noticing our need and for providing, I love You!

January 25: This was my daughter getting into mischief instead of taking her nap! Typical Sunday afternoon!

January 26: This is my favorite salad with some free grapes added :o)

January 27: This was my son getting into mischief - not long after I left the room he poured my whole cup of juice into his dump-truck! Sigh!
This was me giving the drump-truck a bath :o)

January 28: These were made from more of the free food we received! A fresh whole chicken and some tortillas! I boiled the chicken, de-boned it (I hate doing that!!!), shredded it, seasoned it (salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and that powered chicken bullion stuff:). Then I rolled it in the flour tortillas with jack cheese, brushed them with a little olive oil and baked them! This really was a hit - and fun to make too!

January 29: Today is Bible study day - but me and the kids have colds with a fever and I have more than half of my study to finish, so I am not sure I will be going :o( I don't want to get anyone else sick and I might just wanna rest when my hubby wubby gets home from work.

Please pray for us, especially since we have been off and on sick a lot, I really want to see my lil brother and he has a pass to go home from the hospital tomorrow night!... we are supposed to have dinner with him!

My Walk Monday

Well - what did I learn this week? What was I blessed with? What has changed in me?

I was totally blessed to have our first Sunday of Youth Group again! We were on a little "Selah" as is needed sometimes when you have 3 babies - 4 years and under :o) The break has been a good one with a lot to trials, stretching, and growing in between... and I know that there is still plenty more growing and stretching to come!

I think a switch has finally been flipped with me in my relationship with God! I am totally on fire again and never want to turn back!!! I have let God into the "high places" in my heart and I have torn down the "detestable things" that He may now do a completely NEW work in me!

This week it has been pretty heavy on my heart that relationships are the whole reason why we are here... our relationship with Jesus first and foremost (as my late grandpa would pray that we would always walk and talk with Jesus), then we have our relationships with family (wowie - that can be a tough one, can't it ladies?!), then we have the many friends, co-workers and acquaintances that God knowingly puts in our paths.

Philippians 1:5 tell us to "Let our gentleness be known to all men for the Lord is at hand."

We need to live life KNOWING that Jesus IS coming back! And the fact that we will never know when should stir our hearts even more! Once we embrace the truth of the Lord being at hand (like I think I recently have) we should determine to live differently towards our fellow man. Look at the way Jesus treated other people - He genuinely loved ALL of them! even the ones that were KILLING him! He lived for other people and He died for other people. nothing He did was EVER selfish- and that is the example He has left for us!

So instead of complaining about the people that are "killing us" why don't we determine to pray for them? Why don't we determine to see if they need something and do it or get it for them? Why don't we just pick up the phone and tell our girlfriends how much we love and adore their friendship? Why?

My dear blog friends - determine in your heart EVERYDAY to reach out and bless someone - Christian or Non - they both need a GOOD friend.

Picture a Day

Yes another Meme :o)

I figure this one will really help me in an area I have been failing in lately...

... it's called Picture a Day! And that is exactly how it works and how it will help me... you take 1 picture every day and you post your 7 pictures once a week. I will be sharing my pics every Thursday and everyone links up on Altering Life every Saturday.

Sounds like fun huh? Here in my first week of photos.....

January 16: My oldest daughter's chalk drawings...

January 17: My youngest daughter's 1st birthday cake!

January 18: My daughter drew me working on my computer...

January 19: My mother-in-law's birthday roses - so pretty...

January 20: My kids getting into mischief...

January 21: They melt my heart!

January 22: It rained today! I LOVE the rain!!!

Pour Out my Heart

I know it's not Saturday - but I just wanted to share this song, it was on my heart after writing my My Walk Monday post today...

Lord I love You - You are so wonderful! Thank You for hearing my every cry, thank You for being faithful even when I am faithless (2 Tim. 2:13). Thank You for the hope I have in You to trust You one day at a time, thank You for answering me.