Prayerful

Good morning my family and friends!   Today is the day.  The day our "bible study" with the home-school classes, is going to teach on 'The Power of the Holy Spirit".  One passage in this chapter that we are concerned about says,"You receive the Spirit's filling by faith, not by having a particular feeling.  Some Christians wrongly believe that the filling of the Spirit is a sensation.  They expect waves of love, an overwhelming sense of peace, or the ability to speak in strange languages. Theirs is a fleshly desire to walk by sight, not by faith.  So you see..................

The bible study has been good last year and thus far this year.  And really it has been non-denominational.  However; for those of you who really "know" me, you know that I am ADHD and I kind of tune in and out when I want or need to.  Love you Mommy and thank-you for always defending me.  It actually is a gift.  Really.  This time, however, I must be ready to "defend" what I believe.    Very Blessed Mommy of Six is in there with me, thank-you Jesus and we have done our research and gathered our scripture and we are prayed and fasted up.  Ready to be lights, not controversy.  So please say a prayer this morning.  I know I need it.  I mostly want my spirit to be right.  I am so passionate about my faith and what I believe that I can come across a little brisk or even "sharp".  Love you all and I will write more later.

Silence is golden

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  Do you hear that?  Me neither.  Little man is in bed.  He went early this evening since he did not get too much of a nap this afternoon.  Big Sister is upstairs with Big Daddy.   Tomorrow is my sweet friend Janet's birthday and we have invited her over for lunch. Big Sister looooooooooves Janet.  We are excited she will be coming over.

 Service this afternoon was amazing and my Pastor was awesome.  He told a few incredible stories, explained why we worship as we do, spoke a few moments and gave an altar call.  The spirit was so thick from the time we entered the sanctuary.  It was just FABULOUS (If you haven't noticed that is one of my favorite words).  People were making their way to the altar from the time song service started to the time altar call was made.  The participants were not just church family either, they were visitors as well. 

Big Sister told me how great kids praise was in the back.  I am so thankful we have a place our children LOVE to go to also.  God is so good!  We are now busily preparing for children's revival which will include Erin's girls group (gemettes) doing a sign language song and also our children's choir singing.  I will let you know the exact dates at a later time;  That way you can get online and check it out.(www.tpcmemphis.org)

Good night to all- Mommy is really tired herself and Monday will be busy.

Love you guys!

The Lord's Day

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Remember that song? Sometimes it's the old ones that are the most blessing. This morning around 6:30 am I heard over the baby monitor- very softly "Da- Da, and some other little words of Jacob". It was so sweet.   I got up with a smile, and a thought....... "If you think Da-Da is going to hear you and get up; dream on poor baby". Oh well, that is how it is supposed to be. As I went to get Little Man out of bed I peeked in on Big Sister and she was laying there, like a good girl, with her eyes wide open. Another early start to a long day. I am so grateful.  I would not have it any other way. I think maybe the children were up early because EVERYONE (including Mommy) fell asleep early. The fair wore us out.
Let's talk about the fair for a minute. As we were driving up and pulling in Big Daddy and I were discussing the life of a "carnival person." How interesting, hard, different, unhealthy and completely strange it is. I think it takes a special kind of, a person to do that for a living. Some of the travel trailers they live in were REALLYYYYYYYYYYY nice. More expensive than my car, or house probably. As we were walking around we were looking at the sights and smelling all those yummy fair food smells..... and let's be honest ALL the food there smells FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately after 2&1/2 hours of smelling, riding and eating what Big Daddy called it the worst philly cheesesteak sandwich, probably inedible, he said; the smells were not so good anymore. The sun was high in the sky, the temperature was climbing, more and more people were arriving and the carnival people were beginning to "ripen". That was our signal the day had come to an end. Luckily Big Sister was in agreement and we were able to just stop off at the petting zoo on the way out and go. Praise God!! Of course we did leave with a monster bag of cotton candy. Duh!!!!!

Today is "Power Weekend Service." Please pray for God's annointing and blessing on our services today. My prayer is that the visitors will feel the Holy Ghost and feel "at home". I pray that our visitors will rejoice and receive. Our friend Stephanie from Germantown is for sure coming so............ In Jesus name!
Pray for Jacob- he NEEDS to begin walking. He will stand alone, walk with help, walk along the furniture. I know, I know he will when he is ready- but he is HEAVY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love you guys. Enjoy the Lord's day!

Weekend

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's saturday and that means the weekend. A time for fun & fellowship. Today we are planning, Lord willing to check out the mid-south fair for a little bit then back home. We are anticipating an amazing day tomorrow because it is our Power Weekend service. At least one of our friends from Germantown Baptist Home-school group is going to join us and possibly our friend Miss Rebecca from Wal-Mart. What a day of rejoicing it will be! Please pray with me for an annointed, powerful service.

I wanted to let you all know of a FABULOUS product I came across. ECOS brand furniture polish. It is amazing. A bit pricey but it will last a very, very long time. Just squirt a small amount on your cloth and go. It keeps your wood beautiful and it is not greasy and does not leave a film. Also it seems to keep the dust away a bit longer. I came across this product after I had been using the ECOS brand laundry soap I get at Costco. The polish I had to get at Wild Oats. I then got this "great idea" and thought I would log on and order some additional ECOS products since these were sooooooooo great. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!! The dishwashing soap. Terrible! The all purpose cleaner- just okay. The baby laundry soap- pretty good but really no need for it since the other is free of all "stuff" and natural. The ZAINZ stain solution is good; that I like also. All in all- not worth the extra time or money.

Say a prayer for me as I have wounded my index finger on my right hand and I am trying to type without it.
Everyone have a great day and I hope to have something more witty or thought provoking at a later date.

Thankfulness............and review

Well, here it is Tuesday morning and I have tears.  Yep. Tears.  I look at my sweet daughter and baby boy and I just can't help it sometimes.  They are soooooooooooo beautiful.  They almost were not.  The overwhelming love you get for your children is truly an amazing thing.  Something people will tell you about but until you experience it yourself.  There are no words.  I now know how my Lord must feel.  I think sometimes how hurt and sad he must feel also and that thought overwhelms me.  But amazingly enough, in spite of us, he still has mercy and grace.  If you don't know him today-you must.  Please- he is coming soon.  Very soon!

On to my product review-  Shade clothing.  I saw their add on Stephanie's blog- Keeper of the home and I was checking them out.  I just received my SECOND order of camisoles from them.  LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!  They are long; to my hip or longer if mine were not so um............. voluptuous?    They fit close and I actually turn mine around so the back is in the front to make it high enough.  They are tagless, so that works.   And while we are on the subject.... I AM SO SICK TO DEATH OF SEEING CLEAVAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have my own I do not want to see someone elses!!!     Even grown, OLDER women and women in the church.  Come on people!  Just because it is made in your size do NOT mean to have to wear it.  What happened to modesty, or leaving it to the "imagination"?  Does anyone else in the world wear undergarments besides me?  They are extremely hard to find.   But enough of my rant, or righteous indignation I like to call it. The shade camisoles are long, modest and there is even a little band of lace at the bottom so you can do the layered look with a little punch.  They also have other things and may be worth you checking out.  www.shadeclothing.com.

Well Little has come alive this morning and we have to get ready for class today.

Have a good day my sweet friends and family.  I Love you guys!!!!

Monday.....YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, believe it or not I like Mondays.  It means, to me, back on schedule, back in order.  Being somewhat of a control freak this is a very calming thing for me.  Order, repetition. LOVE IT!!!!!!!

We had another awesome service at church- people being blessed, getting the Holy Ghost.  That is what life is about.

I have found two great things this weekend I would like to share with you.  Vinegar and greek style yogurt.

First vinegar- I have been using it in my rinse cycle instead of fabric softener or sheets.  FABULOUS!!  Really!  When you take your clothes out of the washer they have a very mild vinegar scent but once you pull them out of the dryer. YUM!  They are clean smelling and soft.  Most important they are okay for all skin types.

Second- greek yogurt.  Who knew?  It is creamy, thick, not runny and oh so yummy and rich.  Yes, there is still that "twang" but so good.  It reminds me of the yogurt I ate in Berlin.  That was the BEST!!!!!!  I just added about a teaspoon of honey and some fresh berries and it was a tasty treat. 

Today I am going to give honor where honor is due. Romans 13:7 " Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear;honour to whom honour."  My parents.  Jack and Brigitte.

They are truly amazing people.  They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary this summer.  Not only for that reason do they deserve honor but because they raised me to have my own thoughts, trust my feelings and sometimes just go with my gut.  They live upstanding and morals lives and are an example.  When I chose to "change" my life and live for the Lord- they were not the happiest.  However; they loved me, respected me and trusted me enough to know I would make a good decision.  And when I brought my fiance home to meet them, after dating only 8 weeks, they again, loved, respected and trusted me enough to know I would make a good decision.  Why, do you ask?  Because they had taught me those skills and lived it in front of me.  Life was not always easy, but it was good.  I have many, many happy memories.  Thank-you Mommy ∧ Dad.  I Love You!!!!!

My parents live about 1000 miles away and I find myself often missing them.  Especially when my six year old tells me she needs to go to Nana's house because I am being sooooooo mean to her.  If she only knew what I lived through.

It is time to start school.  Have a blessed day today friends.  Sing those old hymns (read a journey towards blogspot) and let the Lord wash over you!

God Bless!

In mourning

It has finally come to an end. A bitter end, but an end none the less. I must ditch the Mountain Dew once and for all. Some of you may remember back in July I quit caffeine but then I went on vacation. Then I spent time with the in-laws and my parents, and the in-laws again. Need I say more?! Anyway, my body is now revolting in a HUGE way so I must die to the flesh and listen. So, for the next three days or so PLEASE forgive me and pray............. for my family. I am actually glad because the Lord works everything out so perfectly. You will never convince me he is not concerned about what goes in our body as well as what goes on our body. I will happily provide scriptures for anyone interested.
Oh, I have a frugal tip. Really!  I ran out of window cleaner. I have been using the new clorox green works, and to be honest I don't feel like it has been doing that great of a job so I got on line & got a recipe. 1 part vinegar (gotta love vinegar), 1 part alcohol (I know, I know) and 1 part water. Shake it all up & put in a spray bottle. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! This stuff works fabulously. And how much did it cost me? Next to nothing. Also I joined this on-line program and  will be sampling different products. The first one I received is a large container of Progresso natural chicken broth. No funky stuff in it. I also received several coupons for $1.50 off so if anyone is interested let me know.

 That is all for now. Boring stuff I know but after such a busy week and poor Daddy working until late EVERY, SINGLE night we are all tired.
Love you all & have a great weekend. Some of you I will see tomorrow at church and some of you can tune it at www.tpcmemphis.org. Expect to be blessed!

Now for the rest of the story:

Well, we did not do either; the bouncy or the craft store.  Big Sister decided she wanted to go to the carousel so Little man could go on it also. Ahhhhhhhh.  Good girl............ He hated it!  Oh well.  He enjoyed riding around in the stroller, watching Big Sister, snacking and chewing on his stuffed Woody toy.  So it was a good day.  We met a young woman and her four beautiful girls today.  They also home-school and poor dear she looked like a deer caught in the headlights when I stopped her and told how beautiful her family was and how lucky she was.  It is a shame she probably gets negative comments all the time like:  "Oh, are you going to keep trying until you get that boy?"  or "Are they ALL yours?!?!?!?"

Psalms 127:3 "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is HIS reward.

Now for some righteous indignation.  MARY WINKLER, actually got custody of her children!!  Can you believe that?  I mean, come on.  She can shoot her late husband, in the back (possibly while he slept) serve NO prison time and now regain custody of the children?????????  Is that justice?  I certainly do not agree with spousal abuse however, that is NOT grounds for murder.  What will she tell the children?  I shot your father dead because.......... WHAT???????  Will they grow up man hating?  Preacher hating?  Or worse, God hating?   I am going to pray for them.  Lord YOUR will be done.  In Jesus name!

 

Life

Well, here it is Friday already. Where has the week gone? I always feel as if I have accomplished nothing. But I must have; the house is clean, laundry done and Big Sister can read so....... I sit this morning in a completely silent (beautifully silent) house and try to figure out our day. Big Sister needs to do something different and little man and I need to get out and walk a bit so I think we will go to the craft store for Big Sister and maybe a park also. We will take our lunch and enjoy the day. I LOVE Fridays because it means the whole weekend off with Daddy and we can breathe a bit with school. My sweet and very good friend the blessed Mommy of six gave me some of the best advice (actually she has given me sooooooooo much of the best advice) and suggested instead of having a traditional day of "school" with workbook pages and spelling, why not just have Big Sister read to us. It has been FABULOUS!!!!! She loves it, I love it and little man seems to love it also. No pressure just read the readers she has and no stress. This is also a great way for me to gauge just how well she is doing, and I think it builds her self esteem.

So here is a question for those who dare answer.
There is an activity scheduled by our home-school group for today, and several other Fridays actually. It is from 1-3 pm and it cost $5. It is a bouncy place. One Mother told me she would go because her daughter "needed" that socialization and her toddler would just have to go along and stay in the stroller. Now I know this toddler she is talking about and despite what Mama says I can not imagine her staying in her stroller for 2 hours. She never did in the past. Unfortunately this place has nothing for small children to do. So we would just crawl around on that nasty floor or sit in the stroller and I run (not really) back and forth. Am I keeping big sister from socialization? I know she will love the craft store as she loves all things craft and I refuse to just drop her off and leave. Any opinions? Money and gas are NOT the issue.

Well, the quiet is just about over so I must go and "prepare myself". Say a prayer for us today. It seems little things are the hardest to conquer.
God Bless!

Being a Keeper at Home

Okay, so it is roughly 12:23 am Tuesday morning and you can see what I am doing..... blogging. I am up actually at this time because of the Lord. I had a terrible dream and was awoken to my own voice speaking in tongues, rebuking the devil......... so what's a Mommy to do? Get up, annoint the doorposts as Moses did in the Old Testament when the angel of death passed over, and pray over the children; until you accidently wake one up and/or you feel the spirit of peace. So I obeyed the Lord and now I feel a peace but the "chill bumps" remain. I am thankful for spiritual discernment and the privilege of being a "keeper at home" (Titus 2:5). All is well now and I will go back to bed. So many times during the day I just stop to thank my Savior for his saving grace. If you had only known me before.............................

In the beginning.............

It was at the age of 22 that I found out what the meaning of life was; Jesus.  I was baptized in his name, Acts 2:38, on December 11, 1988; and received his spirit, Acts 2:4, the evidence of speaking in tongues, On December 25, 1988.  The day the world designated as "his" birth was in fact the day of my "birth".  Praise the Lord!

At the ripe old age of 36 I gave birth to my first blessing- sweet Erin.  After many miscarriages, and being told by the fertility specialist I would NEVER be able to have a baby on my own, the Lord did what only he could do.  Then 11 days before my 41st birthday I had my second blessing. Baby Jacob. SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!  As a matter of fact my children's birthdays are 1 day apart.

 My Lord does ALL things well!

I have started this blog as a way to keep in touch with my family and friends who do not live near me, and a way for me to "expel" all this great knowledge I think I may have.  Also this is a way for me to express my righteous indignation or whatever I think it is.  

I love to cook, bake, be a Mommy and hear the word of our Lord.  Nothing is better than a good old fashioned camp meeting type service.  The kind you come home wringing wet afterward.

Please sit down, put your feet up and join in with me.

Lord Bless!