This and That

Hello all! We've been in a wonderful revival all week and the preacher has been preaching outstanding! The Lord has been present and we have been helped! We've seen people saved and the Lord has been sending people to us right off the street! It's exciting to see! I'm thankful for the souls that have come to be with us and decided to hang around!

Needless to say, since we now go to church an hour away, we spend at least a little over two hours on the road each night, traveling to and from church! I'm not complaining. It does make things a bit tight around the house, though. I find myself getting very little accomplished. We are homeschooling Moriah again this year (I won't have it any other way) so my time is taken up during the day, then once school is done, it's time to get ready for church. We don't get school started til a bit late (like 10:00am!) because of us getting home so late, and Moriah needs her rest! So we don't finish until around 3 or 4 o'clock! Supper, then get ready for church, and off we go! :)  I'm just thankful the services have been so uplifting and encouraging!

We are having Pastor Appreciation this coming Sunday! I'm excited about that! Pastor Appreciation services always make me cry! We are blessed with a wonderful Pastor and a very sweet Pastor's wife! She is awesome!

I could have strung Moriah up from the highest limb the other day. We were at a certain department store the other day, standing in line waiting to check out. There was quite a gap between us and the lady in front of us, so I told Moriah to move up a little bit. She turned and threw her arms around me to bar me from moving an INCH and said in a stage whisper, "NO, MOMMY! SHE MIGHT HAVE LICE!!" Where she got that idea, I have no clue, because the lady looked clean and nice, but I was mortified!!!! I was hoping against hope that the poor lady did NOT hear my daughter and her mouth! I wanted to... well, I won't go into what I felt like doing right then! LOL! It doesn't matter how much you teach them, they still act like they haven't been taught anything, and she conveniently leaves her manners at home.

Say a prayer for my husband. There is a job possibility that has come up and if it's the Lord's will, I would like to see him get this job. It pays about $6 more ON THE HOUR than what he's making now! And it is in Ohio, so it would help us in relocating. It is a perfect job for him because it's basically what he's doing now, only it pays better! And it's full-time! I got excited when he told me about it! We're praying for a miracle!

Well, I think I am done rattling on. Just wanted to give a brief update on the life of the Jones Family! LOL! Not much to tell! No trouble keeping up with the Jones' like this! :)
Good day!

Moriah ~ My Angel

 I wanted to upload some pictures of my angel! I thought I had lost these pics! I came across them today and was thrilled to know they weren't lost after all! I used to have such fun taking her picture because she was a natural poser! I could get her to do just about anything! It's harder now because she doesn't have the patience! But I thought I would share some pics of my little Angel Baby! (Well, not-so-little Angel Baby now... [sigh]... they grow up too fast!)

I think at this point she was getting tired of me taking her pic! Thus this face! LOL!

 One of my personal faves! (Above photo!)

I love this photo, too! It was one of those "accidental" shots where she turned her head at the last second! 

These photos were taken about two or three years ago, so she has changed some! She's losing her "baby" face! 

We've started school! She is now in the 2nd grade and doing well! She was tested at the beginning of the year and excelled in every subject in the "advanced" section, except Math. She is right on target with Math. Reading is a real strong point for her! I'm proud of her! 

I will post more later! Hope everyone is having a great day!

Work From Home?

Hello to my friends out there! It's been a LONG time and I've been wanting to update for a while now, but literally haven't had the time! We've been BUSY!

Moriah started back to school on August 6 and so far, I'm not liking it one bit. We are NOT doing A Beka this year (sad, but true) due to finances being tight, so we went the route of K12, which is a virtual school, all online learning, with SOME book learning. It's hard to get used to and I am about to have a nervous breakdown over it. I have found myself praying that God will somehow make a way for me to get the stuff she needs from A Beka (which I am a HUGE fan of), but it hasn't happened yet.

Now, if that was all I had to deal with, I would probably deal with it. But with the transitioning to Youth Pastors an hour away, and Darren working mostly part time right now, he's been working overtime trying to find a full time job that will allow us to move closer to the church. It hasn't happened yet, but we are praying and wanting the will of God more than anything. I'm sure He has the best job and home lined out for us. Just being me, I am anxious for it all to come together real soon! Like yesterday! LOL!

We have a lot going on at church. We are planning a yard sale to raise money for the youth. The yard sale will be on Saturday, September 8, from 8 to 1, in Germantown. If you're in the area, stop by! We have revival coming up starting Sunday with Bro. Mike Switzer! We are looking forward to that! In November, a Youth Saturday is being planned! There will be Youth Rally on Friday night, the 16th of November, then the next day will be Youth Saturday! We are excited about that, too!

I've been doing some research on "Working From Home" advertisements and needless to say, most of them, if not ALL of them, are scams. What amazes me is, if they AREN'T scams, why aren't more people going for them???  It sounds too good to be true! Does anyone know of a legit "work from home" scheme that pays money? LOL!

We had our first choir practice with the youth group last night and I must say how happy I was that it turned out so well!!! There are only about ten young people that we are working with and I was amazed at how well they sang! It was amazing!!! They love to sing, so that helps! And I even have some who show interest in playing various instruments, so maybe I can get away from the piano some! It's hard to direct a choir from a piano, but I've done it! I'm not sure how I will act if I can actually get away and be out there where I can get the most from them! Singing away from the piano makes me feel, um, what's a politer word here for (naked)! LOL!!!

Well, I don't want to write a book right now, so I better get going. There's been so much more going on in our lives lately than I have time to write about! But I would love to hear from my friends when you all get a chance! I must say, I DO NOT miss Facebook! I felt trapped while on it, but now I feel free! Does anyone know what I mean? I feel safer!

Good day to all my friends and I hope your lives are happy and fulfilled! And blessed!
I am!
Jennifer

Transitioning

Hello friends! I hope you all remember who I am! It has been forever since I've blogged and for those of you who are interested, I am no longer in the Face Book crowd. Privacy really became an issue and I felt it best to leave. Surely there are better ways to keep up with friends.

Anyway, a lot has been transpiring in our lives in the last two to three months. Darren is almost done with his first semester of his new college, on his way to finishing his Bachelors! I will be glad when that's done, but something new is on our horizon! We have recently taken on a new position that will involve a move sometime in the near future. How near, I don't know yet. It will depend on Darren's work and if he gets the full-time position that he's been notified about. After he finds out, which will hopefully be in the next month, we will know when we can move. We are planning on moving to Ohio because we have taken on the Youth Pastor position at Bro. Bruce Maguire's church in Germantown, Ohio, Route 4 Holiness Church. We are excited about it! The thing that most awes me about this move is that I actually have a desire to do it! A year ago, I couldn't say that! I had been so wounded and laid open, so to speak, that I didn't think I would EVER want to work for God again, but with time and the love of God's family, I have healed inside and out (PTL!!) and feel ready to "sail on" and do something for the Lord. It's hard to imagine ever doing something for the Lord when you feel you've been shipwrecked and battered and scarred and bruised, but when you allow time and the Lord to heal you, you might be surprised at what you will do. I am thankful I serve a HEALER! Not only of the body, but of the mind, heart and spirit! So we start this coming Sunday at our new church! I shouldn't have any trouble remembering when we started attending Route 4 because it will be on my (GASP!!) 39th birthday! 39!!!!! AAAAGGHHH!!! It is hard to believe I am that old! I feel every bit of it, but when I look in the mirror, I look as young as ever! LOL!!! I can't tell that I've aged a bit since my teen years! LOL! Well, maybe a little! My daughter saw a picture of me when I was in my early twenties and she wanted to know what that "skinny" girl was! Now, that's bad, when she can't even recognize her own mom! But I have put on weight! I weigh about 50 pounds more now than then... (sigh...) Maybe now that I'm laying off of pop, I might lose some weight... sure would be nice before I get pregnant again!

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot of time at the present to really catch up, but I thought I would share a bit of what's going on and GOING TO BE going on.... (hope you caught that..lol!) So hopefully I can write again soon! God bless you all and hopefully I can hear from my "listeners" soon!

His Servant,
Jennifer

Catching Up

Wow! It's been a while since I've been on here! We've been extremely busy with home school, Darren graduating from Ivy Tech (YEAH!), spring cleaning and everything else! I'm ready for a break, but I don't see one in sight yet!

A while back, a preacher had prophesied to me that there are many storms. He used the word "are" as if to say "right now", but I knew it wasn't "right now", but that it was in the future, whether sooner or later, I did not know, but I knew I was going to have to get a bulldog grip on God, if I was going to pull through. The man of God also said that I would need to walk by faith and not by feeling during those storms. Well, I thought I had a strong enough grip, but not long after the storms started coming did I realize I didn't have as strong a grip as I thought. In fact, I felt like I had lost ALL grip. I'm only now realizing that, although I feel like I've lost grip on Him and felt like a failure in the process, He never lost His grip on me. Talk about truly losing control of life! If there is one thing I've learned in the recent weeks, it's that God TRULY is in control of our lives and there will be times when we will have NO control and there is nothing we can do about it but stand still and let God do His work. There have been a couple of times I've even looked at Darren and said, "I've been saved for over 20 years and I've had some rough battles and fierce storms, but never had I felt like I was capable of losing faith in God over it. Somehow my faith sustained me and I was still able to trust in the middle of it all, but now, after all these years of being saved, you would think I would NEVER feel the way I'm feeling right now!" My faith in God, my trust in Him, my hope in His promises, were all shaken and honestly, I shied away from singing songs that talked about healing, that talked about how He keeps His promises! To my shame, I know, but I was so shaken, I didn't know for sure what I believed! I knew what my head was telling me and that someday I might pull out of it, but my heart REFUSED to believe anymore! Talk about losing grip, but thankfully God understood my anxieties and fears, my questions and my doubts and kept His grip on me when I felt like I had lost it ALL! He's spoken to me in dreams to comfort me and let me know that HE will STILL get glory in my life and He has a plan and that it will all work out! I don't know what God has up His sleeve, but one thing I know. He has never failed me. He is God alone. Even though I feel shaken to the core and wonder if I will survive the storm, He is NOT shaken. He has all things in control and I must surrender my will and what I want done to Him and let Him have complete control. I don't know what all the outcome will be, but I know He loves me!

 This is my sweetheart! He graduated on Saturday, May 5, 2012, from Ivy Tech Community College with an Associate Degree in Education. I'm so proud of him! I love him!

 And this is his happy and proud family! I hate having my picture taken! I can't believe people actually have to look at me like that! LOL! Of course, my little girl is beautiful! She's photogenic! Darren looks handsome

 ~ in his gown! ~

This past week, Darren and I celebrated being a couple for nine years! I remember a couple of weeks before I met him, I had a grandpa in the hospital hanging onto life and we got the call (I was at work) to come to the hospital because he was slipping away and I remember crying on the way to the hospital, talking to the Lord, telling Him that I hated going through something like this because I didn't have anyone. I had never lost anyone close to me before and I was finding it difficult to go through it alone. I told the Lord I wish I had someone to share the hurt with me, and be there for me. I got to the hospital and it looked bad for a while, but he stabilized! I was able to go home and Papa held on for days. The next weekend, a friend and I went to Bro. David Miller's meeting he has at the end of April and there I met Darren and we started talking. A week later, he came down and we went to a gym where the graduation banquet attendees were gathering and we had a wonderful time! About 4:30 in the morning, we left and made our way to the church, where Darren was staying and dropped him off. I had a couple of girls with me, and before we left, Darren handed me a letter to read. At the end of that letter, he asked if I would be his girlfriend! I thought it was so sweet. It made me think of being an elementary school kid! LOL! So, of course, I said YES! That was probably close to 5am, maybe. Me and the girls headed on home and I had no more gotten home and settled into bed, when the phone rang. It was the call I dreaded. My papa had passed away just a few minutes before. (This is making me cry...) I sat on the side of my bed in shock, and all I could think of was that God had given me my hearts' desire, giving me someone to share my grief with, just minutes before Papa passed away. Ever since then, Darren has been my shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with, love, my reason to live. I know this is probably getting mushy to you all, but I stand in awe of God's goodness. He knows how to provide anchors in our lives. Darren is my anchor, given to me by God. Jesus is my ultimate anchor, but I am also thankful for the anchor he's given me in Darren. Moriah is icing on the cake. :) I love my family.

And I better quit now. Sorry for a long blog. Haven't been on here for a while and making up for lost time. I'm listening to the song "I Trust You" by James Fortune. It's beautiful. God bless you, my friends.

~Jennifer~

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a good Easter. The weather sure was nicer than it has been in the past, where Easter is concerned! Thankful for Easter! To me, it is the most important day of the year to celebrate!

This past week has been the longest of my life, I think. I didn't realize it, but I see it now after the Lord was moving in our service last night. One of our lay preachers in the church was preaching our vesper service and he was preaching about getting a double portion of God! And he mentioned that he kept feeling like there was someone there who had been battling the devil all week, and how the devil has really been giving someone the run-around, and that's when I realized that was EXACTLY what had been going on! With me, at any rate. I'm sure there were others, but it's funny how you get into a battle and it's so easy to get confused and wondering what in the world is going on and not even sure which way to turn or go, and feeling LOST! I won't go into ALL the battles I've faced last week, but I will tell you this, I don't know if I've ever had an onslaught from the pits of Hell as heavy, hard and FAST as it hit last week! Now mind you, this is NOT a pity party I'm throwing here! I am just sitting here amazed that I did NOT know what was going on for the most part! I knew I was in a battle for my life, but there were some things going on that I thought was just LIFE when in fact it was the devil trying to make me THINK it was just LIFE! He has a way of making us as children of God ACCEPT the things he throws at us, when we need to realize he is just trying to rob us of our joy, peace and faith in our FAITHFUL GOD!!!! I would love to honestly say the battle's over, but it isn't. I will say though, I feel renewed and have a sense of direction, knowing what I need to do now to keep focused instead of being so confused. The devil is the author of confusion and I am so thankful for one young man who obeyed God and showed me that the devil is behind all the turmoil taking place right now.

I am so thankful to have my little family in church for Easter. What a blessing it is to go to the House of the Lord and celebrate His life in us!!! Because He got up, I have hope in this life AND in the one to come!

So glad He's alive! Hallelujah!

Surrendering Dreams

We all have dreams. We all have visions, desires, goals. I've been thinking. If you want to build a house, you must first consult an architect. He has the degree and the necessary know-how to bring about just what you need. At the consultation, you sit down with him or her, tell them what you desire in that house, and then you must TRUST him/her to draw up something that will at least MEET your expectations, and hopefully even EXCEED them. If you don't trust that architect, and want to try to do the work for him, you might leave out something very important or hinder his work so much, that he gets frustrated and gives up on you! You have to trust that he knows what you desire for your home, let him do the work, then he will show you what he drew up. You might be surprised at the things he might have drawn up, things you would have never dreamed possible, or even thought of at all! Because he is a master at what he does. He's drawn many homes and has experience in his field. He should be able to be trusted.

I said all that to say this: God is the master builder of our homes, our lives. I remember praying a while back about some dreams and desires I had and was wondering WHY I wasn't seeing them fulfilled! My heart was hurting and broken because inside, I knew I had to surrender them to Him if I was ever going to get peace of mind. I remember telling the Lord in that prayer, "God, I have dreams that are NOT sin, they are not bad! In fact, Your Word PROMISES these things! But I feel like I have to give them up! WHY??? Other people have their dreams fulfilled!! Why not me??? I don't want to give them up! I'm afraid I will never be happy! I'm afraid I will never see those dreams fulfilled if I surrender them!"

How little I knew... God is my Master Builder! He is building my home the way He wants it and I have to learn to trust that He will build it right, and most often build it better than I ever could have! And you know what else I have learned? We don't say we surrender our dreams, as to annihilate them, but give those dreams to God, let Him make something beautiful out of them, and place them in the "building plan" He has for you! Just like I would desire a huge kitchen in my new home, the architect knows what I want, but I have to let go, let him know my desire, then STEP BACK and let him do what he does best!!!! I could take the work from him, too scared to let him do it, because I'm afraid he won't make my kitchen right, and thus cheat myself out of a fabulous kitchen, all because of my FEAR of LETTING GO and trusting the builder.

I hope you understand my point. God CAN and  SHOULD be trusted as the builder of your home. He knows your desires, He knows what you have need of, and He's already got it all figured out in the 'plans', so please don't hinder His work by tying His hands with your doubt, fear, unbelief, and lack of trust! He can do the work, and He will do it better than you could ever imagine!

If you will trust Him.

Counting Blessings

Hallelujah! My beautiful, but often stubborn, daughter has finally mastered riding her bicycle without her training wheels. She's been trying to ride without those dumb wheels for a while now, but has been too scared to let go, but now, TODAY, she has decided to conquer it all on her own! What a shock to look out the window and see her just SAILING past the window like she's been riding for years! This mommy is proud and so thankful!

The white bass are hitting down at the river now. It sure is early for them. They don't usually hit until late April til Early May. I think this whole world is messed up. But hey! It makes for nice family outings! After Darren got off work yesterday, he came home, loaded up the fishing gear, I loaded up the cooler and picnic supplies, and we headed down to the lake and ate sandwiches and fished, enjoying our rare family time together! So thankful for the day we had, making memories as a family. We caught a couple of bass last night and then Darren went fishing again early this morning and caught a couple more nice sized fish, but he had to go to work, so couldn't stay. He will go again tonight. I'm hoping for a good catch! Just wish I could go, but he won't get off work in time to come get us before it gets dark. I'm wanting some fish!

I'm going to try my hand at doing some fried chicken a bit different. I like the skin ON and my skin gets too hard sometimes. We will see what happens. If it looks as good as it's sounding to me right now, I will post pics later. (I came back and posted this pic.. Here is my chicken after it was done... Please overlook the towel under it.... It had to drain on SOMETHING! :) But the chicken was good!)

This woman is thankful for the warm weather we have been blessed with and looking forward to many more days of nice sunshine and warm air! So thankful for God and His promises! And His faithfulness! The verse that says 'the trying of your faith worketh patience'? It's been going through my mind a lot the last couple of days. I've been dealing with some health issues that are troubling me, and I feel like it's a trial of my faith! I will come out on top, with the Lord's help! I know what God has said and I know what He's promised, and He will hold to His promises! Of this I am confident!!!! This is a pic of what God told me to buy and pray over, so I bought TWO pairs! I'm praying for twins!!!! :)   Call me whatever you want! I believe God will move! I don't know when or how, or if it will even be by ME giving birth to them, but God has heard my desire, this I know, and He will move for me!

One last thing, this is what my sweet hubby bought for me for my birthday last year and I have loved this thang!!! I love primitive themes and wasn't real crazy about Americana until I saw this bedspread! I won't have any other! It is 'til death do us part' on this one! LOL!

Today, I am just counting my blessings and savoring them slowly. The days will come when I will feel challenged to STAY focused on them, so I want to take the time to soak it into my brain all the good things HE has done for me and how blessed I REALLY am.

I am blessed.

The Mark Lowery Influence

I'm trying to decide if Mark Lowery is having a positive influence on my 7 year old daughter or a negative one! She is good with one-liners, and she uses them liberally and often at all the wrong times! He often refers to his mother in his "speeches", alluding to his childhood, referring to himself as a hyper-active child. In his childhood, according to Mark, he had testing done to see if he had mental problems, only to find out he was very normal (I still think his mom needs to get a 3rd, 4th, and 5th opinion, or as many as necessary). According to him, his mother said, MARK! I was hoping you at least had brain damage! What an inspiration to my growing daughter! When she gets frustrated with me, she says, MOM! I was hoping you at least had brain damage! How can I correct my daughter when she is so plainly influenced by what WE call CHRISTIAN comedians? LOL!!! He often talks about his mother being a screamer. He asked the question - "Do you know what a SCREAMER is?" I hear those words ringing from the lips of my daughter, a healthy helping of air from her lungs accompanying them! In her way, she's telling me that I am screaming, or SHE is screaming and wants to make sure I know what a screamer is! We were going down the road the other day, and she made the remark that garage doors were going to fly open any minute. Again, referring to Mark Lowery 101, he said everyone knows when his mom hits that "certain pitch" when garage doors all over the neighborhood start flying open. Ugh.... And you know what? Mark isn't the only 'influence' in my darling daughter's life! No thanks to Rodney Rathbone from Adventures in Odyssey! He was carrying a jar of bees in his backpack and was seeking revenge on a teacher when another student discovered what he was going to do and threatened to tell! Rodney grabs him by the shirt collar and says, "If you tell Dr. H, I'm gonna POUND ya!!!!" One night, when Moriah was around three years old, she kept getting out of bed for some reason or another and I kept telling her to get back in bed. Finally, I told her if she got out of bed again, I was going to spank her and she said calmly, serenely, and SERIOUSLY, "If you DO, I'm gonna POUND ya!"
WHAT?
 Sorry.. But I had to laugh!!!
We had this conversation once: Moriah, doesn't it bother you that Mommy works her head off around here and you don't help? ~ Her answer: Mom, I'm just trying to get some use out of you!
Ugh!
What do you do with a daughter who is full of one-liners and is full of wit and grit? I must tell you...
Life is never dull around the Jones' home.

Stars Shine Brightest In The Darkest Night

I'm not a fan of darkness. It implies fear of the unknown, fear of losing your way, no light to see by. I hate the dark. A lot goes on in the dark that without light, it's hard to distinguish what 'that noise' was. But, there are some things I like about the dark. No, I still hate the dark, but I could not enjoy the stars at night if the sun was out. Because of the darkness, I can enjoy the stars, for they are beautiful, and the darker, the better. I look at the stars and am constantly in awe of how big our God really is. I'm amazed every time I see the stars. A beautiful sight, and it doesn't cost a single penny to enjoy God's creation in such a marvelous display!
But yesterday I was reflecting on some of my past and I am still amazed at how great God's grace is! There are 'dark' times in my life I wish I could go back and erase. Situations that were out of my control and I wish had never happened. I KNOW it wasn't God's will for some of the things I faced to happen, but instead of letting it go to waste, God used it to make something beautiful out of it! I stand amazed so MUCH because of how far He's brought me! I was thinking back on a certain situation not of my own making when I was young and although it was a lonely time, a 'dark time', a time of tears and unhappiness, no friends and no one to talk to, God used it to do something in my life that I thought would never be. People told me I would never BE anything and would never DO anything and it was very discouraging. I tried hard to pray, not understanding why people felt that way and why they felt they had to tell me. It was a dark time to me. Now, the amazing thing is, when I think back to that time, yes, I remember the loneliness and the hurt, but I remember the 'shining stars' better! All I can think about was what God did in my life at that point and the hurt and loneliness is a faint memory. It was during this time, when I had been told I would never be or do anything, that GOD Himself began to teach me how to play the piano! I loved going to the malls, but at that point in my life, I was DESPERATE to forgo the shopping excursions just so I could be at home alone, to play and sing to my hearts' content! It was my time of service and praise, since I wasn't allowed to go to church at the time. That was MY church time! I didn't see it then, but looking back, I see how God was carrying me, even though I didn't feel like He was. I felt like I was struggling, trying to make sense of all the confusion in my life, but 'now I see how He was there for me' (words to the song "I never would have made it) and carried me! So, although the loneliness was there and the darkness was there, when I look back at that time in my life, all I see is the STARS, not the darkness. I wouldn't see the stars if it hadn't been so dark.
So, as much as I hate darkness, I try not to focus on it because that's when stars shine the brightest.
I never would have dreamed I would be where I am today. Most people might look at me and not see much, and that's okay. I know where I come from and where HE brought me from, and believe me, I am doing things and going places I thought I would never go or do!!!! There have been many dark nights in my life, but God in His mercy, wisdom and grace, has not allowed them to go to waste, but put some stars there to remind me He was there and He carried me! So when I reflect back on past troubles and trials, I don't see the pain, hurt and loneliness.

I see STARS.

In the Dark

Moriah told me her Sunday School lesson this past Sunday was about God making the world. The teacher gave each of the students a piece of paper, turned out the light, and told them to draw a world on the paper, if I understood correctly. My thought pattern kept going, though.... I remember that God spoke to the darkness FIRST and said, Let there be light AND THERE WAS LIGHT. I'm not discrediting the teacher because I don't know how she taught the lesson or what her point was, so I don't want to be misunderstood and someone think I am criticizing her. But my mind got to whirling with these thoughts. He spoke light to the darkness first, not because He needed to see what He was doing, but that when God does something, He chooses to do it in the light! God is light! It takes God to make a world and He did it in 6 DAYS!!! We cannot do that, even if we had all the light in the world! There is so much more to be said about it, but that is enough for me! Just wanted to share!

Struggling with infertility?

For those of you who know me, you know how I've struggled in the past with infertility and it's effect on me. It isn't easy, but lately the Lord has really been trying to get my attention with a chapter in Psalms that I am almost convinced was written from the writer to a woman struggling with this very issue. I had a pastor tell me one time, "Jennifer, there are plenty of promises in the word of God that you can claim and you need to quote them back to the Lord and tell Him what His word says!" This pastor was not implying that God forgot His word or His promises, but that it would be an act of faith on MY part, telling Him I believe His word and that He will keep His promises...
Well, one of those promises that I stubbornly (I will explain in a moment why I used the word 'stubbornly') clung to was found in Psalm 127:3 ~ Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. We all know that scripture, right? In prayer, I would cling to that verse, my Bible open in front on me, and I would point to it, Look Lord, here is the verse! This is what Your word says! And much to my surprise, He would tell me, Look at the first two verses! So, I did.
"Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it..." NOW HOLD ON!!!! I went on the defense! I thought to myself, That's why I don't have anymore children! God doesn't want me to have any!  You talk about hurting! I started to get mad and I would NOT read that verse anymore and kept right on clinging to verse 3, stubbornly, I might add...
But FINALLY, God got through to me! That was NOT what verse 1 meant! He caused me to remember how he brought my husband into my life when I thought I was NEVER going to get married and He has put our home together and thus started building our home! He told me, I am the One who's building your home! Not you, or your husband or anyone else! I am the master builder and Me alone! You can't even get to verse 3 because you are stuck at verse 2! 
Verse 2? It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, and eat the bread of sorrows, for so He giveth His beloved sleep.
God was dealing with me... I wasn't trusting Him.. I was worrying, fretting, sorrowful (believe me, the word 'sorrowful' isn't even strong enough) and it has been a hindrance to me! God was telling me that because of my lack of trust in Him, I was hindering what He wants to do in OUR lives and that HE is the builder, not me! It isn't up to me, it isn't about me, and I needed to let go and let Him do the building! He said, I am the builder, and you need to trust that I will build it right, and you need to quit worrying and when you do that, verse 3 will come!
Then verses 4 and 5 will happen!
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth!
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate!
Verse 1 - Master Builder who is worthy of our trust
Verse 2 - If you are trusting Him like you should, you will rest in Him
Verse 3 - He brings His promise to pass
Verse 4 - The future of our children
Verse 5 - The happiness of the home!
In essence, if God has promised, He WILL keep His promises! But we must do our part, so He can do His! He lays out the plans, tells us what we should do, and He will do the rest! So you know what? I don't worry anymore! If God can make a woman, who is now the mother of three children (at least, she may have more by now), have children AFTER having a complete hysterectomy, then God can move for those who struggle with infertility! But we must rest in His promises and BELIEVE HIM!!!! Hasn't He promised? Has He ever failed to KEEP His promises? No...
Trust Him!! He is the Master Builder and He knows how to build!!!! 

Crocheted Flowers/Valentine Gift

Here they are! I only have a couple or three done right now because I have NOT had the time to really get into it, but I have done enough to put a couple of pics on here so you can at least see what I am trying to achieve. Hope you like them! This one is actually TWO flowers layered together... But they will resemble this ensemble, only I would like to have ideas on how to embellish them.. Put a little bling... LOL! I have buttons and things to use, but I would like to use feathers, too... What do you think? (I LOVE feathers... LOL!)

(Shown a little smaller than actual size.. They are about 2 to 3 inches in diameter.)

Here is one I made for one of Moriah's friends for Valentine's Day!

This pink one was a lapel pin...

The top two pics were two of the first I made... The top one was made with ivory thread embellished with gold thread, and the bottom one was done in antique white... They haven't been fixed up either.. But I wanted to show you all what my "flowers" look like anyway... 

And now... On to my Valentine gift from my hubby!!!!

I have very little counter space (and cabinet space), and I do mean LITTLE!!! And I have NO pantry, so I was needing something to corral my seemingly endless counter clutters!!! It is by no means done, but this is the pic I took after we got in the house and sorted some things that night before we went to bed... We didn't have a whole lot of time to do much with it since we got home so late, but I wanted to show you my cabinet! He got it for $50! Thrifty! And I LOVE it!!!! 

Anyway, that's all for now! Once I really get down to business and get to fixing my "flowers" up, I will post more pics!!! Let me know what you think!!!

Heads Up

Just so everyone knows, I have been seriously considering making different items and possibly selling them from my blog. It may take a while, but to help bring some income to this home, I have given serious thought and am one step away from completely being talked into doing it. I've already decided to sell some things at a flea market if I can get them made in time, but I will try to sell things on here, too. As soon as I have samples of things I am making, I will post pics. Nothing real drastic or fantastic (LOL!), but hopefully it will help! :)

A Time To Dance

February promotes a lot of romance. You will see more advertisements about flowers and candy, couples dancing or getting married. There seems to be love in the air. But it isn't that way for everyone. I remember, before I got married, how dreadful Valentine's Day was and I just wanted to get through it and get past it. It seemed to really emphasize the loneliness I felt and I hated feeling lonely. Now, it has become a meaningful part in our marriage. No, we don't focus on Valentine's Day as the only day we can openly express our love for one another. Every day can be Valentine's Day! I am thankful for the man God brought into my life and I wouldn't trade him for anything. He is my best friend. He knows me better than anyone and still loves me anyway. That's saying something!
But speaking of dancing a moment ago, I thought of that scripture in Ecclesiastes that says there is a "time to dance". There are other things listed in that chapter, such as a time to mourn, a time to weep, a time for sewing and a time to rend, and so on. Look it up, the third chapter. We can identify with most, if not all, of the 'times' listed. Dancing implies relief from heavy burdens, joy that cannot be contained, excitement that can't be hid, feelings that NEED to be expressed! But for some reason, it's one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Dance. This is NOT a sad story, if I may say, but to get to the meat of the matter (dancing), I must say first that the past two to three years have been some of the hardest years of my life. I won't go into all the trouble and hurts and pain and so on, for there's too much to tell anyway. But honestly, I can't think of ONE time that I have felt like dancing in the last two years. It's sad, but I feel like I haven't had much to let loose and dance about in those two long years. I don't mean this for a hard up story, for that is NOT what it is. But we all go through times in which it's the hardest thing to do. Let go of troubles, hurts, pains, sorrows, longings, despair, put it all aside, and for our hearts' sake, just DANCE. Our human nature demands that we have a REASON to dance, but there comes a time in our spiritual journey where we need to DANCE on faith! We may not have received the promise, but DANCE anyway, knowing that God is in control and it will NOT always be this way. It didn't come to stay, it came to pass. I love that saying. I don't always understand the 'seasons' of life, why some seasons seem to take forever to end, but the good news is, THEY DO END. We wonder if we will make it until the end happens, but stop for a moment and realize, Solomon said there will be a time to dance and you can count on it. We are so quick to count on the bad, the time to weep, mourn, die, break down, time to lose, time of hate, time of war, and so on. They come, but so do the others. The time to heal, the time to be born, time to build up, time to laugh, a time of peace, a TIME TO DANCE. This all brings this scripture to my mind, ALL THINGS work TOGETHER for GOOD to them that love God, who are the CALLED according to HIS purpose. Not only will the bad happen in our lives, but the GOOD happen. So if you are doubting you will ever dance again, just know that seasons do come and go, the good AND the bad. If you are mourning now, hold on.
YOU WILL DANCE AGAIN.

~Shadows~

Happy February, everyone! I read the news this morning, and apparently the groundhog saw it's shadow! According to the "experts", whomever they may be, we will "suffer" six more weeks of winter, such as it is! Can't threaten me with 50 and 60 degree weather! I just hope we don't have snow in April! Wouldn't that be a mix up? I wish we could have one good snow, about 6 inches or so, to play in, before spring bursts upon us in it's vibrancy! I love spring! I love flowers! I love to hear the birds chirp their way into my semi-conscious state early in the morning! It's hard to stay in bed with birds chirping right outside your window! There's just something about the sun, the birds, the WARM weather, even the crickets AT NIGHT, that spells peace and tranquility to me! To be honest, I'm glad I'm not SO rich, that I can't enjoy the simple things in life, such as the spring activity going on right outside my window!

Shadows. A lot of times, shadows are used to describe something hard in our lives. We think about the groundhog seeing his shadow and assume the opinion of experts that we will see six more weeks of winter and despair sets in. But what we fail to realize is, in order to have a shadow, there has to be light somewhere. Otherwise, he wouldn't see his shadow. Shadows aren't always a bad thing.

I read one time about shadows. Depending on the position of the sun, an object can appear really big, or really small. Have you ever noticed your shadow as you walked down the street? I used to look at my shadow as I walked and always wondered what it would be like to be TEN FEET tall! LOL! But usually it was because the sun was behind me! But if the sun was overhead, I looked like I was 4 or 5 inches tall. Troubles are often compared to shadows. Shadows are there to remind us that the Light is somewhere very near by!  The psalmist even said, "He that DWELLETH in the secret place of the Most High SHALL abide under the SHADOW of the Almighty." If He is the LIGHT, to be in His shadow means you have to be VERY close to Him. So shadows are not a bad thing! It just means the light is very close to you.

So if your problems seem BIG to you, get closer to the LIGHT and they will diminish. The closer to the light you get, the smaller the problem gets. Instead of seeing the shadow as something to be feared, just look at it as a sign that the Light is near you! Focus on the light, not the shadow. When you get close enough to Him, the shadows just sort of disappear.

One More Blessing

My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, with the help of some really great friends, keeps right on amazing me! We went to church tonight, visiting some old friends. I almost didn't go because I had suffered with a headache all day and wasn't feeling well, but decided to go at the last minute. I am so glad I did! We had an awesome service! The Lord spoke to me directly through prophecy and let me know that a lot of my feelings were just that! Feelings!!! I don't know about anyone else, but I think I can safely say that ANYONE in the ministry gets like this from time to time! I had been feeling like I had come to a halt and felt like I was going to wither away and die. No more ministry, no more anointing, and so on. But the Lord let me know tonight over and over again, saying, "I will use you, I will use you, I will use you, and you will experience a greater anointing than you've ever experienced!" I was overwhelmed to say the least! But so thankful! After the service was over, we had another surprise! I've mentioned before that Moriah is FINALLY starting to show some interest musically. Darren has been teaching her the drums, and she's been stepping out singing in church, begging to sing most days, and she has ALWAYS expressed a desire to play the violin! We've been price checking, waiting to find a good deal on one! Tonight, after church, someone came to me and said, "Don't leave yet! We have something to give Moriah!" I was thinking, "What in the world?" Lo, and behold, they came back inside and they were carrying a case and gave it to her. She thought it was a guitar. She didn't act too excited because she already has one. But they told her to open it! She opened it and inside was a VIOLIN!!!! I about cried!!!! I couldn't believe it! Moriah's eyes lit up and she hugged that case all the way home! I can never say "thank you" enough for this wonderful blessing to our family! I am STILL in shock! But so THANKFUL! Tears come to my eyes just thinking about it! How good God is, just when you feel down and need a good "pick me up", someone does something like this! I know God loves us and most times I feel His love, but there are times when I need assurance of His love and knowing that He's there and not only listening, but moving on my behalf! It's times like these that make me realize there IS a GOD up there looking down on us and giving us favor! I don't deserve it! Why me? I am thankful! I don't know what will happen in the near future for our family, but I feel better knowing He's going to help me! And use me and my little family!!! Thankful!!!!

Our Story in Pic Form! :)

This was taken a couple of years ago when her hair was a bit shorter. We rolled her hair to her head, just to see what the outcome would be......

And this is the result! Shirley Temple look-a-like! One thing about it, she might not have natural curly hair as curly as mine, but she definitely has body! LOL!!!!! I was looking through a lot of my pics and I couldn't believe how much she's grown in the last little bit! She was 43 or 44" tall when we started school back in August and now she is 47"!!!! WOW!

This is Moriah on her first day of Kindergarten, holding our favorite kitty, Stuffing (Moriah named him that)! It was fitting to name him that! He turned out to be a rascal and we all loved him, but he was becoming a nuisance to our neighbors, I think, so we had to get rid of him! We have wished him back MANY TIMES!! We love gray kitties! (sniff, sniff) We love you, Stuffing (pronounced Stuffin by us!!)

She has a way of looking at her daddy.... I love these pics!

These two are a lot alike, in case you didn't know.... When you are around them long enough, you will realize this!

Very first day of school for her! She had never been to school before, never rode a bus before, and this pic was taken while we were waiting for the bus! Her smile was everything!

Priceless! So glad I got this pic! Glad she was smiling and excited, and not crying! She did well and got off the bus later that day with excitement in her eyes!

Now, she is getting so grown up, it's almost a sin for kids to grow that fast! So baby fever is really hitting bad, because I'm not ready to let go and be "ole mom"! She needs siblings and I'm trusting the Lord for at least another child! I'm praying for TWO this year! :D We will take whatever we can get, won't we, Moriah?

THE END

My Hero ~ True Story

I grew up in church most of my life. I cannot go into all the details of my life, but I've had my share of pain and hurt. I've had my share of misunderstandings. I've had my times when I felt so alone that no one knew of my pain, hurt and loneliness. I remember as a young girl, hiding behind a face, so quiet because I felt like no one wanted to hear from me. No one cared what I had to say. Pain was hid behind a smile. I was a slave to Satan and was driven to do things that even now, I'm not sure anyone knows what all I was involved in. And really, I wasn't involved in much at all. Mostly, rebellion was in my heart, but I did secretly listen to rock music a LOT before I got saved. But there was a voice telling me no one cared and no one was interested in me. No one loved me! I deserved every bad thing that ever happened in my life. When God would try to deal with me, I ran away because I was convinced He didn't care, either. But as time went on, I began to realize that the deal the devil was trying to make with me wasn't getting me where I wanted to go. It didn't feel very good. One night, as I was preparing for bed, there came a "knock" on my "door". I laid there in my bed, scared to death, heart beating fast, afraid to breathe, because I knew who was on the other side. The voice I had been listening to all my life was yelling in my ear, DO NOT ANSWER THE DOOR! HE HATES YOU! HE WANTS TO HURT YOU!  There was the punch line! HURT!!!! I guess the devil was trying to play his trump card. He knew I had been hurt so much, that he wanted to use that line to prevent me from getting the healing that HE wanted to bring me! But, this girl had had enough. I told that voice, If that man can help me AT ALL, I am answering the door and there isn't anything you can do about it! As I opened the door and got a glimpse of the man on the other side, my heart broke in many pieces! There stood a man with His hands outstretched and said, I took this for you! They wanted to hang you, they wanted to hurt you, they wanted to kill you, but I stood in the way and asked them to take ME instead. Here are the scars and wounds to prove it! All because I love you! I couldn't bear to see you hurt like that! His eyes were shining with love for me! He did not show me the scars to shame me, but to prove how much danger I had been in and though I was unaware of the danger, He stepped in and took the "hits" for me. His body bore the marks of a man who had been in a fierce battle! He showed me the scars to show me He loved me! What a love! I had finally found someone to love me! I was so distraught by the pain He had suffered for me, it broke my heart! But those same hands reached out to me, took me in His arms and held me like I had NEVER been held in all my life! What a love! Not only did He take the suffering for me, He won the battle, so I don't have to be afraid that they will come hurt me anymore. They have tried, but He has somehow kept me from feeling that pain I felt before He came on the scene of my life! Sometimes I still hurt A LOT, but all I have to do is run to Him and those same arms will hold me! It brings tears to my eyes when I think about the many times I've had to run to Him for comfort and He has NEVER let me down! I finally found someone who understands my hurts and can bind up the broken pieces of my heart! And someday, hopefully before too long, I will get to see that man face to face literally. This story has been laid out in the room of my imagination, but the content is very REAL!!! I have a real friend, who's name is Jesus, and He HAS been my friend, and always will be. He DOES love me! He holds me and comforts me! Why anyone would want to reject such a friend, I will never know! I guess they are in the same position I was in. That voice of the devil telling them that Jesus will hurt them and that He doesn't love them. It's a lot easier to believe that lie when you are convinced no one loves you anyway. It's hard to believe in someone who will love you unconditionally! There isn't anyone else in the world that loves like that! But if they would only try Him! They will find what I found!
My Hero.

Keep Practicing!

Moriah is hilarious! Last night, while Moriah was in the restroom brushing her teeth, preparing to go to bed, Darren and I were in the living room having a conversation. Darren was on this kick about not being a good father and wishing he could do better, feeling bad about himself for whatever reason. Moriah overhears him and says very matter of factly, "Dad (sarcastically), you have to keep trying! You've got to PRACTICE!!!! You'll get better!" In the meantime, Darren and I are laughing and laughing! If I had said that, it would have just been a piece of advice meant to be given in encouragement, but would probably be ignored, but when a child gives this SIMPLE kind of advice, it really makes you think! She has a way of making us think!
I think I understand how he feels, though. Sometimes Moriah makes me feel like I am a failure as a mother, and MOST of the time I make MYSELF feel like a failure as a mother, and I wonder if I will EVER get it right! Then there are times when Moriah comes through for me and makes me feel like all my effort isn't in vain, after all! I've been after her for YEARS to sing with us in church and she has always balked, which was strange for me because Darren and I both sing in church ALL THE TIME! I couldn't understand why Moriah had no desire! She never embarrasses easy, but if she ever DOES get embarrassed or shy, (MORIAH SHY?????) it's when she has to get up in front of people and do something! She says she doesn't like people looking at her! Well, a couple of weeks ago, after much begging and pleading, out of the blue, she finally asks me in church if she can go up with me and I said that was perfectly fine! When we got up to sing, she came with me and shock of all shocks, she asked if she could sing "Jesus Loves Me"! What do you think my reaction was? I said, "Of course you can!" And every service since then, unless the service went another direction, she has sang in service and has even inspired another girl in the church to get up and sing with her! Now, Moriah LOVES it!!! Now all I have to do is teach her wisdom in singing in church! That will come with experience and age! This mommy is SOO happy to see my little girl FINALLY getting a desire to sing! She has a beautiful, strong singing voice! LOUD!!! LOL! This mom is happy! Now, if I can just get her to show the same kind of interest in doing her school work, I WILL feel like I have accomplished something...

Please Be Patient

I am still trying to get this blog up and running. I would like to post pics sometime in the near future, but with the demands of life heavy on me, it's hard to take the time (and time it WILL TAKE) to really make this blog worth a visit! So I hope you all will be patient with me and check back every once in a while to see how I'm doing. I appreciate friends and hope to continue our friendships. Thank you to all who have stopped by, made comments, and "following" me! :) God bless you all!

Servant or Slave?

I read something interesting today after my earlier post and found out the definitions of servants and slaves. Now, I had a relative idea of the meaning of the words, but wanted to see what Webster's had to say about it. In essence, being a slave means you are forced into service against your will. You have NO choices in life! You COULD choose to do something against the master, but you will suffer consequences. On the other hand, being a servant is a debt that has to be paid, a chance to repay someone for a service done them. If I could choose between being a slave or a servant, since I have to be one or the other, I would rather be a servant! Being a servant is a privilege! Being a servant comes with responsibilities! I was chosen to be a servant for God! I was a slave to the devil! I had no choice in life! I had to do what he said! NO CHOICE! But when Jesus came along and saved me, He gave me the liberty to make something of my life! People get the misconception that being a servant means you don't have a life! But I do have a life! Yes, Jesus is in control of my life! Only because I want Him to be! The devil had control, but he took control of it without my consent! Jesus will not take control without your consent! O, there is so much to be said about the difference between a slave and a servant! I think you get the picture! I surrender as a servant! That is the better life!!!

A Servant's Heart

I don't know about anyone else, but it's hard to be a servant. No matter who you are, YOU are a servant. We all serve one another. We all have someone we have to answer to. I am to be a servant of Jesus Christ. I strive to be a good servant. To be honest, its hard sometimes. I have goals and dreams I would like to see fulfilled, but I have noticed that I get SO focused on them, I lose energy to serve in the here and now. In 2011, I was so consumed with a desire to have another child, I'm ashamed to admit the number of opportunities I have passed up to fulfill my servant's duties to my Savior. All because I was so consumed with desire to have another child. Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting more children, but I realize now that it can become such a weight, that I can fail as a faithful servant. Also, His word is full of promises to people in such a situation as I found myself if only I would have clung to those promises, waited on Him and TRUSTED! I look back now and see my life was so full of mistrust, I cry over it! Tears are in my eyes even now because my heart is breaking over the many times I am sure my Master has been disappointed in me over my lack of faith and TRUST! I am so thankful for His mercy! What would I do without His mercy? I finally let go and told my Master at the end of the year that I was done worrying about it, and would not pray over it anymore. And I was! For about a month, I never mentioned it, although I still shed tears a time or two. I was ready to move on. Until one day, I was at Wal-mart, and I was walking past the baby department! Normally, I would rush right on by because seeing all that stuff broke my heart anew and it was everything I could do to keep from breaking down right in the store! But, about three weeks ago, while I was walking past, I felt the Lord SOOOOOOO strongly, felt Him impress me to go over to the baby socks and buy two pairs of socks, and pray over them! People may think I'm crazy and it really is taking a big step in saying this, but I felt Him so strong that day, and what a PEACE!!! I can't explain it! I don't know when or how it will happen, but I know He knows my heart! I am currently making a baby blanket, too! :) I know He hears me, and loves me, so I don't have to worry. And I'm not going to. I don't want to ruin this year by missing my opportunities to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish ten years ago! I'm leaving my dreams in His hands, believing He will take care of it! I want to be a good and faithful servant! Is it really so hard to be a servant to Him, when He's done so much for me? I think the answer is obvious.