Always Causing Troubles- (thankful day 4)

First of all I need to say how thankful I am for my husband! You would not believe how much he has had to put up with since he married free spirited me. I'm always causing troubles...hehehe! Not joking though, he is a saint! ! I'm a handful, I admit it, I guess we balance each other out. I'm so thankful he loves me and when he has tried to change certain things about me, he realized quickly he couldn't, so instead he chose to love and accept every frustrating to him thing about me. He really is that awesome! I love him and what's more than that, he loves me, unconditionally, it's amazing! I wish I could say I'm as good at loving him as he is at loving me, but I know I'm not...I'm working on it though!

Next I need to say how very thankful I am for my son. I've written about him before. He is so loving to me (most of the time anyway). I like how he always walks up to me and strokes my long hair. He also loves to make me laugh with a funny joke any chance he gets. I see a lot of myself in my son, when he gets his mind set on having something he doesn't stop thinking about it until it becomes a reality or until it becomes clear that he's just not going to get it and forces himself to move on. He has my temperament too, but he also has a huge forgiving and caring heart.  I'm truly thankful for our mother and son relationship, it's definitely special.

And last but never ever least, I'm thankful for my daughter. She's sweet, witty, creative, playful and definitely sarcastic, like her dad! We always have so much fun when it's just her and I. Whether we are shopping, watching Good Luck Charlie, getting fro yo, or laughing at goofy pictures of ourselves, just being together is one of my favorite pastimes. I'm  proud of the thoughtful and generous individual she is becoming. Watching her grow up into a beautiful young woman is a great pleasure, bittersweet but joyful and rewarding all at the same time.

I know I already blogged about being thankful for family, but these 3 deserved a special mention! #ThankYouGod

My Theme Song

Have you ever heard a song that described your life? I have, and now I call it my theme song. The first time I ever heard it, I couldn't believe just how much it described my life. Especially because I didn't write it, and you know what that means, there is at least one other person out there in this world, and probably many more than I would like to imagine, who resonate with this song as well. The awesome part is just how true the words about God in it are! He has literally been walking with me my whole life. He has remained with my as my Comforter, my Healer, my Redeemer, my Counselor, my Restorer, my Friend and my Abba Daddy my whole life through. There has never been a time where I have feared He has left me, because I honestly know He never has. His presence is real in my life. He is such a gift to me, a blessing I can't describe. I trust that everything that has happened, has happened for a reason and if given the choice, I wouldn't change any of my life, especially if it meant that my encounters with Jesus would have been lessened or diminished in any way.  It's completely true what the scripture says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28 ESV)  I'm thankful for all that I've had to endure only because it had drawn me closer and closer to Christ in the process, and really, is there anything more important in our lives than our relationship with our Savior? The answer is no.

"All This Time" by Britt Nicole

I remember the moment, I remember the pain

I was only a girl, but I grew up that day

Tears were falling

I know You saw me

Hiding there in my bedroom, so alone

I was doing my best, trying to be strong

No one to turn to

That's when I met You

All this time, from the first tear cried

'Till today's sunrise

And every single moment between

You were there, You were always there

It was You and I

You've been walking with me all this time

Ooh, oh, oohh

Ooh, oh, oohh

You've been walking with me all this time

Ever since that day, it's been clear to me

That no matter what comes, You will never leave

I know You're for me

And You're restoring

Every heartache and failure, every broken dream

You're the God who sees, the God who rescued me

This is my story

This is my story

All this time, from the first tear cried

'Till today's sunrise

And every single moment between

You were there, You were always there

It was You and I

You've been walking with me all this time

Ooh, oh, oohh

Ooh, oh, oohh

You've been walking with me all this time

I hear these people asking me

How do I know what I believe

Well, I'm not the same me, and that's all the proof I need

I felt love, I felt Your grace

You stole my heart that day

(Ooh, oh, oohh)

Oh,woah

(Ooh, oh, oohh)

You've been walking with me all this time

All this time, from the first tear cried

'Till today's sunrise

And every single moment between

You were there, You were always there

It was You and I

You've been walking with me all this time

Ever since the first tear cried

It was You, You and I

You've been walking with me all this time

Ever since the first tear cried

It was You, You and I

You've been walking with me all this time

Little Dark Secret

I feel like blogging but I'm speechless at the moment. Which could mean I will ramble on about absolutely nothing and write the longest post I've ever written or that I will end it right after I finish typing this sentence.  It's nearly summer break!!!! Woohoo!!!! I am so excited I can hardly contain it! I don't know why but I absolutely love summer time, even though in July it gets insanely hot. 116, 117 degrees Fahrenheit is not uncommon, BUT, it is, thankfully a dry heat and it does make a difference. (It does for me anyway!!!) Humidity is not my friend, even if it is better for your skin, it's miserable for me to endure, especially when accompanied with excessive heat! 

So do you ever consider yourself a failure? I do, pretty much everyday of my life! It's a good thing I know His grace is sufficient for me and that His mercies for me are new every morning!!! Seriously though, I'm clinging so tight to these promises of His right now.  It's comforting to read that, "HIS POWER is made PERFECT in my weakness!" Oh so comforting are the red lettered words of my Savior God.  I won't go into the details of my failures, but just know I have many. Work in me Lord, that is my prayer today.

Ok just one little dark secret detail about my failures. I'm still on a food fast of not eating sugar, carb heavy, junk foods.  It's more than a diet, in fact it's not a diet at all. It's a commitment I made to God and I can't even keep it! Yesterday I baked homemade chocolate chip cookies for youth group and for our new Spanish speaking neighbors across the street. (I REALLY need to learn Spanish!) Well I'm sure you know where this is going but I'll say it anyway, I devoured THREE of those sugary, carb heavy cookies which are in fact junk food. Failure. Yep that's me. His power is made perfect in weakness. What does that mean to me exactly? Just a reminder that I am a failure, that I do need Jesus because I'm not perfect and that I never will be on my own. My righteousness is only in Christ alone, I can not add to my righteousness at all. Jesus alone is my righteousness.

And now, back to summer... I said I don't know why I love it so much, but maybe I can think of a few reasons... A top reason, spending more time with my kids even though I may hear, "I'm bored", a lot. I hope not though! I like to stay busy myself, so I hope we will find lots of inexpensive things to do to keep us entertained. My kids are at the age now where they are too old for community programs which are mostly for elementary age kids. So I'm going to have to be more creative this summer on how to keep them busy. I'm open to any ideas so please don't hold back if you have one!! :) More top reasons for looking forward to Summer, sporadic traveling and small trips, we will take a few this summer and I'm excited about every one of them!!! I love, love, love going places. Especially if one of those places is the beach and right now I can only think of one trip planned where the beach is included, and not just any beach, it's a gorgeous beach in the crystal clear blue waters of the Caribbean ocean. I get to go back this summer, thanks to God, thanks to my husband and thanks to dear friends at church! Serving the people in the Dominican Republic, will be the highlight of my summer, my only wish is that my family could come and that it could be longer than a week. Prayerfully, one day my wish will come true.

So what else can this rambling woman ramble on about? Oh yeah! We just finished "I Am A Church Member" book by Thom Rainer in our ladies Bible study life group.  We were ALL challenged, encouraged, enlightened and inspired by the godly wisdom in it.  Seriously we all agree it is such an important book to read for every Christian new and old! It's extremely important for all of us to have a healthy, godly perspective on how we as members of the body of Christ and individual churches should function properly for the sake of the Gospel. READ IT and apply it! :) 

Let's see... My Facebook fast is boring. Miss Facebook, enough said ;)

Thinking now I should do a complete media fast, but I really don't want to and I think I would just be setting myself up for more failure if I did, so I won't at this time. It's crazy how much media is a part of my life and not just mine, everyone else's too! It's definitely a cultural thing. If you think you're not addicted to it, try to give it up. You'll see real fast that you are in fact addicted. Internet, radio, television, cellphones with all their awesome apps from everything like playing games to online banking. Technology is just a way of life for me, in our culture it seems impossible to live without it. Agree? Why or why not? Anyhow, if I'm going to fast media completely again, it's going to take an audible voice from God telling me to, or me being stranded on an island somewhere with no wifi. I'm addicted. Sad, but true.

Brag about my life moment: I love my kids. I'm proud of them and their accomplishments this school year. I love my husband. I could never in my wildest dreams ask for a better one than him. I love my family, my friends and I'm so very thankful for all God has blessed me with. I know I don't deserve any of it, and it's only by His great love and mercy that my life is as good as it is. Praying He helps me live with open hands and a soft heart daily.

Today I went to visit my friend Jenny. I try to go at least once a week. She is bed bound with MS. I wish there was something I could do for her other than spend time visiting with her, bringing goodies to her and reading a book to her.  I painted her nails again today which she loves, and I love that it makes her happy to have pretty sparkly nails.  I also played my favorite Bethel album of the moment, "You Make Me Brave", for her and she kept asking who it was because she loved it so much. Jenny is a true sweetheart, she always has been.  I hope and pray daily that God would heal her and restore her health. I trust that He is using her life for His glory and some how, some way, good will come out of her circumstances, even though at this time it's impossible for me to see how. Her life is so precious. She is a faithful Christian wife of a good hardworking man and a mom of 6 beautiful kids... I'm thankful there is more to this life than what we have on earth, and I'm so thankful for the hope of Heaven. I know one day, disease, decay and death will be swallowed up in victory.

God is soooooo good!!!! Did I mention that? I don't think I did, so I'm doing it now. He is incredible. I owe my whole life to Him. I would be utterly hopeless without Him. I can't imagine living one day without His presence. I wish people far from God would realize just how complete their lives would be if they accepted His awesome love and free gift of salvation. Nothing in this life compares with knowing Christ Jesus as Lord, trusting Him as Savior, worshipping Him as God and relating to Him as friend. He really is my all in all. He loves me when I'm unloveable and is my constant companion in this life, so full of ups and downs. There is no one like God!

Me and Jenny :)

P.S. I miss my God friend Molly so much it hurts my heart bad. :'(