Day 20 Month 2 of "7" Fast inspired by Jen Hatmaker

So it's now day 20 of wearing the same 7 pieces of clothing all month long... I still need to do laundry more often!  It's weird how when you iron a shirt you've already worn and haven't washed, the smell of deodarant gets stronger on it.  I'm bored with my jeans and t-shirts, so now any chance I get I will dress up in my turquoise peacock pattern dress that I chose as one of my 7.  It's so pretty and so comfortable it makes me want to buy more dresses like it!  Excessive much? Yes, I  admit, I am. 

Yesterday and today allergies have been getting the best of me.  Sore throats are never fun.   Too busy to stop though, so much to do and so little time. I did however spend a few hours in worship, prayer and study of God's Word yesterday...I was hungry and needed to feast at my Lord's banqueting table...and it was good. God is so good. I love that He will always meet us right where we are at.  Sometimes I wish I could remain there at His feet, in His presence forever... I'm holding onto His promises for eternity in Christ.

I might start blogging in the day...I just get too sleepy at night.  And we have changed our family nightly Bible reading and prayer routine to a more in depth one, which I am loving, yay! But it's almost impossible, for me to blog any earlier....well goodnight! My eyes are closing!

Day 17- St.Pat's Day and celebrating my husband!

Well I just had to cheat on my "7" articles of clothing today to wear my Kidz Praize tee and Leprechaun hat for the parade.  We had a great time. Things didn't go as well as planned with our music for it, but we learned something and will make it better for next time! :)  The kids ages K-5th grade were beyond patient, standing/sitting on the sidewalk waiting for 2 hours in the cold wind before we could begin walking in the parade.  A couple of tears from one of the younger ones but overall they all did amazing!!!  So very proud of them and really love working with God's precious children!  We passed out 2000 invitations to our church's Easter Eggstravaganza event coming up on March 31st 11-1. It will be so wonderful to see new faces attend South Hills as a result, and praying for God to do great things in the hearts and lives of all who earnestly seek Him!  www.southhills.tv/easter-eggstravaganza/

Today was such  a wonderful day with my family too. Celebrated my Honey's 40th bday a day early with a Calzone lunch, homemade popcorn, movie, chocolate cake and ice cream . So very blessed to have a husband who loves his Lord Jesus and desires to live for Him daily.  I couldn't ask for a better man and father of my children!  Life is full of ups and downs and unexpected twists and turns, heartaches and overwhelming joys.  And though he and I don't always agree on everything, we agree that we will love eachother no matter what and that our love and relationship is forever secured by a covenant with God that will never be broken.  Thank you Lord for my husband's life, a man of love, full of integrity, dignity, strength, wisdom and a confidence that only YOU can give.

Month 2 Day 14- God is keeping me humble

Everyday with God is so exciting. He is always revealing new things to me about myself and alot of it is not good....so why is that exciting to me?! It just really highlights more and more how amazingly awesome God is!  His grace is truly sufficient for me!!!! There is absolutely nothing I could do to earn my own righteousness, salvation or exaltation. Jesus has accomplished and completed the work on the cross for me and He said "It is finished" as the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, never to be put back up by any man or legalistic religious institution!  We are studying Galatians and I am loving our discussion times!  Galatians has to be one of my favorite books, and we are only through Chapter 1 verse 10 so far! There is liberty and freedom in Christ and if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed!!! God spoke to me a couple of times today through a friend who has been walking with Christ and has gone through the flames, I love gleaning from her experience, insight and wisdom.  Thank you Lord for Diana and for her heart that desires to serve you and all people too!

So one of the things I keep seeing about myself is I am one of the most excessive people I know!  And here is the worst part, I see myself changing a little, but only a little and I don't think or know if I can ever change completely.  In my mind I have a whole list of things I can give away, but I also have a list of a whole bunch of things I would like to buy...again Thank God for His grace through Jesus Christ my Lord!!! Without Jesus I could never be worthy enough to be a child of God.  ONLY through my LORD and SAVIOR is the impossible, POSSIBLE! To Him who sits on the Throne and unto the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and power forever!!!

Revelation 5:12-13 KJV

Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Day 13-Piano Song

I don't think I ever mentioned that our Piano recital which was supposed to be last Saturday, was rescheduled due to a death in our teachers family. (so sad & praying for her!)  Well now it is supposed to be on May 5th and here is the good news. I completely have my song mastered. I am confident with it now, although I just know that if I have 300 eye balls staring at me, my mind is going to go blank & I'll forget how to play it! Happens everytime!  The thought just came to me, I need to go to the senior living places and practice playing it in front of them first, maybe that will help me and maybe they would like it too, especially if I take my sweet girl with me so she can play her song for them too! :) Sounds like a plan!  Another good thing about the recital being in May, I can wear any dress I want to wear, because I'll have more than 7 items to choose from!   And if I win the weight loss challenge with my friend with the prize being $50 to Kohls, I may even have a brand new dress to wear! ;)

Anyone else feel like March is flying by super fast??? Slow down March! There are so many things I need to accomplish before this month is over. I need a vacation just thinking about it all! Good night! 

Day12 Month 2 mutiny against excessive clothing!

I am soooo sleepy tonight so if I accidentally fall asleep in the middle of a sentence or if I start sounding as if I'm drunk or something, I'm really not, I promise! I'm just not used to this time change yet!! This morning getting up and ready for the day was brutal for me and kids. We just didn't want to, it felt too early! We love it staying lit up longer in the evening after school though. Felt like we were able to accomplish a lot more for some reason. I'm already looking forward to summer break, I'm worse than the kids I think!!!
This mutiny against excessive clothing is waaay easier than mutiny against excessive food! I really could get used to this simplified wardrobe idea! I remember the first time hearing about a simplified wardrobe, when I heard Devi Titus speak at a Womens Retreat weekend years ago. I thought her ideas were awesome, but back then I also thought they sounded so boring! Now I only wish I had learned to put her ideas into practice. I see now how simplified living in many areas means less stress!! Less time consuming & less spending which frees up more time and resources for serving and giving. Here are some great ideas I came across on simplifying a wardrobe. For some reason I can't get the links to work right, so if you want to check them out, you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser. (sorry)

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/09/simplifying-the-wardrobe-part-1.html

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/09/simplifying-your-wardrobe-part-2.html

I still need to clean out my closets! I got distracted today with PTA stuff, podcasts, cleaning, and then printing pictures for a frame I was given back in November. We had a fun family night, went on a little bike ride with kids after homework, then the kids pulled out games to play: scrabble, Eli beat me at Checkers (I've never liked that game anyway!! ;) Perfection, that game makes me jump! And "You Gotta Be Kidding Me Game", a fun game which is so gross it makes us laugh alot. Enjoying studying the book of John together before bed, we are in chapter 3. It amazes me how much the kids can remember sometimes. I love it! :)

Day 11 Month 2- Missing my cousin

A year ago today my sweet 28 year old cousin Vince went to be with Jesus. It definitely does not seem as if it's been that long although it has not been an easy year, especially for my aunt and uncle who lost their only son.  My heart still hurts for them and I wish so bad that Vincent was still alive on this earth.  God has given me complete peace and assurance through a few tangible and real signs that we will be united in Heaven for eternity.  It is soooo amazing how God works sometimes, even when you aren't expecting Him to.  The last communication I had with my cousin Vince, besides in a dream a few months ago that seemed so real, was on March 9, 2011 while he was in Jamaica, two days before he passed.  He was giving me advice on how to learn Spanish for my mission trip to Dominican Republic.  He had taught himself to be fluent in Spanish, Portugese, and Italian and even learned some Russian and Chinese. I had told him I wished he could come with me as I would need help in the language department!  Well due to grieving and life, I never did learn before the trip, but today I was reminded, it is something I REALLY need to do!!! With prayer and God's help, I can and will learn. I'm not sure about Creole which is spoken by the Haitians but I would love to learn that too!  I really need to get ready for my mission trip coming up in July, it will be here before I know it. I need to be diligent and wise with my time so I can accomplish what God has placed on my heart to do. Staying Kingdom minded and focused is not easy, but it can be done and is beyond rewarding in this life and will be in the one to come!

Church, life group and bunko made today busy but fabulous! Nothing like being around so many people who love Jesus and get excited about growing deeper in relationship with Him! God is using so many people to encourage me right now, and for that I am truly grateful!!! 

Sky on Fire in Cabo da Roca
Cabo da Roca, Portugal
taken Febrary 22,2011 by my cousin Vincent Alesi
I love you my cousin and will miss you and remember you always!
(R.I.P. Michael Vincent Alesi July 16, 1982 - March 11, 2011)

Day 10-Springing Forward

Springing forward tonight and I'm definitely ready for spring, in more ways than one! I love the warm weather, I love the heat of the sun.  I guess that's why I've always been pretty happy living in the desert. I do LOVE the ocean too though, so I'm sure I would be just as happy living someplace warm and tropical.

I can't wait for blooming flowers everywhere.  Spring is just a beautiful time of year, I love the newness and freshness of it all!  Reminds me of a new start,  a new beginning, a born again experience with Jesus. Nothing compares to it, and I'm praying for it by name, for a few people that God has placed on my heart and that I love.

It was a nice couple of days break from blogging, I was just too emotionally drained.  God is working though! I see Him orchestrating in different ways, and I'm excited to see how He will use certain things to bring about changes in the lives of my loved ones!

About the "7-experiment", I changed my mind on a dress and traded it in for another pair of jeans instead. It was a fair trade, I hadn't worn my dress yet! I feel like I should have another shirt.....or do laundry more often. Oh well my honey still loves me! ;)

Yesterday and today were both wonderful family days: frozen yogurt, hiking, pizza, mani's & pedi's with my Belle, my sis and my niece, rebels game ( wish they would have won!), bike riding, fun at the lake etc.  Wishing everyday could be a family play day!! I LOVE my family!

Speaking of family, tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of my cousin Vincent's death.  I will be praying for my Aunt and Uncle especially. I loved my cousin and wish everyday that he was still alive.  We will be joining together at Sunset wherever we are in remembrance of Vince <3