Future Days

This week has been so revealing to me. God has removed so many of my fears and replaced them with His hope and love. This nation has made destructive decisions and I wonder if it could get any worse. The truth is that it will. But the fruit of the Spirit is peace. Peace in turmoil. I know my God. He has great plans for His children. He is Lord of the righteous and unrighteous. Matthew 13:15 reminds me of our nation: "For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." Most of our leaders and people in this nation have closed their hearts to God. Much like the prodigal child. And I pray earnestly that they will return, but I know that their lives will have to be shaken. Our nation will be shaken and when we drop to our knees and turn to Christ we will be healed. We should not fear this. This doesn't mean that we allow ourselves to be run over. We remain obedient to God and trust Him to take care of the rest. I am dissappointed with the decisions of our leaders, but I do not fear the future. Our Lord knows the plans he has and His plans always work for His glory. Jeremiah 29:12-14 "'Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you.' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.'"

RADICAL

I am almost done with this sermon series and it makes me kind of sad. Sad, because I don't want the change to end. I don't want the old me to return. Feeling the Holy Spirit alive in you is the greatest feeling. Anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ must watch this series. This man is obviously anointed. It will radically change you. Click HERE.

My Testimony

This is my story. This is where I started and where I gave myself up to Christ. I had a complete family for the first seven years of my life. At that time my mother decided she didn't want to work things out with my father and they divorced. Being so young I don't know everything that happened to cause her to believe she needed to leave. I only know pieces of the story and they have come only from my father. I have never talked to my mother about her decision to leave and the only words she offered were, "It was better for you that I left." Now it is too late for me to get any answers from her. She passed away from colon cancer at the age of 48 in 2006. This is something that I am still going through.

My father took care of me and my brother. He made all the sacrifices and tried to offer us the best life he possibly could. And he did. He is a wonderful father and did more for me than I even needed or wanted. When I was young I was taken to First Baptist Church in Yuma, AZ. My brother occasionally went, but I mostly went alone. I was baptized at about eight years of age and I knew all about God. During those many years at church I met my best friend (definitely chosen by God) MG who was in a similar, but worse, situation as me. She, above anyone, has taught me about true, Godly friendship. I was spoiled, made very good grades, and had so much "potential." I saw my mother occasionally (she lived in the same town), but mostly resented her for her life choices. Her and my brother were very close, but we were very distant. I graduated high school and went to college unprepared. I thought I would be very successful in college, but it was difficult being away from home. I wanted something more and I turned to everything except Christ. I thought the world would fill my emptiness. I was very wrong. I left college and went back home. My father was disappointed with this but allowed me to make my own choices.

Open Nacho Bar

I really try not to cook whenever possible. Yesterday I really didn't want to go all out for dinner. So, I came up with a meal idea that didn't flop! I am sure some other smart wife has done this also, but none have shared this with me. For dinner we did a nacho bar! It came out very tasty and was fun for the kids because they were able to create their own. This was especially easy because I had some leftover ground beef. I had about 12 oz of beef and it was more than enough for a family of four (our baby doesn't really like meat or tortilla chips, but loves shredded cheese!!!) This was super easy and GF!!! (I love Mexican food for that very reason :-) ) I didn't measure anything (except the beef because it was in a container that has measurements on it, haha). You can get very creative. I would have liked to add beans and Spanish rice, but I am the only one that eats those.

My Ingredients:
Tostitos Tortilla Chips
Pico de Gallo
Green Onions
Cilantro (we love cilantro!)
Ground Beef cooked
Mexican Mix Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream

Place chips in bowl and top with your favorite toppings. Please make sure all your ingredients are gf if you are on a gf diet.

It was tasty. I heated for 30 seconds in the microwave to melt the cheese slightly and then added sour cream on top. I was supposed to use avocado also, but forgot. I didn't take any pictures, because I didn't think it would turn out so great. The family loved it and we will surely eat this again.

The Ride of Your Life

Our God is amazing! And I wish there was a better word to use. He is so utterly awesome and surprising. He is alive and He still performs miracles. When we say something is impossible, God says, "Watch Me work!" That is just it. We keep our eyes on Him and allow Him to work. Today I heard some news re: a friend that made me jump up and down and I just couldn't stop talking. The most amazing part of this story was that God had already performed this miracle, we just didn't know it yet! I remember every time I prayed about this, I had a strong feeling of confidence that God would do what I was asking. I had no idea how He would or when He would, but I knew that He was going to accomplish this for HIS glory. He had this accomplished before being asked! God knows what we need before we ask Him, we are valuable to Him, and God is so gracious to give. He is worthy of all my worship; He is worthy of all my praise!!! His plans will give you the ride of your life.