No words

There are no words to describe this clip. I first saw this at a Beth Moore conference. My body was numb, tears just streamed down my face.

Then my church played it once. Same thing happened.

Now every time I see it, I am in awe of Jesus!


Check it out ... Turn up the volume! :)

Blah

*forgive me in advance ... my spell checker is not working!*

Today I feel blah. Today I feel like I am sitting on a fence. I can either choose to be cheerful and full of grace or I can choose to be quiet, pouting and grouchy.

Which will I choose?

I have had a great week. Honestly, Bo and I have had some great talks and gained a strong holding on our foundation. The boys have been a lot calmer with one another. Not so much school work ... but that is another issue.

We found one of our favorite T.V. shows that was cancelled last year. Well, the Discovery channel is re-running season one. So that is awesome. Especially since we caught it towards season two a couple years ago.

My van was up for an oil change. How is that great, you ask. Well, it was a free one! :) Buy four get the fifth one free. ;) So we had the tires rotated. Always a good thing.

Work is coming in again. Glory!! Let me clarify ... homeowner work is coming in. See, contractor work you have to wait on your money. Typically. Homeowner work, however, pays you when you are done.

God has answered a huge prayer for my mom. Within a month she will be on her way to financial security. God is so amazing and His timing is perfect. PERFECT!

Grandpa in Richmond remembered Matthew's birthday on his own. Bless his heart! (wink, wink Lori)

Our mortage is paid every month. All our bills are paid every month. Glory to God! Thank you Bo for your hard work.

My house is always presentable to company. ;)

We do need haircuts but I'm calling our youth pastor's wife later today. She cuts our hair for next to nothing. Not only that but she is in her early to mid-20s. So she is hip and with it. She encourages me to go bold but has no problem cutting my hair the same way ... every 2 or so months. LOL Although she is no Sarah! Can I get a witness Bree?!

I have a dear friend, we have been friends for about 16 years! She is not saved and her almost 10 year old kid is having some problems. God gave me such a burden for them about 6 years ago. Somethings have come up and I know God is wanting me to talk to her. I'm a bit cautious. However, I know what I have heard and I will be obedient.

I have another great friend who is a lot of miles away. We don't even share a coast! :( I miss her terribly. I am blessed though because I know she is no further then a phone call away.

God is truly an amazing God.

Oh! I almost forgot! A new book that was just published by Mindy Starns Clark came out. Well, my beloved library order it and not only that! But I caught it before it hit the shelf. And, not only that! I was able to put a hold on it! Not only that but! I just received an email from my beloved library! It's here!!
*sorry for all the grammar and puncuation silliness! :) I'm just so excited!*

Well, I'm off to switch out the laundry and clean up the downstairs. I pray you are having a great day.

Oh and to answer my question ...

I'm choosing to hop off this fence! I'm landing in the yard of cheerfullness and grace! Will I see you there?

Blog blooper!

I posted an entry on my homeschool blog that was meant for this one. :)

Head over there and check it out! :)

My oldest is a decade

Yes, it's true. My precious oldest boy is 10 today. Of course I am going through all those motherly emotions. ;) Matthew is such a treasure and joy. When he was around two I picked out a song for him. A song that I would like to dance with him at his wedding. I don't play the song as much as I probably should. It's Forever Young by Rod Stewart. I do pray that I am serving him well (that is taken from a line in the song). Saturday we are having a Laser Quest party. He is so excited. It looks like all his little buddies will be there. I emailed him the other day. Yes, I said email. :) We just "hooked" him up. LOL It is so neat, anyway. I emailed him the other day and expressed so much love to him. In the email I told him that I can see glimpses (my new word) of the man he is going to be. He is growing up so fast. He emailed me back with a sweet and simple reply ... "I love you too Mom". I have done a lot of growing up because of him. Those first few years were rough. Not because of him, no way. He was/is perfect. I made a lot of mistakes. Still do. But Matthew is such a forgiving boy. I pray that his kindness and gentleness continues in life. So ... there you go. My baby is 10. I can't believe I am sitting here, writing to you and crying! Sometimes a mother's heart is so full it over flows. ;)

HAPPY BIG 1-0 BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!

Rooms to let ... fifty cents

So I was folding clothes in my room when I started thinking about how I pray for each boy when I am either in his room or pass by his room. I thought "You know, if you assigned each room a prayer subject and every time you entered that room you would be lifting a lot of things up to God through out the day."

Here is a glimpse inside my house. :) Below is a list of rooms and areas with the subject it represents. My prayers change depending on the situation. But this will give you an idea. ;)

I pray this inspires you to look differently at your home.

Front Porch: Our (spiritual) appearance and the world.
Dear Lord I pray that we are a beacon to our neighborhood. That our light would shine in this dark world. May Your love been seen from us in all we do. May we not look a mess but show Your love and character.

Foyer: Friendships.
Lord, I thank You for friends. I ask You to strengthen the friendships that You have given to us. Help us to always receive them with open arms. May all our friends know that we are there for them.

Office: Finances and our business.
Sweet Lord, guide our finances. Give us wisdom to run our company the way You would have it. May we always be fair with our employees. Lord protect us from unwise financial decisions.

Bathrooms: Health.
Heavenly Father heal us and keep us whole. Those of us that have a disease, touch us and heal us. Keep our bodies strong and healthy.

Dinning Room: Education.
Lord help me to teach my children the things of You. Give them a teachable heart. Give me a teachable heart. Guide our lessons so that You may be glorified!

Living Room: Family time.
Lord bless our time together. Protect our relationships as we hang out. Strengthen the bond that we have. May we truly cherish one another.

Kitchen: My role.
Sweet Lord, guide me as the wife and mother. Calm my spirit as I go through out my day. Be with me and guide me. Teach me how to be the wife and mother You have called me to be. Teach me how to have a meek and quiet spirit.

Patio: Our backs.
Father protect us from the Devil's schemes. Just like we have a sensor back porch light that turns on when something enters our back yard, may we have a spiritual one as well. When the devil comes sneaking around may the light, the Holy Spirit, shine so bright to expose his darkness.

Garage: My husband.
Heavenly Father thank You for Bo. I ask that You will guide him and protect him. Speak to him Lord, touch his heart. Keep his back strong and his mind sharp. Lord I pray that he never becomes cynical but continues to think the best of people. May You always give him a reason to smile and laugh.

Laundry Room: My quiet time.
Oh Lord I treasure my quiet time with You. May I never take it for granted. Lord I ask that You would meet me every time I invite You. May we grow closer and closer together.

Bedrooms (kids): Each child.
Father thank You for each child You have blessed us with. I ask that You will continue to keep them safe. Lord, show them how wonderful they are in You. Speak to their spirits about Your will for them. Protect their sleep and play time.

Bedroom (ours): Marriage.
Oh precious Lord protect my marriage. May we always be kind to one another, full of love and grace. Keep our fires burning for one another. May we satisfy each other in all biblical ways.

Thanks for stopping by our humble abode.
I pray that you are blessed today in ways you haven't even thought of.
May His glory fall upon your home today!

What does your Latte say about you?

So I found this blog. That blog lead me to this blog. Which lead me to this Latte quiz! :) I would say pretty accurate! Well, I may be a bit pushy ... LOL So .... what does your Latte say about you? If you wouldn't mind, leave a comment with the answer or leave your blog address so I can head over to your blog. :)

What Your Latte Says About You

You are very decadent in all aspects of your life. You never scale back, and you always live large. You are a very serious person. You don't have time for silly antics. You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast. You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are expressive and friendly, but you are never pushy.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

email me!

Okay, so with prayer and my husband's blessing I am going to post an email address for y'all. :)

servinghimwithyou@gmail.com

Feel free to email me with questions, prayer requests, and praise reports! I am so excited about this.

I just want to make it clear that I will not share info with anyone. Nor will I post anything without permission.

You and your emails are safe with me. :)

house keeping

I just wanted to encourage y'all to look at the sidebar from time to time.
When I find new blogs that I enjoy and think y'all might be blessed by (or when a friend has a new one:)) I will add it. I just don't announce it. Also, I am always reading something, besides the Author of Life's WORD, so I add that.
I know that not all homeschool but I do have a homeschool blog ... the picture He's painting. The link is at the sidebar. :)
I will be adding an 'email me' option shortly. If you have any questions, prayers, found a neat blog, etc you can pass it along to me. :)

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Cell Phone vs. Bible

Cell Phone vs. Bible
Author Unknown

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we give it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it as we traveled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

What if we upgraded it to get the latest version?

This is something to make you go. "Hmm, where is my Bible?"

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill!

There is no place like home

Wow! What a weekend! LOL

Saturday I took the boys to Wal-Mart. Yes, yes I did. Bo had to work and we had nothing for dinner. What could I do?

Usually taking the boys with me is not bad at all. They are older and they love to help. They each take turns pushing the cart, writing down the prices and retrieving the items from the shelf.

Not this day my friend. Oh the boys were great, believe they were awesome. The other people there were not so nice.

I will never go to Wal-Mart on a Saturday afternoon again. You couldn't pay me to do it. Well, let's be honest ... you could pay me to do it.

So anyway, we survived. We made it home. Home, sweet home!

The whole time we were at Wal-Mart I was praying. I truly was. I prayed for our safety, my sanity and that I would not loose one of my precious little ones because everyone and their mother kept getting in between us! Well, to back track a little ... when we got in the van to leave I had a nervous spirit. So I had us all bow our heads and I prayed. I prayed for our physical safety. I prayed for travel mercies.

Okay, now we arrive home. I am so happy. The boys are so happy. I put the key in the door and open. My spirit jumped. When I walked in, I could feel the presence of the Lord. I could just about see it hovering in our downstairs. It's all one big open floor plan.

I smiled. So thankful that God was there. I know He was with us too but folks ... this was amazing.

The boys unloaded the van while I put things away. The whole time I was singing praises to Him and thanking Him for being here in our home.

A few minutes after we were done with everything Ryan and I had this conversation.

Ryan: "Mom, do you know what I am thinking about?"
Me: "You are thinking about Jett (one of our kitties and his favorite)"
Ryan: "Nope."
Me: "You are thinking about having hot dogs for dinner."
Ryan: "Nope."
Me: "You are thinking about watching T.V."
Ryan: "Nope. One last guess."
Me: "I really have no idea. Oh, maybe about your dinosaur bucket?"
Ryan: "No and you're done. I'm thinking about how wonderful our house feels today."

Ryan's remark made the other two chime in with agreement.

At that moment I knew ... what I felt and saw, the presence of our Lord, touched my children too.

Touch us Lord

Today's Quote ...

For Christmas my family gave me a little desk top calander. The kind you can tear off the day before. You know what I'm talking about. :)

Anyway, here is the quote for today. So good and so true ...

It's very easy to forgive others their mistakes;
it takes more gut and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own.
-Jessamyn West, writer

breakfast

Yesterday I went to a Women's Breakfast at my church. I was my first time and I had such a great time. My sweet friend Tarra came with me. The food was so yummy and the message ... was food for my soul too!

God really spoke to me yesterday. Believe me, I was all ears. God said some things yesterday that only He and I talked about. Don't you just love that? In a room full of about 50 women, He still spoke to just me! He is such a wonderful Father!

I feel refreshed.

I have no regrets about all the yesterdays.

I am encouraged about all the tomorrows.

I am enjoying all the todays.

New year and a new look

I decided to update the look of my blogs.

I love new stuff. Like a new month because you can flip the calender over and it's a fresh new page. How about a fresh journal. I always try to write neatly in it.

I'm excited about this new year. Perhaps more then any other year. I can sense the presence of the Lord more now then ever. I know in my spirit that this is a dream coming true year. I do believe that the flood gates of heaven are going to open up on our home.

Even though I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for God to show Himself ... I have an easy calm to me as well. I think perhaps this may be the first time in my life that I am not rushing Him. My ear is down to the ground so when I hear Him move I will be ready but I am not begging Him to "come on". I'm sitting at His throne in worship and in praise.

I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." Psalms 16:2 (NIV)

The power of God

Lately I have been singing
"There is power, power, wonder working power, in the blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb!"
That's it. Just those two simple sentences. I have song it while cleaning my house. I have hummed the tune while organizing my desk. And before I knew it I was actually dancing with our Lord.
There IS power in the blood of the Lamb! Glory!
The past week I have felt such an anointing fall on me. I have felt God's presence in my home in such a way that it is changing us. Praise His Name!
My sweet Lord comes to me when I least expect it too. I was overwhelmed by sadness while washing the dishes. For no particular reason, I had just been reviewing the year. Thinking over the past events of the last twelve months and my heart began to hurt. As my eyes started to burn from the tears threatening to pour out, I heard my Saviour say "Behold, I am with thee." Such a calmness came over me. I can't explain it but I'm sure that y'all have had similar experiences with our Heavenly Father. I have felt the Comforter this week in such a powerful way. I know that there are some big things going to happen in 08. I am excited. This year God has been shaking what could be shaken and I believe the time of shaking is over. Now some growth, healing, love, and ministering are going to take place. I also believe that some dreams that He planted are going to come true this next year.
May His Name be praised!

Where to start ...

Man, has it been so long since I have posted. I'm not sure where to start and I will probably will jump around. :) Just warning y'all!

I am just besides myself in love with Jesus. Really. Truly. There have been some 'moments' yet Christ has kept my spirit calm. I can honestly say that when I close my eyes at night, my soul is at ease. What an amazing thing.

Bo and I have been getting closer. Which is always a good thing. There for a little while things were tense. Once again Lord used those moments to draw me closer to Him, not Bo, but to God Himself. Where I belong. Bo and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on November 15. A whole decade! Amazing. Some days, over the years, I didn't think we would make it but we did and it has been a heck of a ride, well worth it!

I have started a Bible study on my own called Conversation Peace, The Power of Transformed Speech by Mary A. Kassian. WOW! Over the past few years God has really been talking to me about my potty mouth. It's not like I was sailor but some choice words would come out of my mouth at various times. Trust me when I say that I have done just about everything to change. Then this study fell into my lap and I can feel the change in my spirit. My four precious men have noticed. Not only have I stopped saying things I shouldn't but my tone has changed. I speak with kindness and integrity. It's different and I like it! I'm realizing that words are powerful. Really powerful. Something that I have always known but like most things hadn't truly taken to heart. Oh and God is giving me a double portion on this topic. Not only am I doing this study but guess who else is talking about this ... yep on Life Today's Wednesdays with Beth Moore. I kid you not. There are no coincidences with Christ!

God is so good, so faithful. There is just an easy and loving spirit in our home. Praise be to God.

I am a bit frustrated though, which it is stupid for me to be but ...
I messed up my blogs. Some how I changed the posting thing and now I can switch the fonts. Not like that mattered because I never did but now the option is gone. :( Not to mention that when I hit bold or italic it gives the code and I have to put the word in the middle. So dumb! I'm working on not letting that become a thorn in my side. ;)

Oh! I almost forgot ... My birthday was yesterday! Yep! I just love my birthday. I look forward to it just like a kid. I always have. Not sure why. Yesterday was my best one I think. I felt comfortable and my spirit was at ease. Bo bought me a dozen of pink and white roses. They are sooo beautiful. He also gave me a purse (that I did pick out ;)) and a sweet card. Then he took us out to eat with my mom. Which they all surprised me with a cake and the waiters sang to me. Which I love! Matthew gave me a deck of cards. He is so neat! We have broke them in playing Rummy. So fun. David gave me a pink pearl necklace that he got from a bubble gum machine. He is so sweet! Ryan didn't get me anything but every where we went yesterday he told everyone it was my birthday. Which was wonderful because complete strangers said happy birthday to me! Boy do I really love my birthday! My mom gave me a birthstone bracelet that had the birthstones of the boys. It is very pretty. I also recieved a lot of ecards and cards in the mail. Not to mention the phone calls. I truly do love my birthday! Oh and I don't mind telling y'all how old I am ... 31!

I guess that is about it. I'm just waiting on Christmas. :) We have the house decorated and the Christmas lists written out. Including mine. :) We have a real tree this year. Our house smells so good. Only one cat has puked from eating the needles so that is good. I have started selling things on eBay. My Avon business is good. Bo and I are praying about taking his business to another level. We both feel we have a green light so we have started planning little things here and there. Please keep that in prayer. Neither one of us wants to move without our Lord.

Oh, Matthew had his stitches taken out ... by himself. I mean, he took them out himself. LOL Well, they (the doctors) wanted another $50.00 co-pay. So, Bo showed Matthew how to snip the one part and pull it out. So he did it to all 6. His foot looks very well.

We also went to the annual Christmas parade for our city. I believe this is our 6 year. I love our family traditions. What makes my heart warm is that the boys love the traditions too. We all become so excited. It's wonderful.

Well, now I really think that is it.

I pray for peace in every one's home this glorious season. I pray for security, meaning phyiscally, financially, emotionally and spiritually, in every one's home. I bless you all in Jesus' name. Amen!

My first Thankful Thursday!

This is my first Thankful Thursday. I am thrilled. It's been on my heart to share what I am thankful for. I have loved reading over time all the wonderful blogs. So I thought I would write a bit too.

I am thankful for always having a good time with my Lord. He makes me smile, laugh, cry and shout Glory! I'm sure people think I am crazy when I laugh out loud for no reason. Well, no reason that they know of. It's just something special between me and Him.

I am thankful for my husband. He works very hard for our family. He is a true "family man". Our boys and our marriage are so important to him. He is so sweet, handsome and he makes me laugh too.

I am thankful for my three adorable boys. They keep me on my toes and I enjoy every minute of it. Even though I do tire of making mac-n-cheese for the millionth time ... I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I am thankful for my sweet friendships. I know that I am loved, prayed for and accepted. I can be myself, even when that isn't so pretty. :) There are three women that I just want to give a shout out to ... Tina! ... Bree! ... Lori! Can I get a woop woop?!

This holiday season my soul is at peace. Sure, the is never enough money or time but there is enough of His Spirit and then some! Glory! For that I am truly thankful!

My sweet boy!

Well, I nearly went a decade with no boy needing stitches. Yesterday at the co-op Matthew cut his foot. Did you know that there is a little window of opportunity to get stitches? I didn't. :)

Matthew was running outside and a stick stuck him just the right way. Yes, he had no shoes on. In November. What can I say? I had on flip-flops. It was like 80*!

Here are the pics ... ;) This is Matthew waiting for the doctor. Next is the actual cut. The last one is Matthew checking out his crutches.
He has to keep it covered until tomorrow night. If there is no pain he can keep the bandage off and walk without the crutches. So stay tuned for the pic of the stitches. :) Also, Bo took a picture of him sitting outside while he played 'football'. He sat in a Hokie chair while he tossed the ball with Bo and David. LOL Nothing can stop him!

What was Ryan doing? Oh, he has developed a love of Solitaire. So his free time has been spent learning how to shuffle the cards and playing the game. A kid after my own heart!

You're Invited

Earlier today I was thanking God for the day. Praising Him for the ability to stay home with our children, for homeschooling, for some personal things and the such. I prayed for the things that are near my heart like my best friend and our school day.

Suddenly I looked up the ceiling and said "God, you are welcomed in my home. Come Father and bring your grace and mercy. Lord, let me see You in my children's eyes today. Be in my heart and in my words. Please sweet Lord Jesus come, You're invited."

A sweet peaceful feeling came over me. In that instant my Lord came to me. My eyes moistened as my heart filled up with His Spirit. I gently heard Him speak to me, "Thank you for inviting me."

Even as I write this my tears are threatening to burst forward.

How many times my Lord have I taken for granted that You are here? How many times have I come to You in anger because You were not handling a situation (or so I thought)? How many times have I just assumed You knew what was in my heart? Again Lord, how many times have I taken Your companionship for granted?

Forgive me Jesus. May I never take You for granted again. May I never just assume that You know you are welcomed here.

This simple "You're invited here." moment made me think of my relationships with friends. I know that I am always welcomed in some one's home but to have them call and say "Come on over." brings joy to my heart. It makes me know that they value me and my friendship. I believe it is the same thing with our Heavenly Father. He is always with us but He wants to hear it from us. He wants us to say those words ... " You are invited. You are welcomed here."

Today my devotions led me to the Book of Ezra. I must admit I don't believe I have ever actually read this book. The first 6 chapters are all about rebuilding the temple. It was so interesting to me about the debate over it. I truly did enjoy the fact that the kings would research whether or not the Jewish people were "allowed" to rebuild it. Of course, they all found out that, yes, God's people were given permission by King Cyrus. Anyway, that is not the point of today's post. What is the message is that being New Testament believers, we, too, have a temple that we are to build and dedicate to God. It's our body. We are the temple of the Living God.

I think it is so fascinating that the Old Testament is a foreshadow of the New. So Ladies, as you read about the Temple in the Old Testament, just remember that that idea, that concept, is about our hearts and body towards Christ.

*I feel I need to have a disclaimer. This is my view and I may be wrong but this speaks truth to my spirit.*

Live Well Wednesday ( a day late)

Okay, well, so far the whole loosing weight thing hasn't been going so well. I am committed though to seeing this thing out.

I was thinking the other day about the weight I would like to get to. 150 pounds. Now, if for some reason I reach 160 I am not going to struggle with "those 10 pounds.".

I'm just not gonna do it.

I feel good about that decision. I think it is because I am praying about this whole thing. I know I need to loose weight and get into shape. I'm just not letting the world tell me what that means or looks like. I'm seeking council from my Creator. :)

Have a great day!