7.23.2010

Silly Bandz

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Rob Croak

Do you have your Silly Bandz yet? If so, which kinds do you have? Check out the links above to see what you are missing.

We ♥ Silly Bandz :)

6.13.2010

Which seed are you?


Luke 8:11-15 11"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

Which seed are you?

I've been thinking and praying and reading the word a lot the past week or so. I am holding to God's word and knowing that in the end I will have victory over anything that tries to come against me. This year I have really been pruning my life, in mid year I have found who/what is true and who/what is not. I don't need any falseness in my life, nor drama, nor anything of the world. Life can get you down but you have to rise above it.

I can say I'm far from perfect. I've made many mistakes in my life and many in the last year. I have tried living in the world even if sometimes only for a moment and I get in trouble every time and in doing so I delay God's plan! Are you delaying His plan for you? Are you on the wrong Road of life? Who's your Guardrail? God or the world? I guarantee if it's the world it will end badly. No one to blame but your choices. Lord knows I have been beaten time and time again for my choices in life. I am not judging anyone, just trying to reach out to those that I love and give them my life experiences hoping they don't have to live down the path I have. I don't recommend living the way I have in the past. Making hasty choices, Not valuing myself or those around me, cheapening my life. Life is precious don't live it in ways that compromise yourself. I know that in the depths of loneliness we all do desperate things, things we later regret. Don't live life full of regret.

I am still making mistakes and learning from them, after all that's life. But learning from them is the key and not doing them again and again. As the verse above states, Which seed can you say you are? I've been them all at some time or other in my life. Are you on a rock? Among thorns? Or is your soil good? I am trying for the latter. Succeeding some days and some days not. But with time and learning from my lessons I am getting more successful!

I love you all! Please love yourself as much as I love you. Don't think that some things I do or have done are because I don't care, because it's quite the opposite, the things I do or have done are because I care TOO MUCH! Everyone that comes into my life, I treat as a child of mine, I over love and over care and want to fix their life or take on their problems or wish for their life to be better and mine to just be if that's what it takes. One day you will see my heart to it's fullest and know that I don't care the things you have done or the things you do, but do care for you! This speaks to everyone in my life!

Today I'm grateful for:

Still Hearing! Even if it's sometimes faint, I hear it. There have been days gone by w/o it but it's still there.

Sun shining through all storms, no matter how bad. Today as I drove home from the store it was storming, black clouds and pouring rain, thundering and lightning yet the sun was shining bright as ever on the other side of the storm. At one point I was driving in the storm and looking at the gorgeous sun shining bright as ever.

Home. Had a blast at the beach, but nothing beats the comfort of your home or bed for that matter.

Wonderful friends! I can say I have some of the best in the world, some may walk out of my life but those that stick around, I can say 100% are the greatest, no matter what happens in life, nothing affects the friendship and love we have for each other, that is a true friend. They don't change with the wind, their friendship is consistent even if you go months w/o seeing each other or talking.

Being able to take a step back and my church family be understanding and still love me! I'm doing it for me and to see/hear God better than letting things blind me. I will be back, just give me time to meditate and clear my thoughts and not let feelings/anger get in the way of what's important! This way I can keep close to what's important. The fog will clear with time! Love and miss you all!

My 3 beautiful baby girls. Even though they are growing like little weeds, they will always be my babies. It's so hard to believe that Lyvie will be 4 and in prek soon, Syleste is 7 and going into 2nd and Caity 9 1/2 and going into 4th, WOW! I used to sit and think about when all my babies were in school. I used to try and picture what they would look like as they grew, what our life would be like. Boy it isn't how I pictured but it's a lot better. They are more beautiful than I could ever imagine, our life is better than I could have ever imagined, YES, we have been handed a totally different life than I ever imagined, some may see it as tragic, I see it as beautiful...because without the tragedies I would not be where or who I am today! So thank you Jesus for allowing me to go through the fire and to continue to go through it, that's how I know Lord, that you are with me still and always and I will walk through the fire to come forth as gold and walk on your streets of gold! Thank you for showing me how to always grow from the disasters, even if I strayed away and tried to run from them, you brought me back and taught me from them!

Hope you all have a wonderful week! Love you all more than you will ever know!

5.10.2010

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The Key

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"Your attitude is either the lock on, or the key to the door of success."

Isaiah 22:22-23

22 The key of the house of David
I will lay on his shoulder;
So he shall open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.

23 I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place,
And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.

Isaiah 22:25

25 In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the LORD has spoken.’”


What are your burdens? We all have them. No one person is without a burden. But some are without the key! I have the key, do you? If you take them to the Lord He will lift them off you. Once you've closed that door completely it will be gone and locked away. You will never revisit it. Only the doors that you leave open, remain as such!

I know from personal experience that even though it sounds easy to just lay your burdens at His feet and leave them, it's one of the most difficult things to do. When things are troubling us, we resort to worry. It's hard to let go of some things. But even as hard as it is, it's what's best in all cases. To let go and let God take over. Once you get past the struggle of letting go, it's all down hill from there and you will look back and see that it wasn't so bad and you will see how much you grew from it!

I know 2 years ago, I thought my world was ending. Little did I know that it was just beginning and I was going to grow more as a person than I have ever grown. I found myself again, yes I was knocked down for a while, It's ok to get knocked down, but you must drag yourself up and brush it all off and GROW! I now appreciate what happened 2 years ago where I used to think it was ending my life! If it had never happened, I probably would be more lost than I am today. I would not have grown within and I would not have become a stronger mother and would not have grown closer to my girls! For that I am grateful!

Today I'm grateful for:

Struggles. After all, had I not gone through the ones I have, I would not be as strong as I am today, I would not be WHO I am today. I appreciate them and appreciate that I was given the eye to see and grow from them, not let them take me down.

Mothers~ I'm grateful for mine, she has been there when no one else was! She has been there when I wasn't there for her. No matter what she's always been and always will be there for me. She's my mother and I love her dearly and wouldn't trade her for another :)

For being a mother. There's nothing else like it. It helps me open up to see how God can love us as His children even if we are flawed, even if we turn away from Him, even if we get an attitude with Him, He will always be there. Just like a mother is always there for her children no matter what! No matter who they become or what they do, good or bad, she will be there. The only love greater than a mother's love is Christ's love for His children!

Chocolate dipped anything :) This is going to be our new tradition. It came to me on the way home, how much fun it would be to let the girls dip strawberries and pretzels to give as gifts for mother's day. It turned out awesome and brought us all together on such a wonderful day. It is now going to be a tradition that I hope they carry over to their children.

Pictures. They can say a lot more than I can say with words. I'm grateful for the one who invented the camera and I'm grateful for the one who invented Digital pictures. The little things we take for granted. But w/o these things we would not be able to capture great moments nor would we be able to share them!

My children. Even though they can get to me sometimes, deep down I know they love me. They do some of the sweetest things. I expected nothing but a Happy Mother's Day from them. I printed pictures for them to color and to write a poem, it turned out awesome. I printed a coupon book for them to give me and can't wait to use the cleaning ones on them :) They also gave me a card with $30 in it, money my parents had for them to use for Spring Break but saved it. They chose to give it to Mommy for mother's day. That speaks more to me than anything else! Hoping they keep their giving nature as they grow!

Poem Syleste Wrote:

Dear Mom,

You are very sweet,
And you Make my heart beat.

I love you Mom.

Happy Mother's Day


Hope you all have a GREAT week! ♥ Love You ALL ♥

5.03.2010

Let God be the Guardrail of your life!

1 Corinthians 13:6-8 (New International Version)

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.



Psalm 40:10-12 (New International Version)

10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.

12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.



To know that God is the Guardrail of my life as long as I ALLOW Him to be just amazes me. No matter what I've done to Him. No matter of the sins I've committed, He will still protect me. Never forget that, never get to the point to where you think that you have been overtaken by sin, so much, that He will not allow you back on His path. I know many times people think they aren't worthy due to the sins they have committed against Him. And that is what sends them on the continued spiral downward!


Just remember, all you have to do is to ask Him for forgiveness and Allow Him to be the Guardrail of your life once again. Set limits and go to Him to help you stick to those limits. Whether it be for love, friendship, family or whatever, set limits and do not lower yourself or go past the limits you have set. You are worthy!


Today I'm grateful for:

Being spoken to by Him. This may not make sense to anyone but me, but it was spoken to me and I feel it's my duty to share. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me. Allow Him to be the guardrail of your life. This does not mean that your life will be without blemishes but it does mean that life even with the blemishes will go a lot smoother and you will come out of the trials stronger than if you had went in alone.



Being encouraged. Seeing others being courageous and going through what they do, gives me strength. Some don't even know how much their words mean to me. How encouraging they are. I just hope to be an encouragement to those around me. To withstand my trials and show wisdom and strength so that they too will gain something from it. It makes it all seem worth it, if what you go through touches someones life, that is my goal! To allow my life to touch someone else's. I know that I withstood my trials for a reason, God has kept me here for a reason, so it is up to me to make sure that I fulfill His reason for keeping me here!



Dreams only being dreams. I am changing and I know this. Yet the devil tries in every way possible to get me back down. I saw the old me in a dream last night and woke up with the fears that I once had. But instead of allowing the devil in, I spoke against him. I know I'm doing better than I was and I am not going to allow him to sink me back down to that person.



Rainy days. Finally, maybe the mugginess will disappear after today. I can stand the heat but the humidity just about kills ya. Instead of letting the rain get me in a bad mood as it usually does, I came against it. I got out there in it at 720 am, Huge Umbrella in hand, carting the girls to the car! I came in and was smiling. I shocked myself. Thank God for HUGE umbrellas.



Patience. Last night, as I was just about to doze off, I hear "MOOOOOOMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY" being yelled in that "I don't feel so well voice". I had heard some noise about 10 minutes prior and thought someone was throwing up, but then it was silent, so I thought they were just dreaming. Uhm, yeah. My first intuition was correct. Caity had puked all in her bed and fell back asleep. It was very odd. No fever or anything. She felt fine. And instead of me getting ill as normal, I got her in the bathroom, cleaned her up. She brushed her teeth and I started laundry-which means I had to fold a load full out of the dryer at midnight. Then I came back and scrubbed her bed. Disinfected the bathroom and got her settled.



All without getting overwhelmed and yelling like the old me would have done. I was gentle and patient, I think I'm getting the hang of this. Usually when I'm overwhelmed, I freak, spazz out.......Not this time and hopefully not in the future. Instead I breathe, step back and take on whatever life wants to through at me.



I'm with Beth: "I got this".......She inspires me!



So no matter what life throws at you allow God to be your Guardrail aka Godrail and don't get overwhelmed, he will control it all IF you have the faith in Him and ALLOW him to take over!



Hope you all have a Great Monday and week! Take whatever is thrown at you head on and smile and throw it back!


Love You All!!!

4.30.2010

Nothing Says It All!!!

Proverbs 10:19

19 When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Proverbs 11:12

12 A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor,
but a man of understanding holds his tongue.

Proverbs 17:28

28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,
and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Holding your tongue is the wisest thing to do, yet the hardest thing to do. I myself am still learning to do this at 30! These 3 verses say it all. If you hold your tongue you are wise, understanding and discerning. Yet if you don't you are sure to sin, lack judgement and are a fool! I have been the latter 3 than I have the other.

Nothing says it all. You can say so much by saying nothing at all. I have found that when I have said nothing it was a lot easier to debate things in life than it was when I let my tongue control my thoughts and actions.

Saying nothing keeps you calm. Along with calming the other person-90% of the time. Sometimes when people say nothing we think that they aren't listening. Same with my grats, when people say nothing sometimes I think no one is reading or absorbing what God has given me to speak. I have found out that these things touch more than just my own life. And I give all the credit to God.

Friends started these Grats, and I'm hoping it spreads like wildfire. It has helped me look at my life and make it into something, it has helped me to learn to control my anger, even though it's not perfected. Just writing these and even coming back and reviewing them helps me tremendously!

Today I'm grateful for:

Children. I have had kids in and out of my house all day, kids that aren't just my own. And to see them gives me joy. To see that they have no care in the world but to play outside, play doctor/nurse and just have fun. I encourage them to soak it all up while it lasts. Oh what I give to go back to childhood for even a day to just have no worries. As a child we can't wait to be grown and when we get there, we wonder why.

Sunshine. I'm loving it. It's hot but it's better than freezing. Being able to get outside and play with the kids has been good for the soul! Playing softball with Caity has been good exercise and quality time with just her. It's something that I can do with her that's just me and her!

Nothing. Don't think I've ever been grateful for nothing but it's something worth being grateful for!

Weekend being here FINALLY! This weekend I am going to RELAX! I hope. I always say that but never do it. I miss the kids so I stay busy so I won't miss them so bad, In turn I don't relax at all!

Last but not least Friends and Family. Without them I wouldn't be where I am today.

Well go out and enjoy the sun, It's a natural mood lifter!

And do NOTHING, Say NOTHING and appreciate NOTHING!!!

Love to all!!!



4.29.2010

Beauty from pain






My whole world is the pain inside me
The best i can do is just get through the day
When life before is only a memory
I'll wonder why God lets me walk through this place
And though i can't understand why this happened
I know that i will when i look back someday
And see how you've brought beauty from ashes
And made me as gold purified through these flames

Job 23:9-11 (King James Version)

9On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

10But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.


The best we can do in any situation is to allow God to show us the good in it. Allow him to purify us and polish us. If we do this we will come out as gold. We have to allow beauty to come from the pain. Life is full of pain, But it's up to us what we do with it. Do you allow it to bring you down? Do you let it take you backwards instead of forwards?

No matter what is happening in your life right now, don't let it set you back, don't let it get you down. Grow and learn from it. Use it to empower you not deflate you.


Today I'm grateful for:

Beauty from Pain: Any Pain can be turned into something beautiful, if you allow God to take control and trust in Him.

Friends and Family: No matter how much Pain you have caused them, they still accept you. They allow beauty to come from the pain you've caused. I have failed both in many ways and I plan on living my life to make it up to them all. I am changing, I'm glad they are all just hanging in there until I am complete. When I come out on the other side, I will know who my true friends and my true family are because they will be there to meet me. I would not be where I'm at now w/o them and God.

My girls: They are growing up so fast. I am trying to learn to embrace them while they are still young. I don't want to spend my time just caring for them, it's got to be more than just that. I don't want to wait until it's too late. Seems like the day is usually spent just making it through to the end. Instead, I want to turn it around and make every hour I have with them precious and not wasted and not just trying to make it through to the end. I am working on this. It's hard when you are doing it alone, it's hard to not focus on just the needs, but they also need ME, not just what I can do for them!

Warm weather and the sun finally returning again. Today is going to be an awesome day. Caity has a softball game and I'll be able to enjoy it instead of freezing and in pain. I love watching her play and they are doing great this year. She wants to be a pitcher and she is going to do great I think, she starts lessons this weekend.


Today I hope that you don't let things discourage you but let them ENCOURAGE you. Let yourself be polished. Let Beauty come from the Pain.

Love you all!!!

4.26.2010

Whose your Giant?

"If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." - Isaac Newton

I must say this is very true. I think God is my giant and because of standing on His shoulders, I have seen farther than I would have ever seen w/o Him.

This weekend has been awesome! I spent some MUCH needed time with my 3 girls. I can say that I feel the change inside of me. Even though the progress is slow, it is happening! I want to be the best I can be for not only myself but for my girls. I had a talk with them last night. I told them that I pray for them and with them and that when they saw mommy having a bad day or being in a bad mood I wanted them to stop me and pray for me. I know that God spoke that to me to speak to them, He knows that would help me tremendously. Sometimes when we are having a bad day, we are blinded by all that has happened. THIS will be my eye opener on those days.

We also talked about cleaning and responsibilities in the house and just how we kept our house clean and free of clutter we had to do the same with our heart. If we let bad in, bad will come out. If we fill it with clutter it will not be clean. I killed two birds with one stone in that convo. They agreed that we want our home to be clean for when people come over, and we want our hearts to be clean at all times also. I asked them that if mommy didn't clean the house and just let it go, what would people think when they came over? They said "They wouldn't want to come back". EXACTLY. Just as if we push Christ out of our hearts and fill it with bad things, he will not want to live there!

They are such a blessing in my life and I know sometimes I get at my wits end and need a break, but I could NOT imagine life w/o them. We had a girls night out Saturday night-me and my girls not my friends. We went to see "How to train your dragon"..........Such cute, sweet movie. The father of the boy displays how we are sometimes with our children. We sometimes are blinded by what "WE" want them to be and can't see "THEIR" true potential that FAR EXCEEDS what we though we wanted for them! They loved the tub of popcorn with extra butter and the coke, it's a rare treat! They almost ate a whole tub, I was shocked!!! It was a fun night that I hope to be able to save and do once a month with just them and myself! FUN TIMES!

I can say I seem to have grown in these last few days. And I feel GREAT! I hope for everyone in my life to see their change and to continue to grow. Don't let anyone or anything hold you back. Never settle in life, Find your Potential and let it exceed your expectations!!!

Love You ALL!!! Have an AWESOME week!

4.22.2010

Snares!!!

Psalm 25:15
15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

I know I've been MIA for a while on my gratitudes. I've been MIA on a lot than just my grats. Can't really put my finger on exactly what. The last few weeks I've just not been myself. I guess I just have a lot going on and figured it best to step out of myself and away from it all. Yeah that doesn't work. I really didn't notice that I had done that either until a few days ago. I've been somewhat numb, guess when so much happens to you, you become numb to almost everything. I've decided that these grats keep me from being totally numb, we all need to feel-even if it is pain!

I was studying today and the verse above is what I stumbled upon! It was perfect for what last night held and what I've seen my friends all go through. A lot of people have been battling and Psalms 25:15 holds that key to the answer! He will pluck us from our troubles if we keep our eyes, minds and hearts on him!

Today I'm grateful for:

Recognizing: Recognizing that I was on the path to being lost once again. Not lost from Christ, but from myself. It took me this long to figure out who I was, I sure don't want to lose it again! The devil tries many techniques to get to us, I think he was trying to take my eyes off of myself so I would get lost and would not feel, then he was going to attack. Well guess what, Christ is on MY side and as long as He is beside me, Devil you will not breakthrough!!!

Releasing: Last nights service we all released things. If you hold onto the things that the Devil uses against you then you will not be able to overcome them. It sounds easy to just let go, but it's not. Baby steps and many made that giant leap. Just hold on to that and don't let those things back into your life. I'm talking to myself to. I've let go of things and grabbed them back. It makes life so much harder, if we all could just let go and TRUST God, our journey would be a lot easier!

Laughing: I want to do this more, I'm trying to learn to laugh and not be so hard all the time. When you are a single mother or any kind of mother then you tend to put on this armor to use and direct your kids that sometimes we forget to have fun with them too. Laughing can cure just about anything. I truly believe that. My goal is to do it more, to lighten up and have fun with my kids.

Seeing: Seeing God's works. People ask how do you know He's real, how do you know that what you are believing in is truly there. You know because you see Him work through your people. Through everyone surrounding you. Speaking things that are the same but giving everyone a different interpretation to speak. Like last night in church. It wasn't just the preacher speaking and teaching. God spoke through us all and we all were teaching each other and Speaking out what he had told. It was one of the best services I've been to! Sometimes things that aren't the normal speak astoundingly.

I am going to be restored! My sickness will leave me, for now I'm going to let it teach me and not let it get me down. I look back a year ago and see that I'm a lot better than I was then!

For all of my friends I hope for you to be restored. Whatever has a hold of you that you fully release it and allow it to teach you and restore you! Don't let the Devil use it against you or use others against you. It's hard, but it's best to walk through your trials and laugh at the Devil for not getting to you! And believing and trusting the Lord to see you through them and help you see what/how he sees it!

Love you all! Have a Great week, It's almost Friday....WooHoo!!!

3.27.2010

Undeserving

Undeserving yet He has still given me more than I have ever asked for. People who may not know me may not see how blessed I am. I have more treasures than anyone could ever ask for. I'm not talking about my Home or my car or anything that you could buy me. I'm talking about the greatest thing you could ever own and yet it doesn't cost a thing.


I've got 3 awesome kids. I know they each have their things that they can do that can irritate me at times. But all in all they are really good kids. I just hope that I can do them justice as a mother and raise them up not by just teaching but by leading in example through the things I do and how I act. I can say that it has not been as good as it should be. I am trying to fix things in my life and just hope that I can still be a good example.

God sent me wonderful friends just in time. I was drowning in myself and God knew just how to help me. It started out me helping them. But then through it I realized they helped me more than I ever knew I needed. I think everyone needs help. We all need someone to lean on, to help us. Everyone helps me with my girls and that means a lot to me. For them to see them as I see them. To look past Caity's attitude, Syleste's tantrums and Lyvie's hyperness and to see them for who they are. It's amazing. I hope to be there to help them when they have their little ones.

Today I'm thankful for:

Priceless treasures: My number one priceless treasure is having Christ in my heart and life and being able to let him use me as his tool.

*Friends. They are God's way to warm the soul. They are here to help release us from our fears. To support us in our journey. A true friend will take your words and let your friendship grow, sometimes words from a friend can seem harsh because they know us so well that it hits on a nerve, a nerve that leads to our fears. Yet they can, in the same breath, be there to comfort us through it and help us look to Christ to overcome it.

Just as God is our Friend. He warms our soul more than anyone could ever do on this earth. As His true friend we take his words-even though they can hit that nerve and instead of breaking down and allowing the devil to overcome us with our fears, we grow with Christ from them and are free from them. He is our comforter, no matter what we face in life.

The message that He has sent through our speakers. I prayed for a message that could touch us all, touch on our fears and help release us from them. Tonight's message was right on. Goes along with the spring cleaning of our life. And although we allow him to spring clean many things in our life, we still tend to hold on to a few things "Our Closet" That we keep locked. We all have that closet that we hold the key to, and even though we don't open it much or at all, we still hold that key thinking it brings some comfort to us. It's never going to do anything for us but keep us held back. We have to Let Go and Let God take control and clean it out. I am handing my key over to him , Letting it go. It's hard and I know i will have to work DAILY, Hourly, Every minute, second, I know that I can do it though and I will do it. Just as I know that my friends are releasing those keys and together we will grow in Friendship with each other and most importantly with Christ.

Psalm 103

Of David.
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-

18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

3.26.2010

The Reason


Tonight has been an AWESOME night. My words will not even begin to justify it. Amazing things have happened and I am glad I got to witness them. I am glad I am learning to LISTEN and FOLLOW God and what he wants for me and what he tells me to stand up and say. At the time it is very hard to do and I am WAY out of my comfort zone. But stepping out is paying off. I am so thankful for getting it all together and knowing that I can change myself and witness to my children and to my friends and family.


People who ask me to explain how *I* know there is a God, I can simply answer. It's not anything that *I* am going to prove to you through history or His word. It's something YOU have to just feel and you will just know. My answer: God speaking not only through me but through others simultaneously and it coming out from within us and speaking/sharing what He has told us. THAT Is how *I* know He exists-of course I have other reasons but that's one of the main ones. Nothing I can make you feel either.


Today I'm grateful for:


Power of Prayer: Nothing can compare in strength-IF You have the Faith.


Reasons- I have been through MANY different trials in life. I always said what everyone says *Why ME? Why me Lord? Why am *I* going through this? You know he answered that tonight while I poured my heart out to Him. To witness, to use my trials and speak out to my friends, family and girls/kids. The Devil has attacked me in MANY ways during my life. He has used Family. He has used drug addictions attacking my family to get to me, He has used people being taken away from me. He has used love being taken from me, He's used MY health, MY KIDS Health, My Family's Health, Death, He's used MYSELF against me- Looking at the outside and the differences I have from everyone else, ALL Has been *TRIED* to be used against me, TRIED is the key word there. It almost worked but it's not going to work, not now NOT EVER! I know it's going to get A LOT worse than it has been, I expect that and I am Armored to fight against him and I have an ARMY standing behind Me. With all that I have, he is so small.


Answered Prayers and Speaking to me the word to comfort and strengthen others. Tonight a major prayer was answered. And I couldn't be happier.


Not wanting for myself, being comfortable where I am in life. All I want out of life is to see that my trials were not done in vain and that I can use them to reach to others to better their life. I want them to be happy. I could be where I'm at the rest of my life as long as everyone else's life that is entwined with mine is Awesome and they are happy. That is where my happiness lies at this moment.


Knowing I am going to be FINE! I am going to get my health back. I'm slowly getting things back in life and that WILL happen when God knows I've been through it and have LEARNED from it. He always knows when it's time to allow things to heal in my life. I am learning that it's when I've Learned from it and grown from it. Not when I let it feed depression and lays me down.


Friends, I hope that you find wisdom in these words. I hope that you see God in this and not DANA. It's not me. So don't give me credit if you are helped from this, but give the credit where it is due, Look UP and praise him.


I love EVERYONE in my life, whether I've met you or not and everyone of my friends have touched my life in some way or another and my Goal is to touch their life in some way! Have an awesome weekend and look for your reason for the things that have come against you in life. Grow and Learn from it and don't let it get you down unless it's down on your knees asking God to help show you!

3.22.2010

Not letting it get me :)

Just when you think Spring has arrived and the sicky bugs will leave for a while, we get slammed with snow flurries/freezing rain with low temps again. Which I also wake to being sick :( That's ok though bc I know that it will be sunny again-hopefully to stay for a while and make complain of the heat and I will get better.


Spring is in the air and it will come.

Spring-what does this word mean to you?

To me when I hear it, this is my first thoughts:

-To bounce, jump or leap

-New life rising up

-Sunshine

-Warm Rain

-Crisp, Clean, Cool
And here's what the definition is: SPRING


Who knew that a word could have so many vast meanings.

This is what came to me from reading the meanings:

-I will move forward
-God is the source that is going to make things rise up in me
-I have been "sprung" from my imprisonment that the Devil once had me in
-God will rapidly remove the stresses in my life. Only He can Spring me from them. He will recoil me back to normalcy.
-I am growing and have been renewed through the Spring of Christ
-Like a Spring we are Resilient.
-Christ is my support that helps me to rise.

Never new that one word could mean so much and be used in a Christian way.

Today I'm Grateful for:

Knowing I will get better. Yeah I'm sick, and I could dwell on that, but knowing I will be fine and will get better is a much better aspect to looking at it. After all if we were never sick in body or mind we wouldn't appreciate the times we are well :)

Having help in the time of need. I'm very lucky that I have the family/friends that are always there to help me when I'm in need of anything. Not everyone has that support.

Sunny days will be back. :)

Ladies Retreat nearing. I can't wait. Last year was amazing and I know that this year only holds more. We have all grown so much since last year and I know that we are only going to grow more and more. We have an amazing group of ladies in our Church.

Being able to overlook. Overlook what the Devil tries to use to get me down and out. He can throw sickness at my family, use those around me to say/do hurtful things, use my kids against me BUT as long as I don't let him in, he can't do a thing. If I don't dwell on the pain he can not enter in. Another door has been slammed :)

Medicine. It can be abused but it is a God send. Some meds help us in our healing process. I know right now my Tylenol Severe Congestion is helping me to breathe, not ache and to feel less cruddy even though it makes me ill and groggy. Hey can't have something help without the ill wanted effects.

My hope for you is to allow things to Spring up in you and renew you.

Happy Monday :)



3.18.2010

Spring Cleaning My LIfe

SUNSHINE! Boy how much it changes your mood. Today has been a pretty good day. We didn't have any meltdowns this morning before school. They've gotten along pretty well with each other since they have been home. Lyvie is napping while the other two have some alone time.


The weekend is closer and I get a small break. Get to catch up on some much needed rest. And some much needed time with friends w/o kids hanging on me and requiring all my attention. Love my girls but love my breaks too.

Got some cleaning done today. I clean it....gets dirty, I clean...it gets dirty, I see a cycle here. I'm ready to be like the Jetsons and have that robot maid that does it all, hahaha.

Change is in the air. Not just weather wise but in all aspects. I know change is coming in many ways. I know more sunshine is coming our way to warm our souls. I know things are going to change drastically in our church and in our personal relationships. I know that the cycle is going to be broken and many are going to step out of their comfort zones and expand.

Today I'm grateful for:

Knowing that even though things can stay the same or in a "cycle" for a very long time that there's always a break in the cycle. There's always change when things get redundant. I'm excited to see how much change is coming. I can't wait to look back 6 months from now and see it all. Last night's message got it right on the head. I am so blessed to see God speak through all of us and relay it to one another. It's awesome when we all seem to be aligned, I know that's God.

Spring Cleaning. Not only my house but my life. It's time to move forward and clean out the past and let it go. Leave it all at God's feet. Just like we clean our homes, deep clean, we should deep clean out our minds and lives. Change the way we do things. After all if we expect things to change we must change within ourselves also.

Sleep. Can't wait to see what it's like once again. Last night was a horrible night, but I know that I will soon be able to catch up a little on some much needed sleep. I feel kinda like a zombie right now. I'm trying to stay busy and not sit still too long so I will feel somewhat energized.

Sketti. It's my favorite meal. I love to smell it cooking in the crock pot. It brings back childhood memories of mama cooking and us gathering around the table together. Oh how I'd love for that to happen just once again. My brothers, my parents and I all gathered at the table to eat a good home cooked meal. I really miss those days at times. I miss my brothers and what we were growing up. That bond is much different now. We have grown apart in many ways but we've also gotten closer at the same time. Seeing each other through our different trials has strengthened us.

Friends. I have some of the greatest people in my life. I'm glad that God lead me to this road I'm on. They all came just in time. I may have been through some storms to get here but God knew what he was doing. I just took a long time to catch up to Him and His plan for me.

The Future. I don't know what it holds for me. I don't know if I'll have some one to cherish it with. But I do know that God has a great plan for me and my life and He is going to take care of me and is not going to let me go through anything all alone. I do know that I'm accepting it for what it is right now and I'm going to be happy with whatever the future holds. I know it holds God in my life and that's all that matters.

Weekends. They need no explanation :)

Hope you all have a great weekend.


3.17.2010

Filling the cup




I have not been in touch lately with my gratitude's or myself. I've been in an odd mood for the last two weeks. I can't quite put my finger on how or why I'm not grateful or out of touch. But I will get back aligned. This is my first step to growing grateful again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful and have many things to be grateful for but I want more! Many great things have happened since I wrote my last list. So that should give me plenty to write about. I don't want to just be here and blog, I want to be in touch and FEEL what I'm blogging about. There's a difference between just writing and feeling what you are writing.

Here's a few verses pulled from Psalms 34 that have reached me today:

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;

Today I'm grateful for:

Music and how it can speak great things to our spirit. The song "What Faith Can do" By Kutless to me today.

Faith. It really can move mountains. I know every mountain I've faced, I can now look back and know that through Christ I was able to conquer it. Lord knows I've faced a lot of mountains in life. But no mountain is too big. I know when we are at the bottom of the mountain starting to climb it's hard to see the other side. It's hard to find the strength to begin climbing it. But I've learned that when I prayed and climbed it with Christ, I was over that huge mountain within a blink of an eye. It is always a struggle at first to find the Faith/strength to begin the climb. When problems happen we seem to let them take us straight down, instead of laying us down we need to let it take us down to our knees and pray about it. I am one who learns things the hard way. So I always try to fight the battle in the beginning my way, but eventually turn it over to God. I'm now working on giving it all to Him before I try to do it. After all things are easier when you have someone holding you up.

Knowing that being Righteous doesn't mean there won't be any troubles. As it says in Psalm 34:19. Righteous men have troubles, but He will deliver us from them all. That does not mean that we won't have to go through it before we are delivered. If we never had troubles we'd never appreciate the good times. I am very grateful for the things I've been allowed to go through because now I can teach those that are going through them how to have strength. I know I went through everything I have gone through to be able to minister to those who are in those trials of life. I gained wisdom and strength from my trials and I hope to teach others to learn, gain, and grow from their trials. So they can obtain their Tribulation!

Sunshine! The last couple of days we've had some awesome sun. I am so grateful that winter is behind us and I can now soak up the warmth of the sun. It is my mood lifter. It does amazing things. God knew what he was doing when he made the sun so bright and warm.

Softball Season. Caity is happy and loving it so far. It's great to see her enjoying herself. Her practices gives me time to walk and reflect and the other two girls time to play with each other and their friends. Between the walking and the sun my mood is shifting back to center!

Things falling into place. Even though things are totally fixed, it's fixing. God doesn't lie and I know things are going to change greatly. It's already slowly happening. I like to look back to 2 months ago, things were a lot worse than they are now, so I can see how God has moved. The devil can continue to try to get me to lose focus on what God has showed me but I'm sorry devil you are failing and are going to fail. I am going to just move forward and gain Strength!