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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!

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The Key

http://popup.lala.com/popup/432627077911415648 If you have a daughter, listen to this song!






"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 ♥

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!!!

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!!!

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!!!