Wednesday, March 11, 2009

good times...spring is in the air (cold air on the way)






The past few days have been beautiful. The boys have loved playing outside. I have loved being outside. It always makes me think about when we first moved into our neighborhood. Eli had never really been able to play outside and I used to sit outside for hours with him. Bleeze was a tiny baby. ahhh....sweet, sweet memories.

Yesterday the neighborhood kids had a little talent show. They were so cute. They sang, skateboarded, and danced. It was really cute. They even put out chairs for the parents and served popcorn. They had been practicing for the past week. I felt like I was watching an episode of "The Little Rascals"

Today we went to the park with the Ward gals! We had so much fun. It was so pretty outside. (even though cold, rainy weather is the forcast for the rest of the week) I think I got some sun. YAY! I am so Snow White right now. We visited with my mom after that. She had her 3rd eye surgery today and it went great. There is even hope of some vision returning. PRAISE GOD! God is so awesome like that! Anwyay, I am going to get my sweet Bleeze down for a nap and then cook us some dinner. Eli has soccer tonight! Going to show some gratitude before I go.....

* My moms surgery going so well
* Cute kids....that make me smile
* Warm, Sunny days with friends at the park
* flip flops
* peach ice tea
* true friendship
* the fact that I had no capri pants or shorts that I could wear today!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Blessings

Been kinda Slack lately. Haven't counted my blessings...here though go...

1. God- He never ceases to amaze me
2. My husband...
3. My sweet amazing boys.
4. My mom seeming to feel better physically and even though she can't see out of one eye she can see out of the other and is believing God to restore the vision in the other.
5. Our home, cars, jobs, and health. We are so blessed.
6. For Brandi and our friendship and our awesome Sophisticakes and More!
7. Weight loss
8. My new shirt I got yesterday for $3.00
9. Earth Fare Customer Appreciation Days.
10. My uncle celebrating his birthday. He is amazing!
11. Don't let me forget.... seeing Eric and Makenzie this week too!

SNOW TO SUN....

Well, we have went from snow on the ground to warm sunny, 70 degree weather. I am not complaining though. I really wanted the boys to be able to play in the snow and I really wanted it to warm up. I got both. So GREAT! I am however, hoping the warm weather will stick around. Feeling the warm sun today and being outside just made me crazy, excited for not just spring but SUMMER!

This week has been has been busy. I have many errands to run. Thursday I was able to take advantage of Earth Fare's customer appreciation days. I LOVE EARTH FARE! I loved being able to get 20% off EVERYTHING in the store. I was shocked.... EVERYTHING. The sale even included Beer and Wine. CRAZY! I would have thought that there would have been some exclusions but EVERYTHING was included. The best part was all the great deals besides the 20% off sale. I bought so much fruit it was crazy. I also got all of our probiotics and Emergen-C. My total bill was 263.00 but I only spent 150.00 Woohoo! That is over 100.00 off! YAY ME!


Enjoyed dinner with Brandi and Bible study Thursday night both were awesome. Enjoyed Midtown Deli and the ride with Brandi and then I got some great insight at Bible study on some things I had been struggling with.

Yesterday was extremely crazy. I baked some cake, ran a few errands for Tommy, went to Hobby Lobby, Target, and Bloom for groceries. Then when we got home made the boys some dinner and worked on a cake order for today. 36 tiny pirate faces on cupcakes and a big pirate face cake! SO CUTE!

This morning came early for me. Took my Dad some of my cake to test for me. You have to order our spring flavors for your next event or just to enjoy for your family. They flavors are amazing....blackberry, key lime, lemon, and raspberry. All made with real fresh fruit and fresh ingredients. They are amazing.

Ran to Brandi's to help her get a order ready for delivery..(just in time I might add) LOL! Then I had to pick up Eli's a new jersey for soccer. Today was kinda rushed now that I think about it. After the soccer store I hung out at the house and did some laundry, made the boys lunch, and then dropped them off with my parents while I went to meet with some bridal clients. (Mandy and Jonathon) I am excited about their cakes! Then I went and hung out with my boys and my parents on my parents back porch. It was amazing outside today. Made me get into camping mood. Then we were off to Eli's soccer game. VIPERS won again today 3-2! YAY! My Eli played an awesome game! After the game we headed to my uncle Leamon's 73rd bday party. OH MY! It was at Red Robin.I ate WAY< WAY too much! I haven't been eating crap in months and I made up for it tonight. I did share with Tommy so that was not too bad. I did eat too many fries though. Then to top that off. I had promised Bleeze he could help me make brownies when we got home so I enjoyed a fat free brownie, fat free vanilla ice cream, and fat free chocolate syrup. I am STUFFED! The dessert may have all been fat free but it certainly made me feel like a fat cow.

So for now, I am going to get my kiddos in bed. Eli is there already but i have a feeling Bleeze is going to be tough. He slept through the bday party and did not wake up until 7:30 and then Tommy gave him a coke icee. My kids do not drink caffeine. So I think I am in trouble. It does not help that time "springs" forward tonight. I love 1st service on Sunday but 2nd service is sounding good. LOL! Nah... I will got 1st but at 7 in the morning it is going to feel like 6...ugghh!

So for now, hope everyone has an awesome weekend. I am off to get Bleeze to sleep (fingers crossed) and then hit the sack myself.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Are you hungry or thirsty? You don't have to be......

A few days ago as I sat and thought about my walk with God, where I have been and where I am. I felt God revealed something to me. I have not kept it a secret as to how I feel about God and the grace that only HE can give. I have also not kept it a secret on how I feel about Christians (or what I like to call “religious people”). Tommy and I have both came to the conclusion that we are SICK of “church” people. If that statement offends you then, maybe you are a “church” person. Let me explain something to you on how I am feeling. First of all, I am not surprised as to why so man people are not going to church, not interested in church, or why they think the church is full of hypocrites. I am a believer, I attend church, and I feel the same way to an extent. You see, the world, as messed up as it is. It offers people something that the church does not offer. It offers, love, acceptance, and a level of tolerance that the church does not offer them. I am not saying that believers must compromise the Word of God, grow stagnant in their beliefs, or tolerate sin. What I am saying is that as believers we should take on sin, take on the sinner, and be their friends, not their enemies! See, for far to long, many Christians (religious people) have put themselves in their little boxes. They think they are perfect because they have “asked Jesus in their hearts” Okay, so what does that mean to you now that you have “asked him there”? Are you living like Jesus? Are you caring like Jesus? Are you doing whatever it takes to reach someone for Jesus? I recently heard a pastor speak about he did a burn out in the parking lot of his church in his car (he enjoys fast cars, etc.) and wouldn’t you know it... some of those Christians “religious people” got all offended by it. I mean, seriously, “How dare a pastor do such a thing?“ GOOD GRIEF! Those religious people did not see the big picture. You see someone videoed that pastor doing that burn out; they posted it on youtube. As a result of that video being on youtube, someone in Saudi Arabia watched that video, clicked the link that led to the church, and they watched 9 minutes of his sermon that week. An individual in a closed nation such as Saudi Arabia heard of Jesus love because that dare devil of a pastor doing a burn out in his church parking lot. I say, THANK GOD FOR THAT PASTOR!

I want to be clear again and say that I don’t think Christians should compromise the Word of God but at the same time I think we as believers have got to reach out to those who are lost and hurting. I think we have taken that scripture “we are in the world but not of the world” out of context sometimes. We have been studying the book of I Peter at our church and that is one thing I have really taken away from our study. We are foreigners and aliens in a land, we are in the world but not of the world but at the same time. We have been given a very special job, a job of reaching out to the lost. Of going out into the highways and byways and compelling them to come it. Now the next question is, how do we compel them to come in? Is it by throwing our overly religious attitudes, languages and for the most part man-made beliefs at them? NO!
I don’t then we should set out and intentionally live a life of sin, but at the same time we are not to cut ourselves off from the world and the people who are in it. We have to engage those around us. If we fill our lives full of “church people” and that is the only people we engage. Then who is engaging the sinner? What light are they seeing? Recently, I heard of a story of someone who is (in my opinion) a “religious” person. They thought that someone they knew should not have dinner with another couple because that couple has an occasional alcoholic beverage. They feel they were a bad example. WHAT? If it is that couples belief then I respect that. I can understand where alcohol can be an issue for some people; I do however think this couple should be honest with the other couple, have dinner, don’t drink and be done with it. Just like I think if that couple had a struggle with gambling then they should not go out to a casino, or if that couple is overweight, over eats, or struggles with an eating disorder, they probably shouldn’t go out to Krispy Kreme either. I do not feel that it s a “sin” to drink an occasional alcoholic beverage. I do think that is a sin to point out another person’s sin and choose to avoid them when you have sin in your on life. That is the entire problem with many Christians today, They are so blind to their own sin. Many Christians have put themselves above sin. To me, it almost seems as if they put themselves right up there with God. If this were the case, there would have been no need for Jesus. He would not have had to die that horrible death. There would be no need for an advocate through Him. I know that I am a sinner. I fall short daily. I have actually had people tell me that they live sin free. WHAT? Well, to those people I say, “I am praying for you”. I think the problem is that many over spiritual people sometimes get wrapped up in the visible sins, the sins that even the world will classify as sin, you know, THE BIG 10 or some other outward sin. But I say, to all of you who doubt that you have sin, look into your life. Do you worry? Are you afraid? Do you talk about your fellow brother or sister in Christ? Do you talk about your pastor or leadership? Do you talk about your leadership on your job? (It’s not just in the church, that you have to respect authority) Wives, are you submissive to your husband? Husbands do you love your wives as Christ loves the church? Children are you obeying your parents? Parents are you provoking your children to wrath? Do you spend the time with them that you should? Are you living a godly lifestyle in front of them? Do you spend time with God in prayer and scripture reading? Do you serve those around you? Do you serve in your church? Do you have compassion and love for those around you? Do you pay your tithe? Do you try to find ways to beat systems and break rules, find short cuts, etc.? Are you honest with others and yourself? Do you make other things your God or idol? Do you watch or listen to things that aren’t pure and holy? Do you openly criticize others to others around you? Do you criticize other pastors or churches for the way they do things? I could go on and on... Do any of these things stick out to you? Well, if they do, they should. We are all guilty at one time or another of all of these things. That is living in this fallen world. That is where God’s grace, love, and mercy come into action. We as believers have GOT TO GET INTO EXTENDING that same grace, love, and mercy to those we engage outside of the church.

I want to share this before I end this blog. I spent many years in ministry. I played the game. Some of you know the game... The game of CHURCH. The Sunday morning, Sunday night, Monday night prayer meetings, Tuesday night something at church, Wednesday night church, Thursday night something church, Friday preparing for something on Saturday at church. The vicious cycle never ended. For YEARS I did this. I now look back and see that I was like a hamster in one of those spinning wheels. I was spinning, and spinning, and spinning, and spinning and yet going NO WHERE! Other than reaching out to some parents of kids from the outside of the church or an occasional block party. I literally came in contact with no unbelievers unless they walked into the church. If we are all honest and really think about it, how many times are unbelievers walking into many of our churches? Not as often as they should. Because if they were, we would not see the decline that ALL denominations are seeing. We would not hear all of the talk of how church people are hypocrites. I for one agree with the statement. Not about all Christians but many of them. Most churches are full of church people. That is why people are looking for church in a different way. Church where they can feel loved, accepted, and valued no matter what. You know Jesus did that. He loved, accepted and valued everyone. He may not have agreed with their actions but he loved, accepted, and valued everyone. I want to be like him. You see for years I was always surround by believers. I was not fulfilling the “great commission” I thought I was doing EVERYTHING for God when in fact I was doing very little. I know that I planted seeds and I did see God move and work on many occasions but I now sit back and think of all the WHAT IF’S? I used to teach, preach, write, and spew constantly about being hungry and thirsty for more of Him. Don't get me wrong here, I do want to know him more, I want to grow more, I want to be more for him but I don’t have to be hungry or thirst for him any longer. I think what I was hungry for all those years was an emotional outward experience. What God wanted to give me was an inward experience. You see, as I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, God revealed something to me. I was reading and this scripture hit me like a ton of bricks from John 6:35. Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. If my ways align with his ways, and my thoughts align with his thoughts there is no need for me to be hungry or thirsty. He is always there to satisfy me. To meet my every need. I want to be a vessel that God works through that he can use that he can use to extend his love to others to let them know that they never have to hunger or thirst again.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Can't get much better...

Snow and a visit from Eric and Makenzie! Can't get much better than that for the past two days. Eric and Makenzie came for a quick 24 hour visit. Tommy picked them up from the airport yesterday afternoon and they flew home this afternoon. We enjoyed a yummy homemade BBQ dinner with them and my parents last night. I know my Mom and Dad were happy to have them home. We missed Jessica and wish that she had been with them too. Today we enjoyed a trip to the mall where Mama and Papa treated all the grand kids to Build a Bears and Easter outfits! YAY! We had fun and enjoyed lunch out and then a little bit of playtime at my parents before they flew back. Makenzie has grown a ton since Christmas and she is so precious. I am glad we got to see them for a little bit! We love you!











Snow, Snow, Snow

We finally got snow. The boys were so happy. It started snowing late on Sunday night and it was so beautiful! I loved it! We got up early yesterday morning and went out to play. Eli literally played all day in it! His face was wind/sun/snow burned last night he was out in it so long. Poor Bleeze lasted maybe an hour and then he was done. He did not care for it very much. I had so much fun making a sweet snowman with him. Posting some pics of our fun day.














Sunday, March 1, 2009

Top 10 Porkiest Projects

Top Ten Porkiest Projects in the Omnibus Spending bill

10. $1.7 million "for a honey bee factory" in Weslaco, TX

9. $475,000 to build a parking garage in Provo City, Utah

8. $200,000 for a tattoo removal violence outreach program that could help gang members or others shed visible signs of their past

7. $300,000 for the Montana World Trade Center

6. $1 million for mormon cricket control in Utah

5. $650,000 for beaver management in North Carolina and Mississippi

4. $2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York

3. $332,000 for the design and construction of a school sidewalk in Franklin, Texas

2. $2 million “for the promotion of astronomy” in Hawaii

1. $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa