Run and not grow weary....

My soul yearns for you in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for you.
(Isaiah 26:9)

"Without a doubt, the more you know God, the more you want to know God." (Beth Moore)

The question I've been asking myself is do I presently have a yearning for God? My answer to that this time last week was no, not really. I had allowed myself to go to sleep spiritually for quite some time now and as I'm gradually wanting God more this yearning is getting stronger and stronger. I love the Lord with all my heart, mind and soul but there are those times that I'm just tired and feel like I don't have anything else to offer and that He is just one more person on my list that I have to please that day. But, you guys, that's not how I should look at Him at all!!!! He is my Savior, my Lord, my very consistent Father (can't say that about my two earthly fathers), my Comforter, my Provider, my Help... simply put.. MY EVERYTHING! So, why do I always give Him my leftovers? The verse above says that "my soul yearns for Him in the night and in the morning." In other words, I can't get enough of Him!! That's how my walk with Christ is suppose to look.

Isaiah 40:28-31
"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

This is my hope and what keeps me going. As long as I continue to hope in the Lord and align myself with Him, my strength will be renewed and I will be able to face the day to day circumstances that come my way.

Here is what Beth Moore says about this same thing:
"Sometimes I get tired of fighting the good fight, don't you? How can we muster the energy to hang in there and keep fighting for our liberty? Isaiah 40:28-31 tells us exactly what to do when we get weary in the walk. Notice whose strength the Lord will renew: "those who hope in the Lord" If we want to keep a renewed strength to face our daily challenges or regain a strength that has faded, God's Word tells us to draw so close to the presence of God we're practically twisted to Him!"

Devotional Moment

The Message Translation
Ephesians 2:20-22
"He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day - a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home."

We all have a place in God's Plan!! All of us have purpose and reason for being who we are and where we are. There is no doubt about it. God is minute by minute, second by second, day by day building us into a Holy Temple; a temple in which He dwells.

Stop for a minute and think about it. Christ, himself, is at home with you! That is so cool!

After Paul wrote this to the Ephesian church he expressed how exciting it was for him to be able to share this with them. He says in verse 6, "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." And then in verse 12 he write, "In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." This is HUGE.... It was so HUGE for the Gentiles to know that they are heirs, sharers together with Israel. That the God of Israel is their God too. Our God will not leave anyone out that truly desires to follow after Him.

As Christians today, we need to hear this message. Jesus Christ is for the WORLD and everyone in it! He desires to see all people, nations, communities come together as brothers and sisters that care for each other and love each other the way He has called us to.

After Paul had shared this exciting, HOPEFUL news with the church he said a prayer for them and I want to share that prayer with whoever reads my blog and know that as I write this prayer and as I continue to read it over and over again, that it is my prayer for each and every one of us.

Ephesians 14-21
"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strenghten you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to konw this love that surpasses knowledge- that yuo may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now, to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!"

Sea World Pictures

I hope you enjoy our Sea World pictures. The only thing I didn't get pictures of was the Shamu show, but we got great video of it so I'll be posting that soon! It was dark when we went to that show so the pictures didn't show up good.

Just a Taste of Sea World...

I'll add more pictures later. I'm just too exhausted after 3 days at Sea World to do much more. :) WE HAD A BLAST, though! It was SUCH A GREAT vacation!!!!

San Antonio

I've officially got 2 hours before I get off work and we head to San Antonio for the weekend. Me, Rodney and Joshua are taking ourselves a mini-vacation. We're heading to Sea World, the Alamo, and the River Walk in San Antonio. I am so excited for the 3of us to get away together and have some fun. We haven't had a vacation with just the 3 of us in quite some time, so this is going to be nice. Our hotel has an indoor pool and an big indoor playground for Joshua so that will be great.

When we get back I'll make sure and post lots of pictures and some VIDEO!! We found out video camera stuff so Rodney is getting that all charged up and we're going to shoot some video on this trip and post it on the blog when we get back. So, you can expect lots more videos now too!

Well, I'm off to get some last minute work done before I head out! Hope ya'll have a great weekend.. I know I plan too! :)

Stormy Morning in Texas

We've got a very stormy morning in Texas going on right now! Here's a picture of the radar for ya. We're right in the center of this big thing!


It was definitely fun trying to get ourselves into the car this morning without getting drenched with the rain. Joshua was just excited to get to wear his raincoat and use the umbrella. I took a picture of him at home, so I'll have to post it later for ya.

I go for my weigh in this afternoon at Weight Watchers. I forgot to tell ya'll that when I weighed in last week I had lost 5.8lbs! YAY!! So, I can't wait to weigh in today and see how much more I've lost. I don't think it will be as much as last week, but I know I lost more. :)

Not too much else is going on with us. Just the same old stuff. Rodney is taking classes, I'm working, and Joshua is going to preschool and pretty much doing whatever he wants. :)

Well, that's about it for now. I just wanted to check in since I haven't posted anything in a week. :)

HAPPY BLOGAVERSARY

Today is my 1 year Blogaversary! My very first blog post was last year on June 12th; so here were are one year later. It's amazing for me to look back over this past year and see how much life has happened and know that I SURVIVED. :) It's just pretty cool! God has really kept His hand and His guidance on me this past year with all the changes that have taken place in our lives. Again, I'm amazed to look back at the "bad" things and see how God used them to bring us where we are right now: In Fort Worth, Texas living and loving life!

Through it all God has been good to me and is actually answering some prayers that I've been praying for YEARS and I'm so excited to see what is going to happen in some of these situations.

So, now I'm all geared up for another great Blog Year! :)

Happy Blogging!

Psalm 51:10-12

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS

I really encourage you to take some time out of your day (approx. 8 min) and watch the video below. It will blow your mind and it will awaken you (if you let it) to who Christ really is. WOW!! I have chills after watching this and can't control the tears of joy that I have after watching this.

I would love to hear from you after you watch it. Leave me a comment if you can. Thanks!

PS.. don't forget to scroll down and turn the music off on the playlist at the bottom of my blog so you can hear the video. :)

Happy Monday!

Life is pretty normal and quiet at the moment. These are the days that I cherish... because you never know when the next storm might hit. :) We are just keeping to our regular routine and having lots of fun in the process. I joined a weight watchers group last week and I'm doing really good with it so far. I didn't think I would like having to keep up with my points and all but it's really not that bad. I go for my first weigh in this Thursday and I'm so excited to see how much weight I've lost this week. I cheated and weighed myself at home this weekend and have already lost 3 lbs in 4 days. I'm going to have Rodney hide my scale at home though so I can be surprised when I weigh in this Thursday at my meeting. :) I'll keep you all posted with how it's going.

Rodney is taking 2 summer theology classes (one in june and one in july) and is going to be very busy with that. He's taking a full semester of theology in ONE MONTH! It's very intense, but he can do it.

Joshua is just Joshua, what else can I say! The same fun-loving, hyper, happy little man that he always is. He's gotten back into the movie CARS here lately. We were able to enjoy a break from it for a couple of months, but IT'S BAAACCKKK! He is all into racing and anything that has to do with Big Trucks and Fast Cars! The first thing he did when he got out of bed this morning was to go over and turn on his Lighting McQueen racing thingy he has. That thing is so cool! You just turn it on and watch McQueen zoom around the track all by himself. Joshua could just sit and watch that thing go forever if you let him. Here's a picture of it:


Rodney has a group project due this week in his theology class so his group is coming over to the house tonight to meet and eat... :) So, I'll be on Joshua duty tonight, trying to keep him entertained and away from them so they can work on their project. I have a feeling we will be at the playground, riding our bikes, or anything else we can find to do outside. :)

Well, HAPPY MONDAY! see ya'll soon!

All For Christ!

"Because we are Christians, when people hear the name of Jesus, they see a picture of us in their minds. How we live our lives sends a message to them about who Jesus is and what the Christian faith is all about. What message is your life proclaiming?" (Shine, by the Newsboys)

This quote/question really got me thinking when I read it. And, one of the main things that stuck out to me was this. Me, Rodney and Joshua didn't pick up and move to Texas because Rodney needed to go back to school. We picked up and moved to Texas because God was saying to us that it was time for more training because He has more ministry in mind for us. It's so easy to get stuck on the thought that "oh well, we had to move to Texas so Rodney could get more education." No! That's not it at all. We moved to Texas to train and prepare for whatever God has for us in our future. Remembering this and allowing this to be our focus really puts things in perspective. And as people see our lives and see what we're doing and why; I hope that it points them to Christ. Because, it is all for Him that we do the things we do. We are living, walking pictures of Christ and our lives are the message of hope and love to a hopeless and loveless world.

All Vacationed Out...Heading Back To Texas

Joshua loved helping daddy pump gas.

Sand Delivered just for Joshua... he's so spoiled

More Vacation Fun in S.C.