in his heart a man plans his course; but the LORD determines his steps. 

proverbs 16:9 

i want to capture these memories in my mind and heart forever

these are the scenes that i get to enjoy every day right now. as the weather has gotten nicer, jacob heads outside first thing in the morning. so many times, i grab me a cup of coffee, my camera, and my laptop to capture him playing and enjoying his little world. it is the best time of my entire day.

as i watch him play, the Lord reminds me that as my heart swells with joy in watching him have fun and play so carefree, so does His! and then my heart swells some more!

i want to capture these memories in my mind and heart forever!

a "happy birthday mommy" that will melt your heart

a beautiful day for a birthday

today has been a beautiful day! i woke up this morning to this super sweet note from my husband

happy birthday to my wonderful wife. 

you bring so much joy into my life. 

you have touched the lives of so many with your beauty.

I Love You with all of my heart. aaron

isn't he so sweet? i love him so much! after such a sweet beginning to my day, i spent the remainder of the morning with jacob playing outside with him and then being showered with birthday wishes from so many of my online friends. then i went out to lunch with my mom and couple of my wonderfully sweet friends who love to talk about all that God is showing them and doing in their life. after lunch, watching josiah play baseball was on the schedule. it was such a beautiful day for baseball game and it is always even nicer when they win. yay! panthers win 8-1. and to wrap up my birthday celebration, we all headed out for pizza.

 some pictures to share my day

it was a beautiful day for a birthday

its my birthday!

 me and my momma, the woman who gave me a birthday to celebrate!

to live is Christ

over and over again in my heart rings the Scripture that was the foundation of the message that went forth for our church body yesterday.  "to live is Christ" (phillipians 1:21)  I believe that the depth of the revelation that lies in that Truth is greater than we can possibly imagine. what does it mean to truly "live?" so many people would answer that question in so many different ways. but, the Word of God says that it means Christ. Jesus Christ is life!  And truly living is experiencing Him within us. Why do we try to find fulfillment in any other source?

when Jesus ascended to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit to live in us because of our faith in His accomplished work here on this earth, we were united with the Life of God. we were raised from death and made one with Life. and, if we are going to experience all that Life has to offer, it will be as we embrace the Life that lives in us as the only One that will ever bring fulfillment to us in this world. most of the time, we try to find fulfillment in so many other things other than Life Himself.  even honorable things like a spouse, your family, doing charitable services, or even ministry work can take the place of embracing the Only One that truly makes life worth living!

hagaii 1:5,6 says "give careful attention to your ways. you have planted much, but have harvested little, you eat, but never have enough. you drink, but never have your fill. you put on clothes, but are not warm. you earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." i believe that this Scripture clearly describes the living conditions of the person who is trying to experience fulfillment without truly Living. without an awareness of Christ as our life, we are doomed to a disappointed existence with constant striving to live without satisfaction. with Christ as our very life, in which we find all of our fulfillment, other things that are added to our lives don't fall directly out the bottom. we can harvest a full crop, eat and be satisfied, drink and be quenched, dress and be warm, and earn wages that support our families without making those things be our life but an added blessing to already truly Living! what an amazing Truth...........

to live is Christ!

He works all things together --tim hutton

“and we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (romans 8:28, nlt).

everyone goes through things that don’t seem to make sense.

it’s easy to get discouraged and wonder, “why did this happen to me?” “why did this person treat me wrong?” “why did I get laid off?” but we have to understand, even though life is not always fair, God is fair.  He doesn't bring the bad things into our life but He promises to work all things together for good for those who love Him and trust Him to do so.

i believe the key word is this verse is “together.” in other words, you can’t just isolate one part of your life and say, “well, this is not good.” "it is not good that i got laid off." “it’s not good that my relationship didn’t work out.” yes, that’s true, but that’s just one part of your life. it is not the end! God can see the big picture. that disappointment is not the finale. remember, when one door closes, God has another door for you to walk through—a better door. God will use those difficulties and challenges as merely stepping stones toward your brighter future. be encouraged today because God has a plan for you to rise higher. He has a plan for you to come out stronger. He has a plan to work all things together for your good so that you can move forward in the victory He has prepared for you!

and nothing can stop the plan of God!

Heavenly Father, thank You for working all things together for my good. i trust you because you see the bigger picture and you take all that happens and weave it into your ultimate plan for my life.

i hear Him say "yes"

No matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. (II Corinthians 1:20)

what an awesome Scripture that i am meditating on today.  sometimes, it feels like God is not hearing our pleas, like He is not listening or doesn't care. but, i know that God has plans in place for my healing and my good, regardless of any circumstances that are evident in my life. every promise in Scripture applies to every person in Christ and that includes me. every word spoken of redemption and mercy, forgiveness and grace is written in timeless ink and has my name on it. when i stand and seek to find my rightful place in Christ with full confidence of one who is deeply understood and unconditionally loved, i am held firmly by God's "yes." the word "yes" is spoken  for a communication of agreement and affirmation. it is used to express great satisfaction, approval, or happiness.  when i stand before Him, in Christ, He is greatly satisfied and full of joy as He speaks a resounding, "yes!" 

i am dwelling in what He has promised today! i do not want to be stuck in thinking on anything other than who Jesus Christ is and that i am complete and fully satisfied in Him.  i am finding myself gazing upon His satisfied expression of adoration toward me. i am shifting my perspective from life outside of union with Him to life in my union with Him and that changes everything. God gets bigger and problems get smaller as things move into proper focus. 

and i hear Him say "yes!"

it was time---how do you like me now?

                                                            before                 

         after



























before

after





















before

after



























before

after

how do you like me now?

peek-a-boo

peek-a-boo

again

and again

jacob 2 years old

that's my baby boy!