Be Encouraged by

Falling Forward

"The Lord upholds all who are falling."Psalm 145:14 nrsv

When I was a little girl, my father was just about the best daddy any daughter could have. (Still is.) He gave me a great picture of the heart of God by always coming the moment I called (or at least that's how I remember it). Therefore, I had a deep trust that my daddy always had my best interest at heart. One day, however, he tested this trust. I was up on a low roof and my dad was on the ground when he asked me to jump into his arms. I stood with my toes at the edge of the roof and could feel myself swaying. I was terrified. Then Daddy said, "Sandi, you're gonna fall either way. If you fall backwards, I can't help you. But if you fall forward, I'm going to be able to catch you."
That is exactly the picture I want you to hold in your mind if you are struggling in any area of your life. If you are wounded by circumstance or the betrayal of others, if you are in despair about your marriage or your children or your future, if you are being swayed by temptation, you probably feel like you are falling. Go ahead and fall, but fall into the arms of the one who can save you.

Sandi Patty
Falling Forward
Excerpted from A Grand New Day: A Full Year of Daily Inspiration and Encouragement © 2008 Women of Faith, Inc. All rights reserved.

Being Thankful

I know Thanksgiving was a week ago, but this is something that inspired me today so i wanted to share. Today i had a MOPS meeting (that's Mother's Of Pre-Schoolers). Our guest speaker was the church's previous pastors wife. She spoke to us about how when she and her husband were first married all they wanted was children but later found out that she was unable to have children. They later were called into the ministry in Africa and assigned to the student ministry. They decided the children they helped lead to God through their ministry would be their "children" and had they had their own, the opportunity for going to Africa may not have been there. One of the things she said that was really profound was this, "If you can't thank God for everything in your life, even the bad stuff, then you don't understand the power of God's love for you." She says it wasn't until she grasped this and that she was thankful for all that God had or had not given her that her prayers of having children came true. After 12 or 13 years of marriage and ministry in Africa and not being able to have children, she finally became pregnant and is now the mother of 3 and the grandmother of two with more on the way. I was blessed once again by MOPS and am thankful for the message that was given to me today from God through MOPS. I hope that someday I can be as grateful for all the "stuff" in my life, good and bad, and trust that God allows us to go through times of sunshine and plenty as well as times of trouble and storms so that we can grow closer to Him. My prayer is that you are all as thankful as this lady is and can be as close to God as possible.

A Christian Pumpkin

This is something we did about 3 years ago. Aaron was too little to carve his own pumpkin and I'm not really fond of scary-faced jack-o-lanterns. i found this on the internet and I was really impressed by it. So much so that I even printed up the poem and handed it out with candy hoping that more Christians will display these for Halloween.

A Christian Pumpkin

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I am a Jack O' Lantern

My light will shine so bright

For I am a Christian pumpkin

My symbols tell what's right.

My nose is like the cross

on which our Savior died

To set us free from sin

We need no longer hide.

My mouth is like a fish

The whole wide world to show

That Christians live in this house

And love their Savior so!

The story starts at Christmas

My eyes are like the star

That shone on Baby Jesus

And wise men saw from far.

My color it is orange

Just like the big bright sun

That rose on Easter Day

Along with God's own Son.

And so on Halloween

Let's set our pumpkins out

And tell the trick or treaters

What God's love is all about!

--Author unknown

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all you mom's out there had a great Mother's day this year. I missed seeing my mom and mother-in-law this year. Holiday's can be very lonely when you're away from family. Anyway, my boys made the weekend very special for me. On Saturday we went to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. We had a really great day. I always love going to the zoo. And when we returned home and I was looking at the pictures I took, I had several that were mothers and babies. Neat, huh?

Well, I'll start with my babies!!! Andrew and AAron hangin' out by the gorilla's.

This is a mommy gorilla. If you look closely, under her left hand, she's holding a new baby! how exciting! they rolled around on the ground, climbed down to the watering hole, and she was so very gentle with the baby the whole time. All the while the big Silver back was hangin' out in the shade of the cave with his feet up in the air. Doesn't he know it's mother's day?

Then in the Australia exhibits we saw a mommy kangaroo with her little joey. They were taking a nap and she had covered the baby up with hay. It was so sweet.

And of course there were the ducklings. I'm not sure how many she had, but there were a lot of babies following her around.

Then we visited the nursery where the petting zoo was. Andrew was drawn to the baby camel, but Aaron liked watching the goats make poo-poo every where. What a great time!!!

Looking at all the pictures of the mommies and babies and reflecting on my recent study of Genesis, isn't it wonderful how God was so gracious to bless our existence with such wonderful things. What a boring place the earth would be with out the animals and creatures of the world.

Thank you LORD ! Happy Mother's Day!!

My Testimony

Let me start by saying hello again. i think the computers good now. seems to be working at the moment anyway.

So here's the newest. it's no secret that Richard and I are not happy with the school systems here and we would really lilke to get the boys into a christian school, especially Andrew. So anyway, at a MOPS meeting this month (Mothers Of Preschoolers) at church and our guess speaker was the Director/Principal of a private christian school here in Mcallen. She was very encouraging to the women who homeschool and very positive about children in Christan Schools. She went on to tell us about the people who work there and how the only really requiremnt is to love God and children. I was so inspired by her. I came home and told Richard all about how I wish we could afford to get the boys back into a school like hers. We started talking and decided i should apply for a job for at least the fall if not the summer. employees get a discount off the tuition for the kids, great huh? so anyway. i went by and picked ua an application. this is not like any application i've ever filled out before. On seperate paper i had to answer in 2 to 3 paragraphs several questions. and the final thing i had to do is write out my testimony. Have you ever done this before? what a way to explore ones own faith. I was telling my mom about the experience and encouraged her to do the same. I'm not sure if she did but i know she was going to use this suggestion at her Senior alert group at her church. any way , having said all this, i wanted to share my testimony with you all. maybe God will use it in a positive way...

My Testimony

I was raised in a Christian home and I was saved at a very young age. I remember my mom praying with me and helping me ask Jesus into my life. Through the years, I knew God was always with me and that if I ever needed Him all I had to do was pray. But it was always on my terms. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I was fully aware of what it meant to walk with God. A lot of things happened within the course of a year; 9-11, my father-in-law was killed tragically in a motorcycle accident, my own battle with depression, and my only sister told me she didn’t believe in God. That’s when things started to change for me. I turned to God for guidance and answers. Some I received immediately, some I’m still waiting for. There have been a lot of bumps in the road, even though some feel more like mountains, but I have tried to keep my eyes focused on God because I know He is the only one who can get me through. There are still times I choose to ignore him and try things on my own, but of course, I always come back to the Father. God is so gracious, patient, and kind but he has a firm hand when he needs to, just like a father should.

My favorite scripture is Psalms 23. I always refer to it when I feel sad or confused, lost or overwhelmed. Max Lucado’s Traveling Light helped me get deep into the meaning of this scripture. The psalmist choose to illustrate it as a shepherd leading his flock, and how fitting a description it is. What a great way to show how we, the sheep, need God, the shepherd. Sometimes he has to use his rod or staff to guide us. Sometimes we follow, but sometimes we do not. When we are lost he will come find us and bring us back. The shepherd knows where the good resting places are and where to get a refreshing drink. But yet again we, the sheep, choose not to listen and he “makes [us] lie down in green pastures.” There have been times he has actually knocked my feet out from under me, forcing me to rest. Looking back now I’m very thankful he did. We are so blessed to have a “shepherd” taking care of us the way God does.
My ultimate goals in life are to raise godly children, and to see my Savior in Heaven. Being a Christian is not easy, but it is rewarding. You may not see the rewards here on earth, but who needs earthly wealth anyway? I’d rather store up riches in Heaven than here on earth. I want people to see that something is different about me and want what I have. I want to be the light that leads others to God.

Spiritual Scrapbooking

I get the magazine Today's Christian Woman which i love! (thanks Kay Lyn!) Anyway, i received my newest issue the other day and there was this little blurb about spiritual scrapbooking on the bottom of a page. It gave a few suggestions about how to incorporate your personal faith journey into your albums. one suggestion i particularly liked was to do a gratitude album. The instructions simply say to use one letter of the alphabet per page to highligh what you're thankful for. Let me back up a little bit.

Andrew has been having a pretty hard time adjusting to life in S. Texas. he doesn't feel like he fits in with the kids here because he doesn't speak the spanish language, and he's having a hard time making friends , etc. etc. The other day he had a pretty emotional melt-down and went on and on about how horrible his life was. Anyway, Richard and I talked with him for a long time and my plan is to let him do one of these album. So as i was pondering over this idea for andrew, i started thinking for myself of things that i'm thankful for. here's what my list looks like so far. Maybe you could helo me fill in the blanks...

A...Andrew and Aaron
B...Beach (It's where i can feel really close to God and His creation)
C...Creative memories of course, Christmas Music (it's my favorite)
D...Daddy ( a little girl loves her daddy)
E...Eva (My Mom, and my closest Girl-friend)
F...Family and Friends, faith and Freedom
G...GOD, Girl-friends, Grandparents
H... Happiness
I... Inspiration
J... Jesus
K...Karleene (i have the greatest mom-in-law)
L... LOVE!
M...Music
N...North Carolina (I miss it.)
O...
P...Pumpkin Pie (hey it's Thanksgiving and i couldn't think of anything else that started w/ P)(oh yeah, Pete-my cat)
Q...Quiet time especially w/ God
R...RICHARD!!!
S...Scrapbooking, Sister's
T... Time with my kids and husband.
U...
V... Voice of God
W...
X...
Y...all of YOU
Z...Zoey (my dog)


i encourage each of you to give this some thought and i'd love to hear what you're thankful for.

love you all...

Listen, please.

I've posted a YouTube video link on our blog. i found it by accident, or what i thought was an accident, but the more i listen to it, the more i realize that God meant for me to find it. I love what is says about another raining day...a lot like being depressed, but when i am stuck and don;t know what to do, i got keep singing, keep praising your name...May God bless you and keep you no matter where you are in your walk with Him. remember, He will never leave you or forsake you and with Him all things are possible...please just close your eyes and listen to the words. thanks...