DivineDays

Sevan's Purity Ceremony <3

2009-09-02T09:28:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the pictures and a video from Sevan's Purity Ceremony. The video isn't good, but better than nothing ;) She did this with 17 others..( 3 of those were guys ) After walking down the aisle, on a beautiful white with flowers carpet rolled out for them, they would kneel before the cross, pray, take their Purity ring off the cross, walk to the table, and sign their Purity Pledge; Then they would walk off the stage and wait for the others to join. ( Van didn't sign at the table, she had already signed one, so didn't think she was suppose to sign again.....Sweet Van, once she makes a commitment to God she knows it is good ! ) When all finished this, they turned to face their pastor, who confirmed again what they were doing and encouraged them in it. They then repeated their "vows" and put their ring on their finger, all at the same time:) It was beautiful, of course I cried. Her ring is silver and says True Love Waits. It matches Chasity's <3 God is Good ! Keep them and their pursuit of Purity in your prayers !

Only my son !

2009-06-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

The other day Luke was playing outside. Him and 2 older boys were in the front yard. ( My door is open) The ice cream truck comes. Luke runs in and I tell him he cant buy one that day. He returns a lil later with a big sour ice cream.

Luke:" Mom, you won't bewevie this !!!!!!!! I got this for FWEE"!

Mom: "How Lukie" ? ( puzzled)

Luke:" The ice cream man gave it to me "!

Mom:" Why, How" ?

Luke: " " Welllllllll " , I said "Sir, what is your lowest priced ice cream"? He told me. I said "Oh, could I have one for free " ? ( Raising his eyebrows up, holding head to the side, shoulders shrugged up, arms out, with palms face up ) " AND HE GAVE IT TO ME " ! "WOW " !! " It's not even the low pwiced one " ! ( Huge smile of amazment/unbelief on his face !) LOL

THe next day of course..he wants to do the same thing..I tell him AGAIN why he cant..even talked this time about how it takes away from the ice cream mans profit..he says....... "It's a different truck ...this is the blue one "!

On that same note...we stop in to pick something up at Wal-Mart. The big girls and I are checking out..Tori and Luke ask if they can go get a pretzel sample from the pretzel place. I said ok. They come back with Tori in front, shaking her head side to side with her lil hand by her eyes.

Tori:" I am sooooo embaressed"!

Mom:" Why baby "?

Tori:" Luke tried to get a free coke" !

Mom: "Luke "! "It makes me very sad that you would do that" ; "We have talked about why it is wrong"." We are going to tell the pretzel man sorry and you are going to be punished".

Luke: " I just wanted a SAMPLE of coke..not a fweeee one"

ClC Birthday Celebration/Talent Show

2009-06-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures from CLC's Birthday Party. Am having a hard time posting them for some reason. I'm gonna try one more time, and then call for MEGAN ! Ok, pics are up, but not captioned. I so am not understanding why that is. The one on stage is Van-Van singing with the Praise Team ....Great Job Van! I tried to post Victoria singing in the talent show ( discovered the camera records video too ) here..but nope...ugh! You can watch it by clicking on the top picture on the right hand side of my blog. It's on youtube too...you can leave her a comment there ..Just type in SinginforJesus in the search engine after clicking videos...or click on Chasity's link on the right, and Toris video will be there under Chasity's favorites :) May be easier that way. bye-bye

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG MONTH !

2009-06-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, it has actually been over a month...but sooo full. Lets start with my yucky stuff.......was called into the office at work, thinking I was gonna get my raise that comes with being a cake decorator ( had been doing it a little over 2 months) only to be told that I couldn't get it yet, because there was already someone being paid to decorate who wasn't decorating, so she had to start. Was told to wait about a month 1/2 and then I could go back over..but could still work on cakes when finished with my packaging job...was also told she wanted me to work on my speed. ( Another story in itself) This bummed (and shocked) me,sooo badly, cause i LOVE decorating cakes. It's alot of fun and you feel really good helping someone find or design the perfect cake, and giving a customer a cake you did that makes them so happy :). I understand why I had to step down, but still hate it. (Not the speed thing though..I am at the same speed as another girl there/ meeting wal-marts time alllowed :) ) I am soooooo looking forward to going back officially soon..I have to say,... I would SOOO do it without the raise ;). But on with my list.... Luke had to have 4 staples put into his head; He fell off the couch. Myautomatic window on the van broke. I couldnt get it to go up ( Larry can pull it up) It rained hard and my seat was soaked...our basement flooded because of the same rain, Larry had to have emergency oral surgery because a tooth broke (didn't have our dental ins. long enough to cover it ) Everything but the cake thing happened in one week-end. The week-end Jacob and Caylin got married..soooo I was cleaning a basement while they were saying I do's !!! I use to say I wanted to put Jacob in a freezer for one of my girls <3 Such a great guy...I am sooo glad he found a good christian girl!
On the brighter side of this long month...wal-mart let me off to teach my abstinence classes at Jeff High...they also DONATED the candy I needed for it :) !!! The classes went GREAT !! Such a blessing to go in and expose the kids there to a lifestyle they have never considered..to see their faces go from thinking "you are crazy" in the beginning to being " wow that makes sense" at the end! THANK YOU GOD ! Luke did great getting his staples/ So awesome to pray with him for comfort and peace, and even have the nurse be amazed at how great he did..didn't have to hold him down or anything! Lots of I love you coffees and a rose from Larry <3 We got our pool open, The girls all sang at our Church's birthday celebration ( other church ? lol ) And my pastor's ( other pastor ? lol again ) wife wants me to do my Spiritual Role of the Mom seminar. Sooooooooo not all bad ! Will try to post the girls singing soon !! I tried to get Luke to sing a song he wrote ( Give God a chance, even on the week-ends ! lol ) but he was not at all interested! Oh I was also let off work to go to the zoo with Tori and Luke's classes ! I am so blessed to have a manager who is a dad ( kids grown now) who understands how important family is <3 Even with alot of yucky stuff going on...i know I AM BLESSED ! I LOVE YOU JESUS!! Thank You , Thank You , Thank You <3

Insurance

2009-04-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Welp, I just filled out all the paper work (online) for medical insurance through Wal-Mart...too bad I couldn't do it sooner.....just spent a good chunk of money on Dr. visits/ Immediate Care visits for Van-Van and Chasity...Van has strep throat :( and Chas has an ear infection :(. Poor baby girls..ex specially Van..Strep throat is soooo... ugh. She was so pitiful Sunday and Monday. I stayed home with her on Monday..couldn't leave my sick baby. I am soooooo blessed to have a great friend who will watch the kids for me when they are sick ( if no vomiting or diarrhea ), so I don't have to miss work...but when they are feeling as horrible as Van was, We need to be with each other <3 , so I called in. They were really nice about it...but I still felt badly...although am so glad I was with Van. She is at Mam-Maw's now. She is still sick...but not like on Sun/Mon...So we are okay with G'maw. My mom is the best<3 Back to insurance...I have never carried our insurance before..lol..it's kinda funny to me..I told Lar I was gonna blow up my insurance card, frame it, and hang it on the wall..lol..yes..I am too goofy ! Now that Lar is self-employed, me being able to get the insurance will save us ALOT...$495.00 a month..going by what we paid for it almost 2 years ago ! Another blessing from God :) It's better Insurance too. I better go...Van was waking up every 2 hours and I still haven't caught up on my sleep..THAT's IT !! I AM SLEEP DEPRIVED ..THAT's probably WHY I told Larry that our insurance has a maternity plan and we would be covered if we wanted another baby ;) He will probably ban me from checking out the newest pics of Lincoln until I get rested up..lol...and from Maria's blog too, if her newest sweetie gets here before my shut-eye ! lol

No bunny ?? !!

2009-04-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

Some things were said last Sunday in Kids church that really touched my heart.It was about Easter. Made me want to share how we celebrate...at the risk of everyone thinking we are horrible parents and are "cheating" our children out of something. We do not "do" the bunny.(gasp)In our "defense" we did the bunny with 2 out of the 4 (actually 3, but Tori was too little to get/remember doing it) and there is NO DIFFERENCE in the excitement that they have the night before or morning of Easter. In fact the mornings are even more fun..with whoever awakes first waking the others by saying.."He is Risen"...to which the sleeping sibling pops right up and yells " He is risen indeed". It is sooo much fun and such a reminder of the excitement and joy that was being felt over 2000 years ago when our Saviour arose!! We do have their baskets sitting out that we put together while they are sleeping ( Yes..still the same excitement for us in making them..still them wondering what will be in it and trying to hear us while they are laying in bed waiting for morning to finally come :) FOR US it is about building our children's faith / belief up in something that is real...Jesus...yes our kids "pretend " things...we just feel, for us, that the belief and faith of a child is so powerful and strong..( The Bible tells us this) why take that faith and or belief , and direct it towards something that isn't true? Most people can remember when they found out the truth....strong emotions for sure. I was even reading that there are secular studies being done on this, to see if your ability to trust/believe in things is affected negatively. I know everyone says "I believed and I am fine" Lar and I can both say that too...but just because we are "fine" doesn't mean we keep rolling with it...just because we can. Our children should walk even closer to the Lord than we do and again For Us..we believe that this is a way of building up their faith in God. The real story is soo exciting..they don't need a bunny to make it any better.
We do the Resurrection Eggs each year ( Tori accepted the Lord while doing this :) !!!)
Watch the Passion(not Tori/Luke)/read the Gospel of John (have the movie now!)
We always make sure that their baskets are Christ centered..they all have the same traditional candy,including chocolate crosses,in each basket, then each child has their favorite candies/snacks/lil prize(s) in their basket; We serve a personal God who knows their desires and them personally.
There will be something(s)in their basket that they can use to strengthen their relationship with Christ..again what each individual child/teen:) would like/could use.
We do communion as a family.
We color eggs..and taught the kids that the way alot of things we do to celebrate Christ resurrection was also the way pagans celebrated "Easter" before Christ ( We think Truth/the History we know, is really important) we tell them that now we do it for different reasons..IE the egg. It was created good..used in a bad way..now we use it to teach the Trinity and use bright colors to color it ,symbolizing the joy God gives us,the beautiful life we have in Him, and how He changes us.( That ugly color that sinks through is a great way to show how having God in our lives affects not just what you see on the outside, but the inside as well..turns the yucky egg into a good one ..lol ).(our reasons for keeping that fun tradition)
We make a fun craft/activity each year. We are making Christian Fish this year. One year we secretly hollowed out an egg..still colored it ..and had one of the kids smash it on their forhead..lol..it was empty (like the tomb) and we all laughed our booties off !
Anyways..I am rambling.... Just wanted to share. Hope you don't think we are horrible..(we don't think people who "do" the bunny are horrible) This is just how our family celebrates the amazing and glorious resurrection of Jesus. Most importantly is that we believe in Him and His resurrection. How we choose to celebrate it comes in at a far 2nd. God Bless<3

Here We Go Again

2009-04-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

Wow. For those of you who knew Larry went to Iraq to help pay off some of the bills we acquired with our first company, F.R.O.G. Trucking ( Fully Relying on God ) after having to close it down, ( the last year we had it, we paid about $80,000 in fuel alone !! ) it may seem crazy to try it again...but that is just what we are doing. After much prayer and God shutting and then opening the door for everything to fall into place,Larry left for his first run as an owner/operator yesterday.
Things have been really hard financially, even with me returning to work.( although working in Wal-Mart's bakery is such a blessing for me)
I pray God will use this to prosper us while bringing Him Glory ! Would love your prayers too :)

Glorious funeral

2009-03-03T18:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks to those of you who knew my Aunt Sue died and was praying and sent cards...Thanks also to Tony K who let my church family at CIC know :). Her dying was a shock. My cousins were afraid to tell my Uncle Bob..fearing he would go into shock and have to be hospitalized..his health is not so great....They had been married about 46-47 years...I can't imagin...anyways..the showing and funeral were the same day. Uncle Bob didn't come until about 10 minutes or so before the funeral service was to start. He had first said he wasn't going to go see her...wanted the casket closed before he entered the room. He changed his mind. As they wheeled him into the room, everyone was so quiet......he started out telling her how pretty she was and how much he loved her and already missed her....THEN...he started praising God..so beautifully that I could not stop smiling this really big smile..he started out saying how he knew he would see her( and would recognize her ) again, because that is what the bible said and the bible doesn't lie..then he just praised and praised and praised God in such a beautiful,personal, and loving way ! God's presence was soo strong and the strength, peace, hope, and comfort he gave my Uncle was so evident !!! Even the pastor doing the service started crying and gave a message on salvation instead of what he had planned on. He talked a lil about her and the rest was all God and salvation ! He would say "Folks, this was not what I planned" and "This was not in my notes" stuff like that. Soo cool. My dad, who is an atheist was not very happy, BUT, it took alot for me to not jump up and yell AMEN!!! (Although I did have to say it in a lil lower than normal voice). It was so fitting for my Aunt :) She loves the Lord soo much ....I am so excited that she is with Him now...although I know her family is sad to have her gone. Say a prayer for them :)

Inauguration Day

2009-01-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

Today April and I made some cookies and cupcakes ( at Wal-Mart ) for Obama's inaugaration tomorrow. I think I am going to buy some for my kiddos...they ( along with Lar and I ) were so sad when McCain didn't win. I thought they could eat some of them while watching the inaugaration. Make it a "fun" lesson in how we have to respect the position Obama will be taking, how GOD IS in control, and how He tells us to pray for our leaders, and then do just that. Anyways, Thought I'd share what we'll be doing to "cheer up " our day...in case yours might need a lil cheering up too ;)

It's a BOY ...and another BOY...and another BOY !!

2009-01-07T16:09:00.000-08:00

They are lil yorkiepoos. Godiva ( our chocolate poodle ) had them a lil over 5 weeks ago. They are soooo cute!! We have had lots of fun with them. I put a post out on one of my homeschool groups, to buy a kiddie pool for them to go in. They lady who said she had a pool that I could have, was in the same situation I was in a few months back...( having to stop homeschooling ) Long story short , she was crying, I was praying, and we both hung up knowing what a personal, powerful, loving God we serve!!! What a blessing it was for us both. We both felt SOOOO encouraged....SOOO touched by God. We laughed that I thought I was just calling about a pool. Isn't God's ways so much greater than ours ? !!! Thank You Lord !! Here are some pics of the puppies..aw... On a side note, I'm thinking that now that Godiva is losing her preggy weight, maybe I will lose my sympathy weight I gained with her ;)

New Years /first communion

2009-01-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

For the first time in years, we didn't go to the Evans'. Larry was on the road and Chas and Van went to their youth group party ( starting at 6 ). After work, I was tired and just wanted to have lazy home time... so after I dropped off the big girls Tori, Luke, and I went to McDonalds and then went home and played wii and ate lots of junky food. We took the stuff for communion up to the youth group party around 11:00. Luke has been wanting to take communion for a couple years. He accepted Christ at 3 and he is 6 now. : yes I know that is really young; Tori actually led him to Christ. We were all 3 in bed, he was scared, I said my usual..."who do you belong to?" He said "God" so I said "Ok, then you don't have to be afraid". He said "But I don't see Him" I said "But He is everywhere Luke-e" Tori says "Yes, and He is in my heart" Luke said " He is in my heart too" ( I wasn't going to touch that, because he was sooo little :( sorry God ) Tori said, "No He's not Luke " and went on to tell him the WHOLE story :) Luke excitedly wanted to become a Christian :).: He has understood what communion meant, but I wanted to have him be able to explain it in his own words with no prompting from me.(more than the "it is his blood and body ) Well, he did that for the first time New Years eve :) So our family (minus daddy :( ) along with the girls youth group rang in the New Year taking communion together for the first time! ( the girls were so happy for Luke) Awwww, what a blessing. Sunday morning he took it again at church. He was so excited..I thought he was gonna burst. Afterward, I was teaching mini jr.church with Kathy, and Luke told his class what he did, and volunteered to pray out loud for our class highs and lows :) Such a blessing to hear and see. I am so excited about what awaits us all this year ! God is AMAZING! May all of you and yours , along with my family, grow even closer to the Lord this year and live the abundant lives He has for us, which will further His kingdom. ; He is so worthy !! Happy New Year!

My oh so sweet ( and handsome) Hubby

2008-12-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

Had to tell ya about my hubby's new voice mail...lol...it is so cute! It says.." Hi, you've reached Theresa's husband Larry. I can't talk right now, but leave a message and I'll call you back, and Theresa, if this is you, I love you baby ! " Aw, I giggle everytime I get it ! Did I mention that he will sing to and dance with me..WITH..no music playing !?!! Gotta Love him :)

oops

2008-12-27T21:06:00.001-08:00

Sorry, click the top one, it is the one by Rebecca St James! Don't like the 2nd one from the tops version! :)

Sweet Little Jesus Boy

2008-12-23T16:50:00.000-08:00

My 2 favorite CHRISTmas songs are : Oh Holy Night and this one. ( Victoria said she would learn the words and sing it for me :) ) Ok, let's see if I can get the youtube video of this song, SWEET LITTLE JESUS BOY up......drum roll.......ok, lol , I don't know how, lol, I will have to put it on the side :) click the 2nd one from the top, it has the words..I sooooo LOVE this song! It REALLY touches me :) Hope it blesses you too !

Cupcake fight

2008-12-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

Forgot to post some pics of the infamous cupcake fight at the girls combo birthday/skate party. I had to have the girl working bring me a mop/bucket to clean up all the icing! She offered to do it..lol...I told her I would, that it was my consequence for taking pictures instead of telling them to stop..lol. The big kids bolted! Poor lil John felt so out of place,with only girls and only knowing Van and Raven. So, after the party he came back to our house so Van and him could play..opps, sorry, play is the lil kid word..hang out.lol. Luke has not been skating since last year. Kids where going so fast past him. He was sitting with his lil fist under his chin, looking oh so sad. He said "God didn't make me for skating, He made me for falling" lol . So cute! Turned it into a " God moment " ( how God gives us the ability to do things, but it doesn't always come easy, sometimes it will be hard, and require patience and practice..etc.). He was doing soooo good by the time we left :) If the pics don't show up here, check the bottom of my page lol

Cheesy song...but oh so good movie !

2008-12-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, every year there is a song that gets played at CHRISTmas time , that Chas and I dread hearing, and Sevan awaits eagerly....CHRISTmas Shoes! Have you heard it?? Well, Sevan was so excited to hear there is a movie based on the song. We watched it last night...it was soooooooooooooooooo sad. I have cried at other movies, but this was a sob cry..you know, outloud!! lol, once I couldn't hold it in any longer, Chas busted out too. Tori passed out tissues while Luke laughed. ( Van went to sleep before it got to sad) We watched it on youtube...ha ha 10 clips that are about 10 minutes each! It did say the d word (2 times I think). Which reminds me..we have the clearplay dvd player..it will take out everything bad..nudity, cursing, vulgarity, ..even musshieness if you want it too! Have only used it with one scary movie, but it was great! Am having trouble downloading another movie on it, so have to call em!! So cool though....love, love, love it!

busy, busy, busy/ OUR SEVAN is 12!

2008-12-14T16:06:00.000-08:00

Wow...seems like forever since I posted! Thanksgiving was great...the best Thanksgiving eve ever....we all chopped, mixed, and cooked together, while Addison Road blared from the cd player.( That cd is so cool..we love every song !) Even Luke was a huge help this year...he asked to saute the onions and peppers..so cute, he held some out on his spoon, while sauteing it, and said " MMMHHH...smell that delicious smell!" (He loves the movie ratatouille :))
My Van-Van turned 12 ! How crazy is that! Seems as if I just brought her home from the hospital! On their birthdays, I always take them out to eat by their self for lunch. Her birthday and my day off was both on Wed. , so I let her stay home from school :) . ( She is in honors and making A's / 1 b..and that is coming in at the middle of their 9 weeks, so I knew missing wouldn't hurt her academically) We had sooooo much fun!!! We Christmas shopped, went to grandmas and put up her tree for her, bought Van some new clothes and had lunch. She picked Golden Corral. I had never been there..it is a buffet. She said eating there would be fast and we would have more time to do more stuff together. :) She was so cute, You lay your receipt on your table, so when we were ready to leave, she asked for a pen, and wrote.... Merry CHRISTmas God loves you! .....on it. She has such a huge heart, one of the most loving, sweet, sincere people I have ever known.Will give up or do whatever it takes to make her sibs happy :) Such a heart for the Lord too, very bold! I can see her being married to a hell fire and brimstone preacher! lol One of her teachers once told me that she wasn't real comfortable around people who didn't share her faith. This was said because she didn't want to hear inappropriate songs, words, etc and would tell whoever was saying it that it was wrong, and not to do it around her. She is still learning in great strides, how we must do everything in Love. She has such a great compassion for others. I could listen to her pray forever :) She wants to save her kisses for her Husband to be <3 Hates being popular..lol...says she doesn't like girls getting mad at her because of boys thinking she is cute or asking her out,( she tells them she is too young for a bf)( although she has had a crush on a certain boy (John) for quite awhile lol ) doesn't like that people are treated bad/ feel bad because they are not in the " in group" hates that everyone there wants to be so grown up when they are in 6th grade.Visits our elderly neighbors....one of them even took her out for a birthday lunch too, on Saturday. We visited the nursing home down the street this morning before church, and this woman named Bertha fell in Love with Van. Said she never had a daughter and was so sad and prayed about it, and how sweet and beautiful van was and to come see her soon. Of course as soon as we hit the car, she said "mom,, we really need to adopt her" Tori , Chas, and Luke agree :) Oh, in case you are wondering how we came up with the name Sevan ( a diaereses over the a..I am sure I spelled it wrong, but the word that means 2 dots over the a, to give it the aw sound) It is Larry's middle name...Evans with the S put as the first letter instead of the last. We wanted her named after him, because she was going to be our last.lol..I tell her God just wanted her to have a pretty name :) I LOVE HER SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! I AM VERY PROUD AND LOVE YOU SO SO SO MUCH MY VAN-VAN XXXXXOOOOO! I am so excited about your walk with the Lord! I know He will continue to use you in mighty ways if you keep seeking Him first ! What He has for you is so much better than anything you can think on your own ! Acknowledge Him in all things, and He WILL direct your path!!! ( and He never messes up!!) You are a huge blessing to all you meet.Keep shinning His light at your school and everywhere else... ( remember the power!) Our family is better for having you in it! I Love you more than the snowflakes in a blizzard and I am glad you are my lil girl! Happy 12th Birthday Sevan!! XXXXOOOO Mommy

My highs/lows for the past few days

2008-11-19T14:43:00.000-08:00

Lows first: 1.) ice on my windshield this morning...wasn't fun scraping the windshield with an old shirt that was in the van...So unprepared for it this morning!!

2.) Thought my dogs ear looked funny...was sticking out sideways. After a much closer look, found out it was because Sevan and Tori wanted to put her ears in ponytails! It was swollen and red. She kept tilting her head sideways, so sad!!

3.) Brio magazine( the one we went on the missions trip with ),a Christian girl's magazine, put out by Focus on the Family, is going to be ending ! It's boy magazine, Breakaway too! We have subscribed to it for years..it is so popular ( can even get it at the library) I am in shock that it is happening.....sniff sniff sniff.

My Highs:
1.) My doggie is okay...and at least it was done by the girls, trying to make her look cute, and not by the lil guy who has been known to be mean to her! (He once said.."Mom, why does God make me be mean to animals"!!!! Being totally serious! haha

2.) Was going to take a fast bath last night after my shower...when after just a minute of the water running, in comes Luke...he had torn off a bunch of grapes and brought those and my Bible to me ! How sweet is he ? !

3.) signed up Sevan and Luke for Upwards basketball. FOR FREE !!! There was no way we could justify/afford at this time in our lives, the amount of money it was gonna cost to sign them up, but was told because Larry was in Iraq last year, the kids should have been free; They didn't know until it was too late, so they could play for free this year!! Whoo-Hoo!! Thank you God!! He certainly knew when to allow the no charge to happen!

4.) The other Day at work, Mike King came up to me to see how everything was going. He said his wife had asked him about me :) He told me he told my manager that I was a good Christian girl and not to be acting all stupid around me ! LOL He also said he knew it had been awhile since I had been in a "work environment" and that it wasn't church but to let him no if any lines were crossed. How sweet ! It is no wonder Megan is such a sweetie, with her mom and dad being so thoughtful !

Oops, gotta get ready for church!!!! Thank you God for ALL the blessings in my life!!!!

Chasity was baptized Friday night :) !!!

2008-11-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

Isn't prayer amazing! To truly be able to go , told we can go , boldly before the throne of God !! I am so happy to say that Friday night Chasity went to a revival...and was baptized ! I told her that she didn't have to/need to be re-baptized, that what she was wanting to do was rededicate herself, that we are only baptized once. She said she was 8 when she was baptized, and although it was special ( both girls kept their handkerchiefs :) ) part of the reason she did it then was because it was the "cool" thing to do. She said now she was 15, understood what awaits her, and what it means to live for Him...She said she wasn't doing it out of fear or "popular choice" but in His name,because she loves him and is committed to Him. I am so excited for her ! Remember, I said she had a fear of God ( which is good) but was not in LOVE with Him ( which was bad). NOW SHE IS ! She wrote a letter to Nate (Nichols) that was so sweet..it was all about having joy in Christ..how it comes from nothing else..she went on and on about how he needed to allow Christ to rule his life and said, I'm not trying to sound like your mom or your church, but it is so true! lol. She also had Jesus's name written/colored on the paper ;0 (think back to your teen-age years lol) The evangelist who was speaking that night talked about joy and how Jesus is our true joy, the joy that can't be taken away and doesn't leave you crying at 2 in the morning and so much other stuff that really hit home with Chas. She said she knew God was talking to her. Then the evangelist asked Chasity if he could pray for her ! God has certainly been reaching out to her in such obvious ways, such loving ways. Keep her in your prayers...although prayers have been answered for her when it comes to her loving Him, I know this is just the beginning :)! Thank you my God, for Your mercy, forgiveness, love, and power !!! Thank you for prayer!!! Thank You for pursuing Chasity in a way that was/is so obvious to her..I LOVE YOU !!!!

Sooo, did yesterday morning seem a lil longer to you ????

2008-11-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, gotta praise God for sttttrrrrr--eeeettttcccchhhh--ing yesterday morning out for me. I leave my house at 20 minutes till 8:00...maybe a minute or two later. I drop Victoria and Luke off at school as soon as the doors open, at 15 till 8:00. From there I drive straight to work, and if I make all the lights and no one is going slower than they are suppose to, I will have 3-5 minutes to spare....cuts it close, I know.
Wellll, yesterday I didn't leave my house until 9 minutes until 8:00! I drove the kids to school..when I got back in, I only had 6/7 minutes to get to work!( same clock in the car ) (remember, I would normally have 15) I thought, I better pray I am not late...at the same time thinking it would be impossible for me not to be late. I prayed anyway, cause I know God makes the impossible happen. Well, I had a truck driving really slow in front of me (was working at/looking for a neighbors house, I guess), got caught at 3 traffic lights, and still clocked in at exactly 8:00 !!!!!! I am sooo glad that God cares about every little thing we care about!!!! How sweet is that!! I was telling the kids at dinner, and Chas and Van both said their 1st period classes seemed longer that day..lol...Hey, if God stopped time before, he could sure do it again! :) I don't know what He did, I just know God is good!

What a difference a week makes !

2008-11-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

If you have read the post below this one, you know what happened last week; I want to share what happened this week-end. Chas came home from school Friday wanting me to hear this beautiful music her friend had on her ipod. She said her friend wanted to do an interpretive dance for it, for church. She asked Chas if she could write some lyrics to it, to sing while she dances.Chas sat down for about 40-60 minutes total and came up with this.She posted it on YouTube last night. I will try to post it, but if I can't,will post a link to the side. Again, the music was not written by her, it just plays in the background while she sings the lyrics she wrote. I think it is sooooooo beautiful. I am sure she would love your comments, on her youtube page. Keep her in your prayers :)

Praises to God from Whom all blessings flow !

2008-11-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't normally post something so personal, but Chas okayed it and God's love and power shows so mightily,so I thought I should. About a month ago, Chas came to me and said her heart was not with God the way it should be. To make it worse, she said she didn't really care. She feared Him, but was not "in love" with Him. A few weeks after this, she said she needed to quit the praise band she sings in. She said she didn't feel right singing songs to God when she was thinking about doing things that were not of Him. She knew what she was suppose to do, but again, not really caring. She quit a week after that. Then last Saturday, it happened. To make a long story shorter, instead of going to a church lock-in, Chasity and Kassy decided to sneak off to a party instead. They got into an orange car about 7:00p.m. and was not suppose to come back until 6:00 a.m. Chasity had told the youth group pastors wife and a girl on the praise band this info...that's how I had details of where she was going, when she would get back. I called the police . There was nothing they could do, because we had no idea where the party was. They would look for the car, but that was it.
Here is how AMAZING our God is. I went to Luke's room, and lost it, fell to the ground sobbing to Him, asking for His protection upon her, hearing these horrid sounds that I realized was coming out of me. Tina (Youth pastors wife) came in and prayed with me. As horrible as it was, it was gone as quickly as it came. I truly had an amazing peace AS SOON as I stood up. I KNEW she was being protected by Him, and not one second of worry entered back into me. God is Amazing!! Kassy's mom called me back about 11:30 p.m. or so. I told her what our girls had done and all the info I had. When I told her that the party would have alcohol, and the girls wanted to "experience " it and were with guys they had met last week , she said she may know who it was. A "new" boy had been hanging out at her house,that week who she knew was trouble, she had his number, because he had went to church with them( she thought it was weird, but was glad ) and had gotten his parents number to make sure it was ok. IT WAS SOOO GOD that she had that number!! She called, got another number and that person knew someone who's older brother had an orange car! Not too many of those !! Sure enough, it was the people we needed !! We got an address, and got there about 12:00 a.m. THANK YOU GOD FOR CUTTING THAT NIGHT SO SHORT!!! We got there with the police( I called them back) to find the girls crying their eyes out , of course!!( Imagine the shock when Kassy's mom is on the phone,asking for them, and there is NO WAY she could know where they were!) ( I AM A FRIEND OF GOD!) I ran to her, kissed her face in a circle over and over, asking if she was ok,she said yes, I held her tight and told her I love her, with her saying it back. Chas had drank a wine cooler and some "red stuff" (GRRRRR) at the first party. They left there and the people at the second party refused to serve them ! GOOOOO GOD GOOOOOOO !!! The third party is where we met them, and it never got started ! OH YEAH, God is AWESOME! The police gave them breathalyzers. Chas was a 0.03. You would not have known she was drinking at all if not for her breath. (GRRRRR) THANK YOU GOD, that I found her sober and not passed out, drunk, tipsy, or anything else. That she can remember all that happened and that nothing was slipped into her drink, I LOVE YOU so much Father! They told me I could take her home or they could take her downtown. I chose DOWNTOWN ! They called 20 minutes after they took her, for me to come get her. I asked if she could stay longer ; I had to pick her up at 9:00a.m. I did, and we went to church.( her idea) She wanted to tell everyone sorry for what she did and what she put them through. Guess it did her good to sit...not like her to want to go to church with her make-up smeared down her face and up all night. God's presence at church was so powerful!! I could do nothing but cry! Truly, the whole time! Some for Chas, out of my love for her and to see her go through this, but mostly for my God, for clearly showing His might. For showing Chas how much He loved her and protected her even when she turned away from Him !! What a Loving , Faithful, Awesome God we serve!!!
I have to praise God too, that although Chas had been kissing a boy ( GRRRR ) that is as far as it went. She said her and Kassy went together so that no boy could "take advantage" of her, that they could protect each other (GRRRR) . To think that they truly believed that they could protect each other! THANK YOU GOD for protecting her innocence. Praises to YOU my LORD, for not allowing this to hurt our relationship. For allowing me to see it for what it is and to know that it is the sin and what she did that I hate, not her. She is my baby, and I love her; She is your child, and we will discipline her and do what you have called us to do so her spirit will remain teachable :) XXXOOOO I LOVE YOU ! THANK YOU!!!
There is much more. If you want to know how I knew what to do, or , what God "said " to Chas to make His love even more apparent to her,let me know, and I will tell you. I a so tired...YAWN. Put her in your prayers. :) Prayer is Powerful !

Peru Pictures

2008-10-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

I got some pics up. I still have to find some of my favorite ones, but there are pictures at the bottom of my page;) They are in a random order, because I am not sure how to switch them around yet, and it is time to go pick up Chasity. The last one I put up is the first pic you will see, so the captions may not always make sense....hehehehehe.

PERU 2007

2008-10-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

I can finally write about our missions trip to Peru! Will try to post pictures, but may come at the bottom of the page! lol...forgot how to do even that!All I imagined and so much more! Wow, ok, where to start ?? The trip itself brought over 6,000,000 people to Christ! Yes, that was the correct amount of zeros, over 6 thousand!!!!!!! We truly were the hands and feet of Christ while there. It was surreal-dream like...in the greatest way. Like for those weeks (18 days)I was living in a "more real" world with God. Kinda like if you have fasted for awhile, and it feels as if some of the physical/fleshly parts of you are peeled off, and the spiritual part is exposed in a way that makes it very sensitive to Gods spirit; He whispers, but it seems so loud and undeniable....Like that, only the whole time, and your not fasting at all! I can't explain it, but it is something I will never forget. This trip, That was for the Peruvian people, (I bet God used soo many of the 6,000,000 plus people who accepted His Son after the Earthquake there to reach so many others) Changed my life so very much and forever too.
Having never left my little ones for even a night (Chas & Van had been to camp,but only for 5 days;Sevan cried those 4 nights :( ) It hit me when the plane started ascending. I was leaving my babies. I started to get teary eyed and before it could go any farther I started saying

Philippians 4:13 - I can do ALL things through CHRIST which strengtheneth me !

Ijust kept repeating it for a lil while, and by the time the plane was flying level I was already being wrapped in God's arms,being shielded from any emotions that would distract me from Him and His work. It was soo cool how God did this. I was even told on the phone while there that Luke-e had woke up crying and wanted someone else to go tell Peru about Jesus. Crazy, but , although it makes me sad now, then,It didn't , I just prayed for him and knew he would be great. Larry also told me, over the phone, that he was making plans to go to Iraq for a year when I returned. First I had ever heard of it! Funny, you would've thought he was telling me he was ordering a pizza! It didn't phase me either;I turned it over to God and moved on. Don't get me wrong, I Loved my family every second, prayed for and missed them too. It was just by the power of God. I can tell you How strong his hold was, because as we were descending into Louisville after the trip, I started getting teary-eyed again, like I had done only once before, in the very beginning. Only this time God was unwrapping His arms, there was no need to hold back my emotions, It was time to be back with my babies and hubby....the family He had given me. I could not stop the tears from coming..and we hadn't landed yet! When I did get to them, I screamed and just bawled....shaking like a leaf! Scared poor Luke !lol What a strong God we serve.

Peru...lots of dust and not much grass.Except where we stayed.It had "fake" grass. Like turf I guess. We stayed at a 5 star hotel/conference center. It was extravagant. Although, you still could not put toilet paper in the toilet, had cold showers and colder rooms (heat would come and go)(It was winter there)At first I was upset that it was so beautiful and fancy. We had such yummy food and even someone to open our sodas for us. After 1 day of ministering , I didn't feel guilty anymore. It was such a blessing to come back and be refreshed. I felt like I was getting a taste of what the people we were ministering to felt like, when having their hair washed for the first time, or tasting hot chocolate for the first time, and having people serve them.It is such a blessing.

We had around 600 people on this trip. We started in Florida, where the teens learned and practiced the drama we used to help us minister to the people in Peru.We also divided into teams of about 32 kids. Then broke down to an even smaller group. 4 teens and a leader. You get really close to your group really fast:) You do everything as a group , devotion, worship, etc. You break into your Prayer Pod,(4teens&leader) for just that,personal prayer. A day was like this
Wake up, go have breakfast, meet your group at your "devotion spot" Work in the special book, made just for this trip.( Which would include a devotion and prayer ) Go get your backpacks. Head out to your team bus.(your translators would be waiting for you there) We would do all kinds of different things. Drama days would be spent doing the drama at different places. We would play American praise music..all kinds, think modern, really loud, to get attention. English definitely gets their attention!We would go house to house inviting people too. Once we had a big crowd we would start. The drama was being explained in spanish over the big speakers used to play our music.It was so exhausting to do the dramas ! 1 day we did ours 3 times!( a record ) Usually it was once or twice. Our "Kids" would just keep going and going:) We would ask everyone if they understood the drama, one of our teens would give their testimony and we would ask if anyone wanted to receive Christ. We would serve Hot Chocolate ,play with the kids, help moms with work they had to do, clean schools, fix a house, paint, pour concrete, pass out toys, bibles, etc. When we would return back to where we were staying, we would get clean, change, go eat. We would then have free time until night worship.(the time you had free depended on how long you were out) It was a "heavy duty" growing in and praising the Lord time. After ministering all day, it was time to be ministered to! We had Jaime Jamgochian as our worship leader. Guest speakers too. All 600 would worship together, although we would sit together in our team group.Then sometimes a lil free time , off to bed and same thing the next day.

Chasity was there, of course, but because I wanted this to be between her and God, I never got her room number or checked on her. I left that to her leaders. I was blessed to see her a few minutes almost everyday, and I would hug and kiss her when I did and go on. It was sweet, one night I was with a group of girls walking down to the building where we had our nighttime worship, we passed Chas standing with a group, and she tells everyone "That's MY mom!" Aw, sweet sound !
I have ta tell one of Chasity's "God moments". Her group was out washing hair. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but so many of the people (older children and teens included) we met had never had their hair washed before! Parents would pass their babies and small children up to the front to have a chance to experience something we take for granted every day. There was no running water in the villages we visited, so water is a luxury.( we couldn't take candy, cause they don't "brush " their teeth with toothpaste..no water) We had to take water in with us. We would fill up buckets with water, and the person whose hair was being washed would bend their head over the bucket. Well, in the group Chasity was in, they were running really short on water. Their was no groups close to them to borrow from. They got down to about 1 1/2 -- 2 inches of water left in one bucket. There was still a couple people who wanted their hair washed. Chasies leader told them that if God could multiply bread and fish he could certainly multiply water, and so they prayed; Not only did they have enough water to wash and rinse the hair of those in line, but had about a 1/4 inch left! HURRAY FOR GOD!!!

Ok,Because I could go on FOREVER about things that happened in Peru, I will focus on my personal "highs" or those moments I will never forget...we were calling them "Frozen God- moments".Here are some of my God-moments :)

I was looking over the notes for my Purity Seminar on the plane to Florida. The Guy sitting beside me started asking me about it.I pretty much gave him the seminar :0 He was going on vacation with his girlfriend, who he was living with. His heart was so tender to all I had to say, even when it was saying he was doing the wrong thing if he loved this girl and wanted a future with her. He thanked me for talking to him about God and purity. He then told me his grandma was a christian. I cant help but think that I was an answer to his grandmas prayers, someone else to help him see the truth. ( I may have made his vacation a little less fun, but prayerfully touched his life)

On my teams last drama day our speaker was messing up. What was normally loud, could hardly be heard now. We needed it soo badly! As I said earlier, it was used to interpret the drama. At first it was like "ohh, no!" We , like what the other team did with the water, Gave it to God. Not only did he answer our prayer, but it was even louder than ever! So cool!

I was "given" a little girl, named Nicole. ( They said her name Neecole:) ) The dad told me he wanted me to keep her; She was a gift for me to keep forever. He loved her but knew she would have a better life in America. I was able to get him a bible ( The need for bibles was so great, that it was a blessing that we had one to give him...we always had more people who wanted them then we had to give :( ) He was already a christian. I believe he will find comfort and security for his Nicole in God's word. I believe this because as I told him I could not keep her, crying, I knew God would keep her and although it was sad, I was crying for joy , because it is true..She is in God's hands and God loves and cares even more about her future than her earthly daddy does, and now her dad could read all about what God has for them now, not just after death. The peace and joy God gave to me when this was happening I know was being given to him too. It was unexplainable. Thank you God!!!!!! I Love You !!

My prayer pod (me and my 4 teens :) ) went through ALOT together. So much "stuff" being thrown at them while they were on this trip. Christy had a friend die in a car crash and Andrew had a friend go into a coma and have to have a life saving operation. Lots of prayer and tears, but the missions don't stop. One morning I kept feeling a need to take my Bible on our bus. I didn't understand why, because we have bible right before we leave and the bus trip is time to put on the drama make-up, listen to worship music, fellowship, etc. I took it anyways. Once we started out I thought I better open it if I was suppose to take it. Not having a clue where I should go, I just opened it ( Soo not me!) And what do I come to, but the story about Jesus starting "out " in his ministry and finding out about John the Baptist being beheaded. Jesus had the same thing happen to him! He didn't stop or go home, and this was his cousin, the man who baptised him, who knew the truth. That human part of our God, had to hurt, had to be sad at what he suffered. Yet, he kept focused on what he needed to do. What an awesome story/truth to share with my 2 teens!It made a difference, it seems crazy now, because words, when your hurting, are just words, that you may not even want to hear at the time....even if you know they are true. Again, just that supernatural power of God coming through his word, not just his words, but HIM!

The first village we went to I met some young boys (8yrs old or so) who wanted to practice their english with me..Hi, my name is, how are you, that kind of thing. I could ask them, in my comparable knowledge of spanish,:) "how do you say".....It was so fun learning all these new words from these so sweet children. We played and hugged and hugged some more! When we left,my lilguy, kept yelling for me :) Teressa, bye teressa, over and over. Running beside our bus as fast as he could.He accepted Christ!Wooo-Hooo! I cannot tell you how forward I look to seeing him and all of them again in heaven!

We had finished giving a drama, when I noticed a few young men standing on the outskirts of our " crowd". I asked Chris, one of our interpreters to invite them over. He told me no, because they looked like they could be trouble.I said ok, and went on. I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to go to them. Soooo, I told Chris I needed to talk to them and would he please translate for me. He said ok,but I would have to leave when he said. Once close to them it all became clear. God had words for them, and he was going to use us to deliver them. I can't even remember all I said, but just remember knowing that this one guy knew God, and had walked away.God wanted his attention and Him. He was a spiritual leader and his family needed him. All I know is, I fell to me knees crying with my hands in the air telling him this and how much God loves him and how God had me leave my family who I love very much to come to Peru for him to know how much God loves him!!! Crazy, but true! Come to find out,this young man was a christian, and had walked away from God. He rededicated his life and not just the group of young men around him, but a whole line of men I didn't even see( until it was over) all accepted Christ!!!! God's love is so powerful!! I feel so unbelievably blessed that God would use me in this way.Thank you My God. Thank you God that I (we) only have to be willing to be your vessel and you will use me ( us )in spite of my (us) being so flawed!!!! XXXXXOOOOOO

Giving the drama at an orphanage...a Christian Orphanage. It was a blessing to encourage those lil kids in the Lord. To show them the love of the God they already knew. One lil girl , as their director was talking about how good God was, would hold her lil hand in the air and say "AMEN!". Most of these children were born from prostitutes, who leave them at the orphanage. Have never felt a mom or dads arms around them.........but have a very real sense of the God who has given them life, saved them,and has his arms around them. How great it was to be those physical arms and kissing lips~!!! I feel like God has expanded my heart!

Giving the purity seminar was soo fun ! I was really nervous, but once it started I could've done it forever! Even when one of the "visuals" I used didn't go as planned, we all just laughed about it! A young lady I met, before the trip began, who is very much into purity also, prayed with me before it started. She also stayed in there with me while I gave it for support! Helped with the glitter and stuff too:) I was so thankful God put her there for me. It boosted my confidence up for sure! I knew I could do it, if he opened the door, but it was sooo nice to have Janell there. I've said it before, but what a personal God we serve!!! Not only was the seminar fun to give, but it was powerful too. Sooo exciting to know you are making a difference!Not only did it get a great response,they were taking notes like crazy,great questions and stayed after to talk ; It taught me sooooo much as well. Like, putting Christ and his kingdom first, and all else will come into place. I wondered what the reaction of the teens in my group would be towards me after the seminar. They thought I was so cool, would that change? I decided, thank you God, that I could not "water down" or change anything, I would keep it modern, fun , upbeat, but not skimp on God's Truths. It was so cute, "my teens" were letting everyone know that I was THEIR leader...kinda like Chas letting her "crowd" and the girls with me, know that I was HER mom...they were proud of me! I felt so ashamed , to think that I had been worried about what people would think of me. I know who I am here to please.Just when I thought I wasn't affected by "peer" pressure!

All the late night talks with my teens in their rooms. As leaders we would do our tuck - ins and then go back to our rooms. I shared a room with 2 others leaders ( 3-One of my room-mates found out she was pregnant while in Peru! :) ) The tuck ins were such a wonderful time for us all. A time to really connect with the girls about the amazing day of ministering and about their personal walk with the Lord. I always got back to my room soooooooo late! That was the funny part, I felt like a lil kid, staying out so late, but how can you leave when God is moving so powerfully?!!!!!????

A girl in my prayer pod confided to me that she was in a homosexual relationship. She loved the Lord with all her heart, and said He told her to find me and tell me. She said that if she could read it in the bible where it was wrong,(thought it was just "Old" testament) she would get out of it, but thought that God didn't care, because she does love him , was happy, and a light to her partner. We went into a lil building/room all by ourselves. I showed her scriptures and we cried and prayed. It was so sad yet rewarding too.She later confessed to our whole team what she had repented of and asked for their prayers too. :) I believe God led her to me because there are people I am very close to who live this lifestyle. He knew I wouldn't "slam" her or think she was gross. It is a sin, period. He loves her/hates the sin period. I could still wrap my arms around her and show her love while showing her it was wrong. It was a very personal, hard time for her, and she needed support and love, not weird feelings and walls put up. I am thankful God could use me with her in this way. wow , is all I ca say. God takes all our experiences, environments, everything and has a purpose for it, with someone else. God is AMAZING!

Everyday was just a huge blessing and experience of a lifetime. Tons of little things mixed in with huge ones. I am sooooooooooooooo very very thankful that I was able to go on this trip, and excitedly await the next one.

It has changed my life in many ways. When it has been a really exhausting day, and it seems I don't have the energy to give the lil ones their bath, I think of how blessed - I - am to be able to be given that luxury of washing my babies with warm soapy water, and play with crazy shampoo hairstyles, and rinse them all off with clean water....how thankful I am that - THEY - have that, when there are so many who don't. It takes you from being tired to thankful very quickly. Major energizer!

The seminar really showed me how in need we are , still, in talking about purity. It is so not just a "No sex before marriage" "thing". They need to know what it is, how can they live it, and how saving sex until marriage will come with it. Also how they are able to have a do-over, when it comes to sex. I know that I never would be teaching abstinence at Jeff High if I hadn't given the purity seminar in Peru. What a blessing to teach God's truths ( without his name) in a public school. The response is greater than I ever would have believed. God's timing is now! That is so evident when I am there. Also the purity seminars I am starting to do. All coming from from what came out of Peru.

The Spiritual Role of the Mom-seminar came about from Peru too. After talking to hundreds of girls/guys and hearing, "I wish you could talk to my mom" ( I thought it would be "I hope she never talks to my mom" lol ) and seeing faces light up and hearing " I never thought about it that way" " my mom never told me" " I wish my mom would have..." and hearing moms tell me "that makes sense" " I wish I would have known" all kinds of things like that. It truly is not me or things I think or say..it is all Bible. I just apply it to everyday life. It doesn't have to be done like I do it, but it has to be done, cause it is God's ways. I am soooooooooo thankful for all those wonderful teens who in wanting me to talk to their moms made me realize we have to have moms/dads/kids on the same page...thinking I would be someone to help in this was not my idea. God kinda has to hit me over the head and give me a BIG push, or I just sit. I was talking to the womens ministry leader, Christy, at Northside, about giving my mother/daughter purity seminar and we started talking about other things..she said, I want all my moms to hear you, can you do a mothers breakfast...I was so excited, to hear someone say that...instead of thinking I was crazy, weird, etc, I said yes right away. The breakfast was in 3 weeks, and I had never done one on being a mom ! It came about soooo quickly , BASED ON THE BIBLE as a whole and focusing on 3 of my favorite scriptures concerning the spiritual role of the mom, hearing what all the teens had to say (in Peru, at Jeff, and in a coffee shop, lol ), and my own experiences as a mom. I say quickly, but after studing what the Bible had to stay about purity ( I thought for me and my girls alone ) I learned alot about what God wanted from me for them. Again,it was an amazing experience, that I felt so unworthy to give, but God used me. I am so happy and amazed at what doors God has opened up upon returning from Peru.

One more thing........I am amazed at the miracles that occur when Gods believers come together with no inhibitions. When we arn't afraid to step out and say I Believe. When we don't care what we look like, or what someone will think of us. When we arn't afraid to live our faith out loud in front of unbelievers, when we see someone who looks "hurt" and we go and ask if we can pray with them/for them, knowing the worst thing that can happen is they say No.....a miracle could happen if they say Yes...Maybe they will discover God that day, because of you, or me, being faithful to our Lord.; Caring more about Him and His kingdom than us or our comfort zone. On this years trip to Peru a leader prayed for a deaf man, He could hear immediatly! Is this just for Peru----No--- of course not. We worship a supernatural, powerful,loving, merciful, healing God who has so much to give-do for us if we would just say Yes , untie his hands, and allow him to do what he desires to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Help me Lord, to do just that. I thank, praise and worship you alone! XXXXXXXXOOOOOO
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Computer is Dead!!!!

2008-02-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am excited about sharing Peru with you guys..Give Our God glory...:) but my "puter" is no longer working! I am at the library with my kiddos. About ready to leave. So much easier to fit computer time in when it is at home......what in the world do I do with all my free time ?(LOL)

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

2008-01-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

Ok....I know we are 12 days into the New Year now, but considering it was in June that I last posted, I think its ok to start out with that :) We rang the New Year in like usual (only without Lar :( ) with praises & prayers to God and communion at 12:00. Actually, the big girls and I had communion 2 times...one with Chasity's youth group and then again back at the Evans'. What a Joy to do!! I truly know of no other way I would want to end or start the year than focusing on our Lord !! Welp, I will post again later (not months :) ) I can't wait to share pics of Peru !!! It was even more amazing than I had thought it would be, and I went in with HIGH expectations! God has so much more for us than we can even imagin! It has been a blessing , huge blessing, to go AND even just being able to share about it with others when we came home. Looking forward to sharing it with those who haven't heard it yet :)

God's hand is in it all

2007-06-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

Wow....I can't end the fundraising part of our missions trip story without telling SOME of the ways God used us to touch his children and them to touch us . What a personal God we serve! He is sooo one on one isn't he! Of course raising the money, not just for 1 of us but for both, a month before it was due is amazing enough ,but there is so much more to the story than that. I told you of the letters we wrote and how we were blessed with different amounts of money..but I didn't tell you that while my aunt and mom were praying for our finances to be met God laid upon my aunts heart that someone was going to give us a check for $1,000.00. Sure enough it came to pass. No, they do not know each other,they even live in different states. The only way they are connected is they both know Chas and I.....and no, the family who gave us that check had no way of knowing what had been said. We do worship a supernatural God. Soo cool. While egging we had 2 older ladies invite us in...they had no cash to give , except coins in jars, of which they poured out into plastic bags to give to us, insisting we take it. They also took our names so they could pray for us and the trip:) WoW. Do you not think of the poor woman giving all that she had,although it wasn't much ? How Jesus saw it and had it written for us all to read in his word. How pleased he had to be on this day. Pure Love. Having so many people give to us in small and huge amounts was so amazing, and warms my heart to think about it now..I'm sure it always will.We had a family invite all of us up on the porch, while egging, and they had everyone in their family come out of their home and we all held hands while the husband/dad of the family led us in prayer. What a blessing in itself, but his prayer was confirmation of the devotion I had done with Chas on the sacrifices she was making for God, for this trip, and he truly touched on it the same way I had done, again that supernatural way that only our God can orchestrate. After leaving a man's home who refused to egg us,(still gave us a $5 bill ) we started on down his road. Turning back at the end, we saw him walking towards us. You could see he was not in walking shape. He walked slowly and deliberatly. He gave us a $20 bill and come to find out, he was an evangelist who was no longer able to get out, he said God brought us to him so he could give his offering to the Lord. I always tear up when rembering this. What an amazing, amazing love our God has for us. And we thought we were just fundraising for our missions trip.The plans God has for us are soo much better than we could ever ever dream of!!While selling our mixes in front of wal-mart, I was able to speak with a young lady about her own dreams of being a missionary, yet feeling she wasn't good enough.I felt like we were placed there just for her. A older gentleman was also able to reach out to us for help, because he knew we were Christians. God set us there for his child, who had no one,after losing his wife.Just because we are Christians. With great power comes great responsiblity. There were countless others who would not just give their money , but words of encouragement, that truly blessed us and gave us what we needed to get through those draining days that seemed to be so hard at the time. BAM, God would use one of his children to speak to us at just the right time with just the right words. Being told that a lady didn't have any money to give but that she would put us on her missionary prayer list was sooo cool. Just being called a missionary set both of our hearts on fire, making us ready to go to the next door and the next...until there were no more doors! This happened alot. In person and even in prayer over the phone. May we all allow God to work through us as well as to us! Thank You Thank You Thank You My GOD!!!!!! We kept a coffee can with all our missions money in it. After paying our first payment it left our can empty. It was such an overwhelming feeling to think we would have to fill it again, and again, and again. My sister talked to me right after the can was empty for the first time. After praying, she said she was sending us a check to get it started. Even better was her god given idea to take a piece of paper and write REPLENISHED on it, because that is what God does for us.I did it, (on a heart shape actually) and everytime the can became empty I was reminded of how God would fill it again.It would start out a paper heart on the bottom of an empty can and end up being on top of a pile of bills,checks, and coins making up all we would need everytime.. I will let God use that same lesson and word in other areas of my life. It, like the other wonderfully God touched things that happened during fundraising ,will be carried on in our everyday walk. And I thought we were just raising money for our missions trip. Just the tip of the iceburg......Praises and thanks to you Father God :) !!!

And we end our fundraising with Letters, Peelers, and a Skate Party!

2007-03-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

Finishing up our fundraising was much easier than starting it! We mailed letters telling about our trip, to see if anyone would want to support us. Such a great response! Our first Sunday at church , after mailing the letters we were given 3 checks....all for the same amount. I thought God was laying the same amount on everyone's hearts. (At such a large amount it would have been over soon)! No, the amounts did not stay the same for everyone! We received checks from $10.00 to $1,000.00 . It was such a blessing. One of the Sunday school classes took up an offering for us and gave us $100.00 in a card. They all signed the card. It was so encouraging to us:) We have such warmth, support, and love from our church family. We are truly blessed to have them all. Peelers came next. They are coupon cards. We, along with my Daddy and my church family, sold these quite easily! My dad never allowed us to sell things door to door. He believes people would feel obligated to buy from you , and then you to buy from them, and on and on, ending up with stuff you don't want and without the money you cold use for stuff you do want.But, MY DADDY sold these cards for Chas and I ...Must be LOVE! :) Our final hurrah came in the form of a Skate Party. Soo cool! Our church rented the rink for a Jr. Church outing. I had asked if we could do this, because we hadn't had one for our younger kids in a long time. I also was hoping we could use it as a fundraiser at the same time. God is good. It was a GO for both. Chris, who is in charge of Jr. Church, said we could open it up to all ages.(Jr.church is 1st-5th graders) He wanted us to have as many people as possible. Praises to God!!!! It was a success in every way. It was just like I had imagined it would be....Christian music playing, people skating, having fellowship, and eating. Laughter and smiles all around. It was such a wonderful environment ! We sold lots of snacks and had soo many people come (easily 170..maybe more). We made over $800.00! Again, my friends and Daddy jumped right in to help. Poor dad never had a break! He started at the concessions stand, went to "working the door" and never stopped! We were busy, busy, busy. I am not complaining though, it is a Praise! There is Pics from the Skate Party at the end of this page. I don't know how to get them up here :).....Beth !!! I need Help!!!

MIXES and BRACELETS and EGGS....OH MY!

2007-03-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

We spent soo much time fundraising. Our goal was to raise $6,000.00 Yes, $6,000.00. My favorite saying during this time was " Not alot if you remember God owns every penny on this earth". We made Brownie mix and Orange spiced tea gift jars, peppermint cocoa, heart and Candycane charm bracelets, and we went EGGING. What is egging? First let me say this idea came in the mail as part of our fundraising packet. We would go door to door ( Tori and Luke being pulled in our blue wagon ). Chasity would say " Hi, my name is Chasity and I am selling eggs to go on a missions trip.You can buy one for a $1, or for $2 you can crack it over my head, or... for $5 you can crack it over my mom's head ! (we added the last part) Crazy but true! We actually made ALOT of money doing that. Lots of eggs were used too. Everyone in our family(except Daddy),cousin Kassy, and friends Hilary and Morgan all had egg heads! It also caught the attention of a writer in our neighborhood and she wrote an article about it for the Indiana Weekly. It comes out this month.Prayerfully it will be something that brings God glory:) We laughed alot. It would also wear us out..lots of walking. We even wore out one of the wheels on the wagon! In soo many ways it was its own outreach and so encouraging to us spiritually.(It will be it's own post.) It is amazing what God can and will work through. We sold the mixes and bracelets in front of our house (busy corner), in front of K-mart and in front of Wal-mart. We were blessed to be able to set up tables(and not be there) inside Curves ,our optometrist's office, and at a friend's Jazzercise business! Sooo cool for them to do that for us ! It was very VERY cold. Our full blown fundraising months were Dec, Jan, and Feb. It seems like everyday was full of numb fingers, toes, ears, and hot cocoa. It was also a time full of strength, growth, bonding, encouragement, and love. Yes, sacrifices, tears, and " I don't want to go " was also part of it. The hours upon days of making the mixes and bracelets will not be forgotten. We made soo much of everyhing. Larry was really fast at it. He helped in all ways. (He was much faster at packing the brownie mix into the jar.) He went egging, but no way it was being cracked on his head! Seeing his big fingers making dainty bracelets for us to sell melted my heart:). Such a loving Hubby and Daddy.OOps I forgot more on that later, plus on the other fundraisers we did...Peelers and our Skate Party!

OUR ACCEPTANCE LETTERS

2007-03-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

Before the oh so exciting day that these arrived, there were the oh so long applications from Brio/Focus on the Family to fill out. Our pastor even had a short page to fill out. Yes, references too. It was soo cool to read Chasie's application when she was finished. Being able to read of how she believes God has given her a heart for children and how she wants to reach those who don't know him sooo touched me. My eyes fill with tears now.....Thank you God! Yes, there is no greater joy than to see that your children are walking with the Lord. Not my words :). Of course my acceptance letters came too. Although weeks after hers. It was funny, because one of the questions on my application (to go as a leader) was what my weakness was in working with teens. I truly believe my strength is with this group, so I asked Chasity what weakness she saw in me concerning teens. Her answer, after much thought, was "You don't have one, are you allowed to put that". Awwww soooo many brownie points for my Chas. After prayer I did answer the question. Not with Chasity's answer. She didn't know what I wrote. The days grew more and more between her getting her acceptance letters and mine not coming. She finally came to me and said "What did you put on your application!" It was soo funny. My letters did come (an e-mail acceptance too)
and it was official....WE were going on a MISSIONS trip to PERU. We had already started fundraising. We both believed this was what God wanted for us, so was walking in faith. :)More to come on fundaising things we did! Almost time for school .

Hi

2007-03-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

We thought this would be a great way to keep in touch with everyone! Be patient as we try to figure this out....I say we..right now it is just me and my caramel/chocolate coffee! Larry is working on the "big truck" and the kiddos are still asleep!! They sleep this long only because Tori and Luke have been sick and Chas and Van stayed up late. Sooo many things to figure out...can I erase after I post? Can I make spaces for the girls to have their own spots? I have many more, but will not ramble on..that is for later ; ). Ok, drum roll and post!