Goodbye 2012... (it was nice having my birthday numbers as the year!)

Well 2012 certainly had exciting, new adventures for us so below are a few favorite moments this past year...(I could have easily added more to the collages though!). 2012 being our first year married really couldn't get any sweeter...

Surfing, Kingdom Bound, and Mercy Me (one of the 20 Christian bands we got to see this year!)                         

Renaissance Fair (one of my favorite summer events), our 2nd Christmas (and the awesome gifts we both received from eachother), our yearly NYC tradition visitng the tree where Gary proposed to me, one of Pumpkin's first encounters with snow...)

And of course getting our sweet Pumpkin girl, who can be a major brat at times but still makes our heart melt at the same time. Along with a random picture of Gary and I in a taxi after arriving in the city.

Gary and I are planning on making 2013 a traveling year. New sights, new adventures, hopefully a ticket out of the country for a short while as well. Visitng family we rarely see. Also, it'd be nice to find a job more fit for me...like perhaps theater, radio or something with Japanese studies (sitting at a desk all day is definitely not the position for me >.<).

So long 2012... It was fun-thanks for unforgettable the memories!

"You're not funny anymore..."

I decided to title this blog after a lyric I heard last night from a not so funny song. But before I get to that I'd like to first say that cleaning your car during the winter, in below 30 degree weather is NOT a smart idea. Snow blowing everywhere, hands and feet going numb, wind burn on my cheeks-I gave up and drove to the nearest coffee spot. (It's been over an hour and I'm still trying to warm up.)

Anyway.

Back to last night: my husband and I had a great day together. Did a few gift returns, spent my Christmas money on a pretty dress, purse and earrings. Like Gary said, it was my second Christmas! I didn't mind ^.^ for dinner we went to our favorite local cafe. It's a small one but has a great vintage feel to it. 50's style coffee tables, dim lighting, a little performance space for singers, poetry readers, etc...SO! We weren't expecting any singers on Saturday night (usually Sunday night is open mic) but by the time we were done eating we decided to stay for a few songs.

She was a younger woman from NYC. We were a little baffled because it was an absolute blizzard yesterday and only 8 people at the most were at the cafe. I felt a little bad for her.
She started her first song, an audience involved one. Yanno, where they teach you the chorus and you have to sing along on your turn. The song was about a person passing through different events. I believe she said it was written by an English professor back in the 50's. In the song she mentioned passing through calvary hill and seeing Jesus's crucifixion. It wasn't bad.

The next song...

She introduced it by telling us it was about an old friend of hers who was a comedian and also an alcoholic. A friend who was seeking help, went to AA and further started seeking help in Jesus.

She said "I am not a Christian." And this song is about who he became while searching for Jesus. A few lyrics went like this: "you were better when you drank.." "you're just chasing Jesus in the dark.." and "you're not funny anymore."

During the song I had a mix of emotions- slightly offended, sad for her friend, sad for her... After the song Gary and I left.

I wasn't sure what I was feeling. Angry that people can openly speak negatively about Jesus without a problem. Angry that if this situation were switched around (with Jesus being a good choice) it wouldn't be accepted. Sad for the alcoholic in the song who has a friend that thinks he was "cooler" when he was drowning himself to death...

I particularly have a heavy heart for alcoholics having been around a few when I was growing up. So this subject isn't easy for me to talk about.

I left uneasy. But still glad that I left. I guess I'm upset because she was singing a lie about my Jesus. Because with Jesus in my life I'm still the same crazy girl. Still laughing, singing but enjoying life more than I ever have. Loving and appreciating all around me. Amazed that I am loved by Someone who has died for me, forgives me and loves me with a love that no one on this green earth can ever comprehend. It's natural for me to want to share this with others...but so hard when they reject it and silence you.

Wow. I didn't mean to make it this long. Just needed to spill. Thanks for reading. And weird note to end on but I truly hope you had an awesome Christmas. I'll have to write about my Christmas play I got to write and perform at church and the beautiful woman behind the true story. For now, I'm going to go home, grab my corn pillow and watch some chick flicks with Pumpkin ^.^

Have a merry Sunday kiddos!

Pumpkin...the only child we'll ever have with blue eyes!

I'm pretty sure everyone is annoyed by now with my instagram/FB pictures that I've been posting lately-I can't seem to take enough photos of our Pumpkin girl!

But she's so pretty-it's hard not too.

It's funny now that we have Pumpkin we can't go out in public without having at least a handful of people commenting on how beautiful she is. Which caught me off guard the first time I took her out on my own to the pet store in my sweats, messy hair and no makeup (Yea, when I'm dressed like that I'm usually trying to get out of there quick and unnoticed!). She's a little over 2 months now and growing more and more each week it seems. We are so in love with her and wish we could keep her this small forever! I mean look at all the growing she's doing:

                                       


Anyway, she's definitely made our lives more joyful (now that she's past the crate training tantrums and waking us up 3 times a night)! Oh and to whoever is reading, if you have an animal with fleas the easiest way to rid them of it is: Dawn dish soap. It surprised us but it worked amazingly! Just scrub it in, let it sit for 5 minutes and watch the fleas die instantly-She was born on a farm in a fairly big litter and where she stayed was in a crate with all of her brothers and sisters in a pile of hay. Although it was a scary thing for us the first night getting her. We gave her one bath the first night and then two days later gave her another dawn bath. It can dry out puppy's skin though so only do it 2-3 times at most if needed. After all that we got her K9 Advantix and haven't seen one since!

She is a handful but our favorite part of the day is coming home to her and how excited she gets when we do. I think once Gary and I do starting trying for a baby (which won't be for awhile!) we'll always consider her our first ^.~

Oh and our new house update: it's coming along. slowly. DIY projects have become our favorite thing recently. But I do wish remodeling was a quicker process! Before and After pictures to be posted...

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!! And make sure to enjoy all the time you have with friends and family ^.^

Let The Recovery Begin (Hurricane Sandy)

As I continue to pray for the areas and families affected by Hurricane Sandy I had to stop for a moment to thank God for having mercy on our small city. There were only a few parts in our area, including my home, that had power outages and suffered damage. My parents house are surrounded by enormous oak trees but thankfully only a few small to medium sized branches fell. The power outage only lasted an hour or so but during that time I let fear sweep over me briefly and then imagined how the millions of people who were in the eye of the storm were feeling.

Pumpkin woke us up around 2 am and I offered to get up and take her out. As I tried the hall light that's when I realized the power was out. I heard sirens and the wind howling and all I could think of was "How bad is it out there?" and "Why didn't we prepare for this better!? We don't have enough water or food!" Gary was moving some of our food in the fridge to the freezer and warned me not to flush the toilets so not to waste our water supply (um, ok-who knew!). As I waited by Pumpkin's crate to help her get back to sleep about 20 mins later the power came back! We were so relieved--waking up the next morning I found out that the majority of my town hadn't had any power outages. Thankfully, we only had to experience it for a short time. I thought to myself how incredibly blessed we were and what the rest of the east coast was going through.

I turned on the news first thing Tuesday morning and saw all the damage from Sandy. My heart goes out to all the families and all my friends who are still without power. I am praying for you all to have a quick recovery and for your safety!!! If you feel God pressing on your heart to help out with any relief efforts visit the KLOVE news page for more info (www.klove.com). God bless you friends and remember God has not left your side, not once during this devastation.

“For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory.” Psalm 84:11

New Home Blues

Yep, that was the surprise. We have a house! I wanted to spill the news a few months back but life has suddenly become jam packed. Anyway, what seemed like a scary situation what with our Landlord taking back his apartment, turned out to be a total blessing in disguise! (I love when that happens ^.^) The house that we're moving in belonged to my Grandfather. When he passed back in 2004, my Dad has been renting it out (but why didn't we think of moving here in the first place???)...

Our new home though has unfortunately been let go and well...is in SERIOUS need of t.l.c. My husband and I thank God every day for this amazing gift but that doesn't change the fact that all the windows have cracks, the furnace saw it's last winter a year ago, the bathroom is like a scene from 'Texas Chainsaw Masacre', the closets can maybe fit our winter coats and boots comfortably, the yard is a jungle and our unwelcomed house mates are little not so cute spiders. I could go on but it would just make me more depressed. Oh the "joys" of owning a home.

Can you understand why I'm a little torn?

It's been a week and we pray that in a year we'll have made a decent dent in the renovation process.

Also, we got a puppy! (this will make the adventure all the more exciting!!!...right???)

But honestly, we are ridiculously excited about getting our little Pumpkin girl. We'll be getting her on Halloween so it just made sense to us to name her that. Ha!

Here she is...!

  

 Our little australian shepherd, see now why we're so obsessed???

Having the main chores done in the house have also become an added pressure before we bring her home. It's going to be a long road but no matter how bad it seems we remind ourselves how incredibly fortunate we are and how good God is. And we know that He will provide everything for us. Even the little things. I mean, He provided us a house when we thought all was lost, I don't think He'll be leaving us anytime soon!

Before and After pictures will be up. Eventually. (and more puppy pictures too!)

Chores today: Clean out more cobwebs, paint the closets, prep the walls in our bedroom, and make dinner....is it sad that my only time of rest lately has been at work?

KINGDOM BOUND 2012!!!

If I had to describe Kingdom Bound I would say this is how Jesus imagined Christians to live: in harmony with one another. I look at Christianity today and see major division with eachother. Man made division. I truly believe that this was not how Jesus wanted it. At KB we were each labeled with a wristband. Hologram textured, blues and golds attached on every Christian. Everywhere we looked, someone had one. We would smile in passing, say hello without hesitation and start up conversations easily. Being satisfied with the simple fact that we were all there for the same reason. It was a different world, believers everywhere, and it didn't matter what church you belonged to or what denomination you were...all that mattered was Jesus and worshipping Him together. As one. Our labels were Jesus freaks. That was it.

A joyful feeling... A gorgeous sight...

The above shot was the first night with Casting Crowns. Everyone held their candles high for the last song...

*My Favorite* Kari Jobe...

*Fun observation: in the above picture, lower right hand corner--see that checkered material? That was a young man's body suit. It covered his ENTIRE body. Including his face. Random.*

 

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord" Romans 12:17-19

Well Done Gabby Douglas!!!

At age 16, I don't ever remember being this driven for anything. Ever. Check out this amazing video about her and her family's journey towards the olympics.

Raising an Olympian: Gabby Douglas

Another cool thing: she's a believer...She tweeted this the night before she won:

"Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me".

 (Psalm 103:2)

 And after she won the gold:

"I just give all the glory to God. It's funny how all that works, I put the glory up and the blessings come down." 

Amen!!! Congrats Gabby!!! Well done ^.^

"Well Done" by Moriah Peters

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

Surf's Up!

I couldn't go without writing a post about my first experience surfing in NYC with my hubby--here it is:

We like to visit NYC at least around half a dozen times a year, it's also great because I have a group of friends that are always more than willing to let us crash at their place. I can't explain how much I love crossing the bridge into the city--almost instantly we feel that particular thick, warm  air. A few minutes later I can smell the ocean...*sigh* Yes. I love this place.

Surfing was by far the best time I have ever had! We loved it so much!!! The waves were somewhat intimidating that morning we went out, the sky was cloudy and the winds were picking up. You could tell from the instructors that this was not a normal day with quiet waves. They crashed one after the other. As soon as we picked up our boards it became real to me and I almost chickened out. Gary remembers me saying "Ok this is way to scary. Let's go!" and I remember praying for God to keep us safe!

There were a mix of jumper waves/face smacking waves/take me under and drag me 10 ft back waves--all totally enjoyable! We'd jump on our boards as the instructor positioned us, he'd yell "paddle, paddle" and soon after "UP! UP!" let me tell you--the BEST feeling in the world was riding that wave-it wasn't huge but it still gave me such a rush! Wish I had a video but I do have a few pictures....

Gary and I were cheering eachother on and every time Gary saw the instructor free he'd yell  "Go on babe! I wanna see you ride another one!" He was too sweet and knew how badly I wanted to try this. New hobby? I think so!

People. I think I'm addicted.

#healthyadrenalinerush

The Best Way To Lose Your Wallet

So let me first start with a very serene picture that I took about one week before the story I'm about to share.

Note: this happened about 3 weeks ago.

This was total peace for us, with only a few other row-ers on the lake, we let God's creation hypnotize us. The gentle warmth of the sun and the cool breeze calmed our minds as we gazed into the clear turquoise lake. As the wind swept across the water it created small ripples and I hung my feet over the boat (totally against the rules but I didn't care). We had entered a safe haven away from the world, surrounded by trees and clear skies. We smiled at each other, no words necessary for this moment.

Fast forward a week later to a similar scene, in a canoe, with boaters and threatening winds. Peaceful? NOT SO MUCH PEOPLE! NOT. SO. MUCH....

I'm not really sure where to begin, my mind has sort of blurred the whole disaster but I'll try to explain it.

So, that day we decided to try stand-up-paddle boarding! A fun sport slowly gaining popularity where I live. We paddled down a quiet river, saw a few cute muskrats--a very happy morning.

After our lesson we didn't want to leave town so we went back to the car, I grabbed my purse *important detail* , and we went on to explore.

We arrive at the canoe rental place and this is how it went down....

ME: oooo look they have SUP boards--let's rent one!

NICE STORE OWNER: I'm sorry we don't have the boards in yet.

ME: *sad face*

GARY: Let's rent a canoe!

ME: *happy face* Ok!

WORKER BOY: Here's your canoe and life jackets, but you don't have to wear them *another important fact*

*3 miles or so into the channel of the lake...we've already passed by 10 or more boats*

GARY: What time is it?

ME: Almost 3.

GARY: Wow, wanna start heading back?

ME: Sure, my arms are getting tired anyway.

*we hit the first wake from a nearby boat*

GARY: Man, these boaters are cutting it close to us.

ME: Nah, it's kinda fun! Makes it a little more exciting.

*2nd crash into wake*

ME: Woooo!!!

GARY: *groans*

*3rd wake we crashed into it not dead on, oh no no... we get hit from the side!*

This is where everything kinda blurred ---SO!

Canoe tilts. Canoe flips.

Water rushes over me. I emerge from water. My shoes float up. My hat floats up. The paddles float up. My sunglasses somehow stay on. Life jackets float up conveniently next to us.

And my purse?

Well. My purse was not so fortunate.

I laughed. Not sure why but I did. My husband did not do the same. He looks over at me, panic stricken and gasping.

GARY: Are.... you.... ok???

ME: Yes, are you?!?!

GARY *gasping with each breath*: Your... purse!

ME: It's ok! Just hold on to your life jacket-we're ok, we're ok.  Just look at me and breathe. Breathe. (I managed to say in a calm voice)

This next part I think I was partially going insane, overwhelmed maybe by the impact? Who knows, but I then attempted to flip the canoe back over and get back inside. Maybe this is possible to do but I definitely wasn't smart enough for it. I tried about 4 or 5 times and failed miserably.

At one point I was straddling the entire canoe.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure if this was caught on video, it would gain a million views on You Tube.

Thankfully, two men (who were either high or drunk or both) were just docking their boats near us. I yelled 'Hey guys, can you help us?". They looked over, confused, wide-eyed. I thought maybe they didn't hear me. Let's try again:

"We flipped our canoe! Can you help???" I realized after, these two men were basically looking at a girl riding a canoe, and a guy with a cotton ball in his ear. Ok, maybe the cotton ball wasn't that absurd but still--we were probably a scary sight.

The men pulled us in, a man in his 30s, holding a beer in one hand and steering with the other. The boat jerked every few seconds as he attempted to dock it. And the older one, grey hair and red eyes, tried to make me feel better (I think) by sharing his story of ALMOST losing his wallet but being able to dive in after it. He made me laugh at least. I kind of wish we got their names.

Gary and I looked across the lake for any sign of my blue and white stripped cloth bag. I knew it was at the bottom though. With my set of keys weighing more then normal (because of a weapon Gary bought for me while I was working in D.C./NYC) and his set as well, I had no doubt that it was going to be some ancient artifact found long years after I'm gone.

Paddling back was not fun at all! The sky became dark and the wind picked up and completely took control of the canoe.  Yeah, it was a mess--we actually decided to just pull over, dropped off the canoe at some deserted summer house and walked the rest of the way back to the rental place. It wasn't a crazy hike, maybe a mile or less but Gary and I were laughing our heads off  for the rest of the week! My parent's, my awesome awesome parents left a graduation party early just to come and get us.

My Dad on the phone (after asking how we were 10 times): Ok...wow... well I don't know when but someone's coming for you, don't you worry.

They brought Gary's spare key for the car and over the next few days I got my keys, bank cards and identity back. Oh and a great friend of mine saved my butt and gave me one of her spare phones which happened to be an upgrade from the water-logged one so that was a plus!

 I remember being upset about a wallet picture I had of Gary that was taken on the 4th of July 2011. His smile was especially sweet in it. I also had a soul-mate wallet card that he gave to me on one of our dating anniversaries.  As Gary was comforting me he remembered that there was something very important to him attached to his car keys. Something that was given to him from his dad...I quickly reminded him that he didn't need a piece of material to feel his dad near him.. Less than a minute later we rememberd the guys' faces as they saw us struggling in the water and we imagined what was going through their head--we started laughing hard again.

Kudos to us for having an awesome/embarassing summer story to share with our kids!

Moral of the story: Always wear your life jacket and if you can help it DO NOT bring your purse or wallet or phone with you! *Unless you're really cool and have one of those water cases then just remember to have a floaty attached to it.*

***Hope everyone is having an awesome/safe summer!!!***

This beautiful, crazy adventure

This past week we reminisced as we celebrated our 7th month of marriage and our 7th year dating anniversary and we've confidently concluded that we have been through probably more than most couples experience in a decade (or two!).  Heck-we've experienced more than most within the first 24 hours of us dating!

And the best part about it is I wouldn't take this ride with anyone else but my Gary...

Our dating anniversary has always been a bittersweet time. Sweet was the 12th of July as we chose to be with one another and bitter was the 13th as my husband's father suddenly left this world. The man who I never had the chance to meet.  As I look back now at the few days before he passed, as I spoke briefly with him on the phone...I wonder if he knew who I was?  It's funny to think about and I realize not possible but great to imagine....if only he knew. If I knew, I would have loved to have said "Hey, I'm not only Gary's first girlfriend but also his future wife, your future daughter-in-law! I'll be having your grand kids too! What do you think of that???..." I know it's completely dumb but it's passed through my mind many times and I pray somehow you know this now Papa Hood...

*there he is... my father-in-law and little Gary lookin' like a cute monkey!*

We look back on all we've conquered and persevered through and we realize we couldn't have done any of it without God.

Speaking of HIM-He's been opening up doors for us and answered many prayers. After what seemed like a long, tiring search, God directed us straight to our church home. *Finally!* A place where we can set our roots and grow together! There's nothing wierd about their doctrine (which was the common stumbling block for us) 100% Bible believing, Gospel CENTERED church.

Oh and random crazy discovery: The Pastor's son...who has also recently married (and close to our age)....has cholesteatoma just like Gary! Craziness! I mean, you need to first understand people, this tumor-like growth in the ear is EXTREMELY RARE! This past Sunday we found this out. I mean...Wow. But what can we say...our God is funny like that!

The warmth of the entire church family as well as the Pastor's family from day 1, the people's love for Jesus, their immense desire to serve the Lord and be the body of Christ, all of the things we've been praying for being answered...yea. We finally know that this is where we belong.

We also have some exciting news but it's a bit to early to share with everyone, maybe in a few months or so I'll let the cat outta the bag *and NO...it's not what you think...we are NOT pregnant* (Give that another year or so...??? ^.~)



God has been so good to us and even though it hasn't been a dull ride thus far! We are looking forward to our future and how God plans to use us in this beautiful, crazy plan of His!


"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."Romans 8:28



Not quite sure how this video fits but I love Labyrinth. One of my favorite comfort movies! I especially love this ball room scene. Hope you enjoy it-if not, I apologize in advance ^.~

Blessing in Disguise

The first time Gary and I went to our bible study it was based on the scripture Matthew 14:22-33, where Jesus came to his disciples in the boat and Peter stepped out to meet him on the water. The whole study was on faith. Having faith in Jesus.


“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:22-33


When my husband received the news that his Cholesteatoma came back, this time worse than before and close to his brain, my heart sank deep into my stomach. He was being treated for a bad ear infection for a week or so and finally when he told his ear doctor something still was not right, he did a cat scan and saw the tumor. Now c-toma isn’t quite a tumor. But it is tumor-like, in the way it acts. Fortunately, it is not cancerous and does not spread through out the body. More often doctors refer to it as “middle ear disease”. It’s very rare and can form from chronic ear infections. The c-toma had lurked back into his ear, silently, unseen by the doctor.


The first time this happened to him, the doctor also thought: “Just a bad ear infection”.


3 weeks ago today he was sent in for an emergency surgery. He went in around 1 pm and I didn’t see him until 8 that night! I was so grateful for everyone who prayed during that time…Between the two surgeries he required a mastoidectomy, a widened ear canal and a lot of reconstruction. It is beyond me everything that the c-toma destroyed in my husband’s ear. I vaguely remember this new doctor telling me the three tiny bones were not all there, a few tubes that function for balance were half gone and the thin bone structure between the top of his ear and his brain was eroded. (The anatomy of an ear is extremely confusing to me.) He lost a lot of hearing out of the right ear, we’re not sure yet how many decibels but as of now, all sound is muffled to him.


So the night before his surgery, as we went into this frightened and overwhelmed, I prayed over Gary and we were brought to a scripture that was truly sent from God…


“I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Surely, I will heal you…” 2 Kings 20:5

 Over the 4 days we felt like Peter did. “Ok Jesus- I know You’re there and I know You won’t but just… please don’t let go of our hands!” And He didn’t. Not once. During the hours that my husband was in surgery and all the minor complications (that seemed giant) that he was facing, God’s faithfulness was there.


His new doctor is taking good care of him, seeing him every 3 weeks and keeping him under close watch. He specifically specializes in c-toma so we’re confident with him. We pray every day for full restoration for Gary’s hearing but there is an awesome option that the doctor recommended for him. It’s a cochlear implant (like a hearing aid but it’s permanently inside you! This device can even make a person born deaf, hear!)


What really amazes me though is my husband’s courage with everything that’s happened to him. Everyone that he’s seen (lots of doctors/nurses) admires and comments on his attitude through all of this. I mean, I look at this and say I don’t know if I’ll ever know what it feels like to physically lose…anything of myself! My hearing, my sight, my arms, legs, whatever! But I pray that if it does, I have the same outlook that my husband does.


Thank You God for protecting Gary. Thank You for allowing him to catch this on time. Thank You for Your promises. Thank You for Your love and Thank You for saving my husband’s life.


“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

Back on the 'Social Network'

I'm actually really surprised at myself- I was able to go the entire Easter season without the Facebook or the Twitter! I remember having slight anxiety the first few days (seriously!), anxious to just get online and sign in. My obsession with these sites were baaad, I can't tell you how many times my husband has had to yell at me to get off my phone and stop checking my FB lol He hardly ever uses his and doesn't see the point really. But for me it just became a very unhealthy habit.


So the first week was the hardest.  And that was it. 


I then asked myself what was the big deal!? So then I thought it was more like reading those tabloid gossip magazines (that I want to burn everytime I pass by one) I'm not going to say that everyone on my friend's list posts crappy things but....the majority of the statuses are negative, unnecessary and offensive.  The conversations have a tendency to go nowhere.



Also, I noticed that the only times I was especially anxious to go on was when I wanted to share something that encouraged me.  Whenever I read a powerful scripture or heard an awesome song. I missed catching up with friends who I never see and the groups I'm a part of that would give daily words of encouragement.   But other than that...I didn't miss anything else about it!  I remember signing back on Easter Sunday and saying "Ok, the purpose of MY fb needs to change".


On a brighter note, I was able to focus more on the Word and my prayer life! Replacing the bad habits with spiritual discipline to grow closer to my Lord- that's something to celebrate kids! ^.^  


It's amazing how much closer God can bring you to Him through sacrifice.

We are called to stand up for our Lord and Savior

Here's a great article I read supporting Kirk Cameron's opinions on homosexuality. She makes good points such as "people that believe in God and believe the Bible is the holy, inspired word of God cannot pick and choose the parts they don’t like and throw them away..."

She also states that "Just because Christians think homosexuality is a sin does not mean we hate those that are homosexual."

I'm a theatre geek and many of my good friends are gay-whom I love! They respect my views and I do not force to change theirs. I do not believe anyone should force others to believe what they do. You will not have much success.

But when questioned about my beliefs, I will always stand up for my God because I am called too...

Check it out:

 Quit Bashing Kirk Cameron

Happy Valentine's Day friends!!!

You are loved... on Valentine's and always.

*click above for a sweet letter from God*

~*~"how beautiful you are my darling..."Song of Songs 4~*~

xoxo *Happy Valentine's Day!* xoxo

Search for a Church birthday weekend!

Gary and I will be checking out Resurrection Life Church *planning on my birthday-February 12th! yaaaay ^.^ *-it's kinda wierd because I remember a few summers ago I wanted to go to this church but had doubts after a conversation with the pastor.  I remember thinking is this a sign from God? Or the devil just trying to stop me from going? So instead of praying through it and asking for God help on the decision, I allowed my mind to get foggy and I never ended up going...prayerfully, Gary and I made the decision to take the leap to go ^.^

Here's a scripture my best friend Concetta and I read last night over the phone (she lives in MD and we have these 2 hour phone dates at least once a week) It was so encouraging to read-God knows my heart and it reminded me that as we are on this search...as long as I have Christ as my guide and His word as my armor...I have nothing to fear.

^{I Corinthians 1:10-17 10} I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”  ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power...

Once Upon A Time

Ok my husband and I are a little obsessed with this new show 'Once Upon A Time' and we are just not tv people but ever since we saw ads for this we had to check it out. Anyway-we caught up on all the episodes this week on HULU plus (Yep. We dumped Netflix. A long awaited decision but we had to do it.)  and well...our dialogues can get interesting late hours of the night....

Me: Babe, how come you never take me to a random log cabin in the forest whilst getting caught in a rainstorm? WITH a fire ready and warm quilt blankets???

Gary: *..stares..*

I'm sorry that I would rather just take you to the car and bring you safely home...why don't we try this scenario but also go fall down a cliff so I can save you!....

Gary: I think it's time to go to bed.



Blimey Cow!

So Gary and I have talked about the possibility of home schooling our children and we stumbled across this hilarious video by Blimey Cow!

We both went to public school and honestly: don't miss a minute of it. Gary probably had a worse experience with the whole thing. Raising our kids in a Christian home is important to us and home schooling or sending them to a Christian based school are the options we're looking at now. And in my opinion-home schooling weighs out everything else. Thanks Blimey Cow-you made some good points! ^.^

2 year update!

I really didn't realize how long it had been since I last blogged. I mean the last time I blogged before yesterday's post I wasn't even engaged yet! Well Gary *my husband* and I have had A LOT that's gone on since then ^.^

Firstly, we are one month and 11 days married today-(together for over 6 1/2 years).  December 10th, 2011 was the happiest day of our lives (so far).  Gary told me yesterday how much he misses that day as he was standing next to my wedding dress. (I really have to let go and get that preserved already)  It was such a beautiful, God-filled day.  That day we felt God the most, like He was standing right next to us.  And all of our family and friends enjoyed it just as much, we had so much love and support on that awesome day....we're now even more excited about the adventure that lies ahead of us in married life!

Gary's already planning our vow renewals....25 years down the road of course ^.^

We went on our honeymoon the day after and spent a week in Los Angeles, CA.  And this was the best week of our lives! I think our favorite spot out there was the Griffith Observatory.  We're kind of nature/hiking freaks and this place had an awesome view of the city as well as hiking trails. Oh and the famous Hollywood sign was very close by too. 

During this week we were able to meet with the very talented Chad Ahrendt, director of Reconciliation. A great great great christian movie that, in our opinion, blew FireProof out of the water! It's available for Video-On-Demand and Streaming. You can rent it from Amazon too and all Life Way bookstores should have them in stock. The story was gracefully written and the Gospel speaks louder than ever in this movie. If you loved the big name Christian films FireProof or Courageous you definitely need to check this out.Reconciliation the movie

Also, the short film that I've been working on for 5 years (I'm starting to understand the meaning "in God's time") has had some door openings within the past week. Continuing to pray though that this project finally gets lifted off the ground!

*Maybe this summer Lord???* :o)

A lot of exciting projects in the making but Gary and I know our first priority on the list is our marriage. We've grown so much together in Christ and are so blessed to have the friends we do who support us along the way. Our pre-marital (now just "marital"?) counselors lead a Bible study in their home that we attend weekly.  In this group we truly feel like a family and the fellowship just continues to grow! 

Our goals are to reach out more as much as we can, however the Lord wills us. So I'll be sure to update more along the way of our ups and downs and in betweens ^.^

Thanks for reading!

*and God Bless!!!*



On poet Jefferson Bethke

SO I've decided it's been way too long since I've blogged and it's about time I clear out the cob webbs here-and I figured,why not blog about the video that is blowing up in the world: 'Why I hate religion, but love Jesus'...

Now my husband and I watched this video when it only had about...300 views. It's currently over 15 million views (just on youtube)!

Ok so my opinion, ya know, for what it's worth.

From a performers view this video was extremely well done (filming, editing, etc) and it had a respectable, genuine expression of his heart for Jesus and religion... (specifically religion today).

As a Christian:

Honestly, when I first watched it I had tears in my eyes and I was shouting 'Amen' and 'Hallelujah' every other sentence (and I'm pretty sure I heard grumbles coming from my downstairs neighbor). Ok, my first reaction.

Second reaction came the next day after seeing the hundreds of comments other Christians left. There were some positive but many I saw were mostly negative. And that's not to say that I didn't agree with some things I read but I was very surprised at the Christians who actually insulted this man and his video. I can agree though that the message he was trying to convey could have been clearer. I absolutely agree that we are called to fellowship and to be the body of Christ (to nonbelievers AND our Christian brothers and sisters). I can see how that issue could upset believers because a non believer watching this can think "ok-soooo I don't need to go to church or follow God's commands???" But that's just one of the things that someone can mistakenly take away from this. I can understand where he was coming from though and Christians need to know that his intentions were not bad. And he is not perfect. No one is. Not on this earth at least.

I think I'm really passionate about his poem because I understand and have experienced what he's talking about. I have had harsh judgement not from members in a church, but from pastors and priests. I'd rather not go to in depth but basically I've been told that because of my former background as a Catholic I could not be trusted and leader of the church needed to protect his sheep.... (even after I explained that I am a saved Christian through Jesus Christ *for 8 years now* in search for the "right" church). So I guess that's why I had my first reaction to his video. I think that there are definitely churches out there that need to be more of an image of Christ to everyone, especially to people seeking shelter in their church. This whole seperation that Christians have going on now is definitely not what God called us to do. None of this "My denomination is the true religion or my church is better than yours!"-Christians have to realize that this chases others away. And the point he made about reaching out more to serve and love others is our purpose in this life, right?

Here's an exerpt I read from Max Lucado's 'A Gentle Thunder':

"God has only one flock. Somehow, we missed that. Religious division is not his idea. Franchises and sectarianism are not if God's plan. God has one flock. The flock has one shepherd. And though we may think there are many, we are wrong. There is only one.
Never in the Bible are we told to create unity. We are simply told to maintain the unity that exists. Paul exhorts us to preserve "the unity which the Spirit gives" (Ephesians. 4:3, NEB). Our task is not to invent unity, but to acknowledge it....When I see someone calling God Father and Jesus Savior, I meet a brother or a sister -- regardless of the name of their church or denomination.
By the way, the church names we banter about? They do not exist in heaven. The Book of Life does not list your denomination next to your name. Why? Because it is not the denomination that saves you. And I wonder, if there are no denominations in heaven, why do we have denominations on earth?
What would happen (I know this is a crazy thought), but what would happen if all churches agreed, on a given day, to change their names to simply "church"? What if any reference to any denomination were removed and we were all just Christians? And then when people chose which church to attend, they wouldn't do so by the sign outside ... they'd do so by the hearts of the people inside. And then when people were asked what church they attended their answer wouldn't be a label but just a location. And then we Christians wouldn't be known for what divides us; instead we'd be known for what unites us -- our common Father.

Crazy idea? Perhaps.

But I think God would like it. It was his to begin with." Max Lucado

The judgement I've received are still painful and make it all the more harder in our search but God is good. Always. And He'll bring us through this.

Anyway, there was my opinion on the whole matter. I still love the video even with it's flaws. It's his heart and his feelings about the church today. Who am I to have pass any kind of judgement on that?

Thanks for reading and if you can, keep my husband and I in your prayers in our search for the "right" church. ^.^