Chritmas Party

The Women's Ministry at my church is called, Joy Ladies, and we had our Christmas party last night. I enjoy hanging out with these ladies so much and we had the best time.

My Pastor's wife, Kathy, is the one with patch on her eye. She poked herself in the eye with her mascara brush and ended up having to go to the eye doctor and found out that she had a bristle from the brush stuck in her cornea....bless her heart!

This is me and baby Sam, who I am just in love with. That look on his face is priceless..he had just woke up and wasn't quite sure what was going on yet. His mom, Stacy, is on our worship team at church and I am usually the one that gets to hold him on Sundays. We have this sweet bond now. Literally every Sunday, I get him and he lays his head on my shoulder and falls asleep during the entire worship. Stacy said that he only does that with me...awww!

Linda, the hostess, has dress up clothes for her grandchildren and we had fun putting wigs on Samuel. He was so cute because we all cheered and clapped when he came out with the wig and he loved all the attention. Don't you think he makes a pretty girl :)

....and here's Tina. This is my favorite one! He was so funny waving at everyone and clapping with us.

We also ate good food, played games, and had a kitchen towel and Christmas sock exchange.

Monday, we are off to PA. Please pray for good weather and safety as we travel. I turned on the t.v. today and saw the headline "2009 Blizzard in the Northeast" and called dad. He said that we should be fine, that the part of PA we are headed to is not being affected by the worst of storm and the weather will be sunny on Monday through Wednesday. Of course we will be watching the weather closely and taking our time.

Women's Worship Weekend

This weekend a group of ladies from my church were invited to go to the Abiding Place in Centerville for a women's worship weekend. Bob and Teresa Nix are close friends with my pastor and his wife and they have come to our church and ministered to us several times. They have a beautiful home out in the country called the, Abiding Place, where they hold retreats and conferences throughout the year. The last time Teresa came to Joy Church she felt that the Lord told her to invite us to the Abiding Place and have a women's worship weekend. 14 ladies came from my church, including my sister Stephanie, and we had a wonderful time.

Joy Ladies

I am so thankful that Stephanie got to come. We had so much fun together and it was a great mother-daughter-sister bonding time!

Me and Sara

Sara and her sister Cecilia are on the worship team at my church and they did the worship all weekend. They write most of their own songs and they are so anointed and gifted in what they do. Hopefully, this year they will be recording a worship CD with their own songs on it and I can't wait to get it!

The Abiding Place

The Abiding place is literally out in the middle of nowhere off country, dirt roads. Stephanie had the address and put it in her GPS so she thought she would be able to find it without any problem. The GPS lead her to an old, abandoned house off this dark, dirt road. We laughed about it later because she was thinking, "What kind of place is this?" Mom and I got lost too, but we eventually all got there safe and sound.

The pond in the backyard

We woke up Saturday morning to this view, coffee and stuffed french toast! I was a very happy lady :) Teresa spoiled us this weekend with delicious food and desserts.

I just got a new camera and I enjoyed taking pictures of the house.

Birdhouses on the front porch.

Every room in the house is named after a fruit of the spirit and the pillow cases and towel sets are monogrammed with that name on it. We slept in kindness! The bedrooms are decorated so cute. I love how she decorates...it is so cozy,warm and inviting.

Front door

I feel so refreshed after this weekend and everybody kept saying how much they needed a weekend like this. We talked, worshiped, shared our hearts, relaxed, ate lost of really great food, cried, laughed, and got to know each other better. I am so thankful for my church family. I feel so blessed to know each one of these women and they have really become like family to me.

Let is Snow!

Yes, you are seeing snow in Southeast Texas! This makes the second year in a row and I am loving it. I went to work this morning and all everyone was talking about was the possibility of snow today. Finally, around 3:00 one of my students came in the room and told us it was snowing! I took my class outside and let them watch it fall on the playground. I was just as excited as they were. What a perfect start to December! Mom talked to dad and Glenn today and they were shocked that we got snow before they did (they are in Pennsylvania). Who would have guessed?

This was the view from the front door when I got home from work.



The snow just starting to come down!


As it got later, the snow really started to fall.

Mom's birthday is this Sunday and she loved her early birthday present :)

I love love love this picture with the snow and the Christmas tree in the window. The snow started to accumulate on the ground and the roof and it was so beautiful!

Snow falling in the night sky

This just makes me happy!

View from the front porch at night.

This was such a wonderful surprise! I hope this continues every year. I already love this time of year and this just put the icing on the cake. After standing in the cold taking tons of pictures we went inside and ate a hot bowl of chili. We don't get to experience this often so I hope you enjoyed the snow today as much as I did!

A letter for You!

I was reading a blog that I came across from a link on another blog and found this letter from God to us. I think it is beautiful and I just had to share it.

To My precious child...

I wish you could see things the way that I see them. I wish you knew how tightly I truly hold you in My hands. I really have you on the forefront of My mind. I have sent My Spirit to be with you in time of crisis, and in time of desperation. I saw you cry. So badly I wanted to wrap My arms around you and wipe every tear from your eyes. I was with you, I am with you.

I know you struggle with the circumstances of life. Trust me, this is not how I wanted your life to go. But, I will fulfill My promise; you will have life, and life to the fullest. You will soar, and you will have victory. When I created you, I created you with a purpose. I can't wait for you to see what I have for you, I just can't wait!

I see you struggling, I see you trying to create an end to the madness. But don't be afraid for I am with you. I will never leave you, nor forsake you. You can trust me with your life. I created you, I will protect you. If you could only see the process, and see the outcome you wouldn't give up. Not yet. You're so close, you're so close.

Satan wants nothing less than for you to hate Me. Don't forget that. He hates everything that is good. I am turning what he intended for evil into something greater than you could ever imagine. That's why you can't see the outcome of this, because it isn't fathomable. It's really that great! I know the plans that I have for you. Plans to give you a HOPE and FUTURE! Plans to prosper you, not to harm you.

I would never harm you. You are too precious to me! This is only a season of your life. This isn't going to define your life, this is only going to be the beginning of what is truly life. Oh the plans I have in store for those who love Me.

Seek Me with your whole heart. I have not hidden Myself from you. I am always here, and I have been with you from the beginning. Oh My precious child, how much I love you. I got this. Rest in My arms, I am worthy to be trusted. I know you're tired, just lean up against Me and breathe...take a moment and breathe. Feel My love for you.

I haven't forgotten you. I will fulfill the promises for your life. Greater things are still to come. Love, your Heavenly Father.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had Thanksgiving at my Aunt Sandy and Uncle Mark's house in Sour Lake. It was different this year because the whole family was not here. Dad and Glenn are in Pennsylvania, Stephanie and Ross couldn't come in because she had to get her wisdom teeth out and the only date her dentist could do it was this Tuesday ( I really hope she was able to eat some turkey today :). Also, my Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Randy went to Florida to visit family and some of my cousins had to work or went to their in-laws, so we had less people than normal.

The preparation started yesterday. Grammy came over and with direction from her I made the gravy, her famous cornbread dressing, and cooked the turkey. It hit me today that the torch might have been passed on to me without me even realizing it.....for the past 3 years Grammy has come over before Thanksgiving and slowly, but surely she has been teaching me how to make her gravy, dressing, and cook the turkey like she has always done. I think I overheard a comment about me bringing the turkey and gravy next year. Of course, I really don't mind :) I enjoy cooking and would love to do this every year.

Uncle Mark carving the turkey

Mom and Aunt Sandy

Grammy

My favorite part!!!

You would never have known that everyone was not there if you looked at all the food we had. We will be eating turkey and left overs for a week or two :)

After we ate, all the ladies went for a walk. They live out in the country and it was such a pretty day...plus I think we were trying to walk off all that food!

I love Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for all the blessings God has given me. I don't ever want to take them for granted and forget the true meaning behind this holiday...a time to refelct and give thanks to God for all the blessings in our lives!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We Are Blessed!

The message this Sunday at church was simple....we are blessed! If we live in America, we are blessed! In our world everyday we are told that we need bigger, better, and more and it's easy to get caught up in it all and get dissatisfied with what we have if we're not careful. We have to constantly fight this world's way of thinking.

Do not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind~Romans 12:2

We watched this video at church by Rob Bell and I hope it speaks to you like it did me.I posted two of the videos because I couldn't find a full-length one, so this is just part of the video we saw at church. If you like the videos you can watch more by him on You Tube or order them from Nooma.com. I really like the way he teaches the Word and makes it very practical and easy to understand.

Like Rob said in the video, God wants us to be blessed! We should not feel guilty or bad for having stuff and wanting nice things, but we should also have a thankful heart and know that we are blessed to be a blessing!

Joyce Weekend

This weekend Joyce Meyer came to Houston and mom and I went to see her. We have been able to go for the past 5 years and it has become something I look so forward to each year in November. We stayed at the Westin Galleria this year and it was really nice...keyword Galleria!The conference started on Thursday night, Friday night, and ended this morning. I took off work Thursday and Friday and it was such a relaxing and refreshing weekend both spiritually and physically.

Mom and I at the Joyce Meyer Conference

Hillsong Worship Team

The conference was held at Lakewood Church. The Hillsong Worship team did all the worship at the conference. It is so awesome to be a part of praise and worship with thousands of chrsitians in one place.

Sometimes you just need to get away for a few days and treat yourself a little. We definitely treated ourselves this weekend.....we ate at my favorite restaurant,The Cheesecake Factory, went shopping, ate chocolate mouse cheesecake, got Starbucks coffee, ate tomato basil soup at La Madeline's (another one of my favorite places), relaxed, and heard great teaching from the Word. It was a great weekend!!

On our way home today we happened to find this great barbecue place called, Goode's Barbecue, to stop and eat lunch. It is off 59 on Kirby and it was the best barbecue I have ever eaten. Mom's favorite food is barbecue brisket so she was in heaven and she loved it as much as I did. It was a great way to end our trip.

Unmasking Halloween

As you know, this week in public schools across the country children are celebrating Halloween by having Halloween parties at school. Of course, my school is doing the same and as I started to prepare for our Halloween party this year the Lord really started revealing some things to me.

Every year for our Halloween party, my grade level collects money from each student and we go shopping at Sam's and buy candy. We have the students decorate paper bags and then stuff the candy inside and give it to them at the end of the day. We don't have the kids come to school dressed up, I don't decorate my classroom with witches, ghosts, jack-0-lanterns, etc.. So I have never been too bothered by the way our grade level handled the whole Halloween party thing, but that all changed for me today.

I gave the kids their bags to color and I told them to write their name on it and decorate it. They all knew what the bags were for so they started decorating them with pumpkins, candy corn.....seems sweet right? Then, I heard some of the boys giggling and showing each other their bags. I went over to see what was going on and to my surprise they were drawing the goriest scenes with people stabbing and killing each other, bleeding, heads rolling off, etc.. I immediately told them that they needed to get another bag and they couldn't draw anything violent. Then, one of my girls raised her hands and asked me how to spell "devil." I just looked at her and told her nicely that I didn't think she should spell that on her bag. She just looked at me for a second and then began drawing again, unfazed by my comment.

Me on the other hand, I was sick to my stomach. I can't describe it except I knew deep down in my spirit that God was revealing something to me. So, I came home tonight and I began researching about the origins of Halloween. I have read about it before and I knew it's origins were in paganism and witchcraft, but I wanted to read as much as I could about it and learn more.

The Bible says that God's people perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). I don't think that most people (even most Christians) really know much about the origins of Halloween. I know for a long time after I was saved that I didn't and obviously I am still learning. There is no way I could write all of what I learned on this post, but here is a link to a great article I found on the Internet about the origins of Halloween and some of the customs that go along with it. For example....

Do you know the meaning behind these Halloween symbols?

Jack-0-lantern
The term "Jack-o'-lantern" came from an Irish folk tale of the 18th century. Jack was an Irishman. He had tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree. He then cut a cross symbol in the tree trunk, thus trapping the Devil in the branches. At his death, he was unable to gain access to Heaven because of his meanness. The Devil, having a long memory, would not allow him into Hell. So he was forced to walk the earth endlessly. The devil took pity on him and gave him a piece of coal to light his path. Jack put it inside a hollowed-out turnip that he had been eating. Latter turnips were replaced with pumpkins, thus resulting in the jack-0-lantern.

The Witch on a Broomstick
This image (however cartoon-like) shows an actual ritual in which witches mount broomsticks (symbol of the male organ) and leap high around the fields on them to "teach" the crops how high to grow. In our drug-conscious society, it should be noted that the flying witch actually related to the fact that witches believed they could fly great distances to their feasts by smearing their bodies with "flying ointment." This ointment actually contained drugs like bella-donna, aconite and cinquefoil and gave them psychedelic "trips" so that they thought that they flew distances.

Black Cats
The black cat is also both the witches' "familiar" or magic helper, and is the chief totem (idol) of the goddess of Wicca, Diana. In legend, she turns into a black cat to commit incest with her brother, Lucifer. It is also a form of the Egyptian goddess, Bast.

Ghost and Skeleton
These relate to the belief that spirits of the dead were roaming throughout the land. They induce fear in children.

Skulls and Masks
The Druids wore masks, skulls and costumes, even offered human sacrifices on October 31st, to ward off evil spirits.

Bobbing for Apples
In AD 43 the Roman Empire was in solid control of the Celtic people. As a result of this control the idol worshipping Romans introduced another ceremony honoring their false gods to the already demoniacal Druid New Year's celebration. It was in honor of their goddess of fruit trees. They would try to grasp fruit, floating in water, without the use of their hands.

Trick-or-Treating
Some trace the origins of present day "trick-or-treat" to Samhain, which was the supreme night of demonic jubilation. Spirits of the dead would rise out of their graves and wander the countryside, trying to return to the homes where they formerly lived. Frightened villagers tried to appease these wandering spirits by offering them gifts of fruit and nuts. They began the tradition of placing plates of the finest food and bits of treats that the household had to offer on their doorsteps, as gifts, to appease the hunger of the ghostly wanderers. If not placated, villagers feared that the spirits would kill their flocks or destroy their property. The problem was... if the souls of dead loved ones could return that night, so could anything else,human or not, nice or not-so-nice. The only thing the superstitious people knew to do to protect themselves on such an occasion was to masquerade as one of the demonic hoard, and hopefully blend in unnoticed among them. Wearing masks and other disguises and blackening the face with soot were originally ways of hiding oneself from the spirits of the dead who might be roaming around. This is the origin of Halloween masquerading as devils, imps, ogres, and other demonic creatures.

That is just the beginning, but this post is getting very long :)


Summing it up....here is a part of one of the articles I read that really spoke to me.....

"While some may say, "But we only do this in fun...we don't practice
witchcraft," those things that represent Satan and his domain cannot be
handled or emulated "for fun". Such participation places you in enemy and
forbidden territory and that is dangerous ground. "

"Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so." (Deuteronomy 18:10-14)

"Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. "(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." [Romans 12:2]

"For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?" [2 Corinthians 6:14, 15]

"Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God." (3 John 1:11)

Please join me in praying that this weekend God would open people's eyes to the truth about Halloween, for the safety of the kids, and that God would continue to use Christians to be a light in darkness this Holloween!

And the winner is.....

Carrie... Wahooo!!! I really did put the names on pieces of paper, folded them up, shook them and drew one. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

This giveaway was so much fun. Keep checking back because it is something I want to do again.

My first Giveaway!!

I am so excited about my first giveaway!! If you read my last post I told you how I have made a decision to begin finding practical, creative ways to show love to others. Well, I had an idea...I thought it would be great way to start by having a "giveaway" on my blog. I started thinking about what I could give away and immediately I thought of this book by Christan-fiction author, Karen Kingsbury. If you have already read it don't worry, I will give you a $10.00 gift card to Barnes and Nobles to buy any book you want. Keep reading for how to enter!!!



First, about the book...About a year ago, a friend of mine let me borrow this book called Redemption. I had never read any books by Karen Kingsbury, or any other Christan -fiction author for that matter, and let's just say that after reading the first chapter I was hooked!

Redemption is the first book in a series of books about the Baxter family. Here is a description of the series from Karen's website:

"In The Redemption Series, winner of the 2005 Retailer's Choice award for Inspirational Fiction Series, Karen Kingsbury brings you the bestselling Redemption Series, five books that follow a family with trials and triumphs like your own. The Redemption Series illustrates the relational teachings of Gary Smalley in a way that is changing lives across the world."

There are 14 books total in the Baxter family series and I just finished the last one. I was so sad to have to say goodbye to the Baxter family. You really feel like they are real and that you might run into them sometime if you visit Indiana (where they live of course :). I wish there were more books in the series, but I am excited to begin reading her other books and series. I know they will be just as good! You can go to her website (above link) and read more about her and get a complete list of all of her books. On her website, there is a link called ...lives changed. It is awesome to read the stories of people who have read her books and how their lives have been changed and touched by these books.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is comment on this post and tell me what your favorite book is (also, let me know if you have already read this book before). Then, I will write all the names down and draw from them and pick 1 winner and announce it on my blog next Tuesday! Start posting, you could get a gift in the mail soon!!

Love Revolution

Many of you know how much Joyce Meyer and her ministry means to me. My mom gave me one of her teaching tapes in college and I was hooked after that. I can't even put it into words how much God had used her books, teaching Cd's, and conferences to help me grow in my relationship with Him. I call her my spiritual mom.

I am really excited to join her and countless others in what she is calling the "love revolution." She just wrote a new book called the Love Revolution. It is about walking in love and showing love in practical ways to people. I just got the book and I am excited to begin reading it and putting it into action in my own life. She is calling this a revolution because the definition of revolution is a sudden, radical, or complete change. That is what we need!!



Sometimes we just need something to help us make a decision and get started. So, Joyce is dedicating this week as the week to kick off the "love revolution." What does that mean? It means that this week you make a commitment and decision to start showing love in practical ways to the people in your life. Her ministry has a website where you can read more about it. I love the website because it gives you ideas that you can do to get started. This week's idea is is to give a gift of 15 minutes of your time, wherever or whenever it is needed.

I watch her television program every morning as I get ready for work and last week she said something that really inspired me. She said that she tries to wake up every morning with this goal in mind...to put a smile on at least three people's faces. This could simply mean smiling at that person at work who is hard to get along with. It could mean asking someone how they are doing and really listening to them. It doesn't tale a lot of money, it just takes time and a decision. I like the fact that she mentally makes a decision every day to show love and thinks about ways she can bless people. How would that change our lives and the lives of other people? I have to confess that most days I wake up and think about my needs and not how I can bless others. I am ready for that to change and if you are too I hope you will join with me in the "love revolution!"

Cookie, Cake, and Cobbler

This weekend was full of birthdays and dessert! Friday night we celebrated my friend Alecia's birthday. We went to eat and then to Rao's bakery for dessert. I love Rao's! It is an Italian bakery and they have the best gelato (Italian ice cream). I had a hard time deciding what I wanted, but I ended up having a cookie and coffee for dessert. Sorry, no pictures from that night :)

Saturday my cousin's little girl, Alyssa, turned one. We went to her birthday party and had such a good time.

Alyssa in her chair ready to open her presents

Her Grandma made her this little cake and she had fun eating it with her hands...too cute!

Me and the birthday girl!

Today, we went to the Pickett House in Woodville to celebrate Grammy's birthday. The food was soo good! They serve it family style and you get homemade chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, butter beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade rolls and cornbread, and greens...just like Grandma made it:)

Southern goodness!!

Cobbler also comes with the meal..today it was peach (YUM!)

Steph and Ross came in for the weekend and it was so good to see them.

A weekend full of birthday parties, good food, desserts, family, and friends...not much more I could ask for :)

Star Student Interview

KBMT came to our school September 15th and interviewed me and another teacher for a star student segment. In case you missed my television debut, I uploaded the video below. I had the student last year and since the 5th grade teacher only had her for a few weeks when they wanted to do the story she asked if we could both be interviewed...thanks allot!!! Anyway, let's just say I am not quitting my day job. Every time I see this it makes me laugh. I think I said "um" most of the interview :) Watch my eyes..I didn't know if I should look at the person interviewing me or the camera!!

Fall is Here!

It's officially the first day of Fall today at 4:18 (how do they get that time?). Fall is my favorite season.

Ten reasons I love Fall.......

1. One word...Starbucks Pumpkin spiced latte!!

2. The first sweater day

3. Soups, stews, gumbo and chili on the stove

4. Football season....I am not a big fan of watching it on t.v., but I do like to go to football games and sit in the stands with hot chocolate.

5. The colors of Fall....the leaves changing

6. The smell of my favorite Fall scent.... Pumpkin Pie Yankee Candles

7. The Rice Festival in Winnie and the Fair (not sure if it is going to be in the Fall anymore)

8. Fall decorations

9. Thanksgiving

10. The first cold front

What are some of your favorite things about Fall?

Sewing 201

My friend Katie and I had our second sewing class this past Wednesday. It was great because we ended up being the only two in the class, so we basically had a private lesson. The class started at 5:30 and we barely finished at 8:30. We were laughing because the woman teaching us must have been so bored. It took us forever it seemed, but I was proud of the results. I love my pillowcase and Katie is going to bring hers up to the hospital when she has her baby! A friend of hers told her that she should bring a cute pillowcase to the hospital so there won't be just plain white pillowcases in the pictures :)

Katie and I proudly showing off our pillowcases...I wish you could see Katie's cute belly in this picture though!

I had another opportunity to practice my sewing skills today at church again. It is really awesome to me how I just started sewing and then there was this opportunity at church to use what I was learning....perfect timing! We had another sewing day to sew clothes for the upcoming mission trip to the Philippines. Sara and Cecilia came with their kids and the girls worked on making paper dolls for the children in the Philippines while the adults sewed. Sarah and Cecilia said that the girls came up with the idea on their own. It is so precious to me how mission minded their kids are. They can't sew yet, but they did what they could do. They worked so hard and the dolls are too cute!

Clothes for the paper dolls

This is a stack of some of the skirts, shirts, and pants we sewed

Cecilia made this white tank shirt to go with the skirt I sewed last time. It turned out really cute. I had to take a picture of the outfit.

Storms

This morning, in my quiet time with God, He spoke to my heart about storms and I just had to share it. I had my blinds open and I was noticing how it looked like it was about to start raining. The weather forecast for today predicted that it was going to rain and some of it could be very heavy. Of course, I was excited because you know how I love stormy weather. I always have. So, I was looking outside wishing it would start to rain, and I sensed in my Spirit God asking me why I love storms so much? I have never really thought about it before. After thinking about it, I realized that when it storms outside it gives me an excuse to stay in and curl up on the couch and relax by watching a movie, reading, or anything else. For some reason, its comforting to me . I love being at home in a storm where inside it's peaceful, warm, and cozy while outside it's wet, cold, dark, and ragging. I also love thunderstorms because it reminds me of God's awesome power.

Then God reminded me of a scripture in James where James says, " Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds." James 1:2

I felt like God was saying that when the storms of life (trials) come, if we are Christians, we can get excited because there is peace in the midst of the storm that only He can give us. We can rest, relax, and let God take care of us while the storm rages on around us. We don't have to be afraid. We can rest knowing that it will pass and allow God to comfort us in the middle of it. We can even get excited because the storms in life can reveal God's awesome power to us when we run to Him and watch Him bring us through it. This challenges me to start viewing the trials in my life differently and do what James said, consider it pure joy!