Monday was our twins birthday (they turned two…terrific two’s I might add:o))!! And like most parents, I am estactic!
Happy that they are a year older and ready for all the new adventures that come along w/their age…
I’m also excited b/c at one point in my life I never thought that I would be celebrating my own children’s birthday…let alone twins.
About seven years ago, I had a miscariage. I was told that I wouldn’t be able to carry children fullterm b/c my cervix was too weak.  The doctor said my body didn’t react to pregnancy the way most women did.  Instead of nurturing and providing for the child, my body did the complete opposite as if the child was a foreign object…and this was probably due to the two abortions I had earlier on….
But seven years, a personal relationship w/God, a husband and three beautiful children later….I must say my kiddies birthdays mean so much to me.  Their birthdays remind me God’s grace, love, restoration and healing…
What do birthdays mean to you?

Yesterday was quite a day!!! First off, I had a total of five kiddies and our baby girl Ashlynn wasn’t feeling a 100%.
She got up and was quiet, tired, and a little warm.  By 10am she was napping.  She woke up close to 1pm and she wasn’t looking too good.  Her eyes were glossy and she seemed to be in a zone. 
Since my sister had came by to bring the kids lunch, I decided that I was going to take her to Urgent Care.  As soon as I picked her up, her entire body started shaking and she began foaming at the mouth.
I yelled for my sis (she’s a nurse) and she took her laid her on her side and started checking her stats. Then she had another seizure…by this time I was on the phone w/911.
By time the ambulance came, Ashlynn had a total ofthree seizures and the paramedics said that they wanted to transport her to the hospital due to her vitals being low.
As all this was going on, I remember praying and pleading the blood of Jesus over Ashlynn. I declared that everything concerning her health would function perfectly.
To make a long story short…the seizures were caused by her temperature rising so quickly and in turn it caused her body to go into shock.
Although this experience was scary, I seen/learned firsthand how important depending on God and His Word is. The situation may look one way, but the Word says that “by His wounds you have been healed (1 Pet.3:2).  God is bigger than any situation or circumstance.
When adversity comes…what’s you reaction…fear or faith?

Today as my family and I celebrate Memorial Day, I’ve been thinking a lot about…love. What does love look like, act like, feel like, speak like? 
Over the past couple of weeks, I can honestly say that my Love has been tested…and in a few areas I didn’t pass the test.  Not that I cursed someone out or punched them in the eye, but my thoughts toward them were less than pure (to say the least).
I found myself thinking about what I should have said and how I would act if this or that happened.  Can I be totally transparent? These thoughts took up a lot of my time b/c I gave them residence in my thought life.
Finally, I prayed and just had a real talk w/my DaddyGod. It wasn’t  a prayer w/a lot of “thee and thou’s”.  It was just me pouring my heart out to God and telling Him how I felt and what was really bothering me about the situation.
In the end, I ended up asking God to “create a clean heart in me and renew a right spirit w/in me”.
I learned a valuable lesson: Love looks like, acts like, talks like God no matter what the situation or how people act.
So, if God’s love is real, consistent, forgiving, honest, respectful, and does things in order, why shouldn’t I, if I’m His daughter and made in His image?
I’ve learned what my love is supposed to look like and I’m striving toward toward it every minute of the the day.
So what about you…what does your love look like???

Earlier this week, I was picking up my daughter from school and I heard a statement that rang sooooo loud in my heart “Integrity is to be who you say you are”……
Whoa!!!! This simple statement blessed my socks off b/c it made me think.
It made me think about me and my walk w/ Christ. It made me evaluate me…..the ME no one sees, the ME that reacts when things don’t go as planned, the ME that over analyzes, the ME that still needs perfecting...
To be a Christian means more than going to church and using religious terms. It means growth, revelation, truth,living a life of love, prayer, humility, discernment…..it means to be an imitator of God…not just on Sunday or when we are around certain people.  It’s everyday, all day.
My prayer for everyone reading my blog is for you to live a life that is worthy to be called Christ-like. 
So my question to you is….are you living w/ integrity daily?

Today my hubby and I had a meeting at our oldest daughter’s school…in a few months she’ll be a kindergardener and the twins will be in the two-year old class! (Woohoo!!! This mama will have at least 9 hrs w/no kiddies during the week come Sept.!)
Our main reason for the meeting was to find out if there are any schloarships available for next year…we want all of our kids to go to school together, which can get expensive (but well worth it).  But to my amazement, God had a different plan for this meeting!
At the start of the meeting, my husband asked the Director if we could pray before we got started and she said of course. This one act of obedience to pray gave birth to something that God wants put into action…
Instead of addressing the schlorships, we found out that one of the main needs in the school was for a parent to head up prayer once a week for the school/students/families/staff.
So, guess who’s been up at night praying for children and parents?  If you said me….you’re correct!  Guess who felt so much of an unction from God about this prayer? If you said me again….ding, ding!!! You’re right!
Although I went to my daughter’s school with one thing in mind, God had something else in mind..something bigger.
The moral is to keep an open mind and be receptive to the Spirit of God.
God has called me to intercede for this school and these families…therefore I’m completely persuaded that my DaddyGod will take care of the rest.
So I’ll continue to pray and”call those things that are not as though they were (Rom. 4:17, NIV)” on a bigger scale.  Not only for my family, but also for the children/families at my daughter’s school…part of God’s awesome plan!!!

Today is my anniversary……I have been married for 6 years (to a great man I might add :0))!!! And throughout it all, I have learned a lot. If I told you that our marriage has been “peachy” 100 % of the time I wouldnt be telling you the truth. We’ve had our rough spots (especially our first year) and when we were going through those times mentally, I was packing my bags (lol, I couldn’t have been the only one right???).
But in my heart I pondered on the moment that I knew that my hubby was my God given hubby. 
So even when I wanted to throw in the towel the Holy Spirit always took me back to that moment at the altar when I knew God spoke to my heart that the very man I’m kneeling in prayer with was the very man that was hand picked especially for me by my DaddyGod……
So here are six lessons I’ve learned through marriage…enjoy!

1. Wholeness can only come from God through Jesus.
I thought that getting married would give me the sense of wholeness I always felt I was missing. I learned that I received that wholeness when I received Jesus and I experienced/lived in that wholeness once I gave my all to God and sought Him wholeheartedly.

2.  Communication is essential.
Holding all over your issues inside doesn’t help anyone. Eventually they will come out an most likely it will be the wrong time and in the wrong attitude (trust me I know!). Talk things out in a respectable manner. Even if you have to write it down and practice in the mirror!

3.  Have a vision for yourself and your marriage.
This is a must! Even before you get married talk to your mate about what you, and more importantly God,want your union to represent. Go into prayer and ask God to give you a vision and a family mission for your marriage.

4.  Don’t dwell on what your mate did wrong, think on your  response.
It’s easy to constantly think on what the other person said or did wrong but what about your response? Everytime my husband and I got into a disagreement the Holy Spirit never corrected me about what my husband did or said, it was always about my response.  The only person that you can change or control is you…….

5.  Be the change that you want in your relationship.
Whatever you want to be better, BE that change. If it’s better communication, talk openly, honestly, and in love.  If it’s romance, be romantic.  Whatever it is….Just BE!!!

6. Do all things in love.
Everything has to be done in love and w/the right atitude. If not resentment will set in and you’ll keep in running tab,mentally, on all of your “deeds”.

I hope that at least one of these steps inspire someone in their marriage today! Miracles&Blessings!

Yesterday church was amazing! I don’t remember too much about praise and worship and honestly everything leading up to the Word was a blur…..
What I do remember was awesome. It was about women and prayer. My Pastor talked about how we as women can’t be so busy with our family, school, work, or whatever it is that takes us a lot of our time, to pray.
Relationship with God is our foundation. What type of relationship do you have w/someone that you rarely talk too or when you do talk to them, your conversation is rushed and lacks your full attention? Strained, uneventful, nonexistent-my point exactly!
I implore you as women (and myself too) to take time to pray.  If it means getting up an hour earlier before the kids and everyone else (all I can say to this is Amen and…..ouch:0)), let’s sacrifice the time to cover ourselves, families, communities, friends, daily activities in prayer. Our Father longs to hear from us……..are you up for the challenge? I am!

Last night I wasup late after everyone else went to bed. My initial plan was to pray. I had my prayer journal, my names, and I thought I was ready to go!!!
Well…….that’s not quite how it all worked out!!  I sat down and before I could started….I started asking God some questions. I must admit this wasn’t the usual, mid tempo prayer. I had some tough questions….some why’s, why is this happening, and what are the underlying problems?
I didn’t really know what I expected the Holy Spirit to say….but what He said I wasn’t expecting….. “Bloom Where You Are”……..
After hearing this, I just sat for awhile.  I came to God to pray for others. I thought that He would tell me how to help or specifically what to pray. But instead I got directions for me. 
That one phrase “Bloom Where You Are” has been on my mind all morning and I believe that I have a better understanding…..get better and be excellent where I am right now, at this very moment.  For me, excellence is doing my best ,being my best and pleasing God in whatever it is I’m doing. Whether its being a wife/mother, cleaning, cooking, serving in the children’s ministry, or encouraging and following up w/women at church……doing it w/a cheerful heart, thoroughly, prayerfully, and to the best of my supernatural ability.
Its time for me to do my very best in every area of my life so that God’s glory can be seen……..I’m planning to bloom where I am…how about you????

I was just reading the parable in Matthew 25 about the talents and it got me to thinking…….Am I  investing in the talents that God has given me like the first two servants or am I burying them in the sand like the last servant??
The landowner returned and told the first two servants that he was pleased with them (I’m paraphrasing :0))and since they put their talents to good use and multiplied them, he could trust them with more.
But it didn’t go so well with the last servant……..he buried his talent out of fear b/c he thought the landowner was a harsh man. This excuse didn’t go over to well with the landowner.  He called him “wicked and lazy” (read Matthew 25 for the full details!).
So my question to you is are using the gifts/talents that God has blessed you with? Are you investing in yourself/talent so that God can be gloried through you???? If so great, I applaud you being a blessing for The Kingdom!
If not, why? What’s holding you back from being the best you ever? Whatever it is, I challenge you today to change your thinking, speaking, and actions so that God can invest even more in you!!!

Today I was doing some of the usual things that I have to be done to prepare for a move: cleaning, packing and sorting and disposing of items.  To me this process is no fun.  It’s tedious and time consuming. But well worth it.
Think about it……w/o going through the process of preparing and packing, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our new house soon.  The process is uncomfortable but necessary if I want to enjoy a bigger, better house. Not only is the process benefitting me, it will also be a blessing to my family (especially my hubby…he will officially have his own man cave and deck :0)).
So today instead of complaining about the process, I’ll just thank God as I do what has to be done so that I can get to my destination of more than enough…..room:0).