Jesus extends two invitations

I have been reading tender mercy for a Mother's Soul by Angela Thomas Guffey and thought I would share a little with you. I really found this interesting and oh so true!
Many of us have come to Jesus for salvation: a life-changing experience from which we receive forgiveness of our sins, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the assurance of our eternity with the Father. But then many of us wander away from the One who has saved us. We have forgotten that He calls us to come and remain...abide...stay.
When I invite someone to my home, especially someone that I love, I don't leave that person standing at the front door or even in the foyer. If it's someone whom I really want to spend time with, we always end up in the kitchen, sitting around the table, watching the children play (and fuss), talking, laughing, and lingering in the pleasure of each other's presence. I especially love to go to someone's house of for dinner and have that person hand me something to do. I feel welcome, needed, and loved. I don't want to sit in a stuffy chair in the dinning room and wait until something perfect is presented. I want to be in the kitchen, chatting, stirring, and serving. Many of us have invited Jesus in but left Him standing at the front door of our lives. We have put Him on the stuffy chair reserved just for our guest. We occasionally acknowledge his presence with a polite conversation but never allow Him into the kitchen of our hearts. He must be in the center of our lives, active and involved. Let Him come and abide in you. Remain with Him. Linger in the pleasure of His company. To come to Jesus for salvation is only to taste of the pleasures of the Father, but to remain in Him is to eat at the feast of His goodness until your hungry soul has been satisfied. For me that means spiritual fullness, a supernatural contentment that wraps itself around every part of my life, a great peace that comes in and ministers to my family, the blessing of knowing real joy in simple moments. To abide with Christ-to stay with Him and to learn from Him-is to continually receive eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart yo obey.

Again that was all from a book I am reading. This really spoke to me and it was a great reminder how easy you can get caught up in everyday life and only acknowledge God when we are in need. Jesus extends two invitations to us. The first is to come to Him and be saved and the second is to remain in Him. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 This is a great reminder on how I need God in my everyday life in order to grow and become what he wants me to be. Thank you Jesus! I love you!

She is growing up too fast!

Claire is already four months old! I can not believe how fast she is growing! It honestly seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital.

Have I told you...

As I sat in church this weekend listening to Bryan preach he proposed a question that really made me start to think. If we only had 30 days to live would there be things we would do different? Have we told that someone just how much they mean to us? Have we forgave someone that has hurt us? I have to say several things came to mind.

One person who I thought of was my papa. Have I told him just how much he means to me? Let me tell you a little bit about me and my papa. This man has given me some of my most cherished memories! Let me share a few with you.

I can remember spending the night at my grandparents house waiting for my papa to arrive home from work. He owned his own business doing construction. First thing I would do when he walked through the door was run into his arms. He was always dirty from work so he would want to go and take a shower. Before he did that he would let me take off his work boots for him. I always got a kick out of that. So he would patiently wait while I unlaced each boot and pull them off his feet. After he showered he would sit in his recliner and I would jump up in his lap. I always wore his white T-shirts are my night gown. He usually had a little dirt under his finger nails and I wanted to clean them for him. I would say, "papa I'll clean your nails if you pay me a dollar." So thats what I did.

I remember a time a fell off the swing set. I was standing on the swing which was wooden tying to reach the top. I was a gymnast you know. lol I fell and the wooden swing came back and hit me. I can remember my papa running to be. My mom says she has never seen Cy run like that before! lol He pick me up while I was bleeding from my eyebrow. I felt so safe in his arms. I did have to get stitches in case you were wondering.

Every morning for as long as I can remember he would have breakfast fro me when I got up. Even f he had something to do that morning he would go and get breakfast and leave it there for me It started out being donut holes. I loved those things. Then after I became diabetic it was Burger King crossandwich. I felt so loved and important!

He had a tire swing at the house that I was on all the time. It was a plastic tire swing not a real tire. I fit just perfect in it. lol I would say, "papa push me, push me higher papa make my belly laugh!" And he would do just that.

I see the way my kids look at their papas and I can only hope they have memories just as I did!

I can honestly say I have always known his unconditional love for me. I always felt so safe and important to him! He is always telling me how proud he is of me, and he knows how to build me up! I only wish he could see himself through my eyes. I think the world of him!!

More pictures

I love looking at other peoples pictures and I love posting pictures for others to look at. So get ready! lol

Looking back on 2007

I really don't know what I am doing so bare with me. lol I thought maybe I would try my hand at this blogging thing. I am hoping to do more blogging then my husband Jason. lol This year is almost over and I have to say I feel so blessed as I look back over it. I gave birth to my second child Claire Michelle on October 15th. Praise God! Through my labor and delivery I felt so close to God! It's surreal and I can't even began to explain it! Because I am diabetic insulin dependent I was diagnosed with preeclampsia and hospitalized at 35 1/2 weeks. My blood pressures had been really high so during delivery there was a good chance they would put me on magnesium to prevent me from having a seizer. They had to give me the magnesium during my labor with my first child Connor. It was terrible! It makes you so sick to your stomach and gives you a bad headache. I prayed through out my entire pregnancy that I would not have to go through that again! As I waited to go in full blown labor in the hospital I kept reciting the prayer God can do anything , you know far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! Ephesians 3:20 I truly believe that with my heart and soul! Between my prayers and the prayers of my Awesome Church Family, my God delivered! I did not have to have the mag and my labor went so well! Even though Claire arrived four weeks early, she did not have to be put in the NICU like her brother did. What an AWESOME GOD!!!! I give all credit to him!

Another awesome thing that happen this year is that my husband was able to quit his full time job in St. Louis and go full time with his business! I still sometimes can't believe it! So he works from home and is able to spend more time with us. Again, I praise God and give him all the credit.

Lastly, I became an aunt to Gavin Michael. My sister and I were pregnant at the same time and were so excited tht we were able to go through it together. She is my best friend and only sibling. I am so thankful God made us sisters! I will never forget when my mother was pregnant with her I prayed every night (no kidding) she would be a girl. I wanted a sister so bad! She was a girl alright but 100% tomboy! lol We were so opposite. LOL Even thought we were 5 1/2 years apart we now are closer than ever! Thank you God! I love you!