what if everyone said yes....

said yes to what Jesus was putting on their heart.... no matter HOW CRAZY it seemed or HOW IMPOSSIBLE it was....

like Noah did

like Moses did

like Gideon did

...not caring what PEOPLE said about them.

What would happen.....  i get the honor of seeing this all of the time... and it makes me elated.

this week i am thinking of.... 

A mom of 4 kiddos under five years old saying yes i am going to design clothes to give away for donations to build a women's shelter for abused impoverished women in India.

A grandma saying yes i will clear out my basement and make a place to sew things that will impact impoverished children and gather other women to join me and make things too.

A mom of 4 saying yes God, i will coordinate women to make quilts for impoverished orphans.

A mom that enjoyes the safety of home saying yes i will go all the way to India and teach women to sew and start sewing businesses. 

A woman saying yes i will quit my job doing things i know to work and do the things i don't know so much to build YOUR kingdom among the nations. 

and so many more yes's to Jesus..... a family gives to build a water well.... a woman gives to make a sewing kit for a impoverished woman.... a friend in India runs around getting everything together... a child fills a water bottle full of change to helpgive a child in India clean water for a lifetime...  a woman that ralley's her facebook friends... people just saying yes. 

It is beautiful..... and watch out .... it's contagious. 

In a little over a week we go as a family to India with 2 other friends to share and show HIS love. To teach some beautiful women how to sew and start a business to help them. We will also teach them what HE thinks about them. How HE created them for a purpose and  HOW He sees them as HIS unique beautiful priceless invaluable creation with a heart song that only they can sing. Some of these women have been taught all of their lives that they are worthless and treated that way too. Some of these women need simply a business to meet the basic needs of life. 

Please pray for us... we are excited about what He is up too and humbled that He wants us to be apart of it....... us..... sinful.... inadequate ... selfish... fragile ....us.... that is the beauty we don't have know everything, or be skilled, or whatever... we just say YES and HE does HIS great plan.

We could say no.... HIS love for us would be the same... we would just miss out on expereincing HIM in the place of YES. :) 

elated. 

here is a few videos of the boys last time we were in India as a family: :) 

....that is how they make gravel in India... :) 

it is written...

"man does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God"

What brings LIFE and life to the fullest.
What brings JOY one that cannot be stolen.

God's words do. Today i was watching a movie about Jesus with the boys - a sick day for all at our home -  the movie was simple... a bit long... and borderline put you to sleep or mesmerize you... then when the above words were spoken it was life a knife to my heart.

Truth does that... God's words do that... they have the power to change a soul by just by hearing them.

In the movie the character said it differently than above...
"A person does not only live by eating. A person lives by [hearing] and doing everything the Lord says."

He = life

and not just any life... the life the creator designed us to live. If we know that HE = LIFE then we must know that anything that would replace the "HE" in that equation would = DEATH. 

1 John 5:21 was the theme verse for Perpetua's 1st birthday and is our prayer for her as well and us. As i think about myself i beg God to show me anything that i put in His place... i want that life to the fullest the one that is found in HIM. i want to run the race with my eyes on HIS undistracted. 

We always do a theme for the kids birthdays that points back to the Creator. This theme focused on HIM and the heart. We made all of the decor for less than $4. Heart strands ( just used a needle and thread instead of a hole puncher but here is a good tutorial)  and sewed heart shaped papers together and hung them everywhere (click here for a good tutorial). The boys helped with both. 

we made a heart cake :) 

 The boys used their own money to buy Petcha gifts. 

 We even played some funny party games having to do with the heart.

5 GAMES

1. KEEP AWAY FROM ANYTHING: A child gets a heart clipped to their shirt then all of the other children/adults go to a corner/another room and count to 15/30 while the child with the heart hids well. Then every one goes hunting to try to steal the heart. Whoever steals the heart gets to be the child with the heart. WE EVEN TRIED WITH LIGHTS OUT AND A FLASHLIGHT... lots of laughs and fun! 
2. GUESS WHO: Blindfold one child and secretly pick another child to come up and say "God love you" or “I love you” or “Your family loves you” in a silly voice. Can the child guess who's whispering to him?
3. WHAT IS THE RIGHT PATH FOR YOUR HEART: Map heart Game (print out) 
4. BLINDED BY LOVE: What you will need: Chalkboard or Whiteboard, 3-4 Blindfolds Directions: Have children go up to the chalkboard at once. Blindfold each child, and hand each a piece of chalk. Ask them to draw a heart. And then take a look – they will laugh at it and then try again (other things/Perpetua smiling) 
5. ARROWS IN YOUR HEART: Straws, heart bowls/dishes, and cutips -  shoot them in the hearts by blowing putting the cutip in one end and blowing on the other. See how many you can get in. 

love my little peeps

Perpetua is 1 year old

On this day one year ago we got to see face to face our little one that had been growing in my belly. She came out quick. You can read her birth story here.

Perpetua came as a wonderful surprise. Last night as i was nursing her i was sharing with Jonathan how amazing she is... how God made her like no other in the world and there has never been anyone like her either... nor will there ever be. How God made her for a purpose and imprint on this world that only she can fulfill... a song of worship to him that only she can sing.

I don't know what the pages of her life story will say... He knows though .....her Creator. I just know now this little one was entrusted to me to teach about HIM and the purpose HE has for her and to love her like He loves.

Happy 1st Birthday my beautiful little one!

one week old.

one year old.

for such a time as this

i know i am here for such a time as this and so are you...

i remember wondering when i was younger why God put me here in the USA instead of someone where else, or why God made me a woman when men seem to be able to travel so freely and go to any country and share His love. i know He had a plan and i am here for this time for a purpose that only i can full fill. 

... to sing HIS praises

... to exhort my husband toward HIM

... to teach my children about HIM

...to show and share the world HIS massive love 

we only have a breath and then our life is over... our names will soon be forgotten by this world and our bodies disappearing in the dirt .... the only thing that will count is what we did for eternity... how we lived in the truth that this world IS NOT OUR HOME

For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

Hebrews 13:14

.... our home is with the Maker of the Universe, the great and loving GOD. 

Everywhere we look we are seeing more and more people get this.... that we only have one life to live... and there is only one place we can find the direction on how to best live our short little life and that book, the BIBLE, and that following HIM is what it is about...

and that following HIM will look crazy --- HE might say build an ark for years, or go make demands to a king (Pharaoh), or go lead an army (Gideon), or maybe go preach the gospel and make disciples and show MY love and share MY love... oh wait a minute... HE did tell us to do that..... and HE also said don't worry about what you will eat, or what you will drink, or what you will wear, or where you will lay your head.... TRUST ME... YOUR CREATOR... FOLLOW ME. 

So since i know what HE says... i can't be complacent,  apathetic, distracted, content, or comfortable  there in that place of wasteful life... HE will not be found... only when i seek HIM and HIS ways with my whole mind, heart, strength, and go where HE is working will i find HIM. 

HE is feeding the hungry, healing the broken hearted, in the hard places, in the war torn countries  down the street, in an alley way with a homeless teen, teaching my Elijah, Jeriah, and Perpetua....

if i follow HIM.... I WILL get dirty, some people will hate me, i will be uncomfortable.... but OH what JOY it is to follow HIM to leave the worthless emptiness of silly things and follow HIM to pray over a women in India, to kiss the forehead of abused girl in Roanoke, to write a biblestudy for my kids, to stay up all night and talk with my maker and plead for the lives of so many.... THERE with HIM is where true JOY is found....

I love HIM and where HE goes I will follow.... 

wherever that may be... 

JOIN me...... lets run the race together...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1