We've been busy bees around this house lately enjoying all things CHRISTmas. S and Lyla have had so much fun playing with each other outside, making cookies, playing dress ups and riding bikes. We've all been enjoying lots and lots of CHRISTmas cookies, lights,  and fun CHRISTmas songs on the radio. There is nothing like this season.

As we enter December, we're looking for ways to teach our kiddos about Jesus' birth and what a blessing it is to our faith and our salvation. It's challenging though as the media pushes Santa, Rudolph and Frosty. Its challenging to get them excited about Baby Jesus when the world tells them about a Santa who brings them lots of presents.

We're hoping to shift things to a Christ centered CHRISTmas by baking Jesus a birthday cake, and keeping CHRISTmas songs to mostly Christian CHRISTmas songs. We'll also be attending a CHRISTmas pageant at Popi and Mimi's church to tell us the story of Jesus' birth.

Anyone out there have some fun things they are doing to make this CHRISTmas all about Jesus?

As young parents, Tyler and I find ourselves having to define so many parts of our lives that we just used to wing. Now that I'm a mother to two children, not only am I responsible for myself, but now responsible for my children and how I'm raising them.

I'm always looking for ways to be intentional about teaching my kiddos about the Lord and also hope that unintentionally they see the Lord through the reflection of my life. As Easter is approaching, I find myself hitting that rock in the road, asking myself, "How should we celebrate Easter in a way that Jesus is who is glorified?"

I have two kiddos under the age of 2.  It's obvious that their precious little minds cannot yet comprehend death or the sacrificial life Jesus lived. But they can understand when I tell them that Jesus loves them.

I've been searching through some ideas on Focus on the Family to turn Easter from what our world portrays it to be back to Jesus. This year, we're going to be filling our Easter eggs with hearts, because Jesus loves us so much. I also got the girls a really awesome movie, The Lion of Judah to watch as a family this Easter. It's the story of Jesus and how he saved the world, but all told in a story about animals.

I'm also rattling my brain on some creative ideas to make this Easter all about Jesus. As they come to me, I'll post :)

Tyler and I are so very blessed to have the opportunity to parent two little girls in hopes that they will one day choose to believe in our precious Savior, Jesus. Do ya'll have any neat ideas you've heard of or done yourself in celebrating a Christ filled Easter?

We've been studying Psalms 1 at our home church, Mobberly Baptist out here in Longview. Let me tell you that we LOOOOOVE our church. We feel so blessed by the Lord for giving us a church that we are constantly at a state of growing and a state of convicted correction.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers
But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night
He is like the tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."
Psalm 1

For our purposes, this week, we focused on verse 4, digging into who we believe the wicked to be. Could I offer this point of view to you that perhaps the wicked isn't the atheist, the child abuser, the felon....etc., but instead the wicked is the UNGODLY. The UNGODLY being the person who attends church, who prays before they eat, who doesn't cuss...a person who is RELIGIOUS. This person's spirituality is purely based on their religious actions, and not of a personal and sincere relationship with God. Whew! Is that convicting or what?! I think we can all take a moment to study our spiritual lives to make sure we're not getting caught up in the actions of Christianity rather than the ultimate relationship with our Creator.

If you are not spending time in the Word DAILY, if you are not feeling the Holy Spirit's guidance in your life, I have to question if you have a sincere relationship with God. We MUST be feeding on the Word, so that we become a "tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither." Friends, for the sake our our spiritual destiny, take a look at your life and examine it, for we don't want to fooled by Satan. We don't want to think that getting caught up in the ACTS of Christianity is what saves because without our relationship with God, our acts are absolutely meaningless. They become a show that we're either putting on for others or putting on for ourselves.


Guys, I speak this to you in the ultimate sincerity because I know in my heart that it wasn't long ago that I was this wicked person. I was the person who knew the right religious things to say, who attended church on Sundays, who prayed occasionally, who at more times than not, turned my nose up at the sinful act of others. I was self righteous. I thought that my actions were the thing that would save me. I can't tell you how many times I wondered at night if I were saved or not. I was the person who asked Jesus to come into my heart multiple times so that I knew I had "sealed the deal." But I have to tell you, that until I surrendered my life to Jesus, until I MADE the effort to spend time with the Lord on a DAILY basis, until my heart was opened and my ears were softened, until I was ready to GIVE my time to the Lord as an offering because each day of life given is a gift in of itself from the Father, until I stopped saying, "I should" and instead, began DOING what I knew to be true, my life has truly changed. Like night and day change, Friend. I don't wonder anymore if I'll truly be able to live an eternity in Heaven. I don't wonder anymore if the Lord is really there. When I gave myself to the Lord, and began a relationship with Him through reading his Word, I FEEL God. I FEEL His presence.

I can't wait to tell you what God is teaching me. I'm so happy that through this medium, we are learning about our Creator together. If you'd like to watch our sermon this week, I've posted the link below. It's absolutely convicting, in the truest ways.

I love you all and I care so much about your eternity. And ultimately, Friend, it's your choice. You can stop saying, "I should do..." and just start DOING it. I am a living testimony to you, that God is pursuing you. He doesn't give up on you. He wants you if you've never accepted Him and He wants you back if you've left Him. He loves you so very much.

Are you the chaff?

Does anyone else struggle with balancing a healthy lifestyle? God knows I struggle with this, and to be honest, almost every woman I've ever met has, in some way or another, made their struggle known to me as well. For me, it's finding that balance between obsession and making healthy choices that constantly has me in limbo. I ran into these videos on youtube, by God's perfect will. He knows what I needed to hear, and I'm sure they will bless you as well :)

As women, let's be free from the bondage of our minds by making healthy choices and loving our "true selves."