Fun Pics from VBS

My Happy VBS Bunch!!!

HARVEST AMERICA

Please don't miss this awesome event that will be on August 26th at 7pm, EST.  Harvest America is a Harvest Crusade by gifted evangelist, Greg Laurie, that will be broadcast LIVE across the country out of Anaheim, CA.  It will be broadcast at churches throughout the country- simply go to www.harvestamerica.com to find a location near you!  Calvary Chapel of Fredericksburg is one of the many churches that will be hosting the event in the local area.

Answers will be given to the deepest questions about life and the Good News will be shared!  Don't miss the opportunity- bring family, friends..anyone you love!!

It's Been A While

Four months have passed by since the door was closed on our adoption through Bethany.  Our time is not here yet and we are resting in the Lord, but we are so excited for friends from church that just met their new son Joshua today!  He will be their second adopted child from China!  Check out their joy at:  www.adoptedandappointed.blogspot.com

Field Trip

Tomorrow we are heading to Heaven Scent Farm in Gainesville!

Joy

I Love This Song!

Forever Reign by Hillsong

You are good, You are good
When there's nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see
You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost its sting

Oh, I’m running to Your arms,
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here, You are here
In Your presence I'm made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other Name
Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

I'm on Facebook!

I haven't been posting as much here on my blog because I recently joined Facebook and am having fun on there keeping up with friends and sharing about Jesus.  Please join me there!

The Joy of Homeschooling

My children get to be together all day!!  They are best friends.

Only God!

All wisdom and knowledge comes from God.  Everything in our lives emanates from Him.  He is holding everything together..He is the reason I can take my next breath.  He formed me in my Mother's womb..He knows where I would live..He knows the day I will die.  He has everything I need.  Why look anywhere else?

A Good Day

Today was a great day..I picked up Antonis from his Sea Cadets drill weekend at 3pm and then we drove over to Waldorf, MD to visit with my brother, David.  We had a great time.  I finally have some pictures of Antonis in uniform!  My little sailor.  I am so proud of him!

The New Furniture!

God Cares About Our Furniture!

God moved in a mighty way early this weekend in an area of our lives that had been neglected for a long time..our family room.  The whole time we've been married we have been blessed to have the furniture in our family room that my Dad handed down to me when he moved to FL, 10 years ago.  This was a living room set that had been in my house growing up.  My Dad says they bought it when I was 6 years old.  So it had been around a while but was still in good condition.  Over the years I got sick of the coffee table and end tables though so out those went to the curb.  We've stuck with the couch but the thing was starting to look beat up.  We had bible study at our house a couple of weekends ago and a friend sat down and the arm rest fell off.  For the past several years we have been talking about wanting to get a new living room set but it's been difficult to find the time to shop with 5 kids.  I've gone out a couple times while Bob stayed home to hold down the fort, we've popped into stores together on "date night" and we even ventured out with the little ones in tow several times, but I just didn't see what I wanted.

Well lo and behold..on Friday afternoon our doorbell rang around 3pm.  A man with Furniture Direct had this massive truck filled with furniture that was available to purchase right from the truck.  He wanted to know if I wanted to come out and take a look. (Meanwhile I was on the phone with my brother and he was yelling for me not to do it..that it was all stolen goods!!  He worries about me because I don't watch TV :))  We actually found an entire living room set that we really liked and were able to buy it right from our driveway.  By 6pm...a whole new look!!  Now that is service!  No waiting for delivery..no dragging my color swatch through showroom floors.  The living room is absolutely beautiful!  The Lord provided the means to purchase the furniture and He brought our furniture to our doorstep.  When the Lord moves, He moves!!  Bob even decided late on Thursday that he felt like taking the day off on Friday.  I would have never been able to make the purchase without him being here.  GOD IS GOOD!!! I'll add the pictures of our beautiful new room tomorrow!!  Anyone for coffee or bible study?

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Coming Rapture & Tribulation

As I mentioned in previous posts..there is coming a time when God is going to pour out his judgement on this Earth for man's rebellion against God.  Jesus is going to save those who follow Him from living through this terrible time...those that believe in Him and have accepted Him as Savior will be taken out of the world before the events begin to unfold.  Jesus is going to come down in the clouds and gather His people to Him in the air..we then are going to go up to heaven to be with Him forever!  It is all going to happen in the twinkling of an eye..and then with the church gone from the Earth, the evil is going to really let loose.  I would not want to be here for that!  It is going to be a terrible time and I am going to tell you about the things that will be ocurring during that time in upcoming posts.  It is known as the 7 year tribulation and you can read it for yourself in the book of Revelation.  I am writing in hopes of encouraging those who have been on the fence about committing their lives to Jesus to not wait another day!!  This is to warn you of the impending disasters to come.  I'm also writing so that those of you who are left behind will know what happened to me and what to expect for yourselves.  My prayer is that all those who read this blog will be joined together with us in the clouds!

The Comfort of Christ's Coming -1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NKJV)

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethen, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumphet of God.  And the dead in Christ willl rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

 

What A Month..but GOD IS IN CONTROL

Life comes at you so fast sometimes...I feel overwelmed..I am reflecting on all that has happened since the beginning of this year leading up to the events of this week.  My Mom has been admitted to a psychatric treatment facility and hopefully will be seeing a Dr. by this afternoon.  She started out in the hospital and was cleared medically and then transferred to the place that specializes in mental health.  I heard from her earlier and it is so heartbreaking..I will look forward to hearing from her once she is stabilized.  I know Jesus is with her and she is surrounded by His angels.  I am praying that His light will penetrate the darkness around her..that she will feel his presence in the midst of all of this.  I am praying that God has special people in that place that know Jesus and will share his love with her while she is there.  God has an awesome plan for her life that is unfolding...I pray for a deeper level of surrender to God for her, for me, for all of us!

In the midst of all of the turmoil, Jesus is on the throne.  He sees it all..knew it all before it even happened..he is right here comforting me and walking me through this.  I just have to keep emptying my burdens at his feet.  He is strong enough to get me through anything.  I am unmoved when I gaze on Him.

Please Pray for My Mom

We would really covet more of your prayers right now...please continue praying for Bob's sister Donna.  She has been transferred to a rehabiliation center (praise God for some progress) but has been difficult to deal with.  She got out of a wheel chair at the rehab center and ended up falling on her face and had to go back to the hospital, but is back at the rehabilitation center now.  Please pray for her brother Dave, his wife Vicki, and their mother, Nellie.

Please also pray for my Mom, Miriam, who is currently going through an episode with her manic depression.  She has been stable for 2-3 years now (without drugs..relying on the Holy Spirit) but has been going through some stress lately related to her Mom that is going to be 92 this year.  My grandmother has a bad back and might be having surgery again soon..we'll have to see.  My Mom is worried about her and is afraid of her dying.  She wants to be with her to help her but her Mom lives an hour away.  My Mom does best when she has a regular routine and not alot of stress in her life....I had thought that perhaps the Lord had healed her from this mental illness but from the current circumstances, He has not.  She turned to her Pastor for help because she has no one else to care for her in FL.  We are trying to get her medical help but she continues to believe that she is okay and just needs the help of her church.  There are times when God doesn't heal directly and He chooses to use doctors and medications to help us.  Please pray that she would be open to the help she needs!  Please pray for wisdom for Pastor Chris and pray for his family and the body of believers at Calvary Chapel Cape Coral.

Please Pray

We just got word the day before yesterday that Bob's younger sister Donna was in a car accident that could have easily taken her life.  She survived but is in critical condition..with a concussion (cranial bleeding), broken jaw and pelvis, and other injuries.  Her recovery is expected to be slow and she could be in the hospital for months, most likely needing physical rehabilitation.  She was speeding and her car flipped over 6 times..she wasn't wearing her seat belt and she was thrown out of the car.  We know it was the Lord's will to keep her alive.  He let her live so that she CAN LIVE!  Meaning He allowed her to live so that she can turn to Him and have eternal life.  Please pray for Bob's brother Dave who is bearing the burden of caring for the family since he lives closeby.

We are also grieving over the loss of a little boy named Luke who was going to be adopted by our friend's Kevin & Mandy from our church.  He lived in an orphanage in China and they were going to be traveling to China to get him within a couple of months.  He unexpectedly got sick over Christmas and passed away.  We had a yard sale at our church over the summer to raise funds towards his adoption.  It's so hard to understand why God took him now but God's ways our higher than our ways.  We will see him in heaven!  What an amazing reunion it will be.  They never got to meet him but loved him already as their own son.  They sent him presents for Christmas and he had pictures of their family and knew they were coming for him.  You can check out their blog at:  www.adoptedandappointed.blogspot.com They are also listed under my bloglist in the right column.  I went to the same high school as Kevin & Mandy and now many years later we are all worshipping at the same church.  I'm so sad that I won't get to meet Luke yet but praise God he has his glorified body and is with Jesus.

Happy New Year!

It's the dawn of 2012 and I can't imagine what God has in store for this year.  Our adoption which we started last April is on hold for the time being so that we can focus on our oldest, Antonis.  Bob, Antonis and I have started family counseling together per the request of our adoption social worker.  It is tough being a blended family.  I don't know what the future holds..I hope we will be able to complete our adoption this year and have a new baby to love, but God's timing is BEST! 

God has been making some other big changes in Antonis's life as of lately..back in December he joined the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets.  He will go for drills one weekend a month.  He will attend boot camp and special trainings this summer.  His friend Jonathan from church is a Sea Cadet and he introduced Antonis to the program.  Antonis attended a trial weekend in December and really enjoyed it. 

The other big change is that God has taken Antonis out of our homeschool and placed him at the Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg!  This is a small, Montessori Christian school.  His first day is tomorrow.  He is excited.  I will be dropping him off each morning at 8:30am and picking him up at 3pm.  In the hours in between I will continue to school the 3 girls and care for Zachary.  This was a surprising change since I expected to be homeschooling him through high school.  I have always been open to whatever God's will is though and God clearly called him out at this time.