HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS

OHHH HOW CUTE!

JOSHUA HAD A BLAST MAKING HIS GINGERBREAD FAMILY. I GOT TICKLED AT HIM EATING THE CANDIES MEANT FOR THE EYES AND TASTING THEM ALL, INCLUDING THE ONE WHO LOST AN ARM (IF LOOK CLOSELY WILL SEE IT).

AFTER HIS FINISHED TASTY PRODUCT HE EXCLAIMED.....OHHHH HOW CUTE!

HE ADORED HIS LIL GINGERBREAD FAMILY.

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

What a way to celebrate the day! Teaching your child the importance of thanks and appreciation for our veterans. My father is a Vietnam veteran and my grandfather fought in the Korean War so this was close to my heart. The willingingness of dedicating their lives, that all veterans sacrifice, to defend our freedom, our rights and most of all, to be of service for our country, us, our children and generations to come.

God bless our Veterans and those serving in war now!

GOD BLESS AMERCIA!

LORD,

PROTECT OUR SERVICE MEN NOW! RELEASE YOUR ANGELS AROUND THEM AS THEY DEFEND US AND OUR COUNTRY. NOW AND IN THE PAST. HEAL THOSE WHO HAVE POST TRAMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND SCARS MENTALLY FROM THE WAR. HELP THEM COOP AND SEEK YOU FOR HEALING FROM ALL THEY ENDURE IN WAR.

MAY WE RISE UP AS A COUNTRY AND PRAY AND SEEK GOD FOR THEM AND FOR OUR NATION!

IN YOUR PRECIOUS NAME..JESUS. AMEN!

CHILDREN IN NEED

I want to touch on something close to my heart. CHILDREN IN NEED.

To begin. I haven't ever shared this experience I had because it is so personal, but I feel it is time to share it because we need people to intercede and step up for these children. Whether in prayer or in the physical by giving your time and love.

When Joshua was just a few months old or so I had a very real dream. I dreamed DHR took him away from me for no reason. There were witnesses who falsely accused me of things that weren't true and DHR believed them. In my dream I remember still the torment, pain, and agony of not having him. I don't know why I had this dream exactly and can't say God gave it to me but I do know He used it either way to plant a seed in me to love and pray for children in need.

In the dream I discovered the foster parents who got Joshua were hurting him in a bad way and not feeding him like he needed. I remember just gnawing my teeth in horror and felt so crazy because I was so distraught. I tried everything to get to my baby.

I woke up thankful this was a dream and went and got my baby and held him a long time. Thanking and praising God!

Over the next few weeks God would very strongly call me to pray for women who had lost their child by varies reasons. They include DHR wrongly taken them, death, kidnapping situations and women who discovered their child had been sexual abused and physically abused. God would call me to intercede at night with Joshua in my arms still after I had rocked him to sleep. I would think of these women who couldn't rock their child to sleep and how they indeed felt so distraught and in agony wondering how their children were. I began also praying that God would move where sexual offenders would be discovered if they would continue in hurting others. (I had prayed for them to be healed and to have a heart change.) Over the next weeks on the news I would see how God moved indeed with many sexual offenders being discovered and arrested.

My season to pray was over and up until this summer when a girl I know lost her child to DHR due to her own personal situation which gave me a desire to help, which led to me being apart of some really awesome small groups who minister to youth girls at Hill Crest.

Here recently, I had forgotten the dream until the lady I help with Bible Study at Hill Crest mentioned the children at Hill Crest. I was amazed to find out they were as young as 4. I can't imagine how they must feel being in this place without the love of a parent to tuck them in bed at night, to read books, to pray over them, kiss their boo boos, hug them when they need encouragement. I also can't dare to think of what they were going through either. This brought life back to my dream after 3 years.

Yesterday I went to Hill Crest and met with the children. They totally captured my heart. They desire so much of the things we take for granted. I sang songs with them and left. As I was leaving this little girl who wasn't much bigger than my own child who was very agitated because she just arrived her second time and I could see very distraught asked me to take her home please. It totally broke my heart. I did want to take her home. To read her a story and make her some hot chocolate and tell her Jesus loves you so much and you are so special but of course I couldn't.

I do plan to start going to be with these children and let them know that God does care and so do I. I am not sure how I will be able to go because of childcare and so forth but I know God put this in my heart and He will fulfill what He started.

If I could say anything it would be ... be quick to read that book to your children or stop and hold them because time flies so fast and opportunities pass.

Pray for these children. Pray hard! They need us to.

My Two Cooks & Scrambled Pancakes

I love Sunday mornings. We go to the evening service at church and this creates our time to be a family and enjoy each other without having this or that or places to be.

This morning Joshua and Shane decided to make pancakes, which is often their thing. I always love to watch. Little did I know Joshua watches and remembers all too well. He loves to cook just as much as his daddy and never passes up an opportunity to help cook.

Don't you love his little apron our friend gave him? He is just like daddy =)

So, here Joshua proudly display his pancakes he made. Yes, they look like scrambled eggs because he poured the batter in the pan without butter when I was asking Shane to help me put batteries in my camera to take these pictures.... so they stuck. Hence : Scrambled Pancakes

Here he shows off his "Sara face" from The Land Before Time movie

They had a great time and I did too observing.
Families are awesome and truly life's greatest treasure.

God bless!

10 Can Soup

Here is one of my favorite fall recipes:

10 Can Soup

2 lbs of Hamburger Meat

2 Cans of Corn (drained)

2 Cans of Chili

2 Cans of Vegetable Soup

2 Cans of Tomato Soup

2 Cans of Tomato Sauce

Brown meat and drain. Add together in large pot, meat and other ingredients. Adding water as feel needed to get consistency you desire. You can also add any spices you like. Simmer to heat and eat. We love to eat with cornbread.

This makes a big pot and can feed your family and another. So invite your friends and family. Enjoy great fellowship. Afterall, this is the upcoming seasons to spend time with loved ones.

Enjoy and Happy Fall!

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

The poem below has always meant so much to me as a reminder of the impact a mother has in her child's life. Even as a mother 16 years old not fully serving the Lord I knew this poem was so true. I used to have it on my refrigerator for years laminated when my oldest son was a small child. I ran across it the other day just looking on the Internet. Life can bring the sweetest reminders. What a blessing it has always meant to me and I pray it is for you as well.

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw you hang up my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight, and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I LOOKED

....and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.

(author unknown)

Just some thoughts from a mom who appreciates her life.

L♥vin My B♥ys!

Becoming a mother at age 16, I never grasped the gift God would be giving me until I finally held my 9 week premature baby son for the first time when he was 3 weeks old. From that moment on my heart beat for this little 3 lb. 7oz baby and my desire to be the best mom I could be to him was born. He is now 20 and has his whole life in front of him. I am at a point where I need to release him completely to God and trust God. After all, he is God's child. I do pray he flies so high and serves the Lord with all his heart.

The Bible says train a child up in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. I sit here knowing out of all the ministry work I can do on this earth by far my greatest mission as a mother is to raise God fearing boys to become mighty servants of God.

When I became a mother again in 2005 to Joshua it was like I was in a different life. Kyle was 17 and now I had a newborn. I thanked God for another opportunity to be a mother. These boys are my reward and great treasure. My vision and desire to see them fulfill their great destiny God created them for is near at hand as I know too well time does seem to pass by in a twinkle of an eye.

I think of how great an opportunity to help God with a creation when He created my children in my womb, but what an honor to raise them in Godly ways. If I never succeed at anything may I succeed in raising my boys to become God's pleasing and faithful servants.

Thank you God for giving me my boys. I see it as a great honor to be used by You to train them in Your ways and teachings. Lord, help me to be that mother you desire for me to be. When I am tired give me exceeding energy and patience to love them. When I am stressed give me overwhelming love for them and Lord, when they need me let me be there and not too busy to see their need. They won't be mine forever for I must give them to You and release them. Lord, help me give them roots and so I can cheer as I see them fly. In Jesus' Name Amen!

TO MY BOYS!

THIS SONG IS FOR YOU

I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!

I AM NOT DEFINED BY

Who my friends are

What family I was born in

Who my husband is

What neighborhood I live in

What car I drive

What my occupation is

How much money I have

If I am thin and pretty

What church I go to

What talent I have

I AM DEFINED BY WHO I AM THROUGH

JESUS CHRIST

I am His creation
I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV)

Chicken & The Word!

He said, Hearken, all Judah, you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says this to you: Be not afraid or dismayed at this great mutlitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

II Chronicles 20:15

God will use things you pay attention to to speak to us because we don't always listen to Him at times. He often uses my little boy to speak to me. I wanted to share this precious moment with you.

This morning I was watching Joyce Meyers and Joshua was sitting right beside me. She was teaching on not complaining but offering praise to God. She used a sandwich to show how we should pray to God. How one slice of bread is our foundation and the inside or middle, she used chicken, was what we petitioned Him with, which included Lord my back hurts and other examples. Then she put the 2nd slice of bread on and says we should return to praise after our petition.

Joshua inquires, "Momma, What is she doing?" I said she is teaching the Word of God. I continued, you know how mommy went to church and spoke to people about the Bible, that is what she is doing. He waited a moment and exclaimed ...Chicken and ...the Word??? He understood teaching the Word but didn't get the chicken part. He was trying to figure out how chicken and the Word went together.

God bless our children! I can't wait until Joshua shows me through Christ my next life lesson. I learned some things may not make sense but to God they have a purpose. We only know in part.

A Friend Loves At All Times

A FRIEND LOVES AT ALL TIMES

PROVERBS 17:17

I recently had to talk with my almost 3 yr old about loving a friend. We had been learning this in our Bible study times at home because he had learned it in church so I felt I needed to follow through at home.

He loves his cousin Olivia or Cia, as he calls her. They are 10 months apart, she being older. They had been arguing and not sharing over certain toys one night so I felt impressed to implement the Word I was teaching. I laid down with him that night and told him the Bible says a friend loves at all times. To my amazement he began weeping hard and said Cia is my best friend. I said yes she is and you are suppose to share and not fight with her. He felt so saddened by his actions and I was honestly shocked he got the revelation of the verse, but he did. Since that time he has been such a good cousin/friend to Cia. He shares and doesn't argue with her.

I think of how Jesus said come like a child and also that there is no greater love than this that a man lays down his life for his friend. Jesus was our friend and continues to be a faithful friend. He did lay His life down for us. I also think of how it says in the Word...to the least you done unto these, you have done unto Me. How we treat others is how we treat Jesus. It is amazing with that thought how we would treat people better if we had that revelation. We wouldn't ask Jesus to come into our homes with messes and sin nor would we treat Him wrong and heartless, but He is here in our lives and we do treat Him how we treat others.

I am evaluating myself and how I love others. We are commanded to love one another but I see so much of loving myself more because I can't say I would lay down my life for another or at times I think of others more than myself. I want to be of service for others and love them whole-heartedly and to love at all times.

With all these thoughts I can only think...how can we love God if we can't even love our brothers.

So many people simply need a FRIEND. Someone to walk in this journey in life with, to laugh with, mourn with and grow with.

Thank you Joshua of all your 35 months of life. You have taught me something child-like I can take throughout the rest of mine.

Lord, let us all be friends as you have called us and to think of others rather than ourselves. To reach out to the hurting, lonely and desperate for love. So many people need friends Lord. Help me to be a friend who loves at all times.

In Jesus' name. Amen!

Facing Myself!

So to be honest, I failed in character and as a servant of the Most High. There was a situation which deeply hurt my mom; and as well, very much will affect my dad (which are divorced). I got too emotionally upset about things that happened and became protective of them, knowing someone's wrong intentions to misuse them. I have Someone better and more equipped to handle all of life's situations. I forgot that. To be honest I had a lot of things surface that I didn't even know existed. I feel I missed out on having a relationship with my father and my children knowing their grandfather but I come to realize not only had I lost that hope but I lost compassion that my father, even so an alcoholic most of my life, has lost more than I. I was selfish in feeling I lost something treasurable because he is in my life, just not very much. I have him nevertheless. So if anyone out there has ever gone through something like this know. God loves you and is your Heavenly Father forever and He wants a close relationship with us all.

I gave it to the Cross last night, literally! I thumb tacked it right on there at church and had me an encounter with God and I am trusting God. I did repent to the Lord for my actions this weekend but best of all He told me He loves me and is here for me. Who can compare to that?

To my dad who will never read this. You have a heart of gold, a real treasure. Unfortunately many don't ever get to see that. I have. I am sorry you are in bondage to this addiction that has robbed you of the love, blessings and relationships here on earth. I know you had a hard life with Vietnam and how it haunts you. I wish I could make it all better for you but only God can....and Dad I give you to GOD, our Father. I love you.

John 1:12 - But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name.


THE PRAYING HANDS

The "Praying Hands" are much, much more than just a work of art, They are the "soul's creations" of a deeply thankful heart.

They are a Priceless Masterpiece that love alone could paint, And they reveal the selflessness of an unheralded saint

These hands so scarred and toilworn, tell the story of a man Who sacrificed his talent in accordance with God's Plan.

For in God's Plan are many things man cannot understand, But we must trust God's judgement and be guided by His Hand -

Sometime He asks us to give up our dreams of happiness, Sometimes we must forego our hopes of fortune and success -

Not all of us can triumph or rise to heights of fame, And many times What Should Be Ours, goes to another Name -

But he who makes a sacrifice, so another may succeed, Is indeed a true disciple of our blessed Saviour's creed -

For when we "give ourselves away" in sacrifice and love, We are "laying up rich treasures" in God's kingdom up above -

And hidden in gnarled, toilworn hands in the truest Art of Living, Achieved alone by those who've learned the "Victory of Giving"

For any sacrifice on earth, made in the dear Lord's name Assures the giver of a place in Heaven's Hall of Fame.

And who can say with certainty Where the Greatest Talent Lies, Or Who Will Be the Greatest In Our Heavenly Father's Eyes!

~Helen Steiner Rice

Hilcrest Outreach / Glory to GOD

I wanted to share some pictures of our Summer Small Group Outreach we had this past Saturday at Hilcrest. We were able to minister to 12 wonderful girls in the RTCC program. Some of whom received Christ into their hearts. I am in awe of how God can make a hard heart become open to receive Him with simple gestures of love that melts away all heartache and molds it into a heart of love. I saw girls who seemed so hard-hearted weep so hard and humble themselves to God. God moved so beautifully. Thank you Lord for allow us all to minister for Your glory. If we do not love we are nothing. 1 Cor. 13

To my small group: What an awesome group you are. I pray God continues to grow us into beautiful relationships with one another. God bless you and keep you =)

***H.O.P.E ***
He Offers Peace Eternally
-Jeremiah 29:11

MY LIL PRAISER

I wanted to share a blessing. I have started doing praise worship at home with my 2 year old. He loves Jesus so much.

CHILDREN CAN REMIND YOU OF SO MANY THINGS YOU FORGOT! I KNOW THAT IS WHY JESUS SAID COME LIKE A CHILD! WHAT PURE WORSHIP HE OFFERED UP TO THE LORD THAT DAY!

Family Photos

Sign Language - May 3, 2008 - Song by Rita Springer, Gonna Be Worth It

This is a short video my little precious friend videotaped off my camera at a women's conference I signed at in May 2008, in Rainbow City, Alabama.

It is for the most part recorded sideways and isn't the song in its entirety signed. So hopefully it won't be too much strain on your neck to watch =)

I thank God for enabling me to do this for Him. I consider it my sacrifice and worship to Him. It is such an honor and I am so thankful to be able to minister to affect lives for the glory of God.

His kingdom come, His will be done and..... never mine.

Be A Sign For Jesus! ><> It is gonna be worth it all!

God bless you!

I HAVE STRENGTH FOR ALL THINGS IN CHRIST WHO EMPOWERS ME [I AM READY FOR ANYTHING AND EQUAL TO ANYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO INFUSES INNER STRENGTH INTO ME; I AM SELF-SUFFICIENT IN CHRIST'S SUFFICIENCY]
- Philippians 4:13 (AMP)

My Testimony

I became pregnant at age 16 and married in 10th grade. I gave premature birth to Kyle in July of 1988 and he changed my life completely. Never had I known a love like I felt the first time I saw him face to face. At that point my vision to make a way for us was birthed. Throughout a rocky marriage of verbal and physical abuse, my marriage ended when I was 21. Even though I had almost raised Kyle by myself, I was at this point truly alone and raising a confused and hurting 5 year old, not to mention the mess I was. I then welcomed the world as my love, comfort and so to speak divorced the God I barely knew to pursue a relationship with the world.

I still continued on "my way". I went through another abusive relationship and several relationships throughout the years and continued in the world adapting to every thing and enjoying everything it had to offer. I came to the end of my road in 2002. I was very depressed and had started on medication and came to a fork in my journey with two ways to choose. It was at that time God starting calling to me and drawing me. I for once, listened and drew close to Him. He was always there the whole time once I looked back. He always protected me, provided for us and always loved me.

At a prayermeeting in May of 2002, I said the prayer that changed my whole life. I, for the firstime felt the Holy Spirit and have been captivated by Him ever since. I then began a new way but this time it was Jesus' way. I can't say the way was easy. He never said it would be. He simply said I would never be alone.

I meet my husband finally after 2 1/2 years of praying. I meet him at his church while I was visiting and learning more sign language. He is deaf, for now. I am amazed how God prepared me so uniquely for him. We married 3 months later and will be married in November 4 years. We had our son Joshua in September of 2005 after a very hard and difficult pregnancy.

So here I am, Julie, God's maidservant. I am in awe of how He loved me faithfully and still continues to love me. I am so imperfect to serve Him, but somehow He still lets me. He made a way for me to come before Him and become a new creature. He is the way, the truth and defiantely the life. He is the life in me that makes this vessel of any value. We serve a very loving Lord.

I pray this ministered for God's glory and bear with me as I began in the world of blogging.

To God be all the glory and to God may we always go HIS WAY!