Living With a Purpose Everyday!

"The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!" 2 Samuel 22:47

I praise God for sending His son to die for my sins on the cross. I thank Him from the bottom of my heart for finding me as a young girl and for showing me His love. God picked me up from the depths and gave me life. I know I am the person I am today because of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have soot to honor Him and bring glory to His name. This song made me cry the first time I heard it and i still get goose bumps when i hear it's powerful words. I am proud to say My Savior Lives!

My Savior My God by Aaron Shust

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

Chorus (2x’s)
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior’s always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

Chorus (2x’s)

(Instrumental)

Chorus: (2x’s)

My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior loves, My Savior lives

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10

Through all that is going on in my life these past seven days, I have been reading through Proverbs and I read this verse today. I praise the Lord for being my strong tower, a place to run to for refuge. I hope this song brings this scripture to life for you.

Strong Tower By Kutless

When I wander through the desert
And I'm longing for my home
All my dreams have gone astray
When I'm stranded in the valley
And I'm tired and all alone
It seems like I've lost my way

I go running to your mountain
Where your mercy sets me free

[chorus]
You are my strong tower
Shelter over me
Beautiful and mighty
Everlasting King
You are my strong tower
Fortress when I'm weak
Your name is true and holy
And Your face is all I seek

In the middle of my darkness
In the midst of all my fear
You're my refuge and my hope
When the storm of life is raging
And the thunder's all I hear
You speak softly to my soul

I praise the Lord for being with me no matter what. I have been repeating this verse over and over this past week, Romans 8:31 "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?". I praise God for never leaving me! My favorite part of this song is "For You are who You are, No matter where I am". Thank you Lord for loving me even though I am so unworthy and undeserving of your love. All through out this storm Lord, I have felt your loving arms around me. You are mighty, and I praise you for what I am learning through all this. May your Glory be seen in all this!

"Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

As I have said in my previous post, I am posting songs that have been helping me understand my own feelings about my life right now. I have loved this song since i first heard it when I was a teenager. But never truly felt this way, right now I am truly asking my self, "What if I stumble?" could all the Lord's done in my life be erased because of what others may think I have done. My heart is aching and shattered.

What if I stumble By DC Talk

What if I stumble?
What if I fall?

Is this one for the people?
Is this one for the Lord?
Or do I simply serenade for things I must afford?
You can jumble them together, my conflict still remains
Holiness is calling, in the midst of courting fame

Cause I see the trust in their eyes
Though the sky is falling
They need Your love in their lives
Compromise is calling

CHORUS:
What if I stumble, what if I fall?
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?

What if I stumble, what if I fall?
You never turn in the heat of it all
What if I stumble, what if I fall?

Father please forgive me for I can not compose
The fear that lives within me
Or the rate at which it grows
If struggle has a purpose
On the narrow road you've carved
Why do I dread my trespasses will leave a deadly scar

Do they see the fear in my eyes?
Are they so revealing?
This time I cannot disguise
All the doubt I'm feeling

What if I stumble?
Everyone's got to crawl when you know that
You're up against a wall, it's about to fall
Everyone's got to crawl when you know that (2x)

I hear You whispering my name [You say]
"My love for You will never change" [never change]

What if I stumble, what if I fall?
You never turn in the heat of it all
What if I stumble, what if I fall?
You are my comfort, and my God

Is this one for the people, is this one for the Lord?

I will be sharing a few songs with all of you that have been reflecting my life right now. I am trying to chose my words wisely, to not hurt anyone or cause any sort of conflict and in spending time in my bible, prayer and listening to some amazing Christian music, I have found words to my feelings that have even been hard for me to explain. I have always been in awe of people who have the talent of taking words and putting them to music. Music has been such a big part of my walk with Christ, it's in my times of singing praises to Him that I feel the closest to my Savior and constantly listening to Christian music has kept my focus on Him daily. So since i can't sing or play an interment, to express myself musically, I have borrowed the music and lyrics of others. I hope you take the time to listen to the songs and read the words, it's really struck a cord in my heart and what I am going through right now.

Stain Glass Masquerade By Casting Crowns

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

*Chorus*
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is CONVINCING
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

Chorus x2

Well if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

I will be taking a break from blogging for a little while. Words that I have said and photo's that have been posted have been used in a malicious way to hurt me and my family. I promise i will be back with plenty to say and photo's to show once I have spent some time in reflection and prayer. Thank you to everyone who has showed so much support to me and this blog and for all the friends I have made in the blogging community. I will be spending the time I usually spend blogging in prayer and in God's word.

I look forward to what God has in store for me and what He will do with my blog. It is my hope to bless others who read my blog and encourage people to express themselves in the written word.

This is not good bye, just ta ta. I will be back soon.

He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Psalm 23:3

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take our Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalm 51:10-12

"However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you." Deuteronomy 15:4

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done." Proverbs 19:17

"He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses." Proverbs 28:27

"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:18

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11

Today our little family took part in our first Service day with Discovery Church. In Simi Valley several churches get together a few times a year for a huge Service day. With people working all over Ventura County to bless those in need. There were adopt a blocks, food drives, house cleaning & repair and yard work being done in dozens of homes in the area. Our bible study group worked on the home of a widow in our area. We had about 9 adults and three children doing yard work and repairs around her home this morning. It was fun doing this with my sister's family as well. Dawn and I have always been close and this was just another great thing to do together. Sienna and my nieces helped a lot with the yard work from weeding to sweeping. The woman was so moved by all the work we were doing. She loved having the children there and I could tell she loved having people to talk to as well.

I am so glad that we brought Sienna with us. I was worried she might get in the way or break something. However she was a wonderful helper and was a blessing to this woman. Sienna loved to sing for here and spent a lot of time side playing with her. She said all of her grandchildren were grown up and she has missed having little ones in her home. I think it is so important for chidlren to learn about serving others when they are young. We have always had Sienna be a part of youth ministries and what it means to minister to teenagers. And now I am so glad to have had her be there with us as we blessed this woman. Although it was hard work and tiring I feel so good. The Lord is amazing and showed our group a need and we met it . It is God who gets the glory for the work we did today. With out Him we would have never known about this women and wouldn't have  been able to helpe her. Thank you Lord for loving those in need and bringing people to them who can help.

This event was great, meeting people from other churches and serving along side each other was amazing and a blessing in it's self. Talk to your church and get a community service day together. More churches should be reaching out to thier communtiy and meeting needs of those who are lost. Because in blessing others, we show them the love of Jesus.

One of my favorite treats growing up were homemade donuts, or at least sort of homemade donuts. My mom had a deep fryer and would fry up biscuit dough and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Oh it was heaven. These warm sugary donuts where better then any donut you could by in the store. Well, i now love passing on that tradition to my family. Both Daniel and Sienna love it when i make them and it's so easy. I don't make them often so to them it's a real treat. This morning we got up really early for a church work day, so I thought it would be great to have them wake up to them smell of hot donuts!

What you Need:
1 Tub of Biscuit dough (I buy what ever is on sale, DON'T buy the flaky biscuits it won't work)
4 cups of Vegetable Oil (i know it sounds a lot but you can strain and reuse the oil)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 to 4 table spoons milk (depending on how thick you like your glaze)

Heat oil to 350 degrees or if you don't have a thermometer it is hot enough when you place a wooden spoon in the oil and it bubbles. While you wait for the oil to get hot make the glaze. Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth and thick. If you think it's too thin add more sugar. 

Using your fingers poke a whole in the center of the biscuit and roll your fingers around making the whole rather large. It will get pretty small so you want to make sure you make it large enough. Fry dough for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden bown. Then let drain on a cooling rack, while the donut is still warm dip in the glaze. Eat while still warm. If you like Crispy Creme Donuts you will love these.

Try them and let me know what you think!

Tonight Daniel, Sienna and I went to "It's A Grind" a local coffee house that has live music on Friday nights. We came to see a local Christian band that i love, ANVUE. They are awesome and if you live in the area you need to check out one of their shows. It was a great family date night. Sienna loves music and loved dancing to the live music. I just enjoyed sipping my coffee, leaning back in a big comfy chair and getting to listening to some awesome music that glorifies my Lord. It was bliss sitting there with my two loves, Daniel and Sienna enjoying just a laid back evening. Every Friday night should be like this :).

Check out ANVUE and any other Christian artist and make sure you support them. They are taking time to share God's word with others with music and they need all the support they can get. I was so excited that they had CD's this time, so we bought one. Now i can't wait to listen to it in my car. Hope you had as lovely of a friday night as I did!

Tonight i took Jessica, Sarah and Nikki to support Aimee as she received three awards at her high school. This was a big deal for Aimee because two of the awards were scholarships for college and she had worked hard to earn them. Tons of parents, family and friends piled into a very crowded gym to show love and support two their teenagers. I felt so blessed to even be a part of such an event. In so many was my youth group kids feel like younger siblings and there is no way i would miss out on important events in their lives. My heart sprung with joy when they called Aimee's name for a $500 scholarship. I was so proud of the hard work she had put into school and yet kept a very active life full of friends, youth group and family.

After the award ceremony was over we headed over to Starbucks to have coffee and spend time together. Tonight was a blessing and my heart is full of praise for my Lord for bringing Aimee into my life. And for letting me know such an amazing girl for the past five years. I look forward to our fun summer together, but am dreading saying goodbye to Aimee as she leaves for college in Nevada in August. She brings so much sparkle into my life, i just don't know what i will do with out it.