I’ll give my life to Jesus once I

How many times have you said:
I’ll give my life to Jesus once I____(Fill In The Blank)_________

If you are waiting to be able to accomplish this on your own, it will never happen. God knew we couldn’t make this journey on our own. That is why he sent his Son to die on the cross to bear our sins. If he had not done this for us, we would never be able to go to God because we are all sinful people. You on your own will never be worthy to be in the presence of God. God knew this and because he loves us so much and wanted to have communication with us, he sent Jesus to bridge the gap for us. Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. It is because of this and only this that we have hope to eternal life.

One of the most effective tools the enemy will use to keep you from serving God is to convince you that you’ve either messed up too much to serve God, or that you must clean up your life before God would want you or can use you. Lies….. Nothing is too big for God. God is bigger than any problem you have. Don’t let satan cause you to miss out on eternal life with Jesus.
Our soul desires a relationship with God. That is what we were designed for. So when you are feeling emptiness deep inside, trust me I know, there is nothing that can fill that hole except Jesus. And Jesus will meet you right were you are.

When you are feeling convection of your sins, that is God stirring your soul to draw closer to Him. When God convicts us of sin, his goal is not to condemn us; there is no condemnation in Christ. Roman’s 5:6-11 tells us, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
So many times we get caught looking for anything that will fill the void. This is how addictions usually start. We need to escape from our pain, hurts, disappointments and our inner selflessness to please self. We want a quick fix. Only problem is that fix is temporary. The next day, those same things will be there to greet you when you wake up. A life through Jesus is the only permanent fix there is.

I am not going to disillusion you and tell you that being a Christian is always easy, it doesn’t mean we are not going to stumble or fall, it doesn’t mean that you will never hurt or feel pain; it doesn’t mean life on this earth is going to be perfect, or a walk on the beach. We will only experience this when we get to Heaven. What it does mean is, you have hope and you have a loving savior that will be by your side every step of the way and when you do stumble, he is there to catch you and will forgive you when you repent.

Look at it like on the job training. You may not have the background or previous training but you have been given the greatest opportunity to train with the Master and you have been given the training manual all at no cost to you. On top of that, your reward for accepting this position is eternal life. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Becoming a Christian is very easy. You need to acknowledge God for who He is, ask for forgiveness of your sins and dedicate your life to his service.

Here is a prayer that you can pray that will change your life forever.
"Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always."

I posted this on Justin's Blog but I thought I would post here also.

I became a Christian at the age of 6, from that time I have heard over and over, through songs, messages and reading my bible that our ultimate goal is to make it to Heaven to share eternity with God. I have always loved singing about going to Heaven and dreaming about what it will be like. Just the thought of it can give me chills. It is what I long for and why I strive daily to keep in God's will for my life.

But it all seems so different when someone we love leaves us. When they have reached their finally destination, their ultimate goal and we are left here grieving our loss.

Corinne told me one day that she did not grieve for Justin and then worried that what she had said upset me. It didn't because once I processed what she had said, I realized that is what I was feeling. I don't grieve for Justin, because he has made it, he is basking in all the wonders of Heaven and is able to be in the midst of Jesus.

It is me that I grieve for, my loss, my longing to hold him, to have him say, love ya mom, to have him call me early in the morning and say, time to get up lady, to see him playing with Camden or to even have one of our disagreements.

I have said as a mother it would be so selfish of me to want him to come back now that he has made it to paradise. Well, that is my spiritual side but I can tell you my flesh is selfish. I admit it.

I need to find a way to recalibrate my balance because right now my spirit and flesh are all out of whack. I find I am struggling to keep my head clear because the back and forth thoughts never stop. These emotions are the hardest things to try and explain to someone that has never lost a child. They are so intense and draining. Sometimes I find it easier to not try to explain and just stay by myself. It is not the healthiest thing to do but it is all I know to do right now and then I feel guilty for staying away. It is a roller coaster that never ends. It is true, you grieve as deeply as you loved.

A few days ago mama shared with me that she had an overwhelming feeling that she would be with Justin soon. My first response was, don't do this to me, not now and then I remembered how so many times I wished God would just come and get me but then I remembered those that would be left here and I would feel so torn. That thought brought on a whole new emotions and confusion. I love my mother so much and I would do anything I could to make her life better and to make her happy but I am just not ready to let her go. I know she has struggled through so many hardships in her life. I know she is probably worn and tired and what she has strived for all of her Christian life might be looking more appealing to her but I am selfish. The thought of losing a child and a mother is more than I can comprehend right now.

God is not the author of confusion, so I know it is not God's will for me to be living in this state of mind.

I am thankful that through my deepest heartbreak my faith in God has not faltered and that He understands me and my confusion and thankful that through grace he forgives me for my shortcomings and I pray He will bring peace and understanding to my heart and show me how to live again.

Death is such a personal experience for each individual. Everyone handles it differently and it depends greatly on which side of it you are on.

Love is a Verb

God placed this thought in my head and my heart and he wouldn't let me rest until I wrote what he led me to write. I think it has a really power message.

According to Webster’s dictionary, the English language defines the word “love” as a noun.
God intended for the word love to be a verb.
As a noun the word love explains how we feel, how it affects us personally. As a verb, it shows our selfless action to share Jesus to a hurting world in a Christ like manner.
I have been reading and rereading 1 Corinthians 13:13. As much as I am what some would call a hopeless romantic and desire the feelings that love brings to my heart. I don’t think God was talking about a feeling. He was talking about an action.
What caught my attention was that we are told that between, Faith, Hope and Love, the greatest was Love. How could that be? Should my faith in God not be most important? Should my hope for eternal life not be more important? How could a feeling be more important? It is because it is not a feeling.
My faith is important, but it is personal, it is a relationship between me and a God. It is something I own, it is mine. I can share my experience but I can’t share my faith. My Hope is mine; it is my personal perception and what I long for. I can share what it means to me but I can’t share my hope. Both my faith and hope are what I received when I became a Christian.
What I can do is share love in an active form. I can reach out in the physical and allow God to work through my flesh to love others unconditionally.
I grabbed a quote from a movie I watched (I can’t remember the movie so I can’t give credit). I think it describes what I am saying, “What you feel only matters to you. It is what you do to the people you say you love, that’s what matters.”
Loving unconditionally is not always easy; sometimes our personal feelings get in the way. It is easy to love the loveable and easy to love those that have similar convictions and feelings, but what about those who are “different”, those who are not our reflections? If we are not able to love these people as God has instructed us to, how then can we share with them how they can have faith and hope? This is why we are told that love is the greatest, because it is the hardest. It is easy to do something when it affects us in a positive manner, like my faith and my hope, I am benefiting from them. It is when we have to step out of our box or comfort zone and give love expecting nothing in return.
Giving love unconditionally does not mean we condone sinful behaviors, it means we love in spite of the behaviors and without judgment because we know we all are with sin. We can’t help it, we live in the flesh. Our sins might be different but they are sins. What is different is, we have hope because we know that are sins are forgiven when we repent them. I know I want to be loved unconditionally; that is why I choose to love unconditionally. Unless I can love someone without conditions, I can’t not expect to be able to share the hope I have because of my faith in Jesus Christ.
The greatest of these is Love…. And Love is a Verb.

Patty Whitaker

(you may use for personal use)

Found 2 Yummy Recipes

I found 2 recipes @Jeannette's Kitchen blog that sound and look terrific and will have to try them out.

Cinnamon and Caramel Cookies










1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
25-30 caramel candies
salt

Preheat oven to 375 F

Beat sugar and butter in mixer on low speed until combined. Add egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat well.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
Scoop up tablespoons of the mixture, shape into balls, and put on cookie sheets spaced well apart.
Bake for 8 minutes. Place a caramel candy on top of each cookies, return to oven and bake for 6-7 more minutes.Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheets for 5-10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.


Butterscotch Muffins











2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar1 (3.4 oz) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, pudding mixes, baking powder and salt. Combine the water, eggs, oil and vanilla; stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine the topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

Meghan's Graduation

I still haven't gotten the official date but it is looking like it is going to be May 23rd.

The good and the bad.

The bad, Meghan is the only one graduating from our church school this year which means it is all on me.

The good, Meghan can choose the colors she wants, so you guessed it, they are black and silver with hot pink. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

I found a hot pink tassel, can you believe it???

Andrea and I went searching for some type of theme, she did the black & white theme for her sweet 16, our church's vbs is hawian, and other have done and are doing the lula, so what it the world could we do to incorporate a Black, Silver & Hot Pink graduation.... well we found it.

The Princess Grad, 2 signs that is was meant to be:

Here is the basis of our theme
I found some cards but just not sure it the right ones but looks like we are on our way.

Now to get a slide show ready, get pictures taken, find items for her "Through the years table"and get those cards printed and mailed.

Please pray that I can get all this done and make it through this emotional event.

Meghan’s graduation date has been set for May 17th so I am now in a mad rush to get invitations printed and mailed, pictures made and a party pulled together. I wonder sometimes if anything in my life can be easy and not stressful.
She wants to wear a black gown and you would know it,

a hot pink tassel.

I wouldn’t expect anything else from her, lol.