Garage Sale

So hubby and I woke up early this morning to go garage selling and what did we find??? A whole lot of nothing!! Many signs were posted that led you to nowhere, signs that read HUGE SALE ended up being a few boxes in a driveway and one posted a sign with a time on it, but I think they forgot they were having a sale. I have to say that this is one thing I miss about Kansas. People there know how to rock a garage sale! Not to mention the prices for all their used stuff is way cheaper. People here think their stuff is like gold so they put a high price on it. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a garage sale? Seriously, you're suppose to put out stuff so you can get rid of it. Not sell it for $5-$10 cheaper than what you can buy it brand new. 

But looking on the bright side of waking up early....my hubby is making me breakfast!! He ROCKS!!!

Thanks for reading my rant!

~Stephanie~

You Are More!

There was a time when things started falling apart in my life and I began to lose myself in this world. I really struggled with the question "Who am I?". It seemed like no matter what I did things just got worse. My soul began to be tormented every moment of every day for all the wrong decisions I had made. Then I became completely and utterly broken. I was no longer who I used to be or lived the life I wanted to live. It wasn't til I literally fell on my knees and cried out to Jesus that it became clear again. He told me what I needed to do to make things right and reminded me of something I had almost forgotten or had all but forgotten....He reminded me that I was His. I belong to Him!! It wasn't easy piecing things back together, but He constantly reminded me of the unconditional love He has for me. He didn't make it a cinch to get past my past (otherwise I wouldn't have learned anything), but He certainly let me know that as long as I did the right thing, He was going to take care of me.

Have you ever become lost, broken and felt as if it were you against the world? You start making wrong decisions and you try so hard to do things on your own, but seem to do nothing but fail? When you start feeling that way, you have to recognize you're on the wrong path. You can't do it on your own. That's a fact! You weren't made to carry the weight of this world on your shoulders and walk it alone. You have a Creator and it is He who wants to carry your burdens for you. You just have to give them to Him.

Do you want to know what your purpose is??? To love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength! That's it! But it's bigger than what it seems. When you do all these things, you not only love Him, but you begin to love yourself and others in a different way. You begin to see that you have been given a favor you've never known before. You notice that things you may have not been able to handle before become easier to deal with. Sure you will have tough times. The devil HATES you and he wants nothing more than to see you suffer. After all, his goal is to seek, kill and destroy. It's when you start drifting away from the Lord, you will be more vulnerable to the devils attacks. But God gave us authority over the devil, through Christ our Savior. The Bible says "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me". If you don't believe me, try it. Quit being such a control freak and give God control!! "For those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint" ~Isaiah 40:31.

Don't let your past stop you from having a great future. You are more than the mistakes you've made, the lies you've told and all the wrong you've done. You don't have to stay broken. Give yourself to Jesus and become whole again! Wishing you all the best!

~Stephanie~

Burlesque

Well I just got done watching the movie "Burlesque" again for the second time and I have to say that I LOVE this movie!! Starring Cher and Christina Aguilera, two women who have amazing talents. It's about one woman fighting to fulfill her dream and the other fighting to keep it! Christina plays "Ali" who leaves her small hometown in Iowa to find something bigger and better in L.A. As she looks for a job she stumbles on to some neon lights that shine "Burlesque". Curious, she makes her way in to be mesmerized by the dancers and their show. Ali realizes immediately that she wants to be on that stage, but to get there she has to convince Tess (Cher), the owner of Burlesque. Tess initially blows Ali off because she has too many things going on, but finds she has no choice but to recognize the boldness and passion that Ali possesses. As Tess battles to keep her club, she has no idea that the answer to her problems come in an unexpected package, Ali.

I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone who has not seen this movie yet, I'm just going to say that this is a really good movie! Great actors and some fun music that will make you wanna dance. Well, it did for me anyway!   =)

If you've seen this movie and would like to share your thoughts, feel free to comment! I'd love to hear from ya! 


Thanks,
~Stephanie~

60 Seconds

I just received this email from my Aunt Velda and I wanted to share it with you. If you take 60 seconds to read it and take time to not just read the words, but get a picture in your mind, you'll understand the power this email has.

At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the death penalty.

At the time crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals condemned to be crucified. Yet it was even more dreadful for Jesus, for unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion, Jesus was nailed to the cross by His hands and feet, rather than tied...

Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long.

The nails were driven into His wrist. Not into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder. The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being hammered into the Wrist, that tendon would tear and break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support himself, so that He could breathe.

Both of His feet were nailed together. Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself with His legs for long because of the pain, so He was forced to alternate between arching His back and using his legs just to continue to breath. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage.


Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours.

Yes, over 3 hours! Can you imagine this kind of suffering? A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was simply pouring water from his wounds.

From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side... But do we remember the many wounds made to his body. A hammer driving large nails through the wrists, the feet overlapped and a nail hammered through the arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear. And... before the nails and the spear, Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and his beard ripped from His face. The crown of thorns (two to three inch thorns) cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have survived this torture.


He had no more blood to bleed out, only water poured from His wounds. The human adult body contains about 35 liters (just less than a gallon) of blood.

Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood; He had three nails hammered into His limbs, a crown of thorns on His head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest..

All these without mentioning the humiliation He passed after carrying His own cross for almost 2 kilometers, while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones (the cross beam was almost 30 kg of weight, to which His hands were nailed).

Jesus had to endure this experience, so that you may have free access to God.

So that your sins can be "washed" away. All of them, with no exception! Don't ignore this.

JESUS CHRIST DIED...FOR YOU!

For you, who now read this e-mail. Do not believe that He only died for others
(those who go to church or for pastors, bishops, etc).



He died for you! It is easy to e-mail jokes or silly photos, but when it comes to God, sometimes we feel ashamed to forward a message about Him on to others. We are worried of what they "may think."

Accept the reality, the truth, that JESUS IS THE ONLY SALVATION FOR THE WORLD.

God has special plans for YOU! Share this with all your friends... about what He went through to save you. Really think about it!

May God bless you!



For the next 60 seconds, set aside what you're doing and take this opportunity! Let's see if Satan can stop this.



All you have to do is:



1. Pray for the person who sent this message to you.



2. Send this message to 10 people...More if you wish.(Does posting this on my blog count?) ;)



3.That way, 10 people will pray for you and you will encourage many people to pray to God for others.



4. Take a moment to appreciate the power of God in your life, as you do what pleases Him.



If you are not ashamed to do this, please, follow Jesus' instructions. He said (Matthew 10:32 & 33): "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before My Father in heaven; but whosoever denies Me before others, I also will deny before My Father in heaven".

This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm

I don't know about you, but I just wanted to cry as I read this. If you truly understand what Jesus did for you then I would think that it would give you a similar reaction. 

All I have to say is Praise Jesus and Thank You!!! Because of Him I have been set free...free from all my sins! I've been made whole and a new creature through Christ!! There is not a single soul on earth that can give you the kind of love He can. So if you are searching for someone to love and someone to love you back...Just look up. 

Inception??

OK, my husband and I finished watching the movie Inception and I have to say, it was very confusing. It probably would have helped if we would have watched it all the way through in one night, but we got started kind of late, so we watched it in two nights.

Aside from being confusing, it was an interesting concept. I thought all the actors did a great job acting, but is it just me or does Leonardo DiCaprio always find himself sinking down into a large body of water? I don't know, maybe I'll have to suck it up, sit down and watch this one again to see if I get a better perception of Inception.

Letter to God

Dear God,

I love You so much! My eyes tear up when I think of how much I love You, but even more so when I think of how much You love me. You show me Your love and mercy everyday. Even in times when I don't deserve it. Your love is immeasurable and beyond compare. You walk with me when I feel alone and carry me when I don't have the strength to carry on. All that I have and all that I am is because of You! Thank you for the hardships You've allowed in my life, for they have made me stronger and brought me closer to You. Thank you for all the blessings You've placed in my life. You've given me a beautiful family and You continue to provide all our needs! I praise You Lord and Glory be Your name! You are not only my Creator, but you are the Author of salvation, my Redeemer, my Rock, my Strength, my Comforter, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Thank you for being evident in my life and I pray You will continue to shine through me. Use me as Your vessel, Lord, to do what ever work needs to be done. Help me to reach those who are lost and hurting, the lonely, sick and poor. Allow me to witness Your miracles so I may give new hope to those who have lost hope. Give me wisdom to do the things You call me to do and strength and courage to be who You want me to be. Continue to work in me and through me Lord. Give me Your compassion and open my eyes to the things I can't see. I want to shine for You Lord, please continue to polish me. Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for me! You didn't have to do what you did, but You did it because You love me. I look forward to the day when I can see You face to face and to be in the place You've prepared for me. Oh what a wonderful day that will be. Please guide and protect me and my family. Please open doors of opportunity for us and close doors that may be distractions. Please help us to keep our eyes on You Lord.

I pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

Chess with satan

Here is something interesting I heard about....then did a little googling and found it. So I thought I'd share. This is NOT my work! 

One of the things a lot of people don’t know about Bobby Fischer is that his favorite hobby is visiting art galleries and museums. Once while on vacation in Europe, he became captivated by one particular painting called Checkmate. It was the picture of a chess game. On one side of the board was Satan with a smug and sinister smile on his face. On the other side of the board was a young man with tears running down his face and sweat pouring down his forehead. He was biting his fingernails. Satan was reaching out to make the last move. The young man looked terrified. Apparently, he thought he had lost the game to Satan.

Again, the painting is called Checkmate. Satan smiled. The young man was panicked. And as Satan reached out to make the last move, things seemed hopeless for the young man.

After six hours of staring at the painting, Bobby Fischer said, “Bring me a chess board.” He set up the board exactly as it was depicted in the painting. After a few moments, he began to smile. “Young man,” he said, “I wish you could hear me because I have some good news for you. Things aren’t as dark as they seem to be. I have studied this game for more than six hours, and I have discovered that it’s all right to allow the devil to make his move. Because after he makes his move, I’ve found that there is one more move on the board! Let him make his move. You’ll be the one who says, ‘Checkmate!’ There is one more move on board.”

Do you see what this means for you on this Easter Sunday? You can live with the confidence that your life is never checkmate. With Jesus there is always one more move. So you can have the courage to face tomorrow, no matter what happens today. For with Jesus the darkness never overwhelms the light, evil never defeats goodness, and death never overcomes life. Christ is risen, and so shall we. Rise out of the depths of despair. Rise out of the depths of the grave. Rise out of the depths of whatever holds us back from lasting intimacy with God.

No More Leading Lambs to the Slaughter

It's amazing the simple, but powerful, revelations God will bring upon us!! Before today, I could tell you a simple answer to a question of "Why?", but now I can tell you exactly "Why". I may tell you this answer and some of you may say "Well I already knew that", but see, there are those who didn't and I'm happy to shed some light on a question that I've even pondered for a long time. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS CHICK TALKING ABOUT???? Let me explain. =)
You know how the Bible always talked about people sacrificing animals? Well I knew they did it, God asked for it, but I didn't fully understand "Why" they did it. Unbeknownst to me, there the answer was  in Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” See when the first sin was committed in the Garden of Eden, which was eating from the Tree of Knowledge, the bible says in Genesis 3:7  "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings". From that point, the wages for sin was death! In order for God to forgive them of their sins, there had to be bloodshed and death. Hence, the first sacrifice. In Genesis 3:21 it is written "The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them". An animal, probably a lamb, had to die to atone their sin! Back then before Christ came, people had to take an animal to an alter and slaughter it to be forgiven of their sins. Each person had to do this! It wasn't one sacrifice for the whole family! But see this was just a temporary "fix". The next year, another animal had to be sacrificed. See that's "WHY" God sent His son Jesus Christ to die for us! Because all the sacrifices were only good for so long. There needed to be a more permanent solution. See we could shed our own blood for our own sins, but that wouldn't work. Not only because it would kill us, but we are all sinners. The sacrifice had to be "clean" or free of sin. Knowing this and having so much love for us, God gave us His only son!!! Jesus walked this earth for 33 years and never once sinned!! He knew what He was sent here to do. He was the permanent solution. He loved YOU so much that He was willing to endure the pain and give His life so YOU could be forgiven of your sins and saved from the clutches of the devil. I don't know about you, but that makes me want to cry and shout out praises to the heavens!! Jesus came to shed His blood on that cross because He loved YOU and me so much!! Hallelujah!! Glory to God!! If you're reading this my friend and you don't quite buy all this Jesus stuff, send me a message and I will do what I can to help you! But just know that you have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ and you don't have to walk around living in sin anymore! The blood of Jesus has washed you clean! Does that mean that you can walk around and sin all you want.....no, but if you have sinned and your repentance comes from the heart, then all is forgiven my friend! I could go on and on, but I will stop there...for now. =) If this reaches just one person, then I know that I've done well.  Love to all and God bless you!!

My Poem

In a city with streets of gold and colors that can not be compared

There lives The Man who gave His life, so mine would be spared

All around me the angels are singing, oh what a glorious sound

Looking across the vastness of the crystal sea, Heaven has no bounds

Many Saints are gathered, along with my family and friends

I’ve never felt this feeling before, no more do I need to pretend

My heart is whole, my spirit soars

I’m in the presence of my God, who could ask for more

Oh praise you my King, for you lay this beauty before me

You’ve given me a place to call home, for all eternity