Praise Him In ADVANCE!!!

He might not come when we want HIM but HE'S always on time!!

This Is The Day That The LORD Has Made, I WILL Rejoice And Be Glad In It

I love this pic of my son cause it shows what our response to God should be, one of SURRENDER
I Will!!! I Will!! I Will!!! I will rejoice and be glad. Our flesh doesn't wan't to praise God. But who is in control? Our flesh? Our Spirit? That same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us and quickens our mortal bodies. That's why the WORD speaks of a 'sacrifice' of praise cause you see, when our spirits were born again our flesh was not. Our flesh will not be glorified until Jesus comes back. So... this day we must say... I WILL REJOICE and BE GLAD!!!

You Can Run, But There YOU are!!!

God is so good. Better to us than we are to ourselves. The way HE loves us and is sooooo patient! LOL Why is it that no matter how long we live, how many miracles of GOD we witness, we are just like the children of Israel talkin about how good things used to be with the leeks and onions? (Numbers 11.5) HELLO!?! Onions? Leeks? Spicy and savory as they may be.... give me manna please!

I'm sitting here once again, tripping off the love of GOD. Just like Jonah running to Tarshish when told to go to Nineveh. All HE ask is that we have the faith of a child. He knows everything we are going to think, say, fear, contemplate before we even do it. He is not the problem we are. Not other people... US... ME! I say this because even in James we are told to 'count it all joy.... diverse trials and temptations'.

Well I have to admit, one of my favorite vices, temptations is 'escapism'. Sometimes when things are getting overwhelming to the point where I can't see straight, like an idiot, I'll take a 'spiritual vacation' and assume a fetal position regarding a particular matter. Why. Why, Why??? I mean... I read Ephesians 6, I know we wrestle against flesh and blood, I know we are always in the midst of spiritual warfare... but yet....

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Call me crazy but I've started praying a prayer that I never thought I would pray. I was literally AFRAID to pray. Like Elisha prayed on behalf of his servant "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see." (2 Kings 6.17) I know what you're thinking, "Of course we want GOD to open our eyes! Duh!" NO! I mean I want to LITERALLY see angels and demons at war I want to see how my prayer and lack of it affects the heavenlies. In these days and times we hear and see so much in the world that we begin to get numb, callous and unaffected.

I'm just being honest everyone. I get tired and spiritually lazy. But now is not the time. NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO GET SPIRITUALLY LAZY!!!! Prophecy is being fulfilled in the Middle East as we breathe. I'm looking for our saviour in the clouds, but until then were MANDATED to run. Yes, we're always gonna be runnin', but we must make sure it's ALWAYS With HIM.

And so I conclude with this, (this is usually the part where everyone who fell asleep in church wakes up and looks alive in anticipation of Sunday dinner), WHEREFORE SEEING WE ALSO ARE COMPASSED ABOUT WITH SO GREAT A CLOUD ODF WITNESSES, LET US LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT, AND THE SIN WHICH DOTH SO EASILY BESET US, AND LET US RUN WITH PATIENCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US...

It's that time again. My flesh is trying to take control, so since it is trying to become a 'weight' and a hindrance to my spirit, I got something for it. Death to the flesh, life to the spirit.

~~Stay in the WORD and

Stay BLESSED~~

Reference scriptures: Jonah Chap 1, I John 3.20, James Chap 1, Revelations 1.7, John 19.35-37

HAPPY CINCO DAY MAYO ~~ Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

This song is so appropriate for this day. It explodes with Spanish flavor. Makes you wanna get up and praise GOD. Enjoy!!!

ATTENTION to all single mothers raising boys: How To Tie A Tie: The Half Windsor

Who says there's no help for single mothers raising boys. You can find all kinds of how to's on You Tube it's a treasure box filled with golden nuggets. This one came in handy when my son decided he wanted to start wearing ties to church. God is good. There is help in the most unexpected place we just have to look!!!

Abundant Life

Jesus said he came to give us life and more abundant. Many instantly think money or some type of comfort sustaining vice. I present to you the K.I.S.S. idea... only sanctified. Some say Keep It Simple Stupid, I suggest Keep It Simple Saints.

I've found that the more overloaded my life is with things and stuff, I waste too much time on maintenance. The more junk you buy, the more you have to dust, wash, etc. These days I look forward to simply getting out in the backyard and having fun with my boys. A lot of times we think we have to lavish them with the latest gadgets but kids are surprisingly simple at heart. I believe a lot of the gimme gimme spirit in them is something that is fed by the media or maybe their friends at school and such.

Sooo... although I look forward to outings, when you're rushing here and rushing there is there ever really any quality time to reflect and enjoy your loved ones. Or are we so beaten by traffic and traveling details that our 'good life' often turns into you needing a vacation to recoup from your vacation. I'm just rambling but it's true. I don't have much but it seems like the closer to 'simple' I keep my life the more I actually enjoy it.

I Press On

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3.12-14 As we run this life long race of faith, we will constantly make choices that will either help or hinder us. We're human and flesh. Although or spirits have been reborn, this dirty flesh of ours will be kickin and screamin to the end.

Many scriptures in the WORD parallel our lives as Christians to that of a marathon runner. Knowing that.... we must be careful what we put in our bodies, even more so, what are we putting in our spirits?

It's funny how we will load our bodies with all kinds of junk that has no nutritional value what so ever and usually does nothing but speed up that aging and corrosion process. But when it comes to our animals and our cars we would never even think of expecting them to run on Coca Cola. Unless we were trying to clean off the battery acid (that should say enough right there).

Did you know for every ounce of coffee or cola you drink you actully excrete 1 1/2 times as much fluid (they are diuretics which leave you dehydrated, 90% of body ailments are caused by dehydration according to this book. you need to drink that much more water to make sure you do not get dehydrated, even more for those who live in the desert. Anyways...

Knowing how important water is to our physical bodies, for instance, did you know that arthritis is nothing more that the body telling you that there is not enough water within your joints and tissues. If our physical bodies suffer so much damage from lack of physical water, what is happening to our spirits when we are not drinking the LIVING WATER of THE WORD OF GOD?

After running a race for a while, you're bound to hit walls. But if we have taken the time to allow GOD to fill us up with HIS WORD we will be more than victorious conquerors. We will realized that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us and quickens our mortal bodies. So we will not just fall out and surrender when these walls oppose us, but ante up and kick in, knowing that our second wind is near. God is faithful to keep us and he will never give us more than we can bear (to bad the bear in the pic didn't know that :)

Reference scriptures: Ecclesiates 9.11, Hebrews 12.1-4, Romans 12.1-2, Romans 8.11, I Corinthians 10.13