Jesus said...

...to Thomas or better known as Doubting Thomas.  "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  I use to struggle so much with doubt.  But I am happy to say, that after many years of asking God to "help my unbelief," and to grow my faith, He did.  My prayer was always, "God you said that if I just have the faith of a tiny mustard seed," that would be all it takes, that you can grow that faith to be big and strong.  Thank you Lord for building my faith in You.  Thank you that I no longer struggle with doubt.  Thank you that although I can relate to Doubting Thomas,  through faith, I can also relate to other biblical heros that have gone before me, like David, Paul, Daniel, Gideon, Mary Magdalene, Esther, Ruth, Moses and so many others.  Father, thank You for those examples.  Thank You for specifically choosing many different types of personalities and faith levels.  None of us today need to feel left out.  Your plan is so finite, so complete, so perfect.  Your love is so big and encompasses all of us.  On this Easter Father, thank You for your Son, Jesus Christ.  Thank you Father for your sacrifice.  Thank You for your unlimited faith in me.  One of these days, I'm gonna give you this biggest hug.  I just love You so much.

On The Way To The Cross...(to listen to video, turn volume down on playlist at bottom of page)

Sin Can Re-route Your Destiny!

Our Christian walk is a journey.  It can take you to many places and allow you to do many things.  God gives us choice as we make this walk on this earth.  Because of that freedom of choice, we can easily get out of God's will.  It is important to ask God to direct our steps each day.  As we seek Him with our whole heart, He delights in showing us our way.  If we step out of His will, we can make choices that cause us to sin.  Sin is costly.  It usually makes us go where didn't intend on going and stay longer than we intended on staying.  It can also re-route our path that God intended for us to be on.  Many times, if we recognize it quick enough and ask for God's redirection, we can get back on track.  However, their are times that the consequences of our sin are permanent.  They can cost us our potential.  Make no mistake, there is no sin too bad or too big for our God to forgive.  If we confess it to Him, He is faithful to forgive us.  The bible says, He will never leave or forsake us...Ever!  But we must submit humbly to the consequence of our sin.  Our reward is in heaven.  If we are born again, we will never sin that away.  But, I sure want all He has for me on this earth too.  

Prayer -Father, forgive me of my sin.   Lord, please help me to not sin away my blessings on earth.  All good things come from You.  Father, direct my steps and establish the work of my hands daily.  I want to listen Lord and follow You all the days of my life.  I love You! In Jesus' Name, Amen.

A Southern Accent: Fun Giveaway Announcement

A Southern Accent: Fun Giveaway Announcement

This is a fun giveaway.  check it out...

Thinking about Good Friday, on Tuesday!

As we draw near Good Friday, I would be remiss to not talk about what this week means to all Christians around the world.  Many churches are beginning to hold services on Good Friday and remembering what our Lord and Savior did for us on that fateful day.  Our church will partake in the Lord's Supper and worship.  It will be an evening of remembering, worshipping and giving our thanks to Him who sacrificed His life for our sin.  As scripture says "He became sin, who knew no sin, that we might become His righteousness.  He humbled Himself and carried the cross."  He is our Messiah, the God who saves.  You see, God is holy and can not be where sin is, so Jesus came to shed His blood to cover our sin, that we might enter into God's presence, to enjoy a personal relationship with Him, through Jesus Christ, His son.  I am so thankful for that shed blood, for without it, I wouldn't stand a chance.  As much as I try to be sinless, my day barely gets started and I have already failed, often times before breakfast.  The Good News is, that the Good News is for all of us.  It's ours for the taking.  And I'm taking Sister!  Boy, am I taking.  What is that Good news...well the Great News, is that Jesus although was crucified and died on that cross and was buried in a tomb, wait for it....three days later, He rose.  That's right, He ROSE!  He is alive and He is at work.    He came to save the lost and He is still saving the lost.  I know this, because I talk to Him on a regular basis you see.  And by the way...He told me to tell you that He loves you so much.  He's crazy about you.  And He's waiting for you to invite Him over.  He'd love to chat.  His datebook always has room for another invitation and  He will gladly accept.  He Is Risen....He Is Risen Indeed!  Now let's go have an Easter Party and Celebrate!  

In Him,

Faithful....

Be Who You Are!

"Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be- because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose and then where are you?"

Fanny Brice

Life Really Is LIke a Box of Chocolates!

I love that movie. It's just a total classic. One of the most repeated lines from a movie of all times, this "Chocolate" statement. Truly life is like a box of chocolates, just like Forrest's Momma always told him. "Ya never know just what you're gonna get." Til you chew that is. Ya gotta grab a piece out of that box and start chompin'. It could be awesome like soft gooey caramel or even a creamy maple goodie. Or it could be hard as a rock and take your fillings right out with one hard bite down. Ouch! It might even sometimes surprise you with a burst of cordial. That's life, sometimes just so down right sweet, you just want to take pictures and set up a memory scrapbook right then and there. Other times, well, let's just say, you want to quickly forget. Some of life's challenges come in surprise form, other's you make that famous choice and pick your bad situation knowing full well you shouldn't have. Our choices, all come with consequences. Consequences can change our life course. But one thing is for sure, if you are in Christ, He will never leave nor forsake you. God does punish sin and we must humbly accept these consequences, but He will never turn His back on us. He is still there to guide every bite of chocolate, if we allow Him. He is a God of choices. If we want to know which tempting piece of chocolate to pick up and bite in to, we must ask Him. Allow Him to direct our step and our bites. Sometimes He allows us to go through seasons in our lives for teaching purposes. Sometimes, like I mentioned before, our choices cause those tough times. Our trials so not build character, they reveal our character. It's in between each piece that we are establishing our strength, faith and wisdom. So when the hard filling crazy chews threaten to remove our fillings, we have to be ready for them. Even if it means a root canal. But we never know until we actually jump in, select the beautiful piece of delectable goodness and take that first bite and hopefully enjoy like crazy. Just remember to spit before you swallow, so you don't gain 5lbs from all the chocolate.

It's Almost Done!

My latest song that is....
I was asked more than a year ago to write a companion song to my cousins new book about to be published this summer on Heaven. My cousin has spent years studying the bible and specifically what the bible says about heaven. You see several years ago when his Daddy passed away suddenly, he found himself wanting to know more about this place we as Christians call Heaven. He knew what he had been taught all his years, from Sunday School to vacation bible school, to church and even bible studies. But had he really sought to study everything God had to say about this Eternal Paradise where we all will be with Him and our loved ones? So for a couple of years he set his goal on learning all he could about Heaven. For cathartic reasons he began to also write about his Dad and what a great spiritual leader he was for our family. These two topics coupled together in a nice blend of theology and a fun story line of what "could be taking place even now in unseen heavenlies" makes for a great read. My cousin thought it would be great to have a companion song to go along with the book. Well, I prayed God would give me the words and He did. The song is called "Glimpses of Heaven." I wrote in last December and am just finishing up the arrangement. Look for it soon on my music website www.aperfectweddingson.com
Until then here are the words:

Gimpses of Heaven by FaithfulPraise

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars
All that You have set in place, teaches me just who You are
The beauty of Your creation, overwhelms me
Yet it's just a glimpse
You are in our midst
Declare Your kingdom come

Glimpses, Glimpses of Heaven
They're all around me
If I open my eyes
The closer I get to You
The more You reveal to my heart
Glimpses, Glimpses of Heaven

You show me your love in the ocean, a vast, deep sea
Your unfailing grace reaches to the highest mountain
Your faithfulness is like coming seasons
So how can I not see
This place you've built for me
My home in the Holy City

Glimpses....

Jesus said "The kingdom is heaven is near...
Where the last will be first and the first will be last!"
Lord, how I live for that day
When the trumpets will sound and You come riding in
In Your robe and Your crown
And we all sing....
To the King of Kings....

Glimpses, Glimpses of Heaven
They're all around us
Just open your eyes
the closer you get to Him
The more He reveals.......
Glimpses.....Glimpses....Glimpses...Glimpses of Heaven

Wild Olive Tee's

You have got to check them out!  These tee's are so cute.  I have been looking for tee's that express my faith in such a cool way.  Wild Olive Tee's are just what I was looking for.  

Buy before March 31st and get free shipping.  Great quality. Soft feel.  Comfortable T-shirt.  

Great for layering.  Shout it out!  Love your Lord out loud!  Go to www.wildolivetees.com

Get off the Porch!

I'm still a little sunburned this morning. No I didn't go to Maui and it's not quite Spring here yet, but I still got totally tan-faced. No, not from the sun, but from the SON. His presence was so thick this weekend, that I had a Moses experience, stood on Holy Ground and came back home with a glorious tan from the Lord. It was truly wonderful. The retreat was held at Butman Methodist Camp outside of Merkel Texas. Right smack dab in the Big Country. So peaceful, quiet and these tall things with green and brown colors on them.... Oh yes, trees. Something we don't see much of in West Texas. My girlfriends and I were asked to lead worship at this retreat. It's such a fun thing for us, because we love to be together and we of course love to sing, but we also have done this enough to know that God always has something up His holy sleeve at these retreats and we were going to experience it right along with the participants. I love anticipating what He is going to do. I come expecting it. It is such a blast. He never lets me down. And He certainly didn't this weekend.

The team secured a fabulous speaker from Lifeway - Dr. Deb Douglas. She blessed our socks plum off. I must admit that when I learned the retreat topic, Spiritual Gifts, I was a little disappointed.   I'm mean most of us have taken a Spiritual Gifts test and we all know where we are gifted. I wanted something more meaty. I wanted to leave refreshed.   I figured, there must be participants coming that needed to discover their gifts and I just needed to be obedient to my job He had brought me there for.  I was curious about this speaker, as I had been to so many other women's retreat weekends.  I always had fun and the speakers were nice people, but usually their presentation was standard; nothing that blew my skirt up.  Upon my first meeting Deb, she approached me about my computer wanting to know if she could use it to run her power point. It hit me after a minute that she must be the speaker. I have to be honest and say that Deb, although lovely and kind,  seemed rather quiet and reserved.   Not the bold, boisterous person who would come all this way from Louisiana to speak to a group of women. Shame on me, once again. God was putting me in my place very quickly.  The evening began   with worship and the women were engaged with the Lord and ready to offer their praise. I knew there were hurts in that room and walls put up around those hurts. But I also knew that God was big enough to tear down those walls and hearts would be touched and changed. We, His servants, only needed to be obedient to our call and not get in His way. Like we could anyway - ha...! Anyway, once worship was over, Deb got up to speak. A hush fell over the room. We hung on every word. That quiet, reserved lady quickly turned into a funny, compelling, relatable, spirit-filled, loving, caring, confident tool used by the Lord. She turned a simple weekend of personality tests and spiritual gifts tests into a total transformation of the mind, body and spirit. Was I ever wrong that a little spiritual gifts test couldn't challenge even the oldest servant in the room.  And was I ever wrong about how God could use a quiet, reserved lady to touch so many hearts in one weekend.  Including mine.  God picked her specifically for that audience and she allowed Him to use her in a mighty way.  She is very gifted in listening and showing compassion for all.  She gave sound advice and you knew she was prayed up regarding what God would have her say this weekend.  Not only in her presentation but in her one on one conversations with the ladies.  Deb talked  about understanding that we all are given our spiritual gift the minute we come a Christian and this gift is to be opened up and used for His glory. No arguments. We will be held accountable for our use of our gift. He expects us to serve Him using our gift. He uses our gift to transform our hearts and our minds. The more we serve Him, the more faith we gain, the more truth is revealed to us by Him. As we live on this earth our charge is to become more Christ-like. The ultimate goal is to gain all of the spiritual gifts, like Jesus. It's a large task and I'm not sure any of us reach it, but it's certainly something to strive for. Through using our gifts we develop the Fruits of the Spirit. Which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. You want more of any of these - then serve in your gift. We also must learn to understand others and their personalities and gifts. Offer grace to those who aren't like us and embrace that God created all types of people for a reason. That loud bossy person is needed to get things done. That artsy-fartsy person is needed to create things. That shy indecisive person is needed to be the mediator in situations. The perfectionist is need for all the details that need to be handled. Certainly with each gift come a few negative side affects and we are to strive to understand our gift and personalities fully and allow God to shave off the rough edges so that we can advance the positive effects of our personality and reduce the negative side. We must allow ourselves to

"Be Transformed." It doesn't happen over night, but it's an active word... "BE." It's ongoing. I can tell you that I took this same spiritual gifts test 5 years ago at church. I was astonished at how my gifts had changed. I had actually grown in mercy, which I scored 0 last time around. I had also grown in Faith. Knowledge was my highest gift. Fascinating really! I didn't do this myself. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, I am not capable of these things. These have come only from God through serving Him. He is transforming me. Praise Him! I have sooo far to go. But God encouraged me this weekend by showing me areas in which He has built for me. And He challenged me to keep allowing the transformation in the areas I am weak. He is Faithful to complete the work He started. He is loving, kind and demanding and yet so full of mercy and grace. Oh I love Him so.

So Deb left us in the Chapel Sunday morning with a challenge. We had sung "My Passion." And she asked us all if "Jesus truly is our passion?" It was time to get up out of that comfortable chair, recliner, rocker on the porch and get to serving Him. Stop being the lady on the porch that just waves at the passer by's. Get up and do what He is calling us to do." Mind you, this was a room full of churched women, who are currently servants. But God was challenging all of us to do more. Too be willing to do what He wants us to do, not what we are comfortable doing. Step out of the norm. Take some risks. Have faith in Him. Go outside of ourselves. Allow ourselves to "Be Transformed!" It starts with getting off the porch. Getting serious about Jesus. Falling deeply in love with Him.

Do you have a desire to serve Him? Is Jesus truly your passion? If not, don't fret Dear One. Ask Him to create that desire in you. He will. Ask Him to make Him your Passion. Your focus. Your center. Your Everything. He will. All you have to do is ask and then allow yourself to be transformed. He is waiting for you to ask. Don't waste anymore time. What are you waiting for? The return of our Lord is coming. It's one day closer than yesterday. Get up off that porch and say "Yes Lord. Here am I. Send Me. Use Me. Fill Me. Transform Me. " I don't want to be the same a year from now. I don't have to be.

May you look back on this day, one year from now and see signs of your transformation. And may you inspire others to get up off their porch too.

May God Bless You Immensely!

Reconnecting With Old Friends!

To some this is absolutely unthinkable.  They want to leave the past, well, in the past.  To others, going down memory lane is therapeutic.  With all the social networking going on these days, almost everyone is reconnecting with someone from the "good ol' days."   It's wild to see who married who and who ended up in what country.  We learn sad news, that someone our age has tragically past away.  We learn that others have made it to the big time.  More often than not, we just learn that those we spent our young years with, have grown up and are now raising mini versions of themselves.  They have aged, gone gray, spread out a bit and definitely mellowed.  A lot!   It's good for the soul to reconnect.  It's a way of reliving the glory days.  A time for reflection and a time to admit how very fortunate we are.   As they say, life is short.  It's all about the relationships we build while we are here.  People are important.  Share His love with all of them.  Old and New!

I Love Pool!

I know it's not very girlie, but I love playing pool.  This love affair began when I was in 

the 5th grade.  This cute boy in my neighborhood had a pool table in his garage.  I was drawn to those pretty colorful pool balls.   I learned pretty quickly how to make a few basic shots and was hooked.  A few years later when we were back in Colorado, where all winter it snows, some family friends of ours  had a pool table in their home.  So after playing outside, building snowmen, running around the neighborhood, we would warm up with something hot to drink and a night of pool playing.  It really was our past time, much like video games are for kids today.  It requires quite a bit of skill and an understanding of geometry in order to be formidable opponent.  My love for pool paid off in my 20's when I met this gorgeous cowboy who happened to be quite the pool player.  I used my pool playing abilities to reel in that cowboy.  In days ahead,  that gorgeous cowboy and I played many a game and were quite good at schooling strangers at the pool hall.  Of course, he took up the huge slack in my game and did the winning.  I just tried to look like I knew what I was doing.  

  Many years later, I still love to play.   All these years, we have never had the room for a table in our home.  Recently, however,  the Lord blessed us with a new home and we finally have a perfect place for a table and that was the only thing I asked for this year at Christmas.  Oh and that gorgeous cowboy... he bought it for me.  Now we spend our evenings teaching our little guy how to play the game we played while we were courting and planning our future.  I must admit that when we play a game, it takes me back to when we were just starting out and I get those butterflies again.   He's still a great pool player and still a gorgeous cowboy.  Yeehaw!