my babies

I got a "new" old camera.

Actually, my dad gave it to me cuz he got better one for his birthday.

I'm happy about that!

and I've had fun enjoying it with the girls....

And so here are some very recent photos....

just taken this morning.

I'm just amazed at how big the girls are getting!

never bored...

every day is something different.

what a joy these two gifts are to me!

modesty?

If you didn't get to see my last blog on this topic, check it out!. This is in response to that blog. This is something I have been wondering about and wanted to hear what others think.

This is from the website of PureLife Ministries: (I highly encourage checking out this website, along with Setting Captives Free if you or someone you know is struggling with a sex addiction, infidelity, pornography or sexual fantasies PLEASE, check out these websites....there is freedom.)

The following is a heart-felt letter written by a godly single young man to his sisters in Christ. In it he shares his struggle with immodestly dressed women in church. Eye-opening for sure.

"Dear Sisters in Christ,

I’m 34 years old and single. Up until I was 26, I shamelessly indulged in lust while I outwardly paraded myself around as an upstanding Christian man. But today, because of the blood of Jesus and deep repentance, I am able to say that I am no longer that man. And the work of God’s grace has not only taught me to deny the ungodliness of lustful thoughts, but to go one step further and truly seek to honor you as sisters in my thoughts.

I wish I could write to you and tell you I am able to walk into church without any fear of encountering the temptation to lust anymore; but I can’t. In fact, to be honest, in the past eight years I’ve even decided not to go to church on more than one occasion because I knew I was too weak to face some of the women there.

As I type I can still remember a few times when I actually had to turn around and get on my knees during some of the worship services because I didn’t want to be more captivated with some of the girls on the worship team than with God. There have also been plenty of other times when I had to purposely look at the floor as I walked through the foyer in order to avoid the same thing. Did I not desire to put the ugliness of my past behind me, I would not go to such lengths. But honoring you and my God now means more to me than my own self-indulgence.

Therefore, I hope that what I am about to share will help those of you who dress without any consideration for these things.

You are beautiful; yes. That much I can see without you doing anything to convince me. But please do not entice me to notice you. Is it not enough that God endowed you with the beauty you possess? And that He has made you a gift to your present or future husband? Please help me to rejoice with him rather than tempt me to steal from him.

I understand that the fashion world is becoming more and more revealing, and that it’s increasingly difficult to find attractive clothing that’s modest. But have you considered my weakness as you look at yourself in the dressing room mirror? If you only knew how often the immodest outfits you wear accost me, perhaps you would see yourself differently.

“But you’re responsible for your thoughts, not me,” you might think. Yes, you are right. I must stand before God and own every one of them someday. And were you a woman of the world I would have no grounds on which to make my appeal. But you name the Name of Christ, as I do. And you call me your brother.

My desire is to honor you; yet there are times that you dress as if you wish I wouldn’t. I implore you; please consider these things. I have spoken openly and honestly. But I have endeavored to do so in love, not in criticism.

In Loving Sincerity,

Your Brother in Christ"

And if your a parent, check out this article! Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps!

How did we get here?

Ever wonder why you should be giving your baby real food?

Lentil burgers

These are how mine turned out and they are quite delicious!!!

1 c. dry lentils

1/2 c. brown rice

3 c. water

1 c. whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 med onion

2 stalks celery

half green pepper (or one small one)

1/2 tsp. of oregano

1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or can finely chop fresh garlic as well)

tsp. curry powder (optional)

3 T. oil

Both lentils and rice in water, low heat, cover for 45 min.

Remove from heat, let stand 10 min.

Mash (do not remove extra water) and then stir in bread crumbs.

You don't have to do this, but I like to saute my onion, celery and peppers with the seasonings (especially with curry) before I add them to the mixture.

But you don't have to this, you can just add to mixtures without pre-cooking as well.

Shape and smash with hands into patties.

press patties into wheat germ.

When ready to eat just heat them over a skillet with oil for 10 minutes.

Serve on a bun or do it Mediterranean style in a whole wheat pita with some lettuce, tomato and feta cheese.

Love this recipe?

Want more ideas on lentils and why they're great for you?

Check out another recipe!

modesty vs. fashion

What do you really think?

I plan to share a letter written by a brother in Christ once I hear everyone's thoughts on this particular topic. But it is certainly something that has interested me, and even more so now that I am married and a parent.

What are your thoughts?

Can we still be fashionable and modest?

Where is the line drawn between the two?

What is your definition of modesty?

How does your faith/your values influence what you think?

How has your opinion changed over time?

What about for children?

Is modesty just as important?

At what age?

I thought this was a great topic for my "What do you really think?" blogs right as the weather warms up and more and more individuals are going to wear less. So, in all sincerity....what are your thoughts?

ever hurt by the prophetic?

We had come friends up for the weekend, which was really refreshing. What was interesting was some of the conversations I had this weekend about the prophetic, with different individuals. I think its in no question that I believe God speaks to us, and I believe its for everyday. In fact, the I believe the rhema word is all too often neglected in alot of people's relationship with God. But as I shared different experiences I have had with prophetic people and heard different stories from others, I heard a common thread of things that lead people hurting, mislead and confused, more than built-up, encouraged or full of direction.

This is by no means a blog to lash out or tear down prophetic people (I would be discrediting myself if it were). Know in my heart I believe without the voice of God in the hearing of our ears, we have little to no direction in our personal lives. And I am also a firm believer we need each other in the Body of Christ to grow in the things of God. But far too often I am finding many who are left isolated, hurt and confused, with even a deep darkness clouding their own view of God because a prophetic person gave a word that was either off or without love.

I could share countless bad experiences I have encountered over time but that wouldn't be fair either because my "good" experiences have far out-weighed the bad. And accuracy within the prophetic has even far out-weighed the erred. But I wanted to share some things that have helped me over time, especially in a ministry that is very driven on the prophetic, and have aided me in giving and receiving what God is saying.

1. LOVE. if I could sum up all the things I have learned it would be in this one word. Paul makes it quite direct that is we have no love, or if love is not what is driving us (but even have every gift of the Spirit), then we have absolutely nothing. This is what will weigh and judge every Word given! Are we more about "being right" or are we compelled by love to share the truth? This is also of utmost importance when we are a receiving a Word - especially one that may be hard to swallow.

I've come to realize that though prophecy is a powerful gift, which requires high sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, prophetic people are also very sensitive people in nature. I will be the first to say that it took a long time for me to learn to not be moveable in the case of an offense. in fact, even though prophetic people can cause offense, they often struggle with being offended. Which leads me to another suggestion:

2. Humility. i encourage people to have an opinion. In fact, let that opinion be loud, clear and heard! far too often I see silence as the one of the largest injustices to all the injustice in the world. Righteousness and justice are executed through our actions and our voices. But if being heard out-ways the desire to see people free, we have really committed an injustice against ourselves. So I now say, have an opinion, loud and clear, but always makes sure its coupled with love and humility. The ability to put someone above yourself is what Christ did for us. If we don't learn how to do this than we aren't representing Christ at all.

3. Learn to hear God for yourself. This can be tricky as all of us are in completely different places when it comes to hearing the voice of God. And a lot of times its even learning the language and way God speaks to you uniquely. But this will certainly be your best friend when someone is giving you a word that may be a little off. There were times when someone gave me a word that I knew was off, but because I was listening as well to God i was able to feel the freedom to not respond to the word.

There are a lot of good, well meaning individuals, who can still be very wrong in what they are saying. yet, there are very abrasive and obtrusive people who will be dead right in what they are saying. the truth is, we will come across many different circumstances were we need the prophetic, however it is being filtered through the person giving it.

4. Be unoffendable. Jesus was never shocked by the responses he got when he shared. And he certainly was never offended. yes, at times he was offensive, because the truth doesn't always feel good. But it would be of great value that we learn as believers to not be so easily offended. It would help all of us in a mature way. i realize this is very hard for our American culture because from childhood we are taught we have rights, we must be treated fair and we have the freedom to do what we want. But this earthly and american kingdom and the Kingdom of God are at war with one another. And we must fight the urge to always "protect our rights". Jesus was treated very unfair, even unruthlessly judged and put to death. We will have a lot more joy in our situations if we learn to appreciate suffering and even offense.

5. Don't spectate. This is different than judging the word with the Scriptures. This is the hardest one for those whom have been hurt by the prophetic. Instead of working through the hurt, feelings of rejection or mis-interpretation of God, they become people who totally turn away from the prophetic. They spectate and dissect the prophetic word, trying every capability to tear it down before its had a chance to minister to them at all. The problem with this is you will put God in a box. Whether the word isn't from God or came straight from heaven, you have already made up your mind that it is flawed. And furthermore, the voice of God in your own life can even begin to become muffled, unclear and even confusing. It is best we work through our feelings of hurt, discontentment with the prophetic and confusion so we can lean toward an even greater capacity to hear God for ourselves.

There is so much I could write on this particular topic and depending upon what others share I may write more. But I wanted to share some of what has been happening in my heart lately. I've ran into many people recently who have been severely hurt by the prophetic and I know God has been using it to teach me a lot, including some of my own hurt. My purpose in sharing this is not to discredit the prophetic, but to show how we can better communicate and receive what God is saying to each of us.

Many blessings and love to you all!

my nose told me so

I know spring is official when my body tells me so! It's those darn allergies that so many of us deal with every year the sun decides to come out from hiding and the crisp bitter cold air seems to break into a cool breeze. And though I love the peaking of the sun after a long hard winter, my head and nose tell me otherwise. I am ever learning about my new-found responses to the air, mostly because I never had any allergies as a child....it came more when I was an adult. There are several things that I found over the past couple years that helped relieve me in a holistic way without the means of allergy medicine or anti-histamines. Before I share what has helped me (and my children) I thought I would link you up with a couple blogs from people that I thought had some awesome advice as well. Sometimes allergies are not from pollen at all, but just from being cooped up in the house all winter.

But what can you do in your house that won't cause more dust, more allergens and more harmful chemicals in the air?

I'm no expert, by any means, but I've been reading a blog titled Healthy Interior Design. I've grown to really respect this blog because its something not a whole lot of us think about. Sure, the green market is growing....and food is usually the focus. But there are so many other ways we can help our bodies (and our families) stay healthy and work the way they should be working, if we keep other areas of our life greener.

Also inspired by the Healthy Interior Design blog on "taking care of clean air" was Brooklyn Allergy Mom, Heidi Bayer with her blog post Allergy Free Spring. Both are great blogs since they focus in different areas of how to aid in the comfort of indoor and outdoor allergies.

Here are a couple things that have helped me and the girls:

1. We have wood floors. This has helped greatly for the main downstairs floor. Since the main entrance is where we track a lot of our dirt, I think its essential for us to have floors that are easy to clean and doesn't hold on to microbes of dirt and dust. We still have carpet upstairs, which occasionally does still mess with our noses, but we just can't make the switch right now up there. For now this works.

2. As much as I would love to install an air filtration system in our heating vents and ducts, the investment would be too high for a house that we know we are not going to permanently stay in. So we settled on something a little different but less expensive. We use an essential oil diffuser by Young Living. There are lots of different oils we diffuse, for many different reasons, so its best to diffuse according to the purpose you want to accomplish. For instance, if I want clean air I diffuse purification, which is a mixed oil that helps to purify and cleanse the air from environmental impurities including cigarette smoke and other disagreeable odors. (Not a smoker by the way). Other times if I just need something to help me breath a little easier I will diffuse eucalyptus. It all depends on what you want to do. But I love my diffuser and it has really helped shorten the duration of discomfort when allergies are at its worst. We get our oils from Young Living, which does a pretty thorough job of educating its people of what each one does (if interested).

3. We stopped using detergents, soaps and cleaning supplies that have sulfates, dyes, unnatural fragrances or harsh chemicals. This includes cleaning supplies, laundry detergent (which does get into the air!) and shampoos, soaps and lotions for the body. We haven't gone completely green and wild, but these are a couple areas that making the switch was painless and easy...and has really helped alleviate certain allergens. The steam mop has also been wonderful since it requires nothing but water to run. Unfortunately there is still lots in our house that contributes to pollutants in the air, but we work slow and one day at a time. This is what I recommend to everyone! You don't have to make the switch over-night! Take your time to switch things out gracefully and stress-free. And I am sure, that way, it feels no different, and is pain free for both your pocket book and your bodies :-)

It's quite amazing what our bodies put up with. Some of us never have one allergy symptom at all, but that doesn't mean you're not breathing toxic air. I encourage you that despite what your body tells you, that it would be beneficial for us all to aim toward a greener and cleaner way of living <3

I would love to hear what some of you do to aid in comfort and healing during the indoor/outdoor allergies! Finding what works for your body is quite the scavenger hunt sometimes. Any creative, yet clean and green, ideas would be great!

Also, for all you mommies out there who are going green you would LOVE this blog

(I sure do):

cancer sucks

Meet Conner James

This young man, 11, has been battling brain cancer. I am only one out of the thousands who are praying for Conner. And longer than any of us his family, Nathan and Kristy, have been contending for their son's life. But they are growing increasingly tired. And though the grace of God has been abundant in their lives, I am telling you their story so you may join with one voice, praying fervently for this young man's life.

Conner's story is interesting. This is not Conner's first time of encountering cancer. Conner was first diagnosed in 2007. After surgery and 6 weeks of radiation he was fine. It came back in March of 2009 and him and his family have been fighting since.

Conner is in the hospital today receiving the beginning, yet another round, of chemotherapy. Will you trust God with us? If you would like to join us in prayer, please visit us on FB. Conner's life depends on a miracle. "For nothing is impossible with God!" (Luke 1:37)

Would you like to help in other ways? There are two things currently happening for the "Conner" family.

If you love coffee as much as I do, then you'll love this little fundraiser. And if you care about nutrient-rich whole foods, you even love this more! The coolest thing about this instant coffee is it is infused with ganoderma lucidum. I've tasted the coffee myself and really enjoyed it....but I warn you - with all those antioxidants you may be feeling more energized than normal. No worries! It's side-effects are great if you have children:-) Here's what FOX News said about ganoderma infused coffee. For every box sold, $10 will be going to Conner's family and toward Conner's desire to go to Hawaii.

Visit Conner's Cafe Blog for more information!

Also there is going to be a christian worship concert in benefit for Conner for only $5 per ticket. You can order your tickets online HERE. Colin Ministry & Church Radiant will be holding the Concert April 30, 6:30pm. Halos of Love Worship Band will be playing.

Location: Church Radiant 744 Elmgrove Rd.

There will be live music and refreshments.

Tickets are a $5 donation. T-shirts will be a $10 donation.

I think Jesus hates cancer just as much as we do. To him, "cancer" is just a name. But HIS name is above ALL other names. And I am believing life for Conner - JOHN 10:10!!!!