Blog challenge day 2: Tell us the story of how you became anentrepreneur/How journaling turned into blogging

Why and when I started Journaling:
I started journaling when I was younger. When I was younger I used to get mad all the time.  Even though I was very quiet as a child, when I hit like my young adult years, I used to feel like people should listen to me. But after getting things taken away all the time for slamming my door or turning my music up super loud, I decided to try something new.  I chose to go to a christian school in high school, and there I learned how to write in a journal.  I absolutely loved it. A journal was a way for me to just talk about whatever I was feeling and let all my emotions out.  It ended up becoming a way for me to talk to my mom. I would write in my journal and leave it out on my dresser that day and I would go to school.  I knew that she would see it because she did laundry every day and she usually always went in our rooms to put them on our beds. It really became that emotional opener for me.  As I grew and got into college, I still used journals, just not as much. 
The challenge I faced:
 The challenge became when I used to blog a lot, I wrote a blog post about a friend and things, and their significant other got mad or offended so bad that to this day we are not friends.  After 8 years of being friends, the person he loved, just hated me so much, that our 8 year friendship completely disintegrated. We ended our friendship and it was sad.  Again I journaled that emotion  bcause he was one of my friends that I could just share everything with and not be judged..but then he met his significant other and all of that changed. By  putting it on my blog, it  just seemed to cause more problems. And that all happened a year ago.  Now I'm almost 26, I'm married with a child, and I use a lot of different ones.  I have one that is mainly for my devotionals or anything I read out of the bible or an inspirational book.  It all goes into my journal, things that I have learned, things that God wants me to know, things that just inspire me.  I also write what I'm feeling because I feel that writing is a way of letting go of the hurt you may have been feeling inside, and working towards that emotional healing that we all need to have. Knowing that I "wear my feelings on my sleeve," so to speak, I understand the power of writing things down and letting things go. 
How I overcame the challenge:
I over came this challenge by just realizing that journaling and blogging is a way for me to express my interests, likes, my life and emotions I will always use a journal, and I think that everyone should learn to write things down and get our feelings out there, because feelings can be misleading and if you don't let them go, they can destroy your life. My bachelors is in psychology and my masters is in health care administration, and I firmly believe that if you are going to be emotionally healed, then you need to get out all of the bad vibes and hurt from your life and mind, and start filling it with positive thinking. A good and healthy heart, has a good and healthy mind. so that is why I love blogging.  I love to just write and get down all my ideas and emotions because it makes me a better mother and wife when I do that.  My mind is clearer and healthy and it's not filled with the things that I've been thinking about for awhile. So now I'm officially blogging, I love it, and I don't let people tell me what I can and cannot put on my blog. I do encourage anyone to do this, because it is just an amazing feeling especially if you don't have someone who is willing to listen to what you are thinking about. 
When I got my first reader and how journaling turned into blogging:
I still journal, but by journaling, it turned into blogging. I got my first reader when I actually started to blog about things that mattered to me instead of what other's thought I should write about.  Now I write about what I love and who I love, and yes my emotions do come out in my blogs at times, but I'm not going to stop blogging because my emotions may come out. I feel like when your emotions really come out, you are being real and true to yourself, therefore others will see the real you.
What has been my biggest lesson that I have learned:
My biggest lesson has been that I have to realize that not everyone is going to like what I say.  They are not always going to agree with what I write about, and I have to understand that it's ok.  It's ok for everyone to have their own opinions because that is life.  And when I learn that, then I can really learn to just write whatever, no matter the outcome.

Blog Challenge #1: Who are you talking to?

Hey everyone, so I'm starting a new challenge that is from one of my favorite youtuber's Alex Beadon.  Her website is http://www.alexbeadon.com/ if you want to go check her out.  Today's challenge is talking about who I am so let's get into it shall we :)

Who am I trying to connect with through my blog?
    So my blog is for people who have children, anyone who is in school, anyone who is a wife or just  someone who wants to be inspired.  That might sound to broad but that is what I want my blog to be like and about.  I'm a very young mom, I'm a full time college student and a wife and being afraid to be a parent, a wife, and a college student are things that I have now overcome.  I have an almost 2 year old little boy, and it makes me so happy to be a mother and be his mother. 


Why did I choose to focus on serving this group of people?
    I chose this group of people because it's where I'm at in my life.  I'm almost 26 years old, and I feel that I can relate to people who read my blog.  Anyone who is younger than me or even older than me, who is in school, has children, is a wife, can either give me insight on what I can do to kind of help with the business of life, or who will be inspired by what I have to say.  I don't want to talk about something I haven't yet gone through or experienced.  I feel like that would not be a true thing to really talk about, and people could not really relate because I haven't gone through it.  I feel that when you write about things that you have gone through yourself, it can make a big impact on others that read your posts.

What makes me an expert on solving their problems with my service?
   Ok so I'm going to take this question a different way.  Now I don't call myself an expert because I'm not perfect.  I'm still young so I'm still learning about everything and to call myself an expert on being a mother, a college student, a wife would to me just seem hypocritical because I haven't experienced life as much as others.  I'm sure that there are so many other wise people out there who can give me advice, but I will say that I consider myself a learner and a determined person to teach people what I have learned myself.  We are each growing and learning every day, and when I experience something that I feel other's could learn from or even find interesting, I want to share it.

What's the ONE MESSAGE that you hope these people take away from your blog?
    One thing I want people to take away from my blog is just to LIVE AND LOVE LIFE.  It's so short, and yes things can get in the way of your plans, but that's no excuse why you still can't enjoy your life.  Life is full of surprises and things that you never quite understand, but if you take life as a way of learning or enjoying, then there's no reason why your life has to be miserable. You don't need to be perfect to inspire someone, you don't need to be perfect to teach your children to love life no matter what situation pops up on their lives, you don't need to be perfect to be yourself...all you need to do is love and live life so that you are happy, so that you feel like your life is what you have always wanted it to be.

Some Pics I want to share.  If you like this post, please go check out my other posts. :)

Music Is What Feelings Sound Like

Music is a form of expression.  When I listen to music, there are songs that just hit me and make me cry.  Last night was one of those night.I was making a playlist on spotify and I ended up listening to Rascal Flatts.  There are a couple of songs that they sing that just make me cry and think about things that are on my heart.  One of those songs is "Help me Remember, Another song is "My Wish, and the last song is " Better Now."  Those three songs just make me so emotional because I feel like I can relate to them.  My grandma died unexpectedly when I was about 18 years old.  She was like everything to me, and it was just one of the emotional times I have had in my life. These songs just make me think about all of the hurt that I felt that night.  Another song that has been making me feel is by Sheryl Crow "I shall believe."  I heard this on One Tree Hill when Haley's mother died.  It made me cry because she had cancer, and right now my aunt has cancer and she's not doing well at all.  They don't expect her to live throughout the rest of the year, and she's just an amazing woman.  I just feel like I wish my son could have known her because she is just amazing, and she will always be in my heart.  Music has always been a part of me and it's just so powerful how a song can make you feel. It's ok to have feelings...it's life and without it you would be dull.


To me music can do a few things:
   -It can can clear your mind
   -It can soothe your mind
   -It can save you from a rough life
    
**There is nothing like listening to music to free your mind and help you think**
Those are the songs that make me feel.



Question(s) of the day:
  -What song makes you feel something and why? What song makes you think about something/someone that has been a life changer for you? Share your story in the comments below.  I shared something emotional and personal with you...so dig down deep in your soul and heart and let the feelings flow.

Father's Day

     Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog.  Today we are going to simply talk about father's day because that is what yesterday was.  This won't be a long post today, some a little bit about what we did for father's day and then the comments are yours to tell me what you did.

    Well yesterday my husband had to work, so for the day we ended up just spending time at home til he got done with work.  After he got done, we took our son and went for a very long walk around town.  We did some shopping and looking around just enjoying the nice summer evening.  On our way back through town, we ended up stopping at a Chinese restaurant and got some food.  We then had a family dinner, and for the first time our toddler ate shrimp, rice and chicken.  He loved it all. The day before yesterday, we spent time with my dad and mom and siblings so that we could spend father's day with him.  All in all it was a very good weekend and just a relaxing time with family.

Question of the day:
  How did you all spend your father's day?  Let me know in the comments below :)

Liam’s Learning Bag that can be used for many purposes

Hey everyone.  So keeping with the learning and organization post I have on here, I am going to show you my son's Learning and what I keep in it. Now I still play as he learns, but this is what I use when I just want him to relax and learn the things his speech therapist would like him to learn. The great thing about this bag is  I can also take this on trips or outings, so he has things to play with if we are somewhere where they don't have toys or anything.  And I don't do this every day.  This is just what I do in the mornings sometimes with him, after we get dressed, and he does all his morning things like brush teeth, have breakfast, have his drink and some cuddles...can't forget the morning cuddles lol  So lets get into it shall we :)

This is a stuffed animal that I use to help him learn body parts like: Mouth, Arm, Stomach, etc

This is his learning bag that I keep everything in, including that black bag

This is what I keep most of his stuff in like blocks, cups, alphabet sticks, cars, things that have to do with learning the alphabet

This is go fish and I just take matches, and see if he can match the pictures with each other

This is a picture of his learning things I use, like his blocks, his shapes, his number cups, his alphabet sticks,etc

 Question of the day:
   Do you have a learning bag, or something to keep your children happy when you go on trips? Share in the comments below.

Organizing Toddler Toys

Hello everyone and welcome back.  Have you ever had a hard time organizing toddler/children toys?  Have you ever wondered how come they have all these toys that you get them, but they only play with a few things or they play with things they are not supposed to have?  Have you ever said, "I wish I had a better way of organizing their toys so that I would stop picking up toys all over the place..or better yet, stop tripping over them?"  Well I have and I have finally come up with an organization system that has been working for my almost 2 year old toddler.  I don't pick up as many toys as I did before, and they all have a place.  Here are some pics of the way that I organize my toddler's toys.

This is in his bedroom.  He has all his big toys in his room, and they can all be seen so if he wants to play with any of them, he can, and then he can put them back.  Mostly what he plays with are  his cars, trains, and truck, his blocks, and his little gears toy at the bottom.

These are his other toys that are in his room that he doesn't play with as much.

This is in our living room.  He has his books, and random things at the bottom, and then on top he has his some of his learning toys.  There are his  rings, his cups, some of his blocks, his markers and paper that I oversee, and his things that he can put on his hands and hit things without hurting anyone.  Normally he just hits the couch or the floor or the door lol.

This is a dresser that wouldn't fit up our stairs.  We are using it as a tv stand and also for Liam's toys.  In the first three to the left, on the top is my stuff, the next one down are his outdoor toys, the next one down are games.  In the middle on top are his puzzles, the next one down are a little bit of his blocks, the next one down are plastic ware that he can play with.  Over to the right starting from the top are his stuffed animals, the next one down are random toys, and the last one are some more adult games.

He has done amazing with his toys since I put this organization system into place.  He knows when to put things back and where they go.  I pick up less toys each day, and it's just so nice to have a place for everything.  Now I do have a learning bag which I will do in another blog post.

Question of the day:

   -Do you have an organization in place for your children's toys?  If so what is it, and has it worked? Share your answers in the comments below :)

Combining Playtime With Learning Time & 6 tips to help you stay Sane and your Child Learn

Hey everyone and welcome back to yet another blog post.  Today's topic is about learning and playing with your toddler or children.  So my child learns differently.  He's the type of toddler that needs to be doing it in order to learn it, so therefore we combine learning time with play time. I think it's essential to know how your child learns. This will help you when you are trying to teach them or if they are in school and their teacher says "your child won't behave, sit and stay in his/her chair when we are doing math problems." You can maybe say "well when we had this problem at home, we decided to try having them do it as we taught them, and it worked."  Suggesting something to a teacher, or whoever is teaching your child... isn't a bad thing...it actually can really be beneficial.  When we got our toddler a speech therapist, she asked me "what they could do to help him," and I said, "well he didn't do well with flash cards..so maybe if you try something different," and she said "ok," and ever since then, he has been doing amazing.  He was really far behind other kids his age a few months ago and now he's just about with them in some things and more advanced in others.  Now all this is  great because we can play with him and still teach him what he should or needs to know.  For example: today we were playing with his cars and trucks, and I would say "car," and try and get him to repeat it, that way when he sees a car he can associate the picture of a car with the saying or word. Another thing that I do is I have made flash cards that just have words on them and no picture, because as I have said flash cards didn't work before and they also had pictures on them, so I tried something different. Every time he learns a new word, phrase, or sign, I write it on an index card, and add it to the pile of words, signs, and phrases he already knows. Then everyday we go over all of the ones he knows so that he doesn't forget it.  Now my toddler will be 2 in August, and he's almost where he needs to be. I love when he learns new things, words, phrases, signs, anything. I love these learning and playing times and I don't even set a time.  He has an hour for speech therapy but then the way I do it, is I just have him learn while he plays.  He's so smart and even though he can't talk full sentences and a lot of words yet, he's a very smart little boy.  He knows things that I was told a lot of toddlers his age do not know.  I find that every play time can be a teaching time.  When we go outside, he loves grass, rocks, flowers, dirt...typical toddler things...so as he's playing and exploring I just point things out...like if he's looking at the grass, I say "grass," or if he's playing in the dirt..I say "dirt."  This is just for him to start associating dirt with the word and with what he is playing with.  It has helped a lot. and he's come so far.  Back in February he only knew 2 words, and now it's June and he knows about 30...and that's with all the signs that he knows.  These years you can not get back, and for an active child who just does not sit still for anything...combining learning time with play time is essential...because they can do what they want to do but you can still teach them as they are playing. Now on to the 6 tips that I have found have worked for my child, and for me.  Remember every child is different, so maybe this won't work with your child and that's ok, the important thing is that you need to find what works.

Major Tips:
  1) combine learning time with playtime.If they are playing with blocks, say "blocks," so they associate what you are saying with what they are playing with.  They are playing with it, seeing it, and hearing it.
  2) Talk to your child as he/she plays: Ask questions, tell stories, point things out...just talk. They will eventually pick it up.
  3) Learn their learning style: Are they a visual learner?, Do they need to hear it before they can understand it?, Do they need to do it in order to get it?
  4) Always keep learning fun:  They will learn more if they are having fun with what they are learning.  Toddlers and children have a different way of learning than adults and they have a short attention span, so keep it fun and on their level.
  5) Do not compare your child with other children. Every child is different..plain and simple.
  6) Do not get frustrated if they do not get it the first few times.  Kids will learn at their own pace, and if they don't get it the first few times, keep working with them, they absorb and understand more than you think.

Question of the day:
   -What are ways that you teach your children? If  they are grown, what are ways that you have found that have worked for helping your child learn?  Share in the comments below :)

Source:
  Google images

Waking up to God in the Morning, Laying your Request Before Him and Waiting for Him to Answer

 
Hey everyone and welcome back to another blog post.  Today's post is one of those post that I have been thinking about lately and trying to use in my daily life, but sometimes I just don't have the time.  However I find that when I do, my day goes a little better.  Waking up with God is just so beautiful and it really just brings peace to your mind, heart and your day.  I love this verse because it just talks about how God hears our voices in the morning as we lay our request before him...the hard part is waiting to hear what he has to say back. I know for me, I've just been wanting an answer about my in laws and if I should try and get them to be a part of their grandson's life, but it seems that God is just taking forever to answer that request for me.  Do you find it hard to wait? If you said yes, you are not alone.  I  know I do. I find it very hard to be completely be reliant on God and trust that he knows what is best for me.  It's a daily struggle.  I just want things to come easily and I want to know everything, but that is not God's MO.  He wants us to come to him, bring our request and then wait til he gives us the answer.  It can be so hard to understand and hard to accept that for God we just have to learn to wait.  However when we wait on him we know in scripture that it says: in Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV): The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,  to the one who seeks him;it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.  Now that is a good promise, that he is good to those who wait on him and seek him.  So when you wait for him...pray and meditate on your request.  For his word says that when you:

Psalm 19:14New International Version (NIV)May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,  Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. So if you get nothing else out of this, take this away: By meditating on your requests to God, and by praying, it is pleasing to God, and if you wait for his answer, he will be good to you, because you have chose to trust that he knows what is best for your life.

Questions/Reflections of the Day:

       - Do you wake up to God every morning? Do you have a devotional, prayer or quiet time with him in the morning? When have you had to wait for God to answer one of your request?  Was it hard?  Did he answer it the way you wanted him to, or did you get a complete different answer?  What lesson was God trying to teach you by making you wait for his answer? These are a lot of questions I know, but if you don't want to answer, you can just meditate on them, or pick one that you really want to answer and answer it.  Please share in the comments below

Note: 

   - remember to be respectful to the others that comment.  I want this blog to bring people to Christ and to just bring christian women or men together and talk about God, family, and life.

Toddler Update Blog Post: Liam's almost 2 year update...Time certainly does fly :)

Today's blog post will be an almost 2 year update on my son Liam.   He is almost 2 years old...he will be 2 in August. Time really does fly.  Liam is very small built.  I am very small built, so naturally he is going to be small.  I always have to tell people this because they just say he's too small, but if you look at me...you can understand why.  He was only around 5 pounds when he was born.  He weights about 21 pounds now...he's about 32 inches tall.  He wears a size 6 toddler shoe...but he's still in 12 months outfits.  He's a very active little boy, loves to be around people especially his grandparents.  He knows a few words now.  He knows the words: thank you, please, out, off, in, eat, hug, kiss, puzzle, bed, cup, help, stink, stuck, nose..and a few other ones.  Now the words he can actually say are about half of those: he can say thank you, stink, stuck, momma, dadda, uh oh, oh, and oh wow...he can sign..please, eat, shhhh and help. He knows where his nose is, and where a hat goes.  He loves to solve things, and he will sit and figure something out if it's that important to him...he's like a scientist, or mathematician in the making lol.  He understands pretty much anything that you say or tell him...he understands that when you go down stairs you have to hang on the railings, even at play grounds...he just understands so much that it amazes me.  He loves to play...especially his cars, trucks and puzzles...they are his favorite things to play with.  When we go somewhere we have to make sure we have his cup and his blanket.  Liam is in speech therapy, but he's doing really well.  He's not quite 2 years old yet, so I want to make sure as his mother that he enjoys his toddler years because you can't get them back, plus watching him learn and grow at this age is amazing. He is understanding the conversation concept: when someone is talking, he knows that when they are done talking, he can now say something and he usually does, nothing we can understand but he understands the concept. lol  His personality is amazing, there isn't anything I would change about that.  He plays really well with other children older than him...even children younger or the same age as him.  He's at the stage where he's specific in what he wants. If you give him something and it's not what he wanted, he will give it back to you or push it away and show you what he wants.  I am learning that Liam is one of those children that in order for him to learn something he has to do it.  He doesn't want to sit still while you talk to him, he wants to actually help you and do it with you, or just do it himself...and I think that's fine...each child is different especially in how he learns and he just learns by doing it and figuring it out.  He normally likes to figure it out on his own and I encourage that because if he can figure it out, it shows me that he's willing to keep trying until it's mastered which is an awesome concept to learn.  He is an outdoor country kid all the way...he loves to run...and if there is an open field and it's nice out, he wants to be outside so I can't argue with that.  That might change as he gets older but for now I'm not going to complain.  I think that being outdoors is a great way to learn things...I teach him what grass is, what a stick is, what dirt is, what a flower is, which he loves to pick the heads off the dandelions.  For my first child, he is amazing and I wouldn't ask anything different.  I'm really glad that I have him because if you had asked me when I was 17, 18 years old if I wanted kids, I would have told you that I wanted to wait until I was 30 years old to have children, and here I am 25 years old with an almost 2 year old.  It's just a blessing and I'm glad that God has really just blessed me with an amazing toddler and I'm excited to watch him grow and learn and explore.

My Vision of Beauty...What's Yours?

So today's blog post is going to be my vision of beauty.  I saw a video on youtube about this, and thought that I would do a blog post about what my vision of beauty is...the question is:  What is yours?  Comment down below after you read this post.

**My vision of beauty is: when you look your best, you feel your best. **Beauty has no judgement.  You can be who you want to be and rock it.  
**Beauty is being real. Being the truest, most honest, most deepest self you can be.
**My vision of beauty accepting who you are. Not changing yourself for anyone...even if someone doesn't approve or like you...the most amazing part of beauty is being you.  
**Beauty is loving who you are inside and out.  God made you...you for a reason.  No one else is
like you...so why would you want to change that and be someone you are not?

   Question of the day:

     -What is your vision of beauty?

Are You Being Transformed By The WORD, Or By The WORLD?

Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post.  Today we will be jumping back into the devotional series.  So I was able to get back into my devotional and it was really neat as to what God was showing me last night and what he wanted me to take away from everything. So let's jump right into it shall we? :)

Scripture:
  Romans 12:2:
    "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is...his good, pleasing and perfect will."

My Reflection/Thought:
  -This devotional and verse I feel is talking about not being in the middle.  I feel like sometimes we do something that we might think is wrong but we do it anyway and  play it off like it's not a big deal.  But it is a big deal.  In our world we might feel that there's a lot of grey areas because of what we are taught, compared to what we know or think is right.  But God doesn't want us to be in the middle.  He wants us to either turn to him or turn to the devil; just don't be in-between.  For example: people feel that they can go to church, read the bible and sound all churchy on Sundays, but as soon as Sunday is over, they go back into being themselves which depending on who you are can be good or bad.  That's not being true to yourself or God; that's being of the world.  Revelations 3:15-17 says:

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Which one are you?

Can't Be Lukewarm!

God doesn't like when you are in the middle.  He wants you to run to him and seek out his word and voice before you go to the media or friends.  He wants us to be like him from the inside out, and not what the world thinks or wants us to be.  I think it's a daily struggle and a challenge especially for our young kids these days.  They so want to be like their friends and everyone else, but then they lose their own identity and they lose themselves.  And if you lose yourself, it's a lot harder to get back to who you are for real.  God knows we can handle this challenge....But do you know if you can handle the challenge?

Prayer:

  Lord thank you again for teaching me something great.  Lord I don't want to be on the fence; I want you to be in control of my life.  Please help me see that trusting you and knowing who you are is the best for my life.  Help me to come to you first with anything I am dealing with, before I go to the media or friends for answers. For I know that you want me to be like you from the inside out because you are the one that created me, and I'm the only "me" that there is, and no one can be "me."  Help me to have my own identity and to develop into this amazing woman in Christ.  In your name I pray...Amen

Question/Reflection of the day:

 What is it about you that makes you different from other people? For me, it's my eyes and my personality.  What makes you stand out?  Is it your personality, your gender, your looks, your tattoos, etc...what is it that makes you "You and Unique?"  Comment and share down below.  No judgement please...this is a place where people can share who they are without judgement.  If you are going to judge anyone...keep it to yourself...and please DO NOT share.  Thank you

References:

  Google images

  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%203:15-17

Note:
As always you do not need to comment if you feel that you can not.  It's ok to me...I'm not here to bring you to god or anything like that...however I will always pray for you...I'm just here to share my devotions and thoughts about whatever I am writing about for that day or week.  Feel free to talk to me at anytime...my info is in a blog post or in my about me page.  God bless

How do you spend time with your significant other?

Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post.  Today we will be touching base on your relationship with your significant other.  Many people have that significant other that you love no matter what; however sometimes with our busy schedules we forget to make sure they feel loved as well. One of the things that my husband and I do to spend time together is watch a tv show we really love.  Right now we are really into survivor.   We love that show, and it just makes us feel relaxed and we spend like 2 hours watching episodes, and finishing seasons.  It’s our time to bond with each other and spend that quality time together; especially because we have a toddler.  If any of you have children, then you know how hard it can be to make sure that your husband, or even wife, feels like they have your attention.  When you have a baby, and the mother is breastfeeding, the father kind of feels out of the loop because that baby needs 100% of that mother’s attention, and then it gets to the night time, and the mother is so exhausted from taking care of the newborn that she sort of puts her husband on the back burner.   So if you take anything away from this at all…take this: Wives, your husband’s need your attention; even if it’s just for a few minutes, spend time with them in that brief few minutes and bond is a great way to show your husband’s that you still care about them, and husbands, your wives need your attention.  Even if it’s just again that few minutes of listening to how their day went…spend that quality time with them.  Sometimes you have to sacrifice something you have been wanting to do, in order to spend time with them.  Is it hard to do that, maybe, but the true question is...is it/ will it/ or was it worth it?  By the way, I didn't touch on this too much, but this all can apply to girlfriends and boyfriends as well.  

 

Questions/Reflection of the day:

    -How do you spend time with your significant other?  This can be boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/ wife, whatever…how do you spend time with them? Is it hard to find time to spend with them? Are there things you have to sacrifice in order to make time to spend with them?  Share your answers and thoughts in the comments below.

Note:

   My devotionals will come back…I just have to find the time to actually read the book and write in my journal.  If there is anything you would like me to talk about, let me know...by emailing me at marvinam16@yahoo.com, or at lilvina25@gmail.com, or leave a comment below, or find me on facebook at marvina musser.  

 Make sure that you let me know its from my blog at MommyAndBaby in anything you send me by 

email or facebook.  :)

God is a God of Grace and Meets us in the Moment

Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post.  Today we are going to talk about something that I read yesterday, as I was looking for blog posts to read. By the way, I didn't get a chance to do my devotional last night, so we will pick that up tomorrow, because I don't want to do a blog post on that book, if I haven't read it yet. Anyway...  There was a quote in this person's blog that I read yesterday and it said: "God is a God of Grace and Meets us in the Moment."  This just sounded so poetic to me, and it really goes back to my blog post from yesterday, spending time with the Lord,.

God is an amazing God and he waits for us to come to him.  Even if you have strayed from him, he waits for you to come back to him.  This blog post was so inspiring and I will link her post down below; but I just loved it.  I could feel so much emotion from what she was experiencing and what she wrote in her post was just breathtaking; I just had to share it.  But besides that, I want you to know today that God is a god of grace and no matter where you are in your life, he will meet you in the moment.  Even if you have strayed from him for like 2-3 years, when you pick up that bible, or you just say a simple prayer like: "Lord I need you to day" he will be there.  I mean how amazing is that! He will be there.  He is always there no matter what.  He never leaves you:  James 4:8 says:

8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

He will meet you where you are.  If you just pray a simple prayer asking him to just be with you, he will be there.  There is no rejection in his voice.  He will not forsake his people.  He will not be angry with you and say: "well I'm not going to be there for you because you haven't talked to me in like 3 years."  NO! god is NOT like that.  He does not hold grudges...he just wants YOU to come to him and ask for him to be with you.

To end this post today I just want to say a prayer and if you need the Lord please say this prayer today:

Prayer:

    Dear Lord, I thank you for making me who I am.  I thank you for meeting me where I'm at, no matter where I have been in my life, I thank you for just being there for me.  I know Lord that you never forsake or leave your people, and I ask that you just show me the Love that you have for me.  I ask that you be with me as I go through my daily life and just learn to trust you and who you are and who I am in you.  Lord you are my savior and my king and I will trust you.  In Jesus Name...Amen

Question/Reflection of the day:

       -What can you take away from this post today? What about this post has inspired you or meant something to you?  How can you take what I have written in this post, and apply it to your life?

Link to the post I read:

http://faithfulbloggers.com/time-with-god-over-a-lifetime/comment-page-1/#comment-75638

Note:

I will do another video of me singing, I'm working on it.  Might take a little bit longer...but it will happen.  You guys have asked for it, so I will do another one for you as soon as I can. :)

Are you spending time with the Lord? Is your communication open with the Lord? How do you know if what you are hearing is from him or not?

Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post.  We are going to continue with the devotional "What happens when women say yes to God."  So for today's devotional we are going to talk about your communication with the Lord.  Do you have an open relationship with him? How do  you know if what you are hearing is from the Lord or is not?  These are questions we will be answering today.  Now as always this is from my personal devotional time with him and I'm sharing with you all, what I have written in my journal, that I do every night.  I have decided that I wanted to dedicate at least 15 mins to an hour with him every night. I do this at night, like around 11pm, because my toddler is usually in bed, and my husband is normally doing something else...so this is my time where I can just be fully into the word and hear what he has to say to me.
Now as always with my devotional, if you are not a Christian and choose not to read this, that is ok...again I am not trying to convert anyone...however as always I will be praying for you.  If you are a Christian I hope that as always these devotionals bless you and encourage you in every way possible.

Scripture:
  -John 10:3-4
     "The gatekeeper{Jesus}, opens the gate for him, and the sheep{you and I}, listen to his voice.  He{God}, calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." {They know his voice because they spend time with him.}

My thoughts:
 We are God's sheep and all he ever wants is for us to trust him with everything we have.  He wants us to have an open relationship with him, and be willing to follow what he has in our lives.  He is not some evil villein who is trying to hurt us, but he's an amazing, lovable God.  When you spend time with him, when you set a time in your day, to just emark on a journey with him and fully try and understand what he is telling  you, you will be filled with this feeling that you can not shake off.  When you hear from the lord, and he wants you to do something, it will be something you can not just forget.  You will hear it in a message at church, at home, at an event...etc...He will not let you forget what he wants you to know, and by searching in his word, praying a lot, and hearing it from other messages, you start to learn that its from the lord and not from you.  If God is telling you to do something, it will not go against anything you believe, it will not go against your parents, and it will line up with scripture.

My Reflection:
  -Lord, I learn that if I spend time with you; if I take time out of  my busy life, to just be with you, then I can learn to hear from you.  By spending time in your word, I will learn more about who you are and I will learn to recognize when you speak to me.  By spending time in your word, I will recognize your voice.

Prayer:
  Lord thank you for giving me a wonderful day.  Thank you for teaching me that if I am going to learn to recognize your voice, I need to spend time with you.  For your word teaches me that when we go to seek you, we will seek you with our whole heart, and once we seek you with our whole heart, then and only then, will we find you. Jeremiah 29:13.  Thank you for your love and willingness to wait for us and me. Amen.

Notes from the book & From me:
  *The way we recognize his voice is by knowing him.  When we know him, we can tell if what we are hearing and feeling is from him or not.

  *5 questions to determine if what you(I) are hearing is from God or not.
         1) Does what I'm(you) hearing line up with scripture?
                  -Read Romans 12:2
         2) Is it consistent with God's character?
                  -Read Galatians
5:22-23-Fruits of the spirit
         3) Is it being confirmed through messages you(I'm) hearing from church/studying in my(your) quiet time with the Lord?
                  -Read John 10:3-4
         4) Is it beyond me?
         5) Would it please God?
My notes:    -King David wanted to follow God’s plan.  He wanted to seek God out and have God show him the path or plan he should go down.  These are the words from David.  He wanted to be guided by God and led by his truth.  It shows that David was humble and he was able and wanted to be taught by God.  David knew that God was his savior and only wanted the best for him, and David knew that he was the one who created the path that David will eventually take.  In Psalm 25: 4-5 he writes:

  “Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you” 

Question/Reflection of the day: Goes back to the tile....

     - Are you spending time with the Lord? Is your communication open with the Lord? How do you know if what you are hearing is from him or not?

That is all for now...God bless

God's Intentions for Your Life are Good...They are Not to Harm You

Hello everyone and welcome back to yet another blog post.  Today is going to be a start to my devotional or quiet time with the Lord. For those of you who do not know, I am a Christian therefore some of my things I share on my blog will be from what I hear from the Lord during my quiet time with him. And  For those of you who are not Christians, and you choose not to read this, that is ok by me, I am not here to get you to believe in God,however I will keep praying for you; but I'm  just here to tell you what is on my heart and to share my life with you.  However none the less, I still hope this brings some encouragement to some one out there, and blesses those around you.

Last night I could not sleep, and I really wanted to just read something, but I wasn't sure what to read.  I then picked up one of my favorite books "what happens when women say yes to god."  This book I actually bought for a devotional I was going to do, but ended up not doing.  I will leave the link to the book at the bottom of this post if you choose to check it out.  It is an amazing book, and I'm just going through it carefully reading a chapter a night.  Last night's chapter was about how Satan gets into your head, and wants to harm you and make you think of awful things, but that God can take those thoughts and turn them into something good.  So I'm just going to share with you what I wrote in my journal, and if you love this, I can keep doing this, that way you each can go through the book with me.  I'm really liking this book, and I will probably keep doing this on here, as long as you all like to read about it. However, I will keep writing these in my journal every night, until I have gone through the whole book.

Scripture:
Genesis 50:20 says:
   "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done; the saving of many lives."
My Reflection:
   In this passage, Lord I see that my thoughts that are bad are from Satan.  He's trying to me away from you, therefore intending to harm me; but I know that you are taking my thoughts and intending or turning them into something amazing and good for me.  I know that you Lord can take something and turn it into something good.
Prayer:
  Lord thank you for always being there for me.  Help me to just open up to you and realize that if there is something going bad in my life, that you can turn it into something good.  Amen

Notes from the book/and from me:
   "A woman who says yes to God, isn't afraid to be honest with him." Chapter 1 pg 14
          -God loves you so much and he wants to know every detail of your life.  He wants you to pour out your heart to him and tell him what has been going on in your life.  He is not here to get angry with you, but he's here to help you understand  that he is here no matter what you are going through in your daily life.  No matter how painful or bad it may be, he is here for you.  God is a loving God and he will always love you no matter what you have done.  So pour out your cares to him, your concerns, your feelings, and be open and honest with him at all times.
   "Being a woman who says yes to God means making the choice to trust  him even when you can't understand why he requires some of the things he does.  It means that once you have said yes to God, you refuse to turn back when things get hard." Chapter 1 Pg 16
       -God does not want you to only go to him when things are rough, he wants you to go to him when things are good as well.  When you say yes to him, you are saying that you fully give  your life to him and trust that his plans are what he feels is best for your life.  He already knows the directions that you will take with  your life.  He already knows what you will be doing with the rest of your life.  But even though he knows that, he wants you to find that and know that for yourself.  Don't turn back from him just because the direction of your life, isn't where you want it to be.  Trust in him and he will show you the way.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)  "Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge/submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

Link to the book:

http://www.amazon.com/What-Happens-When-Women-Extraordinary/dp/0736919228

Question/Reflection of the day:

What is God telling you to share today? Are you honest with God, or do you just give him the short answers that you feel he is looking for?

 Last minute notes:

I am always here: my email is: marvinam16@yahoo.com...if you want to speak to me about life or anything dealing with God or you just need to talk, feel free to contact me through the blog or email.  God bless you all and hope this brings some encouragement to someone out there.