Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Overcoming Your Beauty Struggles





One mistake that most of us women make is letting other people define our worth as women. On a day when we get positive feedback from others we feel really good about ourselves and on a day when others don't like us we feel worthless. No matter how good it feels in the moment when you receive praise from others it becomes destructive long-term to base your worth upon how others view you.

We are all unique, beautiful and worth everything to God. No man or woman's opinion about us matters once we fully understand how much God loves us. Our society might not consider all parts of your looks or personality valuable but God created you exactly like you are for a reason. God doesn't make any mistakes. He knew exactly what he was doing when he created you. You are unique, you are of great value and there is a purpose for your life.


Slow and Steady


"Slow and steady wins the race" a wise older woman taught me this year. I tell myself this every week: "Slow and steady, you don't have to do everything at the same time!" When I met the love of my life six years ago I wanted to get married, have babies and buy a house right away. We ended up planning our wedding at the same time as we were in the process of buying a new house. Let's just say the process was quite stressful. It's natural to want it all and want it now, but it's not necessarily the best approach to life. We are only human and nobody can do too many different things at the same time, not without getting a burn out. If we keep doing too many things at the same time it's not possible to keep a high quality in every area of life, something will suffer and fail, whether it's your marriage, your health, your career or something else.


I want to strive for excellence in everything I do in life but then I can't do too many things at the same time. I wonder if one of the reasons so many people are unhappy and unhealthy in today's society is because we live such fast lives? We want to fulfill all our dreams by age 40 at the latest and we don't want to wait on anything. My mother can tell you that I'm not the most patient person in the world. Patience is something I really need to practice. Three years ago I was still a fairly new Christian and I was excited to discover what the purpose is for my life. Today I'm starting to have a pretty clear picture of my purpose in life and I know what God is calling me to do with my life. Now when I know what I'm called to do I want to do it all at the same time of course. I have to force myself to wait and not pursue every dream at the same time. If I get around 70-100 years on this planet it's evident that I don't need to fulfill all my dreams and my life's purpose during my thirties. I have all the time I need.


I like to make a one-year-plan in my notebook in January every year and beside it I have a list of all the big goals I have for a whole lifetime. I pick 1-2 things to focus on each year and the rest will have to wait until next year, or until next decade. There's no need to overbook my schedule one year when I have so many years ahead. I want to focus on quality in whatever I do each year. I don't want to be so busy that I don't have time to have a Date Night with my husband, to spend a lot of time with the family and my friends. I don't want to be so busy that I have to skip taking care of my physical or emotional health."Less is more"and "Slow and steady"are mantras I try to live by. I also find that I enjoy life so much more when I move through life at a slower pace. I have time to stop and reflect on things and feel grateful for everything that God has blessed me with so far in life. Life is so beautiful, I don't want to miss it by being too busy or because I move too fast through life.



Worries are destroyed when we worship





Every human-being longs to be free. We all want freedom from something, whether it's to be free from guilt, shame, worry, fear, destructive thoughts, addiction or something else. The door has been opened, we can choose to walk in freedom, but are we willing to do what it takes to take hold of that freedom?

Jesus came to Earth to set us free, we no longer have to be slaves to the darkness in our lives. Jesus overcame all the darkness for us. No matter what's trying to hold us back in life, God is stronger. We have been given the gift of freedom by God but it's our job to choose to walk in freedom. Pastor Holly Wagner from Oasis Church in Los Angeles teaches a great sermon about how we can live free.


Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Home Sweet Home


It feels good to back in Toronto again after our road trip! This year our road trip destination was New York where we spent a lot of quality time with our family members who live there. It was also fun to spend a few days doing sightseeing in Manhattan and enjoy the spring in New York. I will share some pictures from the trip whenever I get my computer working again. The repairman still has my computer but hopefully I will get it back soon.

I love going on trips for two different reasons. I love enjoying the people, food, weather and sights in a new place and I also love that every trip gives me a new appreciation for home. It was fun to spend a week in New York but after seven days I was starting to long for the suburbs of Toronto again. I love that our neighborhood has a lot of green space and.......space, in general. I like big cities but after a while I always start to long for nature, peace&quiet and more space. I also think it's quite funny how annoyed we can get with our own hometowns until we see something different that helps us appreciate what we have. I find Torontonians to be very self-centred in traffic, until I go to New York. Every time I come home from NYC I find Torontonians to be so polite and kind, in comparison to the New Yorkers. I think it's good for everyone to get a change of scenery a couple of times a year if possible, trips and vacations give us a much needed perspective on life.

I also got very inspired from spending a lot of time with my husband's aunt who lives in NYC. She is one of those Christian women who radiates light, love and joy. She is a nurse and she treats every person she serves with the same honor and respect, no matter if her patient is a famous celebrity or a poor person. Hospitality is one of her spiritual gifts and she is using her gift to the fullest. She always invites you into her home with a big smile on her face, cooks you a meal and loves to spend time with you. She will always leave you feeling more encouraged than when you arrived.

Auntie is a social butterfly and I'm pretty much the opposite, I will never be like her, but we all have been given different gifts by God. Last time I took a Spiritual Gifts-test my top three gifts were Encouragement, Mercy and Teaching. When I see Auntie in action I get inspired to put my own gifts to use as much as she does. Auntie is 70+ but she still works as a nurse a couple of days a week, she loves people and she doesn't want to fully retire when she can continue to help others. I love how much we can learn from other people who have gone before us. Auntie is 40 years older than me and I learn so many new things from her every time I spend time with her.



Matt&Nicole




I like watching wedding videos from Forestry Films, they are so beautiful and give me inspiration for the Renewal of Vows ceremony that my husband and I are planning at the moment. It's also wonderful to watch these videos filled with love when most of what we see on the news is darkness; hate, conflict, war, despair and hopelessness. It's not easy to live in this world, but we can't forget that there is love everywhere. Where there is love, there is God.


Thursday, May 18, 2017

Take Courage





Slow down, take time
Breath in He said
He'd reveal what's to come
The thoughts in His mind
Always higher than mine
He'll reveal all to come

Take courage my heart
Stay steadfast my soul
He's in the waiting
He's in the waiting
Hold onto your hope
As your triumph unfolds
He's never failing
He's never failing

Sing praise my soul
Find strength in joy
Let His Words lead you on
Do not forget
His great faithfulness
He'll finish all He's begun

And You who hold the stars
Who call them each by name
Will surely keep, Your promise to me
That I will rise, in Your victory!



Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Brave Women Overcome





Today we had our last session for the spring season of Women's Connect. Six different women shared their testimonies in front of the group of around 50 women. These women are brave! They chose to face their fears and stand up in front of a room full of women and share their very personal stories with tears rolling down their faces. One of my friends shared her testimony of healing. She was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm months ago and our whole group has been praying for God to heal her body. A couple of weeks ago she went to see her specialist as a last step before surgery. The specialist had some surprising news for her, the latest test results showed that the brain aneurysm was gone. Jesus still heals people today, both emotionally and physically.


The other five women shared stories about facing their biggest fears and about a hunger to be the best at something that eventually led to sick leave from work. One of the women shared about her struggle with anxiety and depression that started after she received some devastating news this year. She talked about how God has been showing her that in the midst of the darkness He is good and He will never leave her. I could relate to every single woman's story and every story encouraged me. I was reminded of how even if every individual is unique our struggles are similar. We all struggle with feeling insecure and inadequate. We struggle with letting go of control and trusting that God knows exactly what he is doing in our lives. We are afraid of getting vulnerable with each other because we fear rejection, failure and being judged by others.


Last week Jen Pollock Michael was speaking at our Women's Connect gathering and she said that she doesn't like speaking in front of a crowd because she doesn't like being judged. I thought to myself: "You are an amazing, wise and famous speaker, I don't judge you I think you are great!" Most of the time other people don't think nearly as negatively about us as we think about ourselves. Why? Our spiritual enemy, the devil, has many different strategies to try to ruin our lives but the most efficient one is when he gets to us from the inside. He speaks lies into our souls and gets us to believe that they are true. Here are some of the lies he tells us:
"You are never going to be good enough, you just don't have it in you." 
"Nobody likes you."
"God doesn't love you, not after what you have done. God will never love you."


It's hard to not listen to these lies and believe them. The enemy knows our weak spots and that's where he will strike us. The amazing thing that happens when we get into community with others is that we become very hard for the enemy to break. When we choose to get vulnerable with a group of other Christians we give God an opportunity to use people to speak truth and encouragement into our lives. There has been a couple of times when another Christian woman has spoken something to me that she felt God wanted her to tell me and I had to fight back tears because it spoke right into my current situation. These were private things that I hadn't told anyone about and the woman just shared what was on her heart, having no idea that God was using her to bless me in that moment. This is what doing God's work will look like a lot of times.


God will put people in front of you and if you choose to love them you have no idea what he can do through you. We shouldn't let people use us but the goal is to let God use us. God uses women to carry babies and then to raise up the next generation that will take over the Earth after we are gone. God uses women to love and encourage their friends and family members, even strangers, whenever there's an opportunity. God uses women to go on mission trips and save other women and children from sex trafficking. God uses women to serve meals to the poor in homeless shelters. God wants to use us. Will we let him?


Pastor Holly Wagner's airplane story is a good example. A very mean lady entered the airplane and started yelling at the flight attendant who got tears in her eyes. When the mean lady went to sit down she sat down right beside Holly. Holly felt angry at the lady on the inside and planned to ignore her for the rest of the flight. God had other plans. God started nudging on Holly's heart and asking her to talk to the lady. Holly talked to the lady but only got an irritated answer back. The answer made Holly even more angry at the lady but God kept pulling on Holly's heart, asking her to try again. Holly decided to give it another try and at that point the lady broke down and started crying. After Holly had talked to the lady for awhile she found out that the mean lady had just found out she had terminal cancer. Holly ended up praying for the lady on the airplane and exchanging numbers so that she could continue to help her. The lady got connected to Holly's church and received help to walk through this very difficult last season of her life.


If we choose to stop looking at other people as competitors/annoyances and are open to letting God use us it's mind-blowing what God will do through us. God works in many different mysterious ways but one of his favorite ways to reach people and love on them is through other believers. We are the body of Christ. We are all here on Earth to love God and other people. He never said it was going to be easy.


Monday, May 15, 2017

When you can't do it anymore





Even the strongest people will have weak moments when all they want to do is give up. Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church preaches a great message in this video about those moments in life when we have lost all hope and are ready to quit. Quit on a relationship. Quit on a ministry. Quit on our purpose. Quit on our kids, maybe even quit on life. How can we go on when we have no hope for the future? Sometimes it’s not after a failure that we want to give up but rather when we have reached success in our lives. Why? Success can often require a lot more strength out of us than the struggle prior to our success. Steven Furtick mentions four different factors that can make us want to give up in life:


Disappointment

Sometimes it’s not when our dreams don’t come true that we want to quit but rather after they come true. We tend to struggle with reconciling the picture we had in our imagination with what reality looks like. We grew up watching Hollywood films about love and now our marriage looks very different in reality than it did in our dream about marriage. We dreamed about having a baby but when the baby came being a parent ended up being a lot harder than we had imagined in our dreams.


Responsibility

We want God to bless us with a great career, with children, with a husband and when we receive all these blessings we want to quit. Why? It’s not easy to live a blessed life because the blessings come with responsibility. The responsibilities we have in our lives can be heavy to carry sometimes. Life was easier before our dreams came true. It’s a great privilege to get to see your dreams come true but oh how difficult it can be to live in the blessings of life sometimes. Now when our dreams have come true we have more work to do than before, more people to love and nurture and less time to sleep in on the weekends. When we want to quit in life it’s usually not because we don’t want to do it anymore but because we think we can’t. We say “I’ve had enough” because on the inside we believe that we aren’t enough. We feel like we have done everything we can and we don’t know what else to do.


Opposition

Certain battles we expect in life but what about when difficulty arises in an area we didn’t expect? One area we often don’t expect opposition in is in our inner being. We expect opposition from other people but what about when your greatest enemy lives inside of you? That voice on the inside that tells you that you aren’t going to make it through this struggle and that you aren’t enough. It’s a lot easier to fight off opposition from others than it is to fight the enemy within.


Position

“The reason you have collapsed is not because of your situation, it’s because of your position.”
Steven Furtick

When we find ourselves in a place in life where we want to give up chances are we aren’t finding ourselves very close to God in that moment. In the midst of our struggles God whispers to us to come back to him. God has the power to turn our situation around but we can’t do this all on our own. We need God to intervene in our lives. We weren’t meant to carry all the heavy burdens of this life on our own. What we need to be able to go on when we want to quit is not a change in our feelings, we need a change in our focus.



Only Just Met You





Lost in my wilderness
In all Your tenderness
You found me hiding in the night
Reached out Your gentle hand
I did not understand
You spoke a word and there was light

You give me galaxies
Wash me in salty seas
It's almost more than I can bear
There's not a single fear
It cannot touch me here
I can’t remember who I was

And You've only just begun
And if You've only just begun
Oh, what can I do

Only gets better, only gets better
Only gets better from here
Only gets better, only gets better
Only gets better from here

For such a mystery 
It makes so much sense to me
And I only just met You 



The Story of the Bible





Jon Collins and Tim Mackie explains the story of the Bible in a very simple way with the help of an animated video. The story of God's relationship with humanity isn't as complicated as we sometimes can assume. We each have a choice to choose good or evil. We can either do whatever we want, or we can choose love. We all adore the word love, but living it out is far from easy. Choosing love will require us to go against our own natural urges many times. We choose to forgive, even if we crave revenge. We choose to practice self-control even when we want to gossip. We choose perseverance even when we want to quit on our difficult human relationships. Love is beautiful but it is seldom an easy route to choose. God helps us do the impossible, to choose love even when our whole being craves going down the evil route.


Healthy Eating Made Easy





One of my New Year's Resolutions was to focus more on healthy eating. One reason I tend to slip into unhealthy eating habits is because I get bored with eating the same foods. I used to find new healthy recipes in fitness magazines but these days the magazine industry seems to be slowly dying. I haven't found any good recipes in magazines for the last couple of years. Social media is the new place to find your inspiration.

There are tons of people on social media who blog about healthy eating and exercise but not everyone is a professional. One of my favorite youtube channels about healthy eating is Becca Bristow. Becca is a registered dietitian and I love her "What I Eat in a Day"-videos. I like that Becca's meals and recipes are simple and quick to make. I don't like when healthy eating becomes too complicated and time-consuming. If you are on the lookout for some healthy eating inspiration I recommend Becca Bristow's Youtube channel!


Thursday, May 11, 2017

Never talk bad about your spouse in public





Jeff and Alyssa talk about why it's important to commit to never talking bad about your spouse in public. We see this type of behavior a lot in movies and TV shows, it makes great entertainment on TV but in real life it will create an atmosphere of death in your marriage rather than an atmosphere of life. Our words are so powerful, we can choose to either speak life or to speak death into our relationship.

No matter who we marry our spouse will have things about them that irritates us, but gossiping about these things with friends will not make things better. Jeff and Alyssa suggest that we talk to our spouse about the things that bothers us rather than to complain about our spouse with others. It's also a great idea to have an older married couple to talk to and get marriage advice from. You can both agree on a couple that can become your marriage mentors. This couple will become the people you always go to with your struggles when you are in need of outside advice. Your marriage mentors will be a safe place to ask questions, talk about your issues and receive wisdom because you know that this couple is for you and want your marriage to succeed.


Monday, May 8, 2017

Let Your Glory Fall





A longing stirs in my soul
Draws me near
Calls me close
Deeper into this love
That won't run out
Won't dry up
Oh, let it rain
Oh, let it rain

Only now will I come
Before your throne, holy one
By your thunderous grace
Spirit flood, come flood this place
Oh, let it rain
Oh, let it rain

Let your glory fall
Overwhelm my soul
Let your presence flood my life, oh lord


Overcoming the storms of life





Toronto native, Cheryl Nembhard is an award winning Filmmaker, Playwright and Director who continues to make her mark in the Arts & Entertainment Industry. On Saturday I had the privilege to listen to Cheryl Nembhard speak at the Women's Conference at my church. Cheryl has an amazing story about overcoming pain and hurt in her life and finding freedom and healing through God. Cheryl Nembhard had a very difficult childhood. She was sexually molested by a family friend from the age of 5-12 and as a teenager she had become a very angry and bitter young woman because of all the pain she had gone through. Cheryl joined a criminal gang as a teenger which became a place for her to express her anger.

One day Cheryl was brutally raped by a group of young men and this experience left her completely broken. Cheryl later ended up living on the streets for periods of time and was rescued by the love of God through a street evangelist. The street evangelist would talk to Cheryl as she was living on the street and although Cheryl found him annoying he always reminded her of one thing: " You can run but you can't hide, from God's love for you."

Cheryl eventually decided to visit a church and when she became a Christ-follower she was able to heal from all the pain and hurt she had been carrying around for years. Today Cheryl is very successful in the Entertainment Industry, she is married and has three children. Cheryl is now using her story and her painful past to bring help, hope and healing to other people through her films and musicals and through speaking about God's love at different events.

Cheryl Nembhard talked about how we can overcome the storms in our life at the Women's Conference and I will share some of her tips in this post. Here's two of my favorite quotes by Cheryl:
"Hurt and pain unchecked will manifest into anger and bitterness."

"Do not mistake the presence of a storm in life for the absence of God in your life. He is with you and he will guide you through it."

Cheryl Nembhard talked about how each one of us will face many different types of storms during a lifetime. A life without hardships is a fairytale, it doesn't exist in this world. Storms will come but our God promises that He will be with us in the storm. The book of Isaiah talks about how much we mean to God and how much he loves us.


Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.
I’ve called your name. You’re mine.

When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a rock and a hard place,
    it won’t be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
    The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
    all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That’s how much you mean to me!
    That’s how much I love you!
I’d sell off the whole world to get you back,
    trade the creation just for you."


Isaiah 43:2-4 (The Message)


Cheryl Nembhard also talked about how important it is that we check our posture in the midst of a storm. The "Why me"-posture will never lead to flourishing or to freedom in our lives. Instead we can ask God: "What would you have me learn through this storm?" Storms make great teachers. There is a lesson in every storm. Storms teach us about God, about ourselves and about other people. You will learn more about God than you ever did before during a storm. Storms can tell you what needs to be removed from your life and what areas you need to work on. Storms will show you who your friends are, you will notice who is for you and who disappears when your life gets difficult.

Storms will teach you valuable lessons about life but they will also make you a teacher to others. Once God has brought you through something very difficult you can use your story to help and encourage other people. You can now become "a lighthouse" to others.



Friday, May 5, 2017

Let me introduce you to Ada Ehi





Ada Ehi popularly known as Ada, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, recording and performing musician. The very talented Ada Ehi went to Lagos state university where she studied chemical & polymer engineering and came in contact with Pastor Chris Oyakhilome through the Believers’ campus ministry. From then on, her music ministry came alive and active, inspiring many all around the world. Ada is married to Ehi Moses and together they are blessed with two children. I love Ada's music, her great voice and how passionate she is about her work. 


What's going to happen when I die?




Atheist and scientist Richard Dawkins was asked what he thinks will happen after he dies and this was his answer:
“What’s going to happen when I die, if I met God in the unlikely event after I died, I think the first thing I would say is well, which one are you? Are you Zeus? Are you Thor? Are you Baal? Are you Mithras?  Are you Yahweh? Which God are you? And why did you take such great pains to conceal yourself and to hide away from us?”

I think Richard Dawkins has a great point. If God is real then why does he not reveal himself? It can seem like there are so many different options out there so how can I know which one is God? When we look at all the different world religions today nobody except Jesus is claiming to be God. Buddha is not believed to be God but considered a great teacher. Mohammad is accepted as a prophet. Christians believe in Yahweh and that he did reveal himself to us by taking on human flesh in Jesus. None of the leaders of the newer world religions claim to be God, except for Jesus. The older types of religions like the Egyptian gods, the Greek gods and Baal on the other hand, they were all believed to be gods.





I have to say that I’m glad that Baal is not the one true God because his followers used to sacrifice their own babies in the fire. Followers of Baal also used to slash themselves with swords for Baal to answer their prayers. I’m thankful that Baal is not God. At the same time the Christian faith does not dispute that Baal or the Egyptian gods had real power. Today we shake our heads at our ancestors who believed in the Greek gods or Baal but Christians know that there are real spiritual powers behind these false gods, and it’s not recommended that you get involved with these spirits. There is only one true God, Yahweh, but there are many different spirits and demons in the universe. The Bible warns people to stay away from magic arts or from taking part in false religions. There are real consequences to getting involved with these spirits and demons, some people have become very sick from being involved with these spirits. People in other parts of the world aren’t as stupid as we like to think that they are. If there was no power at all behind these false religions do you really think that they would keep practicing their religion century after century? People in the West tend to underestimate the powers in the spiritual realm.





Let’s go back to Richard Dawkins question. If God is real then why has he not reveled himself to us humans? This is what we know: so far in history neither Zeus, Thor, Baal or any other god has proven themselves to be real. Yahweh revealed himself in Jesus. He came down, walked on Earth for about 33 years, was killed and raised from the dead. The God of the Bible is reveled to us as being three in one: God the Father, The Son of God and the Spirit of God. Today each believer who comes to faith in God receives the Spirit of God in the exact moment when he/she believes. When we believe in the one true God the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. God is not hiding from us. God reveals himself to anyone who wants him. It’s up to each one of us to open the door to our own heart when God comes knocking on it. God will not force himself upon us, he knocks on the door of our hearts and if we choose to let him in we can develop a personal relationship with him.





We have been given free will by God and therefore it’s possible to live your whole life without knowing God. God has given us that option. I can choose to close God out of my life or to let him into my heart. I have the power to choose. This one choice will be the most important choice I will make throughout my whole life: will I accept God or reject God when he knocks on the door of my heart? 

"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." GOD's Decree."
Jeremiah 29:13 (The Message)



Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Showing Kindness





I really value learning about life from older women who have dealt with the same things that I'm facing in my life today. Older women who can offer their wisdom and encouragement. Mary Kassian is a Canadian author, speaker, blogger and professor. Mary is also a wife, mom, granny, cyclist and dog lover. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is an American author, speaker and radio host. Together Nancy and Mary have written a book called True Woman 201 and in this video they talk about why it makes a huge difference in the world when a woman chooses to show kindness to others.

Most people would agree that choosing to show kindness to others is a nice thing to do, but for a Christian it's a godly thing to do. God showed kindness to us when he saved us so how can we not show kindness to others as a response to that? When we have experienced God's love and kindness in our own lives being kind to others becomes the natural response.

We all know that kindness can make a huge difference in our interactions with others but it's still difficult to be kind to others. Sometimes it's easier to be kind to strangers than it is to be kind to our own husbands and children. We easily become snappy and mean when we are too busy, stressed or tired. We know that God values a kind heart very highly and therefore it's important for each one of us to be willing to grow in the area of kindness.

We don't have to beat ourselves up when we end up being unkind to others, every day is a new chance to practice choosing kindness. We are all on a kindness journey and the more we practice patience, self-control and kindness the better we will get at it.



Monday, May 1, 2017

Two Years Ago



Two years ago in May my husband and I took a road trip to Myrtle Beach,SC. It turned out our timing for the road trip wasn't great.


Three out of the four days in Myrtle Beach were cloudy and rainy. We decided to leave Myrtle Beach one day earlier than we had planned.


On our way back home we decided to visit Virginia Beach for a couple of days. We hadn't planned to visit Virginia from the start but the bad weather down south led to an unexpected but fun stay at Virginia Beach. Many times it's when life does not go according to my plan that it ends up being better than I could have ever imagined! :)


Both my husband and I liked Virginia Beach so much that we decided to take another road trip to this city a year later.


My hubby in Virginia Beach last year in May.


This is what I call a relaxing vacation.



It's the first week of May again and my husband and I are in the process of planning another road trip, but this year we aren't visiting Virginia.



SUNDAY




I enjoyed a slow and relaxing Sunday yesterday. I started my day with a big cup of coffee and a fresh croissant. I also took some time to look through a wedding magazine while sipping on my morning coffee. My husband and I will do a Renewal of Vows ceremony in a couple of months so I'm in full party planning mode at the moment. I've found a dress for the party and my husband has found a suit that he will wear but I still have to decide how we will decorate the tables for the party.




We went to church at 11 and then we had brunch with family afterwards, this is a typical Sunday tradition for us nowadays. I like to have a small breakfast on Sundays and then enjoy a bigger meal at brunch. My brother-in-law took this picture of my husband and I, I love it! I hope you all had a relaxing weekend and are starting the new week off with energy and passion!



The way we were meant to live





Have you ever experienced something that can only be explained by the power of God?

Some moment, or some one, so filled with the Holy Spirit that you believe, or believe all over again- that God is real, and God is with us.

Heaven touching earth.

The Holy Spirit’s movement, power, and grace can be learned and experienced like an artist learns to paint or a dancer learns the steps

Step by step, as we give up our own might and power and are instead clothed with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit- 

We are seeing God’s Kingdom come on earth

We are seeing the way we were meant to live, the way we were built to move, It is in Him that we find our being

We need strength when ours fails, we long for comfort in every circumstance, we skeptics seek a Witness to Jesus, and an empowerment to change the world

So we the Church pray: Spirit, Move! 
And we the Church declare a Spirit Move. 
And we the Church Move in step with the Spirit

We are propelled by the power of the Living God at work in our midst in miraculous ways

Spirit Move.


What is the Holy Spirit?




The "Holy Spirit” is a phrase in the Bible used to describe the mystery and power of God’s personal presence. In this video The Bible Project explores the original Hebrew meaning of the word “spirit/breath,” and how understanding this can help us see the storyline of the entire Bible in a whole new way.