Apologize!!!!!

"A FOOL VENTS HIS FEELINGS, BUT A WISE MAN HOLDS THEM BACK". Prov.29:11

I am wanting to publicly apologize for some recent posts I have posted over last few weeks, they have vented some hurt in which my family has endured and instead of learning from it and allowing God to do a mighty work during this time I am afraid I must painfully admit that I allowed myself to be led by satan and vent my feelings via facebook and blog world in which I am truly sorry and ashamed because I know better. I ask you to forgive me for that and may we start fresh.
My intent has always been to use these devices to mentor, uplift, encourage, love,
share, and learn together...... it has never been my intent to allow gossip of any kind, bashing of any kind, or anything ungodly. Please except my deepest apologies and I shall share with you as the LORD LEADS until then God Bless
Cindy

Looking Back on 2009!!!

WOW I am yet again in awe over just how FAST time continues to go by year after year. I cant believe another CHRISTmas has gone by again. As I now this last week of December try to gain control after the holiday madness lol (good MADNESS though) I find myself reflecting back on this last year 2009. I have endured alot as I know so many have. For me coming out of a personal matter in the first part of year and mid-year enduring my first ever car accident which was major and scary yet saw God's hand every step of the way , to missing dearly a true friend in which God moved away, to the Fall when my niece has come to live with us FULL TIME yes that is a whole other blog post, to many other trials throughout the year yet through it all God was with us every step of the way and I dont doubt that for a second.
I know for many of us marriages have endured heartaches, and children have gone astray, and some gone home to be with our Lord leaving families behind to cope, jobs lost, and financial struggles for many, job changes, or some struggling with addiction, bitterness, anger the list goes on and on doesn't it friends????
For me the one thing I can say after pondering and looking back over this last year is the fact I tried to live a "LIFE OF HOPE" and staying focused on what REALLY MATTERS!!
We are living in a hopeless world and if we take are mind off what REALLY MATTERS (God) and focus on our circumstances and look to the world to help we will stay in a doom and gloom.
I have found a new perspective this last year , one that holds on to the eternal promises of God Himself in order to manage the temporal concerns of life on earth. HOPE takes God at His WORD, letting His promises guide our every decision and every action; hope may NOT change our circumstances, but it will change the way we view them. As believers, a CHRIST-centered hope must be the foundation of our lives. I am reminded that in the end as our time draws to a close we will ALL be stripped of ALL earthly possessions wealth and all things temporal so lets not focus on the bad that happened in 09' but the hope we have in a magnifesent God and focus on all the blessings the year brought and our relationship with Him and the fact we DO have HOPE when there are so many LOST whom have yet to discover that hope FOUND in CHRIST
ALONE. So as we head into 2010 no matter what you are facing look to CHRIST alone to guide and direct you through it good or bad. We have the promise in His word that we can trust God alone in EVERY situation yes every one not some or the good ones but every trial too. (Psalm 9:10,56:3; Nahum 1:7). Let us hold unswervingly to the HOPE we profess, for He who promised is FAITHFUL. Hebrews 10:23
" Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can NEVER perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you." 1 Peter 1:3-4
God bless until next time with much love,
Cindy

CHRISTmas TIME!!!!!!

This is I have to say one of my fav times of the year.......However I have to ALWAYS be soooo very careful not to get caught up is all the HUSTLE and BUSTLE !! Do you ever find yourselves at the end of your rope right after the Christmas holiday has past wondering to yourself where in the world has this year gone and especially CHRISTmas?? It seems as though we keep our schedules so very busy that CHRISTMAS seems to sneak up on us and in a flash it is gone!! Well friends we only have 13 MORE days LEFT yes 13 and how busy are your schedules in the next 13 days?????? I want to encourage everyone to please STOP and remember WHY we are even celebrating this CHRISTmas for anyway and to reflect on the CHRIST in CHRISTmas and in that I encourage you to be in HIS word for those of us who went to tea I encourage you to start the seven day Christmas Devotion we were given in our gift bags "Christmas Joy" my girls and I started day one today the focus was concentrating on the reason for CHRISTmas Joy. May the rest of this season be filled with JOY ..............HIS Joy and may you find the time to be with Family and Friends and remember the TRUE REASON FOR THE SEASON !!!!!

"I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY FOR EVERYONE! THE SAVIOR- YES, THE MESSIAH, THE LORD- HAS BEEN BORN TONIGHT IN BETHLEHEM, THE CITY OF DAVID!" lUKE 2:10b
until next time,
Merry CHRISTmas and God Bless,
Love, Cindy

WHY M.I.A. ????

Well I know I have been M.I.A. for a while now so much has gone on we truly are BUSSSSSSY!!
I now have EIGHT yes eight children living in my home. My 15 year old niece came to live with us and it has been a bit CRAZY however it is going well and she is becoming comfortable and adjusted so that is a praise report!!! I do ask for many prayers to continue to go up I have been homeschooling her and will continue to do just that so adding another to our classroom is a bit of a challenge but "ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD" thank goodness for that I have been clinging to His word alot lately!!! Anyhoo the holidays bring many things to our schedule as well as trying to find some MUCH NEEDED family time so I will continue to be M.I.A. until the first of the year I cant believe I just said that it is almost 2010 wow crazy to even see that date on paper or typing it for that matter............. yikes ok I hope to post more frequent after holidays
and if I dont post before than may you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING, A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND A VERY HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR IN WHICH TO GROW MORE CLOSE TO OUR KING!!!!! GOD bless you all!!!

Until next time,
Cindy :)

Best Day Ever!!!!!!

Ok so there has been alot of other best days too however today was the BEST family day in a VERY LONG TIME!!! We have not ever had a chance in last four or five years to all ride along in the same vehicle at once therefore making going places nearly impossible as a whole family or having two travel in seperate cars using twice as much gas so that was only a very rare thing we would do. Today we were able to ALL travel to the Gilcrease Orchards to have a fun time of picking pumpkins , apples, and eggplant it was a real treat and daddy was able to join so even better thanks to our big ol' 1986 Suburban yeah Jesus. After that we headed to lunch at good ol '
Taco Bell where we O.M.G. SAT INSIDE AS A BIG GROUP it was so nice now off to home we travel , once arriving home Bella and I put on our aprons and bake our VERY FIRST HOMEMADE YES FRIENDS I did say homemade apple pie oh my!!!! Can't wait to dig my teeth into that pie it smells wonderful in my home right now mmmmmmmmmmmmm yummo!!! Well I am going to go for now to finish spending my Saturday with my family just wanted to stop by and share it has been a while I left pictures of our day in side bar!!
until next time,
Cindy

First Week of Homeschool For 2009 School Year

Hello friend's, it has been awhile but with V.B.S. and now school starting I have had no time to even sit for more than 5 or 10 minutes REALLY I need more time lol!!! I have made it through one week of our homeschool year now 35 more weeks to go hee-hee who's counting right?????
So I am really feeling OLD as I was teaching my daughter how to start a car and all the things you do check horn, lights, mirrors and so on WOW I cant believe she is taking Driver's ED. O.M.G. RIGHT??? I remember as though it were yesterday I was teaching her to tie her stinkin shoes and now her DAD will be taking her to drive HIS car I so dont even know what happened to the time it is sooooooo frightening to me. So I was very convicted to not complain to count my EVERY blessing and to CHERISH EVERYDAY as though it were the last cause really friends it very well could be we just will not know when the day or hour may come. I am so blessed to homeschool my kiddo's I cant imagine life without them and this is huge for me I USE TO DREAD homeschool the last few years and could not wait for years end and now I am blessed and desire to teach my children all I can as long as I can and the time really does go by in the blink of an eye we have such a limited window with our kids and we can either be effective in that window or let the opportunities we have with them slip right through our very hands because of our own selfish desires: So I encourage you today if your kids are homeschooled go to public or private schools be involved in their lives make it a priority to put them above your selfish desires, wants, and ambitions there will be plenty of time for those (Lord willing)when our kiddo's are all grown up however the time we have with them as children is fleeting and gone in the blink of an eye so remember the next time you are VERY tired from a hard days worth of work and your child asks you to PLEASE read to me MOMMY OR DADDY and you say NOT NOW maybe LATER that there may be very few laters if any at all really keeping that mind set helps me to grasp EVERY MOMENT I can with ALL my 7 kiddo's....................
Just something to ponder I pray all of you Homeschooled or public schooled have had a blessed first week or week period may God continue to bless each of us and multiply our efforts........

Until Next Time,
Cindy

ARE we COMFORTABLE with Surface RELATIONSHIPS???

Surface relationships: What does that mean and is that the picture of the relationships in our lives? Well as I have been reading and studying on this topic "FRIENDS" for well over a year now a surface friend is really not a friend at all but an acquaintance. Surface friends are people we may like to a point we say hey to them know somewhat about this person however all we know about them is on the exterior level , for example they are married and yes have kids and live here or there but do we know any of the INTERIOR level this is when true intimate relationships happen. Knowing the interior of another is knowing their struggles and weaknesses and not for our benefit but to be curious and take the time to get to know and encourage them to be restored to Christ and to build one another up for HIS kingdom purposes not that of are own.
As I was looking into this more today I came across this scripture:
"A MAN WHO HAS FRIEND'S MUST HIMSELF BE FRIENDLY, BUT THERE IS A FRIEND WHO STICKS CLOSER THAN A BROTHER." Prov. 18:24
Now I will share the commets again found in my husband's Life Application Study Bible NKJV:
Lonliness is EVERYWHERE- many people feel cut off and alienated from others. Being in a crowd just makes people more aware of their isolation. WE all need friends( my adding of this : God was a relational God and we were created for relationships) who will STICK CLOSE, LISTEN, CARE, AND OFFER HELP WHEN IT IS NEEDED- IN GOOD TIMES AS WELL AS BAD TIMES. IT is better to have ONE such friend than dozens of SUPERFICIAL ACQUAINTANCES. Instead of wishing you can find a true friend , seek to become one YOURSELF. There are people who need our friendship. Ask God to reveal them to you, and then take on the challenge of being a true friend yourself.
The sentence above which says instead of wishing for a true friend you yourself seek to be one,
that has spoke profoundly to me over the last 6 months or so I have for the past 7 or so years been desperate to find one good friend a best friend so to speak. SO many people I know have ALL mentioned whom their "best friends" were and I became jealous/envious and longed to be known as someone's "bestest friend" ever. However I have just discovered in the most profound and convicting way that I was going about it ALL WRONG and for VERY SELFISH reasons indeed.
Let me explain : I have had people in my life ok I am about to get REAL with ya'll even up until this VERY MOMENT in my life whom I have expected to fill a certain hole within my heart and when they of course could not do this I have found myself frustrated with them and even mad,
and in the midst of dwelling in this disappointment of my needs not being met I find that the hole gets bigger and bigger because I have not ALLOWED GOD ALONE TO FILL THIS HOLE WITHIN. i THEN DO NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO TRULY OPEN UP TO THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT PROVIDING WHAT i IN MY FLESH "THINK" THAT THEY SHOULD BE PROVIDING ME. Until I allow God to come in and truly fill EVERY PART OF MY HEART so that I may say: I truly have "surrendered it all" to Jesus then I will not be able to enjoy the blessings of true Godly relationships wow. See I have been seeking a best friend not seeking to be a best friend yet selfishly seeking a friend to call my own best friend that is super selfish. My focus has now changed from self to how may I be a better friend how may I serve another. I believe we ALL need friends we were created by a relational God to be in relationships with others. I BELIEVE IN "best friend's" however not all can be best friends I believe these are few and are the ones in which we are the most intimate with that truly know us externally and internally they know our good points and bad points they are there to listen and care and help in time of need I also believe we can have this with just a friend too however we cant have it with more than a few these types of friendships require work my friends they are like a marriage and we all know A MARRIAGE ONLY WORKS WHEN BOTH parties put in the effort in the marriage this is also needed with our friendships time and effort on BOTH SIDES IS REQUIRED IF WE WANT TRUE FRIENDSHIPS TO EMERGE. I know we are ALL very busy however I also know the importance of having friends with other women, Yes God should be our BEST friends over all and husbands next however I believe God gave us girlfriends so we may relate with each other to help each other along with issues MOST males do not understand. It is a blessing to have someone come along side of us whom has gone through or is going through what we are to help encourage and get one another through it this is a true blessing to have that kind of girlfriend. My focus has changed now to not who can be my friend to meet all my thoughts and desires but to HOW can I bless another with MY friendship to them how can I be a better friend. I encourage each of us to (if we already dont know who they are and if we do thank God for them) pray for God to show you who those gals would be for us to have CLOSE friendships with and then dont wait for them to seek you out but you seek them out to serve and bless them and allow God to do the rest, and for those whom have those friendships already let those friends know how blessed you are for God placing them in your lives for a time such as this and seek to be that persons friend in an even more powerful way and watch God do amazing things. Dont get me wrong it is not bad to have dozens of aquaintances God puts many people in our lives for seasons for them to learn from you or visa vesra and maybe we are to mentor or many other reasons and that is ok however I dont believe we are called to be intimate with all we meet in fact it is truly impossible to put that much time into so many other people and thus is why they say you are TRULY BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A FEW FRIENDS" or A HANDFUL OF FRIENDS because again it requires effort and time on both parties part.
May God bless each of us on our journey to be a good friend to those He places in our lives and may we allow the walls to come down and let them in to the most difficult parts of our lives and not just be "SURFACE FRIENDS" something to "ponder" our verse says: there is a friend whom sticks closer than a brother" well brothers know us in and out they know ALL our weaknesses and love us anyway. If a friend sticks closer than a brother than HOW MUCH MORE SHOULD WE KNOW OUR FRIENDS make an effort to know REALLY know your friends today and to let yourself be made truly known to them as well.

Until Next Time,
Your Servant,
Cindy