Scouts

Along with back to school, comes the start of Girl Scouts! Makayla loves Girl Scouts and it has been great for her. They started their year off on 9-11-11, taking food to the firemen at a local station. James and I were so proud of them for doing this! Girl Scouts does alot of great things in our community.

This was the year Christopher has been waiting for...First Grade! In first grade you can join Cub Scouts! He is overly excited. We have never seen him so excited over something before. We officially signed him up last night, with his first meeting next week. He got his pack t-shirt last night and had to wear it to school this morning!

We love the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and what they represent and  what they have brought out in our children!

Writer....

This is a re-blog but it really spoke to me and it explains how I feel alot, my thanks to the writer!

I’m not really a writer.”
I say this to people all the time. It goes something like this, “Oh, I’m not really a writer, not a ‘writer, writer’. I have ideas, but I’m not a writer.”
Chop.
I just chop myself off at the knees every time.

I disqualify myself. I believe my core lie that I’m not good enough, in this case, to be a writer. But I’m not going to say that anymore because I’m learning something. Being a writer doesn’t mean I have perfect grammar. Being a writer doesn’t mean I have to write like the writers I admire. Being a writer doesn’t mean I always like to write. Being a writer doesn’t mean I have to write long blog posts.

Being a writer means…
I write.
And I do that, I write. And I believe that God has a message for me to share with women, and so I write it.

What do you do that you disqualify yourself from? Might I encourage you to do the thing, and be the thing, and not be afraid to say it? You are.

By Sarah Mae, writer.

Friday Night Lights

It is that time of year, time for those Friday night lights. It is in the air, the weather is cooling down , what little leaves we have in the panhandle are changing colors and the fair is one week away! I love this time of year, the fall colors, pumpkins,corn mazes, hoodies and football!

Okay let’s be honest we live in West Texas, football is life around here! Friday nights are a big deal. I just found out that they sell season tickets to High School Football games! There are people (most likely you) that plan all week for their Friday night games. For most of us it is a family affair. This got me thinking about the number of people who enter gates to a football field on Friday nights, more importantly the number of lost people!

How many people do you come in contact with at a game? Think about it..the parking attendant, the person taking your ticket, the people you walk by, the person you are sitting next to, behind, in front of. The players on your team, the cheerleaders, dancers, pep squad. We can come in contact with a lot of people on a Friday night and chances are most of them do not the love and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to plant so many seeds, to be a light in someone else’s life just by telling them “Jesus Loves You”.

Philippians 3:11 tells us “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” This verse works for football and soul-winning.

So tonight at whatever game you are at, in whatever stadium, for whatever school, be a light. Smile, be polite, shake someone’s hand, tell them Jesus Loves Them, invite them to church on Sunday! Do not miss a chance to further the kingdom of God. Tonight, under the Friday Night Lights could be your chance to plant a seed in someone’s life.

MOPS

James Henry and I started MOPS this year and yesterday was our first formal meeting. MOPS is Mothers of Pre-Schoolers but really all children below kindergarten. It is a wonderful faith based group. There is only one in all of Amarillo, I'm so lucky they had a spot for us.
   We meet formally twice a month. The kids go to their own area, pre-school rooms to be exact and they actually have a Veggie Tales Curriculum that they use, as well as play time etc.
  The moms meet downstairs in the church and we start with prayer, coffee and breakfast. We then have prayer requests and a devotional. Yesterday's devotional was on patience something I need alot of for sure! Yesterday we also did a fun craft, took pictures for the MOPS directory and had alot of fellowship! My discussion group is called "Trouble" based off the board game but it is kinda fitting!
   There is also several chances during the month to meet for play dates, like yesterday after the meeting we let the kids play at the indoor church playground, while we fellow shipped a while longer.
  I am so excited to get involved in MOPS and see what the year has in store. I feel very blessed to meet and spend time with other women and Moms who love the Lord as much as I do!

The Power Of Forgiveness

Once Saved, Always Saved, this is the power of forgiveness.

The bible tells us in Romans 8:38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things to come, nor height nor depth,nor any other created thing,shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The definition of forgive is “to pardon”. If you look up forgiving the definition is “able to forgive, allowing room for error or mistakes”. Why does it seem like forgiveness is at times the hardest thing for us to do?

The bible tells us in Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood,the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his Grace. God has forgiven us, he has wiped our slate clean. God is truly the only one who knows us inside and out, he knows how black we have been, our every sin and he doesn’t care, he doesn’t hold a grudge, no matter how big or small the sin is,he forgives.

So, why is it we cannot show the people around us the same grace and mercy? Everyone sins, we are human, we will make mistakes, we will hurt other people, are we all not the same? Is one sin bigger than another?, the bible tells us no. We as humans tend to really hang onto the hurt other people have caused us, in the long run this only bonds us to the past. We need to forgive others, to let go of the past and the hurt and anger. We can often set ourselves free when we forgive others. Who in your life do you need to forgive?What in your life do you need to let go of?

Turning 29....

This past weekend I turned 29, no really 29! For some reason alot of people think this is a lie but for me it is the truth. Yes, next year I will be 30, but I am looking forward to embracing my 30's!
     I had a wonderful weekend! James was actually home for my birthday which rarely ever happens! He let me sleep in Friday morning and then James Henry and I met our good friends at Brush With Art for story time. My best friend Trista took James Henry home with her and James and I stayed and worked on Christmas presents and then had a wonderful lunch alone!

After lunch, we visited with friends which was followed by a wonderful shopping trip to the mall all by myself. We had dinner with friends that night and great talks.

Saturday was Girl's day! We had lunch at a great pizza place and had girl talk and we were creative at Brush With Art! They also bought me some yummy cupcakes!

Saturday night was date night!!! James and I had a couple's massage and dinner at Macaroni Joe's. We had never been to Macaroni Joe's before and I was pleasantly surprised that some place so elegant and fancy was tucked away here in Amarillo. It was an amazing dinner and a wonderful date night!

We finished Saturday night with UFC and great friends!

We rounded out our weekend Sunday with church and a quiet evening at home with our kids.

I had the best birthday I may have ever had. I was truly blessed by my friends and family. I am looking forward to the next year with James and the kids full of love, laughter and tons of memories.

I am not in fear of my 30's but ready to embrace them with the Grace of God!

Thank you God for my life!

Christopher's Birthday Party

We had Christopher's birthday party this year at Cheer Texas, which is a gymnastics place but is perfect for a bunch of wild and crazy kids. There are trampolines, bouncers and a big open foam pit to jump in.
  This year he wanted a Lego theme but not just any Lego theme, Lego Star Wars! It was not easy to come by, I found plates and napkins on line, I ordered the invites from EBay as well as the edible image cake topper in which I placed on a plain cake I ordered from United.
  He had a great party, there was an awesome turn out. The kids had crazy fun. He got lots of awesome gifts and alot of Lego's! I loved how on this day and looking around his party that I was able to see how blessed beyond measure we are with our friends! James was stuck at work so it was just me to run the party and everyone stepped up and really helped me out and I am so thankful!!
  Here are some pictures from the party....