Missing my parents, Potty Training, and Pumpkins

What a day today! Not because it was Halloween. But, because I felt like a new person today, refreshed and renewed. I'm striving to begin each day with a positive attitude and making the effort to decide that I'm going to have a BLESSED day even if things don't seem the way they should be or if my circumstances are less than normal whether physically or spiritually. The enemy may pour his lies into my thoughts and keep me from believing that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." but, if "Greater is He that is in Me, then he that's in the world." Then, the devil is a big fat liar! I'm sick and tired of being tired and depressed. My life is way too precious to waste time being unhappy. I want to be content with the fact that I am a child of God, a daughter of the King. That no matter how hard life can get, He will never leave me nor forsake me. Today, I had a chance to visit my parents' grave and each time I go there, I cry because I miss them so much and wish they were here to see their grandchildren. Most of all, to be there for parental guidance, support, comfort, wisdom, and just to feel their love. But, because of their absence, I know that I've grown to seek and rely completely upon my Father in heaven. A Father that hears me when I pray, corrects me when I'm wrong, supplies all of my needs, heals me when I'm sick, shows me understanding, comforts me when I'm grieved, strengthens me when I'm tired and weary, rewards me for being obedient, loves me unconditionally...


Also, today my oldest son Josiah made the effort to use the potty without putting up a fight. I was so happy for him and just the fact that it gives me hope that one day he'll finally say goodbye to his diapers for good! On the other hand, my heart had slight sinking feeling that my son is growing up so fast. These toddler days will be over before I know it and I'll be wishing I had more time with them at this age. The fact that I'm the most important person in their life and that noone is as beautiful to them as me, makes me wish they could stay this way forever. I love them so much.... Here are some photos we took at Arata's Pumpkin Farm last Sunday. It was there first time to go pumpkin picking and will be a tradition for us from now on.

Faith Sister LO's and FIRST Template FREEBIE

Before I begin, I just want to say thank you for being so supportive and including me in your prayers. Just the thought that people I've never met or spoke to, have such a heart to say a prayer for me. It really meant a lot and I'm humbled by it. After the storm has passed and peace began to settle, the Lord spoke to my heart and said these simple words, "My love is constant, I am constant." Constant. Unchanging. Consistent. Steadfast. Persistent. Ceaseless. Endless. Perpetual. When I think of the word consant, I think of the waves that are in constant motion or how the sun rises every morning and sets every evening or how seasons are always changing but, they always return. Hope this is a reminder to you that God's love never fails. We may fail but, He never fails. The power of His love on the cross is endless. There was a verse from a song we sang the other night at church and it said, "His blood will never lose its power." This, I've come to believe with all my heart.

Well, I'm finally going to post some of those layouts from our Faith Sister challenges! With every layout I've done so far, I've really poured my heart into them. They're not just any typical page for my srapbook, but they're priceless documents worth so much more than life itself. It is my legacy of faith that I'm leaving behind for my children and for future generations and pray will lead and guide them to Christ. These pages are a testimony of what the Lord has done for me and the reasons I stand firm upon my faith. My creativity is not just all fun and games but, to me its a ministry that I've been called to do. It's my purpose and my destiny. So, with pleasure I would like to present my first faithbook layouts that were done as part of the challenges at Faith Sisters. The challenges now begin on Wednesdays instead of Saturdays so if you're interested in creating a faithbook with us, join our challenges or see our past challenges in our forum or gallery for inspiration!

My Testimony

Credits here.

Let Your Light Shine

Credits here.

A Day In My Life

Credits here.

I've been wanting to create templates and here is my first try so let me know what you think of it and I'd love to see your pages if you use them. Thanks!

Download here.

Need prayers...

There's been alot going on lately and I feel like I'm in a middle of a storm. When it rains, it pours. I'm asking that you'll pray for me to hold on to the strength that God provides and to keep His truth hidden my heart. It seems like the devil is busy trying to tear down my household and making my life in general, miserable. It's warfare and it's ugly. Everyday I pray for God's armor and the weapon to defeat all the arrows and darts that are being thrown at me, especially my thoughts. On top of all of this, I'm starting to come down with a cold....uggghhh. So, if you could just say a little prayer for me today, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you in advance and hope things get back to NORMAL soon... {{BIG HUGS}}

Weekly Challenge @ FaithSisters and a LO....

Hey everyone! Life is getting busier as the holidays are approaching. So much to plan and prepare. In between, I've been having so much fun creating layouts for the weekly challenges at Faith Sisters and if you haven't joined us, it's never too late. This week's challenge is to scrapbook about "A Day In Your Life or Week". There is a word art freeie of Ecclesiastes 3:1, created by our own creative team member Krystal Hartley that you can download in our gallery and also use in your LO. You'll also be able to see what our CT already created for this challenge in both paper and digital. Don't forget to leave a comment if you do. Every Friday is when we announce our winner! So come and join the fun and create pages that will leave a legacy of faith!

Sweet Stuff

Find Credits here.

I forgot to post a LO that I did a while back that was in response to a CT call at Little Dreamer Designs. It was created using all of their products. I really love the colors in this LO and I used one of my favorite photos of my son, Josiah, holding a bouquet of flowers that my husband bought for me. It's just one of those sweet little moments that I want to treasure forever...

Desires of the Heart

{Psalm 37: 4-6 } "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. "

I love how this verse speaks profoundly about our purpose in life. I'm sure there are other verses that do the same but, what I love about this verse is the simple fact that if we 'delight in the Lord' and 'commit our ways' and 'trust' in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. What are the desires of my heart? I sat and pondered this question because there are so many desires I have, so many that I can write a book. Among them are for financial freedom, a bigger house, finish school and start a thriving business doing what I love, be a better wife and mother, live long enough to see my children's children, learn to be a better cook, and be able to travel and discover new territories. But, the desires of my heart that have greater value are the things that are more eternal such as seeing my children and their children live for the Lord, reaching my loved ones and leading them to Christ, be an effective witness and example of God's love, doing all that God called me to do, taking the Gospel as far as I can, become more like Jesus and love unconditionally, to see revival in our city, our nation, in our world, but most of all to see the fullness of His glory and be that light to the world and to future generations. I often questioned in the past, "Does God want to use me? If so, how? " And, "What can He possibly do through me?" I was reading an entry in one of my first devotional journals and reread the things that God put in my heart at the time. I don't know word for word what I wrote at this minute, but it went along the lines of something like this: "In His time, God will do great things in Me and through Me. Be patient. God is preparing you for something big, something you will not expect for He is the God of the unexpected. Anything is possible through Him." Lately, it's been such an amazing time in my life because I'm starting to see my calling and purpose in life unfold. I have yet to really experience the dreams I have had for so long but, because I know He is faithful and true to His promises, I'm going to just sit and enjoy the ride and believe that it will one day come to pass....

If you haven't yet, please visit Faith Sisters and be sure to register on the forums. So much is happening and will be happening in the future which you definitely don't want to miss out on. The challenges are very inspirational and really give you more of a reason to scrapbook. We call it faithbooking and it is a way to leave a legacy of faith behind to those you care about. Here is a more detailed explanation of what faithbooking is all about written by one of Faith Sisters co-founders, Michelle.

What is faithbooking? “Future generations will also serve Him.
Our children will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those yet unborn. They will hear about everything He has done.” Psalm 22:30-31 LBT The Bible commands us to remember what God has done in our lives and that is what faithbooking is all about! It is incorporating your faith and how God is working in your life into your scrapbook, to leave a legacy of faith. It is about remembering God's fingerprints in your life and passing those memories along to anyone who looks at your faithbook! In Deuteronomy 4:9, Moses tells the people, “Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.” The Lord didn’t want it to be difficult for us to remember His blessings and fingerprints. In the Old
Testament Days, He used festivals that the people were required to celebrate or He instructed them to make piles of rocks. Today we have the means to create faithbooks! Alan Wright author of The God Moment Principle makes this statement, “Even mature, well-meaning Christians have an incredible ability to forget the extraordinary moments of God. The memory dulls. The moment loses its luster. And soon, the life changing power is gone – spiritual amnesia has set in.”
Here are a few other benefits of having faithbooks: First,faithbooks will increase our faith so we can withstand tomorrow’s tests - that is one reason they are called faithbooks. When we look back and remember times when the Lord healed us, rescued us, sustained us through a difficulty, provided for our needs, gave us abundant gifts, our faith in Him grows. When we remember how He paid our bills last year and got us through the winter months, we will have the faith to trust Him for this year’s needs. A second benefit of Faithbooking is that it demonstrates obedience in training our children about the Lord’s faithfulness. If we go back to Moses, he goes on to say,"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are upon your hearts, impress them on your children.” Deut. 6: 5-6 It’s not simply for us to remember, it’s for our children. In fact Psalm 78:4 says: “We will tell the next generation the praise worthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders He has done.” Isaiah 38:19b LB “Each generation can make known your faithfulness to the next.” Joel 1:3 NIV “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation." We are admonished to “TELL the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.” Psalm 78:4. The Word does not say if we have time, if we have money, if we don’t work outside the home, if we have a housecleaner and a supportive spouse. As Christians, we are to remember all the things God is doing in our lives and we are to tell the next generation. By creating faithbooks for and WITH our children, we are obeying God’s word and obeying the Word of the Lord produces JOY. Our children too will benefit greatly from that obedience. Their lives will also be changed by the power of your Faithbooking stories. Dr. James Dobson made a statement in favor of faithbooks: “If there is anything I feel we have lost as a people in the western world it’s that nderstanding of who we are, where we’ve been, who our ancestors were, and what our identity is. And that is done through the family structure. Continuity from generation to generation depends on taking the best from the past and passing it along to
our children (June 22, 2000 broadcast). Our children are faced with pressures to conform to the standards of this world everyday. Disrespect and rebellion against God and all authority is played-out at school, on television, in music and with friends. Reinforcing your family values and God’s word in and through our photo album/faithbooks, will give our children the help they need to stand firm in this very pressure-filled world. A third benefit of Faithbooking is that it glorifies God. A “traditional” photo album tends to place the emphasis on “me” and the who, what, where and when of the photos such as; where we went on vacation, what we did, who came along and when did we go. However, a faith book can take the same events and find the Lord’s fingerprints (His influence) in the same activities. A faithbook captures God IN me and God at work AROUND me. Literally, His power affecting our lives. A faith book causes us to take pictures of events that we normally wouldn’t think of documenting. When our 2-year-old lathers his face with jelly we run to take a picture of him for our PHOTO album. “Isn’t HE cute and what a charming
personality”…. With a mindset of Faithbooking you are now ready to take a picture for your faith book of your four-year-old kneeling by her bed to invite Jesus into her heart. That photo and story is about her AND the Lord. “I don’t have my camera ready at times like that” you might say. With Faithbooking, it’s permissible to “recreate” scenes. Increasing our faith, obeying and glorifying the Lord are just three benefits. As you get into this project you will see that faithbooks also: 1) Help to develop a grateful attitude in our lives 2) Encourage us and others
3)Help us memorize God’s word 4) Teach and warn us almost like a Family Bible 5)Reinforce our family values and beliefs. These are just some of the benefits we can experience when we take the time to discover the spiritual power of our own pictures and stories.

My very FIRST creative team @ FAITH SISTERS...

It's way past midnight and I just finished doing some homework but, I couldn't help but announce that I made it on the Faith Sisters creative team!! The day before, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be picked and I was telling God, "Hey, if it's not Your will, then You have something greater." But, to my surprise I saw my name on their list and was laughing out loud! I was totally speechless! This means a lot to me and I look forward to what this has in store for my life. I know that people will be touched and reached with the love of Christ through the work that God called us to do there. I did apply to some other CT calls - Little Dreamer Designs, luaraskathi, and Melanie Colosimo. But, like I said, if it isn't meant to be, then so be it. I'm just thankful for the opportunity to be part of Faith Sisters and hope you'll come and visit me there. They have some really awesome inspirational challenges, layout gallery, and a faith forum for those of you who are interested in faithbooking and meeting some super sweet faith sisters that are there to share the love of Christ!