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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Some photos and an update...

This is wonderful

Kaleb and I have had a busy bunch of days since I last wrote a blog. We have been unpacking and also planning our trip to Florida. We are leaving August 18th and will come back to MN 7 days later. My grandparents are getting older. And my grandpa (Popop) has recovered from colon cancer and is weak and frail. We really feel in our spirits that the Lord is telling us we better get down there and see them. This is my moms side of the family. Kaleb hasn't met any of them. My mom has one sister who has 5 children. We are very excited to see them! I was able to fly to FL and see my cousins and grandparents in 2009. Before I met Kaleb and my life changed, in a great way. :) But my mom and siblings haven't seen that side of the family for 6 years We desperately need to go there. We are so excited! It is now or never for all of us to go because my brother is in the last stages of joining the Coast Guard. And then he will be gone. And he may not be back for a long time. And not to mention we will be parents and SO busy! Money will be tighter and life will be different. We know the Lord gave us this one shot to get down there. None of us want the regret of not seeing my grandparents. Especially considering my grandfather's health issues. So Kaleb has helped my mom plan the trip and everything. We are renting a van and driving down to South Carolina and then to Florida. We are all excited to see the ocean and Kaleb is going to surf the waves, he says. 
The pregnancy is going along smoothly. I have been so hungry the past few days. Eating small meals about 6 times a day. It is a chore, but totally worth every minute. I have gained about 12 pounds since April; which is right where I should be. I love this little one and cannot wait to hold him/her. I found some awesome stuff online and Kaleb's grandma has sent us some great stuff. I cannot wait to use it! :) 
Let's see, what else..  Oh yeah, we went to Costco over this past weekend and bought some shelves and a few items for the house. Things we desperately needed. Washclothes, bathmat, cocoa water (very healthy), & metal shelves for the garage.
On the way to Costco, Kaleb and I listened to some sermons by our favorite preacher, Pastor Mark Driscoll. He is a modern day Paul. 

The link above had so many good points. I will list the ones I found to be the best for me, personally. These are Mark Driscolls thoughts, not my own. 
  • Be careful not to criticize your pastor or bring charges against your pastor that are only criticisms.
  • I do not have the right to edit the word of God with my 3 pound fallen brain that went to public school
  • You are not just sitting there listening, you are worshipping God by paying attention, so, Thank You.
  • Want to grow your church? Preach on the entire book of Luke
  • The book of Esther will be preached on this fall
  • There are several types of preaching
  1. Book - Preaching on an entire book of the Bible, start to finish
  2. Textual - Preaching on a chunk of scripture
  3. Topical - Pick an idea and preach on it using many different scriptures
  • We preach Jesus
  • The whole Bible from beginning to end is ultimately about Jesus - 1 Corinthians 1:22
  • We follow the pulpit
  • We love technology - 15 million downloads have happened because of our online resources
  • Preaching is not only for information, but transformation
http://marshill.com/media/jesus-loves-his-church/jlhc-1-jesus-gives-life#transcript

The sermon up above is the 2nd one we listened to and it was fabulous!! Here are the bullet points I found from the sermon.
  • Christian = Jesus & the Holy Spirit are involved
  • Before life can be lived the Holy Spirit must have room to be in your life
  • Non - Christian appreciates Jesus' life
  • Christians experience the love and power of Jesus unleashed in their lives
  • Faith should be public and practical
  • Faith should not be private and personal, it is personal but not private
  • God uses evil for good - Ephesians 1
  • Don't freak out when things go wrong or crazy
  • There is a plan
  • Don't destroy yourself with worry
  • See God's definite plan in your/our lives
  • Stay close to Jesus
  • Hind sight helps us see the plan
  • May not understand the definite plan until (Heaven) this life is over
  • The worst thing is not to die, it is to die apart from JESUS
  • All the famous heroes we look up to are all sinners
  • David in the Bible is one of the famous heroes but he was also only human and sinned ALOT
  • Jesus/God's presence made David great
  • Even the greatest among us, still DIES
  • Jesus is in a category all by Himself
  • Admiring the life of Jesus is NOT ENOUGH!!
  • If you don't choose JESUS you will be His enemy for all eternity and be His footstool!!
  • We don't do anything! Jesus did everything!!!
  • Repent of your sin
  • If our desires are conflicted, we need to repent
  • REMEMBER: GOD IS NOT ANGRY WITH YOU, HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES ME.

This week is pretty warm so I hope to get to the lake with my sisters tomorrow. We have been so busy, I would LOVE a relaxing day to spend with my sisters! Kaleb has been working hard. He loves his job and we are so thankful for that! It is allowing us to do so many things and help so many people. :)
19 weeks, 1 day
19 w, 1 day

19 weeks 5 days

18 weeks, 6 days

20 weeks, 1 day

20 weeks, 1 day

19 weeks, 1 day

I wrote this when I was 6 :) 
Something you may not know about me, I WAS HOMESCHOOLED!! AND WILL BE HOMESCHOOLING OUR CHILDREN! 

I will be making one of these and hanging it on the wall in our house :)

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

An amazing video!!

Another great video I watched today!! Just incredible!!! This explains how I feel about life in America these days!! I pray often that I can be this type of Christian. Someone who is studying Jesus DAILY!! Someone that doesn't think that going to church is the answer to everything. I dont ever want to get stuck thinking that a list of do's and don'ts will get me to Heaven. Because it won't happen. In the end, if we as HUMANS think that we can come up with a list of rules and ideas that we do inside of buildings WE have built, if we do all that.. We might as well spit right on Jesus as He HUNG on the cross. We have to be careful. Because what Jesus did for us is the most important thing. It isn't a secret. It needs to be shared with everyone we encounter. But if we put our human list of rules, ABOVE JESUS than we have it all wrong. It is important that we know the difference between religion and JESUS. JESUS is the answer. ONLY HIM. No rules or regulations written by MAN get us any closer to Heaven. Anytime we mess up JESUS forgives us. The rules in the Old Testament were written by GOD so that we could all see that we could NEVER live up to being Holy and perfect  enough on our own. BUT with JESUS it is about LOVE. It is about His BLOOD and sacrifice. It is about realizing that we have no way of getting to Heaven on our own!! And by thinking that we can with certain rituals and buildings, makes the sacrifice that Jesus did, insignificant in our human eyes. When that sacrifice should be THE MOST IMPORTANT THING!!

Another great video..

Another great video!! This is fantastic. It is such a wonderful concept he is talking about. And I can see where it is freaky because it involves being SUPER dedicated to JESUS!! And nothing else! I mean wow. He nails it with this!!

Good video!!

I found this today and was listening to it while cleaning. It is so amazing... What a wise Bible Teacher!!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Baby update!!

This morning, at 5:37am I put my hand on my belly and felt a poke from baby! ♥ It was one of the most incredible things I have ever experienced! I love God so much for blessing us with this son or daughter! I am gonna be putting my hand on my belly a lot now in hopes of feeling more movement!! I LOVE YOU, Baby of ours!! We are praying for you and cannot wait to teach you all about how much Jesus loves you!! 
Romans 8:37-39  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-love-25-awesome-scripture-quotes/#ixzz21Vimnhz9



I am 19 weeks, 1 day!! 
ALMOST HALFWAY!!! :)
cute new diaper bag!!

7.23.12

7.23.12

God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus. – Max Lucado

Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-love-25-awesome-scripture-quotes/#ixzz21Vj679Ua

Friday, July 20, 2012

A quick update..

16 weeks 5 days!
16 weeks! 3 days!!
Kaleb and I have found a nice routine at home. It took a few weeks but it's great! We have a lot to accomplish in the next few weeks. My car will be getting fixed. I am studying for my board exam. I am also slowly getting things in order in ithe house. I don't have the intense amount of energy I had pre-pregnancy! Kaleb has been working hard at work and at home. There are many things I can't do anymore; Most of which involve heavy lifting. Today we are going to plant flowers that one of Kaleb's coworkers gave us. It is a blessing. They are all perennials and I can't wait to see them in the ground! MY belly is growing daily. I am now 18 weeks, 5 days pregnant!! IT is absolutely the most incredible thing I have yet to experience. I am so excited! This journey is really bringing me closer to God. It really is just as my mom has said many times. We partner with God to bring a person into this world.. Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. Right inside my uterus God crafted a soul! He brought it into existence. IT is our duty to be healthy and to be diligent to raise that child to follow Christ. I am so excited to teach this little one about God's love! We have two names picked out, one boy and one girl and the middle names. Kaleb wants to keep them a secret and I respect that wish. Everyone will find out once the baby is born.
Tomorrow we are going to the park where Kaleb proposed to me. I will be photographing my friend Rachels 3 children. I can't wait! It will be so fun!!


I was digging into my Bible a few weeks ago and God really spoke to me about worship and praising Him. These are the thoughts and verses from the quiet time spent with God. :)

Our Facebook accounts and blogs represent who we are and what we worship. I know worship is a word we associate with church. However, what we worship is the thing we allow to take up the most space in our lives & minds. It is what we will be remembered for when this life is over.
John 4:23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. ..I looked up the specific meaning of the version of the word worship in Hebrrew. It means to prostrate oneself in adoration. Prostrate means to lay flat on the ground. I took that as meaning, a person is in such awe of God that they can do nothing but lay down.
Acts 17:23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship. I even found an altar with this inscription TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. NOw what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you.
The Hebrew word worship in Acts 17:23 has a completely different meaning. It means serve by doing service. The people spent time serving their gods and were lost and confused and Paul told them about Jesus.

Colossians 2:23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. . . The Hebrew word used in place of the English word worship, refers to voluntary piety. Piety means to be religious or reverent. Paul is referring to just doing religious things but not actually loving people or acting better outside the church walls. This bothered Paul. He wanted people to connect their faith and life because that's what God wants. Paul says, Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Colossians 4:20-22.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Feelings...

Do you have someone in your life that you compare yourself to? I do. It is someone that will always be in my life. And it seems that no matter what I do. I make mistakes and this person is perfect. It is something I struggle with. Every  now and then it creeps up on me pretty intensely. Usually because this person ALWAYS says all the right things without reading their Bible. Without going to church. Without relying on Jesus to help them with their lives. I do all of those things. I pray constantly. But it doesn't change that I constantly mess things up and make a fool of myself. But this person seems to constantly be in control of themselves and never over steps their bounds. Sometimes, I would like to know what the heck is wrong with me? Or if I need to read my Bible more and pray more. And just talk less and just be less myself. I don't know how to exactly explain. I pray all the time to not compare myself to this person but sometimes things happen and I just mess up. And this person is let down by me. It is so hard. And sometimes it is just plain hard to be me. I don't mean my life is hard. I mean being ME. The person  that I am. I am not perfect. I definitely don't look perfect on the outside and I often don't act very well. I am loud, I freak out.. I lose my temper. I pray for these things to change. And for me to be better but man oh man, change is hard. It is easy to get discouraged. Especially, now, while I am pregnant. I feel that it has been extra hard. I have reverted to many of my old habits. And it is so annoying, I keep praying for patience and peace. But it seems the hormones are powerful. Thankfully, Kaleb is a big help with everything. He has been so kind and sweet to me even when I don't feel quite myself.. I just need to remember that the words in this photo are true. And I just simply need to rely more on Christ and talk less. 
Ok, done venting.