Believe, Confess, Receive

MY POST TODAY IS DEDICATED TO MARY JO SEVERT :)

~Mark 11:23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.~
~Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.~

A friend of ours got really sick this past couple weeks and things weren't looking hopeful for her. At the time our friends told us about it they weren't giving her much of a chance to survive.  As soon as we found this out I started praying and remembering what my grandpa always says "If you believe in your heart and confess it with your mouth it will be given". The kids said a prayer for her to get healthy and better with every dinner and at bed time as well. I prayed at night and throughout the day at work. I put her on 2 prayer chains and asked everyone to keep praying for her. Countless friends and family of hers were saying their prayers for her as well. I am so happy to share that she is doing so much better! She is still in great need of prayer as she is not in the clear yet. But to make a total change like this in a weeks time when things were looking as if it could be it for her isn't just a bit of good luck. It's a true answered miracle from God!!!
Situations such as this really get a person thinking how often we take our lives and time on earth for granted. How often we take the lives of friends and family for granted as well. In an instant things could change forever. It's easy to get busy with our lives and not stop to show people we care. We met Mary Jo through facebook from our friends while we lived in Alaska. She was always so sweet and kind to us while we were up there. Then we got the pleasure of meeting her in person the weekend we moved back to Ohio. We haven't got to spend much time with her but she is one of the sweetest people we have met. She watched the kids for a whole day for Nathan and I and they fell in love with her :) They  still talk about the day they were are Mary Jo's. I am so thankful that we got the chance to meet her and even more grateful and thankful that we get more time to know her better!

In closing I just want to remind everyone life isn't a guarantee! Be sure to tell your loved ones how much you care. Go visit a friend you haven't seen in a while, send them a message, or give them a call. Try to live every day to it's fullest and praise God in every little thing!!
~Thank you Dear Lord for answering every one's prayers for Mary Jo and for showing everyone that all it takes is prayer, believing, and faith in you to overcome things of this world AMEN~

Happy "2012"

 ~Psalm 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. ~
As the New Year begins today we all have things we would like to change this year. Many times we have our goals of what we want the new year to bring but let them slip away and don't achieve them. I have a few goals this year. One, I want to read with the children threw the whole Bible in 2012. The most important resolution this year is for me to grow and help the children to grow in our love and walk with God. We have come a long way this past year and I pray to continue to grow everyday. At the beginning of last year we weren't in church and we never prayed. Since we started going to church on a regular basis and started praying everyday things have become so much better and easier around our house. We have seen prayers work from smaller things to bigger things. My verse at the beginning is such a good verse to go with this post because God has done so many wonderful things this year. We have had our trials like Maximus being sick for one. One thing I have really learned this year is not to fret or fear over sickness. Thanks a bunch to my grandma for saying it over and over until I started to practice it :)
~ 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.~
When a problem comes about even if it seems there is no way put your total trust in God. Don't fret or fear over it because that is giving Satan that foothold to run with your fear.
~ 1 John 4:4  You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.~
It's not always easy to say it's in God's hands and I won't fear over it. But if you start praying about it and focus all your energy on God and praying for the issue it does become much easier to let go of fear and focus on the works God will do for you because GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD!!
I pray for each of you that this year be the best you will have yet. God will bless you in more ways then we can ever imagine if we just receive it. I am excited to see what this year will bring for my family. In just a few months of turning back to God and trying hard to follow him he has already shown us so many great things he can do :) This will surely be a year of learning and growing for the children and I. I pray it will be the same for all of you as well!!
~God keep you safe and Bless you the whole year through~
*Deborah*

The importance of CHRISTmas!

~Luke 1:30-32 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His Name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the LORD God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David~

As my kids are growing a little bigger we are learning what Christmas should really mean to us. I am teaching them that Christmas is the day we celebrate the birth of our saviour. It is fun to give gifts to each other but we really need to take time to praise Jesus and thank him for his ultimate sacrifice for us. Santa is a fun addition to the season but we should not focus more on Santa than Jesus. Thus the reason for the first picture on here. I think the Santa bowing down to Jesus is a nice idea to get the point across that " Jesus is the reason for the season".  So in closing I just want to remind you to take a moment in all the excitement of your Christmas to stop and Thank God for giving Jesus to us on that day!

~I pray each of you have a happy, safe, and fun filled Christmas!!

May God Bless you now and Always~

Our Children

Good evening! This is my first ever blog postJ. My hope for starting a blog is to post a few blogs a week that can help to inspire not only the readers but myself as well.  I am going to start every blog with a bible verse. So here we goJ.

~Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble~

Children are our legacy. We will forever be remembered through our children, their children, and on down the line. Through the words we say and our actions every day. We need to make sure we are taking time every day to tell our children how much we love them and how valuable they are to us. Take time to play, laugh, and love them. I am as guilty as the next, with working a full time job outside the home. I am tired when I get home and it’s easy to say not now...just give me some time. Well before you know it the night has slipped away and everyone goes off to bed. We say oh well we will get to it tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and goes and before you know it, it could be a year, two, more!!

I heard about a teenager that took his own life and it breaks my heart to no end. I started to think about my children. Can you prevent such a tragedy from happening? Maybe we can maybe we can’t?! I don’t know that for sure. I made sure to tell my kids today how much I love them, how important their lives are to me, and how special they are. I tell them multiple times a day that I love them, but I don’t express how proud of them I am as much as I need to. Sure I tell them when they bring home a good paper I’m proud of you good job…but I don’t tell them out of the blue as much as I should. I tell them not to listen to what people say about them. They know different than what people say when they are being mean. I pray every night over my children; that God keep them close to him and let his light shine through them in everything they do. They are great kids and I pray that God shows me how to raise them in his light. I pray that they learn and never let go of God’s love.

~ Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. ~

I am a firm believer in this verse! I am a product of this very verse! I was raised to know God’s love and was in church all my life until I moved out on my own. I tried my own way for a few years and it didn’t work and now I have found my way back to God. I am a work in progress I guess you would say. But I am learning every day. I am trying to teach my children of that undying love God has for them so that they will not depart from it either!

I pray you have a blessed Evening J