when your heart hurts...

God will fill it with joy! I was sad last night, sadder when I told David about little Liberson. Today however we prayed for God to fill us with joy and praise. That is exactly what happened. It was my turn in Jr. Church today and our lesson was about praise. I had an hour filled with plans to sing, play, praise, and play some more. 40 kids, 4 adults, and 2 teens shook their tails and raised their hands to the Lord in praise this morning. I actually happen to think we made some of the angels shake it as well! Certainly the Lord smiled and sang along with us as we "got up, got up, got up and told the world"! The morning was filled with song, smiles, hugs, laughs, and happy squeals. The sounds all children should get to make at church. :) We even had a few rounds of "beach-ball-dodge-ball". A unique game made up by the teens helping us today. Those guys are awesome! And yeah, I'm glad they were beach balls. :) My boys have not stopped smiling. Especially David. On the way home today he told me that he was going to not be sad about Liberson. He was going to praise God that Liberson could be with Jesus now and wouldn't be sick anymore. That was it. That was the cherry on top of a perfect sunday. My heart is full of joy. My head is full of 40 kids singing and jumping in unison. And you know, I'm totally cool with that. :)

nothing fair about it

Today I celebrated my 29th birthday. I was surrounded by my favorite people in the world and we had a great time! I will tell you more about it later. Tonight I want to ask you for prayer. On my heart is this story. I don't understand the struggles some people have to go through. I don't understand why I'm blessed with so much while others simply don't have enough to keep their children alive and healthy. It breaks my heart. My oldest son has prayed for little Liberson many times this week. Liberson did not make it. It breaks my heart. Please pray for the people who work at the Rescue Center. I do not know them, but I do know they are amazing people who work for One boss. Through their stories and updates I know how much of their hearts they give these children. My boys have had allergies all week. Runny noses and slight fevers are what I've dealt with. I can't imagine what Licia and her family have dealt with. They are amazing in my eyes and they are deep on my heart tonight. Please remember to pray for them. And for the three little ones who didn't make it. Including little Liberson.

Mary Mary - Shackles (Praise You)

This was posted on the Siesta Fiesta Blog today and I thought I'd follow suit and post it here. Get up and praise y'all, God is good!

Selah-All of me

One more that is just amazing.

Selah Sings Before the Throne of God

This song has been on my heart since the first time I posted it. Every day, every time I turn on the radio, every time I think of God's grace. Definatly worth sharing again. And this time with words so you can sing along. Enjoy and be blessed.

Selah Sings Before the Throne of God:

Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is "Love,"
Whoever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in Heav'n He stands
No tongue can bid me hence depart.
No tongue can bid me hence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on him and pardon me.
To look on him and pardon me.

Behold him there! the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace!
One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God

One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.

I Like To Move It, Move It - Madagascar

I've had to watch this about a million times tonight. It's only fitting that you all get up and "move it move it" with us. :)

come get your study on!

Allrighty fellow Siestas... it's time get our study on! Beth Moore is going to be hosting a new Bible study through her blog that looks really really good! I've never done a blog-o-study (my word :) ) before but I can't wait to try it out! This study will be done with about 1000 other Siestas that can't wait to dive into the Word together and pull out some meat! The study we're doing is "No Other Gods" by Kelly Minter. It's about confronting modern day idols and learning how to put God first above everything else. (including Gray's... oh dear) I'm hoping to get a group together to study on Tuesday mornings. If you're in the Abilene area and don't allready have a group, let me know! We'd love to have you! We're looking at meeting in kid-friendly places so that no one has to worry about childcare. All the details for the study can be found here. Even if you can't join up in a group, sign up to be an e-mail buddy with someone! Something tells me this is a study none of us will want to miss. I can't wait to see how God changes me through this study!

do you hear the sound?

The sound of the beach is calling my name! Yes friends... my happy little toes will be digging into the sand of the beaches of South Padre Island in two days. We're going on a much needed vacation with my folks. Leaving Thursday morning and coming home Sunday night. Four glorious days of sand, waves, and fun. No chores, no laundry, no fuss... just relaxing and hanging out with my favorite people on earth. This will be our the first family vacation we've taken in a loooooooong time! The first for my little family of four. The boys are thrilled to be going to the beach. I have never been to the beach, never seen the ocean, never gathered shells by the shore. I'm over the moon excited! I can NOT wait! Tomorrow we'll be at mom and dads and then early Thursday morning we'll be headed for the coast. Please pray that God gives us a smooth ride and gets us there safely. I won't have a way to blog. All things techno (minus cell phone & camera) will remain at home. I'm taking me a few good books & scrappin magazines, and plan on spending as much time relaxing and tossing the boys in the ocean as I can. :)

South Padre here we come!

it's official...

Summer has definatly begun!