1 Peter 1:6-9

6:IN this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. 7:so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8: and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9: obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.



Just take a minute and think about these verses, of what they mean.

Things I've experienced in my 24 yrs....

I have lived in the amazon,

I have had 3 children,

I married the man I love more than my own life,

I lived in texas,

And now on to the things most of you don't know about me.....

I went to boarding school for 2 yrs,

I have had my heart broken,

I have experienced the love and forgiveness of God in my life in BIG ways,

My husband and I have had some really hard times in our marriage due to circumstances only to come out closer to GOd in the end,

I've experienced true friendship from very special people in my life,

I've had moments of true doubt,

My children are the best things in my life and yet one of my biggest fears,

And now for some of my favorite things,

I love to dance with my kids everyday,

I love to swim in the rivers of venezuela it is one of my greatest joys and one of the things I miss the most,

I love the rolling hills of virginia,

I love to talk with my friends,

I love to lay on the sofa with my husband in the safety of his arms,

I love to be outside in the spring,

I love shoes,

I love to play games with my husband and friends,

I love to watch the look on my kids faces when they discover something new,

I love to greet my husband at the door when he comes home from work,

I love to study the Bible and learn more about GOd,

I love to dream,

I love coffee shops,

I love to work with teenagers and teach them the things I wish I knew when I was their age,

I loved my years in texas,

I'm learning and growing in Christ and the daughter of the king and I love it!

Haiti

TOdya my father is leaving to meet up with a friend to leave for Haiti early tomorrow morning. THey are many people going on this trip. Please pray for their safety, for the work to get done and most of all that many more people will come to know the love of Christ personally.

Jesse's first words!

Well it seems the time has come for squirt boy (yes that's really his nickname) to start talking. His first word as odd as it sounds was "guys" I was telling his oder brother and his older cousin to bequiet and I said "Bequiet Guys" and he jesse proceeded to yell it after me. And yesterday he said "kisses" and today he said "no"

Oh the joys of mother hood!

Prayer Request

Please pray for baby Gwyneth she is having some difficulties right now. Go to her fathers blog www.cfhusband.blogspot.com to find out more.


Also please pray for my Grandfather a missionary in the amazon rainforest in venezuela he is 88 yrs old and is not doing well. Just remember both of these people as you pray today.

Thanks

Jhocy's 3!

3 years of Jhocy,

Monday was Jhocelyn's birthday so I thought I would show some of my favorite pictures of her since she was born until now...

Jhocelyn, I prayed and prayed for a daughter and God gave me you! You bring so much joy and laughter into my life. I love the way you are always laughing. YOu love to laugh and even at 3 you make up your own jokes to make others laugh with you. I love it when you tell me you want to be just like me when you get big. I love when I see you playing with your little brother, or when you try to "help" me in the kitchen. You are a loving, caring, adventurous little girl and I can't wait to see what God has in store for your life. We love you and you will always be "my girl"

For Tricia,,

It's so funny that I'm doing this today. Today was an extremely frustrating day for me with my kids. I actually ended up in tears because i was so overwhelmed. Even though I don't know Tricia personally I do find myself thinking of her and Gwyneth when things seem never ending. So Tricia this is for you....
I can't wait for you to experience.....

Being thrown up on and pooped on at the same time,
Being woken up 12 times in one night,
Having your child be perfectly fine till the phone rings and then they decide that the world is about to come to an end and need your undivided attention right that second,
To be walking out the door and have someone spill something on you and truly not caring because it just happens all the time,
To have someone come to the door and realize that your 2 year old is running around naked behind you,
The moment your husband walks in the door inform him that it's HIS TURN!
To play in the snow or the rain with your children,
To experience the first REAL hug from your daughter,
TO have your daughter tell you she loves you and that your the best,
To hear her laughter as she watches her favorite cartoon,
To hear her thanking GOd for you,


I needed to do this tonight. I needed to remember why I wanted to be a stay at home mom in the first place. YOu are still in my prayers Nate and Tricia,,,,

Prayer for my kids

Please pray for my kids they seem to have contracted the flu. Logan has thrown up 3 times tonight. Please remember them when your praying tonight.

When I actually took the time....

When I actually took the time to just sit and enjoy my kids I got to......

Hear my 4 yr old helping his sister put her shoes on,

Play car races,

Hear my 2 yr old thanking GOd for every person in her life,

Hear the wonderful sound of my 3 kids laughing together,

Had the joy of sitting with all 3 of them and reading together,

Got to build a princess castle with my daughter,

Was able to listen to my son's dreams and ideas for when he is grown up,

Had my daughter tell me that I am the "best"

Fell in love with them all over again!

God is Bigger than we think!

I just came from my Bible study and wow was it awesome! Not only what we learned but also because of the things that happened afterwards. God answered several prayers tonight in incredible ways and I am so thankful and in awe of Him right now.Let me share some of what we learned tonight. I am doing the studay Jesus the One and Only by Beth Moore and it is truly amazing. We are getting to see so many sides of Jesus and it's fabulous. The reason tonight has touched me so deeply is because it talks so much about things that have been a struggle for me the last couple of days. I have been talking lately about what we can do to help others who are struggling and I know i've been saying the least we can do is pray but in reality that is not the least that is the most. So many times we think that if we just had this much money, or a little bit more power in the world we could get things done. But who are we kidding! We serve a KING who has the most riches in the universe and who has the ultimate power. If we take our problems to HIS throne we are taking them to the ultimate doctor, the richest being in the universe, the guy with the most political power, the most compassionet, the one who created us! We are taking them to I AM WHO I AM! Jesus the ONE AND ONLY! wow! Just think about that for a minute. I am in awe of God right now.Anyways back the the study...... We were talking tonight about our perspective of Christ. I'm going to share some thoughts with you from Beth Moore my favorite one is.... Shatter my perspective of you God and show me the reality of you! Isn't that awesome. It struck home with me because I don't think we (i know i dont) think of God as big as He really is. We have to think bigger! He is capable of anything and everything if he so chooses. Nothing is to big for him. This thought is going to be something that I start praying daily. I want Him to show me who He really is. I want to know Him more and more! Another one I thought was good See me in every place, there is no place I don't have dominion! So true. Even in the problems that we think are to "small" He is there with them or in the ones where they just seem to "huge" He is there. Isn't it amazing to think and to know that He is EVERY part of our lives He is there. I mean wow He is amazing! So go about your day and just be calm because He is there nothing is happening without His knowledge or without Him there holding your hand through it all!

Here I am yet again my heart full and unsure of what to write. I keep reading other peoples blogs and it fills me with so much sadness. I don't know what to do. I want to do something anything to make peoples lives better. Part of me says "just stop reading them they affect you to much" but they should affect me. Shouldn't they? I should want to go help them. SHoulnd't I? Even though it's hard for me to read them, I will have to continue reading. I want to be made aware. Because the more aware I am the more I pray and the more I pray the closer I know GOd!

Kindergarten

Well it is now registration time for schools here. So my husband and I have been trying to find a school we want for our son logan one that we can afford. We want to send him to a christian school here for many differing reasons. But unfortunatly we aren't really able to afford that. So we've been praying about it. Well today we were able to go and register him. So he is registered at a christian school here in town. I don't kow where the rest of the money will come from to pay for his books, uniform, and tuition but GOd knows. Please just pray with us that we would be able to get all the money we need for this.

Potty Training is.....

A SUCCESS!!!! We have gone 2 days now with no diapers and no accidents! Woohoo. Think of all the money i'm going to save!

I'm sitting here in my bedroom with my heart full and unsure of how exactly to say what I'm feeling. You see I'm not a good writer I simply enjoy doing it. But I was just reading some other peoples blogs and I had tears streaming down my face. Let me explain why...
Nathan and Tricia who you can read about at www.cfhusband.blogspot.com I've written about them before but they truly have an amazing story. Tricia was listed and activated the other day on the transplant list. Which means at any time she could be called to have surgery. I was just reading Nathan's blog and he was just talking about understanding other peoples situations. He said he doesn't think we can ever fully understand what they are going through. I agree. I can't imagine how they are feeling right now. So many feelings my heart goes out to them. Congratulations TRicia!!
Pedro and Stephania Garcia www.garcias2chile.blogspot.com or www.iansadoption.blogspot.com they are in the process of adopting there 4th and 5th child. My heart feels for them in so many ways. You see concieving was never an issue for me and my husband. I truly can not understand how it must feel to desire that with everything in you and then making the decision to adopt and having that decision basically in someone else's hands. And then to finally get matched with your children and not be able to see them or hold them. Stephanie has a way of writing so beautifully about all of those feelings.
And then finally just thinking of all the little children that are out there right now suffering. I have really become aware of the country Haiti and all the people there in the last couple of months. I have another missionary friend who had been going to Haiti every other month working on a project there and my dad will be going next month and now my good friends are adopting from there. Haiti is the poorest country in the world. Children are dying there, eating dirt to simply survive, parents who are having their children die in their arms. I'm starting to tear up just thinking about it!
How can we as a society, as Christians do nothing. We were put on this earth to show Christ love to everyone. I cry for my kids when they are sad, how must these parents feel watching their children starve to death, or have them get sick and how no way of helping them? My heart cries out that this just isn't fair!!!!! My mind says "DO something Erin, don't just sit by and let all of this suffering go by for nothing" I want to be able to go to Tricia (who I have never met or spoken to, she knows nothing about me) and allow her to hold her baby and give her a wonderful set of lungs, I want to give Stephanie all the money she needs for the adoption and tell her to go pick up her kids, I want to go to Haiti and help every single person there in need. And yet.... I know this is not God's plan. I don't even try to understand the reason behind things. I know that God has a purpose for every little thing but that doesn't stop me from wanting to help. I don't know for sure yet how..... But I do believe that as child of the KIng I have a duty to show that love. I will pray for all of these people because I know that is the biggest and most powerful thing I can do for anyone. I will pray that Tricia is able to have her surgery soon and heal quickly, I will pray for the Garcia's adoption that they get the money they need and for the protection of the twins, and I will pray for the people of Haiti that they will feel the love and warmth of the One who created them!

One of those Days...

Have you ever had one of those days where everything is just making you sad? Well that was me yesterday. I couldn't seem to stop crying.
I love being a stay at home mom but sometimes it just seems so overwhelming. My 3 young kids get so bored at home all day and they having been able to make any friends yet and they were crying and I was crying. I'm trying to keep the house clean and they are so bored they are just running all over the place and it's to cold to play outside....... I just needed an adult to talk to.


BUt it's moring now and I've feeling much better. It also helps that I have an amazing husband who is terrific about helping me and just being alltogether wonderful!!!

Jhocy

I'm trying to potty train my 2 year old daughter (she will be 3 in a couple of weeks) well the problem is she doesn't want any part of it! Her answer to me usually is "I want to be a baby" So all the advice i've gotten from many other mothers who have potty trained numerous children is not to push them. So i'm not pushing her. Well today she had a full diaper I was getting ready to change her when out of her mouth came "EW" I said "What's wrong Jhocy" her response "I just smelled by myself, it's gross"

I thought it was rather humorous. If you have your own kids or have been around a lot of kids you will understand. If not..... sorry :)

Ian and Eliana Garcia

THese will be the names of the twins that Pedro and Stephanie are adopting. I want to write about some other aspects of the adoption process. Adopting from Haiti is an extremly expensive process. THey will also be sending money to the orphange every month to provide food and medical care for the twins till they are able to be brought home to the loving arms of their waiting family. Please pray that GOd would provide the money to be able to BRING IAN AND ELIANA HOME!!! Please go to www.iansadoption.blogspot.com to find out more information on this wonderful family. You can also go to www.garcias2chile.blogspot.com to find out more information on the Garcia family.

Still working on it.....

Ok well i'm still working on losing weight. And i'm proud to say that it's working. You can't really see the difference but i can feel it. And i'm also happy to say that I joined a program on line today to help me. They will give me healthy recipes, give me a trainer to talk to and allow me to talk to other people that are working on it to. So please continue to pray with me (and nag me) to eat right and to exercise. I have set a goal to exercise 30 minutes a day 4 days a week. Please help me to stay focused on this. I really want to lose the weight.....

An answer to a child's prayer....

that she had been praying for 2 years.....
Let me fill you in on some good friends of ours. Pedro and Stephanie Garcia. When we met them in TX they had adopted 3 children and were in the process of adopting there 4th one. The night I met Stephanie she told me her daughter was praying that they would get twins. (Very specifically to she wanted a boy and girl. That is what she asked for daily) We all just laughed and said "kids"
Well the adoption in TX never went through. IT did not break Eva's prayers though. She daily prayed that GOd would bless them with twins in the family. Well when the Garcia's moved to CHile they started the process there to adopt. Well once again God said no. So just out of the blue Stephanie started researching adoption in Haiti. ANd prayerfully they were able to come to the decision to start that process. Eva continued to pray....
They had been in that process for about a month when they found out that Eva's prayers had come true. They had been matched to twins.... A boy and a girl!
NEVER EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE PRAYERS OF A CHILD.

Congratulations steph and pedro.... They couldn't have gone to better parents.

LOSING WEIGHT!

Hello out there to all of you. I'm going to ask all of you a favor. I have decided to go on a weight loss endeavor. I want to be thin again. So I'm asking all of you out there to help me keep me acountable. Will you help me? Help me stay focused on eating right and even exercising. Leave me comments. I know you guys read people tell me about what is on there so I know there are people out there reading this. So please HELP!!!

A Bigger Part,,,,,

Have you ever just looked at your life and said "There has to be more than this?" That is how I have been feeling lately. Living on campus I didn't often feel like this. I think I just felt that it was ok because we were "preparing" ourselves. Now that school is over and we are here life just seems so blah. Make sense? It just seems like there has to be more. THere has to be more than waking up, Ramon going to work, me cleaning and cooking, Ramon coming home from work and then bed time.
Don't get me wrong it's not bad and I know God has a purpose for us in our time here before we move off to panama. I'm excited to get there. Excited to see the work that GOd has for us there.
BUt at the same time I know God has a purpose for us here......

Friends!!

“A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter how close or far apart you may be. A friend is someone who is always there and will always, always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart"

The 4 years that we were in Texas we made friends that we will never forget let me just share a couple of them with you.

Congratualtions!

Graduation Day!

Last Days at RGBI

THis is the dinner a couple of nights before graudation. The first picture is Ramon and Angelica together a friend of Ramon's from venezuela who is also a student at the school. THe secone one is Pastor Pedro and Kathy Garcia who Ramon worked with our last 7 mths in Texas and people who we came to think of like family.

THe picture of the 4 men together were the people who were going to be graduation they were being prayed for. The other one is of Ramon, Mundo and Benji together. And finally that last one is of Ramon and Benji. Benji is the person who we will be working with in Panama.

Suffering

I'm doing a Bible Study by Beth Moore called Jesus the ONe and ONly. Last night the video was talking about suffering and I found that kind of ironic because the one thing I have been noticing the last couple of weeks is how much suffering there is in this world. Thanks again to my friend Stephanie who reads other peoples blogs all the time she has made me aware of so many other people stories. ONe that I really encourage you all to go check out is www.cfhusband.blogspot.com they are going through some difficult situations right now and yet both of them have wonderful attitudes about it and are praising God. I don't know them and they don't know me but they could use our prayers right now.
It seems to me that we are surrounded in a world of suffering and pain and not on purpose by any of us we seem to forget about it. We tend to just stay in our comfort zones and forget about all the people who are out there going through difficult situations. We as a society and christians need to stay more aware. We might not be able to do anything personally for them but we can definantly use the most powerful weapon we have.. which is prayer. There are people out there who need all the prayers they can get.
Everyone out there who is going through a difficult situation and who knows Christ as there Saviour knows that Christ is in control but there is a comfort in knowing that thousand even just 1 or 2 are praying for you. I encourage all of you to pray for people that you don't know. Lift them up to the throne of Christ take them to the feet of the King, where better to leave them than with the person who has known them since the beginning of time?

Graduation Pics to Come Soon!

For my Uncle Wes

Dear Uncle Wes,

Even though you are no longer here with us we continue to think and talk about you daily. Right before you died I was able to have a few minutes alone with you and was able to tell you just what you meant to me. I'm not sure if you heard me or not so I just wanted to take a minute and write it here.

You and Aunt Sylvia are in my memories from the very first one. I remember coming to your house and climbing your tree or coming and sitting on your lap. My favorite memories are of the ones when we went on vacation together. I loved that motor home. The best part of the summer was that one week with the 2 of you when we were altogether. The saddest part of moving to venezuela was leaving the 2 of you behind. I know that I didn't tell you enough but I loved you. Even in your roughness I knew you loved me to. I won't forget you and I'll tell my kids all about you. THanks for being you thank you for loving me.

I know that your last days here were filled with pain and I'm so glad that you are finally at peace. So as you go on up there in the midst of perfection in the midst of our Saviour, I will keep treking on here waiting for the day when we'll see eachother again.

I love you and you are greatly missed!

THanks to my friend Stephanie she has made me aware of other people blogs. People who greatly need our prayers right now. Me and my children are now trying to pray for these people daily. One that had me in tears today was someone that I just read about on Stephanies blog (you can see her blog by clicking on www.garcias2chile.blogspot.com ) It was about the Mathenia family. Her name was Amber Mathenia and she died last week from a car accident. She had 2 small children and a husband. Her and her family were missionaries in Ethiopia. Even though I have never met her I am deeply touched by what her friends and family had to say about her. Over and over again people said she loved the Lord in everything she did. My heart goes out to her family and my prayers to.
We need to live our lives as if we will not have another second. It seems that everywhere I look in this world anymore is pain and suffering. Sometimes it seems so overwhelming and yet at the same time you know pain and suffering are all part of our lives.
If i sound like i'm rambling i'm sorry. I'm not a good writer and yet there are times where I just need to do something with my thoughts or explode.
Sometimes life is overwhelming and yet we know God is still in control. My point is just remember to pray for the others out there don't become so wrapped up in our own lives (as painful as they may be at times) that we forget about all the others out there.