It;s been a while

To all my faithful fellow blog readers. I know it has been a while since I last wrote and I have grea reasonings for it. A lot has been going on and God has had to show me a lot the last couple of weeks. I am going to share them with you, but first I would like to spread this word of wisdom that the Lord keeps placing on my heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. I'll explain that one in a mintue.

For the past week I have tried to sit down and blog and as soon as I start typing it just doesn't feel right. So I save the draft, leave and come back to it if I feel it's right later and you know what? It's not. I do have a whole bunch of amazing God stories that are blog worthy, but God has not been allowing me to write them for you to read because right now is not the time. You see, I have been looking for the threads God is sowing. I have literally been going INSANE in my head trying to figure out the things God is doing. I mean I am really trying to figure out and look for the reasoning as to WHY is this happening, WHY did this come up, WHY can't I shake this feeling? Then one day God slapped me over the head "I have been telling you, LEAN NOT UNTO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDINGS!" I was blaming all these thoughts on Satan, and the world, and going crazy trying to figure things out. And it was rough, really rough, really exhausting. God wants you to know and me, to just trust Him. He is not the God that needs for people to figure Him out because you may never be able to see why He does what He does. Just trust Him, Trust His choices, Trust His confort, Trust the path He leads you down, Trust the prayers He answers, Trust the prayers He doesn't, Trust that He knows what He's doing , take comfort in the fact you TRUST that He is gonna be with you during all of your ups and downs, in and outs, and slip slides to the left and right. Trust that WE SERVE A GOD THAT WILL NOT LEAD YOU WRONG. And even though it may not make sense at the time, Trust that He is gonna be with you through it all. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto you own understanding. God does NOT need to answer to us, We have to answer to Him. So just trust Him.
My second lesson of the week, is that GOD needs to be my source. God uses people to deliver His word all the time, God uses people to pray healing prayers all the time, God uses people to minister to others all the time, God uses people to do His will all the time. But these people are not The Source for God. These people are the people GOD chooses to work through. The source comes from God, they are just His pawns. I have been looking to other people to find the answers to my questions about God instead of just listening to God Himself. I have been borderline using these people to GET TO GOD. Crazy thing about that is Jesus did that already. jesus paved the path for me to get to God, and I am trying to use these people to get to Him. Well, guess what, I have direct access to God already. So my friends. REMEMBER, that GOD needs to be your source!

On another note, the prayer list has been great! God has been answering prayers RIDICULOUSLY!! So if you have needs you want to lift up to God, it's never to late to pray for them! If you want help praying just ask, and I'll add you to the prayer list and I will pray for you too!

PJ's First Birthday

Totday is my son's first birthday. One year ago my beautiful baby boy entered inton this world with God's loving hands. Lord I pray that you will continue to bless our family as we grow in your name. I also pray that you will continue to be with our baby son PJ as he grows up and prepare to do your will on earth. Lord In Jesus name AMEN~!

My Prayers

TO GOD BE THE GLORY THIS MORNING~!
I am truly amazed at how BIG and when I say BIG I MEAN HUMONOUSLY LARGELY HUGE our God is. As I sit here and think of all the things God is doing in SOOOOO many peoples lives. I really am sitting here practically in tears at all the prayers God is answering this last month. God is not just answering prayers in a little way. He is doing in a much bigger way than I could have ever imagined.
Two weeks ago, my mom told me that all of us had a John Hancock Fund that fell below the minimum requirement. Because of that they were gonna start charging a service fee to keep the money in the accounts, so my parents decided to start pulling the money out of our accounts. When she asked what I wanted to do with it, I said just roll it over to a different account. A week later she said she got the paper work for it in the mail, than God spoke to me. He said "Heather You have been praying for your finances, and here is the money...Use it to get urselves out of debt." Today, I called my mom, Our check came in the mail. we are able to pay off all of our medical bills and our last credit card bill. God DOES NOT want us living in debt. And I truly believe because we have been sooo faithful to Him, He is blessing us in a bigger way than I could ever have imagined. Because that's what God does. God doesn't just give you the good. He gives you more than you need! You see when I first posted the prayer for our finances on this blog, I loved the thought of God paying off our debt, but I really only figured He would give us enought to get rid of it over the next couple of months!! I didn't think He would have done it in this way!!! So I am giving this as a personal testimony that GOD WILL PROVIDE YOU and HE WILL GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU EVER EXPECTED!

Lord Jesus, I thank you for being the faithful faithful God YOU are. Glory to you Loprd, because you are a PRAYER ANSWERING GOD!!!! I thank you for giving me the strength and the courage to follow through with your will, and I thank you for being the glorious beuing that you are!! You are MY GOD, You are the beginning and the end! You are the ultimate in all things GOOD!!! Thank You in YOUR HOLY NAME! AMEN!

It is well

I really am loving today :) It reminds me of all great memories. The holidays, baking, cooking apple picking, Watching movies on snow days, Home made soup, sugar cookies, being with the family doing crafts, my whole child hood. Today is a gorgeous day.


When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,When sorrows like sea billows roll;Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain:It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,Let this blest assurance control,That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!My sin, not in part but the whole,Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:If Jordan above me shall roll,No pang shall be mine, for in death as in lifeThou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,The sky, not the grave, is our goal;Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,Even so, it is well with my soul.

New beginnings

Yesterday in church, I had no notes to take. I went to church planning on hearing a word of the Holy Spirit from Brother Thomas, and made sure I remembered my notebook this week. Worship began, and OH MY what a worship it was. I loved it Praising and Praying! How much closer can I get to God. Pastor interjected the worship, to begin Alter calls. The whole rest of the service was worshipping, praising praying. It literally brought me to tears to see the whole church go up front and place all their worries, problems, and burdens to the Lord. And what a great God we serve that we are able to do that. I am sooo grateful for this service for three reasons, I realized how much I love praying and I mean, really praying. I used to never want to pray out loud, but God has taught how GREAT it is to pray. That is the best communication we have to God and I love watching MY GOD answer prayers.
The second reason, I had to give a tesimony along with 6 other people. We all know I don't like public speaking. Part of my new beginning with God is that God has me doing things that I never thought I would do. For months I prayed that God would use me, mold me, and make me what He wanted me to be. I had no idea what I was in for. God is using me, molding me and making me into what He wants me to be and it is in no way shape pr form, close to what I was. AND I LVOE IT. I decided to be baptized, Allison kindof talked me into being baptized along with four other churches at a huge ceremony at the beach. God chose yesterday for the day, and planned for Thomas to speak yesterday. Of course there were so many new faces and old faces at church and the pews were filled. God said you are gonna speak in public and conquer your fear of speaking in public and you are gonna do it in front of so many people. I was nervous to be in front of people and be baptized. God said you are gonna overcome your fear and you are gonna be baptized on the beach in fromt of not just your church but hundreds of people. God is a fear conquering God and He is showing me that living in fear is no good and keeps me from following Jesus.
Third reason is planning. I went to church planning to hear a word from Thomas, I planned on speaking something in my testimony, and I plan everything out of my life. God has different plans, His agenda doesn't always go along with ours. Thomas planned on preaching God planned on bringing needs to Him instead. I planned on speaking of How I decided to walk with JEsus, God planned on me telling everyone that my walk with Jesus is about me overcoming my fears. I plan everything in my life and God interjects to make things His plan. And you know what, God is answering my prayers. He is using me according to His plans, I just need to learn and live by that my plans, are nto gonna happen unless God'd plan agrees!
As I walk my new beginning, my new walk with Jesus, I have three things I want to live by 1. Pray pray pray 2. Place my fears in God 3. Don't let my plans interfere with Gods.

"The one main concern of the devil is to keep us from praying. He fears nothing from prayless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray." Samuel Chadwick

Today

I am getting ready for church shortly where I will give my testimony along with a whole bunch of others for my baptism. This is a glorious day in the name of JEsus!!!

PJ's First Birthday

Tachnically today is not my baby boy's birthday, but we are celebrating his first birthday today. Thank you Jesus for giving us this beautiful gift of life. May you watch over him all the days of his life and be with him throughout it.

Thanks!

THE SILVERSMITH

In response to my last post, my friend Yadith, commented with this. And of course I felt it really interesting and decided to share (for those that don't read the comments)

Some time ago, a few ladies met to study the scriptures. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse:
"And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (Malachi 3:3).
One lady decided to visit a silversmith, and report to the others on what he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling him the reason for her visit, begged the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver.
After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "Sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?""Oh, yes ma'am," replied the silversmith; "I must sit and watch the furnace constantly, for, if the time necessary for refining is exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured."
The lady at once saw the beauty and comfort of the expression, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."God sees it necessary to put His children into the furnace; but His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for us.
Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested beyond what we can endure. Before she left, the lady asked one final question, "How do you know when the process is complete?" "That's quite simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished."
-Author Unknown

God allows us to go through hard times so that we may grow and become smooth and shiny. His goal is for us to become a reflection of Him that not only He can see, but also so others can see Him in us. (By web side: http://www.therefinersfire.org/refiners_fire.htm) It could look that is getting harder and harder, but remember: God is with you, you are His precious children, He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8); when you feel that you're going through fire, keep trusting on His great job for your life, He is working!

Missing notes from church on sunday

I found an extra sheet of paper from Sunday of notes I forgot to put up!!

-Don't fret if you can't see the whole picture, God does and He will take care of you!
-100 years from now no one will care if you
drove a cheap or expensive car
rented a room or owned a mansion
shopped at caldor or wal mart
What will matter is the legacy you left behind.

My new struggle

I am noticing the more faithful I am with God the harder of tasks He hands me. At first when I decided to follow Him, and listen to Him, it was easy. But the tasks are getting harder and harder to complete. I am really faced with some challenges and as much as I am nervous about them, I am also super excited and gonna trust the Lord that He knows what He's doing!!

My notes from church

I forgot my notebook, but thanks to ever-so-faithful-and-wonderful- :) Allison ( who had her notebook) I was still able to take notes. This Sunday was a little different. We watched a pod cast or telecast or video or whatever it was called of the general council meeting for the Assemblies of God churches. Speaking was the Super Intendent of the AOG's and his message was bsically on "legacies." And how people should follow God's gift to them and follow through with their Love for JEsus. He was saying how the Assemblies of God was founded by three men who had no money to work with and no building to preach in but they stood on street corners preaching of their love of Jesus. Their legacy began with nothing and now years and years later God has grown their love into a huge ministry. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your reading of a very profound 'summary' of church this morning. (And again Im gonna be super annoying with reinforcing for you readers to go to church :) )

*This guy( I don't remember his name) strated off service leaving me wondering where is he going with this. He started off reviewing Genesis 29-49. (It's all about Leah and how her LEGACY left a huge mark on the entire Bible and she literally shaped history.) Her story to sum it up is that she was not as pretty as her younger sister Rachel, and she was sold off I guess is the term, to her husband Jacob, but Jacob doesn't love her, he loves her sister rachel. So he is married to Leah and Rachel. Rachel could not bear children, but Leah could, so he had kids with Leah. well Leah kept poppin out the kiddies to win Jacob's love but all the while he was in love with rachel. Leah had these kids who all basically had kids who went all the way on to Jesus (Yup leah was JEsus's ancestor). Leah was very trusting in God and she just wanted Jacob's love, and when she passed, Jacob finally fell in love with her. So moral of the story is, whatever you are doing for GOD NOW may impact people and be life chanign years and years and years later. So don't give up even is it's not working out!
Whew that was a lot so to get the full story read Genesis 29-49, cause I might have missed something.

* Leah's name means weary and weak and also cow, rachel's name means sheep.
Leah's first son's name was Ruben which means behold a son or He has seen my misery, second son Simmion (the Lord hears and sees that I was not loved), Levi (means attached, now my husband will be attached to me for I have bore him children) and Judah (This time I will praise the Lord) Rachel saw Leah was giving Jacob a family and she couldn't bear him one she gave him her servant to hold her children. Her servant bore him two sons, dan and Nephtali ( which mean he has vindicated and my struggle).
Leah also gave him her servant to have more children and she named them Gad (good fortune or troop) and Asher (means happy). Leah than bore another son Issachar (means reward) and Zebulan (which means Honor) and a daughter Dina. Rachel also had mroe children. My favorite part of births from the bible is that they all sortof begin with God blessed them with or God heard their prayers and gave them, but golry is almost always given to God for these babies of the bible. I also added the meanings because they really show how faithful people are in bibleical times and Leahs names almost always have to do with trusting the Lord and reaping rewards of trusting the Lord.

*The purpose of Leah's story is that the effect of life cannot be measured in a few decades. She trusted the Lord with this and did all of these births to win her husbands love. She was not able to win it while she was alive, but did after her death and even more importantly if it were not for her trying to win her husband's love by having children we would not have Jesus, and we would not have eternal life today!!!! (Research the geneology of Jesus Christ and you will see that Jesus ancestors all go back to Leah's children.) So keep in mind that what you are doing with your life right now IS going to effect people decades later. And do you think Leah knew that she was setting the stage for all man kinds eternal life ( I don't think so)

* Never give up, never give in, and never sit in self pity or defeat. Leah worked and worked at winning her husband's love, and she earned it. She finally earned it.

*Also, never judghe a book by it cover, Leah was not the prettiest of the sisters but her beauty was God given from within.

*Again, without Leah the Christmas story NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!

* Everything you do matters. It matters to the people you encounter today and people after you are gone. Choices you make today will impact others long after your gone.

*"We need time and distance to understand what God is doing in your life" __Robert Wood ( I sort of stole that from Allison's notes. It caught my eye and is very relevent to some situations I am going through!)

*He gave a story of how his parents tried and tried and drained themselves on trying to save a failing church. They eventually could not do it and had to leave, another person tried and could not do it, so they sold it. A woman bought the church and it completely thrived. He said he went there and was upset knowing that church was his parents only failure. He said he asked why they couldn't save this church. God spoke to Him and said "they knocked, and they knoced hard. and their fists were worn fro all that knocking. Another person came along and knocked as well. And they kept knocking. Until this lady came and she just put her fists through those spiritual walls." This really speaks to me personally. "Keep knocking on those spiritual walls, don't give up you are weakening the walls. You may not break them down, but you weakening those spiritual walls for a breakthrough." I feel like this speaks to me because God has placed some people on my heart. Sometimes, I get sooo discouraged, but this is telling me to KEEP knocking, God may ntop use me to help save them, but he is certainly using me to thin them out for a breakthrough! And sometimes God will break them down before He lifts them up, and *(on a side note) I pray that He will continue to use me and give me strength for this spiritual knocking!

* Do not lean unto your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge Him, and He willdirect your path. This is huge for me because I of course am an over analyzer, and my main prayer for myself right now is God will use me. This is so humbling to me because I know I do not have to analyze His plan and I just need to do what I am told and TRUST that He will not steer me wrong.

*ANother interesting note to Leah's legacy in addition to giving birth to the faore father (I guees you could call them) of the good Jesus Christ Himself, they go farther than that. When you arrive in heaven you are greeted by 12 angels at 12 pearly gates. And half of theses gates are named for Leah's sons :) What a beautiful legacy huh?

At church this morning

First and foremost, I would like to reinforce you readers that I love church. Only at church to I get the most amazing one on one and fellowship (both at the same time) with God. I really encourage all you Jesus followers to go to church. It really is a necessity for your soul and for your walk with Jesus. If you don't attend church you are missing out on a huge part of being a christian and huge benefits of your walk. So go to church.
At church this morning an amazing thing happened. A man and his family who used to lead worship at our church years ago made a surprise visit back. After worship was over he said a few words (literally almost in tears) about our church. This is what he said (summarized of course). He started to attend that church because when he first went there the people felt liek family and he could feel the presence of God. Years later he comes back to our church and it hasn't changed. He still really feels the presence of God and the people still feel liek a family. Then he said that God has big plans to use this church and use it in a big way.
Now I don't know exactly what God's big plans are for our church (although I am SUPER excited to find out about them), but I do know that the reasons he gave for attending our church are the same reasons that I attend this church. I loved from the moment I stepped foot in there the welcome you get from people. These people that make up our church are truly family, and they treat you that way. I also can not deny that this passed year (especially) God has truly made a presence not only within those church walls, but at church functions, fellowship dinners and when we walk out of this building His presence is with us. I have blogged before about the scripture verse when two or more gather together I am there in the midst, And I want to tell you God IS there in the midst. This chruch has truly been blessed by God, and I would love to pray that God continue to do your mighty works within this house of worship. I pray that you continue to bless the people that walk through that door, and continue to be with them and bless them as they walk out.
Now, I truly truly love my church. And I urge you that if you do not have a "home" that you start searching, start praying that God will bring you to a "home."

Count Your Blessings

So, last night I was doing some thinking and this is what I thought of. Count Your Blessings. I am so much in love with hearing the wonderful ways God has blessed everyone's lives recently. I mean He has been super busy making sure so many people are being blessed, myself included. What I would like to do is really count my blessings. I think this is a great idea, because there is going to be a point where the blessings God hands to me aren't going to be as up front as they are now. I'm not saying they aren't going to be there, I just know God doesn't reveal Himself right away. So, what I would like to do is make a list of all the things God has blessed me with recently. As we all know :"For I know the plans I have, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, but give you hope and a future!" Jeremiah 29:11. I think this is a great way for me to remember how absolutely FAITHFUL God is to me. So I think it would be cool if everyone started doing it too!

Im lovin it

Ok all, I would like to say how much I am sooo appreciating how many people tell me things and add scripture to it!!! I really appreciate it so much!

Praise God, Im so stoked

Last week at some point ( not sure the date), but a guy came into the Pizza Hut that my brother works at. On the back wall he noticed they had decorated it with a lot of pictures of autographed sports players. Well, after talking to the people that worked there, turns out the guy is Jerry Casale, a retired player for the Boston Red Sox. Well, when they found this out, they told him how my brother is a HUGE Red Sox fan. HUGE. He was so kind he signed a piece of paper for them to give to my brother. Also said he'd be back in to talk to him. A few days later, he came in a gave my brother a signed baseball card. Talked to him for a bit, you know whatever. Well, yesterday my brother informed me Mr Casale got my brother tickets to the Red Sox/Yankees game for tomorrow and was gonna take him and his wife on a bus there in boston. My brother's always wanted to go see the Red Sox play in BOSTON, nevermind play the Yankees in Boston. And he is doing with a retired Red Sox player!! How amazing. I am so super happy for him, and I hope him and his wife have a great time. The last couple years have been rough on them, and whatever pitfalls they go through always hit them times 150. So I am so happy that they have been blessed with this dream come true literally. They really deserve it. So God, I pray that you will continue to put your loving hands on them both and that you will be with trhem in there travels tomorrow morning down to Boston!!! And on a funnier note, I told my brother I was super happy for him Praise God and he replied with Def Im so stoked haha he's a funny funny guy!

Listen, Listen, Listen part2

And PS she wrote the most heartfelt yet hysterically funny card ever and gave me a great gift that I appreciate sooo much!!! I heart her :)

Phil and I

Ok so last night Phil and I prayed. We prayed hard and we prayed good. And let me tell you, I felt God there in that room with us. It was beautiful, and I think it was the first time PHil and I prayed where I felt that presence of the Lord. "When 2 or more gather together I am there in the midst." Spoken so true. I really feel God working in my prayer times with Him, and He is answering so many of them! Thank you Jesus! AMEN!

Listen, Listen, Listen

OK, so a couple of days ago I was telling a friend of mine how much I talked about her the day before. She responded in the most craziest way ever, with things like "OK you creeper", and "Im gonna unfriend you on facebook now" (Of course she was being sarcastic.) Well, anyway, as I told her of the discussion I had about her, I asked her what she was planning to do after college. She told me her dream was to join the peace corps, and do a "Drive for Peace" across America, where she would love to get sponsered and drive the country speaking of different peace acts, antiviolence, etc. I told her she should do it. I told her I think it is a great idea, and she should go for it. The next day (last night) she came into work and thanked me for supporting her. She REALLY thanked me. I told her "Well, I believe a little more religious than most, but I believe that when God, or the world or whatever, puts something on your heart than you should do it, otherwise your not going along with God's or the world's or whatevers master plan." "Interesting," She replied. So I felt guilty. Really guilty for saying that, because GOD did not want me to tell her anything of the world. He wanted me to tell her "You need to do what GOD puts on your heart because thats part of GOD's master plan." And clearly I didn't say that. So after much debating with God about going back and fixing what I said, I finally gave in. "Look," I said, " I need to rebuke what I just told you. I didn't mean all that stuff aboiut the world and blah blah blah." I said, " what I meant was that God placed that dream on your heart and you can use that to change thousands or even ONE person's life, and if you don't follow through with it your not following through with God's master plan." She says "Were you feeling guilty or something," I told her I was. I also told her about the sermon in church on Sunday and how I was really trying to listen to God when He tells me to say or do things. WELL. I am so GLAD that I listened to God and went back to make my statement the way He intended. If I had not done that, she NEVER would have told me how much she appreciated me and how she is now starting to look at things differently. She is an absolutely great great person, and I would like everyone to say a prayer for her as she is getting ready to travel to London and study abroad. I have NO IDEA if she is viewing faith a little differently, or what exactly was changed for her, but this was really a reinforcement for me that you really have to say things the way God intends them to be said. And this story is a true blessing to me because I really care so much about her :) So lets pray she has a safe travel there and back home, she utilizes her time there wisely and makes the most out of it, and that she continues to go ahead with the dreams God places on her heart!

Sunday Service

So, while at church today, I decided that come Sundays I would like to blog about the service. This sunday we hada guest speaker, Rev Jeff Spuler, who was really amazing. I kept telling everyone, I feel like he's me in male form and 20 yrs from now. He spoke of typical Christian living, and made as few valid points. God really used him to speak to me, and I took a lot of notes (YES I REMEMBERED MY NOTEBOOK!!), so here they are!

* I walked in this morning right as my dear friend, Bill, was speaking. I walked in when he said, "When 2 or 3 come together, I'm there in the midst." Great scripture, and to all of you that don't attend church regularly, I would like this to be validation to YOU that going t o church every Sunday, is GODS WILL! It is a huge part of being Christian, and your faith by itself, is not strong enough. If you want to gain the Holy Spirit, let this bible verse be God's Word to you, that you need church for you Christian Life. Even if it's a church you may not feel 100% about, at least go until you find one you do. God wants you there in His presence, He wants you to worship and seek His Holy NAme, and when 2 or more gather together, that's where He is.

*Bill also added a little extra, "When 2 or 3 gather together at the Blues Claw game, I am there in the midst, when 2 or 3 gather together on Sunday Service, I am there in the midst." Keep in mind God is there when you recieve FELLOWSHIP with other people.

*Rev Jeff Spuler's Service was awesome. He led worship this morning and I went to the alter and praised God! Beautiful to go to the alter and worship before Him, with NO RESERVATIONS!

*Sin is sin to God, It's all the same. Sin is also what gets in between our relationship with God.

* Let the Spirrit of God LEAD YOU to what He wants you to do. God has a specific will for everyone, and what is good for one, may not be good for another. (I realized through this, that God is not gonna bless me with the same things He blesses someone else with. I also realized that you may not realize what plan God is devising for you in the moment It may nto make sense right then and there, BUT He will make it make sense later.)

* Religion is just the act.

*Be more aware that we need to be more spirit lead.
*Be more aware of the doors God opens for you, and make sure you jump through them when they are opened. This kindof goes along with how I am living my life right now. God is opening so many doors, and placing so many situations in my life, if I do not take advantage of them I am going to miss out on God's Plan.
*Be sensitive to God's spirit in you. I know I need to be more sensitive of it. There are so many instances where God wants me to say things to certain people, even if I don't want to. I've over time seen so many of it back fire, when I don't listen. I also urge you fellow readers, Listen to GOD!
*If you are not sure if it is from God, line it up with scripture, the example he gave was "If you feel it's God's will for you to commit suicide, you know that's not from God because no where in the scripture does God tell you to take your life"
*BE BOLD!!! I lvoe this one the best. This passed week alone, I missed MY chance to BE BOLD for God, and I have seen the outcome of it. It's NOT GOOD!!
*Seek baptism of the Holy Spirit. (PS When your feet are telling you to walk up to that alter MOVE YOUR LEGS!!!!)
* Even if you don't feel like it's working, HAVE FAITH! God is doing the work, He's just doing it through me! He had mentioned that even if it doesn't make sense to you, God is doing the work that needs to be done, so no matter hwo crazy or wierd it may seem, if it's From God He will make it work.
*Be persistant with prayer...This one is so important to my life. I am learning how to become a pray-er andlet me tell you something. Prayers don't always get answered right away, sometimes, they take months or years. But don't give up!!!!

On my own personal side note, I have noticed that everyweek, whatever worries or problems I may be facing, God uses my friends or CHURCH to help ease them and let me know He is in control. I urge you GO TO CHURCH!!!!It could really help you spiritually!!!

Today

Today was a good day. My husband was away at a concert, and will actually be coming home soon, my son was at my mother in law's, and I worked. It was slow at work today, but that's ok.
I got to spend this evening with my nephew, who is now asleep on the air mattress, (such a precious sight.) I caught up on some reading from a great blog (leblanclife.com, check it out if you have time.) I thought about all of my friends, my family, my son and my husband. Life is good, God is great. I'm excited to go to church tomorrow. I pray that my family will be there as well. I look forward to some good worship. I know, this is random.

Sasha

I am going to give some credit to my friend SASHA. LAst night God sent me Sasha. Sasha spoke of the WONDERFUL things God is blessing her and her family with. He sent her to me to tell me these things to remind me TO NOT EVER GIVE UP ON MY PRAYERS. Sasha is a faithful pray-er and God has been answering hor prayers of years and years. Also, Sasha said a few things to me last night that really humbled me. THat really helped me figure things out. That really were great advise. I would liek to sincerely THANK SASHA. and Thank God for sending her my way. And NOTE TO SASHA::::When God speaks to you listen to Him, Follow His direction, He has blessed you with the gift of wisdom..USE IT!!! Love you lots!

In the past couple of blogs, I have been talking about the crazy things God has me doing. I really believe God is working and moving in my life. Let me start by saying something about myself that some of you may or may not know. I am not a "social butterfly." I rarely talk to people I don't know. Actually, if I don't know you and we meet for the first time, you may just get a smile and a 'hi.' I fall into the speak only when spoken too catagory when it comes to meeting new people. Ironically enough, I am a waitress and a bartender. (just for chuckles, as I meant to write bartender, I actually typed butterfly so it would have read 'I am a waitress and a butterfly' hahahahaha) My job is to talk to people I don't know. I also, don't like to speak in public or go in front of people, or discuss certain topics. I get quite ashamed, I guess is the term, to lay it all out.
Well, this is how crazy God is. God has been pushing me and really shoving me to do what He says. And He knows how to let me know He is saying it. If He wants me to say something, He really will not back down on it. This past week, God wanted me to write a letter to a friend. Not call her, not text her but write a short note to her. WIERD...Hasn't the real mail died? Does God not know that people don't write letters anymore? Well, I am so glad that I did that, because I truly LOVE this friend of mine. This friend really deserved to have a handwritten letter, and I am so happy to send one to my friend.
God put on another friends heart to call me, and ask me to call someone I didn't know. Ummm, excuse me God, do you not know that I don't talk to people I don't know, let alone call them? Well, I knew this was from God because she said "God put you in my head to call her." So of course, now whenever I hang out, I am gonna call her. No not text her, CALL HER. Because God wants me to CALL her.
God put this blog on my heart. God told me to write my stories out there. Even if Im ashamed of it, just blog it. To be perfectly honest, these last couple of things that I have mentioned, I do not know the outcome of all of them. I don't know what God's plan in all of this is, but I am LOVING THE FACT THAT GOD IS PULLING THINGS OUT OF ME THAT I DON'T DO. He is literally molding me into a person I never thought I would be. He is making me be a better person. I love that He tells me to say things and do things. It's like a little direction from Him. And even though I may not want to do it right away, all of the things He is having me do are only making me be a better Heather. I hope and I pray that all of you readers do what God asks you to do. Even if it's out of your character. Even if your not fully comfortable with saying something wierd to that stranger that God tells you to talk to. Remember, all things good come from God. He's not gonna steer you in the wrong direction. I promise.

Just Do It

I reached a point in my faith where I accepted the Lord, but I was not ready to give up my life to Him. I wanted the best of both worlds. I never got baptized, I never went up to the altar, I hit a point where I went to church sometimes, I never read the bible, I rarely prayed, and I rarely praised. BUT I did believe Jesus died for me. I wasn't true to giving up my life for God but I knew Jesus died for my sins. I wanted to do MY thing, MY will, and reap the benefits of God. WELL, Something I learned in one of my "God smacks me in the face" lessons. It doesn't work that way.
I realized that my will and God's will are not always the same thing. I also realized that God is gonna have me doing some crazy things, that I never thought I would ever do, and if I'm gonna make the decision to follow God, than I have to really be ready to follow God. I also realized that a great excuse for me to not have to do something that God was calling me to do was "If it's God's will."
I can not tell you how many times I said that phrase. Well, this is how God smacked me in the face. I hate public speaking. I dispise it. I hate the all eyes on me feeling, I hate it so much, I would take zeros in school so I wouldn't have to public speak. I wouldn't get baptized because of this. So I made excuse after excuse, all because I didn't want to speak in public. You wanna know what. This IS GODS WILL. God's Word (the bible) says that I be baptized. God's will is that everyone be baptized when they decide to follow Jesus. God told Jesus He was proud when He got baptized. Hey, I mean if Jesus can die on the cross for me so I can have eternal life, the least I can do is stand up and declare that I follow Him. It was MY WILL to decide to not be baptized, but I am going to be baptized. August 30th. It is God's will and because I choose to follow God, I made it be my will.
I tried, tried and tried to read the bible. I had trouble doing it, couldn't get into and found many more books to be more interesting than God's word. Than I realized, God's Will is for ME TO READ HIS WORD. If I want to learn about God, and follow God, I need to read His Word. Me not reading the bible is MY WILL, and making excuses as to why I can't, also MY WILL.
I couldn't get my butt up to the altar to praise God. I would say to myself, "God if it's your will, send me someone to go up there" God sent me someone. God sent me a lady who came to me and said GO RECIEVE GOD. And I did it. I recieved the Holy Spirit at the altar. I prayed the most intimate prayer of my life at the altar. All because it was God's Will. God WANTS ME TO RECIEVE HIM. God loves getting praise, God wants me to go to Him. My fear of not going to the altar, kept me from recieving the Holy Spirit.
I was always afraid to speak to people of my faith. I was afraid of what they would think, how they would react, I was afraid they would think I was being a 'craZy christian' pushing God on them. So I never spoke a word. I never said anything, and so many times God put it on my heart to do it. I would fight God about it. Back and forth, and I would always finish with, "if it's your will God..." Let me tell you what I learned, if God wants you to say it, SAY IT. If He wants you to write it, WRITE IT. If He wants you to pray it, PRAY IT. He wouldn't have put it on your heart if it wasn't His will. Now I'm in no way, shape, or form an expert on God's Will for your life, or on preaching scripture, or even on being the most perfect God Follower out there. But what I do know is that so many times in my life I used God's Will as an excuse for MY WILL. And after I started letting my will go and following God's will, I've found that my life is easier. My family's life is easier. Worship is sooo much better, and the Bible is teaching me so much. I haven't been up to the altar since that last time, I read my bible every couple days, and I still sometimes fight with God about saying or doing things, eventually I give in. But my point is that I now know that I can do all of these things. And when God CALLS me to do it. I'm gonna. And as much as I may want to fight Him, I know that He's not gonna back down.

Gotta Love IT

The last couple of months God has really lit His fire in my heart. Oh man, has He lit it big too. I am ata point with my faith where I have realized that THIS is what my life is all about. Following God's calling in every aspect, and let me tell you all something. God has me doing some CRAZY CRAZY things that I don't want to do nor do I know why He chose me to do them. BUT I can say I am honored that He has chosen me. God has brought out this amazing person inside of me that I have kept bottled up for a long long time. He is molding me into someone that I had always hoped I would be but never felt 100% about it. He is truly blessing me in every aspects the word blessing. He is giving me a sense of pride with what I am doing for Him and the fact that I am faithful enough to do it, He is blessing me financially, He is blessing me faithfully, He is blessing me spiritually, He is blessing my husband my son and my family. And it is all because I am following His calling. THANK YOU JESUS FOR BEING SOOO GOOD TO US!! He has placed an immense amount of supportive people in my life. People that are there when I doubt God's calling and people that are there to give me the extra shove I need. Thank you God for them.

"Sometimes God's greatest gifts happen through life's greatest disappointments."

God's Word for me

OK, last week the bible verse Jeremiah 29:11, kept popping up. It popped up twice last thurs and popped up on Sunday in church. Like, It literally just shows up. So, last week, I was feeling down about my car situation, I was feeling down about the cafe, I was feeling down about a lot. So I went to the bible book store and I bought a book. When I got home, I opened the book and on the first page was....Jeremiah 29:11. When I went to Amy's, Phil came in with the GREAT news about my car, after we were done playing the game, Allison was going through these scripture cards she has and which one catches my eye, Jeremiah 29:11. On Sunday morning, I was feeling kindof down about Phil and I's work schedule. I have two days a week off, and Phil only has one. I was upset because Phil and I don't have a "weekend" together so it's hard for us to plan family time together and we rarely get time with the three of us. Well, I was really upset about this, and I was venting to Phil. When we were at church, the sermon started and what scripture does he quote? You guessed right...Jeremiah 29:11. After recapping all my encounters with the good ol' Jeremiah, I realized this is MY SCRIPTURE. This is God's Word for me. God really and truly brings this verse to me whenever I am feeling down about mine or my family's circumstances. Then He will bring it back to me after He does His thing as a reminder for me, that HE HAS PLANS FOR ME AND THEY WILL NOT HARM ME AND THEY WILL GIVE ME HOPE AND A FUTURE. It really is very comforting to hear God speak to me. Especially when He once again proves to be so faithful.

Prayer List update

And to keep you all updated, Craig doesn't have cancer, but will be going in for surgery! Let's pray for the surgery but PRAISE for the fact that ANOTHER PRAYER WAS ANSWERED!!!!!

Definition of a Friend

(Taken from Webster handy college dictionary) Friend: A person on intimate and affectionate terms with another.

(Taken from Heather's Head) Friend: My God-sent gift, that is truly blessing my life

All of you know how important my friends are to me. I would like to branch out on why my friendships are so important.

1. When I ask an opinion, I get the truth. No matter how much it hurts, I want the truth. If I wanted someone to lie to me and tell me what I want to hear, I would've just listened to myself, and not asked. My friends do this. They tell me the HONEST TRUTH, even when I don't really want to hear it.

2. When I need to talk to someone, they listen. They listen and don't put there two sense in. They just listen. And if they do put there two sense in, they do it at the appropritate times and in a loving way.

3. My friends share my values, and my beliefs. And even the ones that don't share my values and my beliefs, they don't criticize me or argue with me about it. They accept it, and love me anyway.

4. My friends will help me if I need help. And they do it lovingly, because they WANT to, not because they have too.

5. My friends don't need to go out and party with me to have a good time. We can sit on the couch at any time of day and just talk, and sometimes that is more rewarding and more fun.

6. My friends share my love to laugh and even if they don't share my love to laugh, they laugh with me anyway, and have fun doing it.

7. My friends laugh with me, not at me, and they laugh at me too. And it's ok, because they laugh at the appropriate times.

8. My friends don't put up with my crap, but even more than that, I don't give them crap to put up with. They care about me way too much for me to want to do that.

9. My friends have listened to my hopes and dreams and are truly happy for them. So much so, they try to help me get to those hopes and dreams for my life.

10. My friends are truly happy for me when things go right in my life, and they are truly there for me when things aren't going right in my life.

11. My friends kno0w that we don't always have to agree, like, dislike, or want the same things to be friends. And they also know not to pretend to like, dislike, or want the same things as me to be my friend. And they also don't pretend to like, dislike or want the same things as me for fear it might jeopordize our friendship. (God made us who we are, don't pretend to be something your not, cause I love you for who you are.)

So that, my friends (hehe), is what I think about friends. :)

Faith, Family and Friends

When I got married at my second bridal shower, I recieved a plaqueb that said "Faith, Family, and Friends" Along with the plaque was a devotional, basically summerizing the importance that you need to have faith, family, and friends in your marriage. Two years down the road I can vouch that that is so true. My faith is the utmost absolute important thing in my life. MY FAITH has gotten me through the happiest of times and the worst of times. My faith, is what helps to hold my family together. My family is absolutely my life. I live, I breathe and everything I do, I put my family first. When the day is over, no matter how good or bad, my family is the one I go to sleep with and when I wake up in the morning, my family is the people that smile at me when they see me. My son and my husband. They are my world :) And lastly, my friends. There is something to be said for friends. God chooses these people to be your friends for a reason. He places these people in your life, and they really are God sent to you. And you should cherish them deeply. In my apartment, Phil and I are gonna start hanging our pictures on the wall. In the hall way there is one really long wall. That wall is gonna be our "Faith, Family and Friends" wall. All the pictures of our faith, our family and our friends are gonna go on that wall. You see to my husband and I there is no greater gift than to have been blessed by tremendous faith, wonderful family, and a God sent group of friends, and we feel the need to showcase those three gifts God has given us!

My Car...AGAIN!!!!

Ok, So for those of you faithful readers, I know it hasa been a couple of days since I have last written. I have literally sat in front of the computor and tried to write a great God story, and realized I;ve got nothing. God left me with nothing for two days! I even tried to write stories hoping that God could someone work His magic and make it into a God story, but then I realized, that would just be a...story. Well, last night, as everyone is sitting around the dinner table at Amy's for our weekly gathering, Phil's phone rang. I hate that ringtone, that ringtone is his boss, usually calling him into work....BOOOOOOO:( I was upset because my husband and I get two nights off together and this was one of them. He told his boos needed him to go help the other driver, who is fairly new, with a police tow, so he had to go help him. Of course, I slightly rolled my eyes, "OK," I said. So he left.
We all sat around the living room and started to play a game. Phil finally came back and interupted the game. He said, " Everyone, I wanna just tell you guys how awesome God is. I went on this tow and my boss told me that if the problem with my wife's car is the alternator, he would buy it for us because I did this tow for him." I literally started tearing up! GOD ANSWERS ALL PRAYERS. I posted that on the prayer list about a week ago and already God is proving to provide us with the answer to the prayer! You see, we weren't able to get my car fixed because we knew we didn't' have the money to fix it!! And today my car is gonna be on it's way to the shop so it can get looked at!!!! Can you believe that my car is now gonna get fixed!!!!

I would like to send my most HEARTFELT thanks out to all of you readers who read this blog faithfully, and who check out the prayer list daily, and who pray for the people and situations daily! In the short time that prayer list has been up there we have had TWO, YES TWO answered prayers!!! THANK YOU JESUS AND THANK YOU PRAY-ERS!!!!! And please, dont stop praying guys!!!

My car

Ok so, you all know that my bar is broken :( BOOOO. Its been a pretty crappy past week without it. But ona more positive note, I got a lot done around my house that I wouldn't have done if I had a car. ANNND Phil is able to bring my car to his shop to check it out and find out whats wronmg with it!!! YAY!!!! Doesn't necesarily mean its gonna get fixed, but we don't have to apy for it!!!! Thanks for the prayers guys!!!

I got this card

I got this card because Alison really literally threw it in the air to see whaich one would show up...It read this

"If something is not worth praying about, it's not worth worrying about"

Just some food for thought for ya.

JEremiah 29:11

This is interesting.
For those of you that don't know this story, I was at a conference with my friend Wendy a few months back, I believe it was February. During this conference I truly truly felt, God spoke to me and told me to stay where I'm at with my job, I felt like He was telling me everything was going to be fine, and my family and our finances were gonna be fine. That same weekend, Phil was at a retreat and God also used someone to tell him, basically to tell me that we were gonna be fine. At the time, I was trying to look for another job, I was stressing about money, and I was feeling down about our situation. Well, after all these events took place, I stopped stressing. I put all of my worries on God and He assured me that He would take them and take care of them. Well a few weeks later I was at work. I went to cash out one of my tables, and sitting on the computor ( iforget if it was next to the screen or in the book I was about to use), was a bookmark. On one side was a painting of flowers and prettiness, on the back said "Jeremiah 29:11, 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' " For me this was TRULY words from God. It completely confirmed that MY life, that MY family's Lives were gonna be taken care of, and that I shouldn't worry about these things ANYMORE. I hung that verse on my washer (which is in my kitchen next to my fridge. I spend 85% of my time in the kitchen, cooking cleaning, etc. and I ALWAYS look at that when Im in there. It is a constant reminder that God has plans for me, and He will not steer me wrong.
Maybe you have a favorite bible verse that applies to your life, or some words from God that apply to your life. Place them where you spend most of your time, and where you can see them everyday. Let those words be reminders from God for your life. That bookmark will NEVER HOLD A PLACE IN ANY OF MY BOOKS. But it will forever hold a place in my walk with God.

The steps to a prayer

I cut and pasted this one, because it is so good. It was a comment left on one of my previous blogs, so this si for those that don't read the comments and only read the blogs.






"This is a long comment but, I have a couple of things to share for the REVOLUTION =)On 7-3-2009 I prayed for enlightenment about prayer and The Lord led me to some interesting scripture. My notebook from that day reads a little like a list of steps:Chronicles 16:16:9 – “Tell of all his wonderful acts”16:12 – “Remember the wonders he has done”16:23 – “Sing to the Lord, all the earth: proclaim his salvation day after day.16:34 – “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever.16:35 – “Cry out, “save us, O God our savior; gather us & deliver us from the nations”16:36 – “Then all the people said ‘AMEN’ & ‘PRAISE THE LORD’I believe God was outlining for me personally ALL the steps to a prayer. I found that most times I prayed it sounded like Chronicles 16:35. “Oh God please help me with this, Oh Lord please do that, Lord please fix this…” Now I try to run down the whole list ending my prayers with Thank You Jesus AMEN.4 days later 7-7-2009 I was on a Christian retreat where the Lord blessed me by driving his “prayer list” point home. The room was full of people all in the midst of deep prayer. The room was BOOMING with weeping, crying, prayers of O God our savior SAVE US!! It sounded like a loud mess of incoherent voices and I FELT deeply sorrowful. My chest almost caved in from the sounds of so much pain. Then all of a sudden the crying prayers moved with smooth transition into the most powerful chorus of Amazing Grace I’ve ever been witness to. All those voices praying that song in unison… every word heard crystal clear. God said to me in that instant “See Allison? This is why I love to hear prayer in song as well. You can cry out to me but remember I know all of your prayers before you even pray them so won’t I answer them just the same if prayed in tears as I would if prayed in song?” God gave me his ears for a brief moment and I can attest that Singing to the Lord & Telling of His Wonderful Acts is a GLORIOUS prayer to His ears.
August 2, 2009 6:31 PM "

The Notebook

This morning I was getting ready for church. Every Sunday Phil, me and PJ end up running late (regardless of how early we get up) because we are just disorganized people hahaha. This morning was like every other Sunday morning and we had our usual stressing out because we needed to get ready. For the past couple of Sunday's I've been wanting to bring a notebook to church, because I have a terrible terrible memory. I always have great ideas, or a song or message will hit me and I forget by the time I get home. This Sunday, I'm packing the diaper bag and I say to myself 'don't forget your notebook.' Well, I get to church, and go in bag, and Oh Crap, I forgot my notebook. The next thing I know, Linda, the lady who runs the BGMC program at my church, hands me a notebook, with a letter about BGMC (It's BGMC next Sunday, and she did a little something for the adults so they remember) Even though I didn't pray or ask God to bring me a notebook, that sometimes, God knows what's on our hearts, and if it's in His will, He'll bring it to us!! Ironically I needed that notebook More than ever this Sunday. Church was great and I would like to share with you what I wrote:



2- blogs I need to write

-1 Corinthians 11 Verse 20: The meaning and purpose of taking in communion (today was communion Sunday)

-The Pastor prayed a great prayer, that I thought worthy of writing : "All plans are to be what you want them to be"

-The Pastor also made a great statement, while explaining I Corinthians 11 V29:32.. To sum it up, You shouldn't judge people and you shouldn't point fingers at people. To sum it up "Your pointing one finger at me and three at yourself" Because only God should judge us. (Again this is my paraphrasing and how I perceived the message, not word for word)

-There is a difference in being religious and spiritual. Let's try to be more spiritual and less religious.



So Glad I got a notebook today! Thanks Linda and Thank you JEsus!

Prayer List

I have added a new section that I feel is sooo important. I added a Prayer List, Please if you would like something to be prayed for no matter how big or small LEt me know, leave a comment and I will post it to the list! Pray faithfully! God hears all prayers!

Unknown So Far

I am warning you this is the longest blog I've written and probably my most passionate one. This is also one I have debated writing. I've debated writing it for a few reasons. My first reasoning is I don't have enough information to complete it. The story isn't finished yet, because it hasn't begun yet. I know it makes no sense whatsoever, but God doesn't always make sense right away. I'm gonna go back to when I was a kid with this one, and you'll see why.
One morning I was at my grandmothers house. We had slept over, it was a family affair, my cousins were there, my aunts and uncles, my brothers and sisters and parents. I remember we were all preparing breakfast. I remember I LOVED helping cook. It was so much fun, even more so I loved preparing the plates. Making them look pretty, setting them up beautifully. I felt like an artist. I was telling my aunt how much I loved doing this, as I made a plate of sliced peaches look pretty, and she said, "why don't you be a chef. Go into Culinary Arts." WOW....What a great idea. From then on, I knew what I was gonna be when I grew up.
My sophomore year of high school, we got a notice in the mail for Vocational School. A fairly new program was developed called the 2+2 program. It was only available for a few types of programs, one of them being Culinary Arts. The program is where you go to Culinary School through the vocational district for 2 years, your junior and senior year of high school, and your credits role over to Brookdale Community College. The credits you earn in high school are also college credits so you finish college in 2 years. It was a GREAT opportunity so I signed up. At the time I was 14, and I worked at a local bakery as a counter girl. I began Culinary School the following fall. I loved my teachers I love the students, I loved the fact that 1/2 the school year was spent in a kitchen at the Sheraton and the other half was at the school. I also quit my job at the bakery and began working as a waitress at Pizza Hut.
When I graduated high school, I continued my schooling at Brookdale to complete the program, I also got a promotion to shift manager at Pizza Hut. In this time frame I also was becoming a Christian. After I graduated college I decided that I preferred the business end of the restaurant business. I was grateful to have gotten the experience I did as a cook, and learn everything I learned, but I preferred the pressures of being a Manager. So I went into restaurant Management. I was also falling in love with God and coffee. My good friend, Sam and I were into bible studies and we often ( I mean every night) went out to eat. I always felt strange going to Applebee's to do a bible study and realizing there's no place to go other than church, where people won't look at you weird. I remember telling her one day, I wanna open a coffeehouse. I remember being 19, and saying I would love to have a Christian Coffeehouse, where the food is sooo good and cheap, where there's a place to hold bible studies, where each night could be themed differently and bands could come in a play, and oh how good it would be.
I worked my butt off in Pizza Hut, and by the time I was 22 I was a general manager. That's right, I ran my own restaurant. I was learning EVERYTHING from laws to board of health, to taxes, to dealing with people, to budgeting and making numbers. Every possible aspect of running your own business I was learning. I was taking it all in and loving EVERY SECOND OF IT. Here I am, 22 years old and really I can't go much higher, I am 3 levels below being an owner, at 22 years old. Phil and I had begun dating. In the midst of our dating I was still an on again off again Christian. I still believed, and still dreamt but I wasn't 100% ready to give up my old life. Phil was saying to me one day, how he didn't think I really had any friends. I agreed, and he said "why don't you be friends with Amy. Amy's so awesome." Amy is the assistant Pastor at our church. YEAH RIGHT PHIL, I'm thinking I WILL NEVER BE FRIENDS WITH A PASTOR. you see my view on Pastor's is this: They live and work and breathe church, and pray all day, and blah blah blah, (SO WRONG I MIGHT ADD PASTORS ARE PEOPLE TOO :))But instead I say " Yeah that sounds nice." Now at our church there is also a group forming, they are called The Door. I still don't even really know what it is cause I never went, I never had any desire to go.
I was telling him one day about the coffeehouse idea. He said "Cool, but that's kind of like what The Door is." Of course, keep in mind, I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT IT WOULD EVER HAPPEN. This coffeehouse thing was just a silly little hope, not a career path.
Well, Phil and I got engaged and were scheduled to be married September 29, 2007. In July I am relizing my job is getting HARDER AND HARDER AND HARDER. I was losing people left and right, my boss was really coming down on me, my wedding dress wasn't in yet, my car was getting towed to the tune of $400, I was having trouble getting days off, I mean I almost couldn't get off for my bridal shower. But, after all, this is the restaurant business. This is the career I chose. But I decided that I think it was time to start looking for another career path. I prayed and prayed and prayed to God what should I do. What should I do.
August rolls around, our friend Billy gets promoted at Ruby Tuesday's, and tells me he could get me a serving job if I was interested, my assistant manager just quit on me and I went to church and I prayed. I felt like if I stayed there, I was never gonna be able to build a family. I felt like I would never have the time to and to be honest, all signs point to quit. God tells me to quit. So I quit. I quit without a job lined up, I hadn't officially applied anywhere, we were getting married in one week and we were living off of the hope that we get a lot of money from our wedding. But I truly felt like God was calling me to apply at Ruby Tuesdays, and be a mother. I wanted kids so badly, and waitressing was the EASIEST job for a mother to have.
Phil and I got married and decided to try for a baby. We tried for a couple of months and I felt like I needed to be a manager for this Company. I thought we need benefits, more money, blah blah blah. I applied, went through the interview process, and made it to the second interview, but I will tell you, this process took close to a month. I applied in the beginning of December. It is now beginning of January, and I'm not making any progress here, things aren't falling into place, the interviewing manager is away on vacation, and we are having scheduling difficulties. I am talking obstacle after obstacle. On January 5, 2008, I find out I'm pregnant. I'm not having such a great feeling about being a manager either. I was ready to bail and tell them I was no longer interested, but they tell me I didn't get the job instead. WEIRD!!! But I am sooo relieved.
Anyway, So I am pregnant and I start going to hang out at Amy's house, on Thursday nights. It's a group of people from the church that get together for dinner, fun and games. I FALL IN LOVE WITH IT!!!!! I fall in love with the people, I fall in love with the time, I fall in love with the fellowship, I fall in love with Amy. (Yes Amy, the Pastor that I was so weird about before hahaha!!!) And Can I thank Phil for begging me to go every week, because my CLOSEST AND BESTEST FRIENDS are these people that meet at Amy's every week :)
After I have my son, PJ, I feel the need to find another job...AGAIN. I start looking. I mean I am making NO MONEY, benefits aren't good, times are tough. I search and get about three jobs, all of which didn't work out. After my last job at a very well known restaurant, I call Phil telling him how much I hate it. I remember saying these words exactly " I WISH I COULD JUST GO AND WORK FOR JESUS!!!!" In my naive mind, the only 'work for Jesus' jobs out there are Pastors and I don't wanna go back to school. Sorry God, but No. haahaa. About a month later, I went to a convention with my Greatest friend, Wendy. I'm not gonna lie. I DID NOT wanna go. I was debating calling her up top cancel, but I felt guilty. I went. Wendy and I walked in and there is a bunch of tables set up of....Missionaries. My first thought is OH NO, I DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO MISSIONARIES. God, I am not gonna be a missionary, I have no interest in missionary work, Why am I here?
We walk in, the worship team plays, now mind you, Worship is my favorite part of God. I love praising and worshipping. I hated this worship team. I am thinking "God, I am not getting anything from this worship team." (Notice how negative I am being from the start?) OK So there are about 10 missionary couples on the stage. All giving there stories. The last couple, about my age gets up. They are missionaries on there way to Uruguay. They are the youngest missionaries in the world. They tell there story, about how she never thought she would marry a pastors kid and She never thought she would be a missionary. There story was opening my eyes. "Cool," I'm thinking, " I'll be a missionary" So here I am ready to sign up for missions work. Than this lady gets up on stage. She gets up there with her Head bobbing back and Forth, and pointing her finger at the audience. "LISTEN," she says. " These men and women are up here giving their LIVES to the works of God, they live in grass Huts with dirt floors, they leave their friends and their families behind them to go bring other people closer to God, and all you do is complain. You complain about your jobs, you complain about not being able to buy the things you want. There are people in this world losing there jobs every day...." And she goes on and on and on. Another lady is speaking, and her speech thingy is discussing finding you spot in your church. Wether it be in nursery or in ministry or whatever, but she is discussing finding your place in your church. WOWOWOWOW!!!!!!! I truly felt like God smacked me in the face, because He has to do that to me every once in a while. I hear God speak to me and He tells me I am gonna be fine, I got the most calming message that day. He told me to stop looking for another job and to stay where I'm at at Ruby Tuesday doing what I do, and that He will take care of me and my family.
Even weirder, is the same weekend, Phil is away at a youth convention. He tells me when he gets home how some guy from the band (or something), sits down to talk to him about ME and OUR FAMILY and basically is telling him things are gonna be FINE. WEIRD and here goes even more WEIRDER Than that! Amy prays with PHIL for ME!!!! She said she didn't know why, but God was putting me on her heart to pray for (Of course I'm paraphrasing cause I wasn't there :) )!
A few months later we are at Amy's house all sitting around the table. And I forget how it started, but I begin telling everyone about my coffeehouse I wanna open. I tell them, my whole idea, and Amy looks at me and says " you know Heather, I have a dream. Ask Stephen, I have a dream" I tell her I have a dream too, and we end with, we'll have to talk about it. Over the next few weeks, Amy tells me about her idea for a cafe! SAME STINKIN IDEA!!! Same thing, God placed this amazing idea in both of our heads. But, she hits me with a whammy. "Heather, I want you to run my kitchen." My thought is NOOOOOOO I don't want to run a kitchen, I want to OWN a coffeehouse. I've already ran a kitchen. So I pray about it, and pray about it, and pray about it. You know what, I want to work for God. I want to run a cafe or coffeehouse or whatever FOR GOD!!!! Not for myself or Amy or anyone else, I told Phil I wanted to work FOR JESUS! If I don't agree to this, I am walking away from my chance to work for God. So, I decided I want to be a part of this. So now, weeks have gone by and we are still in the works of this whole cafe thing, but we are in the most important stage of it. The PRAYER stage. We are still praying about it. So I do really believe that this is what I am supposed to do with my life, I feel the same way Amy does. I feel that this is part of God's master plan.
I name this blog Unknown so far, because I don't really yet know how it's gonna end, because it hasn't really started so after giving out my part of what could be or is about to be a life and God changing situation I ask for everyone who reads this to pray about it!

The Four Men in My Life

I have four loves of my life. Yes, FOUR. These Four men have impacted my life sooo immensely, I can't even describe it. These four men, God, my father, Phil (my husband), and PJ (my son). I have listed these men in the order of their importance and relevence in my life. I feel the need to explain why:
My God:
My God is the numero uno in my life. This should be so self expainitory but somehow I feel it needs to be explained. God saved my life, saved me from myself, saved me for eternity. He is the reason I have all that I have and to Him I give the glory.
My Father:
My dad has set a precedence for what I want with my life. Everything I have ever done I have always thought of my father. If it was wrong, I thought of how disappointed he would be, if it was right I thought of hwo proud. When I played softball in school, My dad was the one I looked forward to watching my games, When I graduated high school, my dad was who I was most excited to see there, When I got married, I was soo excited to get my father's blessing. My father showed me how a wife should be treated, and without my father's blessing my marriage would not be so good.
My Husband:
I love my husband with all my heart. He is my rock, my better half, literally, and all that I am. My husband could not have come to me at a better time in my life, and always pushes to make me a better person. I know how strange it might be to some to see why my husband is listed before my kid, but without my husband, my son would not be. Phil, is the love of my life, my best friend, my 'favorite husband' hehehehe.
My Son:
My son is a piece of me. He is the reason I wake up in the morning (literally). My son was a true gift, a true blessing from God. Everyday I look at him and can't explain the feeling I get. He is the most amazing creature, I've ever seen. He is my Joy.
And that's just a little tidbit on me :)

"Soul Food"

Last night I went to my friend Amy's house to gather together with my friends. This is the typical Thursday night thing that we do, someone different cooks, we play games and just have a great time. Last night was a little bit different, we didn't just gather for food and games, we gathered for Soul Food (as Sasha would call it). The Lord had a different agenda last night for us. We prayed laughed and had some great holy conversation. You need that every once in a while and I think all of us were over due for that type of gathering. It was amazing and truly blessing :)

Don't Hate

When I was in third grade I met someone that would be my absolute BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD EVER. She was literally my rock, my world. I loved her like my sister. We were inseperable until College. I would like to set the tone for the type of person I was BEFORE I became a Christian, before she and I were no longer friends. I was not a nice person. I treated people terribly. I would not like someone because of the color of their hair or because they weren't on my 'list.' I thought the world revolved around me, and in my group of friends, I wanted things to go MY way and that was it. I was disrespectful, made fun of people daily, and in a split second could turn on you just cause I didn't like you. My friend put up with this our ENTIRE friendship. She really just let me walk all over her. Until one day she just stopped talking to me. She didn't call me anymore. She didn't come over. She didn't answer my phone calls. She got a boyfriend, moved into an apartment with another friend, and literally cut me off. Can you blame her. Imagine having a friend like me. I was there for you when I wanted to be, I helped you only if I thought it was a good idea. I got mad at you because you didn't do what I wanted. I was a selfish friend. I wasn't a good friend. I wasn't a good person.
College was probably the worst two years of my life. I was depressed. My best friend didn't talk to me any more, my other best friend moved half way across the country, my grandmother and my great grandmother died. WOW. Talk about being alone. Thankfully God put s few people in my life that really helped me through it. I became a Christian. One day I woke up and I realized WHY She didn't want my friendship any more. Can I tell you how that was the BEST THING ANYONE HAS EVER DONE FOR ME.
It was a huge wake up call and I decided I needed to change myself before I can be the friend God intended me to be, the person God wants me to be, the person God MADE ME TO BE. I decided that hating people is not the way to go. EVERYONE in this world has trials, problems, bad days, and horrible situations that they go through. Why should I make their life any more difficult. Show them love. Show them niceness and kindness. God made me that way. God wants us to be nice and kind to people. I want to represent the God I serve with the utmost respect. I want to treat people the way Jesus would treat them. I want to love all people equally.
Second. Think about the prson you dislike the most in your life. Think about your enemy, someone you absolutely CAN NOT stand. Im gonna ask you this. How much energy do you WASTE EVERYDAY thinking about that person. How much time do you put into your reasonings for disliking them? It takes more energy to hatre or dislike someone thatn it's even worth. Trust me, I've lived it. I've hated people for no reason and I've hated people for such "good reasons" for things they did to me said to me, etc. Think about how you could channel that energy of hate into something else, a hobby a craft, a jog, a walk, spending time with your kids, helping your friends, or family, shopping , planning a vacation. Whatever you want to do. Take that Hatred and Use it to your advantage.
Last week, I sat in church, and Pastor preached this message that totally hit home for me. It was from the book of Ephessians and while, I dont remember the exact message or versus, I do remember thinking how true it was. I know it is sooo hard to love your enemy and love one another. But I can promise you your life will be so much more rewarding if you do this.
I am also gonna say how rewarding it is for me when I hear people tell me that I am the nicest, kindest person they ever met. I love hearing them tell me how I represent Christianity wonderfully, and I love thinking that God is SO proud of me for this.
I know this isn't easy to do, and I'm not saying that you are gonna be able to do this overnight. I am sure that there are people out there that just treat you so badly and maybe do make it easy for you to not like them, but why not just ignore them. Why add fuel to the fire, let them be, let them have their bad day or whatever they are going through. Kill them with Kindness. This might not be life changing for them and they still may give you the dirtiest looks and the worst snickers, but hey at least you are being the bigger person. And there may be ONE person out there that needs you to be nice to them. One person that NEEDS you to ignore them or stop talking to them because they aren't nice. God knows, I needed my best friend to stop talking to me, to ignore me. I needed her to do that for me. And Thank God she did!

"The Fear of Foolishness"

I decided to quote this from my NEW FAVE BOOK :) In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day, by Mark Batterson. No particular reason why, I just feel it is quote worthy.

"...If you aren't willing to look foolish, you're foolish. In fact, faith is the willingness to look foolish.
"Noah looked foolish building an arc in the desert. Sarah looked foolish buying maternity clothes at ninety. The Israelites looked foolish marching around Jericho blowing trumpets. David looked foolish attacking Goliath with a slingshot. Benaiah looked foolish chasing a lion. The wise men looked foolish following yonder star. Peter looked foolish stepping out of the boat in the middle of the lake. And JESUS ( I add my own caps because its sooo important) LOOKED FOOLISH HANGING HALF-NAKED ON THE CROSS.
" But thats the essence of faith. And the results speak for themselves. Noah was saved from the flood, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. The walls of JEricho came tumbling down. David defeated Goliath. Benaiah killed the Lion. The wise men found the Messaih. Peter walked on water. And Jesus rose from the dead."

God really made this part stand out to me. It is so quote worthy, so profound. It really is soo true. God put the most random situations on the most important people in biblical history. None of them were afraid to look foolish, and all of them were truly blessed by God!
On a more personal and relevent to my life side note. I began writing this blog and was sooo scared to do it!! I was afraid of what people would think of what I wrote, how people may react, and embarrassed about laying it all out there. Can I tell you so far, God has used this to touch sooo many people! I hada fear of looking foolish too and I put that fear aside and followed what God said to do. And I couldn't be happier that He used me to help soooo many people :)
Let's make Godly history. Let's undo the fear of looking foolish!

The Power of Prayer!

Now, I have this friend named Allison (I told you, she will pop up a lot in my blog!) There is a little something I have learned from her: SHE PRAYERS FOR ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING! I have so many times been with her when people will tell her of unfortunate situations they or someone they know is going through. Her response is alway, "Well, lets pray about it!" I know you can and should pray for whatever your hearts or God's desire is, but she really puts prayer into a class all its own. For example, she needed body wash and shampoo, her prayer consisted of (Lord, bring me shampoo and bodywash, thank you) She wanted new make-up "God, bring me make up, thank you." A friend of ours is scared to take risks, she urged me to pray on her "Just Roll With it" These prayers are SO extremely simple. They remind me that you DO NOT NEED to write out a story for the sake of prayer. Nothing is ever gonna be TOO big for God to handle, or TOO small for Him to not care about. All God wants you to do is put it in His hands.
I think that people misunderstand the meaning and the purpose behind praying . I know I have sometimes been ashamed of praying silly little prayers. For example, I would NEVER have prayed for God to send make-up to me, or to bring me bodywash and shampoo. I would've dealt with it or scrounged up change or borrowed money from my mom and dad. I would have felt so silly praying for something that ...easy. I think that Christians and especially non-Christians, think prayer time needs to be saved for when there is a major problem, death, sickness, rough times, etc. But I feel like God did not intend for prayer to be reserved for when times are tough. He wants you to bring EVERYTHING to Him. When people pray, they mostly pray for the serious, I say let's start a PRAYER REVOLUTION!!! Let's start praying for something so little you wouldn't even think about praying for it! I'm gonna make my prayer list out right now! Everything I hope that God will bring and do with my life! And I'm gonna pray for it. I can't promise that He will answer every or even any of these prayers, but I say what's the harm in trying!? PRAYER REVOLUTION HERE I COME!!!!!

OK GUYS CHECK THE BLOGS I FOLLOW SECTION!

I decided to add a new section to this!! Please look at the blogs I follow on the right! CHeck out the blogs I follow, they are VERY INTERESTING. But take special not of my friends have great stories too!! That's a blog I started that includes my friends stories!! All of my friends have stories that are worth telling and I (and them) are sharing them with you!!! please read, Comment, follow and pass on!! It's totally worth it, I promisE!!!

My Car broke Down :(

I don't really know what relevance this has to anything, but I figured I'd blog it anyway. I'm mad cause my car broke down. I don't know how its gonna get fixed or where the money is gonna come from, but I am car less. It really stinks :(

Fear

I am a Very fearful person. I fear soo many things, flying, speaking in public, Zombies (yes I know, you dont' need to say a word), death, God , Satan, making someone mad, being rejected by friends, taking risks, not being a ble to pay my bills, having more kids, and the list goes on and on and on. I really am so scared to put my life in the hands of the Lord. After all, I can not physically see Him, I can not physically touch Him. I can not physically hear Him. I have a trust issue with this. I am a very independent person, surrendering myself to God, someone I can not see, hear or feel, is so hard. I sometimes doubt Him. I am afraid to stand up in from of a group of people and give a testimony of why I am being baptised, do you know that's why I've never done it. I've missed out on an ENDLESS amount of vacations and trips because I am afraid to fly. I was soooo scared on my wedding day to speak in front of people, that I did not even recite my own Vows to my husband, I only said I DO, and repeated from a book. I was sooo afraid to die or get sick when I was pregnant, I almost wished I wasn't pregnant. I almost didn't post this blog because I FEARED that mentionin someone's name or telling a story would make someone mad. I have a debate in my head EVERY DAY about having more kids, and how I don't know if I should or not (I really want five but am SOOO scared to have two). I lost so many good good friends over the years, that whenever anyone got tooo close I pushed them away because I felt they may just leave me first. I am a FEARFUL FEARFUL person. I choose not to live my LIFE in fear anymore. Fearing the world, fearing situations, fearing circumstances, fearing God and fearing yourself can not help anyone. Live your life FEARLESSLY!!! Take on what God gives to you, and JUST ROLL WITH IT!!!!

The beginning of this blog!

I thought it be appropriate to tell the story of how this blog began.
It literally hit me like a bag of sand while I was sitting on my parents driveway about three weeks ago. Literally hit me. God kept saying write a book write a book write a book.

Hold on, Let me start over. A Really long while ago my friend Amy (hope you don't mind I used your name) gave me a book called "In a Pit with a Lion on A Snowy DAy," by MArk Batterson. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. It has changed how I live my life. It has changed How I view my life. Even Non Christians that read this book, love it. This book is about overcoming your personal fears, taking risks, and living your life according to how God plans for you to live it. I am currently living my life by taking risks, I am putting my life in Gods hands, and I want to seize every single God opportunity that comes my way. Well, while Im reading this book, I am constantly reminded of how God has used my life, and the situations in my life. Since I became a Christian, I have always loved the stories God put into my life. I even loved the stories of how God used other peoples lives. Honestly, sometimes I got jealous of their God stories cause some of them were better than mine, hahahaha. So I reaolly have been searching for God's plan for my life. One day I'm reading this book, and it was at the Chapter where he talks about how God uses one person's pain for another person's gain. Now I full force belive this to be 100% true. I am an absolute believer that everyone in this world serves a Godly purpose, it's all about if you choose to follow it. While I'm reading the part of his story, and how he got saved, I realized I love love love love these types of stories. They get me excited. The type of excited like you wanna hop around excited. I realized I look at soooo many people, my friends and my family's and my co-workers, and because I am an over-analyzer I try to piece together why things happen, both good and bad, to certain people. Than I find that thread and "BOOM," theres a God story.
Ok so, while I'm reading this chapter, a little idea pops in my head. Write a book. It keeps coming to me, write a book. The more I read the more I hear write a book. I still remember, sitting in front of my parents camper. And Im being told to write a book. But of Course, I don't just listen to God. I like to take care of things myself. I need to be 100% sure that this is from God, the idea of writing a book of these silly little stories in my life is absolutely ludicrous. After all, I've never been through anything that serious that needs to be told (this si my thought process) So basically I'm telling God that He is crazy! I'M TELLING GOD HE IS CRAZY!!! I go to church the next day, and I'm talking to my friend Amy. I'm telling Amy how I feel like I need to write a book about little stories, blah blah blah. Her exact words and I quote " So do it, you may have gone through something that could help someone."
Cool, I am now 50% sure that I need to do this. A few days later, I am telling my firends, Sasha and Allison, how I need to write a book. They both tell me to do it. Thanks God, Im 95% sure I need to do this. I'm debating now though. Do I wanna write a book, or start a blog. Because in the midst of this debate with myself, I think of blogging. To be honest, I know nothing about blogging. This is new to me, my first time actually. I post a status update on Facebook, should I blog or write a book. Sasha, oh what a blessing she has been to my life, says, Do both. Now I go to my friend Wendy's house. I'm telling her the story of God's idea, and she urges me to do it. She says Do IT! So I'm doing it. Remember, God has to smack me in the face sometimes. And I am soooo glad I have done this. I am a planner by nature. I need to plan out every little thing that I am going to do, I plan my shopping list, my days, my weeks, my months, my life, I plan my situations, and my circumstances. God is breaking me down slowly. He has plans for me. My plans may be similar to His plans, but they WILL NOT WORK unless they come from Him. He humbles me. He humbles me everyday. This blog is a God Plan. It came from God, It is devised by Him. He puts these ideas in my head. I pray that it touches you!!

An interesting thread

One of the things about me that's knid fo strange is that I literally analyze everything, every situation. In my mind I NEED to understand all situations. It can sometime drive me nuts but at the same time is kind of fun. I love taking one situation and seeing how it has turned out years down the road. Which brings me to this post.
When I was a kid, I was introduced to someone who is now a great friend of mine, his name is BillyHis wife is an amazingly beautiful person as well. His parents are strong followers of the Lord. They attend the same church I do, and they are the people that introduced my family to this church. When I was 15, I was a normal rebellious 15 year old. I did drugs, started smoking, was obssessed with boys, snuck out of the house and one night I got RIDICULOUSLY drunk. Oh my goodness, I couldn't even tell ou what happened that night. All I know is I woke up the next day and was grounded, indefinately, and my parents no longer trusted me at all. Well, come the following Friday night, my mom sat me down and gave me a choice. I can sit in the house that Friday night, or I can go to youth group at the church. Now at the time, my friend was going to youth group as well, and my best friend at the time was allowed to go with me, so of course I opted to go. What 15 yr old wants to sit at home on a Friday night, and yeah, it may be church but at least Im out of the house. So I went. I don't remember what I did those Friday nights, but I remember meeting a guy there, his name is Phil. This guy is actually my husband now ;) He was 19, and I thought he was sooo cute. He was also my friends best friend. Because he attends this church I wanted to go to church on sunday. So for the entire time I was grounded I went to church and church functions only. My mom had planted a seed. My mom planted a seed that would grow in me for the rest of my life. My mother introduced me to Church.
Of course, after I became un-grounded, I stopped going to church. After all, Im too cool for church. Well, about a year later, I got a job at Pizza Hut. This job was lifechanging for me on soooo many levels. This was another tool God used in his plan for my life. At Pizza Hut I met some people. These people watered the seed that was planted in my life the year earlier. My friend, that I met at Pizza Hut was a devout Christian. Her Uncle was PAstor at a church. She invited me to go, and I went. I began going to church every weekend. Now there are a few other people that worked there, one of them attended that church, anther (Her name is Sam) started bible studies at her home. Man, was I surrounded by God and Godly people. Of course after a while, I stopped going to church again. I still worked at Pizza Hut, and Billyworks there now. Remember, Billy and PHil are best friends. So because of Billy working at Pizza Hut, I am reminded of Church and the church I attended when I was 15. So one Sunday morning I woke up and got ready and went to church. It was Palm Sunday, I walked in the building and so many familiar faces were there. I was greeted with hugs, and his and how are you's. I felt comfortable, I felt welcomed. The sunlight was shining on that seed. Phil still attends that church, he is still friends with Billy, and God set the presedense for a whole new group of friendships that would begin to develop. During this time when I wasn't attending church I lost two of my best friends, my grandmother, my great grandmother and was in a deep depression. I can say I hit rock bottom. Sometimes God lets you hit rock bottom before He is gonna lift you back up again. Attending this Church couldn't have happened at a better time in my life. Finding God couldn't have happened at a better time in my life. Through out the next couple of years, I was going to church on again and off again. I noticed whenever I hit a stretch of nto going to church, my spiritual battery began to drop, I started losing site of God and things started to get harder. Phil and I began dating, later to be married, even later to have a baby. God has brought an AMAZING GROUP of friends into our lives. And my spiritual battery is constantly charged, and that seed has grown immensly. I believe that things dont happen by conincidence. I believe that everything that happens in your life God strategically places there. He strategically placed Billy in my life, because He knew I would marry his best friend and attend that church. He strategically sent the manager (who is also a great family friend and Billy's aunt) to my house with an application for Pizza Hut when I wasn't even looking for a job. He strategically put this church on my mothers heart because he knew that I would attend there in the future. God works by strategy. God is working everyday to strategically plant all of those seeds in your life. Im sure if you think back to where you were and where your at now, you'd see the thread that God is sewing in your life as well.