We’re All Chasing Something

A few months ago, I bought a book for Jordyn called, The Chase by Kyle & Kelsey Kupeky.  I wanted to read it first because it’s about trusting God with your happily ever after,  and I needed to make sure it was aligned with our standards on the  topic of dating,  courting, etc., before I let her get her hands on it. I was pretty pleased with it, aside from some minor things that we as a family have decided to steer away from, but nothing that took away from the point of the book.

So basically the book is their story on what it was like trying to serve God as a teenager/young adult and be set apart from this world in high school and college. It’s their own personal testimony on how they both grew up in Christian homes, they both attended church & youth group regularly, and what they both struggled with when it came to what& who they were, and/or weren’t chasing. They were both very transparent on what they struggled with. Kelsey told her stories and gave her advice from a girl’s point of view, while Kyle gave his from a guy’s point of view. I really liked that he did that because it gives the young readers a little insight on what guys really think about certain topics. There main point is encouraging the youth to chase God.

I started thinking about that: to chase God.  Our youth aren’t the only one’s who struggle with that. It’s in all of us.  We’ve all struggled from time to time in chasing the wrong things or people. We live in a generation that is yearning for love.  They are searching and giving anything to taste and feel love. They are chasing the things of this world in hopes to find love, but only to be left with heartache. It portrays sex as love. Sex isn’t love, and it surely doesn’t fill that void you’re looking for. It does the opposite…leaves you feeling even more empty than you were before.

So what I did was, I bought all the girls in our teenage bible study a copy of The Chase. I bought a box of conversation hearts Candy and found a cute printable on Pinterest about God’s conversation and tied it all together.

Like this:

I’ll be giving these to the girls tonight! 

Chasing the world always leads you so empty, so broken, so lost.  It takes you farther than you wanna go and lasts longer than you ever planned on staying. Sure, at first it seems cool and fun, but that’s temporary. Before you know it, you find yourself deeper and deeper in a hole, with nothing but broken dreams, broken promises,  and a broken shattered heart.

Chasing God is so much more fulfilling and satisfying and permanent. His love for us never fails.  He loves us like no one in this world could ever love us! He fills us with an everlasting joy and peace. He leaves you feeling worthy and whole, and He keeps His promises. He died for you!

We’re all chasing something.  Who or what are you chasing?

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Happy Mother’s Day

I want to wish all of you lovely mama’s out there a very Happy Mother’s Day!

I pray that you were the lime light of this very special day and your heart was filled with of love and laughter!

Always remember that you are:

Happy Mother’s Day!

Sunday Funnies: Big Family Problems

I normally like to post my Sunday Funnies quote early, but being that I have a big family, some things just don’t always go as planned.

On Wednesday night, we woke up to a sick child. He was sick all day Thursday through Saturday. Then this morning another child woke up sick.

So I stayed home from church to tend to them and I sanitized the whole house from top to bottom.

THEN my daughter came home from church with a fever!! 

I was like, “What the heck!?!?”

That’s when it dawned on me. This is “big family” problems!

So I dedicate this week’s funnies to all you Big Families out there!

Have a great week!

Sunday Funnies: For the love of Target

I told my husband I’d be quick.

I told him that I wouldn’t go to Target.

I had every intention on staying away from there.

But the store I went to didn’t have what I needed, and I knew Target wouldn’t let me down because it never does.

And you know what? It didn’t.

It had exactly what I was looking for… Exactly what I needed.

I felt so liberated… Until I got that dreadful text from him. That text that made me realize where I was….

That text that says, “Where are you?”

Surely you know what I’m talking about!

So in thinking about what quote to have for my Sunday Funnies, I knew immediately that it had to do with Target.

Here ya go!

Have a great week!!

Sunday Funnies: For my husband & kiddos

I got this bright idea (and those don’t happen very often!!)  to post something funny every Sunday. Maybe a quote I find on Pinterest, or a riddle etc. I don’t know exactly what the Sunday Funnies will consist of or if I’ll actually post anything at all, but it’s worth a shot, right!?!?

Today’s funnies are dedicated to my Amazing Husband and my awesome children.

To my hubby:

To my children:

Okay, so maybe those aren’t actually funny, but hey, they’re good! Right!?

I think so.

Happy Sunday!

A Beautiful Mess

My life has been somewhat of a mess lately.

I’ve been on stress overload.
I’ve been overly emotional.
I’ve been a bit frazzled.

I’ve felt like quitting.
I’ve felt like a failure.
I’ve felt like someone out there can do a much better job at this mommy thing than I can.

I’m sure I’m not the only mom out there who’s felt this way a time or two, right?

Come on, let’s be real here.

Being a mom and fulfilling all the demanding duties that that requires, is alotta work! And please don’t make me list those duties… If you’re a mama, then you know exactly what those are! 

I watched, Mom’s Night Out, for the first time the other night, and it change my life! If you’re a mom, you MUST see this movie!!! It explains every single emotion, thought, struggle that we mom’s have faced.

One thing that the main character said to her husband was, “I am living my dream as a little girl. To marry an awesome man. To have beautiful kids. To have a family. But why am I not happy?”

In recent days, I’ve asked myself the exact same question.

Why am I not happy? What’s wrong with me? I have an amazing husband, who happens to be the best daddy in the world to our kids. I have a fairly decent home & vehicle. I have the privilege to be able to stay home and Homeschool my kids. I serve a God who has totally transformed my life. I have an amazing church family.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is me.

There, I said it…I’m the problem.

This movie has shown me to loosen up a bit. To not get frazzled and uptight about the little things that don’t go my way. To smile a little more. I’ve come to the understanding that there are just some things in life that aren’t worth getting all worked up over. And the big thing that was an eye opener for me was that I have to take care of me before I can take care of everyone else.
When you’re on an airplane, they tell you that in case of an emergency you have to put the face mask on yourself first THEN help the person next to you. 

Did you hear that mama!?!?

You have to take care of yourself FIRST in order to take care of those around you!

So right now, I’m wearing my face mask! My husband has been gone with our kids most of the afternoon/evening and I’m home alone.  I’ve been in bed mostly the whole time, and it’s OK! And quite honestly, I don’t feel bad one bit! I won’t belabor you with all the details of everything my week consisted of, but I will tell you this… It was A LOT & it was EXHAUSTING!

You might be wondering if there are some things I might could change in my life to make it less stressful? And the answer to that is,Yes. I’ve already reevaluated some things and am making some minor adjustments but that doesn’t change the fact that I need to change my perspective on my life as it is right now.

One thing we have to consider is that wherever we are in life right now is only a season.  Instead of asking God, why me? We should ask God, what are you trying to do in me? What are you trying to teach me?

I’m not even close to being the mom that I want to be… The mom that God had called me to be… But who is?

I’m a mess… I’m a beautiful mess… God’s masterpiece…

… And that’s enough for me.

A dream come true

As a girl, my one desire was to feel accepted and to be loved. From as far back as I can remember, I was lonely, timid, and very fearful.  I’m sure it had a lot to do with the fact that I was fatherless.  I’ve never met my  biological father to this day and for years it tore me up inside.

During my teenage years,  all my unanswered questions about my dad, amongst other things, turned into anger and resentment. That quiet little shy girl turned into a very rebellious teenager who no one had control over.

I began searching for love and acceptance through what I thought was”normal” teenage behavior. All the while, deep inside of me, was that quiet little shy girl crying out so desperately for a father and for someone who would truly love me.

Thankfully, at the age of 18, I found my father!

My Heavenly Father. 

In Psalm 68 it says, that God is the Father to the fatherless.

I got saved in June of 1997 and gave my broken heart and broken life to Jesus. I didn’t know what it meant. I didn’t know how to be saved. And I certainly didn’t know how long it would last. I just knew that every missing piece of my life was now made whole. It was truly a miracle!

Okay, now let’s go back to February 7, 1999.

Besides the day that I gave my life to Jesus, this day is very special to me because it’s my wedding day!  The day that I said, “I do” to a man that God had especially for me. A man who has loved me and accepted me, even when I’ve been hardest to love.

We met in church and let me tell you, I would have NEVER considered him before…BC he’s white. Calm down, call down! I’m not racist at all, but in my mind, all white men wanted was to get Hispanic women pregnant and leave them, since that is what happened to my mom.

                           Dating

But he’s proven himself time and time again, that he ain’t going no where. (Even when I’ve wanted him too! Lol)

We dated for a little over a year, and we didn’t kiss, hug, hold hands.. NOTHING till our wedding day!

                          First kiss!

It was beautiful!

Here we are, 15 years later, and we’re still married and still in love!

Oh but let me tell you, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. We’ve had our high times and our low times but through it all, we’ve kept Jesus in the center of our lives!

God is so faithful, because my life now is everything I ever dreamed of and more, all because of God’s grace!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

         First marriage retreat and very       prego!              

                     

                 Christmas Fellowship
                                2001

                     Saltillo, Mexico

                          

                 10 year Anniversary

Sadly, we don’t have a 15 year wedding picture yet. But I’m sure it’ll happen soon enough and I’ll add it to the post later… Maybe!

Until then, if you’re married, love your spouse till death do you part. And if you’re single, wait on God and He will give you the desires of your heart!

Happy Anniversary Babe… 15 years, crazy hu??

“Therefore what God had joined together, let not man separate.”
                    Mark 10:9