Is this really happening?

So a little update on the littlest Smith. Harmony is not even 6 months old yet and is crawling all over the place. I never thought I would have to have my house baby proofed this early but it looks like I need to get my butt in gear. I have noticed that she is a very determined child. She sees something she goes right for it, she doesn't let anything (like pillows, toys, remote controls) get in the way. She is the most happiest baby I think I have had. You look at her and she just gives you this big huge smile and it just melts your heart. When ever her daddy walks in the door her legs start kicking and she starts shaking because she gets so excited. She already has 2 teeth and she is getting another one, I would say in about a week or so it would be in. She has brought our family such joy and so much more love it is so great. She giggles so much at the kids and her laugh just stops you in your tracks and makes you start laughing no matter how you are feeling that day.

Todays prayer

Father my prayer today is that you restore to my family what is rightfully ours. Father I will not let the enemy steal my family away. We are all children of the most high and are loved so much no matter what we have done in the past. The past is forgiven and I pray right now that there is no guilt or condemnation about our past. Father I thank you that our hearts are open to your love, our ears are open to hear what you have to tell us. Thank you that our ears will no longer listen to the lies and thank you that our hearts will listen to all that you have for us. Thank you that you send the right people at the right time and that nothing is ever a coincidence, but you have a plan and purpose for our lives and you know what is going to happen before it even does. Father, I thank you that relationships are mended and that people would love the person and hate the sin. Father if you can love someone through the worst thing that they have done, than we should be able to as well. I thank you for loosening the grip that the enemy has placed on the relationships in my family. The enemy thrives when there is bitterness so I command that bitterness to be gone right now in Jesus name. I thank you that selfishness, pride, anger, greed, and unforgiveness is gone right now in Jesus name. I break the generational curse RIGHT NOW. My children and myself will not follow in the lies or the deception that 'this is just how it goes, this is how the family has been so we accept it'. NO WAY this is not of God so there fore it will not be accepted in this house. Father I ask that you live and move and have your way with this family. It is not my will but it is your will that is to be done. Father thank you that our hearts will be your heart, our eyes become your eyes, our feet are your feet and that we will listen to your voice and STOP following the voice of the enemy. I refuse to let the enemy have ANY part in this family, he can not have my family, we were bought with a price and that price is far greater than anything of worth or value in this world. I am taking back my family and even when they can not (or will not) stand anymore I will stand in the gap for them and trust in you with all my heart.

I love you Jesus with all my heart

Amen

My prayer this morning

Thank you God for giving my family another beautiful day to be able to honor and worship you. Thank you for your protection over my family as we go in different directions today and thank you that my children and I have a roof over our head, heat, hot water and food in the fridge. Thank you for supplying our needs according to your riches and according to your plan. I know there are families out there that are struggling and who have alot less than what we have and Father I thank you that they know to call on you and reach out to you and they find comfort in you thru their hard times.. Give them hope Father.

Father I ask that I never take a day for granted. Each day that we live is a precious gift. I thank you that you lead and guide my footsteps to where ever you want me to go and do. Father I thank you that whatever I put my hands to prospers. I thank you that you put people in my path that you want me to reach out to and you give me the strength to do so.

This is the day that you have made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.... No matter what happens I will trust in you and I find my strength, hope, and patience in you.

I love you Jesus....

Where are you God?

Jeremiah 29:11-14 (The Message Version) I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. 13-14"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."

Have you ever thought "WHERE ARE YOU GOD"? Has there been so much chaos in your life and you feel like you are searching and searching for God? How are you searching? Are you praying and seeking his will for your life? Do you have that daily prayer time with him where you are creating an intimate relationship with him so that when chaos arises in your life he is the first person you turn to and since there is that intimacy between you two, you know not to fear or you know to trust him and more important you know His voice? Well, I sure wish it was always that easy for me. Dont get me wrong I have my "quiet time" with Him, but not how I would like it. With kids it just seems to be so hard to have that intimacy with him. So much chaos has been going on in my life and I finally blurted out those words "WHERE ARE YOU GOD?", "How could you love me and yet still let this to continue?" I knew once I said it aloud that I was in trouble. I thought to myself, I could either go right away and get alone with God and pray and hear him or I could just sit there and have a pity party for myself and focus on all of the crazy things that are happening to us.... AND guess which one I chose?? Yep, I chose the pity party. Guess where it got me? Absolutely NO WHERE.... I felt more miserable, I was more angry and I was more disappointed in God after. So, I thought that God still was not there for me cuz after that pity party I still felt horrible.. WELL OF COURSE I DID! I have to admit it took a day or two to do this but I finally just opened up to God and started giving him my heart, I shared the desires that I have in there, I shared with him all the fears and then told him that I give it all to him so he can take care of it. It was too heavy of a burden for me to carry and I knew once I gave it to him he would take care of it. Since doing so I have felt alot better but I do have to admit that in doing so, the enemy has attacked harder in some other areas. So the one thing that I want to encourage you (whoever you are) to do is, before your feet hit that floor in the morning to stand up and start your day, you should start putting on the Armor.

Ephesians 6:10-20: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

One thing I have noticed that if I get up and just hurry and start my day with out acknowledging Him and praying then the enemy immediately tries to come in and attack. I have started waking up and before getting out of bed just praying. I lay there and thank Him for another wonderful day that he has given me and my family and let him know that I am trusting him and whatever he wants me to do that day I will. I bleed the blood over my children as they go to school and over my husband as he goes to work and thank God for putting angels around them and around me and Harmony. I believe that if we are continually in prayer we will continue to see God work so therefore that would eliminate the thoughts of WHERE ARE YOU GOD? Because we would know that he is there and that he has never left us nor will he ever forsake us. So, Trust in the Lord with all your Heart and know that He knows the plans he has for you and when we call on him he will listen.

A little longer

What can I do for You?
What can I bring to You?
What kind of song would you like me to sing?

Cause I'll dance a dance for You
Pour out my love to You
What can I do for You beautiful king?

Cause I... can't thank You enough.
I can't thank You enough
What can I do for You?
What can I bring to You?
What kind of song would you like me to sing?

Cause I'll dance a dance for You
Pour out my love to You
What can I do for You beautiful king?

Cause I... can't thank You enough.
I can't thank You enough
All of the words that I find... and I can't thank You enough.
No matter I try... I can't thank You enough.
Then I hear You sing to me

you... don't have to do a thing
Just simply be with me and let those things go
Cause they can wait another minute

Wait... this moment is too sweet
Would you please stay here with Me
And love on Me a little longer

I hear You say...
You... don't have to do a thing
Just simply be with me and let those things go
Cause they can wait another minute

Wait... this moment is too sweet
Would you please stay here with Me
And love on Me a little longer
I'd love to be with you a little longer
Cause I'm in love with you




I have been playing this song over and over again today.... The meaning is so simple but so powerful to me. Here we get caught up in trying to make God happy by serving, or volunteering, and so on, which is all great but some times we get caught up in it and all God wants us to do is spend time with him doing nothing but letting him love us. I picture it in my head like this. God and I are sitting on a front porch swinging on a swing sipping a glass of sweet tea and just talking, my head is nestled so tightly on his shoulder and neither one of us have to say a word to each other we just sit there and love on each other. Letting all the thoughts, cares, fears etc go because all that matters for that moment is sitting there loving on Him and Him loving on me..

Free Dunkin Donuts Coffee

Thank you Keri!

Hello World

OK it has taken 10 weeks but I am starting to feel "normal" again... I have never been a depressed person but for the past 10 weeks I have been in some sort of funk... This week I am finally feeling like myself again and that makes me so happy. I was feeling so awful that I could really careless about the way my house looked (for those who know me, know that is not right) I didn't really care about what i ate, what I wore, how I looked, or even how I talked. Really it was beginning to get frustrating. I wish I could say that I have this great revelation and then all of a sudden I was cured but I really think it was all "Postpartum". Which for me is strange because I have never had to deal with it... I mean don't get me wrong after I had the other 2 I was hormonal but nothing like I was after this past pregnancy. I remember with Kennedy I had a little of the baby blues but nothing crazy, and after Riley was born I was just so excited and happy that he was here and I did not want to take anything for granted since having the miscarriage before he was born. SO not only was Harmonys pregnancy and delivery WAY different than the other 2, but the whole recovery and postpartum was as well.

Well Harmony will be 11 weeks tomorrow and I just cant believe how time flies once they finally arrive. I really wish all of these days would just slow down so I can soak everything up.. This week has been huge for us......... She is finally sleeping thru the night. Her bed time is 9pm and she wakes up at 7am and last night I was in bed pretty early so I got some great sleep. Which is great because I needed alot of rest since I have a full weekend and need to do a ton of cleaning for it. Well, I am off to clean.

I must say this

I was going to try and hold my feelings in about this but I really can not. I think it is so unfair that people coupon shop and then hoard their stuff and just brag about how big their stock pile is. I went shopping yesterday and almost EVERYTHING was gone (and the sales just started on Monday) and then I come home and hear about people who got the last one of this and got 20 of this. It really makes me mad. I know it is their right to do whatever they want to but this is what I would like them to know. Not everyone who shops with coupons can afford to go shop every week... And some people who coupon shop HAVE to shop with coupons to in order to put food on their table. Some people who are shopping with coupons are not doing it just to get things for cheap and then add to their stockpiles, they actually have to because they don't have more $50.00 (and not even that much at times) a week to spend on groceries. So when I go to the store and I see everything is gone (especially baby wipes) and then I hear people bragging about what they got and half of them don't even need the wipes (they just wanted to get them because they were .25 cents) I just have to say shame on you. I know this sounds like I am passing judgement on people and I am sorry if you think that I am but I am only getting this out before I explode. Ken was just reminding me yesterday "don't let this upset you, just have fun and thank God for what we are getting" and I did start to have fun with it, but when I look at the stuff that I really needed (wipes, glass plus etc) today and could not get last night, it just brought back the frustration. So people who use coupons, I understand that everyone likes to get stuff for free or really cheap, but just in the future can we please start thinking about others out there that really need the stuff and don't get the privilege of going grocery shopping every week?

Finally an update

I do apologize that it has been so long since I have blogged. Life has been so crazy as a family of five. I thought it would be a lot easier since my other two are older and they could be such a big help. Well, what I have found is that they need a lot more attention too. So it has been crazy recovering from a C Section, feeding Harmony ALL THE TIME, and spending quality time with Kennedy and Riley, all while trying to keep up with the daily routine of laundry, dinners, cleaning etc. Thank goodness it is summer vacation though.

Harmony had her check up on Wednesday and it went very well.. She weighs 9 pounds 10 ounces and is 22 3/4 inches long. So that puts her in the 50% for her weight and 90% for her height, just like her big sister. The kids absolutly love their baby sister and they want to constanly kiss, hold and hug her. I love that and it just makes my heart melt.

We are finally getting on some sort of a schedule so it is making life a little easier. I love being a family of 5.

been awhile. I know :)

OK so i know it has been a long time since I have been able to blog, well there is a good reason and her name is Harmony Grace and she was born May 1, 2009. She has been the best baby. She is an awesome sleeper and she is so content and peaceful and bright eyed. The only time she cries is when she is really hungry but when she does cry WATCH OUT........... She has defiantly been such a blessing to our family...

As blessed as our family has been we have also been going through so many attacks and this just makes me wonder what God has in store for this family. Our family has been attacked in every area in the past 2 years (and I do mean in every area) and at this point I know it is not even worth giving in. We have learned that the only thing we can do is give it to God and and trust him and not to fear. I have seen Gods faithfulness so many times in the past 2 years it is unbelievable. Just this past weekend we had a huge miracle take place in our family (when/if we are ready to share I will blog about it) and I can not take any credit for it at all,it was all God but I do have to say that it makes a difference when you go directly to Him and tell him that you have faith in Him that He will take care of your family/you,as soon as you come under attack and that you stand on what the word says.. Trust me it is a hard thing to do but it is more important to have the outcome be great and letting your emotions get the best of you will not get you through it, He will. I have had a few friend tell me I should write a book about my life and I just think that is just a crazy thought, I mean its just me.... A nobody who lives in Michigan, who would care what I have to say? Well, I do believe that peoples tests will be their testimonies and if everything that I have gone through in my life could help people out there well then so be it, I would love to help anyone get through their attacks. One thing I have learned is that the God that I serve does not punish us. So all the attacks that we go through is not because of something that we did in our past. That is like me punishing one of my children today for something that they did 5 years ago, where is the love if I do that? God loves us and wants nothing but the best for us, does that mean it is going to be easy breezy serving Him? Absolutely not, the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but He came to give us life. So the enemy has his job and that is to steal from us, kill, and destroy but God will (as long as we let him and call upon him) give us life and he will take care of us. Will it be how we planned it? NO, it is in his own timing and his own way, that is why we need to trust him and give everything to him so he can take care of things. I know this stuff a lot of us already know but I feel like I need to be reminded every single day that he does love us no matter what we have done and no matter who we are.

Oh Goodness

I feel like I have been neglecting this blog. So sorry.
I must say that I am just too tired to really do much of anything. Not getting much sleep at night and really makes for some crazy days, plus I feel like I am still recovering from last week. The kids were on Spring Break and we were SUPER busy all week. WHICH is really funny because I was so worried when I found out there spring break was so close to my due date, I thought the kids would be stuck at home and not having fun. But, thanks to my dad coming in town and then my mom the kids had a wonderful spring break. We were gone everyday doing something and most of the days we would come home eat and then leave again. So I am taking this week to recoup. This morning has been a pretty difficult morning. Waking up in a bad mood, waking up in pain, then throwing up all morning and ad that to a bunch of little things not going according to plan it just makes for a not so great morning. I started to get frustrated until I reminded myself that, Today is a day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad. I will not let the enemy steal my joy today. Even through what seems to be a bad morning, I will call upon him, because I know he hears me and he will make everything great.
As my morning seems to be getting worse, I was reminding to get into the word sooner than what I normally do. So first thing I did was check my Joyce Meyer daily devotional, barely able to keep my eyes open I start to read, and this is what she had to say today:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
—Matthew 11:28-30

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Our God, Our Healer

When you are dealing with a cold, you may forget that God can heal you.. Ok well at least I did. Here we are, my WHOLE family, dealing with a really nasty bug. We all have had sore throats, really nasty coughs, headaches, fevers and aching bodies. The kids seem to get over it faster than us parents. So we went to the Dr. yesterday and all I was hoping for was some medicine, Yes I know a girl who is so against antibiotics was wanting some, because I figured that was the ONLY thing that could take away this cough that Ken and I have had. So we get to the Dr. and they screwed up our insurance info (really long story and maybe I will go into it later) so needless to say the could not see us yesterday. That is when I had my melt-down. I don't mean a little bit of crying, I mean I got so mad. So we get home and all I can do is go up to my room and cry and cry and cry, ok I know some of it was hormones, but some of it was also just plain frustration. For weeks I am cooped up in a bed, I finally feel better and a week later I am back in bed with more pain and now a stupid cold to top it of. I have not been out of my house for a while and when I do leave it is to go to the Dr. on days where I would rather be outside with my family enjoying the sunshine. SO did I have a right to get so frustrated, absolutely not, I really should have dealt with it a better way. Don't worry already repented........

After my pity party the kids ate dinner and then we went to Target. I had to get some kind of medicine to stop the coughing and something to help my sore throat we get home and all is good........ As I am laying in bed it hits me....... I need to come against this sickness and let the enemy know that it is not allowed in my house and then I asked God to heal all of us. I asked to have a full night sleep (after 3 nights of waking up every other hour) and I asked to wake up refreshed. I also asked that Kens fever would be gone, the the hives would be gone and that he too would wake up refreshed and healed.... So 8:30 this morning we all wake up and I got a full night sleep along with Ken and he looks 100% better. His fever is gone his hives are too and he just looks like he got to sleep for a few days. I feel a lot better but and still believing for complete healing, no more cough.... no more sore throat.......

But just remember that Jesus died on that cross not only for our sins but for our sicknesses and our diseases no matter how big or how small. God cares about our colds and he doesn't want us to have them as much as we don't want to have them so God can even heal the cold.

an update

I have had quite a few of you ask me about the Jahn family. My friend Josh who lost his wife and 2 children in a drunk driving car accident and I just came across this article and wanted to share it with you guys. To check it out click here.

Joyce Meyer Devotional.

Oh so when I read this, this morning I about spit my water out. Usually I read my daily devotional and think" oh that is good, maybe it is for someone else though" HOWEVER, today's just really was for me and I know that for a fact... So for those of you who know me, know that I am very stubborn and I do not ask for help and I try and be super woman with things well read Joyce's daily devotional..

March 24 You will surely wear out both yourself and this people with you, for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it all by yourself. —Exodus 18:18 I've learned from experience that it is wise to set proper limits and margins. It is a sign of strength, not weakness. Asking for help is a good thing to do also. God has placed certain people in each of our lives to help us. If we do not receive their help, we become frustrated and overworked, and they feel unfulfilled because they are not using their gifts. Remember that God has not called you to do everything for everybody in every situation. You cannot be all things to all people all the time. You have legitimate needs. It is not wrong to need help and ask for it. However, it is wrong to need help and be too proud to ask for it. In Exodus 18:12-27, we see that Moses was a man with many responsibilities. The people looked to him for everything, and he tried to meet all their needs. Moses' father-in-law suggested that Moses delegate some of his authority to others. He said Moses should let them make the less important decisions and Moses should deal only with the hard cases. Moses did what his father-in-law suggested, and it enabled him to endure the strain of his task. And the others had the benefit of a sense of accomplishment for the decisions they made on their own. Many people either complain all the time about what they are expected to do or they end up falling apart emotionally and physically because they won't let anyone help them do anything. They don't think anyone is as qualified for the job as they are. It is easy to think you are more important than you actually are. Learn to delegate. Let as many people help you as possible. If you do, you will last a lot longer and enjoy yourself a lot more. From the book New Day, New You: 365 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

OK so this is really good for me, especially during this pregnancy. I dont even like people to clean up my kitchen after a get together and the funny thing is, we had a get together Friday Night with a couple of our friends and when I got up to start cleaning so did my friend Ms. K. and I was about to tell her to sit down and I will get it, but I did not. I thought that was a huge deal for me. She helped clear off counters and rinse dishes and little does she know that it blessed me SO much. I know this may seem so crazy to some of you but since being pregnant so many people have offered to help out, I actually had a really good friend come all the way over to my house one morning just to make me breakfast and clean up my kitchen. She knows me so well that she didnt ever let me know she was coming, probably because she knew I would tell her know. BUT, it really blessed me so much to have her do that. People always offer to come over and do this or do that and I am just so.... well I guess I am too stubborn to accept help. I like how Joyce said that "It is easy to think you are more important than you actually are. Learn to delegate. Let as many people help you as possible. If you do, you will last a lot longer and enjoy yourself a lot more."

Daily Devotion

From Joyce Meyer

March 19

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded and stricken within me.
—Psalm 109:22

Is it wrong to have a wounded heart? No, a wounded heart is not wrong, but you need to get it healed and go on. In Old Testament days, if a priest had a wound or a bleeding sore, he could not minister. I think today we have a lot of wounded healers. By that I mean that there are a lot of people in the body of Christ today who are trying to minister to other people but who themselves still have unhealed wounds from the past. These people are still bleeding and hurting themselves.

Am I saying that such people cannot minister? No, but I am saying that they need to get healed. Jesus said that the blind cannot lead the blind; because if they do, they will both fall into a ditch. There is a message in that statement. What is the use of my trying to minister victory to others if I have no victory in my own life? How can I minister emotional healing to others if I still have unresolved emotional problems from my past?

In order to minister properly, we need to go to God and let Him heal us first. I think we need to wake up and realize that God is not looking for wounded healers. He wants people with wounds that He can heal who will then go and bring healing to others. God loves to use people who have been hurt and wounded because nobody can minister to someone else better than one who has had the same problem or been in the same situation as that person.

If we are still bleeding and hurting from our own wounds, we are not going to be able to come against other people's problems with the same kind of aggressive faith we would have if we had already worked through that problem ourselves. The bottom line is that we need to let God heal us so He can use us to bring healing to other people.


From the book New Day, New You: 365 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

Todays Daily Devotion

From Joyce Meyer,

Life by the Spirit...

But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
—Galatians 5:16

I would also like to share what The Message says,

^16-18My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?


When God speaks, He divides the thoughts of our soul from the truth in our spirit and brings to life His purposes in us. When I became a student of the Word, I didn't know when I was operating in the soul and when I was operating in the spirit. I didn't know when I was operating emotionally until I studied God's Word and learned to operate by faith in His promises.

When I wanted something, I just tried to make it happen. I tried in all the wrong ways. If I wasn't getting my way, I pouted and threw fits. Sometimes I wouldn't talk to Dave for days on end, hoping to manipulate him to give in and give me what I wanted. All I cared about was what I wanted. I was carnal, selfish, self-centered, and extremely miserable because I was all wrapped up in myself.

Many people get into a relationship with God hoping that He will give them what they want. Their life prayer is a list of everything they want. Consequently, they remain baby Christians all their lives. They slip in the door of heaven when they die, but they never have victory in this life. They never learned to listen to God and hear what He wants for them. We cannot walk in the flesh and have victory or be truly happy! We cannot spend our lives seeking to satisfy our own appetites and still affect anybody else's life in a positive way. It is not possible. If we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of our flesh.

The Potters Hands

Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our Potter, and we all are the work of Your hand.
—Isaiah 64:8


I like the story about the couple who went into an antique shop one day and found a beautiful teacup sitting on a shelf. They took it off the shelf, so they could look at it more closely, and said, "We really want to buy this gorgeous cup."

All of a sudden, the teacup began to talk, saying, "I wasn't always like this. There was a time when I was just a cold, hard, colorless lump of clay. One day my master picked me up and said, 'I could do something with this.' Then he started to pat me, and roll me, and change my shape. I said, 'What are you doing? That hurts. I don't know if I want to look like this! Stop!' But he said, 'Not yet.'

"Then he put me on a wheel and began to spin me around and around and around, until I screamed, 'Let me off, I am getting dizzy!' 'Not yet,' he said. Then he shaped me into a cup and put me in a hot oven. I cried, 'Let me out! It's hot in here, I am suffocating.' But he just looked at me through that little glass window and smiled and said, 'Not yet.'

"When he took me out, I thought his work on me was over, but then he started to paint me. I couldn't believe what he did next. He put me back into the oven, and I said, 'You have to believe me, I can't stand this! Please let me out!' But he said, 'Not yet.' Finally he took me out of the oven and set me up on a shelf where I thought he had forgotten me. Then one day he took me off the shelf and held me before a mirror. I couldn't believe my eyes, I had become a beautiful teacup that everyone wants to buy."

There may be things going on inside of us that we do not understand. But when we finally arrive at the place where God wants to bring us, we will see how it has prepared us for what God wanted for us all along.

Gonna reminisce here for a moment

I really can not believe how time just flies by so fact. I found a CD of pics today and I am so happy I did because I love these pictures and even though I love the "people" my children are growing up to be, I still miss it when they were younger. So I just wanted to share some of these with you.

Devotion for today.

Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith... —Hebrews 12:2

Do you fellowship with your problem or with the Lord?
The devil wants us to think about our problem, worry about our problem, talk about and try to reason out our problem. God desires for us to spend time with Him, talk to Him, and think about Him and His Word.
Jesus is the One we are to look to in order to have our needs met. If we dwell in Him, our problem has no power over us, but if we dwell on the problem, we magnify it above Him. The more attention we give our problem, the more we feed it, the more power it has over us.
I remember when my husband and I were having financial struggles. I would give Dave the bad report, and he would give me the Word, telling me to cast my care on the Lord. He would fellowship with God while I fellowshipped with the problem. The more I did so, the more upset I became.
The devil starts the problem rolling. The more you think, worry, reason, talk, plan, and scheme about it, the bigger it gets. If you look to Jesus, you will experience the miracle power of God as you trust in Him.

Do This:
Forget your problems. Don't think about them, worry about them, or talk about them. Fellowship with God instead, and you will enjoy life tremendously.

verse of the day

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

— 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NIV)

When our hearts are tuned to God's will and long to honor him, it is our Father's delight to bless us in mighty ways. So let's first set our hearts to do his will. Then, let's not be afraid to ask God to pour out his blessings on others. Then, let's also share with him the desires of our heart. Finally, let's not be surprised at the ways he blesses us!

My other blog

Just wanting you all to know I have another blog check it out: http://theblay-smithfamily.blogspot.com/

It is all about this pregnancy but also I am searching for a few things so I just wanted to get the word out there.....

Funny Video

Explaining a Baby Shower to a 5 year old

So today is the baby shower for baby Z and Ry woke up this morning with many questions. One of the things I had to explain to him was that it did not involve water. I said " it is when people come and shower the baby with gifts, not when you and the baby take a shower" and here is my 5 year olds response...... "Yeah because no one wants to see you naked mommy".. Love it.

Matthew 6 1:6

Matthew 6:1-6 (The Message)

Matthew 6

The World Is Not a Stage

¹ "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. ^2-4"When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Pray with Simplicity

⁵"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

⁶"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.