Praise Jesus!

I love my Savior so much, and am ashamed to admit that although I have times where all I want to do is praise Him, I also have times where I want to spend time on me rather than in His word. I find those times I am not as cheerful, I am not as happy, and I lack the over all Joy of the Lord.

Tonight at 12:46, I am so filled with His joy I can hardly sleep. So instead I blog about it. Ha ha! I am so happy with everything God has blessed me with. I try and count my blessings and they are so numerous I can't even begin to list them. God is so good to me all the time. He isn't just faithful when I praise His name at 2 in the morning, but also when I don't always follow Him. He is always there to gently lead me back to His side.

Thank you, O Lord, for your saving Grace, for the love you have allowed me to have in my life through my christian family, through my friends, and through my Godly fiance. Thank you for putting each and every one of them into my life and allowing them to bless me. Thank you for church and how it rejuvinates me throughout the week. Thank you for your Word and how it greatly impacts me all these years after you had the authors pen it. Thank you for being you God. Thank you for your love, your grace, your faithfulness, your mercy, and your salvation for children who turn away from you. I love you God. Amen!

Advice from a Friend

The other night I was with a friend and she asked how I was doing. This friend has known me my whole life and can tell when something is not right, but she chooses to ask anyway. I told her I was alright but frustrated with some aspects of my life. I felt like I was hitting a brick wall, I was frustrated, and there where days I wanted to throw in the towel and not deal with anything.

My friend smiled knowingly and said that she wanted tell me about a relative of hers. Her relative had been having the same relative problem as me. She ended up hating everyone that had anything to do with her faith, and walked away from church because of some people she encountered. My friend said she had never been one to favor man made rules, but rather to follow the Bible and God's rules and respect the others you have to abide by.

My friend told me that she didn't want me to end up like her relative, but rather to keep my faith and to smile through it. Hard times come, and hard times go, but God is there for you no matter what. Don't walk away from Him because of His children you don't always agree with.

It was simple advice, and I was FAR from walking away from my faith, but it helped me get my mind back in the game and regain my focus. God is still there for me even if He put me in a place where I get frustrated sometimes. God still loves me, He still loves to see me succeed, none of that has changed. Thank you God for using my friends to remind me of your simple truths.

É una bella giornata

It is a beautiful day! That is the translation of my Italian title. I made Friday the 13Th my beautiful Italian day. (not intentionally, but it still happened.)

My first meal of the day was lunch (abnormal for me) and Jenny and I decided we wanted pizza. I got out the pizza, and had a fantastic lunch.



Then we went to find Ice Cream. The only thing I love more than Ice Cream is Gelato. We went to Happy Joe's first but on the way decided we wanted to check out a new shop downtown. We found Elle's, A coffee and tea house I HIGHLY recommend. They serve ice cream and... GELATO! I was so excited! Jenny and I had the Toasted Coconut Almond Fudge. It was amazing!



After that we went to the movie Eat Pray Love. It was a good movie. (I wish some scenes where edited better, but I can't help that) One part of the movie was set in, you guessed it, Italy.



That night we where trying to decided where to go as a family. I suggested Italian but not knowing where to go, Jenny suggested Salvatore's. (yet another delicious, and highly recommended, restaurant downtown) We went and my family had pizza and I ordered Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. It was melt in your mouth delicious. Mom and dad where full by the end, but Jenny and I where ready for sweets. Jenny and I could only think of one thing we wanted, Tiramisu. It was creamy and delicate.




We went home and spent time as a family before going to bed. It was a perfect ending to my beautiful Italian day.

Thank You to Our Heros

This song has been one of my favorites for years. Today I was flipping through the channels hoping against hope that anything would be on. As I fliped to the Country channel the music stopped me. It was my favorite song. I closed my eyes and listened in contentment until the last chord rang out. The song writter, Jimmy Fortune, then started to explain the song. He was So moved by the Vietnam Memorial that he sat down and wrote this. This song is ment not only for the brave soldiers that our freedom is bought with, but for their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, friends, anyone who was touched by their life. This is my way of saying Thank you to not only our service men, but also their families.

More Than a Name on a Wall

I saw her from a distance
As she walked up to the wall
in her hand she held some flowers
as her tears began to fall
and she took out pen and paper
as to trace her memories
and she looked up to heaven
and the words she said were these...

She said Lord my boy was special,
and he meant so much to me
and Oh I'd love to see him
just one more time you see
All I have are the memories
and the moments to recall

So Lord could you tell him,
He's more than a name on a wall..

She said he really missed the family
and being home on Christmas day
and he died for God and Country
in a place so far away

I remember just a little boy
playing war since he was three
But Lord this time I know,
He's not coming home to me

And she said Lord my boy was special,
and he meant so much to me
and Oh I'd love to see him
But I know it just can't be
So I thank you for my memories
and the moments to recall

But Lord could you tell him,
He's more than a name on a wall..

Lord could you tell him,
He's more than a name on a wall..

The Adventures of a Nanny

I have recieved the nickname of Super Nanny from my high school friends. They tell me there is not a kid I am not able to handle. I would definitly NOT go that far,but I do LOVE kids. This summer I secured a nanny job with 3 boys, ages 5, 7, and 9. The biggest lesson I learned? Boys are EXTREEMLY different than girls! It should be obvious to an "old time pro" but these boys are totally taken over by cartoons, frog hunting, snake chasing, and beating each other up.

While I had them they mellowed slightly to frog hunting and disney movies. In observing them over the weeks it finally struck me, boys are just wired different. (lightbulb moment, i know) They do not want to sit down, and read a book. They do not want to play quietly inside all day, instead they want to run, and play, and catch things that make girls go eww, and to be boys.

So, after caring for a boy with a cut foot, having a boy hit his head on a rock in a pond, chase after all three at a public pool, and sit down and watch "Up" with them, God had given me an appreciation for boys. Thank you for making boys and girls different.