Good Reads ::::Easter

Easter:::::

History Channel's 3 minute historical take on Easter. I love the last sentence of this video and relating it to my faith.

The Cross: "Jesus' words from the Cross, when understood more deeply, will endear Him more to our hearts." -U.G.

Easter Activities & Crafts to do with the whole family.

Celebrations of Easter in Guatemala.

Forever Reign

We live and die. Christ died and lived! -John R. W. Stott

“I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” -John 11:25,26

the mud room: obx pottery with charm

THE MUD ROOM

A good friend of mine, Whitney Hines is a girl with many talents. I love her artistic ability and handmade pottery created in the woods of Kitty Hawk, NC. I would love to share some of her creations. If you're a local, please visit her sites and she has a great mother's day gift package.

the mud room: You can also find :the mud room: on facebook.

Our family at Whitney's pottery workshop. I was able to bring home some of my new favorite items as shown above. Lovely nautical magnets, sweet floral mini vases for embellishing your fridge, and a beautiful textured candle holder. I was in pottery heaven!

Diana

Many people have reached out to me to spread word about Diana.

Diana is a lovely young seven year old who has CF and who needs a family.

She currently is living in an orphanage where her care is very different then it would be if she was with a family who loved and cared for all her needs.

To meet Diana, visit here.

Click here for a blog site advocating for Diana, with a goal to find her a permanent family before her 8th birthday on April 24th.

"A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God sets the lonely in families." Psalms 68:5-6

Soul Surfer

Movie Review: Soul Surfer

Tonight I went out with a bunch of my girlfriends to see Soul Surfer. It is a movie about the true life story of Bethany Hamilton who lost her arm in a shark attack. It was an overall great movie. It was very touching, inspiring, powerful and a very family friendly movie. I especially loved the beautiful scenes of Hawaii and watching Bethany's faith play out in the film. Her message about God doing good through bad circumstances really meant a lot to me and our family, personally. I hope everyone gets to witness this Soul Surfer.

Breathe

I remember the first time I saw this video the summer of 2006. This video about breathing really captured my heart. The idea of breathing is one that I think of often, living with a lung disease. I love the words Bell uses to describe our very spirit and life in each breath. Here it is. Please take a moment to watch this somewhere you can really focus on the video and its powerful message. It is a moving, touching to the core of my soul kind of message.





Now that you have viewed the video, take the time to absorb this message. My heart was really transformed by this teaching on "breath." I hope you have the time to re-read and soak up these words and their meaning in your life.

"And we should breathe from our stomach, not our chest. But when we’re distracted, when we’re stressed, when we’re moving too fast, we tend to breathe from our chest.

Are we standing on holy ground all the time?” Passing burning bushes on the left and the right, and because we’re moving too fast and we’re distracted, we miss them.

So Moses says to God, “What is your name?” And God responds, “Moses, you tell them the LORD sent you.

Now, this name, LORD, if you’re reading it in an English translation of the Bible, the name is spelled capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. The name appears in the bible over 6,000 times. But it wasn’t originally written in the English language. It was written in the Hebrew language. And in Hebrew, the name is essentially four letters. We would say Y, H, V, H. But in Hebrew, the letters are pronounced “Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey.” Now, some pronounce the name “Yahweh” or “Yahveh,” although in many traditions the name isn’t even pronounced because it’s considered so sacred, so mysterious, so holy. In fact, the ancient rabbis believed that these letters were actually—they function kind of as vowels in the Hebrew language. They believed that they were essentially kind of breathing sounds, and that ultimately the name is simply unpronounceable because the letters together are essentially the sound of breathing. Yod. Hey. Vav. Hey. Is the name of God the sound of breathing?

"Now, the book of Genesis says that when God created the first person, God took this dust; this dirt from the ground, and God shaped it and formed it and then breathed into it, and it became a living being.There’s this paradox at the heart of what it means to be a human being. We’re fragile and vulnerable. We came from the dust. As it says in Ecclesiastes, all people come from the dust. As it’s written in the Psalms, all come from the dust and then die and return to the dust.

...written in the Psalms: “Each person’s life is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” If you’ve ever walked the halls of a hospital, if you’ve ever stood over a casket, if you’ve ever driven by a bad car accident, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. Life is fragile. And yet, at the same time, we’ve been breathed into by the Creator of the Universe. And this divine breath is in every single human being ever. Like it’s written in the Psalms, Psalm 8 says that has God has crowned us with glory and honor. Now, the glory and honor in this passage isn’t referring to God, it’s referring to the people God made. We’re these sacred, divine dirt clods, and yet we possess untold power and strength. Your life is but a breath, and yet you were made by the Creator of everything.

Now, for thousands of years, people have understood that this physical breath that we all possess is actually a picture of a deeper reality. In the bible, the word for breath is the same word as the word for Spirit. In the Hebrew language, it’s the word “ruah.” In the Greek language, it’s the word “pneuma.” One scripture says that when God takes away the ruah, the breath of all living creatures, then they die and return to the dust. But when God sends the ruah, the Spirit, they are created. Breath, spirit, same word. And the first Christians took hold of this idea; then they took it way farther. They actually believed that the Spirit of God resides or can literally dwell; live in a person. One scripture in Romans 8 says that if the pneuma, the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then God will give you life. Another scripture says that what the Spirit of God does, living in you, is it sanctifies.

Now the word “sanctify,” it means “to purge,” or to “clean out.” What essentially it means it that when you let God in, when you breathe, what happens is you become aware of all the things you need to leave behind, everything you need to let go of. If you were totally honest right now about what’s going on inside of you, what would we find out? What would you say if you just kind of opened it up? What’s inside? What are you angry about? What are you concerned for? What are you anxious for? What’s bothering you? What’s filling up your headspace? What’s stressing you? I mean, if we were to be totally honest about what’s going on inside of you, is there anything you need right now to breathe out? Jesus said that what the Spirit of God does, is the Spirit guides us into Truth. Is there anything you need guidance in? I mean, maybe what we need is as close as breathing. Another scripture says that God gives the Spirit without limit. Is there anything right now you need to breathe in?

Jesus said it, God is Spirit. And you are a sacred creation of God. The Divine Breath is flowing through you, and it’s flowing through the person next to you, and it’s flowing through the person next to them. You are on holy ground. And there is a holiness to the people around us. And how to treat them. Jesus said that whatever you do for them, you’ve done for Him. God is there because God is here. A person doesn’t have to agree with this for it to already be true. God has already given us life, and the breath we just took, and the breath we took before that, and the breath we’re gonna take, and the breath after that.

When a baby is born, what’s the first thing it must do, or this baby isn’t going to make it? Does this baby have to take a breath, or say the name of God? And what’s the last thing you do and then you die? The last thing we do is we take our last breath, or is it that when we can no longer say the name of God, we die? I mean, is it possible that you could be having a meal with a good friend of yours who doesn’t believe in God? And you could be sitting across the table from your friend who is saying: “There is no God,” and what you would be hearing is “Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey.”

May you come to see that God is here right now with us all the time. May you come to see that the ground that you are standing on is holy. And as you slow down, may you become aware that it’s in Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey that we live, and we move, and we breathe." -Rob Bell

30 & 3 Reasons

"Created to be, the perfect one for me" is inscribed inside of both Mr. Lovebug and my wedding rings. He is indeed, the perfect creation and counterpart to who God made me to be and today he turned 30 years old.

Listed are 30 Reasons that I love my husband

1. He is extremely talented and gifted musician. The first time I met Mr. L 10 years ago, he was playing his guitar and singing in a little white chapel of a church. This is my very first memory of him.

2. He is passionate for bringing people to worship our God and Savior. In August of 2000, I laid eyes on a man who was passionate for worshiping and leading God's people into his presence. Today, I continue to witness his fervor and love for worship each and every week.

3. He loves the Lord. This is evident in all He does.

4. He is goofy. One of the first impressions I had in meeting Lovebug for the first time, is he loves to goof off. He has a great sense of humor.

5. He is humble. One of the greatest acts of love is giving yourself away. Lovebug has always served me as his wife and now his family and always puts our thoughts and desires first. He will always give full credit to God when it comes to his talents.

6. He is romantic. Candles and a homemade meal, personalized songs written just for me, flowers for each special occasions, picnics on the beach, a custom ring made for valentines' day, he is very good at being the king of romance.

7. He loves surprises. Lovebug surprised me on Christmas Day to tell me we were going to Hawaii for our honeymoon. He had another special surprise for Ladybug's birthday this year. I love how he is full of surprises.

8. He is very smart. I can always look to Mr. Lovebug to answer my philosophical, spiritual, and trivial questions.

9. He is a great writer. I love reading his outlook on life through his writings. I am hoping one day he will publish his thoughts and experiences.

10. He loves his church family very much.

11. He loves being Papa, His eyes light up when he talks about his ladybug.

12. He is a very patient man. He encourages me in this area of weakness in my own life.

13. He is the eldest born. I am the youngest. We are a match made in heaven.

14. He is OCD when it comes to germs. This is great trait to have for a husband when your immuno-suppressed and your daughter was born premature.

15. He loves to change things up frequently. You may have noticed this with his hair styles. If he ever loses his hair, he may start collecting man wigs.

16. He knows the Bible and its truths very well. I can always come to him with questions I have regarding theology or if I can't remember a particular person or story in the Bible.

17. He is real. He tells you like it is. This can get him in trouble sometimes, but I appreciate his authenticity and desire to uphold what he believes is right.

18. He is very discerning. He is very gifted in discerning others and situations.

19. He is super cute and cuddly. I love being wrapped up in his arms.

20. He is intense. There is just something intense about Mr. Lovebug's personality. I think it shows in his eyes. I love it.

21. He enjoys the outdoors. We both love to spend time outside with the family whether we are going for a stroll, taking a trip to the beach, or going to watch the sunset.

22. He is responsible. He is a very responsible and reliable individual.

23. He is a very joyful, upbeat person. He has a great outlook on life.

24. He is an incredible chef. He loves to cook and is great at throwing together recipes.

25. He is very artistic and is the craftier one of us both.

26. He has a servants heart. I can always count on my husband to help clean, do laundry, whatever I ask around the house. He was brought up well.

27. He puts his family first. Lovebug has many responsibilities with his job, ministry, as a photographer, ect., but I can always expect him to put his family first.

28. He makes Little ladybug & I laugh and smile like no one else.

29. He has a tender heart. My Lovebug may not admit he is tender. But deep down inside, he has got such a great tender, caring, and loving heart.

30. He is faithful. He has been with me by my side, through the thick and thin in life. I can always count on him to be the loving, selfless, caring man that he is.


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3 Reasons I love my 3 year old lungs

1. I have never had the opportunity to breath like a normal, healthy individual before my transplant. My lungs were constantly congested with mucous. I was always coughing. Breathing was a battle. Any form of physical exercise was a burden. With my new lungs, that all changed. I did not think this side of heaven, I'd ever experience that. It is an amazing feeling.

2. I have the opportunity to use my days to do what I love. I absolutely adore being a mother. I love caring for my family. I love hanging out with my friends. And I enjoy being connected to the medical community and encouraging others going through similar circumstances. I am so thankful for the gift of life.

3. My life is a reflection of God's mercy and grace. My life is full of miracles. The day before my call for new lungs, I experienced a collapsed lung already totally relying on a ventilator, my future was looking very dim. It was the very next day, my husband's birthday that I got the call for a second chance at life. I found out after my transplant, the chances of finding matching lungs for me were less than 1%.

My God is amazing and can do the extraordinary!

I want to remind others, if it wasn't for the decision to give the gift of life my donor made, I wouldn't be here today. I am so thankful for their life, their family, those who influenced them, and the decision they made to become an organ donor. I will forever be grateful to my donor and the beautiful lungs that has allowed me to live my sacred life.
Please consider giving the gift of life.

Psalm 39:5 NLT

⁵ You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”

*breathe picture taken from, shiningsungardenworks.com