That’s All I Ask

Just like we cannot expect to have a nice physical physique without working for it, we can’t expect to grow spiritually by doing nothing? Of course this body is temporal, but our spirit man is eternal and the time we put into it will not only have dividends here, but will have dividends to come.

🎶 to be like Jesus, to be like Jesus, that’s all I ask, to be like HIM. All through life’s journey, from earth to Glory, that’s all I ask to be like HIM 🎶

The following verse was on my Bible app today and made me think about this little song from when I was a kid.

For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come. (1 Timothy 4:8 AMP)

Another one of my very favorite verses is found in Philippians (3:10) where Paul talked about really “knowing” The Lord deeply.

Time for me to get my workout on!

🌴 ¡pura vida! 🌴

Pura Vida? Are You Serious?!

We are so blessed to be in Costa Rica, as I write this post! This post is about a venture that Brad and I made on Saturday. While Papa (my dad) and Brittany (our oldest daughter) were laid up at the house feeling bad, we went out exploring. We wanted to see what God had in store for the day. WARNING: this will be a little lengthy.

We took care of everything that Papa and Brittany may have needed and then set out. First we stopped for gas, because who knows where we might be able to get it. Then we followed our GPS to the “Monkey Trail” (it is a back road and yes, the GPS called it “Monkey Trail”!).

We are visiting the Guanacaste (for those of you that don’t speak Spanish, it is pronounced “gwan-na-cas-te” with the end sounding like the “e” in “egg”) Region. This is the dry season here and there is literally no rain for months, so everything is very dry, the dirt roads are very dusty, and the rivers and creek beds are pretty dried up. So we take the Monkey Trail from Hermosa to Potrero. Even in this little jaunt, things are a little different. I was driving the Monkey Trail which wound up being a dirt/gravel road OVER the mountain with many spots being one lane! But this is where we ended up at…

Then we moved on to Tamarindo. This is a town that has been featured on HGTV. (For those of you that know me well, know that I really like to watch House Hunters – I know, I know, BORING to many of you, but it’s me!). Tamarindo reminds me of Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the United States, only it is next to the water and has a surfing twist. There is food everywhere and little shops along the road.

Now to the fun part of this story (and remember I already warned you that this post would be long, so no whining about how long it currently is). Brad and I wanted to meet a lady we had meet on Facebook, whom we had been encouraging in the Lord that lives in Tamarindo. We found her place of business and it was closed, so we decided to find something to eat and attempt to call her with our local cell phone. Well our cell phone decided not to work, so we found some wifi and sent her a message about meeting up with her, then off to eat while we waited.

We ate at the Green Papaya in Tamarindo. They were VERY GOOD and had a healthy menu. The outside as you can see behind Brad had tables with stools on one side and swings on the other side. If you ever visit Tamarindo, we highly recommend it!

So on with the venture, we stopped at the beach to admire the waves and to express our amazement (and maybe a little jealousy-hehehe) to one another about the people out in the ocean that were surfing (NO! we don’t know how and couldn’t even stay on the board to paddle our way out to sea).

This is where the story gets good!! We left the beach and went to visit our friend. We knew that we had come to encourage her more in the Lord and while we were there, she encouraged us too! We watched as God brought in one of her clients and blessed her, meeting some more of the need she had, as only HE can do! This isn’t new to us, but it NEVER FAILS to bless me when God does only what HE can do and when HE shows us HIS love for us to allow us to be part of it! We had been there for a little more than an hour, so we had a sweet time of prayer. Before we left, we knew that we had been on HIS mission for this day!

The story gets better!! As we get ready to leave, Brad realizes that he has lost his passport! Now we have been instructed on a few things of DON’Ts and losing your passport is at the top of that list! So my sweet husband, whom this would usually get really rattled, says “Pura Vida”, which literally translated means “Pure Life”, but it is the slogan for Costa Rica meaning – “it’s all ok” or “it’s cool” or “no worries”. Inside I am like “are you serious right now?!” So we go to backtracking and decide it had to have been lost at the beach. (Remember we had been gone from the beach for over an hour at this point.)

All I could do was pray! My friend, Shannon had made a post about the Lord making scripture real to her and she was so right! Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock. Now just like Shannon, this is no new scripture to me, but as she puts it in her “break down” of the scripture, Jesus said “WILL” not maybe. As Brad got out of the car, I prayed and reminded the Lord of HIS Word (hey HE wrote it! and I know HE doesn’t need reminded), and that I intended to take HIM at face value and we absolutely had to have Brad’s passport, it wasn’t an option. Within 10 minutes Brad was back in the car with passport in hand!

So don’t stress, just pray and let Jesus be your Pura Vida! HE certainly proved to be ours!

Do You Want To Build A Snowman??

Well I came home to find out that one of the very smart people that live in my house turned our dripping faucets off, so we now have frozen pipes. We have had our water dripping for a while because of our lovely weather to the point of paying a very high water bill this past month (but that was better than being without water).

However, this little bump in our road made me think about life and how the Lord wants us to be watchmen over our own lives and over the lives of our families. Sometimes we just go through life as in going through the motions of whatever is going on around us and we let our guards down. Jesus will soon return and this isn’t the time to let our guards down!

Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come. MARK 13:33 (AMP)

I don’t want to build any snowman, because it is WAY TOO cold, but if you want to build a snowman (and you have the means to do so), go ahead, build all the snowmen you want, but do NOT let your guard down!

Grace Extended

I don’t get to write much, partly because I am extremely busy with being a wife, mom, student, and honestly have many more “hats” – like most of you, are too numerous to mention. I also probably spend too much time reading. Yes sometimes things that just take up time and are probably not productive – I actually just read a post that inspired this.

“No one gives grace better than a person who knows he disparately needs it himself” (Thank you, Laryssa Toomer)

This post made me think of my sweet husband, Brad. While things may not have always been perfect in our lives. I had some very wise words, from an amazing lady given to me – ALWAYS give flowers when they are due! This “grace” post made me think of him, while I do not necessarily think that he needs grace more than many – he extends grace more often than many and I actually don’t know anyone, in many diverse situations, that extends grace to others as much as he does!

Something worth taking lessons from….

Simple Reflections

As we close out this year of 2012, here in the midwest; I have been reflecting my thoughts to this past year. Our family has had ups and downs, as I am sure that yours has – but I can’t help but to simply be thankful. I can’t even begin to tell you all of the things that I have to be thankful for! I wish everyone were as lucky as I am!

I honestly don’t know where to begin, so I guess it will start with family. My immediate family, my church family, my work family, and even my extended family – I am truly thankful for each and everyone that has touched my life! My husband (Brad) and I still have the most amazing kids on the planet!

Starting with the oldest – Brittany – who has turned out to be a beautiful young woman! She is very responsible and such a fun person! She is married to a great guy, David, whom I am ever proud to call my son (too). They are youth pastors at our church and do a fantastic job. Just like any young couple, they have had their share of “stuff”; but I am ever blessed to see how they complement each other. Brittany is probably a “mini-me”, which is not all bad (not all good either, just ask her brothers and sisters – lol).

Brande is next, and wow, just to see the transformation that God has made in her life this year, has blessed me more than I can express in words! She is my eclectic! She is also married, to Senad, whom I am also blessed to call my son, as well. I am also very pleased to see how compatible they are!

Dalton is probably the entertainment of our family! I love him so much, he keeps me on my toes! I am so blessed to see what a wonderful young man of God he has become! He is extremely creative!

Dakota – my “Koda Jo” – he is the teddy bear of the family. He is always lovable and compassionate. He is a “worshipper” – called to do it and I am fortunate to see it happen!

Ryan is my quiet one, my thinker. Oh the greatness I see in him, I know he will see soon! I’m just not sure he even sees the blessing that he is, but oh world – just wait! You ain’t see nothin’ yet!

Savannah, where do I begin? My sweet little girl, that just isn’t little anymore. She is becoming such an amazing person, before my eyes! She will most likely be the last one at home before I experience the “empty nest”. She works with me at church with the children and I don’t even know if she sees or knows just how anointed she is with those babies!

Carolina, the youngest of the clan, although we don’t get to be with her everyday. I am thankful for social networking. She is growing so fast and her mother is training her to be a lovely young lady!

If I keep writing, I will never end, so this will be all for now!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! May God’s richest blessings be yours!