Tuesday, November 30, 2010
HomeMade Apple Pie - Pretty & Delicious!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Fainting Goats Montage
Sunday, November 28, 2010
LAX Passenger (Corinne) Wears Bikini To Get Through TSA Security (Bikini...
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Today is the letter "F"
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
If I could, I would...Christmas!!!
25 Days of Thankfulness
- My God! My Lord and Savior has freed me from the bondage of Sin and given me new life through Salvation and Loves me every day unconditionally!
- My Husband, Alex Constien. I know how few quality men are out there, especially ones that are also wonderful Men of God. I am grateful for the Man Alex is. He is my best friend and my partner for life! He lifts me up when I need it, loves me unconditionally, has faith in and completes me in every way! What a BLESSING he is in EVERY WAY GOD MADE HIM!!!
- Parents! My parents have taught me so much in life and have prayed me through just as much growing up! They showed me what a really loving and covenant marriage is supposed to be. My mom taught me what a woman of faith is and my dad showed me how to expect a man of honor/faith to treat me. They continue to love and support our Marriage (even though they are still learning how to spell my new last name, LOL).
- In-Laws. David and Vickie are Alex’s parents but I feel love from them as I do my own parents. Again I have heard horror stories of In-Laws and I am grateful for such loving and warm welcome into such a gracious family. Also for the wonderful job they did raising such a wonderful man that I am PROUD to call my Husband!
- My Sister! Rachael started life as complete Opposites and even though we aren’t really the same now, God has blessed us by transforming a sibling rivlry into a new found Friendship. I admire my sister for where she has been in life. How she has allowed God to use that to get where she is now and wherever God is going to take her next. I am grateful I get to serve our God and ministry together and the unreserved support/love I know she will always give.
- Family! I'm thankful to have family (aunts, uncles, cousins Grandmother)! I know how precious life is and how quickly you can lose a loved one. So I'm grateful to have family and to have opportunity to love one another.
- Friends! Enough Said!
- My Sister-in-Law and my nephew! Robyn is a lot like Rachael. We might not be a like in some ways but I know she has a huge heart of which she has graciously extended to include me. I’m thankful I can see her as a Sister and Friend! Tyler her son, is a joy to watch grow-up! Especially when I am told he is a complete replicate of my Alex! I am grateful for my other sister-in-law and look forward to getting to know her and their family more so. I am grateful for when I do get to see them!
- Not Moving! I think I counted once that we moved 12 times in 20 years (give or take). We have been in Fayetteville since 1995, allowing is to spend time with extended family; of whom we only saw on Holidays. And now being married, when we actually do have spare time, we can all the sooner see our families who are all here in NWA (for the most part).
- Laughter – LIFE could be so DULL & BORING with out this one! And Corny Jokes! I know their Corny BUT I LOVE THEM! They are easy to remember and give you a good Laugh!!! (JOKE: Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 ate(8) 9!)
- Peanut Butter! ENOUGH SAID!
- Mac-n-Cheese! Again ENOUGH SAID!
- Getting Sick! I really don’t enjoy being stuck in bed or having to take any medicine. Nevertheless, I was sick the last two weeks (roughly) and the time off was a breath of Fresh Air! I am grateful for that break!
- My Job!
- A roof over our head, food on the table, clothes in my closet and our mode of transportation. After going to Haiti last summer, these are things I know I am spoiled to have and grateful to have them!
- Bitsy, our sweet kitty!
- Deer. They give my husband that he enjoys and when he is blessed with one from a hunt it puts food on the table.
- Beaches!
- Freedom! God bless all who have, are and will give of themselves so that we might have the privilege of the freedoms we have in this Country!
- Electric Tooth brushes! They have saved me from having any Cavities for YEARS! (and I do not enjoy going to the DENTIST!)
- Thunderstorms! As I’m typing this I can here thunder rolling, YAY!
- Miracles! I believe these still happen everyday in our lives. They are messages from God that He is here, He hears us and provides according to His will! They Make the Lord's Presence KNOWN!
- Cameras! I love being creative with shots, capturing Memories and revisiting them repeatedly! All of which is possible with Cameras!
- My Education! It is a privilege and College was some of the best years of when I was discovering who I am.
- Holidays. Some of my best memories are all on a Holiday. There is family time, time away from work/school, great food, lots of laughs and a wonderful time of reflection on how blessed we ALL really are.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Emotions.....Can You Trust Them?
I remember when I was in High School Youth Group, we were in a Josh McDowell study (can't remember the name of it) and the subject was "how we can't trust our Emotions." Being someone with so many emotions, this phrase had a lasting impression on me over the last decade and a half.
NOTE: this can take a while. Especially if you are not use to identifying your feelings.
I had the following emotions due to a situation: deep hurt, betrayal, stunned/took by surprise, resentment, anger, anxiety, great sadness. The hurt as so deep and hard, I didn't want to deal with it because when I felt it was overwhelming. In fact, I prayed God would remove me from the situation so it would just go away. So I started to turn to God for help and what I should do. He lead me first to Matthew 18:15, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his faults" and then Ephesians 4:15, "speaking truth in Love." I knew I was going to have to confront the person and the situation, which is not my strength.
So I kept searching God's Word for guidance and met with my mentor on praying what to do next with the emotions and the situations. It seemed that most scripture was telling me how to deal with the emotions I was feeling:
- The Wise turn away from Anger. (Pro. 29:8)
- We are not to judge one another. That is God's duty (Romans 8:34)
- Judge not or you too will be judged. (Matthew 7:1)
- Know that God is faithful to those faithful to Him. (Ps. 31:23)
- We are to Cast all of our Cares upon Him (aka we are to worry because He does that for us)
- To have faith (He will provide) (1 Peter 5:7)
- We are not to let our heart be troubled. Believe in God! (John 14:1)
- Rejoice Always (1Thessalosains 5:16)
3.) Make a Decision.
Once we feel, we have to make a decision.
Are we going to hold onto everything or we are going to let go and let God?
We are going to take matters into our own hands or Believe in God and trust Him as our Lord and Savior?
Are we going to chose to "Rejoice always" or allow that anger to become resentment, sorrow to turn into depression or worries to result in high stress?
I know that choosing to "Rejoice Always" seems unrealistic and impossible. Nevertheless, God tells us to do so. We are suppose to strive for it. {Strive: to make great efforts to achieve or obtain something} We aren't perfect (that is who Jesus is!) so we are going to mess up on this some how some time. But like everything else we learn from the Word, it is a daily effort to Pick up our Cross and Follow Christ every single day.
A great man pointed out once that in Ps 103, God remembers who we are, that we can from Dust. So He remembers what He made us out of and knows we are not going to be perfect. But God again does not ask for perfection from us. But we are called to serve and to not be lukewarm.
So remember, Emotions are normal and everyone has them. Also remember they are of the flesh and to keep your emotions in check, try dealing with them according to God's will and having Faith that God will take care of those who are faithful to Him. Finally, because emotions are of the flesh, we have to chose how they will effect our lives before those emotions decide for you. Meaning, who you are and how you deal with emotions is up to you!
I leave you with this photo by Ron DiCianni entitled "Forgiven". The title speaks for it's self. But the reason for posting it, this is how I felt this summer: Beaten up and done. I needed a Savior to save me and I got the one and only Savior. Jesus Christ has my back and is holding me up! Praise God, Praise God for His Grace and Love!
Friday, November 12, 2010
FREE!!!
Being newly weds and leaning on God to provide every single detail of our lives....I am always looking for ways to make an extra buck or to get something for free! My newest thing this year has been MyCokeRewards.com. For those of you drink Coke Products or know people who do, you should invest your time into this.
With MyCokeRewards God has blessed me with a free subscription to Better Homes N' Gardens, a Lands' End Bag, free movie tickets with a Coke drink and now Chili's $5 Gift card. There is so much more to the endless prices you can send the points on! The trick: Taking the time to save up the points, the time to enter them in.
1.) First you find and collect CODES FOR POINTS.
Where you find the Codes for Points & What do they look like:
- The codes will be 12 to 14 letters and/or numbers long (i.e. J790L8KJBN44, DKUNGFPOMLKPHH)
- You can find them on the inside of the plastic bottle lids (from 12oz bottles to 3 litters.
- Also, on the inside of the boxes when you buy mass quantity of 12oz Cans (8 cans to 32 cans.
- Coke Products include: Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Minute Maid, Fanta, Fresca and more.
- NOTE: there are no cokes on the cans themselves and Dasani water bottles do not have codes on their lids.
2.) Sign-up and Sign-in
- All it takes is an Email to Sign-up at MyCokeRewards.com.
- Enter in each code, one at a time and the points start to rack up.
- You can enter in 120 points a week (the week rolls over 12AM Mondays)
3.) How much are they worth?
- Codes can be 3 points (bottle lids) to 32 points (codes inside the box of a 32 pack of 12oz Cans)
- Prizes can be any where from 0 points (instant winnings) to thousands of points or you can enter Sweepstakes for 3pts at a time.
What are some of the prizes?
- Over 40 Magazines Subscriptions to pick from (Martha Stewart Living-400pts, Traditional Home-133pts, Comfort Foods-166pts, Fitness-120pts, and more)
- A Ticket to a Movie at AMC Theaters + a Large Coke
- A Blockbuster Rentals
- Free Stuff from www.SnapFish.com (prints, photo mugs, calendars, etc)
- Music Downloads
- Gift Cards toward Budget Car Rentals, Hotel Stays, Omaha Steaks, Stores (K-Mart), Online Stores (shoes.com), Restaurants (Chili's) and more.
- Coco-Cola products (watch, shirts, Cokes drinks, screensavers, portable speakers, and more)
- Over 1,000 points products are like Panini Grill Maker, Stainless Steel Kitchen Utensils, Jewelry, and more)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Marriage Tip #4: Command Central
One I know is an ever-lasting job is keeping the family all on the same page. Even after 2 yrs this job is still in the making. Nevertheless I am about to share my tips and failures. Do what you must with them as you accomplish this task with your own families.