Tuesday, September 29, 2009

His Will Wednesday

Do you have a prayer, need, request or a thanks for an answered prayer and need a safe place to share it?
You have come to the right place. A christian faith blog, with a ton of prayer worriers. If you are hurting, struggling, healing, changing, trying, worried, happy, thankful, stressed, angry, confused, scared, sick, sad, unsure and even lost.
It doesn't matter, because HIS love is deeper than anything you are going through or experiencing. You just need to trust Him enough, believe in Him enough, and even allow Him enough to show up in your life and prayers.
Please leave your prayer request in the comment section, and know that people are reading them and praying for you. And I once read and LOVED this little chain idea. If you do not read all prayer request, while you post your own request, will you please take the time to say a prayer for the person right above your comment?
I personally will read each and everyone myself and pray over them.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Good Bye for now, Andrew!

Copied Post From My Friend Allison -

My sweet friend, Amber... her son passed away this morning.

In his final weeks, when asked what he wanted for his birthday - he asked for money. His mom asked what he wanted to do with it, and he said he wanted her to use it to pay bills - since she hadn't been working in order to be with him until the end. She instead gave it to his favorite charity for feeding hungry children. Is the average 16 year old so in tune with the needs of others? I don't believe that I was at that age.

Andrew was an amazing young man, who led a life that was an amazing testimony to God's goodness and was vocal about his faith. He was also incredibly funny... one of my favorite stories from Amber is when she tells you about Andrew locking her out of the car, and not letting her back in until she danced for him in the parking lot.

I can't even pretend to imagine the journey of grief that they're beginning, but I pray that Amber and her family will feel held by the prayers of her friends.


My Special Place
My special place can be described as paradise where there is always a gentle breeze. I picture myself on a beach of soft golden sand. Seated in a laid back chair, I listen to the waves crash on shore. I look up at the always purple,discolored sky, as the sun is frozen in mid-set. The occasional seagull flies by gracefully. I sip my tangy drink as I lay, eyes closed.

No one knows about my sanctum. My place of peace and tranquility. That way it is better kept the way I like like it: deserted. I feel at home here, with my worries left behind in the "other" world. The world I call reality. It feels great to be alone. To rest and recharge my mind and body to go back to the conflict inhabited world. To think, to come to a place of such elegance, all I have to do is close my eyes. All I have to do is dream. To think once more of the crystal blue waters and the occasional dolphin. Yet, it is all secret. All mine. A secret to be kept from those who pollute my thoughts in the real world. In reality.

This is my special place. My one spot. It's my dreams. To think such a perfect place exists, to think nothing is wrong with the world. For now, I must stick with the place I have created 'til one day, when all is well, and such a place is not required. A place where even that little sand crab walks by, but doesn't nip your toes. Where even the lowest of animals, including I, feel important and at home.

My special paradise home.

Andrew Kippley


Andrew Michael Kippley
9/14/1993-9/25/2009

Edited to add the link...
if you're so inclined, a donation can be made to Feed My Starving Children (fmsc.org) in Andrew's name.

FMSC is a a Christian 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. A single meal costs only 17 cents to produce, and 94 percent of total donations goes directly toward the food program.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Its about that time....

As I sit here on the phone with the bank, I am going type in a quick post. I think that is what I am going to start practicing, writing shorter, brief and to the point post. I tend to type fast, think fast and one that feels the need to leave nothing out. The more detailed things are the better I feel. See how long it too me to just explain all of that?

I am one that can't seem to figure out how to write emails, text, or post on my blogs that aren't long winded, wordy and very annoying with bad grammar or spelling errors.

So, here it is, my first attempt of a brief and to the point post.

As I said, I am was on the phone with Bank of America, Husband and Pediatricians office all as once, while beginning this post. Pretty silly talented, right?

It appears that I have been a victim of fraud with my bank checking/Visa card this week. It appears that my thief was really hungry and placed two charges to Wendy's in the same day. Thus, why I am on the phone with the bank. I filed my claim, was credit back the amount used at Wendy's and then my card was shut down. Fun right? Not really, but it could have been worse I guess. At most as of now, its just a pain in my rear end and I have to actually go down to the bank after baby girls nap and have a new card issued to me.

I also decided that means it is also time to change my password out for any and all accounts, so I am trying to come up with something unique and "STRONG" to use. You know, they tell you to make your password "strong" so it is harder to break into. Yes, makes sense, but also makes it harder to remember and lock yourself out of your own accounts. Not that I have done that or anything, at least not tell you anyways.

Why do I share this?

Why not?

Maybe, just maybe, you need to reconsidered taking a peek as your bank statements and making sure everything looks right. Maybe its time you have your once a year credit reports looked at, as I am doing today. And maybe, just maybe, its time that you considered changing all your passwords as well.

I am thinking of others and trying to help prevent you from being a victim of fraud.

Did you know that if you go to www.creditreport.com. By Federal Law, you are allowed to get a copy of your three credit reports, for FREE, once a year.

Can you guess what I did today? Yeap, I got mine.

Besides, I have my Living Will completed. I had both hubby and I do them before I would travel out of town with him alone and leave my children behind. He tends to be a procrastinator, so he really wanted to go on our trip to NYC over the summer and not take baby girl with us. Although, even though we did have our wills notarized and in hand before leaving for NYC, I still many times tried to sneak her into my suitcase, but she wouldn't be quite and we always were busted. Guess next time I should give her more Benadryl. HA!

Why on phone with Pediatricians office you ask? I am glad you ask, now I have a reason to continue this "brief" post and can blame you if it gets too lengthy. :)

I recently put together a very nicely done and organized notebook of all my families most important documents. In this notebook, it has my marriage certificate, which I recently learned is a VERY important document to have should there be any deaths between you or your spouse for claim of insurance and other financial beneficiaries. Also, I kept losing track of my children's social securities and kept all of our passports in a drawer. Now, it is all in one nice place and organized. In the note book each one of my family members has a plastic file space. In it, it holds their birth certificates, their passports, and their social security and medical records. I am very proud of this, if you can't tell. I love the feeling of being organized in the most important places in life, such as your families health and personal info.

I know, that still doesn't explain why I was on the phone with the pediatrician.

Today, I finally was able to get Morgan's blood test back from Lab Corp, to learn that my daughter has O- blood type. I had forgotten what her blood type was. I am O+ blood type. No wonder she was kicking my butt while in the womb... I am positive and she is negative. LOL! For those of you wondering.... that would be a joke!

And her allergy report said that she was a little, not greatly, allergic to dogs!!! :)

Then there is hubby.... his phone call was quickly placed in to me, the moment he read my text message about the fraud on my bank card. Any kind of threat or scare in the financial area of our home, it tends to spike my hubby's blood pressure a a lot tiny bit. Once he heard my voice, I confirmed I was on the phone with the bank, and had already gotten the file in process, the funds returned to the account and my card canceled. Without saying a word, I could tell by the calm in his breathing he was doing okay. LOL! :)

Other than that, its a pretty rainy day today here in South Florida. Hubby and I were invited to join in with some friends and my sons hockey team to tonight preseason game of Florida Panthers vs Dallas Stars. I of course being from Dallas am looking forward to tonights game, while hubby and I also get to sort of imagine it like a date also, because we hired our sweet friend from church, Jessica, to babysit very busy and very active toddler girl, named Butterfly.

It's just about time for her nap, maybe I need one too, since going back to bed this morning really didn't fly over, as baby girl decided she wanted to wake up and remember that she knew how she almost climbed out of crib before, and started trying to escape again. I see her on the monitor with one leg up and over, I raced as fast as I could to make sure she didn't fall out. I was then up after that rush to the heart and blood flow.

Speaking of blood types, here is an interesting thought to consider and as well was new information to me after I did a little blood type research today.

Blood Type Theory of Evolution:

Oh, yes..... one more thing on the subject of evolution. Many published studies over recent years have shown that chimpanzees mostly have Blood type A, almost no Blood type O, but never Blood type B. The other great ape, the gorilla has Blood type B, almost no Blood type O, but never Blood type A. In these 'man-apes' species, said to be the ancestors of man, there is NO Blood type AB in either. Generally speaking, man has both Blood types A and B, and Blood type AB. Blood type O, in man is by far the most common in virtually every racial group.

Now you can all sleep better tonight knowing that you aren't an monkey of any kind. Well, I guess I can speak for myself anyways. If you act like a monkey, that's your freedom of choice. Just don't go around teaching my children they are the ancestors of man. And if you kindly respect my request of that, I'll throw you a banana. :)

Okay, baby girl has made it very clear she is bored and is ready for her nap. That would be my cue to wrap this sort of brief and sort of short post up.

Two post, two days, back to back.... wow, sort of like the old blogging days.

Hope you are all enjoying your Wednesday.

Here is a picture to melt your eyes on in case you didn't see it on Twitter. Although, my girl is officially 17 months old as of the 14th of this month.



*Now go get organized, check your credit reports, your bank statements. Get medical information organized and change your passwords to your accounts frequently.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Meet My Friend - Kelly Minter



If you live in Nashville there is a good change you have already heard her name, seen her pretty face or heard her amazing talent in singing and music writing. That's great and all, but if you are really lucky (like me and about 800 something women last night) then you have also heard Kelly Minter speak at a conference or a bible study, or maybe even read some of her books, and as well witnessed her love for Jesus Christ.

I met Kelly about three years ago, and we quickly became friends. She has that personality that you can't help but love. Then you listen her music and listen to her speak speak about God, you then really can't help but be impressed or want to be her friend.

Kelly first started out coming to our church to be our worship leader, while the church was in transition from one worship pastor to another. She would fly in just about every weekend for several weeks, from Nashville, to lead worship with us here in Coral Springs, Florida.

While all of us here in Coral Springs felt blessed to have Kelly with us, it was also a journey for Kelly that changed her life, that not until last last night after listening to her speak, did I know that.

She spoke last night out of the book of Geniuses in the bible. Chapter 29, the story of two sisters that married Jacob. She did an amazing job at telling this story. I have to admit something here, and that is, that I am not a big bible reader. You can pick up your chin and close your mouth now. LOL!

I have never been a big bible reader. Its the truth. I read scripture, I read devotionals, I read daily Purpose Driven Life devotion's even, and I attend church weekly. However, I have never been one of those people that could sit there and just read out of the bible like Kelly did last night, and feel as though I was reading a book or story.

I can listen to pastors tell stories out of the bible and enjoy them that way, but when I read them, I don't get the "story" version and I tend to just get confused, even bored and lose interest. I know that is probably awful to say, but I do have a good point to follow this point of sharing this about me with you, just hang on.

So my "good point" of sharing my bad bible reading habits is this; Kelly presented this story of two women out of the bible in such an amazing way, it truly had to be one of the best 'bible story' messages I have ever heard. She captured the audiences attention with her humor and her real life experiences while reading this story to us, and I truly left there last night saying to myself, "I want to go home and read my bible and try to read it like she did to us tonight." I want to read it like a novel. Bring it to life in my mind and be able to really learn and relate from all those good, strange, very strange, bad and really bad stories in the bible.

As Kelly put it last night, that HBO and CABLE probably couldn't even handle the harsh truth and reality of some of the stories to be read in the bible. And then she thanked God for the biblical recordings being done with, because some of the stories in the bible leave out no detail. Its brutally honest and raw, and although to us its just a story in a bible we are reading, it was someones life and reality once upon time. So, she was thankful that no one is going to write about her life and expose it for all to read hundreds and thousands of years later in the bible.

I have to agree with her, and too, am thankful that my life isn't being written down in a book for all to read, other than the book of life in which God has already written the chapters and has for only His eyes only.

After an amazing turn out last night at Church by the Glades, Kelly brought to 800 women, amazing and powerful truth about two women of the bible, that we as women can all relate with. The title of this series Kelly is doing is call "No Other Gods." She is helping women escape all that is holding them back in life, holding them down and taking up our strength, our spirits and our hearts. If that be our children, our jobs, our desire to be pretty, wanted or loved by someone that we think we must have. If it be good habits or bad habits, we need to have no other Gods before us. If we focus too much on anything living or non-living in life, then we are allowing those things to be our other Gods in life. We allow those things to rule us, to distract us from the one God that demands all of our love and attention.

Sure our children, husbands, friends, hobbies and things in life bring us great joy. That is why God has given it to us in the first place. However, if we allow those things to absorb our every thought, time and energy and we don't give any of ourselves to GOD, or keep our focus on God's plan in our lives, then we have it wrong and those things are taking the place and becoming a god in your life.

With the story out of Geniuses, speaking about two sisters Rachel and Leah, one beautiful, young, wanted and desired by Jacob. Jacob, who wanted so badly to marry her Rachel. The other, Leah, whom was older, not so attractive was was forced into marriage with Jacob because she was the first born. Rachel agreed to marry Leah, just so he could also marry Rachel. Rachel had everything in life and she was miserable. Leah tried all her days to be wanted, loved and chosen, but never was by Jacob. She too lived a miserable life. To make the story short from last night is this, it doesn't matter if you are a Leah or a Rachel in life.... if you are not focused on the right thing, the one GOD in this world, then ultimately all roads will end in misery. There is only one way to to be happy and that is trust and allow God to provide all your needs, and only have that ONE GOD in your life.

Anyways, Ill wrap this post up, and instead I will just highly recommend that you visit Kelly Minter's website. Listen to her music, read some of her books and if you want organize your own conference weekend and have Kelly come out and amaze you and the women around you.

Not only is Kelly my sister in Christ, she is my friend. I am so proud of her. I see God's plan unfolding right before us for this girl. She is truly a humbled and very talented women of GOD, so head over and get to know her. You can also follow her on Twitter, Kelly_Minter. She brought a powerful message to us women here in Coral Springs, and she left here a new sister of Twitter. Follower her and see if she is coming to a location near you in the future, if not, the organize one and bring her out. She will do book signings afterwards, also meet and greet. She is wonderful. Show her some sister love and support. Go Kelly!!

Here is a video tease I took last night while relaxing at my BFF's house Lisa Hughes, of Kelly. Kelly wrote this song from Ruth out of the bible. No one has heard it before and so here is your sneak peak of this beautiful song.

She will be reading my blog, so if you would like to leave any comments to her or ask her any questions, please do so here in the comment section. I know I haven't blogged in a while, so people probably have forgotten my blog exist, but I see more blogging in my very near future so stick around. Hope you enjoy getting to know my friend, Kelly.

*Please remember to pause my music at top left of blog before playing video*



Sunday, September 13, 2009

September = Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Let's do our part and spread the word to bring awareness to Childhood Cancer, as it is the leading cause of death in children (your children, my children, their children, all children) by disease. Wear your GOLD this month.







*Pause*
my music at top left of blog before playing video






Why the Gold ribbon over a Cross?

Children are our Gold - It's simple, just as gold is a precious metal, our children are even more precious.

The standard awareness ribbon has long been recognized as a symbol for many causes. The most popular being the pink breast cancer ribbon. Several years ago the color gold was chosen for the children enduring all the various types of childhood cancer. The reason being that gold is a valuable and sought after precious metal.

CKC can surely concur with this idea but we hold to a spiritual metaphor. In the bible, the purification of gold is often used as a metaphor for the purification of our lives. Gold when purified is placed in fire and the impurities rise to the top. Scripture tells us that trials will come and it is through the trials that we grow in knowledge and faith.

Jesus Christ suffered on the cross - Jesus is the ultimate purifier for our lives for by suffering and dying on cross, He paid the price for our sins. Only Jesus can fully understand the pain and suffering caused by childhood cancer. Therefore the Gold Childhood Cancer Awareness Ribbon is placed on the cross as a symbol of our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

His Will Wednesday

Do you have a prayer, need, request or a thanks for an answered prayer and need a safe place to share it?
You have come to the right place. A christian faith blog, with a ton of prayer worriers. If you are hurting, struggling, healing, changing, trying, worried, happy, thankful, stressed, angry, confused, scared, sick, sad, unsure and even lost.
It doesn't matter, because HIS love is deeper than anything you are going through or experiencing. You just need to trust Him enough, believe in Him enough, and even allow Him enough to show up in your life and prayers.
Please leave your prayer request in the comment section, and know that people are reading them and praying for you. And I once read and LOVED this little chain idea. If you do not read all prayer request, while you post your own request, will you please take the time to say a prayer for the person right above your comment?
I personally will read each and everyone myself and pray over them.
1. Prayer request for, we will call her "Sister in Christ", God knows her needs. So please just pray for her.
2. Please pray for baby Ryan, his photo is in my prayer roll to the left of my blog. As he recovers from his two heart surgeries.
3. Please continue to pray for the McGovern family as they continue to figure out how to walk this road, after the loss of their 19 month old daughter, Edna Mae. Also, check out her website, and join in at the end of the month for her fundraiser if you can. Ill be there taking pictures and supporting.
4. Please continue to pray for Kate, as she and her family fight for her life with brain cancer. A BIG prayer request, she will go back for her MRI next Wednesday to see if the treatment plan she is on has shrunk the tumor on her brain and is working.

5. Please continue to pray for my Aunt Debbie and family, as they figure out the new normal for them, without Uncle Donnie.
6. Please pray for MckMama's friend, as they recently discovered her unborn baby at 33 weeks has STV, the same heart condition (or similar) to Stellan's.
7. Please pray for my grandmother, as they are going to try and work with her and teach her to walk again. If not, she will be bound to her wheelchair for the remaining time of her life.
8. Please pray for Marks grandparents, and parents to have safe travels driving the grandparents back to Philly from upstate NY. *Ill post a picture of Morgan's great grandparents in my next post from our Labor Day weekend trip.
9. Please read Jonah's blog and pray for him, his mother's spirits and then read Sam's carepage (link on Jonah's blog) and pray for these two children.

10. And of course continue to pray for all my the babies in my prayer blog, and any other child or baby that needs prayer. That is my soft spot and my love runs over for all children. They are so innocent and sweet, so pray for those that are sick, in pain, lonely, hungry, homeless, without parents, scared, frightened, abused, neglected, abandoned and unloved in anyway.
*Please leave your prayer request in the comment box, and please pray for the person above you. The chain and circle of prayer is powerful.
Have a blessed day.
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