Giving advice

Thank you Charlotte and Ginger for hosting ~ please go visit others here

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Mathew 7:2

As I sat in bible study this week I was taken aback at how some people explain and/or Judge others for their actions. And might I add here that MY key word here is ACTIONS...... Let me explain.

We have discussion time in our small groups (about 10-12 women) before we view the video to go over the weeks prior homework. I do not attend this church nor do I know anyone really to speak of and I love going because I love to study the Word and meet new people. Honestly ~ THIS IS COMPLETELY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE but I truly feel the Lord has led me here and I am sooo blessed. It is a very large group of women ~( 200+) and we are all placed in small groups according to how they feel they are led to put them together. This year I happen to be in a group of women who are very mature in the Lord and it also happens that more than half of them have all served alongside their husbands as pastors or in some form of clergy in the church (for 20+ yrs). So I must admit that I probably expect a bit more out of these women in Wisdom, Understanding as well as compassion for the people and definately in Knowledge.

So with all that said we have a woman in bible study who is from another nationality and a brand new Christian. To hear her explain her Salvation and relationship will bring you to tears! It is simply beautiful. Needless to say, she hangs on every word of what is said in Bible study and one of the eldest woman was explaining sin and its consequences to all of us in the group. Here is her explanation in part.

"This is what I tell young people when explaining consequences ~ If you sleep with someone out of wedlock then you must know that that child is your consequence."

Ok, I have to speak up hear as I did in the group of women.

"UMM, Excuse me~ I have to address this because I am not a consequence. I've never been a consequence. I do not agree with nor do I condone premarital sex. My parents slept together before they were married yes, they made the decision SO THAT they could be married and knew this was the only way they would be allowed to be married at their young age. (18) Can you say Young Love?
I also know of a young girl in my daughters school who has made this decision to sleep with someone before being married and is now a young single mom. My daughter said to me "MOM, this is so sad, she could have gotten a scholarship to anywhere she wanted but that baby screwed everything up for her!" I promptly responded and said "NO, honey that baby didn't screw her life up ~ having sex before she was married did." My daughter looked at me with her mouth ready to say something and just said "OH, you are right."

You see, it was the act that was wrong ~ NOT the child. When I was 13 my mother told me the truth of their decision to sleep with one another before being married. She shared that with me wanting me to know how much they loved one another even though at this age in my life they had divorced. I did not receive this news in this light. I felt horrible and was sad. It took me a while to see this in a different light. I also struggled with it until the Lord showed me


For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well
Psalm 139:13-14


along with


Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
Jeremiah 1:5

I AM NOT A CONSEQUENCE.

I ask of you to search your hearts and to those who are Christians .....Please watch how you share your OPINIONS, your JUDGEMENTS or your ADVICE. My parents lived with many consequences for their action. The action was the ACT itself. The consequences were too many to list and I am sure if you sat down with the numerous Single parents out there and the young teen mothers who are living with their young babies. They would tell you their baby is NOT a consequence but living daily and having your life change, your future change ~ because of your choice to have premarital sex will have numerous consequences and life proves to be very difficult. But I also know that even though that choice is made many also choose to seek forgiveness....they repent and turn away from those ways and live a life worthy of Christ. They lead their children to know and love the Lord and teach them of their wrong choices.

I share this to encourage myself and others NOT to JUDGE because sometimes even a well meaning word of advice can bring condemnation instead of bringing life. It is not up to us to judge peoples choices but to love them in spite of them.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
John 8:6-8

IN HIM

T.G.I.F.

Well you know what that means~ it is time to laugh, giggle and go visit my friend Kim here and give her some L♥VE. I hope everyone has a blessed and lovely Valentines Weekend but like my friend Clif shared on his blog; Don't just tell them you love them on Valentines Day ~ tell them everyday!!

Hope these kids make you smile





Love and Blessings

Pursuing L♥ve

I just love this Series that Marsha from Marsha's Musings is doing on Pursuing L♥ve! This week we are sharing Love is Kind



kind1  [kahynd] Show IPA
–adjective, -er, -est.
1. of a good or benevolent nature or disposition, as a person: a kind and loving person.
2. having, showing, or proceeding from benevolence: kind words.
3. indulgent, considerate, or helpful; humane (often fol. by to): to be kind to animals.
4. mild; gentle; clement: kind weather.
5. British Dialect. loving; affectionate.

Synonyms:
1. mild, benign, benignant, gentle, tender, compassionate. Kind, gracious, kindhearted, kindly imply a sympathetic attitude toward others, and a willingness to do good or give pleasure. Kind implies a deep-seated characteristic shown either habitually or on occasion by considerate behavior: a kind father. Gracious often refers to kindness from a superior or older person to a subordinate, an inferior, a child, etc.: a gracious monarch. Kindhearted implies an emotionally sympathetic nature, sometimes easily imposed upon: a kindhearted old woman. Kindly, a mild word, refers usually to general disposition, appearance, manner, etc.: a kindly face.


Antonyms: Cruel

I just had to throw the one and only antonym in there! After all those synonyms, you would think that there would be at least a few antonyms ~ NOPE .... There is only 1 and it's a biggie! It should be easy for us to say ~ NO I am NOT CRUEL!! But we are or at least I am or can be.

In Proverbs (11:16) we learn "A kindhearted woman gains respect"
(12:25) " A kind word cheers you up"
Also, If we are kind to the poor it honors the Lord Proverbs 14:31

Yes, I can say I am an encourager, I have been known to help the needy but I have learned most it is how we act in our own homes and behind all the closed doors that matters the most. I will never forget hearing the speaker at a conference share about having a fight with their husband and someone knocked on the door and it happened to be their pastor. They both went from screaming at each other to puting on smiling faces with a kind tone and asked him in. He had heard the yelling and clearing his throat asked "Well, I don't want to interrupt ~ is everything ok?" The wife just smiled and said "OH YES, we are GREAT! So glad you came by!" LOL Yes, it is funny but isn't it so very true! We can treat our husbands and children one way but when we are in public or certainly at church we can be known to put on a whole new face. I want to be the same woman no matter where I am but I especially want my children to see an authentic woman of God. A woman who is Kind and loving no matter where I am. I have learned the only way to do this is to seek the help of the ONE who is truly Kind! The only example of kindness that is true and holy ~ JESUS. I know that with HIM I can do ALL things and when I don't, I praise and thank HIM for GRACE and MERCY!

Please go join in with Marsha and share how you are pursuing love here

Celebrating MOM and some awards

We had such a good time celebrating Moms birthday! My mom is Beautiful ~ inside and out! She had me at a young age and we have always been soooo close! When I think of my Mom ~ I have learned Unconditional LOVE, hard work and determination and to have JOY no matter what it is your doing! During my school years when mom and I would be home cleaning house we would turn on the stereo and dance and clean and then I would hear those magic words...."LOREN MICHELLE ~ get in here right now! You know this isn't clean ~ If your going to clean something ....clean it right the first time!!!" LOL she was right! I could have done better :) and NOW I do it right the first time! Or now as an adult and I make one of those infamous calls asking "HOW do I cook this or what is the recipe for that? Or how do you always make everything look so nice" I have come to learn and appreciate all of the Love that goes into what MOM does and she gets so much of that from her mom and I get so much of that from my MOM.....I am so blessed to have a legacy of LOVE ~ unconditional LOVE! Thanks MOM! Here are a few pics


Lunch with MOM ~ from left to right...Me, Jen, MOM and her dear friend Pat



Moms cake ~ this is a recipe from my NANA! We Love this cake and it is more special knowing that Nana made this all the time


This was moms gift from all of us ~ My brother didn't get to come bc his daughter has Strep :( They were very missed!



Me and MOM ~ I am sooo blessed to have you as my Momma ~ I love you and Praise the Lord for you Love, your friendship, and encouragement. I can't even begin to thank you enough for all you do in my life



Now, here are some awards I have been blessed with and am horrible at posting them! Please forgive me my friends I do appreciate them sooo very much!



This came from my friend Mikki in January ~ Thank You Mikki


This Prolific Blogger is soo cute! I love it :) Thank you Andrea



This Sunshine Award was given to me by Barbie :)


I thank you all for sharing these awards with me ~ and want to pass them all to anyone who follows me! You all encourage me each and everyday, bring sunshine to my heart and clearly make my heart swell with Love!

L♥VE is in the air

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the ♥

Helen Keller


I love Valentines Day, don't you? I L♥VE all the RED, PINK, and of course all the ♥'s! I also love decorating for this holiday. I am sooo not creative and so when I happen to see a cute and OH SO adorable craft that I can actually do myself well, I am all over it! I found a new friend JEN @ TatertotsandJello. She also goes by JenJen :) LOVE it! Since we call our daughter that too!
Well, Jen has a very creative gift AND shares it with all of us in the Bloggy world plus, they are sooo affordable! Below is the Adorable craft that I did and her tutorial is here if you would like to try it! Have fun, it truly is super easy :) She also has quite a few pictures of what others did on her blog here




She is also having a great giveway today so head on over and see for yourself and enter to win some awesome jewelry!

Here are a couple more pics showing that L♥Ve is in the air at our household






I think I am going to try to make the wreaths that Jen shows a tutorial for on her blog as well. That will be my next project and will wrap up my decorating for this holiday. Hope everyone is having a blessed Monday!


L♥VE you all

Spiritual Sundays

To join in or read other Spiritual Sunday posts go here Thank you Charlotte and Ginger for all you do :)


This week has been so Rich in the Lord! Most of you know the plan was for me to be in Florida for the week but due to the ice/snow storm and two cancelled flights last weekend, I relented to stay home. Last week I shared with you all that I committed to keeping my Mind stayed on the Lord and HE promised to give me Peace.

Because I had NO PLANS to be anywhere (except one day that got cancelled bc of a stomach bug) I was able to just bask in the Lord and spend some serious time with HIM, which turned out to be somewhat of a mini retreat. Only I didn't have to go to a hotel, listen to a speaker....NOPE. It was just me and the LORD, HIS Word, and the HOLY SPIRIT.

How my hearts swells with JOY and with PEACE. I cannot describe how many ISSUES the Lord dealt with me over, or how many times He has ministered to me.

I learned this week that I have allowed some OFFENSES to build up in me. As I drove to bible study on Thursday, I found myself crying out to the Lord "WHY??? Why did Daddy not have more time, why was he not able to have surgery to remove the tumor and take a portion of his lung etc." Well, guess what Bible Study was about.... Guess what the video at Bible Study was about......yep, being offended. I have never known with so much certainty that I was to be EXACTLY where I am! Each time I walk in to Bible study someone says something that causes me such pain ( mournful pain...for instance ~ the #1 prayer request this week goes something like this....I am on my way to Oklahoma City to be with my Dad. He is dying. He has lung and liver cancer and has gotten pnuemonia so we know his time is short....GULP ~ here come the tears ) BUT here is the thing.....It allows the Lord to minister to me even when I didn't know it was necessary !!! Here are just some bullet points I want to share with you for you to ask yourself.

When offended and you get mad ~ what do you do in your anger? are you afraid to get in there and try again?

Do you go into seclusion? or do you just disengage your heart and put on a pretty smile anyway pretending to be happy to be at church or sing those worship songs?

David was so upset when Uzzah was killed for touching the Ark of the God (2 Sam 6). David was angry and afraid, he went off to be alone and was very mad at God.

Here is the thing that STRUCK me that Beth Moore shared....
your enemy is BANKING ON us STAYING in the anger and fear! He desires for us to not only stay mad but he wants us to LOSE ground in our walk. We LOSE ground WAY FASTER than we gain it my friends!!

David had a heart after God....even though....he committed adultery....he committed murder.....he got mad at God. But even when David did these things he repented and sought the LORD.

I know I do not ever want to allow the enemy an opportunity EVER to have a foothold in my life or my walk NO MATTER what comes my way

As David says in 2Samuel 7:18

Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that YOU have brought me this far??

Thank you Lord

T.G.I.F.

I am sooo glad it is Friday! Today is my MOMS bday !!! Happy Birthday Momma ~ I love you soooo very much! I will be posting all the pics next week since we will be having her party at my house this weekend. My DH FINALLY returns tomorrow and I CANNOT WAIT to see HIM :) Today I will be going to lunch with my Mom and one her dear friends and I think my daughter will be coming along as well :) what fun we will have!


Well, you know today is Funny day so without further ado..... Enjoy this funny video and PLEASE go visit KIM and give her some L♥VE okiedokie :)



T.G.I.F

Pursuing L♥ve

I l♥ve meeting new friends here in this blogging community! I l♥ve seeing Christ in them as well! I just recently met Marsha from Marsha's musings. She is going to be doing a series on L♥VE for the next 14 weeks!! I know she would l♥ve it if you joined in!

This first week is L♥ is Patient Wow, what a way to start out with a bang huh?!

Some of her questions are....

Have you ever built a wall around you to protect your wounded heart from being hurt?
In what way(s) do you drink deeply of His love for you?
Do you have a passage of Scripture about God being patient in His love towards us you’d like to share?

In answer to the first question...YES! I have built some pretty big walls around my heart and sometimes the Lord shows them to me and other times HE gently nudges me either with HIS Word or sometimes my actions will show me that the building is under construction and I better get to repenting! I have to say that those walls going up FELT very legitimate. I was wounded. I was broken. In some instances, I had even lost a relationship that I cared about deeply ~ a relationship that played a role in my life daily and now it was no more. Yes, I was wounded~ VERY WOUNDED. (Feelings should never be what I allow to lead me because they will most definately lead me astray.) But in my pain as I began building the walls around me ....protecting my heart and Not being willing to put myself out there for anyone.....I began to hear the Lord say

"Yes I know my beloved"
"Yes, I am so sorry that has happened"
"Yes, I know you miss that relationship"
"I understand Loren but, can I have it now?"

You see, I was carrying it. I was puting myself on the cross and not laying the situation at the feet of JESUS to bear my burden. WOW ......"can I have it now?" Our Father is sooo very PATIENT! Even when we attempt to be a junior Holy Spirit for ourselves! HE longs to to heal our broken hearts. HE longs to make us whole and get to the root of those feelings so that your relationships will be healthy in the future.

Yes L♥VE is Patient. The Lord L♥VES us unconditionally and is truly Patient with us EVEN when we attempt to build walls. He waits ~ He speaks to us through His Word and the Holy Spirit whispers....I know and I am so sorry but ....can I have it now?

What are you holding on to? Are you building any walls? The Lord is there for you PATIENTLY waiting to take the pain, to carry the burden and to heal you!


Thankyou Lord ~ for L♥ving me and for being sooo very patient with me. Thank you for helping me tear down those walls and be more of who YOU have designed for me to be!

Please go visit Marsha here and join this wonderful Pursuit of L♥VE

In HIM,

Beth Moore's So long Insecurity

Tyndale Publishing is proud to announce Beth Moore's new book titled "So Long Insecurity"

Perhaps one of the biggest issues all women face is their own insecurity. Beth Moore, one of today’s most admired and trusted Christian writers, wants women to be free from the insecurity trap. So Long, Insecurity will strike a chord with women everywhere, as Beth speaks truth into the lives of readers, showing them how to deal with their innermost fears, rediscover their God-given dignity, and develop a whole new perspective—a stronger sense of self. Women of all ages and backgrounds will resonate with this message of security and discover truths that will free them emotionally and spiritually and lead them to a better life as they walk with God.


I received this book free from Tyndale and in return I was asked to share my humble opinion. Being a follower of Beth's blog that she shares along with her precious daughters I have been blessed to read posts from Beth in regards to some of these insecurities but what has amazed me the most are the comments that she receives daily from women all over the world. Beth shares in her book that she loves to research and in this particular book she received input from over 1000 men and women. Wow! This book is awesome and if i shared everything that I highlighted or that spoke to me well lets just say It would be a book in itself :)
This book goes so quickly and it's like Beth is sitting down and you can just smell the coffee while we chat! She takes the subject of insecurity VERY SERIOUS. She shares the different kinds, the roots and then lovingly shares how we along with our Heavenly Father and the power of the Holy Spirit can overcome it! I have to say one of my favorite aha moments (and I had many) was when I learned that because of my personality I already am oversensitive and like Beth that adds to how we respond to circumstances and as she puts it...."I feel everything. My joys are huge and so are my sorrows. If I'm mad, I'm really mad, and if I'm despondent, I wonder how on earth I'll go on. Then I will get up, pour some coffee, and move on to the next emotion and forget how depressed I was an hour ago. Ever do that?"

I HIGHLY recommend this book to any woman or any teenage girl. We as women experience insecurity in some form and this will help you pinpoint how to hit it head on and not let it control us or keep us from experiencing the life that our Heavenly Father desires for us to live!




to purchase this book please go to tyndale.com
Love and Blessings!

A must see for parents and teens

I want to share a movie that has been released but only in a few areas. It is called "To Save A Life." It is a Christian movie with a powerul message for todays youth! Go here to check out the story or find out if it is in your area and if not how you can bring it there. My daughter and I saw the movie and I really felt compelled to share it with you all. I think every parent should see this movie with their teens. It is so relevant to what they deal with but also a story of grace along with having a heart to seek after the Lord no matter what life brings our way. To stand for Christ. I highly recommend this and I will be buying this movie when it comes out on DVD. If any of you work with teens this would be a great night out with everyone!

Here is the movie trailer for you to watch