Good stuff . . .

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

-----Mark Batterson

(bold from me, Lori)

A Poem For YOU!

BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER

by Maya Angelou

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ

That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean living,'

I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain...

I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,

I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Pretty is as Pretty does... But beautiful is just plain beautiful!

Since We've Got a Little Time . . . Let's Practice Breathing

Have you ever heard of 'breath prayers'?  I learned about them several years ago and they are wonderful little things!  Here is what they are . . . 

You have a short little phrase that has two parts to it one before the '/' and one after.  During the first half, before the '/' you in hale, and after the '/' you exhale.  Here are some examples:

Breathe on me/breath of God.

More of You/less of me.

Beside still water/the Lord leads me.

Be still before the Lord/wait patiently.

Fill me/with life anew.

Do not fear/I am with you.

Be anxious/for nothing.

You see?  Got the hang of it?  If you think of any others just let me know!  

Have a blessed week!

FOOD! GLORIOUS FOOD!

Main Dish
1. Paula R
2. Mary K.

Veg/Salad
1. 
2. Jennifer H.

Dessert
1. Lori M. 
2. Trena

Alright girls we are a little short on some places.  I'm counting on you to fill the gaps!  Let me know if you can.  A girl's gotta eat!

Hold on to Your Hats for THIS!

Remember when I posted about my friend who recently got her referral, and how I had emailed her the "God sees" that we learned in The Patriarchs that week?  And it turned out that their daughter's Chinese name was/is: Cen Si Ya?  Do you remember all that?  Did any of it make sense?  Well, there's more!  This family has named their new daughter Jessa Elizabeth SiYa.  This particular family has a website where they will post their trip to China, pictures of their new daughter, and the whole process, and people can go in and "sign" their guestbook.  A close friend of the mom wrote on the guestbook that she had looked up what Jessa means.  It means . . . .

IN HEBREW "HE SEES!"

Isn't that amazing?!!!  ONLY GOD!!!

I am just blown away and in awe!  WOW!!

Say CHEESE!

Alright girls on Tuesday April 21 we will have PICTURE NIGHT!!!! Don't forget your Princess shirt, and brush your hair for goodness sake! If you don't have a princess shirt we can get you one, no problem!

Also, for April 14 we have everything covered for dinner except the main dish. We need one more person to bring something for that and everything else is good. Here is the lowdown on food for the 14th:

Main Dish
1. Loheri
2.

Vegetable/Salad
1. Ahemy R.
2. Jahenet C. (Caesar Salad)

Dessert
1. Suhesan S.
2. Pauhela

AND, one more thing . . . If you are wanting to download any sessions go to: www.lifeway.com/women then in the search bar put in Patriarchs. That should get you there. I think they cost about $5.

Day 5

            OMGoodness!

See You

An adoptive mom that I am friends with was waiting last week for her referral.  I kept texting her (because she was not able to be at home or near a computer) with any updates on this website everyone checks called "Rumor Queen" or RQ for short.  She and her family have been waiting for a little over 3 years to see their daughter's face, know her name, and what province she came from.  And when a Dillon travel group gets close to getting their referral all the adoptive mommies and mommies-to-be get so excited.  We hit RQ many times a day for any word on when referrals have been sent out.

Well, last Friday morning I had just completed Day One Week Two "The God Who Sees Me."  I emailed her what I had learned, to reassure her that God knows exactly where she is, and where her daughter is - that God sees HER!  Later Friday afternoon we received word that referrals were being sent out and I texted Gael.  A few hours later she texted me back with her daughter's name:

Cen Si Ya

Isn't that so cool!  Who else but God!

The Jist of the Stuff

So far this is what we have for a schedule (subject to change at a moment's notice) and for food (dessert rocks).

March 24th*Intro              May 5th OFF*
March 31st*Session 1      May 12th  Session 6
April 7th*Session 2          May 19th  Session 7
April 14th*Session 3        May 26th  Session 8
April 21st*Session 4        June 2nd   Session 9
April 28th *Session 5

Sign up for dinner


April 7th 
Main Dish 
1. Keri  2. 

Salad/Vegetable
1. Melissa  2. Amy M.

Dessert
1. Janet  2.  Sandy


April 14th 
Main Dish
1.Lori  2. 

Salad/Vegetable
1. Amy R.  2.

Dessert
1. Susan  2.