Reading List

What are you reading? Here is a list of my current book list. Comment if you've read any and your thoughts, or if you have any you think I should read! :)

1. Keep Your Love On

2. Growing Up Social

3. The Best Yes 

4. Hands Free Mama

5. Boundaries in Marriage

Jocelyn does my makeup :)

Jocelyn always wants to play makeup, so while miss Stella is napping we decided to have some fun :)

Hope it cracks you up as much as it did me!

Ask, Seek, Knock Knock

Many of us are struggling.

 1 in 10 Americans struggle with depression.

1 in 13 suffer from anxiety, globally.

and these are just the top 2.

God wants to heal us, but he also wants us to ask for healing and restoration. He does not want us to live with depression, anxiety, or any other thing that isn't from him. If your a parent, think about your children for a minute. How much you love them, would do anything for them, and want them to succeed. You cannot imagine loving them more. Well God loves you more than that! We are all his children.

Matthew 7:7-11

Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone who ask receives; he who seeks finds; and he who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for break, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

(Before you start turning your wheels after reading this verse it is not talking about things we lust. James 4:3 says When you ask, you do not revive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Also if you don't know how to go about asking James 1:5-7 clarifies, If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord..)

We ask for what we wish, look for what we miss, and go knocking on areas we feel locked out of.

What do you wish, miss, and feel locked out of?

With the statistics as high as they are some may wish they didn't have an anxiety attack, or suffer with depression. We may be seeking an answer, we just may not know what it is and feel locked out of ourselves.  Jesus broke that barrier, to be what we were looking for and opened the locked door in our lives to reveal him! We are his sons and daughters, he loves you more than you can imagine, but he wants you to ask for him to help, to heal and restore you.

I have seen quite a few miracles. All of which I spent time in prayer for. Someone with extreme anger, completely delivered. Someone with issues because one leg was shorter than the other, grow! More big and small! Jesus wants to make you whole!! If it helps you have others pray with you. (Matthew 18:19-20)

When we look back at Exodus when Moses is leading the Israelites out of Egypt, the Israelites saw them coming and were terrified. Moses answered...

Exodus 14:13-14

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still.

Then Moses parted the sea...member that story.

Look at that verse again, the Egyptians were a symbol of evil coming to hurt them. What's the evil in your life thats hurting you.

Ask him, Seek him, and Knock Knock on his door.

He will fight for you, you just need to be still. Still not meaning doing nothing, but praying, seeking, and knocking on his heart.

prayer:

Today for the prayer were gonna read Exodus 14:13-14 but instead of saying Egyptians were gonna insert what our evil is. (depression, rage, anxiety, bitterness, etc.)

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverence the Lord will bring you today. The               

you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.

Say this over and over, everyday till you believe it!

Copy Cats of Christ

It can be hard when your surrounded by other people who are gossiping not to throw your two cents in. We have all gossiped, and it is a constant temptation. It is also hard to treat the people your not fond of with the love of God. The bible says be imitators of God, or I say copy cats of Christ :) When you build people up with your words it shines the light of Jesus. When you spit out negative things it's hurtful and sinful.

Ephesians 4:29-31/ 5:1
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others us according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen, And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kinda and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. BE IMITATORS OF GOD!

1 Thessalonians 5:15
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and everyone else.

Matthew 5:44-48
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more that others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Thats crazy, pray for your enemies, so that you will be sons of the Father....meaning brothers or sisters in Christ. Sounds hard to do, but think about it, if your praying for your enemy to be a brother or sister of Christ maybe they wouldn't be your enemy anymore. Their are some evil people in this world, judgement isn't our job, but prayer is. In Proverbs 25:22 In being kind to your enemy you actually heap burning coals on their head. It frustrates them that your nice. But not only that, God will reward you for doing the right thing. Work on keeping your tongue uplifting!

prayer:
Father, forgive us for all the trash that comes out of our mouth and when our actions reflect trash. Clean me up so I can be a reflection of you to others.
Amen!

Testing of our Faith vs Tempting of Satan

Sometimes we wonder why certain situations arise. Life has certain consequences that we don't understand. First God test, and Satan temps. God is a good God.

Luke 18:19 
No one is good except God alone.

James 1:13 
When temped no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil,  nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin' and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Psalm 66:10
For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.

Think about it this way. A test is something given by God, and leads back to him. It is directly influenced to your spiritual walk. Feeling lead to minister to someone--->test. How you react to a disrespectful person--->test. Testing your patience, faith, or love from someone when hurt you, ect all tests. Temptations are things from Satan, leading back to him. Lust, adultery, addiction, rage, treating someone wrongfully are all forms of temptation.

One way I am seeing temptation with myself and the world is with the addiction of electronics. I want to have a relationship with my children and husband, not know whats up in iPhone world. I want to make memories with them, not be constantly checking Instagram, Facebook, emails. We all have areas where were being tempted.

Now when God is testing us, it can be very hard, but very rewarding. Writing these devotions I am putting myself out there to be made fun of, talked about, anything else you can think of, but if I am doing the work of the Lord and thats what he is leading me to do, I don't want to fail Him.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who preserves under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of Christ that God has promised to those who love him. ( Revelations 2:10 he also promises the crown of life and says don't be afraid to suffer) (suffer meaning getting made fun of talked about etc for doing the Lords work)

Read Deuteronomy chapters 7,8,9
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 The Lord led you(Israel) into the desert for 40 years to humble and test them. In this verse he says to teach them that man does not live on bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God. They were hungry and ate mana.

Deuteronomy8:17 Israel was rebellious against the Lord, they failed. The Lord was trying to drive them out of Egypt but they did no see the big picture. Just like in our lives we do not see the big picture, we see the temporary situation, but God is humbling us for HIS BIG PLAN. We fail but the good news is Jesus never fails us. He fulfills this promise in Matthew.

In Matthew 4 Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert (just like the Israelites) to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. (just like the Israelites) The tempter came to him and said, "If you are Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

This shows that Jesus took Israel's place and succeeded. Just like Jesus takes our place, living in us and intercedes when we ask him too.

When Israel failed, Jesus succeeded.
When we fail, Jesus succeeds.

Temptation is everywhere, especially online or television with just like click of a finger. Jesus can intercede through you when there is temptation in your life. Praying is the answer.

I think we should end with the Lord's Prayer Matthew 6:9
Our Father in heaven
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
you will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us of our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever
amen.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for taking our place and succeeding when we fail. Help us to come close to you and pray for guidance when we are tempted. This world can be a dark place, but you bring light. When you test us, let us always remember the work we are doing, and the promises you have for us.
Amen

What's Your Perfume?

I remember when I was on vacation one time we got trapped in an elevator with these girls who had so much perfume on. It was hard not to cough or laugh, because we all thought it and were looking at each other. When we finally got out of the elevator it was like whew I can breath!!! Or on the complete other hand your husband is wearing your favorite cologne and he comes up and give you a big hug. You take a deep breath because you love that smell. In a sense we carry a fragrance with us everywhere we go. I'm not talking about Daisy from Marc Jacobs or Aqua Di Gio by Armani. I'm talking about a presence, an attitude. And people can sense it when your around you. Do you bring a good fragrance when you walk into a room, or do others instantly know when your in a bad mood and flee from you like over sprayed perfume! We all have bad days and i'm not saying always fake being happy, but in the bible people could tell when others were around Jesus. They carried his presence wherever they went.

In Acts 3 there is a cool story about Peter using his faith to heal a beggar. We've all seen that homeless person on the side of the road holding a sign it usually causes us to think a lot. What would be the first thing you'd give them? Money? Thats what this beggar in the bible was asking for. Well Peter and John chose a really cool route for this beggar who was always outside the temple. This man had been cripple from birth. As they were walking into the temple Peter said to the beggar, "Look at us." So the cripple instantly looked up expecting to get money, but Peter said, "silver or gold I don't have, but what i have (faith, Jesus power inside me) I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. People around were filled with wonder and amazement. That wonder and amazement wasn't from Peter or John but the presence they were carrying with them, and that was Jesus'. Others could see that and wanted that.

We all have the opportunity to carry that "fragrance" wherever we go. Somedays when I don't feel like i'm bringing the best fragrance around I spend time reading the bible and praying, that helps. One way I can think of for everyone to try to do is the next time your in a restaurant and have a bad experience don't leave a bad fragrance. Instead try to change the waiters. They may be having a bad day or other bad customers, but you can rub off the presence you carry on them. There are many ways we can do this everyday. I challenge you to try to bring Jesus' prensence with you everywhere and as you do you will watch it rub off on the others around you. And when you change someones mood like that, the rooms gonna smell a heck of a lot better! :) haha

Peace :)

comment on some ways to spread Jesus' presence around you

Revealing God's Glory

God's glory can be revealed in the most amazing times in our lives. On the other hand God's glory can truly be revealed in the hardest of situations. Jesus dying on the cross was a grusome time. If it wasn't for that his glory wouldn't have been revealed when he rose from the grave. When I was in Jr. High I suffered from an eating disorder. Satan had a hold on me and I was deceived of many things. I didn't understand why it was happening. My image was just a symbol of me being mislead from how Jesus sees me. I was sent an angel who saved me. She helped me get to the right place spiritually. I am completely healed! It is only by Jesus, and it is nothing short of a miracle.

John 9:1-7
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him,"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam." So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 

This man being healed by Jesus showed many people God's Glory.

John 12:7-10
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times i pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when i am weak, then I am strong.

This is Paul talking here. He is saying how Satan tormented him. But since in all the weakness Christ's power is made evident Paul will be delightful. What strength! Paul is saying I will be glad in weakness, insults, difficulties. For when I am week, He makes me strong. In all our hardships in life a lot of us see nothing to be grateful for. It is very hard and far from the worlds thoughts, but you can take those hardships and asks God's glory to be revealed through you to the world.

Deuteronomy 31:8
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

The Lord is with you through everything, continually rely on him. Just like Jesus' strength was revealed through the man that couldn't see, Jesus showed how he renews and heals by working through me. What will your story of God's glory in your life be?
Comment below

prayer:
Lord, it isn't easy going through trials, and we don't always understand why or why us. Help us to know your with us ALWAYS, and that your glory is revealed in good times and in hard times. Use us to show others your power and strength.
Amen.

My Salon Space

Sooooo I went to cosmetology school in 2011 at Paul Mitchell School in Bloomington, IL. I have always had a passion for hair and cut my moms hair for the first time when I was 8. Crazy right?! Right in the middle of cosmetology school, I found out i was expecting!! It was a curve ball, but the best one ever! In November of 2011, I got married to my high school sweetheart Chris who was currently in the Marines. I graduated school that December, and had our sweet baby Jocelyn in April. Then a year and half later we wanted another baby! We were blessed with Stella Marie in June. I absolutely love being a stay at home mom. For me, its the best job in the world. I still love doing hair, but my priority right now is being at home for my husband and children. God has blessed me though. My dad built an awesome hair salon for me to use as a hobby in their basement. I can cut and style friends and families hair just for the fun it! It was so fun designing this with my dad. It's my dream spot. I'm so blessed to be able to do what I love for a hobby. It wouldn't be possible without my husband working so hard so that I can stay at home and be with the children. I am so grateful for that and love his so much!

                                              The starting point of the salon! No walls yet!

                                                My dad, mom, and myself staining the ceiling!

             My dad built this barn door out of reclaimed wood! One of my favorite parts about my salon and the stone wall is a modern touch to the rustic look of the door.

                                                          Love this big canvas!

                         Miss Stella! (7 months) thats the best picture I have of my awesome chair.

My handsome husband Chris right after his cut!

my first client my 2 year old Jocelyn ( she sat on a stool because my chair wasn't done yet!)

Freedom

Aloha :)

We've all been hurt. Sometimes it's people that we love dearly and sometimes it's someone we've never met. When people lash out and act a certain way it's usually their problem and not yours. A lot of times were just the target of people's own issues. I've had people in my life who pretended like the didn't even love me anymore and really hurt me. It's hard to chose God's love, and even harder to chose Gods forgiveness. Some people will never say their sorry. Our job is to be right with God and to do that, you need to forgive that person regulardless of if they apologize.

Matthew 6:14-15
"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men of their sins, your father will not forgive your sins."

No matter what we do God is gracious and good, always forgiving when we repent. I've heard, "Well I'm not God, I just can't forgive them they've hurt me to bad I won't forgive them. That's true your not God, but Holy  Spirit is living inside of you. When he left this earth after being raised from the dead he said it's better that I leave.

John 16:7
But I tell you the truth:It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (The Holy Spirit is our counselor)

You can't forgive them without Jesus. But since His physical body left the physical earth how are people gonna see Jesus. The only way is through you and through your actions with the Holy Spirit directing you. If you've recieved Christ, his gracious love is in you so you gotta show other what it looks like. How cool though your a vessel of Jesus to the world.

In Matthew 18:21 is the parable of the unmerciful servant. Peter asks Jesus how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me, 7? Jesus said seventy times 7, meaning endless. If you read Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells a story as a great example.

I love this next verse from Ephesians.

Ephesians 4:31; 5:1
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with ever form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God!

Some people define freedom as being able to do whatever they want. They think Christians are far from freedom, but I find freedom in the joy of Jesus and in forgiveness. Holding a grudge binds us up and makes us far from freedom. You will be surprised at how freeing it is when the people who hurt you no longer have a hold on you because you've given it up to God and forgiven them, just like the Father forgives us.


prayer:
Lord, thank you for always forgiving us no matter how far we turn away. Help us to be like you and forgive others, even when they don't deserve it. After all the wages of our sin is death, but you died so we could have eternal life.
Amen

Frozen Pipes

hi again :)

So a couple weeks ago it was -6 outside. I am so grateful to have a warm home and warm shower. Although we had heat our house wasn't staying any warmer than 63 degrees, which isn't two bad, but when you got 2 babies they gotta stay warm! :) The service guy came and we were thinking just a little fix, but we were wrong. We needed a whole new furnace. I'm gonna be real here $8,000. Not in the budget... It was one pipe that was messed up, but if we don't get a completely new furnace it would keep destroying that pipe, and our little girls would freeze. While all this was going on God showed me something. Sometimes in life we think were only doing a little bit wrong. We could only use a little fixing. I mean changing our whole mentality would be to much to sacrifice. Right? We had to pay a price to stay warm. Had to sacrafice our finances so we could have efficent heat. Good news is Jesus already paid the ultimate price for us. He covered our sins. But in order to be an efficent disciple, we have to get rid of the bad pipes in our life that mess us up. As sinners we think we may need a small fix, but Jesus died so we could be righteous. 

2 Corinthians 5:21

God made him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

Jesus took sin and nailed it to the cross. The apple was pulled off the tree and became sin, we ate it. Jesus took all our sin on him. He was the sacrifice or sin offering for us. He took the sin and nailed it to the tree (cross) where it came from. 

1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;"by hims wounds you have been healed"

Jesus bore our sins! This verse doesn't mean they were his own. They were OUR sins, he just bore them for us so we could be healed and whole.

The only way to strive for righteousness is to get a whole new heart. Be borm again, saved. Just like our new furnace heats our home. Jesus is the furnace of my heart. Inside of me I have the fire of Holy Spirit. You can have it to when you become a new creation in Christ.

Galations2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in body, I live by faith in the Son of God. Who loves me and gave himself for me.

When we except Jesus, and believe in him we are renewed! We become someone completely different. The old has gone the new has come. Jesus can get rid of those bad pipes(areas) in our lives. Surrendering your life to him is the first step.

1 Timothy 1:15-16

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save the sinners of who i am the worst. But for that very reason i was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Chris Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who believe on time and receive eternal life.

You may already be saved, but God may still be cleaning out your pipes (haha ;) ) i know he is still working on me daily to become the woman I am supposed to be in Christ.


prayer: Lord, thank you for sacrificing yourself to cover my sin. I surrender my life to you. I pray that you would reveal to me areas in my life I need to let you do some work! Renew me daily so I can be your disciple to everyone I meet, everywhere I go. You are the ultimate mechanic. Fill me up to overflowing.
Amen.

Cornerstone

This is my first post on my blog :) God has given me a lot of insight lately and it would be pointless if I kept it to myself. Hopefully whoever reads this will learn and grow in their spiritual walk. I love Jesus and just wanna share what he shows me and teaches me daily!

Cornerstone:

There is division everywhere we look in the world; race, religion, income status, even in our own homes. There always seems to be war, arguments between denominations, old ways vs new ways, teenager vs parent, even husband vs wife... We all just want peace especially in our lives and in our homes.

In the old testament it was Jews completely separate with the Gentiles. The Jews were God's chosen people. Now they kept things apart between the two ( just remember how it used to be with black and white, separate water fountains, bathrooms etc.) the jews wouldn't eat with the gentiles. Even if they passed through the gentile land they would cleanse their feet before entering the Holy Land. There was a dividing barrier between them.  Also a literal wall in the temple in Jeruselum separating there courts. Jesus broke that barrier. He broke ours too, by being the ultimate sacrifice, dying on the cross.   This gave us peace. Ephesians 2:14 for he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. We all have walls in places in our lives where we probably wish there wasn't. Jesus gave us peace we just have to receive it.

Ephesians2:11-22
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenatnts of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundatin of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Jesus is our peace. Our only source. A lot of times we go to our spouse for peace, or a friend. God himself can only fix our sinful nature. My husband can point it out (lol ;) ) The only one who can change that is Jesus.

The only way to get this peace to break down the barriers in our life is to have Jesus. Not just be an acquaintance with Jesus but to have him the foundation, cornerstone, of you life!!!
Definition of cornerstone is a stone that forms the base of a corner of a building joining two walls; an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based. The building in you, your life, Jesus has to be the root of it all.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore says the Lord God, "Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

What the Lord is saying here is laying a stone is giving us his Son, a tested stone (standing up to satan's temptations), a costly one (sacrificing his life on the cross, the ultimate price). He placed it firmly there forever. He who believes in it can have that peace.

Now back to Ephesians when it says And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Jesus is the cornerstone to building a dwelling of the Holy Spirit in you!


prayer:  Jesus I pray that you would be the root and cornerstone of my life. When the world around me has so many barriers, help me come to you to receive the peace you have already sacrificed for.  I want to dwell the Holy Spirit everywhere I go!
Amen.


:)