Ever since I made that decision to turn over my life to God all the way, I really do feel led by him. I notice God is working in my life. He is putting things in my life and telling me to serve him this way. He is taking out other things in my life that were not good for me spirtually. He is bringing me to Godly people and I am making friends with them. The people who were not good for me to be around have suddenly left me alone. I can see that he is forming my life in his hands and changing everything around. I am so thankful for that! My desire for God to do this is huge!
God heavily impressed on my heart to be a stay at home mother and I felt honored to follow his command. God sent me wonderful Christian friends who have helped me grow spirtually. I was asked to write in a devotional blog for women and that was a huge honor for me. I am seeking God daily and asking him to lead me on what I should write about. I got emails recently from several people who were impacted by what I wrote in a positive way and it is thrilling! I also want to use my hands and sign songs of praise to God. I am just so thrilled and excited to be led by God and this is the first time in my life that it is happening to me. I am honored to serve my King. I can't even put it in words! All of it is because of this conscious decision that I made to give everything to God and let him take the reins. No more living my life in my own way and MAN, I wasted all those years too!
This is one of my favorite music videos with my favorite love song. The song is "At Last" by Etta James. The movie is "Funny Face" with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.
http://www.carringtonsteele.citymax.com/page/page/5663569.htm
This is a horrible tragedy to hear about Oprah declaring a new age religion. Millions of her fans have followed her into her new church.
The deceiving lies of Satan tells us that there are many ways to Heaven and that Jesus is not the only way to Heaven.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. " John 14:6
Not "a" way, but "the" way. No one goes unto the father but by Jesus alone.
If there are other ways to Heaven, then why did Jesus die on the cross? God left Heaven, came to Earth as a man and took our place for the penalty of our sins. He died a horrible death for us. When Jesus was praying in the garden a few hours before the guards came to capture him, he asked if the cup would pass from him. If there was ANY other way that we could go to Heaven then he would have taken it. But there wasn't any other way. Jesus had to die on the cross for us to be saved and that was the ONLY way.
We are NOT god. There is only one God and no other God beside him.
"I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me" Isaiah 45:5
We are not to worship any other Gods or assume we are god.
"Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you" Deutronomy 6:14
"Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them" Deutronomy 11:16
We are not holy. We are all sinners. It is because of God's love and his gift to us that we are saved, not by what we do to "earn" our way to Heaven.
" For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
The Bible has predicted that there will be a coming of a false religion that decieves the world. Revelations chapter 17 describes a great whore which signifies a "one world" religion mixed with different gods and different ways to heaven. Many countries and tribes will follow this religion and go against Christians.
Be on guard and keep watch for our master is coming!
"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Matthew 24:42
(Matthew chapter 24 describes the end times if you wish to know more)
Thank you to SisterLisa for telling me about Oprah's new false religion. I had NO idea!
My dear, dear sister bought me the movie "The Notebook" as a graduation present this Friday. She got sick of how much I kept talking about it. Finally I own my favorite movie!! It never fails to bring me to tears. I wanted to add this music video and share it with all the Notebook lovers like myself!
I finally graduated on May 23rd, 2008. My two little boys came to root for me! My family and my wonderful friends came as well! It was a great memory that I will always keep. It was also raining during the entire ceremony. The skies were majestic. I feel so relieved it is FINISHED!!
Deafness is genetic in my family. For every child I have, there is a 65 percent chance that my child will be deaf. It is higher if the father of my child is a carrier of the deaf gene as well.
When I was seven months pregnant, I was laying in bed by the window. I prayed to God that if his will allowed it, I would love to have a deaf child. When Brady was born, I held him in my arms on the hospital bed. He curled up and fell asleep against my chest. The intercom came on and it was very loud. My mom and I were startled but Brady didn't flinch. My mom and I quickly looked at each other as if we realized the possibility that he was deaf. When Brady failed the hearing test at the hospital four times, we knew it was true.
Brady's pediatrician audiologist tested his brain's response to sound. Brady was diagnosed with hearing loss but he will be able to hear well enough to listen to the radio and hear the phone when he gets older. That's much more than I am able to do.
Ever since he was three days old, he would stare at me from across the room and watch me. Wherever we went, he would watch me from his carseat. It's amazing how we can connect with visuals. Brady always stares at me and mimics my facial expressions. He likes to wiggle his eyebrows, move his tongue from side to side, shrug his shoulders and we have several games that we play where he copies whatever I do and I'll copy what he does. We have so much fun!
It is also so fascinating to see how similar and how different Landon and Brady have come to be. They have different personalities and traits, but one thing is for certain and that is their beautiful bond. Landon quickly runs to protect Brady and they constantly hug and wrestle together. I will walk into a room and see them laughing together. It wells me up with emotion to see them cherish each other and that is so important to me!
Whenever I tell people that my son is deaf, they quickly reply with "oh no, I am sorry." I will tell them that we are happy about that and usually I will see a puzzled expression on their faces. I know it is bizarre that a mother could be happy that her son is deaf. That's because I view it differently than others do.
It is not a disability, but a culture that I am passing down to my son. It has been in our family for generations. We have our own language, our own history, traditions, and even pride. When I look at my son, I know that we will be able to share an understanding. I will never teach him that he has something to be sorry about for being born deaf. Brady will grow up and know that he is God's gift to me and a HUGE blessing! He is an answered prayer.
God chose us to become deaf for a reason. It is written in the Bible in Exodus 4:11:
"And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?"
I am incredibly lucky to have two beautiful boys. I will raise them both the same. They both will learn how to speak and how to sign. I love them equally and I will cherish their beautiful uniqueness. I am so PROUD of them both!!
Three Generations of Deafness in this Photo!!
"But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."
God sent Samuel to find the future King in one of Jesse's children. Jesse had many sons and they were big, strong and looked like potential kings. God chose David who was Jesse's youngest son that was watching the sheep in the wilderness. He did not look the part of King, but God knew his heart.
To God, it is what is on the inside that matters, but we must also ask how can people know if we are Christians if we don't look the part? The world judges us on how we appear on the outside. So it is also important to look the part of a Godly person so that we may set the example for others.
I am trying to dress more appropriately. I went in my closet yesterday and threw out my low cut shirts and my tight pants. My good friend who is a wonderful example to me, taught me that a Godly woman shouldn't hinder a man's eyesights by exposing her body.
But that also doesn't mean that you have to dress to look plain! We can appreciate beauty and obey the Lord at the same time! I also noticed that ever since I started wearing skirts and dresses, men would rush to open the door for me everywhere I went! That never happend when I wore jeans. I am being recognized as a lady. (Cool!)
"Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. " Proverbs 31:30
I have exciting news to share!! I got in touch with the lady who works at the county school district and she is sending me an application to be a substitute teacher aide for the deaf! She says that I meet their qualifications. It will also give me a lot of time to be home with my children and to earn that extra income to pay for Landon's schooling! I am psyched!!
Also for that extra, extra moolah, I am thinking about making jewerlies at home and selling them online! It'll be a fun project to do!
And thank you SO much for your reassurance and support. I feel so much better than yesterday. I feel like the sun is rising and God is here to take care of everything. He also blessed me with wonderful friends!!
LOVE, Charlene _\m/
I cried all morning. I feel like the dam broke. I just realized that I am the one that has been pretending that nothing has happend. I didn't want to feel the pain. I thought if I ignored it, then it would go away, but it didn't. I never forgave him all this time. I said I did, but I really didn't. I have been so angry and hurt all this time. I buried my feelings inside and I didn't allow myself to cry during this entire divorce! I finally did for the first time today. I was cleaning the house and talking to God, and then God pushed my heart and the dam broke. It's good to cry. I am finally letting it all out. I want him to know, wherever he is, that I forgive him.
