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Tuesday, June 08, 2010

My diva is 9 years old!!!

 

6582428 On June 8th, 2001 at 5:55 pm I became a Mom for the first time to the most precious little princess, Julia Elise! My life was forever changed that day.

One of my favorite quotes is “Making the decision to have a child -- it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  Julia is my heart walking outside my body. She is the best of both me and her Daddy.

I burst with pride over how much our diva has grown over these nine years. She has a great personality, she’s so intelligent (A/B honor roll all year) and very caring. She has a a smile that can light any darkness! She is bubbly and talkative (ask my Dad!). She is also a great big sister to Joey Jr. and Joshua!

I was looking at pictures of Julia throughout her nine years and I wanted to share them. I hope you enjoy my stroll down memory lane! Happy Birthday Julia Elise! Mommy loves you!

julia sonogram

Sonogram

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Me pregnant with Julia at my baby shower

julia 1st pics

  1 day old

 julia christening   

Christening 

 

julia 1st bday

1st birthday

julia 2nd bday

2nd birthday

julia 3rd bday

3rd birthday 

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4th birthday

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5th birthday

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6th birthday

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6th birthday

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7th birthday

8th bday

8th birthday

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Dedication

Julia_Pics_038 1st day of school

1st day of daycare

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pre-k graduation

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Kindergarten graduation       

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1st day of school- 1st grade

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1st dance recital

Flower girl pics:

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Water baptism 2010

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May 2010

 

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May 2010

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Marriage Matters by Tony Evans- Book Review

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I recently read a great book on Marriage called Marriage Matters by Dr. Tony Evans. I read this book as part of a blog tour hosted by Blog Tour Spot and the publisher sent me a review copy.

The book is a very quick read which explores the biblical principles of how to strengthen your marriage.

I love how Dr. Evans explores the importance of the marriage convenant and uses scripture to back up his points. A lot of the points he made were very eye opening.

He goes in depth about what a covenant means and how the marriage covenant was designed by God. He covers three key aspects of what makes up the marriage covenant: Origin, Order and Operation.

One quote in the book that stood out to me was “Marriage is a covenantal union designed  strengthen the capability of each partner to carry out the plan of God in their lives”. So often we hear the term “helper” in the Bible when referring to a woman’s role in the marriage and we see it as a negative (maid, cleaner, cook etc.) But husband and wife are so much more than that to each other when we really explore our roles biblically and that is what this book explains.

If you are interested check out some more information from the media release below:

 

Marriage Matters
Marriages today are deteriorating at an alarming rate: As of 2003, 43.7% of custodial mothers and 56.2% of custodial fathers were either separated or divorced (US Census Bureau). One might ask, “Why do so many marriages fail?”  According to pastor and teacher Tony Evans, marriages deteriorate not because we no longer get along, but because we have lost sight of the purpose and prosperity of the marriage covenant.
Marriage Matters examines the nature of this covenant, or agreement, we enter into on our wedding day. This booklet provides the foundation for the booklets For Married Women Only, as Evans looks to the Scriptures to define what a covenant is, who makes it, and what the implications are. Chaos arises when we seek to do things our way—the need to align ourselves according to biblical standards of marriage is evident. Let the practical and engaging Tony Evans lead you in knowing just how much…Marriage Matters.

For Married Men Only
What does it mean for a husband to love his wife? Three things, says Tony Evans: a husband must be his wife’s savior, sanctifier, and satisfier. It is by living out these three principles that a godly marriage will blossom and flourish.

In For Married Men Only, each of these principles is explored and explained using real-life examples. How does a husband be his wife’s savior? By learning to love her as Christ loved the church. What about sanctifier? By dying to self and modeling sacrificial love, no matter what the result. And satisfier? By studying and serving his wife so he can fulfill her needs, just as Christ humbled Himself for our sakes.
First published in 2002 as Tony Evans Speaks Out on a Man’s Role in the Home, this booklet has sold nearly 40,000 copies. Use it alone or with the companion volume, For Married Women Only.

For Married Women Only
How is a wife to love her husband? By learning three things, says Tony Evans: how to submit, seduce, and surrender to her husband. Out of these three principles a godly marriage will grow.

In For Married Women Only, pastor and author Tony Evans explores these three principles in a straight-forward yet encouraging manner. He unpacks the touchy topic of submission and lays out the rewards inherent in this biblical model. On seduction, Evans looks at the quality of attractiveness and how embodying it can be pleasing to your spouse and to God. And with surrender, readers will examine why a wife is the perfect helpmate for her husband and how to combat attitudes opposed to God’s design.
Originally published in 2002 as Tony Evans Speaks Out on a Woman’s Role in the Home, this booklet has sold nearly 38,000 copies. Use it alone or with the companion volume, For Married Men Only.

About the Author:

Tony Evans
Dr. Tony Evans is one of the country’s most respected leaders in evangelical circles. The first African-American to graduate with a doctoral degree from Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), he served as an associate professor in DTS’ Pastoral Ministries Department in the areas of evangelism, homiletics and black church studies. He continues to serve DTS on the Board of Incorporate Members.

Tony Evans, along with his wife, Lois, established Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in 1976 with only ten people in their home. Serving as senior pastor for the last 33 years, Evans has seen his church grow from 10 members to over 8,000 congregants with 100 plus ministries.

Dr. Evans also serves as president of The Urban Alternative, a national ministry that seeks to bring about spiritual renewal in America through the church. His daily radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 600 stations daily throughout the United States and in more than 40 countries.

Through his local church and national ministry, Dr. Evans has set in motion a Kingdom Agenda philosophy of ministry that teaches God’s comprehensive rule over every area of life as demonstrated through the individual, family, church and society.

Dr. Tony Evans is married to Lois, his wife and ministry partner of 40 years. They are the proud parents of four: Chrystal, Priscilla, Anthony, Jr., and Jonathan as well as proud grandparents of nine: Kariss, Jessica, Jackson, Jessie, Jr., Jerry Jr., Kanaan, Jude, Joel and Kelsey.
Learn more about Tony at http://www.tonyevans.org.

Marriage Matters
Release: May 2010

List of participating bloggers in this tour:

A Godly Wife on Purpose
Bible Dude
Blog Tour Spot
Book Nook Club
Bound to His Heart
CommuniKate
God Restores
J’s Spot
Reflections
Refresh My Soul
Scraps and Snippets
This Mom’s Delight
Ultimate Joy

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Shine 2010

Shine 2010

I attended an awesome Women’s conference at Celebration Church in Jacksonville, FL last  week. Shine 2010 was such a life-changing three days. I was stirred up to have courage, be an encourager, and to stand up and make a change in my life so that I can help others!

The line-up of speakers that God used to speak to me and thousands of other women was amazing: Lisa Young, Julie Hadden, Christine Caine, Jentzen Franklin, Stovall Weems and Kerri Weems (conference host), and DeLynn Rizzo.

I took pages and pages of notes that I still need to type up but here are some highlights:

Lisa Young spoke on night one about being reflective tools for the generosity of God. She encouraged us to use our God-given gifts now and not to save them for a later date. One quote that stuck out to me was “God doesn’t look at the better, he looks at the obedience”
Kerri Weems spoke to us about having the courage to fight! She said our place of safety can turn into a place of containment if we resist the call of God. She said we need to stand up to the bullies in our lives (worry, doubt, discouragement, depression etc.)

Her three main points:
1. Keep Showing up Despite the Bullies
2. Stir up passion  (stir up the gift within you)
3. Learn to love the fight

Jentzen Franklin spoke on nigh two. His topic of choice- The amazing discernment of women. His sermon was so powerful!

A quote that sticks out to me from his night was “You either carry an embalming spirit of an anointing spirit” This means we either give up and let hope and faith die in our lives or we have faith and live our lives with an anointing spirit and not give up! We have to keep fighting and praying for our families. We can change the atmosphere in our households by our faith. I wish everyone could have heard this sermon. It was that powerful!

Julie Hadden spoke on day three. She was the first runner up on one of the seasons of the Biggest Loser. She spoke about how God uses “the outcasts, the rejects and the unchosen” to bring him glory.
She said that God sees “the person in us that has a purpose not the person we see”. She reminded us that God’s plans for us are perfect and complete.
Her story of faith and her weight loss journey were very inspiring!

DeLynn Rizzo spoke about embracing change.  She spoke about the different seasons in our lives and how we need to embrace them. She said that God sees our potential and not our comfort. Sometimes we get too comfortable and we don’t allow God to make changes in our lives.

Pastor Stovall spoke about Rahab and the wall of Jericho. What a great story about a woman standing in the gap (literally and physically!) If you have a chance to read the story it’s in Joshua 2:1-21.

He spoke about how Rahab heard the word of God but did not see the miracles for herself. That she had faith from hearing and not seeing.

One point he made that resonated with me was that we are to “walk in the revelation God gives you and eventually your husband will turn around” It’s all about standing in the gap for our families and praying for them and showing them the God that lives in us!

He also spoke about how we all have the Proverbs 31 woman inside of us no matter what kind of lives we lived in the past (Rahab was a prostitute but she had faith in God) He said Rahab was an an example that the blood of Jesus covers all of us.

There was so much more to what Pastor Stovall preached that day! But I hope I gave you a good summary :)

Christine Caine spoke on night three.  She spoke about us waking up and hearing the alarm. She said we need to be a light to the lost and broken generation. She has a great organization The A21 Campaign against human trafficking. I am going to devote a post about this organization and a few others that were highlighted during the conference.

I can go on and on about what all the speakers said but you really had to be there to experience it! I hope that some of you can attend Shine in 2011. Lisa Bevere and Priscilla Shirer will be the featured speakers! You can preregister today!

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