Walk in the word-post

I couldn't help myself. Dr. James McDonald hit the nail on it's head about waiting for God's purpose in you in his wisdom for your walk. I want to share you the post from Walk in the word.

"The Benefits of Waiting

The Weekly Walk

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord." - Psalms 40:1–3

The longer I live, the more I come to understand that life doesn't have a lot of green lights. There are hardly any times where God is like, "Do you want that? Have it right now. Why didn't you ask sooner?" More often God is like, "I'd like you to wait."

"No! I want it right now!"

God is like, "Listen! You might think you want it now, but I'm going to give it to you when you're fit to receive it. I'm going to use the process of waiting to shape you into the woman or the man that I want you to be. Getting it now wouldn't advance My purposes for you. I want you to wait."

Waiting is not an easy thing. Waiting is not passivity. Waiting on God is not the absence of efforts. Waiting is "I've done everything I know how to do but it's not enough and now I am waiting on God to do for me what I could not do for myself."

That is such an important lesson to learn. Let me tell you about some of the benefits that you get when you wait on God. Here are five verses that spell them out.

* According to Psalm 40:1 when we wait on God, He hears our prayers: "I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined to me and heard my cry."
* According to Isaiah 64:4 when we wait on God, He acts on our behalf: "Nor has the eye seen a God like You who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him." That's what God is fired up about. He works for the people who wait. I wonder how many things we don't get because we're out there working for it ourselves beyond what we should and God's like, "Would you just stop that? I act on behalf of the people who wait for Me."
* Psalm 25:3 says that when we wait on God, He keeps us from shame: "Indeed none of those who wait for You O God will be ashamed."
* Isaiah 40:31 says that He gives strength to those who wait: "Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength."
* Psalm 37:34 tells us that those who wait for God are exalted: "Wait for the Lord and He will exalt you."

Bottom line; God always makes it worth our while to wait for Him:!
-From Walk in the word website (http://www.walkintheword.com/WeeklyWalk.aspx).

Unexpected gifts

Not many of you know, but we currently ran into some unexpected financial situations. Which end up leaving our savings account dry (and me panicking). Our transmission went on our car, our mixer died, our can opener died, and December (dec 30, 2008 to be exact) is the month that I had my 1st m/c AND our 2nd child would have been due in December (dec 26, 2009). So December is just a mess for me.
I wrote a message on my IF board asking for prayer and was shocked when I receive a package in the mail a few days after wards. It end up being from a lady on my form who sent us a can opener. I was complete shocked that someone (who didn't even meet me)would send me such a gift. She even included a note that said she was thinking of us and even though the can opener wasn't much, she hoped that it help. What a blessing!!
Our second unexpected gift was from a family friend. Unknown to him about our financial situation, we were not planning on getting a tree this year. He called my mother in law and said that he wanted to know if her sons wanted to get these 3 Christmas trees out of his lawn (I guess he saw them as a nuisance to have). My mother in law, in turn, called me. I was so ecstatic about it. I told her our situation and that we would LOVE to take a tree.
It just amazes me that God would still shine his light in our darkest of worlds. The gift of giving. It's a blessing. Thank you Jesus for being our giver and being a light in our world.

12 Days of Christmas

Here is a remix of my version of the 12 Days of Christmas:


On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a Boston Terrier name Skipper.

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two snoring dogs.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three plans for meals.

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four cups of coffee.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, A TRIP TO FIVE GUYS!

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six pairs of socks.

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven shiny ornaments.

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight items on my to do list.

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine loads of laundry.

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten pieces of mail.

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eleven students dancing.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, tweleve (to be continue)

Just my thoughts...

Waiting is hard. I'm the first one to admit, that I'm not a very patience person (I wish I was). It's hard waiting for God's will and plan to unfold in my life. I wish that I can take God's remote control on me and fast forward to the nice and full- filling parts. You know, the oh yes..this is the top of the mountain view. That's what I'm talking about sayings. I don't like to stay here in the valley and take the long way up this very windy mountain. I don't like the your not ready to be here on the top just yet. I wonder sometime, why does God does take me the long way around the mountain. Why can't he just fast forward that remote and make things all better. Why do I have to experience this pain and trails of this life?
It makes you wonder. But, I am thankful for his promises, blessings, encouragement. I just wish right now that I had more faith right now.

welcome to autumn my friends

Our journey begins at the sound of a bizzard buzzer. Three, Two, One and off they go. Down that windy autumn road. As the leafs russels through the trees, the faint smell of color leaves fill your senses. You start to smell the hot apple cider in your hand. Aww..what a refreshing new day it is. The wind blows right through that light jacket you have. Can you feel it? Can you sense it? Welcome to Autumn my friends.

Traffic Lights and me

I thought you ladies will appreciate this. Well, we have a behavior/award traffic light in our classroom with each of the children names on a stick figure. The stick figure goes up and down depending on the child's behavior. Ie) As the children do good they stay on the green light, as their behavior intensify they go in yellow, red etc. At the end of the week, if the children do well, they get a reward. After explain this system to the children, one of my students came up to me and said, "Miss Nina Where is your stick figure for the traffic light"? I respond, "Oh, I don't get one because I help you and our other friend make good choices". Gotta love the kids.

What does this verse mean to you?

So, I'm curious. What does this verse mean to you?

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness".

perseverance

My IF journey has not been an easy, but I must say that the Lord has been working on me through it. One things he has been teaching me is perseverance. Here is what the Lord been sharing with me.

We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). This includes putting down our own personal goals for His goals. This has been extremely hard for me. My personal goal is to become a mommy. This has been in my heart for a very long time. I believe God does promise me that in the future, but for now he wants me to focus on Him and helping him in his kingdom. Has it been a breezed to go through? No. Have I been kicking and throwing tantrums? Yes (ok, not physically but mentally I have). But I have learned that the Lord is patient with me and has giving me grace to do it.

While go through perseverance the Lord has told me to keep my mind on these things:

1 Recalling the words spoken in the past to be about his promised he still has for me.
2 Don't forget how big God is.
3 Trust the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding but in all ways knowledge him and he will make your paths straight (Prov 3:5-6).
4 Keep in mind Rom 5:1-8
5 Remember the Lord's plan will ALWAYS stand firm forever(Psalm 33:11).

ticker-

I been keeping track of my weight since I have been doing Zumba. I thought it would be a good idea if I made it into a ticker (I guess it is more for my benefit then you ladies would want to see).

Summer

Summer
Summer is a time of peace and relaxation. It is a time to stop and smells the roses. It also involves planning vacations and time to have fun in the sun. As you know, summer is drawing near and I'm looking for some ideas as to where we can go on vacation. Maybe you bloggers can help us choose as to where. We would like to go somewhere warm (possibly near a beach), mountains, or somewhere historical. Do you have any idea yet? Do you know what you are planning for the summer? Anything fun?

funny ttc letter

I like to share with you a letter that one of the ladies on the PCOS board wrote:


"Dear Body,
I respectfully request that you please stop messing with me. Creating sore boobs and "implantation cramps" when we are not pregnant is mean and misleading. I promise to stop putting junk food in you if YOU promise to stop teasing me.
And while we're on this topic, could you please send AF? That way I can stop spending money on pregnancy tests.
Also, while we're talking, could you please ovulate in a timely fashion this month?
Thanks,
Management"

5th week of pictures

I chose this picture as my picture of the week because it reminds me of one of my favorite Psalms from the bible. Psalm 23. I was thinking of a particular verse in Psalms 23. Can you guess it? I'll give you a hint...green pastures.. Did you guess it? Yep, Psalms 23:1-3:
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake".

National Infertility Awareness Week (April 24th–May 1st)

What if every state passed a law that would require insurance companies to cover fertility treatments and A.R.T. so that people like me and my husband wouldn’t have to choose between their mortgage or having a family....

Do you know that Approximately 6.1 million couples in the United States, or 10 percent of all couples of childbearing age, have difficulty conceiving ( iVillage: http://www.ivillage.com/infertility-fast-facts/108204#ixzz0mLS2aa4s )?

I find this quite interesting. I found out that in today's society, you get reward for having kids. You also get penalized for not having children. If you are pregnant you get alot of benefits. Some that may included health insurance, tax break, WIC, and such. Getting health insurance is a breezed. Let me explain. I went in to get health insurance for my husband and I when we were first married. We were denied because I wasn't pregnant and my husband made $50 over their monthly income bracket. Now the insurance lady flat out said that if we were pregnant, we could have got insurance; but since we weren't, we were denied on these two facts. By being pregnant you are also untitled on getting a tax break if you currently have children. I know many people who brag about all the money they are getting back from taxes because they have children. Some of these people even brag about they should get pregnant again soon because of the money they are getting back from the government. How is this fair to the infertility couples? Infertility couples are paying out of pocket for something so special that people take for granted. What about an affordable insurance coverage for infertility couples? What about a tax break for couples who undergo infertility procedures or treatments? Not to mention that society even frowns upon infertility couples. If you aren't having babies, you are rejected because they think you are being selfish. How is this fair?

What about those who struggling through Infertility?

What IF we can make some change in the laws or make some changes on society views on infertility? Now that is something to be fighting for. Something that is worth exploring.

www.resolve.org/infertility101
www.resolve.org/takecharge

verse of my life right now..

It interesting how we all go through seasons of life. Some are happy and some are weary. We even go through seasons of drought or seasons of harvest. Right now it feels as though we are in a season for drought. Why you ask? Well Luke is layed off, my job will end in June, we currently have no insurance, and nothing in the family way. Nope, nada. Well in this season the Lord brought this verse of hope:
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest in we do not give up"-Gal 6:9.

In the verse it said there is a proper time for things. Now that is something I haven't thought about. Could it be that the Lord has a season and a proper time for us? Could it be that even though we are in season of drought, that this is the right time for it? Could it be that the harvest for us is just around the corner? Who knows. One thing is for certain. The verse says not to give up. And if that is what the Lord's will is for us right now. Is it wait for the proper timing and not give up. I guess that is what we have to do..

week of pictures-4-

This is our Easter Picture from last year..or maybe from 2 years ago...(oh well. it's one of those years). I really like this picture because looks like luke said something funny.

Being bless by the little things

Today, God has once again struck my heart in aw. I would never thought that a powerful bible verse would come from one of my campers I had two years ago. You see, I been pen pals with this camper for awhile and until just recently we have been sending each other bible verses in each letter. I recieved this yesterday and it seemed as God was speaking directly to my heart. Unknown to her, just recently I have been very discouraged and depressed towards my infertility struggles. Just last week I was bawling my eyes out and telling my MIL that there is no hope for me in this department. All my prayers for five years are going no where.
So, as you can see. This verse totally caught me off guard. I defanilty was not expecting to hear a word from the Lord from an 12 year old. Who would have thought that God can use such a small picture with verse to be so powerful in ones life. This bible verse comes from Psalm 31:24.
P.S if that wasn't just awesome enough, she drew a Toucan. Ever since I was a little girl, my favorite animal was a Toucan. It just makes me want to Praise God in this storm!!!

3rd week of pictures

This is one of my favorite pictures that I have. I laugh every time I see it. It a picture of my sister and her fiance. This was taken last year around the time of the Boston Marathon. :)

week 2 of pictures

I found this one on my computer. It's Sophie looking out the window in Massachusetts.

Picture of the Week

So, I'm thinking I could post Pictures of the week. So, today I'm posting one of Luke reading. I posted it for two reason. One it is one of my favorites and two it is his birthday today. When luke isn't cooking/working/googling stuff he is reading a book. This is one of his traits that I admire. This is also a classic luke (in my option).

Snowed in!!

Hello my friends. If you didn't hear, we got snow! Lots of it too! School was canceled! Whoot hooo! Here are some things I got accomplish today:
I cleaned the house
Took sophie out in the snow
Catch up on emails
Shoveled snow

And I did this all by 2pm. :)

So now I'm planning on cuddle up with a good book and some hot chocolate/coffee! So, now that you know what I do during snow days. What do you like to do on snow days?

Pictures from 2009-Aug Watkins Glen

I thought I would share my some of my camping experiences with my blogger friends. If you never camped out at before, I highly recommend it. It is a great out door experience and plus you will get some bonding time with your buddies or in my case my hubby. So, Luke and I went to Watkins Glen with our "church" (it end up being Paster's family and us, but that is another story) family in Aug 2009.

We camp three days and two nights with our dog Sophie. Let me give you a little advise if you plan on bring your dog camping with you in a tent:
#1 Make sure your dog is familiar with your tent. It took us a little while to coax our dog into getting into the tent (poor Sophie). You can use many methods to do this. We like to use the flooding method. :D
#2 Make sure that they are not doing fireworks a night that you are there. Lucky for us, Sophie was so drained after we took her on all the trails that she fell right to sleep. Sophie didn't mind the fireworks too much. Me on other hand, it was hard to try and ignore the big boom above your tent (and those of you who want to know about how luke handle this..well..he slept right through it).
#3 I highly recommend that you buy your dog a dog backpack. Especially if the dog is hyperactive. This way you can load your dog up with water bottles to weigh him/her down.

Now with these bits of advise, I hope you can rest easily. Now, you can have a great camping experience with your dog.

In these pictures Luke is cooking breakfast. What's for breakfast you asked? Eggs and coffee. Turns out, he is a pretty good cook for cooking over the fire.

Hey, What happen to those Bill Nye videos?

As I wake up this lovely Saturday morning, I think to myself...What ever happen to Bill Nye the Science Guy? I also was wondering if I could get his VCR/DVD from the local library. So, I started to look for his videos on VCR/DVD. I was so excited to see that they do have a few VCR/DVD of his. Eagerly I clicked the "place a hold" button on the site: However, sadly, the site read that it couldn't place a hold. The closest library that had it was about 55 minutes away. It was too far away to be shipped to where I live. How sad. :( So, I decided to look on Netflix (I mean, they do have everything right?). As I frantly search his name, I found a video. Oh, the joy that fulled my soul; however, I am again sad to report, but this to end up as a disappointment. Netflix does have it, but they are not sure when they are planning on releasing the video. :( Such a sad situation. Do you have any idea bloggers of where we can watch or buy this video?