Verse of the Day

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Walking in the Light

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:5-9

1 John 1:5- verses to go with this verse: John 1:19; 1 John 3:11; 1 Tim 6:16; James 1:17
Verses to go with verse 6: John 8:12; 1 John 2:11; John 8:55; 1 John 2:4; 4:20; John 3:21
Verses to go with verse 7: Isaiah 2:5; 1 Tim 6:16; Titus 2:14
Verses to go along with this verse: Job 15:14; Prov 20:9; Rom 3:10-18; John 8:44; 1 John 2:4; James 3:2
Verses to go with verse 9: Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13; Titus 2:14

Quote of the day

I will run the race set before me
I will seek Your face as the prize of my life

Philippians 3:8-14

First day of Summer Teen Intensive (STI)

Today was REALLY busy for us... Brent had me running here and there making copies, etc. But it was fun meeting new teens from all over the world... looking forward to working with them! Well, I am tired from all that running but I'll post more things later!!!

MUST READ

Click on the link below to read this sad story:-(

PLEASE PRAY

Please just keep me in your prayers as I study for my GED. I have before July 25th to take the test and pass it... so if you think of me, just pray! Thanks:-)

Quote for the Day

"When you are hurting,and you think about God's greatness, what a change it makes in your perspective when you remember this: The great 'I AM' cares personally and deeply for you. He exists beyond the stars, yet He knows every hair that falls from your head and every tear that drops from your eyes. When you grieve, he is grieving with you. When you are confused, He doesn't laugh at your confusion. He is with you right there, arms around you, ready to take you, if need be carry you, safely through the fog. He is Yahweh, the God who makes and keeps His covenants and promises."

NEW RELEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my dad's new album... it's amazing!!! We have been waiting for almost 2 years for it to come out and now we are excited that's out!!! Its very convicting and uplifting... you'll love it! So buy it cause my Dad's the GREATEST!!!! If you want to, check it out at the IHOP MP3 Store online or the bookstore!!

My favorite song on this album is Paper Religion!!! I could listen to that song and NEVER get tired of it... the day I got the CD, I kept repeating the same song (Paper Religion) over and over again for about an hour, and my mom and dad were like, "Telma, could we please listen to a different song, buhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gift I just couldn't listen to a different song. So, I just burned the disc unto my laptop and listened to it with my headphones on cause that song is INCREDIBLE!!!! So, I highly recommend y'all buy it!! It will bless you;-)

Summer

My summer is going to be busy! First, we are gonna be hosting 5 to 6 girls, plus me and my 4 sisters (ya, WOW). So, there'll be 12 girls including my mom... our house will be packed with girls (poor dad!!)
Brent has asked me to make ALL the copies for STI, including making sure all the preachers are there (MP) on time and taking care of their needs... so, that's gonna be fun!! In the midst of all that, I just got my GED book, so, I'm gonna be studying alot (I have to finish the whole book by the end of June). So, I am going to try hard! I'm asking the LORD to give me grace!! But ya, I am gonna be busy this summer!

Warning a Wicked and Perverse Generation Part2

AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH

Jesus said that in the end times it would be "as in the days of Noah were." When I read the story of Noah I not only read: "that they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage" but also that "the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Is it not in our day? Men with such depraved wicked minds, sin soaked, sex soaked, so that nothing is pure anymore! The same wickedness that crucified Jesus is resident in the hearts of men in this generation. Gen. 6:6 "The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart." Does it grieve the heart of the Lord today that "he had made man?" What type of wickedness would it take to wish we never birthed a child? How wicked does that child need to be in our sight, how repulsive? The scripture continues: "Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence." When God's eyes looked upon the earth it says: "for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth." What a frightening picture, of men that have ruined themselves. A selfish, violent, wicked culture! A God-rejecting culture. This is where we find ourselves. We are comfortable with sin in our day, we call "good, evil and evil, good!" And woe unto us! We want a nice, pretty picture of the world and our goal is to simply share with people "God loves you." Could you imagine Noah preaching "God loves you" with a big smile on his face to that wicked generation. Do you think Noah hanged a sign on the ark saying "God loves you?" We are going to stand before a holy God that has called us to preach repentance to men with our lives and words. Noah was a repentance preacher, firstly that he separated himself from the whole wicked world system, and secondly in his preaching he shared that message. The church cannot preach the true gospel until they have fully repented and are living in that reality. A separated church is the only Church! God is calling men to be separated unto His will from our rotten dirty selfish wills. Hebrews 11:7 says: "by the which he (Noah) condemned the world." He condemned the world by living righteousness and staying pure amidst the moral landslide around him.

As also was in the days of Lot... so will it be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed... Luke 17

Warning a Wicked and Perverse Generation

An UNTOWARD GENERATION

A wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign. A carnal, lukewarm, lax, unbelieving Church sits back and demands of God the supernatural to give value to His credibility. The spotless bride often looks more like a self-absorbed whore. Dennis E. Green said: "We feast on the bounty provided by our husband while neglecting his wishes that don't excite and please us. We seek to be fulfilled by our selfish pursuits rather than by serving Him." An untoward perverse generation seeks pleasure before God. The words of Scripture speak to our day "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God(2 Timothy 3:4)." God said when this happens it would be the "last days." This is a generation of men that have plugged their ears shut and are shutting their vanities and filth loudly. There is no more restraint in the world, not more culture or virtue in dealings. Even the most dignified actions of men are plagued with the continually thoughts of their wicked perverse minds. Those who are walking apart, walking in holiness with God are a reprove this whole bankrupt system of evangelical Christendom that we see. The simple life of one who has fully counted the cost and has fully surrendered to Christ will be a reprove to the church and the world. There is a sleeping world and a sleeping church that needs to be awakened. A.W. Tozer said: "Religion today is not transforming people; rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society; it is descending to society's own level, and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smilingly accepting its surrender." May we be "salt" and "light" in the world bringing preservation and exposure to the persuasive wickedness in men's hearts.

My Plans For Now...

Well, as many of you know, I am planning on taking my GED sometimes soon, and doing FMA in the Fall!! I am so excited... I can't believe its actually happening! I plan to take my driver's permit sometimes soon... I'm just not super ready yet;-) I will be helping out at STI this summer, so it's gonna be a really busy summer/fall for me!! My last day of playing in the PR is the 24th (which I am excited about), but I've enjoyed playing with my dad and I've learned alot from him!!! I LOVE MY DAD!!!! So, anyways, those are my plans for now!!

Zoe!!!

This is her... 7 months later!! I can't believe she's actually this big! She was a tiny little thing no more than like 5 to 7 months ago! WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING HER RANDY AND KELSEY???

Loux Girls with Zoe!!!

This picture was taken like last November or so!! This is Zoe Bohlender!! She's such a beauty!! I think her and I could go for sisters (except I have BIGGER eyes...lol)!!! Anyways, I love her!!!

Talk About Being Sick!!

I've had this horrible cough since last Thursday (and a bit of a fever...but) and I HATE it! I feel bad for those who get sick constantly... I feel their pain. I mean, this is my first in 3 years, but imagine those who are sick constantly... it's kinda sad. Not fun either! I got my sickness from my little sisters... it went from Sophie, KK, my dad and than me... now I have a fever (it's going away), a cough, and a runny nose... don't y'all kinda feel bad for me... I mean I am playing the keys on stage (at IHOP) with a runny nose... Like last Sunday, we were aired in Asia, and I couldn't stop making faces trying to keep my snots in so it doesn't accidentally run down... lol! But ya, I hate being sick... don't you?

Check it out....!

Relaxing under a tree at Shiloh after an hour of walking!!!

What does Love mean?

A group of professional people posed
this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds,
"What does love mean?"

The answers they got were broader and deeper
than anyone could have imagined. See what
you think:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she
couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all
the time, even when his hands got arthritis too.
That's love."
Rebecca- age 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When someone loves you, the way they
say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in
their mouth."
Billy - age 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and
a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and
smell each other."
Karl - age 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody
most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy
and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is
OK."
Danny - age 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas
if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If you want to learn to love better, you should
start with a friend who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt,
then he wears it everyday."
Noelle - age 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old
man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I
was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving
and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared
anymore."
Cindy - age 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My mommy loves me more than anybody.
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at
night."
Clare - age 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of
chicken."
Elaine-age 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty
and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even
after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives
me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and
down and little stars come out of you."
Karen - age 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you
mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A four year old child whose next
door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into
the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the
neighbor, the little boy
said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Taking a hot/bubble bath

WOOOOW!!!! Look at her... she's so chubby!!! Makes me wonna hold/kiss her FOREVER!! ;-)

Bob the Dude

The other day, I was just in our backyard taking pictures, and almost stepped on this sick, gross, looking creature, and my word, I screamed SO LOUD that I think the people in Africa heard me!! As many of you know, I HATE snakes/spiders. They're disgusting looking creatures... but I thought I'd post these two pictures, cause they're kinda cool... maybe a little cool!!

Our Little LeeLee...!!!!

Click on the photos to get a closer look of LeeLee!!! ;-)

Talk about FUNNY!!!

KIDS IN CHURCH
3-year-old Reese:
"Our Father, Who does art in heaven,
Harold is His name.
Amen."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little boy was overheard praying:
"Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it.
I'm having a real good time like I am."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the christening of his baby brother in church,
Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied,
"That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home,
and I wanted to stay with you guys."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One particular four-year-old prayed,
"And forgive us our trash baskets
as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they
were on the way to church service,
"And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"
One bright little girl replied,
"Because people are sleeping."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3.
The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.
Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.
"If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,
'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,
"Ryan, you be Jesus!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A father was at the beach with his children
when the four-year-old son ran up to him,
grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore
where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
"Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked.
"He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said,
"Did God throw him back down?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A wife invited some people to dinner.
At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said,
"Would you like to say the blessing?"
"I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied.
"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered.
The daughter bowed her head and said,
"Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

Cutie Pie

I can't believe my little LiLi is getting bigger and bigger everytime I see her!!!!Isn't she the CUTEST thing ever!!?

Jesus, the Living Water

Made a few changes...


“Whoever drinks of the water I give will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him or her will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4.14)

The living water of Jesus offers wholeness and peace in this world. And this is the path of eternal life. To drink now from Jesus’ teachings is to have the well of God in our very being. As our thirst begins to be quenched, the spring of God flows out to the broken around us.

Tonight, our family had a SWEET time during devotions, talking about Jesus being our Living Water. I've been thinking about all the things that we, as broken people, search for to try to satisfy that part of us that only Jesus can satisfy. Why is it that we struggle so much with this? We've been looking for something that can satisfy our souls, something that we think will make us happy...movies, video games, love songs, rap music, immorality, fashion, drugs, alcohol and partying...Any of us could be popular and still not be happy. We think to be known would be great! It's Christ in us that needs to be made known. The only thing that CAN and WILL satisfy your heart is Jesus Christ the Living Water!! He is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE...the path to life... He will satisfy us with His Living Word, and refresh out hearts with His truth and His love.

This generation is full of wickedness- Romans 3

Beauty!!

Left: Sunset in the Marshall Islands!!
Right: One of the Islands in the Marshalls!!!

"The Love of God"

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Cor 1:3-4

God gave us our feelings and emotions for a purpose and He can use them to enhance our walk with Him. Using the example of marriage to demonstrate what I mean. I know that my dad loves my mom, but if he doesn’t show that he does, then their marriage is likely to go through some pretty hard times. My mom needs to ‘know’ deep within her that she is loved. She also needs to trust my dad. Without trust the relationship is on a collision course with disaster. (FYI, my parents do love each other… it was just an example… that was all I could think of...)
Anyways, in the same way, to have a relationship with God, we have to be able to trust Him. If we do not know that He has our best interests at heart (that He loves us) then we will find it very difficult to trust Him in our lives. So many of us either did not know a father’s love, or received a perverted idea of what a father’s love should be, that when it comes to receiving love from our Heavenly Father, we tend to put our earthly experience of fatherly love onto Him.
Unfortunately, our natural fathers are very human and, very often any love that was shown to us as children was flawed. If your natural father is/was never there when you needed him; was angry or drunk; was unkind or uncaring; sometimes reliable but sometimes not, then your view of God is likely to be somewhat distorted. Another factor in our experience could be that your parents or grandparents used God as a threat in order to get you to behave; in which case you will tend to think of Him as some sort of a mad God to be feared and avoided if at all possible.
If you really long to know that the Father really loves you, then the first step is to forgive your earthly father for whatever made you uncomfortable with him. Then you can ask your Heavenly Father to show you how much He loves you!

Jesus said: "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24

Open yourself up to God and ask Him to show you how much He loves you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told us that when He was seated at the right hand of the Father, He would send the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth

"You may ask Me for anything in my name, I will do it. " If you love me, you will obey what I command 16. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor (Holy Spirit) to be with you forever. The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you." John 14:15

If you have asked the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and to take over your life, then you have the Holy Spirit within you and can ask Him to show you how much God loves you. God is love. He is not there to slap us down whenever we get out of line or to send us to hell if we sin. When we do sin, we can ask for forgiveness, turn away from it and start all over again with a clean slate. His mercies are new every morning.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning, is your faithfulness." Lam 3:22-23

Example: If you were asked to give over your son to be killed in order that the people next door could be saved, would you do it? ( Dumb example) God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for all of us. What more could He do to show you how much He loves you, just as you are?

"We love because He first loved us. "1 John 4:19

So before we knew Him, He loved us!

A doll!!

Isn't she a darling?!?

Favorite Quotes

Here are two of my favorite verses in the book of Proverbs...

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life!
Prov. 4:23
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones!
Prov. 16:24

Elia

Yesterday, I got to hold this beautiful little girl for at least 20 minutes before my noon set... and I was just thinking of how blessed I am to have her as my cousin!! I can't wait to see what the LORD has in store for her!! I love her and she's such a darling!

Bored...

Right now, I am doing a few pages in my Math book... I love Math, but there are times when you're just NOT IN THE MOOD to do any... ya know? Anyways, I am getting my GED soon, which I am SO EXCITED about, and then probably FMA in the Fall... ya!!!

Kissing Elia's foot

The other day, I was holding Lia and I happened to have grabbed that tiny foot and gave it a little smoochie!! :-)

Darling

As for those who don't know, my uncle and aunt adopted a VERY adorable little girl!!
Her name is Elia Jane... and we all love her very much!! Isn't she a cutie???