Some Essentials for me these days

Since becoming a parent I've been convicted about what I watch/listen to.  Aaron and I have been praying about this for a while now but haven't taken the step to actually throw things out yet.  We've started making progress though.  We want a strict guideline of what we will and will not accept in our home.

All of that to say, when Zoe was nursing ALL.THE.TIME.  I was watching a lot of TV unfortunately. And the things that I watched weren't something I wanted her to watch, Dancing with the Stars being one of them.  I danced ALOT growing up.  But lately all of the dances are super raunchy/sexual and the costumes are just AWFUL! PLEASE WEAR CLOTHING.  Ok, anyway.  It makes me so sad though because I love dance and love to watch dancing but I can't keep watching things that are so wrong.

So lately, I've found the LivingWaters ministry again.

OH BOY

Just what I needed.  They have a show called ON THE BOX.  It's on at 2:30 EST.  I really enjoy watching this show because it makes me excited to go out and do evangelism.  It's even given me the courage to talk to the JWs when they came by recently.  Praise God for hopefully planting some seed in their lives.

Also, if you've never seen Hell's Best Kept Secret, find it on youtube, NOW.  Listen to it.  It was so convicting the first two times I listened to it.  (I think I've watched it at least 3-4 times now).  Also Ray Comfort has a teaching called True and False Conversion. (It's in the right sidebar.) It really challenged me to test myself to see if I'm in the faith.  (2 Corinthians 13:5)

I've also been listening to a lot of Todd Friel from Wretched.tv.  You can listen to his show from 3-5 pm EST on Familynet.com/radio.  He really encourages/admonishes believers to really think about what we believe and to test the things that we hear.  SO GOOD.

And Paul Washer. . . oh man some of the best preaching I've EVER heard.  No joke.  His sermon on Biblical Womanhood was AMAZING!


PLEASE rake an hour & a half sometime to listen to it.  It was encouraging & convicting.

And this teaching on the maturity of young men was also very good I recommend it to everyone between 18-40 to listen to it.  It's not taught often.

Be encouraged friends.

A family photoshoot

Thanks to my mom-in-love we did 6 month family photos last Sunday. We had planned to go to the Wintergreen gorge for pictures but it rained too much.  It was POURING so we decide to take photos inside at PSB.  It turned out to be a fun afternoon. 

And at the end we got some nice weather.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

I'm so thankful lately for the Sabbaths that Aaron, Zoe & I have been enjoying the last few weeks.  We;ve been trying to use our Sundays to focus more on the Lord.  Jesus tells us to seek first His Kingdom & His righteousness.  That is what Aaron & I have been trying to do lately.  We've been listening to great sermons by Paul Washer (Recovering Biblical Womanhood, Do You Really Desire God?), RC Sproul, John Piper, John McArthur. 

We've watched Pilgram's Progress and a movie on Tyndale (translated the Bible into English & was burned at the stake for it) & Charles Spurgeon.  

We know that we are not saved by doing these things but because Christ saved us how could we not want to honor Him?

Hopefully in the future we will go out to handout tracts and engage people in conversation yet. 

The Old Will Be Made New

One of the first few gifts we received from Zoe came from her Aunt Sally.  Aunt Sally gifted us with some of my mother-in-love's old clothing from when she was a baby.  This past weekend at church, I had Zoe in one dress, she decided to have an explosion, so I put her in the dress that was Grammie's.  Oh my goodness, so special.  I hope that someday I can go back to my parents and find some of my old clothing from when I was a baby for her to wear. How fun would that be?  I'm sorry for the picture overload but I just can't help it.  I love her and all of her silly little faces! So precious to me!

learning to investigate things. 

 ready to pounce =P

Now I know that this post is about the old dress being made new again because it's being used again, but Christ can do the same thing with us.  He can take the ugly, broken, messed up lives that we have lived and make them new.  I'm so thankful that everyday, Christ can make me a new creation.  I'm thankful that although I ate very poorly growing up, Christ is making me a new creation in that I can eat better now and lead a better example for my daughter.  Hey I no longer live on chicken strips and french fries, Praise God. Recently, I've discovered lettuce isn't entirely evil, and I can eat it, even if it doesn't taste good. 

I know I have a long way to go to be the mother God intends me to be and the wife that Christ can make me, but I thank Him for the changes He's already made in me.  I pray He will continue to make me new. 

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

Easter

When Aaron and I got married, we decided we would alternate Christmas and Thanksgiving between Pittsburgh (with my family) and Erie (with Aaron's).  We also decided that Easter was probably the other big holiday and that would be the one that we celebrated at our home.

This year we had Brandon over for Easter.  Since we just moved in 3 weeks ago we didn't have more people over, but hopefully next year we can invite both of our families here for Easter.  It will be crazy AND amazing.  Our place, although bigger, is still small =P.  But hey, our motto is "It's always an adventure with Aaron and Amanda Wood." (Although we have to change it now to fit in our little joy).

Taken a week before Easter.  And then it didn't fit a week later =P

And here she is snuggling up her Uncle Brandon!  So cute!!!

Hope you all had a very blessed Easter!

So thankful for serving our Risen Savior!

So Blessed

So there are many things today that didn't go as I had planned. 

Today at church I had nursery duty.  I got to hang out with the coolest/cutest little 2 year old.  I just love him to pieces.  Each time he sees me now he's super duper happy about it.  I love it!  I also got to hang out with a rocking little 8 month old.  What I hadn't planned on was that the 8 month old is now CRAWLING!!! Crazy!  She looks too little to be crawling, but she is.  Also, normally the 2-year-old is really good about putting away the toys he gets out.  Today he just couldn't focus.  He wasn't trying to be disobedient just too distracted by EVERYTHING.  But you know what, even still, I'm so blessed to be able to influence these little ones for Christ in small ways even just by caring for/playing with them.  Hopefully in the years to come they'll remember these days fondly. 

^That's our church :).  I love it so much!

After church we had planned to watch the Steelers game with our friends Andrew and Sky.  Only in Erie, they don't always broadcast the Steelers games.  So we ate some yummy mac and cheese and talked for quite a while.  Then we decided to play the board game WordThief.  My husband and I love this game, and Sky and Andrew also like it (I think, I hope).  So even though things didn't go as I expected, we still had a very nice afternoon. We are blessed to live so close to some of our great friends. 

That's Andrew and Sky.  We loff them.

Then I came home and washed some dishes (because I was lazy yesterday) and tried to sew some new items for the shop.  They will be available for purchase but more will just be an example of some custom items that I can do.  Only, I broke part of my machine.  The part that holds the spool of thread on came out and I can't get it to go back in.  I tried.  It's not working.  So I decided I would just give up for now.  Then I tried to play a video game and we failed pretty hard.  So realized that must not be what I was supposed to do at the time so I hand stitched the opening closed on a project.  That was nice to be able to do :).  But even still, I'm praising God that I have a sewing machine and don't have to sew everything by hand.  I've done some hand quilting before and trust me, it's way easier to use a machine to sew ;). 

Source

I was going to take 21 week bump pictures today also but got a text from our friends we visited on Friday saying I forgot my camera there.  I only have a little point and shoot so it must have fallen out of my purse (someday I will learn to zipper my purse).  But you know what, praise God that I have a little point and shoot camera.  And praise God that we got to hang out with our good friends Carol and Bill the other day.  It was such a blessing to just be adults and to talk about the things of God with them. 

For tonight, I think I'm going to go make some brownies, because I'm pregnant and craving chocolate and haven't had any in a while. Ok it's been a week, but I can't remember what my midwife said I should eat when craving chocolate instead of chocolate, so brownies it is (with peanut butter).  

I got distracted from making the brownies though by thinking of how blessed I am just to have a personal relationship with Christ and to know that He cares about me so much.  Why wouldn't I want to share Him with others??? He has changed me so much over the years.  In little ways, in big ways, and all the in between ways, I'm not who I was and I refuse to go back to that person.  We are studying prophecy in our sermons at church lately and tonight's message was very good and I hope to get a recording of the one from this morning since it's just hard to pay attention to the message when you are watching little ones.  

Source

Although this doesn't perfectly illustrate how Christ will return, I still appreciate the picture.

All that to say though that Jesus IS coming back.  It could be any day now. And as much as I would love to have our little one in our arms, if He came back tomorrow I would be THRILLED to go spend eternity with Him.  Although there are things that make me hope He doesn't come back tomorrow.  There are so many people that I love that don't know Him yet and that just frightens/makes me so sad.  It makes me realize I need to be praying for them more and more everyday.  I also know that if He came back tomorrow and I faced the judgement seat of Christ I would be very ashamed of myself that I have not served Him more.  There are too many times when I've been too selfish and wanting to entertain myself.  

I'm praying that over the next few months, Christ turns me into a better wife for my husband, a better homemaker.  I want our child to grow up in a nicely kept home.  Right now I'm so TERRIBLE at that.  I've never been very good at keeping things picked up.  That needs to change before our little one arrives.  I also need to make sure that I am trying to live for Christ every day.  Praying that I never miss an opportunity to share Him with others.  Praying that God will use me in any way possible to bring Him glory. 

I'm sorry that this was such a long post but there were just some things that I needed to write out today to hopefully encourage others but more as a reminder to myself of how I should be living my life.  

What are some of the ways Christ has blessed you lately???  Are you prepared if He returns soon?

Thankful Thursday

1. I got to spend a lot of time with my family the last week.
2. I serve a risen Savior!!! That's the most awesome thing EVER!
3. I have two little girls that I watch that just love spending time with me.  Thank You Lord for the time I have left with them.  I love them soooo muchly!
4. Aaron and I celebrate our 1-year anniversary this weekend! :) So exciting to me!  So So So excited!!! So I'm sooooooo thankful for my relationship with my AWESOME husband!  I seriously love him so much.  I know that God put us together!  Too Perfect!

Our Two Year Dating Anniversary

Photo Courtesy: Holly Wood (My Mother-in-Love) 

Here is a photo from when we got engaged:

Photo Courtesy: Holly Wood (My Mother-in-Love)

Our Wedding Day

Photo Courtesy: Kat Ritenour Photography (Our ROCKIN' Photographer)

What are you thankful for this week???

Please write a post and link up with what you are thankful for on this Thursday! Or feel free to share in the comments! :) 

He is not here

Source

Happy Easter!  

Remember today is not about chocolate, bunnies, or eggs, but that our Savior was crucified on Friday, died, was laid in the tomb with a huge stone rolled in front, on Sunday the stone was rolled away by an angel who told the women who came to check on Jesus: 

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

~Matthew 28:5-7

Please excuse the juke box in my head, but this is what just popped in there.  I feel it is very appropriate for today.

I serve a risen Savior

  He's in the world today.

I know that He is living,

  Whatever men may say.

I see His hand of mercy;

  I hear His voice of cheer;

And just the time I need Him

  He's always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives 

today!

He walks with me and talks with me 

along life's narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives?

    He lives within my heart.

In all the world around me
  I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary,
  I never will despair;
I know that He is leading,
  Through all the stormy blast;
The day of His appearing
  Will come at last.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian,
  Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs
  To Jesus Christ the King!
The Hope of all who seek Him,

  The Help of all who find,

None other is so loving,

  So good and kind.

Thankful Thursdays

This wasn't as hard as I had anticipated it would be for this week.  Here are some things that I am thankful for this week.  Please be sure to link up!

1. God's grace, mercy, faithfulness.  I'm trusting Him so much more in this matter than I ever have before.  Why I feel such a great peace about this I just don't know.  He's sooooooo good to me.  I mean, I should have peace about it, but I'm still suprised because it's not like me to be this calm.  Thanks Lord for Your peace which surpasses all understanding.

2. The sunshine/warmer temperatures.  How about you?

3. Spending time at the library reading to the girls.  My goodness how they love it.  We've come to know most of the librarians by name.  Today in the car, 2-year-old was singing, "Mr. Bob, Mr. Bob, Mr.  Bob, Mr. Bob."  I said, "M, what are singing?" She said, "I sing a song bout Mr. Bob."  He's her favorite librarian after he copied a princess picture for her to color.  He calls her princess every time he sees her.  The girls are just smitten with him.  It's too cute!  They love all of the workers there though.

4. God's miraculous provision.  We received, almost EXACTLY the amount of money that we needed to be able to pay our taxes on time.  I think we have to pay about 50 out of pocket.  How's that for God's awesome provision???  Thank you Jesus for using Your Church to help us.  God is sooooooo good.

5. I get to visit my family this weekend.  I'm very excited to see them as I haven't spent any real time with them lately.  This also comes with a request for prayer.  Most are unsaved.   We desire that they come to know the Lord.  Please pray with us. My great-grandmother is not doing well.  This may be the last time we see her.  My grandparents on my dad's side are getting a lot older and may not be around much longer either. Please pray that God prepares the way for us to share His Word.

6. The support of friends.  My friend Melanie came over on Tuesday (when I found out my job will be ending) and just talked with me and took me to the mall to get my mind off of things for a little while.  I've also gotten phone calls and emails from friends and it's so encouraging.  Thank you for all of your prayers.



What are you thankful for this week??? Please feel free to share through the weekend as well.  As you can see this is going up late this Thursday.  I just didn't have time to type it up before now.

Please link up:

You Give and Take Away

In August of 2009, I was about to move back to Pittsburgh, I had spent most of my savings living in Erie while still trying to find a job.  Nothing seemed to be happening.  Maybe one week before I called my landlord to let him know I'd be moving out, a family contacted me about a possible nanny position.  I was so thrilled.  I got an interview on a Thursday (or Friday, can't really remember).  When I pulled in the driveway, the truck had a WCTL sticker on the back.  A great sign to me that this might be God's leading (WCTL is the gospel music station in Erie (I don't say Christian because music can't be a "little Christ")).  I met with this wonderful family.  I found out Friday evening I got the job and started the following Monday.  What a huge praise that was.  I've watched the youngest girl grow from 5 months and not even rolling over yet, to become a talkative 2 year-old.  I enjoy having deep conversations with the 10 year old (or at least relatively so).  Oh middle child, you are God's way of teaching me patience, that doesn't mean I don't love you because I absolutely do, but I think God is using you to prepare me for kids of my own someday!  You are strong-willed, determined, incredibly intelligent, snuggly, sweet, and just very, whatever you are at a time you are very that adjective.  I will miss you.  That's right, I will miss them.

I love this family so much, but do to many difficulties, unfortunately my job will be ending in June.  I found out yesterday.  I cried, a lot.  Mostly because I don't want to miss out on the fun things that I get to do with the girls, the cute things they say, they do, the way they act, singing "the Haitian song" with them in the car, "playing shapes" with the 2 year old, dancing to Ga Guys, etc.  I will miss the fights over brushing hair, the snuggling up while watching movies, baking with the girls, the trip to Port Farms where we all had a fantastic day despite my losing my keys for a bit of time.  Mostly I've loved teaching them about Jesus.  The 2 year old will always remind me before lunch we need to "pay" (pray).

Aaron and I would appreciate prayer very much.  Right now we are living solely on my income as he's student teaching.  We're going to take a week to pray and see where God is leading us before rushing into anything.  We're not sure where He wants us.  I know He keeps putting orphans on my heart for a reason.  LORD, please show me!


Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.


The Lord gave me this job, and He has also now taken it away. I'm just praying He would show us where He wants us.  What He wants us to be doing.  Lord, if you want me to step out of my comfort zone and move I will, just show me!  I need your guidance everyday!

Baptisms

Are awesome!!! I was so excited to get to go to a baptism a week ago at our church.  There were 3 people there who were baptized.  Now, just a few heads up.  In our church we believe in "Believer's baptism."  That means no baptizing babies, no forcing people to be baptized.  Baptism is a choice that those being baptized make.  People must first confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of their lives and meet with our Pastor before they are baptized.  Being Lord means that you have given your life over to Jesus.  He is now the driver, you are the passenger.  You are the tool He is going to use to bring His Word to the world.  Being Savior means that He has saved you.  What has He saved you from?  Well, He's saved you from your sins.  The Bible says in Romans 3:23, " for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  That means to miss the mark, it's an archery term. That means, we can't get to Heaven on our own, where God's Glory resides.  We also find in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." So the wages (your earnings) for sin, is DEATH.  This does not mean physical death but spiritual death.  In that death we deserve to go to Hell.  Thankfully, God doesn't give us what we deserve. It doesn't end there, the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE in CHRIST JESUS.  God gives us a gift when He gives eternal life in Christ Jesus.  The three that were baptized at our church recently were publicly stating that they have received this free gift and that they have surrendered their lives to Christ.  


With that said, I want to also acknowledge that baptism does NOT save someone from their sins.  Romans 10:9 tells us how we will be saved.  "That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."   That's it.  No other way to heaven but through Jesus Christ, which He says also in John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." 


I would also like to point out that baptism does have to occur AFTER accepting Jesus.  In Acts 8:26-40, Peter comes across an Ethiopian eunuch.  The Ethiopian is reading scriptures but can't understand it, so Peter starts with the passage the former is reading and presents the good news of Jesus Christ.  Then the Ethiopian says, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” Then they went down INTO the water.  In our video you'll notice that Robin is taken down into the water.  It is a picture of what happens when I person is saved (receives Christ).  Romans 6:4 says it best, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." When we accept Jesus, we are a new Creation, a new creature, the old has passed away.  What an exciting change!!! 


I asked Robin, of our youth group, if I could post her baptism on my blog and she gave me permission.  So here is Robin's baptism.  I hope it is an encouragement to you.  The sound isn't great.  If you'd like to know what she says, I can post it in a later post.  

Reading

Lately I've been reading a lot more since I've decided that I need to spend my time more on the things of God.  I have read in the last two weeks:
Called Out by Janet Boynes - A woman who God called out of homosexuality and her story of how He saved her.
D.C. Talk & Voice of the Martyrs - Jesus Freaks; Martyrs - Heart wrenching stories of men and women who were willing to give up their lives rather than denounce their Lord Jesus.  This book was soooooooo encouraging.  If God calls us to the missions field I'm ready to go now.  I don't know that I was before this book but now I will be ready if and when He calls.

I've started:
D.C. Talk & Voice of the Martyrs - Jesus Freaks II; Revolutionaries - Great book that also kinda follows along with the first one although these stories aren't necessarily about those who died for their faith but they do live for Christ and know that their lives may be at stake.
Left Behind - Lehaye & Jenkins - A fictional account of what will happen when Christ comes back to rapture His church and what will happen to those that are "left behind."   Great stuff there.  I wouldn't be surprised if Christ comes back in the next five years.  And boy will I be excited to go home with Him.  We're just strangers in this land anyway.

I'm hoping to finish the two books that I started this week and get started reading some other books too.  We have so many great books, I just need to find the time to read them.  That means spending more time reading books and less time reading online.

Although, I have been having quiet times in the mornings as well where I listen to the Scriptures on Biblegateway.com.  Max McLean has an awesome dramatic reading of the Scriptures and I'm happy it's him that's saying all the hard to pronounce names and not me.  It's been awesome though because I normally read the New International Version of the Bible (more readable in my opinion), but I've been listening to the King James Version.  I've found that listening to the KJV is easier for me than reading it.  I'm getting so much more out of it by listening.  It's proving true what Romans 10:17 says
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (KJV) (emphasis added)

I hope you all are having a fantastic Sunday, as for me I'm off to read some more :)