Is Attending Church Once A Week Enough?

There are many people who honestly feel that attending church once a week is enough for their spiritual growth.  First and foremost, I am not writing this blog to discourage those who attend church once a week.  I want to say Congratulations!!!  There are so many people who don't even bother to attend church anymore, and pass it by.  There are many who attend on certain occasions and feel that they are "covered/safe."  So please, if you do attend church every week, keep going!! This blog is going to go into detail to see if that is enough.
  So now that I have addressed that, I want to start explaining why I feel it isn't enough.  Let me first ask a series of questions and answer honestly.
 1)  What is your main reason for attending church?  Is it out of routine? Obligation? Is it for attendance?
 2)  When you are at church what are you doing?  Are you people watching? Judging others? Participating?
 3)  When you leave church what is your first thought?  Do you try and apply anything you have learned?
 4)  Do you attend service and just leave?  Do you talk to anyone or try and make connections?
 5)  Is this the only time you open your Bible?  Do you read your Bible the rest of the week?

These are a few questions to help you see the reasons for attending service.  Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and if there is anything hidden that is selfish, for him to expose it to you so you can repent and have true revelation from God.

Now, I can honestly tell you that when I grew up I just went to Church because I was "told" to, and because I was raised that way.  I was in a routine to where I didn't question it, I did it because I had always done it.  I wouldn't pay attention in service, I wouldn't get anything out of it, I wouldn't connect with Jesus, etc.  I basically did it out of routine because that is what I have always done.  The moment that changed for me was when I attended my first Christian Service.  I saw everyone bringing their Bibles to church and I felt left out.  I wondered why nobody ever told me to bring my Bible, or why I never saw anyone reading their Bible in church when I grew up.  It made me want to know what was in the Bible and what everyone else knew that I already didn't.  I felt like they knew this secret, and I was on the outside looking in.  The Holy Spirit got a hold of me and started drawing my heart in.  I started to ask questions and needed to know why I wasn't taught these things.  I felt like I was being deceived and lied to and nobody told me.  I began to develop this hunger inside of me to start seeking the answers.  I started to have one on one meetings with Pastors and Elders.  I started to open the Bible and actually read it.  I started to listen to Pod casts that were Bible studies, and started getting more involved with studies.

Let me ask you this question: How many times do you eat a day?  Now let me ask you this question: How many times do you read the Bible a day?  The Bible is your Spiritual Food and you NEED this in order to survive eternally!!!  You need food to survive physically, but you need the Bible to survive eternally.  Now which is more important: Physical or Spiritual?  Temporal or Eternal?  You need to open you Bible DAILY and not just on Sundays!! It simply isn't enough to read the Bible once a week.  It isn't enough to sit back and have someone teach you one hour a week and then leave.  You need to start doing the work and seeking God yourself!! You need to open his Word and have him speak to you.  You need to connect daily with Jesus and spend time in his presence!!  Now, this is my blog so this is how I feel and what I believe.  So now it is time to ask yourself: Do you believe attending Church once a week is enough?

If you don't know Blood Covenant, then you don't know the Bible....

Here is  Kenneth Copeland Video Part 1 of 2
Watch this video, and educate yourself about The Blood Covenant of God.  I can guarantee that once you understand this covenant, the Bible will open itself up to you in a new way!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyPu-WKeEGM

Here is Kenneth Copeland Part 2 of 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlPUnRMkUyg

Living Life As An Extremist....

I wanted to give a look of life through my eyes.  Since this is my personal blog, I am able to first hand write about what I think and how I live.  My personality has always been an extremist.  It is either nothing or everything with me.  I either don't act or I act to the extreme.  I don't have a middle line or a grey area.  Before I knew Jesus this was a dangerous trait because I was very rebellious and loved to party.  With being an extremist I loved being dangerous and took risks and had no fear.  Praise God that he was always with me and watching over me, because I never watched out for myself in those times.  My mindset has changed after I became Saved and make the Lord Jesus my personal Savior.  I am still an extremist but in a different way now.  My personal opinion is that it is helpful to live life this way because it truly will make you take each day as it comes, and be bold with that day.  When you truly understand that you aren't guaranteed another day or another minute, then you know how precious they are.  You don't want to waste time or waste moments because you realize they are precious.  Myself being an extremist I understand that time is running out, and I don't sit and worry about it, I am extremely grateful that I am in that moment because it is sacred.  I understand that this could be my last day on earth or my last night on earth.  I understand that I may not wake up tomorrow or have another day.  I understand that my family might not be there tomorrow and this was my last time with them.  When you have this type of mindset you truly appreciate each moment in life and don't take it for granted.  When you think this way, you are able to see that time should not be wasted on petty little arguments or disputes.  People can go days without talking and hold grudges.  I should know this, because I used to be one of them before I knew Jesus.  People think they have all the time in the world and that they will trust their feelings and decide when to do something.  God is in control of the day, not us!!  This will put it into perspective for people who don't think like myself, an extremist.  Let's say you just had an argument with your spouse/mate/family member and the argument has not been settled yet.  You become so angry that you decide not to speak to that person or ignore their phone calls.  Later that night you find out that person is no longer here on earth, what is the first though that would enter your mind?  I bet it wouldn't be the argument!! The feelings of anger that you had would now turn into sadness because you would remember that it was an opportunity that you had with that person and it could of been an amazing opportunity of love and memories.  If you knew ahead of time that it was going to be that persons last night on earth, I am sure you wouldn't of let a silly argument ruin that day.  You would of realized how precious it was and you would of wanted to grab that person in your arms and tell them how much you love them and appreciate them and most importantly you would want to make sure that person knew Jesus intimately.  This is a picture of what my mind goes through as an extremist.  Whenever I have an argument with my husband I automatically think "I don't want this to be the last time I remember us having this moment if something were to happen."  I want to make it right immediately and end it right away because I want us to always have love and peace and not have regrets.  I know with my children that God holds their future in HIS hands, not mine.  I need to do my best job on being their mother and live every day with them to the fullest.  I don't want to have any regrets.  I have had many people call me an extremist and to be honest I am happy to be one.  I can see that if something needs to be cut out, I won't just cut out a little, I will wipe out the entire thing that is causing it.  If I see a particular sin I am struggling with, I will eliminate the environment that caused it.  So to all of you extremists out there, I guess this blog is a shout out to you!!!!!

The Christmas House....

Every single year our family has started a tradition to where we go and see "The Christmas House" after Thanksgiving.  We look forward to this house every year and they always make sure to add a few new things each time.  I am going to put the link of this house below and you can read about this house and all of the details.  This Christmas House keeps Jesus first instead of having it be all about Santa Claus.  It reminds people that Jesus is the reason for the season.  They have Bible videos playing where there is preaching and have scriptures all over their display.  I took a few pictures that I am going to include in this blog.  They have music playing for the children and a bubble machine that the kids absolutely love.  Every year this is special to us because each year our children get older to where we can see it through their eyes.  If you are in the area, please come and check out this Christmas House and tell people about it.  It is free of charge, but they do accept donations.  Enjoy!!!!

Here is the entrance to the lights/house

The kids were thrilled to see the lights!

This is a sign with Jesus at the top pointing to Heaven, and below it are all the other religions in the world and how they lead every other way besides to Heaven!

Amen!!!  I couldn't take my eyes off of this!!

Dad and Son

Gabe loved the Bubbles!

Rafa loved the Bubbles too!!

The link for the website is:http://www.christmasdisplay.org/

Seeking His Face/ And Also How The Enemy Uses Technology to Destroy Families

I wanted to write this blog to share with everyone on how important it is to seek Gods face every single day!  We cannot get stuck in the day to day routine and repeat the cycle day in and day out.  It is almost as if we are cycling like clothes in the dryer, we just keep going round and round.  Yes we are alive and breathing, but are we doing anything for the advancement of Gods kingdom?  If you can learn one thing from Society is is "Hustle, Hustle, Hustle."  The whole motto is to get it while you can and get as much as you can.  It is a ME generation and a selfish driven world.  If we don't check in with God daily, we can end up operating in our own strength and our own power.  As you already know, us humans are weak.  We get tired and weary and yes we even get sick.  We need to take care of ourselves and have the proper nutrition since our bodies are so frail.  Now since we know this, how can we even try to think that we can do things in our own human strength?  When we seek Gods face daily, it reminds us that he is first and that we are living for him!  It reminds us that we cannot do anything alone, and cannot survive without his presence.  We need to treat God like oxygen and depend on Jesus minute to minute.  It needs to be that type of urgency that our society has seemed to have lost more and more over the years.  If we only seek him a few times a week or a month, then as you can see we are not keeping him first.  Many people only seek his face, when they are in the middle of a storm.  We need to get in the habit of have a specific time each day to where we make him the priority and spend time in his presence.  I am not boasting and saying that I have it all together, but I can tell you that I get convicted back to back if I start slipping back in the flesh.  I am weak and have my moments to where I am tired and want to relax and start making excuses.  The Holy Spirit is quick to remind me that I haven't spent time with God and that I need to get back to it.  I notice that I have more peace, when I have been making God a priority.  I don't ask for alot of money or nice things, all I ever want is peace with myself and peace with my family.  I think peace is the most beautiful thing anyone could ever ask for in this world.

  So let me ask you, what is important to you?  What do you make time for each day?  Is God on that list?  How much time do you spend on your technology?  Do you know that God has Divine Appointments set up DAILY and I personally believe that everyone today is ALWAYS on their phones/ipods etc to where they never take the time to look up and see these Divine Appointments.  My husband and I recently decided to get rid of our personal facebook.  I know that the enemy comes to rob, kill and destroy and I believe that the enemy uses technology to rob family time and personal time with God.  Some things need to be kept sacred and private, and everyone shouldn't know your business.  Next time you go into an office or appointment, look and see how many people are on their phones and never look up.  I see this at the park with parents and their children.  The parents are on their cellphones the entire time and their children are playing by themselves.  I believe that God has placed this passion deep in my heart on this issue, because I feel like people today are losing touch of how it is to truly connect with one another.  There are people today who have even ended relationships via text.

Where is the face to face?  Where is the heart to heart?  When you seek Gods face he will reveal to you what has been blocking your relationship with him.  Get in the habit of seeking his face daily!!!

Thankful On This Thanksgiving......

What are you thankful for on this day of Thanksgiving?  I am thankful for the sacrifice that Jesus Christ did for me on Calvary's cross.  I am thankful that he cared enough about a sinner like myself and saw value in myself when I didn't.  I am thankful for him rescuing me from the bondage I had and from being a servant to Satan.  I am thankful that the old has passed away and that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus.  I am thankful that what the enemy meant for harm, God has redeemed and brought glory to HIS name.  I am thankful for my Husband.  I am thankful to have a Godly Man that loves the Lord with all of his Mind, Soul, and Strength.  I am thankful that my Husband puts God first and seeks HIS will above his own.  I am thankful to have a Son that God has blessed me with.  I am thankful that Jesus fought for my Sons life, and loved him even when I didn't.  I am thankful for a beautiful Daughter that Jesus has blessed us with.  I am thankful for my family and for every ones health.  I am thankful for our entire families.  I am thankful for our Church Family.  I am thankful for having all of our necessities met on a daily basis.  I am thankful that God is still working in me and that I am one day closer.

So what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving???

Celebrating Chanukah.....

We wanted to share with everyone that this is the first year that our family is celebrating Chanukah.  We understand that since we have been in grafted in Christ Jesus that we know take place with the Jews and celebrate in their traditions.  We understand the History of the Festival of Lights and what amazing miracles happened.  We know that Jesus partook in this, and to be honest it is truly remarkable to participate in this knowing that Jesus did this as well.  We have been doing research and asking questions about this: when does it start, how long does it last, how do you light the menorah, the prayers and blessings, games, etc.  We had a friend give us a great resource:  Jewish Voice with Jonathan Bernis.  You can find his webpage/youtube videos and learn about this festival.  You can also find the prayers online and an outline of how to celebrate this holiday.  Below, we posted an outline that briefly explains how to light it and what blessings to recite.  You can buy a menorah at Walmart or Target.  They also have a game that is played during Chanukah that is called "dreidel."  You can also learn the different types of food that Jews normally make during this festival.  It is so amazing to start this tradition for our family and teach this to our children.  We rejoice in this festival knowing that Jews are doing it all over the World, remembering what God did for them in the temple.  

Wednesday, November 27, 2013	Kislev 24
Tonight is the first Night of Chanukah Recite blessings 1, 2 and 3 and kindle one light in the menorah.

Thursday, November 28, 2013	Kislev 25
Tonight is the second Night of ChanukahRecite blessings 1 and 2 and kindle two lights in the menorah.

Friday, November 29, 2013	Kislev 26
Tonight is the third Night of Chanukah Recite blessings 1 and 2 and kindle three lights in the menorah. The menorah should be litbefore lighting the Shabbat Candles (18 minutes before sunset). Light Shabbat CandlesClick here for Shabbat candle lighting times

Shabbat, November 30, 2013	Kislev 27
Tonight is the fourth Night of ChanukahAfter nightfall (click herefor local times), recite blessings 1 and 2 and kindle eight lights in the menorah. The menorah is lit after Shabbat ends and the Havdalah is recited.

Sunday, December 1, 2013	Kislev 28
Tonight is the fifth Night of Chanukah Recite blessings 1 and 2 and kindle five lights in the menorah.

Monday, December 2, 2013	Kislev 29
Tonight is the sixth Night of Chanukah Recite blessings 1 and 2 and kindle six lights in the menorah.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013	Kislev 30
Tonight is the seventh Night of Chanukah. Recite blessings 1 and 2 and kindle seven lights in the menorah.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013	Tevet 1
Tonight is the eighth Night of Chanukah. Recite blessings 1 and 2 and kindle eight lights in the menorah.

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