Sweet Pink heart Shaped Cookies for Ladies Brunch

Radiance the ladies ministry at my church-Bethel Christian hosted a brunch this past Saturday. I was not going to be able to attend but I wanted to do something special for the ladies who would be in attendance. So I made sweet pink heart cookies to remind the ladies that they are loved by God. attached was a tag with some of my favorite verses from Song of Solomon 4:9-10

You've captured my heart, dear friend. 

   You looked at me, and I fell in love. 

   One look my way and I was hopelessly in love!

How beautiful your love, dear, dear friend— 

This was a first big baking project for me and I loved it! I had a blast! 

I want to thank my dear husband Josh and beautiful sister Ligia for helping me with last minute details! 

Romans 4 will our faith be credited to us as righteousness?

Romans 4 (New International Version, ©2011)

¹⁸ Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”^[d] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. ²⁰ Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²² This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” ²³ The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.


We must believe in the sacrifice that Jesus endured for our redemption from sin. We need to strengthen our faith in his promises. 
What do we understand by faith?

Hebrews 11 (The Message)

^1-2The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

 ³By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see.

Even when we can't see the outcome yet we must believe that the Lord is faithful and therefore trust that he who sent Christ in our place to die for our sin also raised him from the dead to give us life! We must not belittle this amazing sacrifice by doubting and turning to sin because we can see it and feel it. We must trust in God and believe in Him so that our faith will be credited to us as righteousness.

Deuteronomy 30:19 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

I challenge you to choose life-the life that only comes from God through Jesus who died and rose from the dead so that in Him we could have eternal life!

Romans 3 We all have sinned

Romans 3 (Amplified Bible)

^"20For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [^[a]not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character].

    ²¹But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the Prophets,

    ²²Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

    ²³Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory ^[b]which God bestows and receives.

    ²⁴[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus,"

Regardless of what your name is or your nationality it does not matter if you are Jew, or Greek-we all have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God! 

And no doing good works is not enough...just because we"try" to follow the 10 commandments is not enough to make us ok with God. The Law(the 10 commandments) was given to help us recognize sin so that we would not indulge in it and instead repent from it and allow for the righteousness of God to be revealed to us through Christ.
By his grace "his unmerited favor and mercy," we can be redeemed through Christ by acknowledging the Lord as the only way to eternal life.


Thank you Lord for laying down your life for us so that we could live. Show us and help us to turn away from sin and run to you!

Romans 2 God is Kind but he is not Soft.

Romans 2 (The Message)

^"3-4You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change." 


Let us not be deceived that we can live and not realize that all of our actions an decisions have consequences. 
Galatians 6:7
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.


I pray that I will be able to always live out the radical life change that the Lord requires of me, because he holds me by the hand and has given me the tools I need to live out and walk out his truth. I pray that I see the sin in my life and repent and walk in the way of the Lord. That I don't judge others in hopes of numbing the sin that wants to take home in my heart. Lord cleanse my heart. 
I want to follow after you~

Ligia (my little sister) is visiting us for 10 days!

last year at my baby shower

We are so excited! Ligia is coming for 10 days! we can't wait!
Let me tell you a little bit about her!
She is so joyful and full of life that she lights up the room when she walks in!
She loves the Lord with all of her heart and continues to grow in her walk with the Lord everyday!
Her laugh is contagious it brings you joy-you just want to revel in it!
She is an awesome singer! Every day I swear her voice gets better and better-she is blessed!
She is currently working with kids in an after school program and she is so great with them!
She has a great sense of style-basically super supermodel hot stuff!
I know she is going to be famous-well she kind of already is...

I can't wait to spend time with her this week! I know Josh and Sammy are thrilled as well!
Love you sis!

Roman's 1 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie

Romans 1 The Message

Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral

 ^18-23But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse.

What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

 ^24-25So God said, in effect, "If that's what you want, that's what you get." It wasn't long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!
 ^26-27Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn't know how to be human either—women didn't know how to be women, men didn't know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.

There is so much in this chapter! 

This passage grips at my heart and I am humbled before the Lord. 

I pray Lord please forgive us, forgive our nation, forgive our generation and save us...

The time is now when we should turn back to our God-our creator because when we turn away from him Life  truly becomes a downward spiral...

But the Lord continues to stand with outstretched arms Longing to Save us and for us to know Him completely!

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Praise the Lord for abundant Grace!

Texas Our Texas

Texas Independence March 2nd 1836 

http://www.technicalsolutionsconsulting.com/Celebrate_March_2.html

Josh and I at the state capital taking our engagement pictures by Eric Moote
Josh asked me to marry him on a carriage ride right in front of this building!

Today I am celebrating our beloved Texas! Remembering all the wonderful blessings we have been given there! My first home in the US and my hearts home forever!