This is Me & My Life Right Now :)

Fireproof...?

Okay, so let me just say that for those of you that haven't seen the movie Fireproof (by Sherwood Pictures) you are MISSING OUT!!!!  They are the same people that put on the movie Courageous:)

But what is my point in talking about this movie?  Well, in this movie, it's about a fireman that saves people from fires but is letting his own marriage burn to the ground.

Until, that is, he sees that marriage is a covenant between one man & one woman FOR LIFE, and how could he go & save people he has never even met while letting his wife & him drift apart?

I know you will cry when you watch this if you have a heart at all, but what I love about this movie is that not only does it show how one man decides to fight for his wife even when she was rejecting him & wanted divorce,

But it's a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL picture of how 'God demonstrated His OWN love toward us WHILE we were yet sinners...'  Jesus comes to us in the fire & wraps His loving arms around us & pulls toward safety, even though we rejected Him & DIDN'T WANT His help & His love, we wanted our own way,

He came & demonstrated His love for you anyway.


Doesn't matter that you were rejecting Him, spitting in His face, hating Him, running from Him.  You were the spouse that "wanted divorce".  Worse than that, in biblical terms, you actually weren't even the Bride of Christ until you got saved,

So before that, you were His enemy.

And yet He pursued you...because He loves you.

And something that the fireman (Kirk Cameron) on Fireproof learns is that LOVE IS NOT A FEELING but a DECISION,

and in marriage, it's FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE.

Sure, emotions are linked with love at first,

But there will come a day when the feelings & romantic/happy feelings are low or even gone altogether,

What then?

That's when true love steps in and preserves...

Is your love fireproof?  Or can it easily be burned up in the trials & hard times of life?

Our cat Sadie had her babies today! Seven little cuties!! :) Life is good!

This is the first kitten we've had that has been all white.  So neat!

I know you may be thinking, "Oh wow, those are some ugly little cats."  Which, to an extent, that's true, considering they sorta look like little rats with their long tails & bony little bodies & their little eyes closed!  But you just wait a few weeks, they will get bigger & cuter!!

But isn't it funny how something as simple & tiny & miniscule as baby kitties can get us so wound up?!  I mean, some of you may be laughin' your head off at me right now and sayin', "Oh wow, Sam!  They're just cats!"

But hang with me for a sec, I have a point I'm tryin' to make here:) 

Yes, in all reality, they are just baby cats, so why am I so excited over them?  Well, I guess you could say that in each of us there is an inborn love & appreciation for life, even the tiniest, seemingly worthless forms of life.  Yet no life is worthless.

And as I write, I am reminded of the French word,  nouvelle vie and also, dieudonne.  

In French, that means, "new life & God-given".  

So what is my point with this thing?  Between the baby kitties & the French phrases, I may have already lost ya!  Sorry if I have!

But my point is, YOU, you are dieudonne nouvelle vie!  (And for those of you that really write French, please forgive my lack of apostrophes!:) 

YOU, my friend, are a God-given, God-breathed miracle, a life, that He has made for His glory.  He loves you SOOO much!

And so, yes!  I am excited about the baby kitties because I am excited about LIFE!!!!!  And I am excited about MY life!!  This life that GOD has GIVEN me as a gift!  And I want to cherish & glory in it, & have joy & IMMENSE bubbling happiness, KNOWING that my life has a purpose & that is to glorify the One who made me!  I LOVE my life!  Praise the Lord!!!
 

Do you see your life as a gift like that?  Or are you throwing it away by begrudging God the way He made you?...

The Journey poem

They try to get it through your head that you're doin' better,

That you're makin' progress,

But all you see is the blood & feel the sharpness of the pain,

They try to tell you that you're gonna be okay,

You nod, but something in your heart doesn't agree,

A year passes,

Two years,

Goin' on three.

There's days that feel like blurs,

Just images, colors, places, faces, no emotion,

You try to take it in,

But you're lookin' on from the outside in,

If you're life was a DVD player,

You feel like you've been on PAUSE,

And no matter what you do or try, you can't figure out how to push PLAY again.

Pain, torment & sadness seem as if they are your only friends,

Even though you see the love on the faces around you.

Your heart is veiled to all joy & love,

Because you've protected yourself for so long,

You've built a wall...and now you can't tear it down no matter how hard you try.

They come to you with truth, with encouragement, but you only hear words,

 Words that touch you just as much as a fairy-tale.

You know there's more,

You WANT more,

You CRAVE for your life to resume back to play,

But you can't reach the play button...

They tell you that's okay...

You don't get it.

For years, you've tried to push it yourself,

But you couldn't.

Now, the strong arms of your friends,

Are lifting you up so you can reach that button,

And push PLAY.


The progress is happening,

Even though you don't see it,

 Your Author of your story sees it.

Just keep breathin',

That's all He's askin',

And keep trustin',

That's all He's askin',

And keep standin',

And when it gets too tough,

He sends them to your side to hold you up,

To be your barricade,

Your angels,

In your time of need.

Your life is a journey,

A journey of progress,

Of failure,

Of scars,

& scuffs,

& pain,

Yet joys,

Yet immense happiness,

Yet deep love,

Yet adventure,

Yet deep victory,

Yet purpose & beauty.


The progress is happening...


It's your journey.

by: Samantha 

Dear Single Friends (part 3)

Hey ya'll!  It's been warmer where I am...FINALLY!!!;)

I will probably end up adding more later... (like a Part 3b :), lol!)
but for now, I wanted to add something that I hadn't put on my other "single friend letters".

The MAIN purpose of marriage is to glorify God, and what's so beautiful about marriage is that IT IS THE HIGHEST EARTHLY EXPRESSION OF THE LOVE OF GOD BETWEEN HIM & US AS CHRISTIANS...!!!

Think about that for a second.  God wants an intimate, deep relationship with you.  He wants ALL of you.  He is a jealous God, He is jealous to have ALL of your heart....sounding a little like when you fall in love with someone??? ;)


I will add more Scripture later...but for now, check out Galatians 5!!!

His lil' work o' art,
Sam

You Gotta Love Who He's Made You

Hey ya'll! It's Sam!

Have you all ever heard the saying, "you gotta love yourself before you can love others"?

Well, that can be taken a very wrong way...but there is some truth to it.  Let me lay it out there like this...

Jesus has a view through which He sees you when you become a Christian.  And the entire point about bein' a Christian isn't that YOU are so good and amazing and that you should love yourself because of those things,

ON THE CONTRARY

what learnin' to love yourself as a CHRISTIAN, from what I understand, ALL that means, is that YOU GOTTA LOVE WHO YOU ARE NOW IN CHRIST.

IN Christ Jesus!! IN is the KEY word!!  Because remember, it's not about YOU and who YOU are in and of yourself, it's about HIM and WHO HE'S MADE YOU NOW AS HIS SON OR DAUGHTER!!!

Praise Him for the gifts He's given you, and love Him!

Who are you IN Him?

Redeemed
Saved
WORTHY!!
Made New
Set Free
Loved
Adopted
Pure
Spotless
Set Apart
Child of God
Beautiful
Safe
Washed
NEW!!!!!!!
Strong
Courageous
Empowered

May the praise of our lips be in grateful joy to HIM for all that He has done, and for WHO He has made us IN Him! 

This is what it means to love yourself...LOVE WHO HE HAS MADE YOU NOW!!  AND give Him ALL the glory and praise!!!

;)
 Comment in the comment box below which attribute touched your heart the most...

love you guys!
His little work of art,
Sam

My Junior Pictures...(lol, we took them a little late!)