“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9
Arise, my love.
Arise, my love.
The grave no longer has a hold on you.
No more death sting no more suffering
Arise…arise…
‘Arise My Love’ by Newsong
.
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They’ve been talking about it for quite some time now, and when the parents agreed we set the date and time. Good Friday. What better day to watch The Passion of the Christ for the very first time.
They have heard it over and over again, “Jesus died for your sins”, but what does that really look like?
Having a visual puts things in perspective and it changes how you receive the truth. 
And so, we gathered together and watched the Passion of the Christ.
And cried . . . .
and prayed . . . . 
And broke bread . . . . 
and drank . . . . 
in remembrance of Him. 
And we thanked Him for what He had done, for what He had suffered for us. 
And our hearts were heavy and fractured and the tears flowed down as we took this communion together in this new light. 
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring Nothing but the blood f Jesus
Posted in My Heart | 2 Comments »
I have been wanting to do it for years, so this year I decided to celebrate Passover with Aria. 
It is my desire to learn more about the life of Jesus, in every way. To learn more about the Jewish people and their customs. 
We have been teaching Aria over the past several weeks about Moses and the Israelites and how God delivered them out of bondage from Egypt. 
But mostly we have teaching her the significance of the blood of the lamb that saved the Israelite people at that first Passover. And most certainly about the Blood of the Lamb that saves us from our sins. It took on a whole different meaning for us as we did this feast because Aria asked Jesus into her heart this week. A celebration indeed was in order! 
With the help of Scripture Adventures-Passover for Christian Families I gathered up what I could over the past couple of weeks to prepare for this special feast. You can get a copy here:
http://www.scriptureadventures.com 
With step by step instructions and a written script we had our Passover feast and we loved it!
We started with a bone to represent Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
Unleavened bread represents the bread that the Israelites made and ate in haste. Remembering that Jesus is the Bread of Life.
Bitter herbs to remind us of the pain and bitterness the Israelites suffered because of their slavery. Also for the bitterness of sin. 
Charoset to remind us of the mortar the Jewish slaves used to make Pharaoh’s bricks. It is also sweet to remind us of the sweetness of the hope for redemption through Jesus.
A mix of nuts, fruit and honey. 
Parsley reminds us of new things growing–new beginnings. It is dipped in salt water to remind us both of the bitter tears of bondage shed by the Israelites and the consequences of sin. 
A roasted egg to represent the Passover sacrifice made in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. Dipped in the salt water it reminds us of the miracle of resurrection that came through the tears of our Savior.
Salt water–bitter tears.
We also set a place for Elijah.
I lit the candles and read the prayer:
Bless art Thou, O Lord our God, who asks us to light the candles of Passover. Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, who has given us life and allowed us to celebrate this joyous occasion.
We started with the story that happened nearly 4,000 years ago, when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt . . .
Then as I read each plague, Aria dipped her finger in her grape juice and removed a drop of juice for each plague. 
Then as I read, she ate:
Matzah–unleavened bread
Bitter herbs
Charoset
Parsley
Egg
The bone for the Passover Lamb
Then it was time for the feast, but not until we thanked Jesus, for the food and for all He has done for us.
Our meal
We drank four glasses of juice, 1-physical freedom, 2- intellectual freedom, 3-spiritual freedom and 4-to encourage each other to tell others about Jesus. 
I finished it a little different than the script has said. A friend had gone to a Jewish Passover and told me how they did theirs and I loved it and so did Aria.
We talked about how leaven symbolizes sin and the sin is deep inside us and the only way to find that sin is to shine Jesus’ light in us. So I hid three pieces of leavened bread and she got a flash light and she searched for the bread. 
He reward for finding all 3 pieces of bread was a piece of fudge. 
And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:11-13
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So, it’s that time again, when my girls and I head over to Bowie to the flea market. It is one of our favorite things to do together and this time Aniyah got to go with us, her very first trip to the flea market.
The weather was a little chilly and it had been raining with storms in the forecast, but we were determined.
Our first stop is always the nursery. We pick out the plants we want, then we leave them there until we return for them at the end of our day.
I ended up with a cherry tree and Andrea got a peach tree and some kind of Japanese Magnolia. Both were beautiful! 
My goal is to line my fence with fruit trees, so I try to get one or two trees every trip. So far I have two apple, two peach, and now one cherry tree. My big peach tree didn’t make it through the winter season, so next time I will get another peach tree. 
We didn’t get gump’s truck this time so we had to leave our little red wagon at home and bring the stroller. Aria didn’t seem to mind too much when she was tired of walking.
There is always so many fun things to see! 
Our next stop was our usual Kettle Corn stop.
And now we will pause for a moment for a Kettle Corn break——- 
That was so good! 
Our next stop was the fabric booth and yes that is my weakness, but this place is amazing! 
The people that have this booth do speck houses and this is the left over fabric. Solids are $2 a yard and prints or heavy fabric is $3 a yard. I have a house FULL of this fabric and I adore every single piece.
Back on the trail and everything seems to be going pretty smooth . . . 
until Aria finds a mud puddle. Turns out–Aria AND mammy get in trouble because of the mud puddle.
Well, it’s not actually a puddle, more like thick, sticky, gooey, red mud. But she had fun and I got some great pictures.
And soon mommy forgot all about the mud incident and we were on the go again.
There are so many wonderful booths with so many great ideas. 
Then finally the highlight of Aria’s day. ICE CREAM!!! She began asking us from the first second we got there until we finally agreed and she sure did enjoyed it! 
A huge part of the attraction for us is definitely the food. It is so wonderful and these sweet ladies were so precious to let me take their picture with Aria. Check them out at:
Lots of fun interesting things and we make a couple of more rounds before heading out to the—
animals.
(only in Texas) 
Aria found a saddle that she loved and wanted even though she does not have a horse. I guess she could use it on her goat.
We ended the day with a friend. A ‘dance’ friend that Andrea and Aria knew from ballet. 
It truly was a wonderful day and we made it as far as my house and my girls had to stay because the storm hit just as we got home. So they waited it out and Aria got to eat her first piece of hail.
Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women. Psalm 45:9a
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I love this pattern from the Sew Beautiful collection by Jackie Young.
You can get the pattern here:
http://store.marthapullen.com/p-7506-toddler-two-piece-swimsuit-pattern
It is a pattern that you download and print off.
Although it is not a vintage pattern it does have the look of one and there is the appeal for me.
I made this for Aria a few years ago along with a matching outfit for her little BFF.
This pattern is so easy and it takes very little fabric so plan on making several.
This pattern is a size 6 months-4T, so Aniyah will be getting one this summer.
The Martha Pullen website has a lot of amazing patterns to chose from. Check it out!
http://store.marthapullen.com/c-7-patterns 
But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:14
Posted in Sewing | 4 Comments »
Aria got a new set of watercolors for her birthday.
For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring Isaiah 44:3
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Finally, all of you, be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous. 1 Peter: 3:8
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A rainy Saturday morning and Spring is busting out!
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new. Rev. 21:5
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If you take a peek inside the gym at the intermediate school you will find a very special teacher. This year is the 30 year mark for BISD teacher Karen Cook.
Mrs. Cook is the Health Fitness teacher and her passion is to teach the students a balance of good nutrition, exercise and rest and how to maintain a healthy body throughout their life. Teaching each and every student that “they are fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14) 
For the past 10 years, Mrs. Cook has headed up the “Jump Rope for Heart”, something that she considers to be her ministry as she strives against the battle of heart disease and stroke, engaging her students in the fight. 
She has sparked an eagerness and awareness in the hearts of her students to give forth the effort for this cause, in both the physical (jumping) and financial (getting pledges). 
And their eyes have been opened to their own world, a world where heart disease and stroke affects everyone of us and she gives each child the opportunity to tell their own stories of how they have been affected by these deadly diseases.
And some have put together a poster of a loved one that has battled heart disease and it is displayed on her wall of hearts. 
And our very own beloved teacher is there on her wall. 
When she first started the “Jump Rope for Heart” it was an after school program with a hand full of children participating and they raised $2,056.49 in donations for the American Heart Association.
But her passion and enthusiasm was contagious and she worked hard to encourage the students to participate. 
Because of her devotion and hard work she has turned this program into the successful, thriving event that we see today.
This year 333 student participated in “Jump Rope for Heart” and it was an amazing event. They raised a total of $18,243.28, setting an all time record! 
Over the past ten years, under the direction and tutelage of Mrs. Cook, she and her students have raised $130,679.08 for the American Heart Association! 
And this year, out of 2000 candidates, Mrs. Cook was one of the 35 recipients of the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance/Jump Rope For Heart grants for her outstanding work in educating our children about heart disease. 
The article commended Mrs. Cook saying, “The community of Bridgeport and the American Heart Association owe Karen Cook a debt of gratitude for her continuous efforts to raise funds and educate our children and community on the hazards and prevention of heart disease and stroke. With enough dedicated teachers and individuals like Mrs. Cook, we may just have a fighting chance to eventually conquer the epidemic of these deadly killers.” (Bridgeport Index-by Jeff Johnston)
It was an honor for me to witness the Jump Rope for Heart event. It was a grand, spectacular event and I was overwhelmed with emotions and I felt privileged to be a part of such an amazing cause.
I am thankful for my dear friend and teacher Mrs. Cook, who loves her students and challenges each of them to follow in her footsteps and to dare to be different and to make the change.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:14
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The Portion of my Inheritance 