Me.Today. Missing sweet angel pie

Missing my sweet angel pie , a nick name for my daughters and miss Gina....

My friends and I have silly names for each other..call it sisterhood sillies.

I grew up with a brother and always wanted a sister... The Lord blessed me with a few..but the one I am missing today is my sister, Gina.

She went to live with Jesus almost 1 year ago and my heart still aches with sadness and screams with joy as I remember "Q" ...I always think Gina resembled Queen Esther in the Bible. The Lord blessed Gina with a messy calling which she was obedient to....right up until the Lord opened up His arms to welcome her home.


One of my favorite photos that Gina took..
I call it: art, a friendship before me.

"The cross before me. The world behind me."
Jay was Gina's first new friend in Asheville..she adored his family and his listening ear.

sweet angel pie= a great friend









I laugh, she didn't like pictures taken of her. She would say, "now why did you post that picture to your blog?" I once told her.."get in front of that camera girl, your kids need to know how beautiful you are inside and out"

sweet angel pie= classic beauty & a great mom.






She loved her photography family....Jeff made her laugh, smile. So did this community.
This makes me happy.

Sweet angel pie= great photographer, giver of laughter as well as one who loved to be on the receiving end of joy.















She loved her family...

sweet angel pie= A great sister...











She knew of gifts that I didn't even know I had..she exposed my creative side.

She became the sister I dreamed of as a little girl.

She encouraged my missionary spirit, ya know the one who wants to change the world...she liked my big dreams...

She gave me new friends...in our circle of love....friends who will never forget.

Sweet angel pie= we will never forget.

September 25th, the day I heard of Gina's exit from this world.

I will be celebrating this September 25th, 2011..doing something really special...

me. today. reflective

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

Maybe it was the message at church today.

Maybe it was the tug of the Holy Spirit on my heart.

Maybe it was me being reflective.

Maybe a combination of all three.

Reminded that I can be self righteous, arrogant, passive aggressive, stubborn
(to the core). But also reminded with the blood of Jesus I was saved from all of this. I can be different if I continue to lean on Jesus. It's when I take my eyes off the author of my faith. The one who designed me; this is when I slip into the place of thinking myself better then others. Better then my brothers and sisters in Christ...better.

He has washed me clean from all of the above. Do you believe that Jesus can wash you clean?

or do you go to the place of self condemnation?

That is NOT a relationship with Jesus. Jesus does not condemn us of our sin. He gently woos us back to a place of humility knowing that He is the founder of our sanity and He loves to love us into obedience and grace.

Don't hate yourself for your sin. Let Him love you into righteousness that can only be found in Him

In His Grace.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (The Message)

^12-18 God appeared to Solomon that very night and said, "I accept your prayer; yes, I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I'll be there ready for you: I'll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I'm alert day and night to the prayers offered at this place. Believe me, I've chosen and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I've set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I'll back your kingly rule over Israel—make it a sure thing on a sure foundation. The same covenant guarantee I gave to David your father I'm giving to you, namely, 'You can count on always having a descendant on Israel's throne.'

xo Elizabeth....

Am I A Women Of Faith?

Last Saturday I spent my day with thousands of other women at the Honda Center in Anaheim CA. The conference title was "Women Of Faith" these women were amazing not because they are spiritual giants that had it all together but they are women of faith because in the trenches, the valleys they choose to trust in Jesus.They trust that He can be their peace when peace is not what the world offers; sanity when life does not seem sane and wisdom when they have nothing in them wise to say. Yet, the Holy Spirit uses them as willing vessels to minister to others around them. these women are available, present, looking for ways to reach out to others not in a religious way. Listening to these women was refreshing, encouraging and convicting. I could have walked away with a spiritual high only to walk down from the mountain top to realize that I am in the valley. I ask myself, "am I a women of faith?" I am a follower of Christ. I believe in Him, but do I have faith in Him? Do I walk in peace? Well the answer is lately no. I say lately because there was a time, pre marriage, pre babies that I drenched myself in his Word. I sometimes spent hours in prayer. This time in my life was a very difficult time. Because of certain circumstances I was struggling with a very deep depression. But in the depression, in this time of bathing myself in Jesus and the word, I had peace, comfort, sound mind and actually praised Him for my depression. I actually began to see it as a gift. The thorn in my flesh that would keep me humble. I was looking to Jesus in faith and He was faithful. Years passed and I was able to go off medication, met my husband, got married, gave birth to two amazing little girls and had no postpartum depression! Truly miracle after miracle were happening in my life. The problem now is that my life is simple yet I struggle with my attitude and my words. Having two toddlers has pushed buttons I did not know existed and I find myself in a new kind of normal. I am learning to lean on Jesus in my new kind of normal where things are simple yet I remain complex. I forgot to mention I am in my early 40's, welcoming perimenopause. Glory! and a big Yuck! They only thing that can be my peace feels out of reach. I don't have hours to spend in quiet with Jesus. I work from home as well and spend down time with my husband. Were does Jesus fit in? We pray together as a family. I teach the girls about Jesus, but I don't have peace. Today things are different. I feel like I am back on the road to being a woman of faith. I started a Community Bible Study today. The girls go to their own class and I go to mine. So for two hours I talk and learn about Jesus. I am in the word. Today we came home, I put little miss So So down for a nap and then T2 and I went over what she learned in class. She then sat at her desk, colored the lesson, talked to herself about what she learned and tried to copy the letters forming them into words. She wrote out Psalm 119. She read it back to me. She new what the letters and numbers were and she new what Chapter in the Bible. During her time of study, about twenty minutes; I was able to do my homework for the day. We had peace in our house, peace between myself and Tabitha and we are both becoming women (girls) of faith. Bless you Jesus for never giving up on us and for showing us what we need to gain your peace that surpasses all understanding. I know that I am an "ugly" person without the knowledge of my saviour. We don't need to study for salvation but we do need to study to change. I pray for change within my heart and soul that only He can provide!