Today I'm looking to buy...

Update on me and the kiddos. Life is still busy and crazy here. As summer starts, I am increasingly aware of how little time we have left till school starts. So many changes to make before then. For example my sweet little girl has started sleeping In till 7:30, that is the time we will have to be at school.

So as you can imagine, we are lucky if we even eat breakfast before 8:00. But I think our new food lifestyle will help. Starting, next Monday we will be eating the 6 week body makeover way. But instead of a diet, which restricts all kinds dairy and salt and flavor, we are adjusting it to make it a lifestyle. I know that dairy will be too tempting to completely give up, but everything in moderation. Besides my children still can use dairy as a protein and extra source of calcium. So a little bit of cheese on my salad or in a meal won't hurt. The 6 week body makeover has you eat 6 smaller meals a day that you make ahead of time. This worked great last time we did it because I had no excuse to be lazy, it was all cooked and ready to eat. Last time I was on this lifestyle I lost 20 lbs that I didn't gain back. It changed my metabolism. I also felt great on it. I was eating healthy food in a way my body responded well. To turn that into a lifestyle we are sticking with the structure, the 6 small meals, we are cooking on Sundays together as a family, preparing all our veggies, proteins and our carbs and putting them in small proportioned containers. That means I have to find tons of 1/2 cup and 1 cup containers by Saturday. Yikes that's tomorrow! Oh how I wish we had a container store here! Any ideas would be great!

The next thing I have to get ready for school, is this guys little schedule. For the most part his morning nap has been irradicated, but occasionally he still takes one. The plan to help us both when school starts is we will be heading to the gym after w drop off Joslyn at school. The hardest part about going to the gym is getting everyone into the car. If I can do that then it's easy to drive to the gym. Jaxon's new schedule will be:

6:00 wake up

6:30 breakfast

7:00 get dressed and brush teeth

7:15 leave for school

7:45-9:45 play at the gym nursery

10:00 come home and play and eat meal 2

11:00 eat lunch

11:30-2:30ish take nap

2:45 get sissy from school

3:00 eat meal 4

3:30-5:30 play/ homework for sissy

5:30 eat dinner/ meal 5

6:00-6:30 clean up for mommy/ read books with daddy and clean up room

6:30-7:00 meal 6 and their nightly milk

7:00-800 baths/ brush teeth

8:00 bed time

So this is the plan but I will have to adjust it if certain things aren't working. But this will be our guideline. I know it seems to be a lot of eating, but it really will be much smaller meals. We get one serving of protein with each meal any protein we choose and meals 1,3,5 have 1/2 carbs with it and a veggie. And meals 2,4,6 have 1/2 fruit with it. This really is the healthiest way to help our family. It gives us the variety we crave and the healthy choices. No funny tricks to try and lose weight, just a healthy eating plan. Sundays are free days where we will keep the 6 small meals but add in a little more variety. For example if we want to have pancakes or donuts, we can. Or we can have enchiladas or go out to eat for a meal, especially since we will be doing a lot of cooking and prep work that day.  This way we feel free and not I. Chains but every Monday we start back up ready to go. I feel very excited about out lifestyle change and don't view it as a diet. I feel that with this lifestyle I will lose weight, but really I'm more excited about all of us eating healthy foods and bringing  good habits to my children.

This makes me feel good already!

During nap time, mommy will work on her canvases and other things I can't do with a toddler under foot. Here is a sneak peek of what has kept me so busy and quiet lately. Remember it isn't finished yet

If I had to guess how many sequins I put on that tree, I ... Well... Hundreds?... A thousand? I still have much to do and my deadline is racing to a close soon. I also have another one of these to do. So please continue to be gracious with me. You all are so patient with me and you are so dear to my heart. Take care

Love, Brownie

I made it!

I know that my posts are so few and far between right now, and I apologize. It is going to take about 1500.00 to get a new laptop that will use my old hard drive. So I am currently having to use a tablet and my phone for internet workings. And neither is good for blogging on.

Also, I have a raging terrible two on my hands right now that is always getting into stuff he shouldn't.

I am also very busy working on projects for my business right now. But I wanted to let you know that we are okay and happily trucking along. As far as the cruise update, I am still gonna have to wait till I get this computer thing figured out before I can post my last two cruise updates. But, I did give up cheese for lent and I wanted to tell you I did it! 40 days without cheese!!!!!! I am still very unsure how I did it, but I know I couldn't do it without God. He and only He is my strength during this challenge. Also I wanted to let you know that the 21st of April, I started working on 40 days without pasta.

Business is booming and I am excited that I have made a hashtag for my business. I am still learning to use these hashtags, but I know that when I do that it will increase my business traffic. So it is #teresascanvascreations and you can also  find me on Pinterest. or Facebook! I can't wait to show you the big projects I am working on that are taking up all of my time. But it will be awhile. So I will show you a sneak peak.

So have a great day, week and month until we talk next. Love you all!


Teresa

Lent

On any given day you can find anywhere from one to ten pounds of cheese in my household. Today we have 6 pounds in there. Why so much? Because I love cheese! I put it on almost everything. I hate to be cheesy (get it?) but life for me isn't as good until you sprinkle a little cheese on it. I rarely eat anything without it. But cheese doesn't do this body any good. It really causes me some agony and pain. And though I know this, I eat buckets full of it anyways. It's also full of sodium, fat and other bad stuff. 

Now I have never ever given up anything for Lent before, not once. We didn't practice, celebrate or even talk about Lent growing up. I thought it was something only Catholic families did. I still don't know the ends and outs of Lent, but I know it's about sacrifice. I assume it has to do with the 40 days Jesus wandered in the desert without food. He relied only on the word of God to get him through. And though I wish I was at that place, I sadly am not. But I want to be that way. I feel I am slowly turning my life more and more over to him. 

So this year for Lent I am going to sacrifice something. Something that is special to me, in search of something better. Something that will fill the craving permanently. Him! 

Are you giving up something for Lent? Have you given up something before? How did you do? Will you share it with me?

Next week I will post the food episode of my cruise, how appropriate huh? Not planned this way I promise. I can't wait to hear from you all! Happy Lenting! Also please forgive me most of my posts right now are being done from my phone since my laptop is broken again. So they may not be edited correctly or be full of pictures. The big posts I will do from my hubby's computer. Love to you all!

Why every christian should go on the KLOVE Friends and Family Cruise

Hello Friends! I know that you have been eagerly awaiting my Cruise post and I want to tell you that the wait is no longer over. I have decided to post 3 different posts about the cruise, the people, the food and the ports. So this is the official post that marks off Adventure 20 on my list.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

So on to the fun! One of the things I kept hearing over and over on the cruise, was how different this cruise was from every other cruise and how much people preferred it to regular cruising. This was not an ordeal for me since this was the first cruise I had ever been on. But some of the things I noticed were things others noticed too.

First of all the cruise was all Christian and all KLOVE cruisers, so there were not as many people as would have been on a normal carnival cruise.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Still it is pretty full, I can't imagine how packed it would be on a normal full cruise. Some of the things I did notice was there were usually lines for the buffets, and embarking and debarking the ship, concerts and leaving for the ports. But we didn't have to wait more than 30 minutes for the food on the first day and usually 10 minutes at the buffet every other day. Still less of a wait than normal at a crowded buffet restaurant.

Secondly, it was amazing how open we could be about our faith. For example, I wore a different Celebrate Recovery t-shirt each day. 

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

And we were able to do our devotions in the morning in the dining room and on deck looking at views like this:

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Third, how many people can say that you get to see these people walking around on a cruise?

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

This is Royal Taylor. His music is fresh, hip-hopish and full of energy. I loved his performance.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Oh Jared Emerson paints a pretty picture. And I mean that in every sense of the word. His show was amazing!

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Ah Kankelfritz, from the KLOVE morning show always had a funny word or two for us.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Jaime Grace was fresh, original and had a beautiful, unique voice. I loved her acoustic show.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Craig, also from the KLOVE morning show kept us updated with smiles.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Jason from Building 429 kept us on our toes, they rocked the joint.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Matthew West wrote us a new song, just for us cruisers it was called Moist Chocolate Cake.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Ah Toby Mac, Well what can I say? This photo is for you Susie!

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

The best show we saw was hands down 4 King and Country! The percussion instruments were numerous and they had so much energy and heart.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Here is another one of Luke from 4King&Country. He was so cute on the ship strolling around his little daughter.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Amy from the KLOVE morning show was a breath of fresh air.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

This is a shot from Tenth Avenue North! They had a great show

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Who knows JD Chandler?

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

By the time Jason Castro got on stage and sang, we were all tired. So his song Hallelujah was an amazing lullaby.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Big Daddy Weave was our first seafarin concert, so it will be the most special.

Some of the other bands there we don't have photos of are Audio Adrenaline, David Crowder, Mercy Me, and many more. This song was our anthem for the whole trip.

We also saw some amazing Comedians like Anita Renfroe, who is famous for the Mom Song, and Don B who is a juggler and cyclist.

 But can I tell you a secret? You don't go on vacation from your faith.

SAY WHAT????????

 And we found that although there were many many christians on the boat, it was still full of people from the crew that needed to know of Jesus' love and salvation. So Greenie and I tried our best to positively influence those around us. But you know what, they blessed us so much more. 

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

This is my buddy Donovan. He is from Jamaica and I got to learn all about him and his amazing family and 4 girls! 4!!!!!! This is one hard working daddy and he does his best to support his family from afar. I commend him for not only working hard to be the best husband and daddy he can, but an amazing and wonderful person. We connected on a deep level and I think and pray for his family often. 

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

And this is of course my bestie Greenie and our server Werawan. He is an amazing and wonderful guy too! His dancing cracked me up and his smile warmed my heart. He is in his late 40s and is a newlywed! We were also excited to hear that he is going to be a poppa! I am so excited for his new adventure in life and pray for him whenever I can. 

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

One more person that blessed us emincely was the lovely gentleman that put these in our room every night. His name was Nelson. I don't know if there was a harder worker than Nelson and he looked to be in his late 60's or 70's. He was such a hard worker, that we couldn't get a picture with him. But he worked hard to make our stay comfortable and special. Bless you Nelson, wherever you are.

So, if this doesn't convince you then I don't know what will. But feel free to ask me questions. I love talking about my cruise. Ask anyone! Here is a few more pics for your liking. Stay tuned for the next installment, the food!!!

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Us standing in front of Jamaica. All of the wonderful pics you have seen here were taken and edited by my bestie! You can find her business link here.She does all kinds of photos!

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Have you ever tried playing mini golf on a ship with 30 mile wind gusts? Lets just say it kept things interesting!

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

This is part of our room. It was much bigger than I thought it would be. We had an outer aft 2 port hole room.

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Greenie and I in front of the port of Miami!

Photo taken by Fresh Lens Photos

Donovan and Werawan shaking their groove thangs!

 Well night all!

I wouldn't wish that for my kids

So what are your dreams and aspirations for your children? Some of us wish for happiness. Some success, and some of us well wealth. I mean what are we really saying when we aspire for our kids to go for that specialty degree in college. Or for them to continue to search for that one thing that will make them happy whether it is in sports or that hobby. And of course it is so important that they always always do their best.

Don't get me wrong, I do this all the time. I want so bad for my children to succeed in life and to be happy and not have to struggle with being poor. But when I so my bible study and I read Matthew 19:23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.", I take real pause.

Why would I want that for my child?

I wouldn't. My real goal for my children is to raise them up to trust, hear and obey The Lord. Then to spend their lives going fishing for men. So why is it so hard to not get caught up in "the wants" for our children? Constantly, I hear people praising their kids for their worldly accomplishments. For heaven's sake, I have Joslyn's soccer medal hanging on the wall. 

Sometimes I think we feel like they can have both. But it says in the Bible this isn't possible. 

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

I have learned In Celebrate Recovery that happiness doesn't last. It's temporary. And God doesn't promise us happiness in this life.  In fact if we are followers of Christ he tells us the opposite. 

John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

No one wants their child to be hated. We fight all the time for our children to accepted and loved. In fact most of us are still fighting for the world to love us. I struggle with this as a people pleaser, or codependent. But when we turn to God with our sorrows and troubles, He in turn gives us joy.

What I guess I'm saying is that I should be praising and rewarding my children for  doing their quiet time. Maybe there should be medals for number of lives saved. Who's handing out the crowns for the most humble child? Oh yeah, I guess God is! Store for yourself treasures In heaven!

So maybe we shouldn't hand out medals.  But maybe I should be a little more cautious about what I am striving for in my children. What about you? Should we do it together?

The measure of a church's worth, through my eyes part 1:Sin

When a believer and member of the church gets tangled in sin, we should grieve over it. Deep down tears people. The way Jesus wept over our sin, we too should weep over others sin. We should love others so much that we weep for them when they sin. If we can't I wonder if there is sin in our hearts like pride or jealousy. 

It saddens me that some church people think they are past being caught up in sin. Sin starts in the head. 

Matthew 5:27-28

New International Version (NIV)

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[a]28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

None of us are immune to the Devil's powers of deception. We are supposed to be putting on our spiritual armor daily, but that does not mean we cannot get blasted with an arrow of deceit. I think it is so important that we constantly are aware of the Devil's plans to kill, steal and destroy our joy in our churches today and how to handle the situation when it arises. Because it will arise. If we are ready and stand united as a body of Christ, we can be ready to combat the sin that will enter our churches. Christ gave us the power to be free from sin. So we can rise above it if we lovingly help each other out of it. 

We are studying Matthew in BSF and we came across the verses about how to treat sin in the church. You know
Matthew 18:15-17
15 “If your brother or sister[b] sins,[c] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[d]17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

I have heard these verses before and loved them but I have never thought deeply about them. Often though I hear about churches that misuse these verses. They do the processes wrong and then people get offended, scarred and bruised by the very place that is supposed to bring healing and restoration. Now I'm no preacher, theologist, or expert in Jesus's words, but the explanation of these verses recently spoke deeply to me. 

Verse 15 "just between the 2 of you" is the 1st step. This stops all the gossip. If we do this right the 1st time there is so much beauty in this process. If we lovingly talk to each other about our sin instead of talking about each other, we can help solve so many issues in the church. You see we talk about how much of a price Jesus paid for our sins on the Cross, but He also died for that person at the end of the pew who is struggling with anger. He died for the woman in the back who had an affair. But if treat our church members who are still living in sin as damaged goods instead of lovingly holding them accountable, or if we ignore their sin (even worse) then we are not doing what Jesus asks. (Note: Never go in to this step without much prayer and guidance from the hoy spirit). So what do we do if we do step out in faith and talk to them one on one and they don't accept it? Well Jesus gives us the next step.

"Take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." Why do we take one or two others along? Is it to gang up on them? Is it to prove you are right? No! It is very important that you only tell one or two people that you trust and not a whole group. Protecting the integrity of this person should be a top priority.  After all, this is a brother or sister in Christ. This is part of the body. Gossiping and putting down a member of the church is extremely wrong and unbiblical. Disguising it as a prayer request is even worse. This causes much damage and will destroy your church. We bring others in to bring perspective and wisdom to the process. one or two others can bring new ideas on how to reach the sinner, also they can examine your motives to make sure you are pure in your ways. Remember the verses:
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3-5. 
It is easier to see the sin in others and ignore the sin in our lives. An accountability partner can help you see clearly. 

Then there is the next step of bringing it to the church. If this person does not repent by now, this is the next step. It is hard to hear. Because who wants to do that job? Really? But it is important that the church know. Why? Because the devil corrupts from within. He preys on our weaknesses and insecurities. He loves keeping us in fear. But mostly he loves keeping us alone. Jesus loves us so much that he will leave rest of the flock to search for us when we are wandering.
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."
Sometimes that means he will send a whole church after you to get you to come back. I have seen this step in multiple occasions go very badly. I personally don't believe this means to announce it at church service. Why, because you have members and non members at most churches. What I believe this means is the church board and pastor need to be informed and need to handle it from here. Imagine if you were a non believer and you watch a church member's junk become public in front of everyone, do you think that you would want to stay? I wouldn't. Because non believers are still so actively in their sin, it is so scary to think of it all becoming public. I also believe that in step two it should be explained to the sinner that this is the next step and that by biblical authority you are required to bring it to the church. If they know this is coming and still do not repent then you are dealing with a much different animal. Once our sin is brought to the light, the devil can't control us by shame and guilt any more. He wants our sins to stay secret. He wants us to live in fear of that moment when everyone finds out. 
The next step was what enlightened me the most. Treat them as tax collectors and pagans. So where many churches go wrong here is they kick them out of the church never to come back, they then turn their back on these people. Let me just say that that is never the answer. In first Corinthians 5, Paul says.

 "But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[c] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people."

So it sounds like we are supposed to turn our back on them. I believe that there is a clear line here. When a person has gone through these steps and still refuses to repent and turn their ways, they are definitely past our point of helping them come clean. We can no longer help them. We also can't Biblically let them be a part of the church. So what does that mean? Does that mean that they can't come to church? Well I say it depends. They probably wouldn't want to come to church anymore where their sin is known and they have to confront it often. But if they do, I think they should be allowed to come to church. But, they definitely should not be allowed to make any decisions in the church or church affiliated programs. They should not be included in church member functions any more and they should be treated differently. Why? Well because misery loves company. Someone who is openly sinning in your church without any form of regret or conscience will corrupt the church. Example, I heard a friend say she didn't want to go to her church anymore because there was this one woman who was sleeping with the husbands of the church. That many of the men in the church had succumbed to her seduction. When I asked why this wasn't dealt with by the church officials, she said she thought they were afraid to confront her. What does this say about the church? How are they to effectively continue the purpose and mission of all of Christ body, when they are so corrupt from within?

Now does that mean you turn your back upon them, absolutely not. When it said that part about treating them as tax collectors I remembered that Matthew was a tax collector before meeting Jesus. He knows how they were treated and how they felt. But Jesus wasn't turned off by the tax collectors or sinners. He didn't give up on them. You see we as the church are supposed to love the sinners like Jesus. How are we supposed to treat sinners and non believers? Do we turn our backs on them? No!!! We are here to reach non believers and sinners. But, we should be constantly aware of false prophets and deceivers. How do we do reach sinners and pagans? With love, mercy, grace, but mostly with God's truth. Let me tell you that if someone truly loved me enough to pursue me with God's truth, I couldn't deny it for long. What if a whole church loved me enough to do that? What an impact it would make in my life. 

I heard a story of a church that was mostly comprised of one big family with a few other families mixed in. And that one big family ran most of the church. But within that big family there was an old secret sin that was never dealt with, and slowly that sin corrupted most of the family. When one of the other members became aware of the sin, they confronted them the correct way. Can you imagine being that person? When God asks you to do something courageous, He will give you the words and the strength to get through it. So, the secret sin was brought to the light, and many of those who weren't willing to deal with the sin left and the church was reduced to half. But, the people who stayed, and did the hard work of untangling the sins roots and replacing them with God's truth, grace and forgiveness, were transformed. The church started to grow, and most of all they had found amazing healing in the process. They learned true accountability and love. Now they were ready to show love and grace to the world. Teaching the truth in love. 

To say to someone that you love them, should mean that you are willing to say the hard stuff to them. That is what being part of the church is to me. So I don't have to walk this hard, narrow road alone, that God will bring along others beside me to help me when I stumble, people who will lift me up when I fall and those who will shine a light when it is dark. And friends who will walk back with me towards Jesus. 

Hello friends!

For the Doctor Who fans! Dalek!

This was made for my sweet sis-in-law who lost her hubby and daughter, it was a CHristmas present. They are truly missed.

My idea of a true valentine!

I was hoping to have an adventure post out to you by now, but we are having technical difficulties with the pictures upload to the computer. In case you ask, The cruise was great! I promise to give you all the juicy details in a post as soon as we get the pics up and running. Until then I thought I would amuse you with some picks of the kiddos and some of the canvas orders I have been working on.

I love this pic of Jos because it shows her sassiness!

Have I ever mentioned that we have the world's best Pediatrician? Well we do! She is like family to us!

The kiddos love their daddy time, and for good reason, he is the only on that gives double piggy backs!

I wish I could remember where we were here, but pics of both of the kiddos in one frame is rare.

And now a few sneak peaks of the cruise!

My bestie of 16 years!

This is how fabulous looks laying out on the deck chairs!

David Nasser, one of the many famous people on the cruise, his story was incredible!

What is a vacation if you don't get to hold a sea turtle?

So I will slowly do some more posting of the fabulous cruise as soon as the pics come through, my bestie took the majority of them, but I can't wait to tell you about the food, the fun, the concerts, and beautiful jamaica!

Oh PS! I have a giveaway going on right now on my Facebook page for this little beauty!

Just click here and share my post, and you will be entered to win. I will pick a winner on Feb 28th. If you are ever wanting to order any canvas you can email me at brownies9798@yahoo.com or contact me on Facebook. Thank you friends!