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?