10 Names

I am on facebook and this is one of the things one of my friends did and it looked like fun. So I did it and had so much fun with it I thought I would post it today so you too could have fun reading it too!

1. YOUR REAL NAME: Tamara Marshan Helsel

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle): Tamizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color and favorite animal): Green Horse

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (your middle name & street you live on/or neighborhood if it's a # ): Marshan Hickory

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your firstname): Helta

6. YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME (Your 2nd favorite color, and fav drink): Red Diet Dr Pepper

7. YOUR IRAQI NAME (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name, 2nd letter of Your mom's maiden name, 3rd letter of your dads name , 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your moms first name): Alhivta

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (parents middle names): Joyce Earl

9. YOUR GOTH NAME (black, and the name of one of your pets): Black Abby

10.YOUR HOOD NAME (first 3 letters of your first name, then add "iqua”): Tamiqua

Getting out.

Normally when I am home I don't mind that I haven't gone anywhere for a few days, but for some reason this week has been different for me. I have been stuck in my house since Monday and I am really wanting to just get out of the house. Last night a friend called and asked if I could go with her to take her foster child to a visit downtown and I was so excited. I had a reason to get out of the house and I couldn't wait. We are still on a level 2 snow emergency which means they only want you out driving if you have to, but I didn't even care. It was so nice just to get out of the house and do something other than school, cleaning and listening to everyone mope because there is nothing to do. Some of the roads were not bad and some of them were really not good at all, but it was a nice break from our routine. So, now I am back in the house and have a few things to finish up before my husband comes home tonight. We have more snow coming this weekend too so I am going to try to get to the store tonight for some more food too. I am needing something else besides peanut butter and jelly.

What fun!

What a fun day we had here yesterday. I read the post to my daughter and she was so excited to read all the comments. Thank you for encouraging her yesterday. So today we are under a level 2 snow advisory and everyone is stuck at home again today. I think we have at least a 1/2 inch of ice over the snow we had and there is more snow on the way today. I love the snow, but I am ready to get out of the house. Oh well, whats a girl to do but have fun playing with the kids in the snow. Today my husband is working from home again and I think we are going to try to get out this afternoon and play in the back yard. Our youngest son didn't want anything to do with the snow a few weeks ago, but hopefully he will play with us today. Here are a couple pictures for those of you who are in states that doesn't see much snow and ice. Enjoy and have a Blessed day!

Our swing shows how thick the ice is here so far.

Our back yard this morning while big fat snow flakes were falling.

Happy Birthday My Princess!

January 27, 2002 was a special day and I didn't even know it. In fact, I don't even remember what I was doing that day, but I do know the Lord was preparing me to have a daughter. One who is beautiful, creative, has a smile that is never ending and can make me smile by just looking at her. She is my only daughter at this point in my life and I am so blessed to be her mother. Pink is her favorite color, and she loves to dress up. In fact, she could wear a dress everyday if she was able to. Her favorite thing to do is play dress up. There isn't a day that goes by where she isn't wearing bracelets up her arms, earrings all over her ears, silk scarves either on her head or around her neck and some type of fancy outfit over her clothes. She is a huge helper around the house with having two younger brothers, and she does a great job too. She loves to go to church and loves the Lord. She is a prayer warrior and has the gift of healing. She looks for the opportunity to pray all the time and many times she has healed my head or an ache I have had. She is such a blessing to me and our family would not be complete with out her. So, my dear precious princess, I hope you have a great birthday today and I love you very much!

Clear

This weekend was revealing for me. The Holy Spirit moved in my life in a way that I can't even understand and He made some things so clear to me. I don't even understand it all, but I know that today I feel like a different person. I have spent the last three weeks fasting and things that have not been clear to me lately are now very clear and it is like I am understanding what I am supposed to be doing. I am sure that doesn't even make sense, but it is where I am at today and I am loving it. Thank you for the comments from my last post. I was really down and on myself about stuff and was having a really hard day and your comments really motivated me and encouraged me. My life verse is Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." He has been showing me that He knows what my desires are even if I am not asking for them or seeking them out. As long as I keep my focus on Him, He is going to take care of me and then bless me with my unspoken desires. I can't wait to see the many blessings He will send my way in 2009. I pray you all are having a great day in the Lord and remember that you too are blessed and highly favored and are a prince or princess of the Most High King!

What to say?

I haven't posted for a few days because I can't think of what to say. There are so many things I would like to say, but when I go to put them down they just don't come out right so I end up deleting them and then I post nothing. So today, I was looking back through some of my older posts and I thought I would share what is going on with me at this time. We are in the process of adopting our youngest son. This is such a huge blessing for me and even though I doubted and complained along the way, I know God has us here for such a time as this and I am so excited to see His hand move in my family right now. It is so exciting when we get to look back over the time we have spent pondering and questioning His ways to see how everything came together at the perfect time. I know He has us here at this moment for a reason and I can't wait to see the rest of His plan as it unfolds right before of my eyes. The other thing I have been hit with is since I posted "My house is His house", my house has turned into a disaster zone. I am so ashamed to admit it, but I have completely let things go and let the enemy get a hold of this area of my life. Once I decided I wanted to keep it looking good for God and not myself it is like everything fell apart and chaos ran through my house. Well no more. Today is a new day and even the kids are sensing the change in me and in our home. Last night the Lord woke me up and I had some great time alone with Him and He revealed some things to me. One of them is that I need to stand up in the authority He has given to me through the covenant I have with Him. So that is what I am doing today. With some encouragement this morning from my best friend my ways are changing today and I am so excited. The last three weeks have been a new challenge for me with much needed breakthrough. Someday I will share, but for now I leave you with my life verse Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart!"

I am back...

My computer froze up on my on Friday and I was not able to connect to the Internet or anything else. So I took it into the shop and found out I had hundreds of viruses on it. So, I finally got it back only to find I still had no Internet connection. Well as it turns out my electrical strip is going bad so we replaced it and now I have service again. I have missed being on here and seeing what is going on in everyone's lives. I didn't realize how much I depended on my computer until it was not here for me to use. My best friend and I keep each other accountable every day on instant messages and I have really missed that. Anyway, I am happy to say that I have taken this time to reflect on the Lord and make sure I have things in order in my life. I want to make sure I am not turning my computer into an idol, which thankfully I am not. So, today, I am back on track with my schedule and my routine and look forward to catching up on what I have missed.

Word of God

Well, I have been taking some time this past week to really seek the face of the Lord, and in doing this I have been trying to put different scripture through out my house. My best friend pointed out to me yesterday afternoon when I was struggling that I needed to ask Him for His energy not just strength. Made sense, so I did and my afternoon went much better. I tried to look up scripture on energy and I found Colossians 1:26-29 "This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me." This passage is from the Message bible and it really encouraged me. It is what I want in my life, to keep the message of Christ simple, to not add any of me in it, to share God's glory, and "to do my best with the energy God so generously gives me". Then last night before bed I came across Psalm 119:50 in the New King James which says "This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has given me life". This passage confirmed the earlier verse for me and reminded me that His Word gives me everything I need to make it through my days, minute by minute sometimes. So, as I start this new year, I am putting scripture up through out my house to encourage me, to remind me of His infinite power, that He is my Shepherd and that He wants to work in me and through me.

2 Thessalonians 2:15-17

"So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech." This is from the message and it was my prayer this morning. I pray it encourages and comforts you today.

My house is His house

I have a devotional I keep by my bed I try to read through before I go to sleep so the word of God is the last think I am thinking about other than talking to Him before I actually fall asleep. The devotional is The Joy of my Heart by Anne Graham Lotz. Well yesterdays message was really neat, something I have not thought about before. She was talking about how she was cleaning her house so when her father came over it would look nice, but how she should keep it looking nice because her heavenly Father lives there and she should want to keep it up for Him. Well, this really got my attention. I am not good at keeping my house clean but it is something I am trying to do. With this thought in mind I want to keep my house kept up because I want the presence of my heavenly Father to be so welcomed that anyone who enters sees He is there and is welcomed by His spirit, not mine. If He lives in me then He lives in my house. This has really changed the way I have been feeling the past couple of days about starting back into my routine of house cleaning. Don't get me wrong, I have been ready to get back into a routine, but not exactly excited about doing the housework again. Well, today, I am cleaning with a new found attitude. I want my heavenly Father to be welcomed all of the time and to feel comfortable here in my earthly house.