How Great is Our God

Here is a video of Cameron singing and playing "How Great Is Our God" with Autumn. I think towards the end of this he got a little distracted! haha. Still cute though.

Jesus and Pies

Baking pies and a relationship with Jesus according to a 2 1/2 year old.

Tuesday Night before going to sleep I told Cameron that we would be baking pies on Wednesday with some friends for the Thanksgiving lunch at PCC on Thursday. This was our conversation:

Me: Cameron, tomorrow, we are going to bake some pies for Thanksgiving. Do you think that is a good idea?

Cameron: Yeah, Mama, Jesus likes pies too. I think so.

Me: Oh, really?

Cameron: Yeah, his favorite. I want to give Jesus pies.

Me: That's very nice of you Cameron. How is that going to work?

Cameron: Mama, I want fly in an airplane and give him pies. I love him. He likes pies.

That was the conversation. I thought it was too precious not to share! :)

I Am And You Are...

I was going through some old paperwork at work this morning when I came across this silly paper I made a long time ago.

It was a wonderful reminder for me to take a step back and remember the TRUTH of who I am in Christ. Not who I try to make myself be.

You are also these things... and if you're a guy, well, you are prince instead :) haha

Brian Schwartz - Strikeforce Destruction

My friend and old teacher Brian Schwartz is fighting at the HP Pavilion THIS FRIDAY November 21st! Everyone should try to go. It will be a great fight.

Here is why this fight tomorrow is such a big deal. He decided to give MMA a shot last November, broke his hand and lost. His first loss EVER. Well, Brian has trained and has challenged the exact same guy for a rematch. This is the article:

Schwartz Charges Back To The Cage With Vengeance In Mind
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Nearly a year after a broken hand spoiled his attempt to make a splash debut in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), an undaunted and undefeated world kickboxing champion, Brian “The Mad Stork” Schwartz, will return to the cage to revisit his initial showdown with Lemont Davis.“I’ve been working really hard to get back to where I was and I’m finally there and ready to go,” said the 34-year-old Schwartz, who sustained a broken left hand almost right out of the gates on November 16, 2007, when he threw a straight punch that glanced off the top of Davis’ head. The injury minimized Schwartz’s effectiveness and allowed Davis to take the fight to the ground several times. Davis, also a seasoned kickboxer and competitor in Chuck Norris’ World Combat League (WCL), was unable to advance his position on the ground, but was declared the winner by way of judges’ decision after three rounds of action.The injury he sustained forced Schwartz to don a cast for two months, after which he slowly began to re-engage in strength training and road work. “I think I underestimated the game and thought I was too fast for those guys to wrestle me down to the ground. I’m committed to keeping this fight standing and, if I had to guess by the way he was unable to submit me the first time around, I would think he’s committed to standing too.” Schwartz’s MMA debut came two years after his final kickboxing conquest, a fifth round KO of Michael Corleone in San Jose on October 21, 2005. The bout was originally slated to be Schwartz’s last. It wasn’t long, though, before the 6’3” native of Foster City felt the urge to re-enter organized combat, this time under a set of rules that could force him to scrap on the canvas as well as on his feet.While grappling has become more routine since he took his first roll around on the mats, striking will always be Schwartz’s forte. A student of Tae Kwon Do since the age of five, Schwartz went on to join the professional Sport Karate circuit and, later, became one of the most dominant superstars in full-contact rules kickboxing, a hybrid sport combining Karate and western boxing. Schwartz finally realized his longtime dream on November 12, 2004 when he captured the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) World Super Middleweight Full-Contact Kickboxing Championship by earning a 12 round unanimous judges’ decision over four-time kickboxing champion, Tom “The Bee” Bottone, at San Jose’s Civic Auditorium.

Here is a little bit of his background: I started my professional career in martial arts after receiving my black belt at the age of 15. My martial arts career is highlighted by 6 World Championships in Sport Karate and a spot on the U.S. National Team. After retiring from karate, I went on to pursue a career in professional kickboxing. After 16 bouts and victories, I won the ISKA World Super Middleweight Title. I retired from kickboxing in 2005 undefeated, with a record of 18-0 w/11KO's. I am now training for the big kickboxing comeback in November 2008

Stay

Stay by Valeri Lopez

I met her last weekend at the young adults fall retreat, and let me tell you, she is amazing. She is such a sweetheart, and has such a huge heart. Oh yeah, her music is great too!

Here is a video of her playing my favorite song Stay.



I look at this song in two different ways. First, I think it's a great song to represent God's relationship with us. It reminds me that God will always love me, regardless of choices I make. If I fall, God will catch me. He will always remain. I think it's such a great reminder.

I also think its a great song to represent marriage. Maybe I have high hopes, but I hope that I would be able to say these things to my husband, and he could do the same to me. I pray that God will bless me with an amazing man of God that will truly protect me, care for me, and love me unconditionally.

Here are the lyrics:

Here is my heart
Keep it safe, it's the only one I got
Here is my life
In your hands do I place
Just hold on tight

And this life can be cruel
But I'll try
And I think we can make it
If we try

If I fall will you catch me and say
You will always remain
If I do something strange
Will you stay

Will you stay

Now is the time
Are you sure or afraid
Do you feel fine
I feel so safe
When I look in your eyes
and I hear you say

That this life will be cruel
But we will try
I believe we can make it
If we try

If you fall I will catch you and say
I will always remain
If you do something strange
I will stay

I will stay

If you fall I will catch you and say
I will always remain
If you do something strange
I will stay

I will love you forever
I will stay
I will love you forever
I will stay
I will love you forever
I will stay
I will love you forever

I will stay

What do you think of the song?

ps - you should check Valeri out and support her!!

www.myspace.com/valerilopez

The Power Of Your Name

We sang this song at the young adults retreat last weekend. I love this song.

The Power Of Your Name - by Lincoln Brewster

Surely children were not made for the streets
And fathers were not made to leave
Surely this isn't how it should be

Let your kingdom come
Surely nations were not made for war
Or the broken meant to be ignored
Surely this just can't be what you saw

Let your kingdom come
Here in my heart

Chorus:

I will live
To carry your compassion
To love a world that's broken
To be your hands and your feet
I will give
With the life that I've been given
And go beyond religion
To see the world be changed
By the power of your name

Surely life wasn't made to regret
And the lost were not made to forget
Surely faith without action is dead
Let your kingdom come
Lord break this heart

Jesus your name
Is a refuge for the weak
Only your name
Can redeem the undeserving
Jesus your name
Holds everything I need

This song made me do a lot of crying, a lot of praying, a lot of processing.

The second line made me cry. "And fathers were not made to leave." When I sing the song I think of God and how he will always be my father and will never abandon me. However, I also thought of Cameron and started crying. I started feeling like a failure. A failure that I got pregnant in the first place, a failure that he doesn't have an 'earthly' father, and I haven't provided that for him, and a failure that I was gone on the retreat for the weekend and not with Cameron. Those are lies! God's truth is that he loves Cameron and myself unconditionally and he has an amazing plan for our lives.

Ok, I was going to list all of the lines that convicted me, or moved me in some way, but I realized, I would then be re-typing the entire song! Overall, I felt really moved to be active in my faith. Be a light for Jesus. I feel like I am a good person, but that doesn't mean I'm doing anything extraordinary. People see me and see that I am kind, but they don't necessarily see Jesus in me. At first glance, someone wouldn't be able to tell the difference between me knowing Jesus, and some other nice person, that is doing good, but doesn't know Christ. Does that make sense? So i feel like I need to do more. I want people to see me as salt and light. Not just another nice face. I feel convicted that we need to go and share the good news of Jesus. God is big enough and can move and conquer in great ways!

My heart broke when singing this song, thinking of all the unsaved. Thinking of all the abandoned children. Thinking of all the victims of human trafficking and slave trade. Thinking of all the lost and opressed. It's a sad world. But God's name HOLDS EVERYTHING WE NEED.

How did this song convict or move you?

Late Halloween Post

So, I realized I never did a post about Halloween. It was Cameron's 3rd Halloween. I can't believe it! He was a cute Giant's player this year. He had a lot of fun celebrating at his daycare, and then went trick or treating to some of my friends houses. My heart was breaking throughout the night when we would see horrible, scary decorations. Why do people put those out when they know little kids are going to come by and be scared? Do they think they are "cool" with those decorations? What kind of image is that portraying for all the young children?

Here are some cute pictures of Cameron throughout the day...