Love Dare - Day 45

Hello my wonderful readers. Today's scripture is Romans 8:28. Today's devotion is about trusting God. Wise people don't grade God or life, they trust Him to give them the life they are supposed to have. Romans 12:19 was mentioned. He has the power to heal anything. Psalm 84:11 tells you to live with integrity. Your anger could be showing you, your not trusting God and letting Him lead your life. You need to just put all your trust in God and give Him your thoughts and worries for some peace. 

Love Dare - Day 44

Hello my wonderful readers. Today's devotion starts with scripture Psalm 139:23. Today's devotion talks about anger. Anger is a warning something is wrong in our own hearts. Ask yourself questions when you get angry: Are you angry for selfish reasons? What would Jesus do? Is it the past coming back and that's why your angry? Are you confronting your spouse's sins before your own? Would you want your spouse to respond this way if reversed? The dare says to read Lamentations 3:39-40 and ask why should we stop complaining and self exam. You should exam your wrongs and ask the Lord to forgive you.

Love Dare - Day 43

Hello my wonderful readers. Today's devotion starts with scripture Proverbs 25:2. The devotion today is about how you react when your spouse does something wrong. This one really hit me because I am bad at reacting harshly sometimes when my husband irritates me and I feel so bad later that I did. Make yourself get all the facts and ask your spouse questions before getting mad at them. There could be a reason they did what they did, they might not have had a better choice. Proverbs 18:13 is mentioned at this point. Your anger won't keep what they did from happening again but your love and patience might. The dare for today's devotion is to write five things your spouse did to make you mad on a piece of paper, pray to God to give you patience about these things and then throw the list away out of love for your spouse. 

Love Dare - Day 42

Hello my faithful readers. Today's devotion starts with scripture Proverbs 19:11. The devotion starts with talking about how premeditated responses can keep anger at bay in your life. God said His people were the worst at sinning against Him and one another. But He was compassionate to His people and didn't just let His anger build up on them. Prepare to be patient. The dare at the end of the devotion today asks: What would happen if you built up anger inside you? This has happened to me and when the last of the anger builds up you explode on whoever is in front of you and it's an awful feeling; What if you chose to seek out more info and wisest action before responding? This I think is the best choice you have is to seek out what to do from your mentors or Christian friends and then respond to issues as they happen. 

300 Posts to the Blog!!!

Hello my wonderful readers!!!!! This is my 300th post!! I can't believe that I have that many posts on my blog over the years that I have had it! I love just being able to get on here and updating you guys on what's going on my life and that you guys have been around for my wedding prep and me having a baby and hopefully down the road for our next babies in the future. I love each and every one of you, whoever you are that read this! Lots of love to each and every one of you! Loves. 

Love Dare - Day 41

Hello my wonderful readers. Today's devotion starts with Hebrews 3:13. Today's devotion talks about Christian mentors for your life and marriage. Mentors are good to have to help you make better decisions. Mentors or friends can give you good advice or just prayer support. Mentors or friends are important to have in life. You should choose mentors based on: someone who puts Christ first in their life, has the type of marriage you want, lives by God's word not their own. Pray God will send you and your spouse these mentors for your life and marriage. 

Love Dare - Day 40

Hello my wonderful readers. Sorry for not posting yesterday we were out of town and then life got in the way last night so you will get two posts today :-). The devotion starts with scripture Psalm 32:5. The devotion talks about how sin builds up in your heart and it can cause anger. When you sin and hide it you start to point out others sins in guilt of your own. You should ask for forgiveness from the Lord always for every sin. You should make sin feel like you are an unwelcome place for it to come. 

Love Dare - Day 39

Hello my amazing readers. Today's devotion starts with scripture John 16:33. Today's devotion is on unrealistic expectations. If you have unrealistic expectations in life you will be disappointed. We should not expect perfection from our spouse, it will always lead to disappointment because they are only human and not perfect just like us. Perfections expectations lead to disappointment every time. We should only put our confidence of perfection in God, He is the only perfect one. The dare talks about how Peter encourages the disciples but also talks to them about unrealistic expectations in 1 Peter 4:12-16. 

Love Dare - Day 38

Hello my wonderful readers. Today's devotion starts with scripture Colossians 3:19. Today's devotion is on bitterness in your life. Bitterness is like a poison in life. Bitterness leads to anger in your life if it is built up for too long. Ephesians 4:31 is also mentioned in the devotion. Love can keep away bitterness in your life, if you just look at everything with love. Give your spouse permission to point out bitterness starting in your relationship. I am pretty bad at this actually and wish I wasn't so bitter about certain things in my life, I need to ask the Lord for forgiveness. 

Penelope's First Trip to the Zoo

Hello my wonderful readers. Awhile back we took Penelope to the zoo for the first time with my parents. We went to the Sacramento Zoo. My dad and me had never been there before, my husband had and my mom grew up in the area so she had too a long time ago. We started out by seeing how wide our wing span is haha. Below is my mom and dad. 

Above is Aaron measuring his wing span and then him with Penelope. Below is a monkey. 

Above is Penelope with the zebra animal that my parents got her, she fell asleep on the way to the car. Below is her with a bust of a baby chimp and her and Aaron with a chimp statue. 

The zebra and giraffes were everyone's favorites. 

Above is me with Penelope and below is the three of us.

 Penelope did really good at the zoo, only thing was that she couldn't decide if she wanted to be in the stroller, backpack or held haha. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the trip. Loves. 

Love Dare - Day 37

Hello my wonderful readers. Today's devotion starts with scripture John 5:30. The devotion starts by talking about the older brother in Jesus' tale of the prodigal son. He was angry because he had expectations of his hard work being recognized and then it wasn't and his brother was recognized for just coming home. If your spouse doesn't meet your expectations it could lead to anger. Love doesn't give you rights to certain things and if you expect certain things you will disappointed. In the dare at the end of the devotion it talks about Matthew 26:36-42 and asks aren't you glad Jesus didn't have expectations for staying alive instead of dying for our sins. 

Love Dare - Day 36

Hello my faithful readers. We are going to try to get back on track today with the devotions. Today's scripture is Romans 7:8. Jealousy is the topic of this devotion. Jealousy is dangerous to have for someone. You want something because someone else has it is the worst thing to do. I am so guilty of this and so is my husband, this is one of the top things we both need to work on. Jealousy is all over the Bible; Cain and Abel, Saul and David, the Pharisees and Jesus. Jealousy has been around since the beginning just about. Are you jealous of your spouse for some reason? Like do they leave for the day and you stay home to raise the children, and your jealous that they have adult interactions and a "break" from things. I struggle with this the most I think over everything else. Jealously like this could turn to anger if you don't ask God to help you with it and ask for Him to forgive you. 

Love Dare - Day 35

Hello my faithful readers. Today's devotion uses scripture James 4:1. The devotion today is about lust. Most people think lust is about sexual context and it isn't always about sex. You can lust after things that you don't have as well. Material things can be lusted after, like money is a big one. If you lust a lot after something you don't have and others have it can make you angry. The dare at the end of the devotion asks questions: Are you lusting after something? I don't necessarily lust after anything but it wouldn't hurt to have more money I think; Are there unhealthy desires in your heart? I don't think I have any unhealthy desires in my heart but that doesn't mean I don't have any that I don't realize right now; What good can come from releasing those desires? I think that people can be so much happier in life if they let go of their lustful desires of what other people have that they don't have.   

Love Dare - Day 34

Hello my wonderful readers. Proverbs 29:11 is the scripture for this devotion. Anger is something that is so common in everyone. You should try to listen and consider accusations before speaking out against someone when they say you have done something wrong. If you have done something wrong take full responsibility for your wrong doings. When your spouse points out your wrong doings just listen and don't start pointing out theirs in defense of yourself because this will lead to anger for sure. Love motivates wisdom. The dare is to read Proverbs 14:29 and Proverbs 15:5 and it tells you to be patient and understanding or you will be considered a fool. 

Love Dare - Day 33

Hello my wonderful readers. I am so very sorry with not posting for a couple days, we had a nice three day weekend as a family spending time together and getting some stuff done that needed to get done. So today you will get a couple posts instead of just one :-). Day 33 devotion started with scripture Proverbs 11:2. The devotion is on anger. Most anger is caused by pride in a person. Proverbs 18:12 is mentioned in this devotion too. You have to think what mostly sets off your anger, and ask the Lord to help you with that. Do you possibly think that your better than your spouse and can do everything better than they can? These things are what lead to anger. There are times that I think I can do something better than my husband and it makes me mad when he doesn't do it the way I think is right, later I realize that it's not right for me to get mad at him and have so much anger over something that is so not important. The dare is to show patience to your spouse. 

Love Dare - Day 32

Hello my wonderful readers. Happy Valentine's Day. Today's devotion uses Romans 1:18. The devotion is on the reasons to be angry. God gets angry for reasons that clear to us in the Bible. He gets angry for those who rise up against Him in Exodus 15:6. He gets mad for those who harm His innocent peoples in Exodus 22:21-24. He also gets mad for those who don't repent their sins and turn to Him in Romans 2:5-8. Anger speaks the truth in love when done just like God does it. Pray today that God helps you to get angry for the right reasons and not just at everything with your spouse. I need to work on this so much personally because I am quick to anger all the time with Aaron, especially since we have had our little one. I am working on not getting angry over the small things and not letting being tired get me angry faster over something that is not worth getting angry over at all. 

Love Dare - Day 31

Hello my wonderful readers. We have been doing this devotion for a month now, Wow! Today's scripture is Psalm 30:5. The devotion is about being slow to anger. Anger is a strong emotion we all have. We fight to not act on it when it sneaks up on us in life. Love is what keeps us from acting on it ultimately. We need to be slow to anger and quick to forgive just like the Lord is to us. The dare is to pray for you to be better in an area that you are not patient with your spouse now. 

Love Dare - Day 30

Hello my wonderful readers. Sorry for the delayed devotion for today. Today's devotion uses scripture Psalm 119:105. The devotion is on how the Holy Spirit helps you to understand God's word. 1 Corinthians 2:10 is another scripture mentioned. The whole devotion is on how the Holy Spirit is there to help you understand God's word. Psalm 119:10-11 talk about this. Read a piece of the Bible everyday with your spouse ideally to start to understand God's word. The dare is to read Psalm 119:9-16 and see the benefits of the God's word to you.  

Park Day with My Little Family

Hello my wonderful readers. Today I thought I would share a wonderful outing we took a couple weeks ago as a family to the park for the first time. Penelope had never been to the park before so since my husband had the day off work we took her to the park to swing on the swings for the first time. 

She seemed to have a good time with mommy and daddy on the swings and just being out as a family. Hope you enjoy our little family pictures. Loves. 

Love Dare - Day 29

Hello my wonderful readers. I'm so very sorry I didn't post yesterday I am still battling this sickness and I hope it is getting better and staying better. The devotion was on God's patience with us and the scripture was Joel 2:13. God's patience is all over the Bible for us. The other scriptures that were mentioned that show God being patient with us are: Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 86:15, 103:8, 1 Corinthians 13:4, Numbers 14:22-23. My favorite quote from the devotion of this day is "to be like God is to be patient." The dare is pray for an area you need to work on to have patience with your spouse. God has the ultimate patience with us and we should always strive to be like him. 

Love Dare - Day 28

Hello my faithful readers. Today's scripture is Numbers 14:19. The devotion today is also on patience. Moses interceded for his people because they were not patient with God. In the same way we should do that for our spouse at times. Will you be slow to anger next time with your spouse? Are you a patient person? I think this is the number one thing I need to work on for sure. Do people walk on egg shells around you because they think you will overreact to somethings? Yes some people do but I would like that to not be case as I am working to change that. Can you always be patient or only with small issues? I can be patient with big issues but small issues is what I have a problem with because they are small I want them dealt with quickly. Patience is on the top of my list to work on, what is on the top of yours?

Love Dare - Day 27

Hello my wonderful readers. Sorry for this post going up late today, as you read in day 26 I am sick but healing. Today's devotion starts with scripture Exodus 34:6. We are talking about how God has been patient with us from the beginning. God had patience with us even through the Bible we messed up many times. God is slow to anger and we should be too with everyone around us especially our spouse. God was compassionate to us and we should be the same to our spouse. Another scripture mentioned is 2 James 3:9. Why is God having patience not wrath with us today? He wants everyone saved and to repent and be with Him. What does it say about His heart? He loves us, every saint and every sinner alike. 

Love Dare - Day 26

Hello my wonderful readers. Sorry for not posting yesterday I was pretty sick with a fever and chills and all but a lot better today. The devotion is on patience again and the scripture is James 1:19. Love must be your motivation to have patience with your spouse at all times. We all slip up because we are all human but whenever it is humanly possible you must use your love to give you patience with everyone especially your spouse. Patience is the best starting point for a marriage. Communication is listening before reacting. Don't ever talk over each other that is not being patient or listening at all. Have patience by saying nothing negative to your spouse this week. 

Love Dare - Day 25

Hello my wonderful readers. Today is day 25 of the Love Dare devotional. Today devotion is another one on patience since it is one the most important things in a marriage. We start out with the scripture Proverbs 15:18. It talks about how you should be slow to anger. A quote from the devotion is "patience is where love meets wisdom." I love that, it is so true. Patience is needed for a peaceful home for you and your children. Patience is also needed for a healthy marriage. Patience is what gives you the ability not to just up and leave your marriage every time your spouse does something wrong. Can your spouse count on you to be patient with them?

Love Dare - Day 24

Hello my wonderful readers. Today's devotion starts with the scripture Proverbs 14:2. Today's devotion is also on patience because it is a very important thing to have in marriage. When you don't have patience it's like "spreading poison rather than medicine." When you are quick to anger it can lead to problems quick and a lot. You should always look at the whole situation or picture before reacting. You should always take a breathe and thinking before reacting, don't just snap back and react, because it is almost always bad. Also today the dare at the end of the devotion is say nothing negative to your spouse. Patience is so important in marriage!!

Love Dare - Day 23

Hello my wonderful readers. Today's devotion uses scripture Ephesians 4:2. Today's devotion is on a topic I struggle with so much, especially with my spouse, Patience. Patience is what best defines love. Love helps you be patient and turn negative things into positive things. Patience also brings calm within. Patience is "bearing with one another in love." I struggle with patience with my husband because I want him to drop what he is always doing and do what I want him to do right this second and that doesn't always happen so I get mad at him and bicker. I am working so hard to not expect him to just stop what he is doing all the time for what I want him to do and have some patience, it takes a lot of prayer. The dare at the end of today's devotion is to read James 1:19 and see how it applies to your marriage. It talks about how if you are slow to respond to a problem you will be slow to anger, have patience. 

Review - Sandwich Maker

Hello my wonderful readers. I thought I would throw in a review today on one of my Christmas presents, the Huntington Beach Sandwich Maker. 

You wait for it to be preheated, you place a bottom of the English muffin in the bottom section with a piece of cheese and some bacon (already cooked). In the top section you crack an egg and gently set the top part of the English muffin on top of it and close the top. Set the timer for 4.5 minutes and when it's done you pull out the slider parts so the the cooked egg and top drop onto the rest of the sandwich. It cooks perfect and is so fast to have a fresh breakfast sandwich in the morning. It works wonderful I would recommend it to anyone. I am so happy we got the double one instead of the single one so me and my husband can have breakfast done at the same time. Hope you go get you one of these. Loves. 

Love Dare - Day 22

Hello my faithful readers. Sorry I didn't post yesterday I wasn't feeling that great and the baby was fussy, but good news is you get two today!! Revelation 21:2 is the scripture for this devotion. Marriage shows us how love is supposed to be for real. You are supposed to love your spouse without worrying about how they will please you in return, loving your spouse is all about giving not about getting. We learn about our relationship with God with how we interact with others, especially our spouse. The dare at the end of the devotion is my favorite so far and a really good one: Go this week without saying anything negative to your spouse. I struggle with this so much, I say so many negative things to Aaron that it's not good at all and I have been trying to work on it as much as I can especially since the baby was born because I want her to see positive parents that love each other. 

Love Dare - Day 21

Hello my wonderful readers. I can't believe we have done three weeks of the devotion already, so awesome!! Today's scripture is Ephesians 5:32. Marriage was ultimately created to glorify God. Marriage was created so God could show us: the unity of the Trinity, His holiness, His as a creator of life and His unconditional love. All those things are shown through different aspects of marriage. He created marriage so we wouldn't be lonely and become un-pure when tempted. He created it so can learn teamwork, especially when you become parents together you have to learn teamwork big time. He created marriage so we can multiply and spread His word to our children and them to theirs and so on and so forth. 

Love Dare - Day 20

Hello my wonderful readers! I hope you enjoyed the super bowl yesterday we spent some time with family and had fun. Today's devotion is scripture Ephesians 5:25-26. It's about how marriage blesses you. When you marry the person God has blessed you with you make each other better. The person you marry should strive to make you more like Christ and you should do the same for them. Romans 8:28-29 shows up in the devotion also today asking: How can we help our spouse to be more like Christ? We can give yourself for them just like Christ did for His church and we could love God ourselves and strive to be Christlike ourselves. My favorite quote from the devotional today is "you and your spouse should both bloom into Christlikeness from being with each other." I think that is beautiful and exactly what God intended marriage for. 

Love Dare - Day 19

Hello my wonderful readers. Happy Super Bowl day or happy Sunday!!! Today's scripture for day 19 is Ecclesiastes 9:9. Also mentioned is 1 Corinthians 7:33-34 and Proverbs 5:19 "exhilarated always with her love." The Proverbs verse is how a man should feel about his wife. Marriage is to be pleasurable for both of you.  Sex is meant to be fruitful and pleasurable when with your spouse, the person you want to be with most, and not a duty or obligation. You are meant to enjoy your spouse according to God. You are meant to enjoy sex with your spouse and your spouse only. Plus sex is so much better when it with the person you love the most and you are joined together under God.