I'm a Much Better Parent With God

There are certain things I really don't know about being a parent. I think I know less than I think I really do. BUT, I always hope that I can be the best parent I can be, flaws and all.

My little girl has a way of challenging everything that I once "thought" I would say or do as a mother. It is thrilling to get to know her a little more everyday. To understand how she was beautifully and fearfully made, and to encourage her spirit to be the person God intended her to be. She's only two at this point, and most of the time I'm really finding out how she was fearfully made.... can I get an Amen!? Some days, I truly don't know how I can carry on and then something happens.. I admit to myself and to God that I am NOT, to contrary believe (I think of just myself),  the ruler of the universe. And when I ask humbly for help - because I know that without the help of the Holy Spirit I suck at being a parent - I see the miracle that God gives me that day... patience, forgiveness and unconditional love to my little girl.  Now ask me if I do this everyday... NOPE! I get so caught up in "life" that some days I don't back down and I think I alone can do it all. Those are the days that I find it hard not to yell, those are the days that I cry of frustration, those are the days that I walk into my little girls room and see she has taken her diaper off and poo is smeared ALL over herself, the crib and her favorite stuffed animal. Cool. I am not trying to say that when I ask for God's help in directing me as a mommy everything goes right. However, my attitude is so different that I bring on a different, more positive energy into the day that even if I'm thrown for a loop, I have the Holy Spirit backing me up and I can feel a difference. There is a difference. The tough part is remembering and putting into action my faith in God as a parent. He can help me be the mother he intended me to be. Will I fail miserable time and time again? Yes, but there is a wonderful thing that will happen when my daughter sees my vulnerability as a mother. She will relax in herself and she will know that even mommy needs God's help. And she will see a difference when I trust in the Lord. Example is by far more impressive to a little heart than empty words and expectations.

Let God lead you today to be the parent He created you to be. You will never be perfect, but you will have an awesome opportunity to transmit a seed onto your children that will feed a hunger for God.

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

Starting New

I never in all my life thought I would really come to know peace. My life has been beautifully traumatic, I've been shaped by the waves and crashes of life. Fair? NOPE. Needed to shape me into who I am today? Probably. 

God doesn't let us experience anything that He isn't 100% sure we can endure in His strength. Even if we're too prideful to ask for His help He is always there waiting, probably stepping in like a defense line backer protecting us from the unimaginable. Things that never came our way because God was protecting us from these horrible boulders coming at us to take us out. Yet we only see what does happen to come our way and our attitude becomes one of complaint and "why me" ( I'm speaking of my experience... It usually takes me a while to have a thankful attitude toward challenging times..) 

Our little minds and little faith think that our lives are going pretty good because of our own doing - "I succeeded in this and that makes me a super amazing human being.. mwaahahaa" we say- We pretend to  have it all together. Until a real catastrophe comes in and tears us a new one and we are left looking upwards wondering where God has been all along. God's wrath is not some fiery hell hole that we have to endure in this life. It is our own choice: not trusting Him and not letting Him into our daily life that becomes His wrath, because apart from God we can do nothing that truly matters. God's wrath is the absence of Him in our life. It's something that WE can prevent by just saying, "I'm trying to trust you LORD." "I want to love you with all my heart." "I don't know how, but I want you to show me." The tricky part is that we need to be ready for all of the undoing that God has to do, to give us the ability to trust and let Him.  We have to die to ourselves and make many changes in our life to truly say that we are all in with God. This is not easy. We have to die to ourselves and to all of our preconceived desires of this life. The more we exercise trusting God and having a thankful attitude for the challenges that come our way, the easier it becomes to trust and to be thankful for some "catastrophe". God can bring a blessing in the darkest times. We just need to hold His hand. 

A part of trusting God and wanting Him to change our hearts has to do with surrendering who we think we are, and who we atta be. Everything that we think we deserve and want is not often what we need. God doesn't mess around. If we're truly coming to Him wanting His help and surrendering to Him we have to make a choice, to die to ourselves and see what He has for us.  Whatever His plan is, it’s probably a thousand times better than what you or I have in mind. Maybe we can't see it yet, but it's there. God promises us good news. He is a kind and gracious God that is faithful and never fails. 

Even with all the events I've had to endure in my life I can say that God has shown me a peace beyond anything I could of ever imagined. I would not trade that for the world. God will break us and put us back together much better than we ever were. I want to trust God with all of my heart. I know that I don't do that at all times. I need help, I need encouragement. But I know that for the 1.3 minutes that I can say I had 100% faith in God He has been faithful to me. And I know He will to you as well. TRUST. 

Stay blessed and stay saucy! 

Weakness

it's in the times when we feel COMPLETELY broken that we can let God do the most amazing work in us. When everything is going well we often forget to let Him lead us and work in us, our dependence is in ourselves. But when we feel utterly shattered from the inside out... our dependence shifts to Him and we begin to heal and find peace. Miracles start happening when we let God work in our brokenness and acceptance of our weaknesses.

It might expose us, it might make us feel vulnerable, but oh the peace. The peace we can achieve from admitting our weakest points and let God use people in our lives to lift us up.

I feel completely shattered right now, but not defeated. I feel vulnerable but not alone. Thank God for the people He's put in my life. Thank God for this day!

Ouch My Finger

Sometimes the simplest things in life can have such an amazing lesson. Take my finger for instance. I was a happy girl the night of May 25th ,2012. Everything was normal around the house. I was chatting it up with my friend and cutting up some delicious mangoes for us to enjoy like good friends should. In the blink of an eye everything turned black and blurry. I was in so much pain I almost passed out, gushing blood was spraying BOTH my eyes. All I could think to do was to put pressure on the very deep wound on my finger. The serrated knife I was using to cut my delicious yet somewhat lethal mangoes was to blame (you're RIGHT who in their right mind uses a serrated knife to cut a mango? Me THAT'S who!)

OKAY. YIKES! I'm so dramatic. Yes I cut my finger, yes it was deep but it really wasn't all that bad. I've had a band-aid on it most of this week and it's been so annoying. I kept feeling like it was going to finally close up and heal but somehow something would snag on the skin and it would bust open again. It was painful and simply annoying. And today it dawned on me. What if I'm not letting it heal because I keep wanting the "dead" skin to repair itself and I'm just too scared to cut if off? Finally I bit the hard and calloused dead skin off my finger ( I do realize I could have been less discussing and used scissors or something but meeh) And guess who was surprised two alphabet letters- A.- It didn't really hurt as bad as I thought it would. - AND B.- the skin BELOW the dead one was already healed and it was no longer cut, nothing is snagging it and it feels 100% better. Who knew!

Well then I took it a step further and thought, WOW we as people can't ever completely HEAL from things if we don't cut our calloused hearts and make way for the nice blank slate one. (I hope you can see the analogy, I don't actually mean CUT YOUR HEART OUT, if you know what I mean...) I can't let the healing begin in my heart if I continue to put bandages over my past, my fears, or my future anxieties. I have to CUT the calloused dead skin to move forward with a brand new heart. I have to put my faith all in and yank that sucker out to make way for a brand new start. No pre-judgments. No fear of being hurt. No thinking of "what's going to happen later" without FAITH that everything will be okay. I know it's much harder said than done. But think of how relieved my finger is....

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

Working Hard Or Hardly Working

I don't know how much you know me but if you do know me at all you know that I have 101 ideas runing through my head daily about cool things I want to do. Projects I want to dig my teeth into, crafts I want to start, classes I want to teach. If you came up to me on any given day and asked me what "ideas" were jogging down my membraine, I could easlily rattle off at least 2-3 (I'm being a little more realistic here, see?).

With that comes a greater chance that the 2-3 ideas perusing in my mind, will never come to fruition. I really don't know why I do that ( I think I was just made a do'er) but sometimes it's exhausting in my brain! Sometimes I wish I could not have any ideas at all. But then again that wouldn't really be me.

Aaaany waaaay! I've been taking a hard look at the makeup of myself and seeing how I tend to like to do a lot of things, however, I'm not AMAZING at any ONE thing. Not that it's a terrible thing, but when I think of why, the answers always comes to me with "well I don't think I'm working hard enough" at the things I really do love. For example. I love to dance, I wasn't classically trained but I do love it. I can pick up choreography and dance like it's the last thing I'll ever do. BUT I can't say that at ANY given point I really worked extremely hard at getting really really good. I've lacked discipline.

WHY? Well I can't tell you easily that it just comes down to being a tad bit lazy and scared of failing. Because when I do something kind of half-assed, I don't run the risk of failure, or embarrassment, or hurting myself in any way. In other words I have to be willing to go all in and be okay with failing dramatically in order to say, I've worked hard at something. I'm not that kind of person. I don't want to "fall". I like to play it safe and stay within my comfort zone because there I can pretend that I'm this cool person that makes no mistakes right? Ha, even saying that sounds so ridiculous. People are always going to have some opinion about me. People are not always going to agree with me or even like me. So why do I get so hung up on not working really hard and falling really hard in order to get really good at something I love, for the sake of looking stupid in front of someone that probably doesn't even think that in the first place. They are probably just having a lot of gas that day and that's why their face looks weird and to ME it looks as if  they are in disapproval of what I'm doing! Ahhh that was a lot to get off my chest. I don't even know if this blog is making ANY sense AT all. So if you're reading this and a million of question marks are filling your brain, I do apologize but I'm feeling really good and vent-Y right now. And that's not even a word, so there!

I guess all in all, I want to work on not trying to "impress" the gassy man next to me and just live my life and work hard at the things I love to do. In the end, it's hard work that gets the results we are all looking for. You reap what you sow, don't cha know? I want to make a pledge to work on my talents in a way that is pleasing to myself. I also want to work on not being scared of falling, because when we fall it means we're going all out at something we really love. Believe it or not, I came to this conclusion by watching my toddler. She doesn't care what people are thinking of her. To her, the world is only a poke away and she is curious about everything. She doesn't stop when she can't get the cap off the stinkin' toothpaste. She continues on; even if it means sliping from the chair she dragged all the way from the kitchen to get a better view of our sink. After she falls off, she climbs back on the chair and by God she finishes unscrewing that cap! What resilience. Did she ever turn to look at my weird face? NOPE!

 Don't be scared to get back on that horse and gallop right into your dreams.

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libier

When You Feel LIke You've Got Nothing Else To Give

Have you ever felt like you're on empty! Just empty empty empty!? I have been feeling that way lately. I know that I don't have it as rough as someone else, and I am 100% aware that if I were to count my blessings I would see how much I am blessed in life. However, there are times in life when you just feel empty and like you've got nothing else left to give. I have been feeling like this. Maybe because I'm just tired, or maybe it's because my allergies are horrible this year and I don't feel well. Maybe because of other things I'm trying to workout with the Lord. Regardless, I feel troubled.

God is faithful, if we seek him, He WILL make himself known to us, through people around us, through a beautiful sky, through things that just seem too good to be coincidences. If we want Him, He WILL come. He does not say that we won't have trouble in this life. And trust me that my trouble is different than your trouble, but it's trouble none-the-less. We WILL experience trouble in life, but He will always hold our hand. If you seek you shall find. What have I personally done in this time when I've felt like I've got nothing left to give? I have given my time to God and I have let Him give me His strength friends. That's all we can do. Trust that good will come from what ever our troubles are. TRUST

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libier

FOOD: My Biggest Addiction Ever

I'm the type of person that likes to look at other people succeed in their fitness goals. I can go on Pintrest for hours and look at the fitness section and just wish that I could have the dedication and self control  the girls who have amazing bodies obtain. I got to thinking about why I always start some healthy eating plan or workout plan and when it starts working I get comfortable and then I always throw in the towel.  I've never "arrived" so to speak in my all time fitness goals. I realized that what I was dealing with here was something stronger than just a little craving here and there. I realized I am addicted to FOOD. I can workout with the best of them. I actually really enjoy working out. The eating is where I always falter. I knew two months ago that if I continued down that road it was going to lead me nowhere good. An addiction is an addiction no matter what it is for. After praying for some guidance I met a trainer at my gym that  offered to help me with a meal plan. Coinkidink? I think NOT!

I was told that the only thing I was to eat was vegetables, good grains and lean protein.  And I was to eat like so, until I reached my goal. I was to have ONE cheat day a week where I could eat what ever my little heart desired. So of course I knew I had to give this a try.

It has been over four weeks and I've never felt better in my life! I feel super healthy and in control of my addiction (for now). It has NOT been easy at all. However, it's proven to me that I do need to treat the way I eat as something serious. What is going to happen to me if I were to not be able to work out as hard or as often as I do now? I need to workout this addiction now before I get older and it gets so bad that I can't control it anymore.

After eating really clean (and I mean CLEAN, NO sugar, NO processed foods. NOTHING BAD) it was sort of eye opening. The few times I had my cheat days I would just go crazy for the foods that I thought I was being deprived of. And guess what would happen, I would get sick and actually not truly enjoy them as much as I thought I would. But like a shark around blood, my desire for these "good-bad" foods was greater than my concern for a belly ache. I'm not saying that I'm am cured and I'll never relapse. Here is the hope though, that I will treat this as a serious addiction because it is. And it really is sad that no one would ever know that of me. It's not like a cigarette, people can smell it on you, this is really an undetectable addiction that I'm sure has it's grips on so many of us and we can't really put our finger on it. If you feel like you're an addict to food, my biggest advise is, pray pray pray for yourself to be rid of the addiction. Find someone else that is and make a vow to help one an other. And get savvy about good nutrition. Change your attitude about cooking and start cooking yourself some yummy healthy food! Trust me there IS such a thing! Veggies can be so delicious when given a chance!

The most difficult part of eating healthy is being prepared throughout the day with your healthy snacks and food! The rest is just up to you!

I am always here. If you have any questions or something to share don't hesitate to reach out!!

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libier

The Famous Hollywood Star In Me

So for those of you who don't really know me, I will have you know that ever since I have any recollection of thought, I've ALWAYS felt as if one day I was going to be famous. I love being on stage. I love to dance. I love to act. So clearly I'm destined for stardom right?

All growing up I've had people around me telling me that I have a unique talent. I myself think I'm very talented at certain things (I am also very humble, hahaha). I've always had that dream of graduating high school and moving to the big city and making it BIG sort of dream. I've always questioned God. If he gave me this DEEP desire to entertain, WHY then, oh why has there never been any real opportunity for me to become a famous movie star. I'm going to share something with you that makes me feel very vulnerable, so don't be a Judgy McJudgerson. Ever since I can remember I've always had the "dream" that someday someone really important (a big shot producer, or a director or someone that has really big powers) is going to find me on the street and say "You! There, over there, YOU in the pink blouse (I'm of course wearing the pink blouse-and he or she points at me in slow motion, and I turn very dramatically towards him or her-my hair flowing-ALSO- in slow motion-then our eyes lock for a second-we don't breathe and then he or she resume their line) I want YOU for my next big movie". I know I'm laughing, you might be too. But it's not funny, this has really been in my head for a really long time. I've always had a feeling of entitlement. My life has NOT been easy, so I deserve a big break. I have some talent, so I deserve to be a famous Hollywood star. If I were rich and famous, my problems would go away. I would give my family the life they deserve. I would adopt babies from Africa. I would give so much money to the poor, yaddy-yaddy-yadda. If this were the case than why do we see so much sadness in the stars we love and have loved. Heath Ledger, Marilyn Monroe, Whitney Houston....

I might always have the desire to entertain and exercise my talent because that is who I am. Does it necessarily mean that I'm destined for stardom and deserve to be rich and famous. NO!  I've done a whole lot of soul searching. I've questioned my motives as to WHY I want all of this. I've wondered if I would in fact do all the "good" things that I envision. If I could indeed handle all of the pressures of this kind of status. And you know what, I can't say that I know I would 100%. Money and fame have a way of creeping into the soul in tricky ways. Greed always shows up for the party and you have to be a really centered person in my opinion, to be able to handle all of the fame and fortune that comes with being famous. I have no idea what it's like because I'm neither of those things. However, from some life experience I can almost guarantee you that it's just like "the grass is greener on the other side", if you know what I mean. Once you're there it might not be where you really needed or wanted to go.

 I've had this desire in my heart because of a trait that I happen to have. So many other girls in this world, love to dance and sing and act as well. Are we ALL going to be famous, probably not. Here's where it gets tricky. I am in no way saying that you should never pursue your dreams. In fact I'm all for living life to the fullest, not letting any day go by with out at least doing one of the things that you love. For if that's how God made me than, I should want to glorify him through that talent he so graciously provided.  Just because I'm not earning a living dancing does not mean that I can't just dance at my house or with friends and get the same satisfaction.

I realized that what I was really searching for was for the worlds' approval. If I became famous, it would validate how "talented" and "cool" and "pretty" I want to be. When I realized that I was already loved and accepted by the one who matters most, my heart started wanting the fame less and less. When I realized that I could dance in my living room with my baby girl and get that butterfly feeling in my stomach when she applauded me at the end of a dance- was when I realized that God made me the way I am to be a really silly and fun mommy. It's one of my good mommy traits (I've got a dozen not so great ones-so it's a nice offset). Among other reasons as well but my perception has always been that if the world doesn't recognize me, than I'm not important enough. That is such a crock of Shitaki mushrooms! I am important to God, and to my family and to my friends. I may never be famous but you know what, I'm completely at peace with the fact that God made me with certain talents and passions so that I could enjoy doing them day to day. Not to find the worlds' approval. I may never get the worlds approval, and even if I ever did, it would be fleeting. God's approval is FOREVER, it is constant and it does not get measured on how cool you are, or what deeds you do. It just IS.

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

Let's Do Some Comparing Shall We!

For the better part of my life, I've been a true competitor. I love playing board games, I love being in an environment that allows my competitiveness to move me forward to new heights. Most times, I am in full competition with myself-trying to beat personal bests and all! I know that I was made this way for a reason, most days I can say that my "competitive edge" gives me a lot of benefits. However, there are times when I wish I would just be cool! I've been on a total- let's analyse the crap out of everything in my life lately so that I can become a better person-and in that, I've found that my competitiveness enables my comparison of others feature. Let me explain...

For the most part, I think I'm a pretty nice girl. I do good things and I'm "generally" good. There are sides of me that you don't even want me to tell you about that are pretty nasty. But for the most part, I'm a pretty cool cat (I think??) If I sit here in my competitiveness, comparing myself to other people, I will always be in the middle. I won't ever be as GREAT as Mother Teresa, but I'll always be "better" than someone else... I have decided that this is something I truly need help with because by comparing myself to the uttermost good weighed against the most horrible, I find myself in a mediocre middle state. Placing my judgment butt all over someones face and feeling LESS than someone else. God doesn't see us and say, "Oh Faloula is such a great person, a much better person than chippy-dip over there". He sees us Even-Stevens. We ALL have our good sides and we ALL have our dark sides. We all have a cross to bear, why is it okay for me to think your cross is more awful than mine? It's not!
No matter how we perceive it, NO one on this earth is better than anyone else in God's eyes.

I just want to stop it (tangent: you should hear my toddler saying STOP IT, it's sad but it makes me laugh inside) I want to be able to just work vertically, me and God. Trying to love on all of the people around me and not pretending that I'm either better or less than someone else. You know what I am? Me, just me. I will never measure up to anyone else because I am a unique gal that God loves as equally as the next guy. And that is okay with me.

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libier

The Power of Prayer

Have you ever wondered if your prayers are being answered? Well you are definitely not the only one my amigo! I have struggled so many times wondering what God was telling me in response to many of my prayers. There have been many times I've actually thought that my prayer was being answered, however it was only ME trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. I've tried to make God follow my lead and that is really narcissistic of me since I really have no clue what piece of the puzzle I really am to God's amazing creation. My life, (although most times I think I'm the most important thing in the world) is really not what this "Broadway Show" is about. God is the Producer of this show called "Life" and I am maybe an over achieving splinter of wood on the stage so to speak. I have to remind myself that it is really not ALL about me and that sometimes the prayers I come to God with, might not be in the  BEST interest of our show. I have to rely on the fact that God does promise to have plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11  

See, God does not work like a genie in a bottle. It's not like I say, "Man, I wish I had three unicorns and a Popsicle wrapped in bacon" and poof all my wishes came true! Sometimes I wish it were like that, but what fun would it be if we were able to have everything we ever wanted in life? Maaaybe a little  fun- but after a while it would get old and we would be wishing for a more "boring" life. See, only He knows what we really need. Only He knows our perfect plan. Even we, when we sit down and really think about it, know what we truly need. God might not give us what we want at the time but He ALWAYS gives us what we need. If I ever have doubts as to God's answer to any of my prayers, I can sit down a couple of weeks later after I've prayed and prayed and I can totally see what God has done in my life. Maybe He didn't answer the way I would have (from time to time I DO suggest many solutions to my problems to Him, I really don't know why He hasn't listened, I come with many great ideas)! But looking back I sit in awe of how gracious He is to me. And when I have a different perspective I SEE why it couldn't of turned out the way I so desperately wanted it to! Our timing is not God's timing. Our solution is often not His. Ultimately if I trust God as much as I can muster, I am always overwhelmed at the amazing ways He answers my prayers.

 Sometimes  God blesses me with what I pray for. Sometimes He tells me, not now but look at what else I've got for you. Sometimes God changes my heart to not want or "need" what is in my prayers.  The more you are in communication with God, (because that's what prayer is friends, just a friendly dialogue with Him) the more attuned we get to God's answers.  Prayer is the most powerful thing you'll ever be able to do in life. You'll find a way to understand so many things about your life and it will transform you heart, I can promise you that! It has happened to me. I've never been more at peace with who I am than when I started sharing my day with God and being in constant communication. Bringing all my problems and concerns to Him. It's like having a top notch- super good -therapist on call 24/7... FOR FREE!

Make a point to praise God and thank him for what He is doing in your life.

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libier

Is The Perfect Man Out There?!

Yes ladies... and gents, the perfect man is out there, but he is taken! I am married to him and thank goodness for that! haha JUST KIDDING (honey NO offence)!

I watched the movie The Vow last night, coupled with watching The Bachelor this season (I know! Don't judge me, I already do)! And the romance of it all got me thinking about the skewed perception of our culture about marriage, love and what a relationship "should" be like, or for that matter, what a man should be like.

I am married to the most perfect man for ME so that I can grow as a person. He, in no way, shape or form is "THE PERFECT MAN". "THE PRINCE CHARMING". "THE ONE AND ONLY WHO CAN FULFILL ALL MY NEEDS AND FANTASIES". Okay you get the point. I will say though, I am very, very much in love with my husband and I find him irresistible (most times) and I am so happy that I get to share all of my adventures with him. However, he is the man that God put in my 'ever-after' so that I would become a better person. NOT so that I would be happily ever after. My husband is the person who is going to rub me in all the wrong ways and bring out all the nasty little annoying habits of mine. He is also going to bring out the most beautiful things about me as well. Doug is the person that helps God shape me into the person I need to be!

Love isn't some fairy tale, or some romantic movie. Love is a choice that we have to make every day to keep that fire alive and to allow our partner in crime to help us be better NOT just happy. It is not realistic to be happy all the time.  It is so much responsibility for "the other half" to have to make us happy ALL of the time. Or fulfill us in ways that are really outside their realm. As much as I am saying my hubby isn't perfect, neither am I. I will repeat that statement, NEITHER am I! I bring out the best in my husband and I can certainly bring out the worst in him as well. A choice of love has to be made daily, in order to help each other out in life, because times will get rough. The vaavaavoom will exit the stage so to speak. The butterflies will go home and you are left with a choice to continue on with a relationship that is going to feel like it has fizzled out-but that is only the beginning of a much more fulfilling and intimate relationship with your mate!

No man is the perfect man. No woman is the perfect woman. If you have this notion, you're going to be left disappointed time and time again, jumping from relationship to relationship trying to find your prince charming... OR woman charming (this is the best I could come up with at this time! I know! lame...)

Find someone you share the most non-negotiable core values with and give it a go. Find the beauty in not placing so much responsibility onto a human being. Find the beauty in the vow of marriage. Find the beauty in the faults of your loved one. Cut them some slack. AND turn inward and see where YOU can become better. Strive to change yourself into a better person so that they will never regret choosing you  for their adventures in life.

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libier

I love To Spray Paint!

Okay so my new fun thing to do on a low budget is- out with the old, in with the spray painted old thing that now looks NEW and amaze-sauce because I spray painted it! Here are a couple of things that I've spray painted and might I say look quite amazing!

So this is just a janky old IKEA table that I put outside because it was janky. I just spray painted it with CHALK spray paint (I got mine at Home Depot for around $5!). Now it is going to be so much fun to play with the chalk and it's gonna look crazy cool on my porch! Those cool letters are all thanks to my amazing friend Elise! My hand writing is very ugly so I asked her to write cool things for me! 

I also used the chalk spray paint on my glass coffee container I got at IKEA. I used duck tape to make a square and then made sure that the whole glass was covered by a plastic bag and sprayed 3 light layers. And then I had my amazing friend write coffee on it for me! How cute is this!???

Here are other things that I've spray painted in the past couple of days! Watch my video! 

Stay blessed and stay saucy! 

-Libby Lu

Dessert Bar Ideas

One part of me that I don't know if you guys fully know is that I LOVE to bake!  I love to bake so much that I made my oven blow up! I'm exaggerating a teensy little bit, but for realsies, my oven is out of commission right now and I feel the "I haven't baked in over a week-going on two, blues"! So for that very reason I thought to go into my pictures and look at some of the things I have done and I found these! My extremely talented fancy photographer friend Joelle from CapturedByJoelle.com had a birthday party for her adorable little girl and I jumped at the opportunity to pay her back for all her generosity in taking my family's pictures and bake my little tush off for the party. I wanted to have just a shmorgishborg of goodies that the kiddos and adults could not resist. So I hope you enjoy these pictures and the links to the recipes I used will be there for you as well. Happy baking! Make sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel to see videos that include but are not limited to BAKING!  

Bakerella's Mini Cheese Cake Bars (YUMMO!)

Martha Stewart's Devil's Food Chocolate Cake

I made these for Halloween as well. Watch my video and decorate to your little heart's desire. Click HERE

Martha Stewart's Coconut Mini Cupcakes

Bakerella's Cupcake Pops (Very time consuming- But so cute!!)

Have fun with your baking! 

Stay blessed and Stay Saucy! 

If You've Lost A Parent For Any Reason...

I know how much you've been hurt. Nothing on this earth can ever replace the loss of a father or a mother. Be it whatever circumstance- your mother not being able to be there for you because she battles with depression or your father unable to be there for you because his best friend used to be the bottle of vodka you so desperately poured down the drain to prevent him from taking another drink. Or simply because death came so unexpectedly and took one of your parents or both, or any other horrible circumstances...The bond that one forms with a parent is something that is out of this world. A bond so ferocious that if broken can leave you feeling lost, void, and looking for something in this life, in this world, to fill what you crave the most-guidance to the one and only who can be the ultimate and perfect FATHER.  I can say that God provided me with the perfect parents to make me turn to Him. In many ways both my mother and my father have let me down and I've had to turn to God for fulfillment. In many ways the good in both of my parents has given me hope that one person can not be judged solely on the wrong they've done. I've seen God work in both of my parents now as an adult and can happily say that he has saved my father from a massive alcohol addiction and is currently working on my beautiful mother on her battle with anxiety and depression.


Trying to be positive has helped me in my walk with God. However, it's been through prayer that God has used my brokenness and vulnerability. I've let God get in my soul to show me why I've done some of the dumbest things in my life. Forgiving and letting go of all the anger, sadness and resentment has provided me with so much healing and peace. It has not been easy, but I would not have it any other way, it has provided me with a close and intimate relationship with God that I never would of had otherwise.  The interesting thing is that everything that I think has been a mistake in my life reverts back to wanting my parent's approval and love. It goes back to that bond. God knows who our parents are going to be and he knows what children He is going to entrust onto us. He knows that we are at some point going to be let down or be the ones to let someone down. Even the most wonderful of parents can let their children down from time to time. Or they can be taken away from this life too soon (in this case, don't regret the time you didn't have with them and run through a list of all the things you could'a, would'a, should'a done. Instead, be grateful for the time you DID have and those precious moments that were a gift of God).

The world is going to let us down! I will say it again, the world and the people in it, even the ones we love the most, are going to let us down. That is why God has to be the answer to our search. The void we so eagerly want to fill with sex, shoes and cigarettes will only and forever be satiated with a close relationship with our creator, God Almighty.

I hope that if you are reading this and you find yourself in my shoes you can be able to ask God for your own healing. I pray this super crazy-sauce because I've never felt more full and joyful in my life than at this time. This is where the healing begins...

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libier

How To Deal With A Broken Heart.

My heart was broken last weekend. I'm not at all ready to say why or to write about it. But I am ready to say that if I didn't have God in my life a broken heart could of broke so many other things. I find that the closer I get to God the more amazing the spiritual battles get. The "devil" is ready and charging at me with his best "stuff". But you know what, if God is for me, who can be against me? No one, that's right! I have to learn to allow myself to hurt when crappy circumstances come into my life. I try to be so strong and so positive that I forget sometimes that being vulnerable and broken is where I need to be at that point in my life. So right now I'm broken and vulnerable, however I'm still joyful and trusting that God is mending me better than I was before. Trusting God and believing He has his hand in all of our lives is not easy. And it doesn't mean that you can't feel sad or frustrated. It's just a feeling of peace within the storm that you are being loved and taken care of, and trusting with all your might that a wonderful blessing WILL come from all of your yucky circumstances!

I hope you all are having a beautiful day!

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libby Lu

What's Love Got To Do With It?

One of my first experiences with love, aside from family love, was my first boyfriend Zachary. He and I had this captivating love that started as explosively as a firework and ended just as fast. We had been in our relationship for a week and had already said the “I love you”s. Sadly, he had to move to Oregon because his parents were making him, (of course it wasn’t his idea, he was too in love with me to move) and so our love ended. It was the summer of fourth grade and I just knew my life would never be the same. We couldn’t keep up a long distance relationship, so we said our goodbyes. He left me with a love letter and a rock shaped as a heart- awesome! I cried my little heart out. I really didn’t know if my life would go on. I just recently read some of my journal entries from this very tumultuous time in my life and I couldn’t help but laugh, but in my ten year old me’s defense, what I felt for Zachary was the kind of love that cultivates in a week and you literally have no idea if your heart will ever be able to love again. Obviously, my heart loved again… again and again.

With every relationship I learned something about myself. Sometimes it would be something wonderful and others it would be just terrible. Baggage I wouldn’t want anyone else to know about me.  So I moved on, hoping that the next relationship would not expose the nastiness inside of me. But that’s the funny part about relationships. Someone will always make the little “monsters” in us come out to play when we least expect it. My experience of love without God in my life was conditional and self-seeking. It wasn’t until I got married that I realized that I was meant to love differently. No matter how many times my heart got broken, I was made to love time after time because love is a choice! The fireworks that I felt with Zachary when I was ten were the same fireworks I felt with any new boyfriend and especially my husband. However, the fireworks fizzled and that feeling of butterflies in my stomach was always something of the past. There had to be something else driving that love so it could sustain itself. The choice had to be to remain interested and wanting to make my husband feel respected and loved.  Not wondering what he has or hasn’t done for me lately (For the record I just want to say that what I just described is my ultimate wife persona. She is with me from time to time but other personas enjoy playing as well. Such as the nagging persona, the hormonal persona, the “You-don’t-care-about-my-new-haircut-so-that-means-you-don’t-love-me”persona, so on and so forth. I am not at all a perfect wife. I wish I could be, but this “choice” is ultimately the best version of me). Being married has sure taught me a few things about love.

June 2007- church bells are ringing!  We came home from our honeymoon and normalcy settled in. I felt a sense of uneasiness. I had no idea what I had signed up for. I thought that love and marriage were these perfect little butterflies that would flutter around the house everyday and we would always be smiling and he would always be my knight in shining what-cha-ma-call-it. We courted for only 5 months, got engaged, and in 5 more months we were locked in. So, you can see we didn’t know ALL the icky-ickies about each other yet, yet being the KEY word here. As our first year of marriage pressed on like a supercharged train, we went along for the ride. Finding many joys in the marriage as well as many dark moments in which we needed a higher power to help us! At one point in our marriage, I was having problems with an issue I’ve been battling with for a long time and I remember being so shattered inside that at that moment I thought I was unlovable by anyone. I was scared for my husband to see my brokenness. I thought that if he saw me this weak and sad he wasn’t going to want to be around me anymore. Skeletons of my past kept me captive and unable to move forward with my life. Horrible circumstances not fair for a young girl to have gone through haunted my thoughts. I was working out with God what had to be cut loose in order for the healing process to begin. I wanted to forgive. I wanted to rid myself of all the pain I felt inside. I got closer to God because my life depended on it. It wasn’t easy letting go and letting God’s love cover me like a blanket of hope. It wasn’t easy forgiving. When I made the choice to lift up my problems to the only One who can heal all, my salvation began. It was still very difficult for me. I can vividly remember one night crying in the shower. My husband heard my sorrow, got in and just held me. We didn’t speak one single word for a long time, he just held on to me until I cried out my very last tear. At the beginning, my tears were for how broken I felt inside and then they became tears of joy-joy for the love God had just displayed for me through my husband. That day my husband proved to me that he loves me beyond my looks, he loves me beyond the moments when I’m funny and kind and deserving of love. He loves me whole-heartedly.

Let’s jump ahead three years. It’s a hot August midnight; many contractions have been had. Too many if you ask me. I have been in labor for over thirteen hours and still no sign of this baby! Where is she!?  I was hungry, tired, and plain bored. I thought this show was going to be on the road much faster than it all went down. I was mad at my husband because he had just gotten to eat the most amazing smelling tri-tip barbecue sandwich, and the sweet smell of the barbecue sauce impregnated the room. Did I wish he would have fasted with me through this terrible two day ordeal? YES. Did he? NO. Anyway, I’m not bitter at him anymore, but not any-less either...  After being in pain, exhausted, feeling cheated with food, and bored to death, three o’clock came around. Guess who was ready to make her appearance? Who would have guessed that an hour of pushing a watermelon out of your what-do-you-know would feel like an eternity!  At 4:17AM, my little 8 pound, 21 inch slimy nugget got put on my chest. In that brief moment my heart grew about fifty times over. After having what seemed like hundreds of people in our room we were all of the sudden alone with our baby girl. It felt so bizarre, Mark 10:8 was apparent, “And the two shall become one”, and that we did! Whoa, I was in utter bliss and disbelief. I never, ever, in a bazillion years could have ever been prepared for the love I felt for my daughter.  Even now after a year of being a mommy I have a hard time containing all the love I have for her in my heart. I know that the way I love her is just a little preview of what God’s love is for me!  Dang!

I’ve been feeling love from my family ever since my mother’s first sign of morning sickness.  This incredible love fest has continued throughout my life. I have been so blessed to feel so much love from so many people! However, I will say that the one love that has made me fully understand what it really means to love is God’s love for ME. It is really easy for me to love people, when they are behaving in a way that I perceive as deserving of my love. It’s so easy for me to act loving to my husband when he brings me flowers and he rubs my feet. It’s amazing telling my little baby girl I love her when she smiles at me and hugs me. It is not so easy when they are being rude and mean, but that is what it means to really love, when it’s not conditional upon people’s behavior. God loves me even in the moments when I feel unlovable. He loves me in the moments when I least deserve it. He loves me in the moments when I feel completely broken and shattered. That kind of love is what I am striving for. I have felt love, I have experienced love, but I never fully understood it until I understood how profoundly God loves me.

My Flossy Adventures!

I had a delicious lunch out the other day and as I was driving home, I frantically looked in my hidden stash for a floss pick. I'm a big time flosser. One of the reasons why is that I've had 13 cavities at the same time before (not because I'm a disgusting slob who doesn't brush her grill, I think it's mostly genes and a pregnancy that did me in) so I'm really EXTRA cautious about my dental hygiene. And the other reason is that the dentist left a big gap between some of my molars and now every time I eat anything I have food treasures that want to stay in between my teeth without paying rent. I know, I'm gross, so what! Therefore I HAVE to floss after every meal. There don't you feel a lot closer to me know? haha

 Anyway, I could NOT find one of my little flossy friends. It took me about half an hour to get home and for the whole thirty minutes I was doing everything in my power to get that food out of in between my pearly whites! I tried shoving my tongue in between my teeth to get it out, that didn't work. By the by, why do I think that's even going to work when I KNOW my tongue is way bigger than the gap in my teeth?  I tried flushing my food friend out by aggressively swishing water in my mouth. THAT didn't work. So for some reason I thought to go back to plan A (the tongue thing) time and time again and guess what that still didn't work. I was obsessed with getting this sucker OUT!

After many failed attempts I realized that the right "tool" I needed was waiting for me at home and I KNEW that if I could just not freak out for a second and got home everything would be okay. I kept thinking if I just had floss it would be so much easier. It would go into the gap of my teeth and do the job it was designed to do, and I could live free of crap in my teeth until the next meal! If I just waited to get home and get to my floss, I could have had less stress, my life in those thirty minutes could have been a lot more peaceful. However, I resorted to using my own way to solve my problem and I got all bent out of shape!

I think many times in life I do the same thing with bigger problems. I know that God is the right tool that could go in and do the job faster more efficiently than any other "solution" I could possibly ever think of. I know this to be true and I STILL don't let God do His thing in my life sometimes. I don't give him the control because I think that by me doing something I am being more proactive. When on the contrary I'm just sitting in traffic for thirty minutes panicing about the food in between my teeth. Looking like an idiot to the casual passerby because I'm vigorously tring to swish water in my mouth whilest also trying to jam my HUGE tounge in a little crevice... if you know what I mean! I run in circles trying to fix my problems myself when I should trust God to be the right tool for the job of fixing me. Only He can. And the times I've let Him, I've felt a certain peace that I have come to crave.

I hope that you decide to use the right tool in your life.

Stay blessed and stay saucy ya'll!

-Libby Lu

My Night At The Hospital

My madre was in the emergency room last night. I've come to realize that being in and out of hospitals is just in my fortune. She's doing much better now but I would really appreciate prayers for her. Thank you!

One of the things about hospitals that Ive come to love, is the comradery that ensues when one is there. I'm ashamed to say so, but I would not be the type of person that would go around hugging strangers. Let me explain...

Let's pretend this senario happened in the day time and at Starbucks:
I'm sitting at a table talking with my mom and dad. A girl wearing really baggy sweats, and a do rag walks inside. She is crying pretty deeply and just walked from outside having made a phone call. My usual reaction would be to steal a few glances. Wonder in my head what's wrong with her. Possibly say to my parents "oh pobrecita" (meaning poor girl), maybe just maybe eves drop a little to try to gather more information- and then I would move on with my day.

That exact thing happened! Only it wasn't day time and it wasn't Starbucks. It was the emergency room of the hospital. There I sat talking with my parents trying to make conversation for the fourth hour in a row. We'd been waiting for the Dr. to see my mom and conversation was starting to get stale. I could see this girl sitting in the row right behind us, weeping.I kept glancing at her trying to be sly so that she wouldn't see the creepo staring at her while she was crying. And then I heard it! The Holy Spirit telling me to go pray with her and give her a hug. My instant thought was, "are you kidding me? I don't know this girl! For all I know she hates all things Holy and will pop me right  in the kisser!" Inner thoughts can be raw like that. So I pretended I didn't hear the command from God and moved on.

I heard it again.

This time I knew I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try. I trusted God and obeyed Him. I approached the girl and I said, "Excuse me, I'm so sorry, I don't mean to pry. But can I pray for you?" She looked up at me with her eyes swelled up with tears and said, "yes, I feel so sick and they won't call my name"  I sat down next to her and prayed for her, I held her in my arms and just loved on her and prayed out loud. It was unbelievable how amazing it felt to have God pouring his love onto this gal. I literary felt HOT when I was praying for her. Man, what an amazing experience that was. She said, "Thank you so much for taking the time to do that, I really appreciate it" and her name got called from the nurses station. She gave me the biggest hug ever.

I can not take any credit for that. I can not even say that I'm a great person for doing that because my FIRST reaction was, "no, I don't want to do that because I will feel uncomfortable". God can do wonders when we are opened to the idea of obeying his commands, they are subtle and most often than not it's easy to get out of doing them. We have a million excuses as to why we can't take five minutes of our "busy" life to help someone else out. Especially when it's a complete stranger or a person we don't really like.

 The ONLY thing I did do right was listen and obey. And I am certain that anyone is capable of doing that. It's tough, but once you experience it once, you kind of get hooked! The blessings that come from being a vessel for God are ten fold. The feeling you get when you've helped God help someone ELSE is something that not a million dollars could buy.

Being in a hospital brings a sense of comradery to my soul because that's when you know something is wrong and you NEED something else to help  you. You know that the others in there might not have exactly what you do but they have their own emergency. Politics, likes and dislikes, skin color, class, and anything that would otherwise separate you from another person fades away.

I am so glad that I get to experience moments that totally break me, because God puts me back together more beautify that anything else ever could.

Stay blessed and stay saucy.

Why Is My Aunt Flo Such a Party Pooper?

Today I just feel like organizing the heck out of everything in my house. I have this problem of always wanting to do something productive or else I feel like I am worthless. Okay maybe not to such extreme, but I'm always wanting to be busy with something. Although sometimes this is a good trait to have, some days it just bites me in the ass and makes me feel like my day meant nothing if I didn't climb Mt. Everest if you know what I mean. Couple THAT with being all hormonal and moody from a certain "visitor" and my gracefulness goes out the window! I want today to be different, and I know it can be because I am only a victim of my circumstances when I want to be.  I believe that a big part of what my life turns out to be is in my head. The more positive my attitude, the more positive my day is. The crappier I THINK the crappier I FEEL!

This is especially tough for me when I'm on my "days" if you know what I mean. Some days I just WANT to feel like crappy-dy crap! But more often than not this attitude is a downward spiral that takes heavenly intervention for me to get out of. So I try and try to not get stuck there! I know that my mind is powerful enough to get me out of any funky attitude, and if I couple that with prayer, it's all over. I can overcome anything!  I've done it time and time again with the help of God. However, sometimes I just don't want to feel good. Sometimes I just want to be a sourpuss! And that is just human nature. I've done that for the past couple days and now it's time to move on to more clear skies. I am choosing today to make my attitude one of gratitude and joyfulness, even if I'm not feeling that way right away, I know my body will follow my brain soon enough.

 Today I will place value on giving my 100% attention to my baby girl. I know that that means the world to her. I will invite her to do my chores with me and have fun doing it, instead of forcing a strict deadline for all chores to be done. Today, I will be thankful for all the blessings in my life. Today I will live as if it were my last day on earth and truly enjoy the parts that make my heart full of joy!
What will YOU do today?

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libby Lu

The Butternut Squash That Almost Killed Me!

The other day I was making a dish that said, "pair me with a butternut squash soup". So I said, "Okay"! It would mark the first time I made something with butternut squash myself and I had no idea what was in store! As I attempted my first cut, I struggled to get my knife in the right position, a couple seconds latter I KNEW this was going to be super difficult. I used the BIGGEST knife I had and the shell of this thing was so hard to cut through! - I feared for my life. Those suckers are difficult to dice!! Why did  no one ever tell me this!?

I did the best that I could and only managed to salvage 30% of the squash for my soup. I was left baffled and wishing there was a better way. After making my B.S. soup (sorry I don't want to keep saying Butternut squash.. Butternut squash... Butternut squash.. so we'll stick to B.S. I don't know what's worse), both my husband and I decided it was deliciosa (delicious in Spanish). It was just so darn tough to make it that it makes me not want to ever cook it ever again. However, I remember the sweet and butter-nutty taste and my mouth waters... and then I want to do it all over again. Kind of when you go through labor, you're in all this pain and then somehow you forget how difficult it was once you hold your little baby, you get mommy amnesia and you want bring another little nugget into the world    (pregnant pause).      And back to soup...

I started thinking of myself and I figured out that I am a lot like a butternut squash. How? You ask. Well let me tell you. I started out this hard shell. Walls up. Insecurities up the yin-yang. People would try to come into my "space" and I pushed away- hard! I was this self-seeking, not flexible, selfish, vain, judgmental person. Sometimes someone would be able to get in a bit; but even then it was frustrating I bet. The "fruit" that was in me still did not give any good taste. It wasn't until I finally let God IN that I was able to become sweet and soft so to speak. God in many ways was the boiling water wearing me down to be kind, humble, and joyful.

And then a new day comes and I start all over again! God tries and tries to break me apart so that he can put me in "hot" water to make me "sweet" once again. This is an every day process. I will never be fully GOOD, there are so many temptations and worldly desires that can ruin my walk with God. But He is always looking for the opportunity to help me along with my journey. I just need to let Him. I start off as the B.S. All hard and outer-shelly (I think I just made that word up). And then he dices me up and shows me what my place is in life when I walk with Him. Even if he gives me something difficult to go through in this life "my hot, boiling water", when I walk with God, I will always end up a sweet and delicious butternut squash soup.

P.S. I really hope you like butternut squash. If you don't, that sucks and you'll just have to substitute your favorite vegetable that's difficult to cook. haha

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libby Lu

Don't Hate Me Cus' I'm Beautiful- Or Homely - Or Ogarish

 I watched Shrek today, in Spanish, and may I say that it was hilary (short for hilarious- as one of my favorite friends would say-in this instance making it way too long because of this extremely long explanation. But it saves you one syllable, applicable elsewhere. Okay the end). I enjoyed all the Mexican culture puns and the play on words. I laughed, I cried, okay maybe just the first, but most of all it made me think~

Princess Fiona: is afraid of being "ugly" so she automatically thinks that her curse  made her an Oger at night. At the end of the movie we find out that her True Love's Kiss revealed her true self. Her once "pretty" appearance disappeared and we see that she becomes the, all-the-time-ogeresque, beauty.

Shrek: Describes himself as an onion who is deep and misunderstood by the WORLD. He pretends to be something he is really not, to feed into the "image" that others portray him as, so people will just leave him alone.

So here's what I think (and this is just my opinion, you might have a different one, and guess what. That's okay).

We as people tend to always want to blame others for things (myself included). Simply put. When someone is mean to us because we have a "disadvantage" or we are "different",  it is so easy to blame them and anyone else who thinks like them for our bitterness. Deep down we are just hurt that we are not being accepted the way we want to be, by those people. In some cases most people can brush off a couple encounters with these people I like to call, Negative Nancies and Debbie Downers. But there are other people that have a little more sensitive soul that get stuck. They can get so stuck that they themselves become the N.N.'s and D.D.'s. They themselves become bitter and Ogeresque.

Just because someone is beautiful (and take mind that beauty is in the eye of the beholder), does not mean that they have it better in life. Just because someone is homely does not mean that they are a trapped oger mad at the world for their looks. To me, someone who is aesthetically pleasing, can be the ugliest person I know, based on their heart. And someone who is not so cute, can quickly become a beautiful swan in my eyes if they have a heart of gold. I think for the most part we KNOW this to be true. Why our society puts so much emphasis on looking a certain way, I have no idea. BUT the point I'm trying to make here is that, if we go around ourselves blaming the WORLD for our actions and our sadness and bitterness, it's going to be one long and lonely life.

Take the rains of your life and chose to be the most beautiful person from the inside regardless of what your shell looks like. In the end we ALL get saggy and wrinkled anyway and then what. Do you want to spend the rest of your life treasuring your good looks and wishing you had youth? No, that's another way to have a long and sad life.

Think about it.

Stay blessed and stay saucy!

-Libby Lu

Why I Write

Let me let you in on a little secret. I love writing this blog because I feel like I'm helping someone while doing it. Even if that someone is myself on days when no one reads the blogs. But I am far from always taking my own advise and I still need a lot of work in my walk with God.  I knew I had to start writing because God told me I had to. To be quite honest I never know what I'm going to write about. Let alone if I'm going to make ANY sense at all. You see, I was never a good writer in school. Shoot, you might think I'm not even a good writer now, that's besides the point. I now enjoy doing it and it makes me joyful. But anyhow. When I write all these things I truly feel like God helps me put the words together. Sometimes I will go back in time and read the things I write and think, wow, I should practice what I "preach".

I am in no way shape or form a  perfect person. I wish I could be on point all the time but I truly have many days where I am so deep in my own selfishness that I can't see past the hairspray in the room. However, the good part about writing a blog is that I keep myself accountable. I, at least have to try and do the things that I say most of the time. I guess I'm just writing this because I would never want any of you to think that I've got my whole act together and I can't take any advise or what ever. Because God knows that I am as far from perfection as Charlie Sheen is from getting back on any decent T.V. show (I'm sorry if you're a big fan). 

I hope you know that I'm in this as much as you are and if you ever need any prayer or anything please don't feel weird, contact me. I would love to pray for you. We are faced with such difficult spiritual warfare in this life and we need to join together as brothers and sisters in Christ and help one another out. If we don't who will?

Stay blessed and stay saucy! 

My New Year's Resolutions

     
   Hello 2012! Hello friends! I hope you had a great New Year's eve and a great start to the new year.

I wanted to write down my new year's resolutions and I wasn't going to make a blog about it, but the more and more I thought about it, I realized that by telling you guys, my friends, it would give me more of a sense of accountability. I know some people aren't really into the whole new years resolutions thing and that's okay. Why, they ask themselves,  would you need a new year to make your life better? I agree with that point of view because we don't need a new year to be conscious of our lives and the fact that we can start being a healthier, more peaceful and grounded at any date in the year. However,  I also believe in the power of  "starting over" -"clean slate"- a specific time in which you can sit down and think about your life and make some goals. And that is exactly what I'm doing right now. I hope this encourages you to do the same. It is so important in this life to evaluate our lives and ask questions about what we are doing, how we're doing it and what is important to us.

1.- I am going to make time in my day to stand  in awe of God. I want to set time aside to just sit in wonder and LISTEN to what God has to say to me. I am going to delve deeper in my study of the Bible and try to understand what God has planned for me this year. I am going to treat every bad situation that 2012 might bring as an opportunity to grow deeper in my faith and be a great example of a good Christian.

2.- I am going to make time to spend with my husband. I am going to make sure that I'm showing him the unconditional  respect he needs with out expecting anything back. I am going to find ways to express how much he means to me. I will find activities that draw us closer together. I am going to make him understand why I'm so proud to be married to him and make him know that he is a great man that I am so blessed to have a life with him. I am going to pray with him and for him. I will stay saucy for him!

3.- I am going to pray about mine and my husbands parenting skills, asking God to help us through the rough terrain up ahead with our daughters "terrible twos"! I am going to enjoy being a mommy first and foremost, and not let the "little" things bother me as much. I am going to allow my little pumpkin to be a kid and play and love on her every day I get a chance to. I will pray that I can be a good example for her to follow.

4.-  I am going to pray for my love of others. I am going to pray that I can love and see people the way God  sees, and loves them. I am going to pray for anyone that makes me upset, mad, crazy, angry, and any bad feelings that I've missed mentioning. I am going to cultivate my relationships with my family and my friends.

5.- I will find ways I can help others in need. I will pray that God opens doors where I can suffice a need.

6.- I will honor God with my body with exercise and eating healthy foods that support my training. I will pray for God to fulfill any "void" that I feel, instead of filling it with either food, shopping or being super "busy", I will ask God to help me and fill me with his joy.

These are my resolutions for 2012. I hope that you can pray for me as I'm praying for all of your guys' years to be full of peace and joy.

Live with no regrets this year. We can do that by being aware that life on earth is fragile and can end at any moment. You or I can die right this very second. Our life can end today!When I sat and though about  my mortality and TRULY understood it (about a week ago) I decided to not take another day for granted.
 Live each day with purpose and think of what's important to you. Don't throw today away!

Stay blessed and stay saucy!