Obtaining Mercy

A Day to Celebrate!

 

Happy Birthday to the world's greatest Mama!!!

 

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for teaching me about Jesus.

Thank you for giving me home full of love and peace and fun.

Thank you for being YOU.

I love you,

Alesha

Peeve of the Season

 

My pet peeve for the Christmas season:

people who change the words of the Christmas carols!

Case in point: Jewel.

(And before you think to question me about my music preferences, I do not listen to Jewel and I do not own any of her cds. I heard this song on the AOL free radio Christmas station.)

She can sing...

"Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth"

...without any hesitation;

BUT she changes "Offspring of a virgin's womb" to "Offspring of the favored one" in the previous verse??? 

Why?

Because without the virgin birth, Jesus is just another man.

A really great man, apparently, according to what Jewel believes. He wants to give man a "second birth" and He is "ris'n with healing in His wings".  Considering what folks believe with today's New Age mysticism, they could sing those words about any good man.

 

If, however, you sing that a Man was born of a virgin - that, of necessity, makes Him Diety - God Almighty! And the world just can't admit or acknowledge that about Jesus Christ.

I know...why should I even be surprised that the world doesn't believe that the baby Jesus was truly the Son of God? I guess, in all actuality, I'm not surprised or even offended.

What I do object to, though, is this: 

when they take the songs of authors who did believe this truth with their whole heart, and twist and distort the author's message to be something that it isn't:  a pretty song about a winter holiday.

As a musician, as a singer and soloist, I can with a clear conscience, admonish you,

• If you cannot sing every word of a song with sincerity and honesty... 
• If you don't believe every word of the song you are performing...
• If you can't be true to the message of the author... 

Don't sing the song!

We musicians should take our role very seriously, as we use music to proclaim our Christ and the message of His Word. While we don't expect the world to honor or understand His message, we should do our utmost to proclaim it clearly.

May we honor Christ this season - with our lives and our music.

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

A Birthday Post By Isaac

Hello...it's my birthday!  Happy to have you along to celebrate...ME!!!

These are my ribbons...they make me really happy.

Please don't bother me now...the ribbons are in play.

WHAT?  Did you say there was CAKE???  That is just FABulous!

This is what I'm talkin' about...cupcakes, baby!  Oh yeah...

Wait a minute...don't even think about it...

Hey, get outta here...this is my cupcake, dude!  Hands off!!!

Oh, wow, bite of cupcake and a Hallmark card...it doesn't get any better than this.  Yes, I'm reading it...why do you ask???

Whoo hooo...it's my birthday, it's my birthday, it's my birthday!!!  DOUBLE DIGITS, man!!!

 

So glad you could drop by to share my special day.

Oh, and just one more thing before you go..

Yaaaaaaaaay, ME!!!

:)

Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles

My son turns 10 years old today!!!

Mr. Cool

Ike in Motion series, No. 1

 

Chillin' on the porch

 

Ike in Motion series, No.2

We will be celebrating the miracle that IS Isaac today!!!

Happy Birthday, Isaac Nicholas

~ our son of promise, our laughter, our victorious warrior!

We love you with all our hearts.

Daddy and Mama

A Few Of My New Favorite Things

Some of you probably have a gift card burning a hole in your pocket right now.  Or maybe you were blessed with a little cold, hard cash in your Christmas stocking.

So, I thought I'd share a couple of new things I've found this week! 

I bought this for myself with some of my Christmas money:

I love it...alot!!!  It truly holds up to all the hype. 

I am really, really pleased with my purchase, and I am happy that I finally took the plunge to buy myself a quality product to put on my face.  On this side of 40, my skin needs all the help it can get!

(By the way, this price is the lowest I found for this particular kit.  I went to the mall for mine, but Amazon has it too. This is the "fair" kit, so if you click through, be sure to look for the shade that you need.)

We also found this at the Whole Foods store:

Can I just say..."Wow!"  It is delicious...not too hot, just a little "kick" with the chilies.  Really tasty.  My new favorite chocolate!

Isaac opened up this little guy on Christmas morning:

He was really taken with him, as you can see:  not quite sure what to think of him, but definitely interested! 

He tells stories and jokes, sings songs, flaps his hands, stands up, sits down, falls over, etc.  He might be a bit intense for really little ones, but Isaac wasn't frightened of him at all.  Isaac also didn't experience that "startle reflex" when it turned on (for those of you with special needs kiddos that might have wondered that.)

So, there you have a few of my NEW favorite things! 

Blessings,

Alesha

Christmas Eve Outing

On Christmas Eve, Isaac had a doctor's appointment in Orlando.  We thought we'd take you along on our trip.

Here we are at the doctor's office.  Doug is getting Isaac's chair all set up.

Isaac was waiting patiently.

Grammy's latest invention for keeping Isaac's toys on his lap and off the floor.

Getting all strapped in and ready to go.

See?  Isaac was in a great mood, and so excited to have a "Fun Day" out.

We had to stop for the photo op!

When taking Isaac's picture, you either get eyes open, or a smile:  never both at the same time!

Here we are in the waiting room.  We were seeing his gastroenterologist. (tummy doctor)

Since July, Isaac has gained 3.5 pounds, and grown 3 inches!  He is getting so tall!!!

We decided to try out the new Super Target after our appointment.

They aren't kidding about the "super" part.  This is how you get to the parking lot:

 

Now, if you are wondering, like I was, how in the world you got your groceries to your car on the third level of the parking garage, wonder no longer!!!

An escalator for the buggies!!!

Afterward, we had lunch at Red Lobster.  I know it looks like my camera is out of focus.  It isn't...notice the inanimate objects are in focus.  It's only the wiggly Ike who is a big blur!

After lunch, as we headed to the mall (on Christmas Eve!!!  what were we thinking???) we noticed that Isaac needed to be changed.  Have you ever wondered how we managed to change a 4'5" boy when we are not at home?

First we find a remote area of a parking lot that has shrubbery like this?

Then we unload the wheelchair and clear out the back part of the truck.  (We do NOT use the rope to tie up Isaac!!!  I don't really know why Doug has that back there! LOL!!!)

Then Daddy brings Isaac around, lays him on the pad, and we take care of business.

Putting Isaac back in his seat:  Feeling ALL better now!

Here are the state troopers on security detail at the mall:  Notice they are double parked!!!

Some of the beautiful decorations in the mall. 

It was insanely busy in the mall.  I had to keep hold of Doug's shirt so that we didn't get separated.  People wouldn't even budge for Isaac's chair sometimes.  (My husband, however, does not let people get away with that.  He just stands still until they move.  It's amazing how people lack basic manners these days.)

We walked one half of the mall, then had to stop for liquid fortification:

After that I was able to walk the second half of the mall, and get myself out to the truck where I took the above picture in honor of the substance that had sustained me! LOL!

Even Isaac looked a little bit tuckered out after our full day.

 

We had such a wonderful day out, even though the crowds were so big.  It was fun to be a part of the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  There have been many years that we didn't even see a mall decorated for Christmas because we never had the opportunity to go, or Isaac didn't feel well enough to go.  So we were grateful we were all having a good day all around.

Our Christmas was wonderful, too.  We all were blessed with lovely gifts from people who love us.  I'll share some of those pics later.

Did you all have a good Christmas too?  I'd love to hear about it!

Blessings,

Alesha

 

I am getting so excited about meeting my sweet friend, Laura!!!

 

She will be here from Japan on Monday!!!

We are meeting at the World's Largest McDonald's PlayPlace!!!

(I know!  What were we thinking???)

We are just hoping that a Monday afternoon, before school lets out, AND before Christmas break, will not be too crazy, busy and loud for us all.  If it is, we'll just find a great big parking lot and park somewhere. 

If you think of it, please keep her in prayer.  She is flying out this weekend alone with three children.  I know they are 3 very well behaved children, but keep these things in mind:

• they are flying internationally
• one of the children (Josh) is special needs
• she will be bringing all of his meds with her
• she will be bringing his formula with her

Her trip through security could be a real nightmare!

I know she would be really appreciative of your prayers for a smooth, uneventful trip.  Also remember to pray for Josh:  he has been pretty sick with a cold this week.  You know how flights can hurt little one's ears, even on the best of days.

Also pray for Bekah and Kei - her beautiful, sweet daughters.  I am asking the Lord for a flight attendant that takes a special interest in them, and sees to it that they have an excellent flight together!

I am going to try to remember to take lots of pictures! 

I am also excited for Joshua and Isaac to meet! 

*They are the reason that Laura and I found each other and became cyber friends!* 

I am hoping they will both have a really excellent day and "see" and "acknowledge" each other.  And if they don't, it's no big deal either!  We will hopefully have the pictures to remember the day. :o)

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Btw, my jewelry is still on sale - 25% off; and I am still offering free shipping.  So if you need something as a last minute gift, be sure to stop in and have a look around.

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Our Christmas cantata and play will be this Sunday evening at 7 p.m., eastern time.  If you'd like to watch it online, this is our church's website:  Landmark Baptist Church.  Just click "media" and "live services."

You can look for me in the choir.  I will be on the left side, third row.  I am not very tall, though, so you will have to look very carefully!  lol!!! :o)

I pray you are enjoying this wonderful Christmas season, so far.  If not, put on the brakes, slow down your pace, and take some time to really soak up the sights and sounds of the Holiday.

Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Blessings,

Alesha

Happy Thanksgiving

I pray you and your loved ones have a very lovely, thankful day today!

Fireside Christmas

For those who asked, here is the Fireplace cd that Isaac and I were enjoying today.

Happy Labor Day!

I always enjoy this holiday so much...like having one more day of calm before the whirlwind of school and the holidays begins in earnest.  Because even though is was still in the low 90's here over the weekend, my mind is already turning to autumn. 

We don't actually have very much of an "autumn" here, but it is nice to have an occasional day of less-than-sweltering temperatures.

I also just LOVE autumn decor.  I used to wait until after Hall*ween to put out my pretty fall leaves and such.  Now I don't wait that long, because I want to have longer to enjoy my favorite decorations.

Doug and Isaac have been sick with icky colds since the middle of last week.  I was quite busy, doing things I don't usually do, because of that.  It was nice, though.  I enjoyed doing the weekly shopping and was able to visit with my grandmother who is in a local nursing home right now.

I also had the joy of attending the 90th birthday party of a sweet lady from our church.  It was such a nice time of fellowship and celebration.  I wanted to share Mrs. Ruby's secrets for living to be 90.  She had three of them:

1. Drink a Coke every day.
2. Take a BC powder every day.
3. Eat cracklin' cornbread whenever you can.

And I have to add that evidently having a really great sense of humor doesn't hurt, either!!! : ) 

(Here's a recipe for those who are curious:  Paula Deen's Jalapeno Cracklin' Cornbread.)

Well, I need to finish up here.  I still have a couple of "to-do" items left on my list.

Are you working on a project today too?  I'd love to hear what you accomplished today! : )