Momma's Going To Vegas!!

I am going to VEGAS, BABY!!!!  Well, at least that is my plan! LOL!  My little brother (who is actually a younger cousin) and his wife are celebrating an anniversary in July.  So a few of us decided that it would be nice if we all could get together in July.  So we decided to pack our bags and go to VEGAS to celebrate the anniversary!  So there are a bunch of cousins and an aunt who have already confirmed (My aunt and her husband have already booked their room!!!).  It will be awesome to get some of the family together for something other than a funeral!  My last real vacation was 5 years ago when the family went to Disney World, Florida.  So yes I think I am over due for some vacationing!  I have a hotel addiction, I can not explain it, I just really LOVE to be in hotels!  We are staying at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino.  I like the medieval times theme!

I really want to see Cirque Du Soleil while I am there but MAN, THOSE TICKETS ARE STEEP!!!  So I do not know if that is going to happen!  But I am sure I will find something to occupy my time!  It will be awesome spending time with family that I haven't seen in years.  I have a few cousins I have not seen since we all were teens who I think will be making the trip so this should be fun!  Sooo, if you want to be part of the "Send Regina To Vegas" fund just let me know!! I will accept all monetary donations!  And don't worry I DO NOT GAMBLE, money is to hard to come by to just give it away on some card games! ....... But I MIGHT come back married!! (I'm just saying.. it is VEGAS!!!)

Pray for me!
Smooches,
Regina


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Who Is Raising YOUR Children?

I love the scripture, "Train up a child in  the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).  This should be the foundation of dealing with youth.  You cannot expect our youth to grow up and become productive and positive members of society if no one is teaching or training them.  When I look around I see a lot of youth, teens, and young adults who are lost and wandering.  They have no respect for life, elders, others, OR THEMSELVES.  They do not care how they look, how they talk, how they act, or care about the impression they leave on others.  If they respected themselves would they walk around looking like these guys and thinking it is appropriate??
But when they cannot get anywhere in life they are quick to blame society, their parent, and anyone else they can find to blame.  Though it is true, PARENTS SHARE SOME RESPONSIBILITY for the outcome of what we see. IF, the parent has not invested the time to train that child.  I am not talking about the children who were trained and are going through the independent phase, I am referring to the parents who are not so inclined to teach anything, impart any knowledge, share any legacies, nothing.  They just had the child and that was pretty much it.  I am talking about the parents who do not care if Lil Wayne is their son's role model!

And NO, I am busy is not valid, nor is, I have to work, I go to school, I need to go to church and volunteer my time for 8 hours, or I am tired!  I am tired of the excuses some of you sorry excuse for parents are spreading! If you have tine to shop, go out, drive around with friends, go to the movies or Apple bees you have time to do something with the child YOU brought into this world!

It does not take long for a child to learn a lifelong lesson.  Children are quicker and smarter than adults give them credit for.  Matter of fact if you start when they are young they can learn from everyday interactions.  For example my 2 year-old grandson watches me do the laundry.  He knows where his dirty clothes go and he also knows wear the clean clothes go to dry.  The last time he spent the night he helped grandma with the laundry!  Yes, HE hung his shirt and pants on the drying rack because he has seen his Aunties and I do it! And he did a darn good job!  When he spends the night he takes off his shoes and lines them up under my bed in a perfect line.  WHY??  Because when he is home he sees his mother line up his and her shoes under the bed in a line.
Parent's are the FIRST TEACHERS!  You need to act accordingly!
YOUR CHILD IS OUT OF CONTROL!!

Why is this guy raising your child?

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Look At Me Now!

Ever feel like people are not really seeing the real you?? Ever feel like they are not appreciating your true worth? They are not understanding your true value?  Ever feel like they do not see the real you?  Ever feel like people have written you off because of outward appearances?
People are quick to judge you based on what they see.  They are quick to make assumptions.  When I was growing up I often heard the saying, "When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me".  Now that I am grown, I know, "When you assume you are making an ass out of yourself"!
I do not have the right hair,
I do not have the right body,
I do not have the right clothes,
I am not one to need or want the spotlight,
I just like to be me!  Doing my job the way God tells me to.
Sadly, people in the church are as judgmental, if not MORE judgmental than people in the world.  They like to judge your clothes, hair, nails, the way you pray,  if you pray in tongues or not, and everything else.
In the bible God told Samuel to anoint Jesse's son because he would be the future King of Israel.  Samuel was looking for a son who had the LOOK of a king.    This is a huge assumption or mistake that Samuel made in spotting God's choice for Israel's king.  Samuel was looking for a statuesque, strapping, confident, young man who had the LOOK of a future king.
I can only imagine Samuel's surprise AND embarrassment when Jesse's son the sheep herder came in and God said to Samuel "ANOINT HIM, HE is the one"! 1st Samuel 16:1-13 tells the story of how David the smallest and youngest of Jesse's sons was anointed as King.

So while people are busy looking at appearances and outward adornments GOD is searching your heart, looking within for what He can use.  So DO NOT live your life trying to please others with your look but strive to please God with your Spirit!


Blessings,
Regina

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Serenity NOW!

Things go wrong you worry, bills come in you worry, Life throws you a curve and you worry. You may have heard it often during your lifetime, I know that I have.  Matter of fact my mother used to have it posted on a wall in the house (Maybe because her other child was driving her crazy, not me though I was the good one...)!  

I am talking about the Serenity Prayer.

God, grant me the Serenity

To accept the things I cannot change...

Courage to change the things I can,

And Wisdom to know the difference.

This is only the first part of the untitled prayer written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.  This prayer is also widely recognized as the mantra for AA (Alcoholics Anonymous).  The rest of the prayer is:

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His will.

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

Amen.

~Reinhold Niebuhr~

Even when we know, we cannot do anything about a situation we worry about it.  Why?  People are always worrying about things they cannot change, or worrying about something that has not even happened yet.  Walking around, pacing the floor, biting your nails, pulling out your hair, wearing off the tread in the carpet, and running something repeatedly in your head.  FOR WHAT?  The bible talks about worrying especially in Matthew 6:25-34.  Verse 27 asks the question, "And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure to his stature or to the span of his life?"

What does worrying get you?  As the bible says, it does not add a single hour back to your life, so why worry.  It will accomplish ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  Instead of worrying, use that same time and energy for something more productive like praying, talking to the Father, or reading the word.

Matthew 6:34: Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Don't worry!  Be Happy!
Smooches,
Regina


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The Resignation of Eve

ATTENTION:  Women of the Church! 

What would happen if ALL women just stopped going to church?  What would the men do?

This scenario happens in “The Resignation of Eve”.

Title - The Resignation Of Eve: What If Adam's Rib Is No Longer Willing To Be The Church's Backbone?
Author – Jim Henderson

Publisher – Barna Books/Tyndale House Publishers

Date of publication – February 2012

Number of pages – 320

*Tyndale House Publishers have provided me with an advanced, complimentary copy of "The Resignation of Eve" to read in order to write my review.*

Jim Henderson

Read Jim Henderson's Bio HERE

From the Tyndale House Media Center:

In talking with women around the country, Jim Henderson has come to believe that there is an epidemic of quiet, even sad resignation among dedicated Christian women who are feeling overworked and undervalued in the church.  As a result, many women are discouraged.  Some, particularly young women, respond by leaving the organized church . . . or walking away from the faith altogether.   

WOW! What a very interesting book!  "The Resignation of Eve" will definitely make you think about yourself, your church, and your involvement in church a little differently.  As a Christian woman, I have had many of the thoughts and feelings highlighted in this book.  The general premise of the book is essentially, what if the women of the church stopped being the workhorses of the church.  That's right! No more singing in the choir. No more running the nursery.  No more working in children's church.  No more anything until equality is evaluated!  Due to certain scriptures in the bible and due to a certain mindset of men in the church, women are not to lead in the church.  Some men believe that women should be quiet in the church; other men believe that women should only lead women’s groups or work with children/youth groups.  The author, through numerous interviews and research has attempted to expose the inequality in the treatment of women in the church.  The book gives a very engaging look at how women view themselves in Gods’ church.  This book was well written and thought provoking.  The author gave us a LOT of information to ponder.  I enjoyed reading the interviews with the various women and getting to understand the different views of women in the church.  This book should be included in every book club across America.  After reading The Resignation of Eve, I had to think back on my involvement in church work and evaluate what I do and why.

The author of this book believes that most women in the church fit into three main categories.  Those RESIGNED to the treatment of women in the church.  Those who RESIGNED from the church and its treatment of women.  Lastly, those RE-SIGNED to influencing and changing the treatment of women in the church.

Which category do YOU fit in?

This book is a definite must read for MEN and WOMEN!

Blessings,

Regina

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It Is 2012, Where Are You?

I was doing some reading last night and meditating on some things and I went back to the book of Genesis.  In chapter 3, after Adam and Eve have eaten the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil they came to know that they were naked.  They clothed themselves with fig leaves.  Adam and Eve heard God coming, walking in the garden and they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord.

Now in Genesis 3:9 the scripture says, "Then the LORD the God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"  This is where I stopped because God said, "WHERE ARE YOU?"  Now I have read this passage numerous times but this is the only time I actually stopped and thought about it.  Why do you suppose GOD asked Adam, "WHERE ARE YOU"?  Is not our God OMNIPOTENT? Is not our God OMNIPRESENT? Is not our God OMNISCIENT?  So if God is All powerful, All Knowing, and Present all over, it must be a logical conclusion that GOD already KNEW where Adam was, what Adam had done and why he was hiding. So then why did God ask the question?  I do not believe that God asked the question just to be rhetorical but PERHAPS GOD asked the question to give ADAM something to think about?
So just imagine that in OUR sin GOD is asking US, "WHERE ARE YOU?"  Imagine you just did something TOTALLY STUPID and your friend, sibling, parent, mentor, said something like, "DUDE! REALLY??? COME ON! GET YOUR MIND RIGHT, WHERE YOU AT???" (Please do NOT tell me you NEVER had a conversation like this! If you never said it, then you had to have heard it!)
 So, THIS is why I think God asked Adam, "WHERE ARE YOU"?
And now I ask YOU, "WHERE ARE YOU?????" Time to stop hiding because God already knows what you did, who you did it with, what you said, what you are thinking about....

WHERE ARE YOU in your spiritual walk? 
WHERE ARE YOU in your relationship with GOD?  
WHERE ARE YOU in the usage of your spiritual gifts?
WHERE ARE YOU with your spiritual life?
WHERE ARE YOU in your goals?

Think about it.....

Smooches,
Regina

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It Was Her Fault!

As part of my action plans for 2012, I have started a new reading plan for the bible.  This will be my third time reading the entire bible all the way through!

So as I was reading it dawned on me or better yet, the "Holy Spirit" revealed to me that DEFERRAL is an automatic and very natural habit to our flesh.  Do you ever wonder why sometimes when confronted with an accusation or a problem your first reaction is to put it on someone else, to defer it?  Perhaps, deferment comes so natural to us because it is in our blood.  There are things that we do naturally, instinctively, and then there are other things we have to make a conscious decision to do.  When confronted we have to consciously decide to tell the truth, or to own up to what we have done and said, we have to decide to take ownership for our actions.  Deferment is so easy, so natural, some people do it without even thinking about it.
In Genesis chapter 3 verse 12 Adam says, "... the woman whom YOU gave to be with me, SHE gave me of the tree, and I ate".  So basically what Adam did was defer his action, first to God, by saying the woman that YOU gave me, as if to say well look God, YOU gave me this chick so it is YOUR fault!
And if that was not bad enough Adam then deferred to Eve, as if to say, SHE gave it to me so it was HER fault!
When Eve ate from the tree of Good and Evil, she turned and gave some to Adam, who was with her!  Adam could have refused, he could have reminded Eve that it was forbidden, he could have smacked that fruit out of her hand and ran, yelling for God to intervene but HE DID NOT! He ate.  So when God asked Adam, "Have YOU eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you SHOULD NOT EAT"? (Gen 3:11).  Adam passive aggressively put the blame else where.  He did not lie, he just chose to tell HIS VERSION of the truth! Adam was there, Adam KNEW what God said, and yet Adam ate.  And after he ate, he deferred!

So in order to be successful in our walk with God we must put off the natural man, stop doing and saying what comes naturally and start doing and saying what is pleasing to God.  Remember the natural man does not receive things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Be Blessed All!
Regina

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Happy New Year 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Happy 2012 People!
Well here we are in the beginning minutes of a brand new year! Out went the old and in came the new.  I wonder who is actually reading this?  If you are sitting on the computer in the first seconds of a brand new year, reading this blog post than I will pray for you because you need a life!!
I decided to pre-schedule this post because I am not going to be sitting on the computer at midnight.  But I am sure that Facebook and Twitter are flooded right now with Happy New Years wishes!  So I am sitting here watching Twilight Zone, sipping on some Pepsi, thinking about what tomorrow will bring!  But anyway, I wish you all health, blessings, and a revelation of God's love for 2012.  What do you expect from this New Year? I hope you thought about what you want, and what you do not want, and I hope that you are prepared to WORK FOR IT!
Be Blessed everyone!
Happy New Year!
Smooches!
Regina




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