I thank you Lord!

I thought of blogging before I go to bed. I just want to give Praises and Thanks to Our Dear Father for HIS faithfulness. I thank you Lord for the opportunities you have give me to minister to others especially to my one and only brother. I had a wonderful talk with my brother today, Lord and I know that you were the one that speak to him. Thank yourd Lord for giving me that strenght and wisdom to talk to my brother. Lord you know that I have been praying for him and the rest of my family. What a wonderful feeling it gives me to be used by you God. Lord, my only prayer right now is that you continue to use me on a daily basis Father. I will continue to pray Lord that my family may find you and turn to you. That you are the only answer in their lives. Open their hearts Lord. I believe Lord that you changes people and you changes things. I pray Lord for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes. Thank you Lord that you are not leaving us on our own. You are always with us.I love you Lord! Goodnite.

This is my prayer Lord.
In your Name,
Char =)

Relaxing 4 days weekend =)

Wednesday night

We went to my in-laws house and had dinner there. We did nothing but laugh all night ‘coz the chocolate I was eating …It melt so fast in my mouth and I was talking and laughing at the same time and I didn’t realize that I was already drooling all over my honey’s polo shirt…. I thought that was funny…

Thursday

Aaaahh!!!! I can feel the winter already. Lolzz… Destiny went to our room early and played with Kai and they both jumped to our bed. It feels so good just to lay down all day with your loved ones. =) .The 3 of us shared what we were thankful for…it was so nice to hear all the blessings that God has given us… We all got ready.... We were planning to go to Richard Walker for brunch but I know that it was going to be too crowded so we ended up at IHOP. Stayed there till lunch… Late afternoon – Destiny wanted us to go to the hospital with Dad…So; we went to dr op him off. Went to meet his co workers and walked around at the Hospital… Dad needed to work one holiday. So he picked Thanksgiving…. So he can be with us Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day… We went home and add more Christmas Decorations…. Waiting for my family to pick us up… We had thanksgiving dinner at my cousin Eugene’s house… It feels so different..… I really felt God’s work in my families’ lives… I feel more comfortable with my dad’s side… I feel the love this time…. Thank you Lord!!!…
As soon as we got home… The kids and I put on our pajamas and went to pick up dad…. We watched the movie “ Nativity”. It’s a good movie to watch with your family…

Friday

I was planning to go shopping but my little one had a fever for 2 hours. I got so worried again. I laid hands all over her body and prayed… Thank God and her fever didn’t continue. But since I know that she wasn’t feeling well. I just decide to stay home with my kids. Thank God I did. It was sooo relaxing. Just eating, watching and play with them =) …

Saturday

Des and I did some Birthday shopping for Kalea…didn’t really do much today

Sunday

We dropped off Kai to mommy so she can get some more rest before we went to church… Today was different…. I really can’t type the detail but let me just say that God is so wonderful. He knows what were going through as a church. He knows that were hurting, were struggling and we need him… My hubby, bro.martin and sister marge ..We all ended up staying till 6pm. We just had heart to heart talk, great sharing from one another and at the end we held hands, and we all said our prayers. It was so powerful. We felt HIM. I know that He was there, comforting us, hugging us…I know that God knows our every tear. Thank you Lord for being so kind and the patience that you have given us. We lift everything up to you Lord. Just like what God told Moses that it wouldn’t be easy but He will be with him. I know that we all feel insecure at times. But we don’t have to depend on our own strength. Because God had promised to be with us, just as he was with Moses. When God asks us to do something, I know that HE will give us the ability and the resources to do it. Because ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!

GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD!

Our Thanksgiving 2007 PICTURES..

Good Morning Everyone,

Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Here's the picture for now... I will blog later today... Enjoy

Our Dad's 60th birthday Celebration

It's almost the end of the day.. Let me just do a short blog before I go home. i like to do it here at work. ( I like the computer..lolz)...

Friday

We just stayed home, ordered some food and rented some movies to watch. Didn't really do anything but just trying to prepare for this coming week. Destiny wanted me to check the mail cuz she was waiting for her report card... And yup! we got it... I just want to say " Congrats to Destiny".. She's in High Honor Roll for this semester... Keep up the Good Work Des! We are so proud of you =)

Saturday

Woke up early--- Went to Dunkin Donuts .. Bought some breakfast for my father in law and Vince.. They were trying to finish the office last Saturday ( should be done this week). After the office.. Will, the kids and I went to Oriental Buffet for lunch...And it's funny... First time, we actually gave Kai her plate and fork.. Oh goodness! she was sooo cute and excited that she made a big mess under the table... She ate so much that day...ha ha ha...
After lunch -- we went to Michael's to buy Destiny's project... And here I am so excited about putting my Christmas tree... I ended buying stuff for the house... Destiny wanted to do the bow for the tree.. So, I let her and didn't really turn out the way we want it to.. But we still used some of it and the rest will just use it for the gift.. But hey, I am so proud of her for even trying 'cuz I can't even do that myself..ha ha ha... I feel bad cuz It was also Lala
s 7th birthday and we didn't get to go.. Had to do so many things.. Plus my parents came over and brought some Popeye's for us...They didn't leave till 10:30PM.. So, it was too late for us to go.. Happy birthday La! We love you...

Sunday

Thanksgiving Celebration at church.. Pastor Renato and his family came ... We were so happy to see all of them there... We ordered Boston Market ( and I forgot to order sweet potatoes..sorry guyz)..

My family and I gave our dad a small gathering for his 60th birthday,..It was a sucess..Thanks to my brother, my sister, my mom and my daugther Des for helping me plan this birthday for my dad...We had a great time.. Some couldn't make it... Prior engagement, working and other parties...But what's important is ... To see the smile on my dad's face... I thank God for our dad.. He worked so hard to give us a good life.. I pray the Lord to continue to protect &blessed
him all the days of his life and that he may live a long healthy life.

Well, i gotta go now.. My hubby and my daugther are waiting for me .. Destiny has a parents conference meeting at 6:30 tonite.. I told my hubby that he doesn't have to go but so far hes the one that doesn't want to miss this... lolz.. He hasn't miss one so far... Oh well, i guess he also wants to hear and see whats going on at school... He probably doesn't want to hear it from me...lolz.. He knows that Im not detailed when it comes to telling story..... k.. vavoo.. God Bless You All!


Just click on my Picasaweb to see some pictures..

http://picasaweb.google.com/SantosFamily2007/DADDYS60THBDAYTHANKSGIVNGCELEBRATIONATCHURCH

Happy Thanksgiving!

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself

2 Corinthians 12:9

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

The Thought

Do you really believe this verse? Do you really believe that God's power is most displayed, not in our strength, but in our weakness? Do you believe that His strength begins where yours ends? If so, do you live like it? Why do we spend our days trying desperately to bolster our strength and aptitude rather than desperately seeking God? We rely on coffee, vacations, and college degrees, while our Bibles sit on our shelves and our faith grows weak. As long as we try to be self-sufficient and self-reliant, we will never experience the joyful peace that comes from relying on Christ.

The Prayer
Lord, Forgive me for my pride that makes me act I don't need You. Jesus, I need Your grace for my every breath; teach me to rely on You for the strength to get through each day. Draw me to Your Word, push me to my knees, and bring me to the end of my rope so that I can fall into Your arms.

Seven Stages of the "Married Cold"

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called
"Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Hebrews 3:13

Some clever observer has described the way family members often drift
apart as "the seven stages of the married cold." The pattern can be
illustrated by tracing the reaction of a husband to his wife's cold
symptoms during seven years of marriage:

The first year-"Sugar Dumpling, I'm worried about my baby girl. You have
a bad sniffle, and there's no telling about these things with all this
strep around. I'm putting you in the hospital for a general checkup and
rest."

Year two-"Listen, Darling, I don't like the sound of that cough. I'll
bathe the kids and put them down. You just lie down while I get the car
nice and warm."

Year three-"Feeling a little punk are you, Hon? Maybe you'd better lie
down and rest. I'll bring you something to eat. Do we have any soup?"

Year four-"Look, Dear, be sensible. After you feed the kids and wash the
dishes, you'd better hit the sack."

Year five-"You don't sound so good. Why don't you get yourself a couple
of aspirin?"

Year six-"If you'd just gargle or something instead of sitting around
barking like a seal, I'd appreciate it!"

Year seven-"For Pete's sake, stop sneezing! What are you trying to do,
give me pneumonia?"

While we may smile at this imaginary degeneration of concern, it's all
too real in many marriage relationships. The pattern is in sharp
contrast with our text, which calls for daily encouragement that keeps
relationships warm and alive, rather than steady discouragement that can
only harden hearts.

It is important for you to make this atmosphere of support and
encouragement a foundation of your marriage. Marriage can rob your
relationship of intimacy and excitement. Why not decide today to find a
fresh way to encourage your spouse.


Discuss: Do the ways you and your mate express concern for each other's
troubles differ now from when you were first married? Are some of these
changes natural and appropriate? Do others foster isolation?

Pray: That the "dailiness" of family life and its increasing familiarity
will serve to draw your family closer instead of leading to
indifference.

Just an update over the weekend!

Morning everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend

Let me just blog before I get busy bee here at work..lolzz

Friday

--- After work I went home and got ready...So exciting.. .. Before we went to our dinner date -- we went and visit the kids first at mommy.. Awww! we felt so bad leaving Des and Kai -- but since Kai doesn't really understand anything yet.. We had to explain to Destiny that we are going out for a date that Mommy and Daddy need some time alone *wink*..lolzzz...
- We ended up at Chilis... My appetite change for some reason... ..William ended up ordering his One Full Slab BBQ Back Ribs and I ordered my combination of Tilapia and Shrimp with some veggies....Yup! it is different to go out like that without the kids... Don't get me wrong....We love and enjoy are kids but sometimes -- You need that date alone with your partner...You know what I mean.. lolzz--- I can finally be silly and do my thang with him...ha ha ha... Sooo funny! I dont need to be all detail about it here..Right... But yah! It was fun...Since -- it was his treat... I ordered some dessert...Hmmmmm... Delicioso =).--- Left around 10:30PM.. Usually -- we should be on our way home around this time... I really didn't want to go home yet... Can't think of anything else --- ended up at this Karaoke Place ( by streamwood).. Saw some old friends... It was this guy Eric and Mayb that told us about this.. Pretty nice and decent place... My honey didn't sing but I did... ha ha ha.. -- Hmmm -- it was getting pretty late so we decided to finally go home and get the kids.... Knowing me --- I stayed up till 4am...just being goofy..I had toooo much caffeeine... Coffee and Coke combined.. Oh goodness! We had sooo much fun that we didn't want the nite to end.... Well, since we've been planning to have our date twice a month.. We plan to take turns again just like our wedding anni.. so, we'll see if we follow through. lolzz.

Saturday

-- My poor honey -- got sick....Uh Oh! Mommy, what did u do? lol.. Daddy Will is not feeling well... So he just stayed home.. He didn't go to the meeting at all.. So, I had to do it and meet up with my team and take care of some suff, filing paperworks and clean up some stuff from the construction..... Our team are sooo sweet.. They all text William after the training and said that "He must be really sick" coz hes never absent unless theres a family emergency or hes really sick....Soo cute......Anyhooo, after the office -- I went to my mom's house to get some food to bring it to my hubby......... I went to sleep and woke up around 4PM.. Got ready to go to one of my frenz babys party at Chuckee Cheese... It was fun! Always fun coz I get to see and chat with my frenz.. lolz..
After the party -- we went to get some movies.. It was Destiny's turn to pick...She got " Meet the Robinsons and How to eat Fried Worms"... Then we went to get some Mexican Food... Yuummy! Went home, watch the movie, ate and prepared the Praise and Worship Song for the next day.....


Sunday

--- We woke up late.. Yikkes! Sorry Lord! no excuse...Got to church almost 10AM.. Thanks to Brother Martin -- He got there almost 9AM and he was almost done setting up the instrument.. Sis Irish had an emergency and didn't get to go to church... She had to be with Pastor Renato.. He ran out of medicine and started feeling numbness in his finger.. Please include him in your prayer..

It was a great service today -God is always good.... My sister Marge's prayer brought tears to my eyes. Bro.Gerry's sermon today was so good.... I know that God was there the whole time. God speak to his heart once again. I thank God everyday for using ordinary people like him. May God continue to give him the strenght and wisdom to preach HIS word.

We stayed at church till 3PM.----William wanted to have his coffee-- so before we went home -- we went to Dunkin Donuts and just hang out there.. Kalea was eating her munckins, William was having his Large French Vanilla coffee, Des was having her white chocolate and muah having my sweet Dunkanccino.....But man! I thought coffee would help me stay up. I was still sleepy -- I think because the weather was soo gloomy and i just wanted to stay in bed... -- Finally home sweet home.... We watched the other movies -- went to sleep at 5PM -- woke up around 630PM.. Cooked some dinner--- and around 10PM..Kids finally went to sleep and I made my TGIF drink ( Aileen's famous drink)...lolzz.. Yummy!!! ---- do you still want me to go on-- lolzz..--- It was a good night sleep again....... bwhahahahahhaahah... Sure both my hunny and I had fun... Great weekend!!! Thank you Lord for giving us this opportunity to relax, enjoy and reminisce.....

can't upload the photos here... just check out the photo on my site..also, sooo sorry -- not that much pictures taken over the weekend.. I have to download it still.. http://picasaweb.google.com/SantosFamily2007/Nov9And10

K -- gotta get back to work.... Enjoy the rest of your week and Keep them beautiful SMILEZ going.. =)

God Bless!

Just Breathe

November 1, 2007

By Melanie Chitwood


"It's useless to rise early and got to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves? Psalm 127:2 (MSG)


Devotion:

Many women today share a few common denominators: we're busy, we're tired, and we need some breathing room! We have jobs outside the home and in. Husbands need meals, romance, clean laundry, and more romance. Kids have play-dates, sports, church activities, and homework. We volunteer at the school, run carpools, clean the kitchen, walk the dog, do laundry, squeeze in a walk - and on and on our list continues. Whew!


Ladies, we cannot do it all. The good news is that we were never intended to do it all. Today you have permission to say "no." For some of us that comes easily. However, for many of us women, whom God designed to be givers and nurturers, this word does not come out of our mouths very easily.

Here's one practical way I've learned to say "no." I ask myself, What are my priorities? I have two levels of priorities. The first level includes God, my husband, my children, and the home front. This level is set in stone. The second level of priorities includes ministry, friends, and exercise, and this level of priorities has more variation for me. Taken together, these priorities are my compass, helping to guide me to a "yes" or "no" when considering adding another activity to my life.


Let's see how this works in real life. Last year I was asked to teach a women's Bible study at my church. Now, at first glance, this seems like an automatic "yes." After all, teaching Bible study is a good thing! However, I took the time to pray, and God very clearly showed me it was not the right time to add this commitment to my life. Looking back my family and I were incredibly busy last year in some ways I hadn't anticipated. I see clearly how saying "no" was the right answer at that time.



In a sense I have to give myself permission to say "no" because for most of my life I've said "yes" when deep down inside I've wanted to say "no." Here are two practical guidelines to help you learn how to say "no." First, if you immediately know you don't want to do something, just go ahead and turn it down by saying something such as, "Thank you so much for asking, but I just cannot make that commitment right now." The next guideline -- pray! If you're asked to do something and you really want more time to consider the situation, be honest by responding, "Let me take some time to pray and I'll give you an answer in a week." Then really pray and listen to God's leading!

Take a deep breath and say it aloud -- no. Now breathe again, sit down for ten minutes with a cup of coffee and enjoy the breathing room you've created for yourself.

Dear Lord, You show me by Your example of resting on the seventh day of creation that I, too, need rest. Show me your priorities for my life. I pray that they align with Your will for me. Help me to say no to the things that appear good but might take me away from the better choices You have for me. Lord, I pray that I will have breathing room in my life, times to be refreshed and moments of quiet closeness with You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.