camping!!!!!!!!!!

Oh I so love camping...
s'mores, camp fires, tents, creeks, stars and trees... What a wonderful way to appreciate God's beautiful creation!
So as you can probablly guess I am going camping!!!! I am soooooooo psyched!! I can not wait! :)
I will not be bringing my laptop :( so I will not be getting online while I am gone. (If you have been reading this blog you might remember that I poured water on my laptop by mistake so it is, for the moment, not usable. Please PLEASE! pray that it is salvageable. I will try it again when I return.

I will be praying for you all while I am gone. If you have the time (make the time if you can) go outside and enjoy the wonderfully amazingly beautiful creation that our God and Savior has made for us. :)

ttys, Trisha

why pain and sufferring?

You know, I sit here tonight with my face hurting really bad. I have calcium deposits in my ligaments in my jaw. It causes my face to hurt a lot sometimes. I wear a mouth piece that is helping alleviate the discomfort and take pain medicines that help. However, this leads me to thinking why God created pain.

Did God "create" pain or what? I do not think so. Does God make people have pain? No on that one too. So why do people have pain? Well, it is all Eve's fault. Yes, and Adam's too... You see they had it good in the beginning. God created a wonderful place for them to live, to grow, to cherish. He gave them a direct line to Him. He walked with them in the Garden. How amazing is that???? You see, God wanted humans to spend time with Him in Glory... He wanted mankind to be part of Him. He is not a God of pain and suffering... So, if He didn't "create" pain, then why is there pain?

Well, let's get back to Adam and Eve. They both are the fruit, and Adam lied to God. They saw that life was good but then they got greedy. They wanted what God had, which was more then they had. They wanted to know good and evil.... Mankind in his heart is awful, conniving, greedy, wishy-washy, spoiled, bratty and just plain stupid... (BTW stupid means that you know what you are doing things you know you shouldn't be doing but you do it anyway.) anyhow, Mankind, in his heart, is not God like. We have to fight not only Satan but our own fleshly desires.

God does not create the pain we feel. It is a direct result of sin that has entered mankind's existence. So, I should not blame God for this pain but rather request help in dealing with it if He sees fit not to relieve it altogether.

So, if you are in pain tonight, any pain be it emotional, spiritual, or physical, God desires to help you with it. He desires that pain to draw you closer to Him. Sometimes He will relieve the pain other times he will just give you strength to bear it. Either way He is helping you... :)

Mike reminds me of how the Apostle Paul asked 3 times  to be relieved of the the thorn in his side but God said "My Grace is Sufficient for Thee". Let us rejoice that His Grace Is sufficient for Me. (and you!)

In Christ, Trisha

what a day

What a day is a good way to put it. I went to the school this morning to volunteer in the school library. I really enjoy it. I am glad that even though my children are not in public school that God has seen to it to give me this opportunity.

Today I will be busy doing so many things. I have only till Thursday night to complete the list of things I need to get done before e go camping. Two more loads of laundry to wash dry and fold. I have to pack the suitcases, go grocery shopping for camping,  complete paperwork for school for final grades this school year. and much much more. Ok, so with all I have to do, why am I sitting here typing out a dumb blog? I needed a quick break. : )

Well, I jsut wanted to say that i probably will not get a chance to post another blog until I return from camping. So I wil leave you with this thought.

No matter what we do in life, where we go or who we are with, we are always being watched.That may seem paranoid but it's a reality. Our actions always speak louder then words. Saying something and acting someway are two different things. Please make sure that your actions reiterate your words. Make sure that you are the best witness for Christ you can be. Even when you do not think you are being watched, you are. The people around you will see how good of a christian you are when you think no one is noticing. so, live for the Lord as if everything you do is being watched and accounted for, because it is, by people around you and mostly by God.

What a great day

Well, it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Gosh, I do miss Mr. Rogers. I know a lot of people mocked him but he was a great inspiration for many, many years... We need more people like him. :)

I actually started this blog today thinking of what a wonderful day it was while I was driving out and about. Then I started typing and Mr. Rogers' comment came to mind. So here I am, happy :) about what a great guy he was here on Earth and sad that he has passed on. :(

Today, it downed on me that we go camping in 3 days!!! I haven't yet packed anything except a few dry foods. OH MY!!!! Have I got to get my butt in gear! (Usually I am finished packing all my stuff by now!!!)  The house is messy, laundry isn't finished being folded yet and I have plants to plant in the garden still... wow! what a day tomorrow will be.

On another note, I was informed today that I hurt a close friend's feelings, of course, unintentionally. We really have to be careful of how we say things and the words that we say. As Christians we tend to think that if we say something with the right heart behind it that it would be ok to say. Sometimes it is not though... Sometimes we have to stop and think with the brain that God gave us. Is this, no matter how it is said, going to hurt this person's feelings? If so, should it really be said, no matter how good our intentions are? In my case, it not only could have been said nicer, but maybe it didn't need to be said at all...

So here I am, sitting and thinking of how my well thought out my words affect those in ways I could not have thought, and praying that God heals this person's heart. I pray that God goes before my well intended, but maybe wrongly spoken words.

So, don't forget to thank God for all He has done and He will do. Most of all thank Him for his forgiveness of all our faults, intentional or not.

Good night. Trisha

life happens, don't let it get you down

Ok, so last night, life happened and it's my fault. If it were my kids' faults or my hubby's I would most likely be really angry, but I have no one to blame but myself. Why is it that I am not mad at myself? Well, I think it is because having Christ in my life reminds me of the important things in life. I have a place to live that is warm and comfy, food to eat and a family that loves me as much as I love them.

So, by this time you are probably wondering what actually happened? Well, to put it bluntly, I ruined my laptop. I know!!!! How horrible! What happened???? Well, I had my laptop on the coffee table in front of the couch. I put my glass of water down next to it. When I then put something next to the water glass it tipped the water glass over and a full glass of water poured right across the keyboard....UGH!!!!!!

Now it is "drying out" I hope. But like I said in the beginning of this post, Life Happens.

So why am I not mad? I am disappointed of course but this experience has got me thinking. One, God blessed me with a wonderful laptop that was able to get wifi high speed connection. Two, God blessed me with the money to buy that nice electronic device. But what God gives God can also take away. :) So does that mean that I think God schemed to get rid of my lap top? NO! It was a joke. lol

I am not upset about it though. You see, we have to enjoy the things we have in life before they disappear. Enjoy the way your family hugs you, enjoy the peck your spouse gives you on his way out the door, enjoy the bugs that your kids bring you in their cupped hands. Most of all, treasure and cherish the breath and life God has given you.

Laptops are expensive, and I hope and pray mine is not totally dead, but if it is, oh well. PDA's are expensive, so are cars, houses and the list goes on.... but those are just things.... not something that you can take with you when you die.

When I die, I want people to think of me as a friendly, helpful person who loved the Lord. I do not want people to think I was obsessed over "uping the Jones" next door. My things are things, but my family is alive and our God is more alive then anyone can imagine! To me, my treasure is with Christ but while I am here on earth I will not stop treasuring my family and friends too. :)

Does that mean that I will not jump for joy if my laptop does actually work after it dries out? ABSOLUTELY NOT! You will probably hear me for miles screaming for joy if it turns on and is ok... This just means that it is not the most important thing in the world to me.

So, what does this all mean for my new blog??? not sure yet. I do have my desktop, but it is on dial up. I am also going camping soon so I will be hit and miss on here for a little while. When I return from camp I will keep the blog up. I am enjoying it. I just might not be on every day...

So for now, enjoy what God has blessed you with but do not forget to keep God first above all things... :)
Trisha

not being humble sometimes...

There are times in our life when we have to admit that we can not do it on our own. It is at those times that we actually grow in strength, wisdom and spirit. When we admit we can not do something on our own we humble ourselves to ask for help.

When you rely on someone else too much though you no longer are humble but you are clingy. Admitting you need help and are willing to receive help is a wonderful thing to do. However, if you take help when you don't need it or if you are unwilling to do things yourself you are not being humble and you are not helping yourself.

These are things that have come to my mind today. Yes, most of you reading this have children. Most of you know exactly what I am talking about. But for those that may not understand it is simple. The best way to help yourself is to try do handle things yourself but to know when to ask for help.

If you think of it this way, when we ask God for help we are admitting he is better at the situation then us. But if we don't even try before we ask for help how do we know that we are incapable of doing it?

Now that is not to say that we should never ask for help with out trying... there are things in life that we know we can't handle. It is the wisdom from God that shows us the difference of when we should ask for help and when we can do it ourself. Wisdom is applied knowledge. Just do not forget to try and be willing to ask for help if you need. it.

Have Faith, Live life, and love Jesus............
Trisha

I don't understand

Right now I have 2 kids who are very upset. One is in the midst of a melt down and the other is upset because the first child stressed everyone in the house out.

Adam is being Adam. A typical Aspie.... lovable, caring but easily stressed......

So anyhow, tonight Adam blew up. What a blessed heart he has. What a wonderful husband I have that tries to difuse problems before my hot head and Adam's big mouth makes everything worse. But, my mouth and Adam's mouth gets us into trouble anyway.

Adam's stress started all because he is so worried over what has been going on with the school. He is nervous and worried that we are getting stressed out. So, now we are left with a child who is on edge but wanting so much not to be.

Believe it or not, this event today warms my heart. The yelling and crying and all the chaos led to an understanding. Everything that happened tonight happened out of love. We love each other and want to support each other in our marriage. We both love Adam more then we could have expected to. Adam loves us and cares about our feelings. Love... it makes us do strange things.

God's love made him do an unbelievable act. He gave his ONLY begotten Son, all because he loves us. He loves you!

When God designed and created the world, he did so because he desired to share his abilities and love with someone. He never forces us to love him back. He never forces us to be part of his life. He just waits on the side lines and waits for us to notice him. His love for us drives him NOT to command our love and demand our obedience. His love is so strong that he is willing to let us go rather then make us do things against our will.

God's relationship with us is an example of how we should be with our kids. God's love is forgiving and encompassing all our faults. Our children have lots of faults and we need to forgive them for their mistakes. It all boils down to our kids are a God given gift. No matter what we say or do with God he loves us beyond our comprehension....

So to wrap this up and get back to my wonderful sons.... they both are calm and in bed. I am calming down and Mike is chatting with a friend. Adam had his meltdown because he loves us so much he is worried about us. I got angry because I love my husband and wish him to be treated with respect. Mike loves both Adam and I and hates to see us stressed and fighting... After everyone calms down we always talk about the situation. Even though our stress was born out of love it was in the end our love that got us to stop fighting.

Love your family to no end. Love God even more, because he certainly loves you more then you can ever imagine. Spend time with your kids laughing and sharing... spend time with God and let him know how much you love him today... :)

Trisha

how God uses you.........

Well, I have been very, crazily busy lately. No matter what I wish to do it seems as if I never have the time to do the things I want. But instead I am doing God's work...... and that makes it all worth while.

Recently I have been helpful in ways I had not expected to be. It's not us who chooses waht gifts God gives us. Nor is it up to us to choose how we use those gifts. Both are up to God.

So how do you know what your gift is? Well, what are you already doing? What are you good at? What do you like to do? What gives you joy? Chances are you are already using your gift and do not even realise it. What you do, what you enjoy and what you like can and usually is used for God on a daily basis.

As for me, well, I am social. Well, try having an aspie as a husband and a kid. Then add in another kid for good measure that has anxieties. Well, all of those together makes for a group of people who likes to hang out at home and with family.... not social butterflies if you ask me. So how does a sical person survive in a house of homebodies? Get used by God!

God has brought me so many friends that live very close by me. Usually I end up helping these friends with things ranging from babysitting on short notice to being their therapist. I get used every day by my Lord and Saviour and it gives me more joy then I could have imagined.

Are you allowing God to use you today? If not, why? Let Him use you and the rewards are beyond your imagination. :)

Trisha

old christians, new lessons...

One thing I have learned over the years of being saved is to never turn down an opportunity to do God's will. Take today, for example. Church was going well. We were singing wonderful praise songs and enjoying great fellowship. Then someone needed to leave because they were very distraught. This person wanted to go home so badly but couldn't because someone drove them.
So here they are, crying, distraught, and clearly feeling trapped. They wanted to leave but didn't see a way they can without inconveniencing the person that brought them.

Mike and I followed this person out to the hallway, trying to console them. My intention was to get back to the sermon/study quickly. I didn't want to leave this person hanging and left feeling abandoned so Mike, I and this person sat in the fellowship area instead. Mike and I missed out on a good sermon but we were blessed by being able to help someone else. While we sat in the fellowship area Mike taught this person and I about 2 Corinthians 6:17-18. What a great teaching my hubby did!!! Not only did he follow God's guidance in what to teach and help this person who so desperately needed him at that moment, but he uplifted my spirits and I learned a lot from him...

I know there are times when I want something to happen a certain way and I get irritated when it doesn't go that way. I am a creature of habit and a self centered person at times. One thing we all have to remember, me especially, is that each time things don't go the way we want, or expect, God has a plan and a reason. Go with the flow, let God lead you. :)

So, even though today did not go as I expected it was enjoyable anyway!

awake

Here I sit on the couch watching tv at 1:30 am. It's Sunday morning... technically. :) I am watching a show that is about how confusing relationships can be. Men not knowing what makes women happy, women thinking they have figured guys out but in reality they have no idea....
This makes me so happy to be married to my wonderful husband. We have been married for 16 years now. I love him more now then I did when we first got married.

Over the years Mike and I have talked about how sad it is to see marriages falling apart at an alarming rate. We have been saddened by couples we know getting divorced. We have been shocked that most of these failing relationships could have been easily salvaged and rectified.
We have come to an understand that relationships have more to do with listening and paying attention then it does with actions.

If couples talked more with each other and not about each other I think things could improve.
Marriages these days seem to lack the necessary component of conversation.

If I may, marriages are supposed to be combined of three elements. The wife, the husband and God. This is the center circle. Many people fill this private inner circle of marriage with other things. Anything that takes God out of the inner circle clouds our judgement. It prevents us from communicating with each other and communicating with God.

Cars, money, games, gambling, friendships, etc.... even children. All these things are prone to cause division in any relationship, especially the relationship with God and with our spouse.

I guess what I am trying to say is that no matter what your life is like, no matter what things come and go in your life, take each moment to remind yourself why you got married. Love your spouse as Christ loves the church. Christ died for the church, would your love make you die for your spouse if the need came to that?

I can gladly say that at this moment I feel I would.
go hug your spouse and tell them how much you love them.

good night. :)

This is the day....

"This is the day, this is the day
That the lord has made, that the lord has made
I will rejoice, I will rejoice
And be glad in it, glad in it"


What better way to wake up then to have this wonderful song stuck in my head. :) God is so good!!!

Well, today I woke up in a great mood. Adam is still in bed, awake but relaxing. Daniel and I are watching Mythbusters. Mike is at Sat. morning prayer. Today the weather is really nice, not too warm and not cold. The pool opened yesterday. My house looks cleaner then it has in a while. Amy is home. My brother's surgery is scheduled for the 16th. The school situation is under control for now. With all of these things going well how could I be anything but happy?

I was talking to a friend last night and she encouraged me so much. God has such plans for each one of us. The things in our lives that happen have reasons. Reasons we have no idea of but God sure does. Each of these trials are designed and arranged by God to build our strength in Him. Each is allowed to encourage us to lean and rely on Jesus Christ for help.

You now that reminds me of a popular saying. "god won't give you more then you can handle." I REALLY, REALLY HATE this saying. If you really think about it it doesn't make any sense. if god didn't give you more then you can handle why would we ever need to go to Him for anything, least of all help? I like to change that saying to fit the reality. "God will give you more then you can handle so that we have to rely on Him." To me that makes much more sense.

Well, God certainly has given our family more then we can handle and I am surly blessed that God has been there every step of the way for me to lean on.

I'm off to finish cleaning my house and spending time with my wonderful family. Have a blessed day! Enjoy the day the Lord has given you.

What I learned today

Today is the day the Lord has made!!! Recently our family has been experiencing some major emotional and spiritual trials. Adam has been in the midst of it all and has despite some difficulties is becoming a better teen for it.
Today I was dealing just one more part of the current issue by talking to someone on the phone. I was almost at a point of feeling exhausted and worn out. I was almost ready to give up. Then, the person I was talking to brought it all back to God. What a blessing! After the phone call I sat down on the floor holding the phone and cried, thanking Jesus for his mercy and comfort. The fact that he is not only watching us but helping his children each tiny step at a time has been a wonderful comfort to me today.

I know that no matter what God has in store for us He will protect and guide us.

So, no matter what you are going through may you always lean on His everlasting and comforting arms. May you seek His guidance and follow His light on the path of life.

I know I will. :)
God bless!

Thanks for reading my blog

Ok, so this is my first blog. I had thought of making a blog before but never really got into it. We will see how well this goes.
I was thinking of what name to give my blog. I had thought of Hilton Jesus Freak, but that didn't seem to sit right with me. Then after a few names that did not work I typed in Why I go on. It accepted it. I was thinking of a way to describe why I chose this particular name. My reasons are simple. There are many reasons why people continue on in life. My reason is God. He has given me so much to be thankful for. So many times I thought I could not go on but through God's grace and strength I am able to.

I will start out with a little bit about myself. I am 37 years old. I have a wonderful husband who is the love of my life. I would never want, nor could I ever dream, of being married to someone else. I have two wonderful teenage boys. The oldest is Adam who is 15. Daniel is 12 1/2. We live in a small town north west of Rochester, NY called Hilton. I love living in Hilton. There are so many things in town to do and to walk to.

I have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ for 25 years now. I first got saved when I was 12 at church camp. At first I didn't change much. Then as an adult my husband, then we were just friends, started taking me to church. It was then that God showed me the importance of living for Him. My life has changed so much since I started to walk with Christ and for Christ.

My two children both have some special needs. Adam has Aspperger's Syndrome, Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. Daniel has Moebius and anxieties. My husband also has some Asperger's Syndrome traits. This makes my life very very interesting. I have fibromyalgia, thyroid problems and depression. With Christ we are all happy healthy people.

My hope and pray for this blog is twofold. One is to be able to witness and encourage those that read this blog. The second reason is to use this blog as tool to get my thoughts straight in my head. Somedays things will be happy and will hopefully make you laugh. Some days things will not be so sweet but will always remind us of how awesome our God is and how no matter what we go through he is always there with us.

Please feel free to add your thoughts and comments. I look forward to sharing my life with you.
God Bless,
Trisha