African Children's Choir...

Work or Play

Whatever you call it I get paid to do this!

Thankful Thursday: for the Life of...

Stephin Joseph Saenz-O'Brien

July 22, 2003 - April 04, 2009


With Hope (SCC)

This is not at all how
We thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams
And now you've gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but ...

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope
(There's a place by God's grace)
There's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again

And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God's plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father's smile and say well done
And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
'Cause now you're home
And now you're free, and ...

We have this hope as an anchor
'Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true, so ...

So we can cry with hope
And say goodbye with hope

We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope

Yours (SCC)

I walk the streets of London
And notice in the faces passing by
Somthing that makes me stop and listen
My heart grows heavy with the cry

Where is the hope for London?
You whisper and my heart begins to soar
As I'm reminded
That every street in London in Yours
Oh, yes it is

I walk the dirt roads of Uganda
I see the scars that war has left behind
Hope like the sun is fading
They're waiting for a cure no one can find

And I hear children's voices singing
Of a God who heals and rescues and restores
And I'm reminded
That every child in Africa is Yours

And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky
To the depths of the ocean floor
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
You're the Maker and Keeper, Father and Ruler of everything
It's all Yours

And I walk the sidewalks of Nashville
Like Singapore, Manila and Shanghai
I rush by the beggar's hand and the wealthy man
And everywhere I look I realize

That just like the streets of London
For every man and woman, boy and girl
All of creation
This is our Father's world

And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky
To the depths of the ocean floor
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
You're the Maker and Keeper, Father and Ruler of everything

It's all Yours, God
It's all Yours, God
It's all Yours, God
It's all Yours, God

The glory is Yours, God
All the honor is Yours, God
The power is Yours, God
The glory is Yours, God

You're the King of Kings
And Lord of Lords

And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky
To the depths of the ocean floor
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
All the greatness and power, the glory and splendor and majesty
Everything is Yours
Yeah, it's all Yours
We are Yours
The glory and honor is Yours, everything is Yours

It's all Yours, God
My life is Yours, my heart is Yours
My hands and my feet are Yours
Every song that I sing
It's all Yours, all is Yours
All belongs to You
Our gifts are Yours, God
All our dreams are Yours, God
All our plans are Yours, God
The whole earth is Yours, God
Everything is Yours

Thankful Thursday Main Blog

Beauty...

I heard this song on the radio this morning and was deeply moved. There are so many special teens in my life. little ones whom I have cared for, taught Sunday school and loved on, who are growing up. They are going through so much and have survived so much (my adopted sister's sisters) My middle school and high school girls are beautiful and the words of this song are for you... I love you!

The second verse reminds me of my older girls... of friends and family that I have watched struggle with so many things some of whom are still struggling and others who are on the other side of the struggle, but are haunted by the past.

Sometimes we all need to be reminded...

More Beautiful You

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake
And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don’t buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you’ve already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you’ve got a man but he’s got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there’s a man whose love is true
And he’ll treat you like the jewel you are

So turn around you’re not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It’s not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who’s strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you’ll see through the eyes of a little gir

Puppy Therapy

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich...

Lord, please remind me that even though You are creator of the universe, You can make a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich.

Letter to my girls...

To my Girls,

I know this is coming from someone who is never experienced what you have experienced in the past and are experiencing now. I do not claim to know anything about what it means to be in a relationship except for what I have seen and heard from people, both good and bad. This is not meant to be a stay pure talk nor is it me trying to say what is right and what is wrong to do, or not to do. It is not my place to put myself on a pedestal and claim I know anything, but for a moment I would like to stand on my soap box and share some things that I think should be said as you journey through this chaotic time in life.

Being a teenager is a messy time, no matter what you are into, what group you belong to, or what groups you don’t belong to. It is scary, fun, and filled with so many things. I have been there, recently ;) and I know the things I did and I observed many other things from my peers. I saw people meet the One that they eventually married and I have seen people hurt so deeply that they were never the same again.

You! Yes You! No matter where you come from or where you have been are worthy of respect from everyone, which is why i am attempting to compose this letter to you as an adult. You have seen and experienced more things in your life than anyone should ever have to. Some things are deep inside you that others will never know and some are so deep that you are not even aware of them, it is true for all of us. We hide what we choose not to face, and our subconscious (the level of understanding so deep inside that we are not aware of its thoughts) hide the things we cannot face, because they would be to difficult to unearth. This is where actions like cutting, suicidal thoughts and poems, self-hatred, over eating, under-eating, drug abuse, sexual addictions, come from. They are not games or no big deal; they come from feelings so strong that we are not aware of them.

Sometimes even relationships are born out of our feelings of unworthiness, we are beings created to love and to be loved and we seek out ways to connect to others on a meaningful level. And even sometimes when we do not feel that the love we receive is adequate we seek out relationships with others.

Respect does not just mean treating someone as an equal, or not treating someone like trash. Respect is being able to see the creator inside of the creation. It goes beyond the Sunday school answer of “for God so loved the world” or “Jesus loves me” The Lord is a God who deeply cares for his creation more than we can even imagine. He loves us so much that he gave us the sun rising, the stars, a baby’s laughter, friends, and yes even relationships with significant others. He loves us so much he gives us the choice of responding to him out of free-will to make our own choices about how to pursue finding the One. Remember there is no separation between life and spiritual life, they are all connected.

Respect is never feeling pressured to do what makes that still small voice inside your heart tremble. I am saying all this so that you will know that I am praying for you and that I deeply care about you as not only my XXXXXXXXXXX but as young women whom I love for the unique and wonderful people that you are. Never ever be afraid to seek assistance when you need it, to tell someone no, or even to tell someone yes when the time is right. Remember I am always, always here for you to listen non-judgmentally, to offer help, or to just sit with you hold you and to cry. We are constantly learning throughout our journeys; that is one thing that will never change. And ladies, remember this, because even when I am “all grown up” I will still be there for you and my door will always be open no matter what! (but please keep 3am house visits to a minimum lol)

You are my heart and my heroes! You have come so far from those scared little scrawny kids that showed up at the door of my heart all those years ago. I don’t know if you remember those first few months, but I do. I still have the necklace that M gave me one night, before you were in foster care, or how cute and also sad it was how K was so concerned about R in the beginning, or how heartbreaking E's little face was as she struggled to fight back tears when D, K and I had to drop her and R back at her foster home until we could get you for keeps. You are my inspiration and my heroes because of who you were back then and you have become since then. My eyes fill with tears of joy as I write this because I love you so much. I thank my God that you are in my life and pray that we will always be close. My kids need some super aunts someday, and I need great friends who are courageous, beautiful, and amazing women of God.

With all my heart,

Courtney