Results In!

Results are in! My chromosomes which previously tested positive are now showing negative. Praise His name! I am in full hematologic remission; which means by blood is clean. Praise Him! The molecular response the specialist is looking for is 3.0 and right now I am at 2.83. I am so close to remission that the specialist wants me to stay on the medication I'm currently taking and he doesn't need to see me until one year from now. Praise His holy name! I will continue to go for blood work every 3 to 6 months but I won't need another bone marrow biopsy for another year.

JP and I praised the Lord over and over again out loud during our visit with the doctor. He just smiled at us and said nothing. God truly has carried me throughout this journey and I believe he will continue to do so. We are so thankful for this good news and will continue to pray for full remission! Thank you for your prayers! He is good!

Love,

Charissa

Prayer Needed!

Friends & Family,

A year and a half ago I was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, CML. Tomorrow morning at 11, I will undergo my 3rd bone marrow biopsy. The doctor will be checking to see if I am in remission. I would appreciate your prayers for complete and total healing.
 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
 AMEN to that! Thank you for your prayers!

ABC Scripture Book - the letter 'D'

On Sunday, we worked on Merit's ABC scripture book. It is coming along slowly but surely. He loves watching me draw pictures that begin with the letter we are working on. We talk about the meaning of the scripture and how much Jesus loves us.  

After we worked on our book we played cars for a bit. You can never have too much time with your cars!

Serving Others

It is my hope that by teaching Merit to serve others at a young age he will continue to serve. On Sunday I made dinner for cousin Jenny and Merit helped me make cookies for her. He is such a good helper! He likes to pour the chocolate chips into the mixer and then watch it spin. After we finished with the cookie dough, we played outside and then started making a "get well" card for her. The card turned out very pretty; I put a few finishing touches on it. We took the dinner, cookies, and card to Jenny yesterday afternoon. She was very grateful and we were happy to serve her in that way. Praying for Jenny's speedy recovery and complete healing!

With a Happy Heart...

my sweet boy walked into Ms. Brenda's house this morning and started singing, "Jesus Loves Me" to his friend Emily. We had been singing the song on the way to Brenda's house and I asked him if his friends knew the song. He told me they didn't know it so I told him he should teach them. Wow! It's amazing how much Merit understands these days. I hope he will let his "little light shine" every day either through songs or words.

Raising Children in the Discipline and Instruction of the Lord

Wow! This is a wonderful article written by John MacArthur...scripture references included. Enjoy!

Raising Godly Children: Where Can I Learn How to Bring Up My Children in t...: The book of Proverbs is a wonderful, intensely practical guide that contains much wisdom you can impart to your children as you train th...

Why We Celebrate Easter

Great article! Do your kids know why we celebrate Easter???

http://www.raisinggodlychildren.org/2012/03/do-your-kids-know-why-we-celebrate.html

Easter Play Set

Merit was pretty excited when I got the Easter play set out. He was too young to understand it last year. I told him the story and explained who each person was. He then sat and played with it while I ate dinner. The funniest thing was later that evening when he asked, "Mommy, where's Jesus?" Then later, "Mommy, where's Martha?" It just sounded so funny to hear him asking where Jesus and Martha were. What a cute boy!

Wonderful Book for Easter!

I bought this book for Merit last year at our church bookstore. It is a beautifully written book that tells the Easter story. What a love about it is that it tells what each color in the basket represents. The illustrations are very colorful. Just had to share this!

http://www.amazon.com/My-Easter-Basket-True-Story/dp/0784713561?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969

Real Easter Bunnies!

My sweet friend Amy sent this to me. Don't you love it? :) What a great description! I can't wait to show this to Merit!

Great Read on First-Time Obedience!

Chronicles of a Babywise Mom: Take baby steps to get first-time obedience: source It’s Babywise Blog Network Week! All week, we’ll be featuring blog posts from other Babywise-friendly blogs. The schedule is as f...

31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children

I absolutely love this! This printable is found on the Raising Godly Children website. What a great way to remember some really important virtues to pray for your child. I don't know about you but I tend to pray for the same things each day. I hope you find this is as useful as I do! This printable is posted in the bathroom so I can be reminded every morning while getting ready and every evening while brushing my teeth.

http://www.raisinggodlychildren.org/2012/03/31-biblical-virtues-to-pray-for-your.html

10 Easy Bible Verses for Children to Learn!

I found this from Ministry to Children website. Here is a link to the site. Many of the verses have coloring pages you can download and print! I can't wait to start this with Merit!

http://christianity.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=christianity&cdn=religion&tm=41&gps=191_45_1293_778&f=00&tt=13&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//ministry-to-children.com/easy-bible-verses/

Rejoice Always!

Rejoicing Always

1 Thessalonians 5:17 March 24, 199152-27

http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/52-27

This sermon was exactly what I needed to hear today! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

6 Ways to Raising Obedient Children...really good read!

I found this very helpful; hopefully you will too!

http://www.raisinggodlychildren.org/2011/12/6-ways-to-raising-obedient-children.html

Beautiful Valentines Devotional!

God's Conversation Hearts
A Valentines Devotional Julia Bettencourt

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"…blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." Luke 11:28


I've always loved those candy conversation hearts at Valentine's. The New England Confections Company, otherwise known as Necco, says that conversation hearts are the most popular of Valentine's candy. I read the history of the candy on the Necco website and it was quite interesting how the sayings being printed on the candy got started. Can you believe that the concept behind conversation hearts was started back when Abraham Lincoln was president?

I like the taste of those little hearts and it's one of those childhood candies that give sweet memories. I also like them to decorate cupcakes and cookies with. What I like best I guess is those little sayings. "Kiss me!" "Be Mine" "Be True". I know today they say a few different things than the ones I grew up with.

Did you know that God sends us conversation hearts too? The things He left in His Word were left for us because He loves us. Each conversation heart from God is sweet to the taste. We just don't sometimes read or pay attention to them.

Here are some of my favorites…

BE MINE - God wants us to accept His love.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

ALL MINE - God loves us and will keep us.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. John 10:27-30

TRUE LOVE - God loves us with true love as only He can.
I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31:3

LOVE ME - God wants us to love Him.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27

I'M SURE - God's sure of His love and wants us to know we have a future with Him.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:1-3

SWEET TALK - God's Word is His love letter to us.
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

BE GOOD - God tells us how to love Him back.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

FAX ME - God loves us so much He wants to communicate with us.
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

Conclusion:
There's more conversation hearts that the Lord left for us to see His love through. We just have to dig into His Word to find them.

So, have you missed out on God's conversation hearts?

Copyright ©2001-2010 Julia Bettencourt
Scripture References are from the King James Version.
www.juliabettencourt.com

This Little Light of Mine...

Merit's going to let it shine. He adores the Cedarmont Kids DVD's. I gave him his flashlight so he could wave a light while we sang.

Raising Godly Children: Raising Godly Children Key #1 (Purpose)

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