I Love You!!!

The "I love you" sign is the only universal sign in the world!!


I love you is the most important three words spoken in any language! It gives words to an emotion,or feelings that can not be explained. Everyday, my family tells each other we love them whether right before hanging up the phone, before leaving one another, and before we drift off to sleep, those prescious words are spoken, and meant from the heart.
Do your self a favor, make sure the ones you love know it!
Don't be afraid of those three words, they will change your life and that of those you love, you may not have tomorrow to tell them!!!
I love you Nathan, Nannette and Katrina! You three are the gifts of God to me!!! I never want you to forget or doubt that!!!!!

Conflicting Signs

How many times in life do we do this????
We think we know what the "right " thing to do,
however does it match up with God's Word?
No matter what logic may dictate, God's directions are always RIGHT!
Prayer and Bible reading is a sure way of avoiding the "Conflicing Signs" in our life. I have found in the "multitude of council there is saftey", talking to my pastor or his wife, a trusted elder in the church a friend or family member.
God puts things (signs) and people in our lives to help ensure we follow HIS directions.
Thanks to all of my friends and family that been those trusted council in my life.
And Thanks be to God for setting up roadblocks to keep me out of places I shouldn't be!!!!!!

Hail Hail The Gangs All Here

Can you guess whos who????


With the age of technoloy and all that it affords, we can now connect with friends we long lost track of. That is the case with the "Leppo" girls and me. We have all connected on Facebook and it's been great. With divorces and remarriages (including my own ;0)
life has just marched on without us.
We were very close in our teenage years attending Truth Tabernacle and T.T.C.S. We shared so much during that time, espeically Patti and I. We were best friends! She was one of my Candlelighters in my wedding. I was a usual at the Leppo dinner table and stayed as many nights there as I did at my own home.
As with everything, life brings change. Patti is in Bakersfield, Beth is in Tennessee, Jim and Chirslyn are still in Fresno, I have no idea where Bob is!
Tonight was Chrislyn's 40th birthday party! (welcome to the 40's only group!)Patti and Don, Chrislyn of course and Randy, Pat and Dan, Jim and his new wife,April! Plus all thier kids except for Ali which is Patti's daughter. She plays volleyball and had a tourniment. We had so much fun, just like old times. Dan and his humor, Pat and her loving yet fun ways. Patti and I catching up on everything, Jim quietly sitting and throwing in a sly remark here and there, and Chrislyn, the life of the party!
Tonight I caught up with Kelley and Phylis Pillow as well. It was so good to see them!!! It feels like a life time since I have seen them as well.
Although we have all taken differnt paths in life, we all have one thing in common, Truth. We have all been blessed with that knowledge and expierence. I am grateful for His mercy and grace. That, I feel has made for strong ties. Although we have different lots in life, we know where to go when times are rough.
There are friends that are passing through for a season, but these friends are for life. We just pick up where we left off, I thank God for such good and faithful friends.
I love you all very much and thank you for contributing to what I am today!


Me and Patti, my special and dear friend!

Sign it Andrew!!!!!!

This little fellow is adorable and deaf! What I have learned in my life time is that is dosen't matter if we are big or little, hearing or deaf; if our language is spoken or signed, God inhabits the prasies of HIS people. There's just something about my praise, as the song goes, that HE loves! So enjoy, as Andrew signs his praise!!!!

Happy 20th Nannette Janise

To my first born daughter.....
I remember when Grandma Denise told me that we almost lost you, that the doctor said five minutes and you would not have made it. I really didn't comprehend the possible loss since one, I was under heavy sedation from the c-section and two, I had not seen you yet. When they brought you in the first time, all I could think about was seeing if you had Dad's dimple on your chin, sure enough, there it was. I couldn't hold you for long because I was so weak. Later, after everyone was gone and I was more myself,(feeling the pain), and was wide awake, they brought in the most beautiful stawberry blonde, blue eye baby with her leg sticking out of the blanket. You were wide awake ready for a long converstation!
Once the nurse left, it was you and me, and the tears came, to think I almost lost you. Nannette, you have been a joy in my life. Watching you learn how to walk, and "talk talk", and sing, play with your sister or mother her, what ever the situation entailed. Listening to you and your cousins play church and you always were the special music....hummmm. Then pre-k then kindergaden and you climbed the ladder of education. Drivers licence, graduation and now college.
We've had our rocky times but never was there a time that I was not happy that you were my first born!
I love you, sometimes till it hurts, imagine, God loves you more than that. That is a pretty incrediable love. Dad and I dedicated you to HIM when you were just a few months old, on my first Mother's day in fact! That is where I will continue to keep you, in HIS hands. Follow HIS leading, HIS plan and you will have the happiest life ever. Be better than Mom, be happier than Mom! Don't follow in my footsteps, that will only bring you pain, follow in HIS footsteps, there will be peace in contentment there, and the man of your dreams, one that you can trust completely and he will love you unconditionally!
I love you and could not be anymore proud of you or my heart would absolutly bust wide open!!! :0)
Now you are not a teenie bobber anymore, you are an adult! Congrats my girl
MOM

I am Free!!!

We have been having amazing moves of God around our church lately and last night was no exception. Of course, if you subscribe to my lovely Pastor's wife's, Sis. Susan Hill's blog, you already have the details. It was an old fashion Pentecostal explosion!!!!!!
Everywhere you looked; someone was dancing, crying or seeking the Holy Ghost! It was fascinating to expiernce such a strong wave the Holy Ghost just saturating all who opened themselves to the touch of the Master's hand.
We sang a song called "I am Free".

"Through you the blind will see
Through you the mute will sing
Through you the dead will rise
Through you our hearts will praise
Through you our sings I am Free

I am free to run (I am free to run)
I am free to dance (I am free to dance)
I am free to live for you (I am free to live for you)
I am free!!!!"

There is a church in Fresno that has receive the revelation of Jesus name baptism and the Oneness of the Godhead that Pastor has been working with. We went Thursday night to hear him preach. It was so awesome to see the newness of an entire church and a pastor at a revelation I came to at the age of 13. Pastor Hill did an awesome job, by the way of preaching a message of separation, holiness and doctrine in a way that was compelling and loving. If you weren’t Apostolic, you wanted to be when he was done!
Then back at home, seeing all the new converts, and our newlyweds receiving the Holy Ghost last night, renewed in me an excitement and love for this precious Truth I have. For you see, I was not born into this and looking back, I was so excited about Jesus name baptism and learning that Jesus IS God, I told everyone. My family was so sick of hearing about holiness, and was completely astounded with the change in me, they were really scared! Now they know I walk the walk and talk the talk. However, where did that excitement go????
As Apostolics, have we gotten so use to what we have that we take it for granted? Are we so busy that we forget that we are a chosen generation, a peculiar people? That we have been bought with a price, that Jesus paid the price of salvation with HIS life, so that we might have eternal life!
This makes me FREE to run, dance and to live for him, I am no longer bound to the things of this world. And then to watch as others are set free and loosed from the chains of the enemy is such a victorious feeling!!!! Praise the Lord we don’t have religion, we have an EXIRENCE!!!!
So be FREE to live in CHRIST for you can do ALL things through HIM! WE are OVERCOMERS through HIM!!!!!

My Valentine...plus two

On April 11, 1987 I vowed to love honor and obey Nathan Edward Davies. My best friend and love of my life. During the the first ten years we had our lovley daughters and on the outside everyone thought we had a wonderful marriage. However, love alone could not overcome the difficulties no one knew battled our home. In the summer of 1996, we separated and the girls and I moved to Merced. For five years, Nathan and remained friends dispite the rumors that were rampat in the circles we once fellowshiped. No one, not even our families could understand nor comprehend the battles we each as individuals had to wrestle with deep in the recesses of our minds and hearts. Each of us blaming the other, as did our families, until one day the Lord reminded us that OUR love could not overcome the obsticles we faced, but HIS love could. HIS love is perfect and that will cast out ALL FEAR!
December 2000, we decided we would rather live life toghether and see what God could do, rather than live apart and wonder if we had done everything possible. January 19, 2001 at the Old Spaghetti Factory, in front of our families, we took our vows all over again! After five years of divorce, we embarked not just another chance of a lifetime of love and and putting our family back together, (our girls were 11 and 9 by now), we had to deal with the issues that haunted us and allow God to heal that brokeness. (Thanks to the Hill's for thier patiences and help!)
What a journey this has been. It has NOT been a journey of marital bliss, that is for sure! But, God has given us a love and determination to see this through. I am saying this because marriage is work but worth every minute of it! We both are having to go places with God that are both painful, but yet healing for ourselves before we can become the spouse we need to be for each other. In doing this, we are developing a deeper relationship with God that goes beyond the emotion of "feeling" but knowing HIM. It is what we should have done BEFORE we got married, but we didn't.
Yes, we still face bumps in the road and communicating is a foreign language to my dear sweet hubby, unless of course it's on a web page. :0) Relationships take a lifetime to build, we just didn't have the right tools way back when, all I know is God has given us a deep love that keeps us striving for the marriage we have been working so hard for! And for Nathan, he is worth all the work, and tears we have invested in the accumlative 22 years.
I love you Nathan, and am glad to be your first wife and your second!

My girls are the best daughters I could have dreamed about!
This year we have come through a very devestating year for our family. We thought the divorce was rough when you were little, but this was worse than anything we ever had to face as a family, but what the devil meant to destroy you girls, and tear our family apart, GOD has only brought us as a whole, closer than we have ever been! You two have become godly young ladies that desire nothing less than Gods best and that just thrills Dad and I!
And since neither one of you have a "special friend" this Valentines day, Dad and I want you to be ours!
We love you and are so proud of you!
So there, My Valentine is my hubby, whom I love!
And OUR Valentines are our girls, until God sends that someone special thier way!

How To Install Divine Love Computer Story

A call comes through on the customer service line.

Customer Service Rep: Yes, Ma'am, how can I help you today?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install divine love. Can you guide me through the process?

CS Rep: Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready to install now. What do I do first?

CS Rep: The first step is to open your HEART. Have you located your HEART ma'am?

Customer: Yes I have, but there are several other programs running right now. Is it okay to install while they are running?

CS Rep: What programs are running ma'am?

Customer: Let's see, I have PAST-HURT.EXE, LOW-ESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE, and RESENTMENT.COM DIVINE LOVE.com running right now.

CS Rep: No problem. LOVE will gradually erase PAST-HURT.EXE from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. LOVE will eventually overwrite LOW-ESTEEM.EXE with a module of its own called HIGH- ESTEEM.EXE. However, you have to completely turn off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. Those programs prevent LOVE from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ma'am?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

CS Rep: My pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke FORGIVENESS.EXE. Do this as many times as necessary until GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM have been completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done. LOVE has started installing itself automatically. Is that normal?

CS Rep: Yes. You should receive a message that says it will reinstall for the life of your HEART. Do you see that divine message?

Customer: Yes I do. Is it completely installed?

CS Rep: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Heart's in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops. I have an error message already. What should I do?

CS Rep: What does the message say?

Customer: It says "ERROR 412 - PROGRAM NOT RUN ON INTERNAL COMPONENTS." What does that mean?

CS Rep: Don't worry ma'am, that's a common problem. It means that the LOVE program is set up to run on external HEARTS but has not yet been run on your HEART. It is one of those complicated programming things, but in non-technical terms it means you have to "LOVE" your own machine before it can "LOVE" others. Customer: So what should I do?

CS Rep: Can you pull down the directory called "SELF-ACCEPTANCE"?

Customer: Yes, I have it.

CS Rep: Excellent. You're getting good at this.

Customer: Thank you.

CS Rep: You're welcome. Click on the following files and then copy them to the "MYHEART" directory: FORGIVE-SELF.DOC, REALIZE-WORTH.TXT, and ACKNOWLEDGE-LIMITATIONS.DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching any programming. Also, you need to delete SELF-CRITIC.EXE from all directories, and to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back, you will need to empty your recycle bin.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My HEART is filling up with new files. How divine it is now. SMILE.MPG is playing on my monitor right now and it shows that PEACE.EXE, and CONTENTMENT.COM are copying themselves all over my HEART. Is this normal?

C Rep: Sometimes. For others it takes a while, but eventually everything gets downloaded at the proper time. So, LOVE is installed and running. You should be able to handle it from here. One more thing before I go.

Customer: Yes?

CS Rep: LOVE is freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everybody you meet. They will in turn share it with other people and they will return some similarly cool modules back to you.

Customer: I will. Thanks for your help. By the way, what's your name?

CS Rep: You can call me the Divine Cardiologist, also known as The Great Physician. Most people feel all they need is an annual checkup to stay heart-healthy, but the manufacturer suggests a schedule of daily maintenance for maximum efficiency. Give a little love away ... keep in touch.

My Promise

Psalms 139 7-22a (The Message)

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go underground, you're there! If I flew on morning's wings to the far western horizon, You'd find me in a minute— you're already there waiting! Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I'm immersed in the light!" It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you. Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them— any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

This morning in worship we sang a song that has always ministered to me. It goes along with my promise scripture:

He knows my name

He knows my every thought

He sees each tear that falls

And He hears me when I call

As we were singing this, such a strong feeling of closeness to God came over me, then an overwhelming awesomeness that the God of the universe, who created the heavens and the earth, hang the stars in space, told the waters where to stand, made the animals and created man, knows me. Little insignificant me. The color of my hair, how many strands. How tall I am, my strengths and weakness. And when I call His name, He stops and says, "yes, April, I'm listening to you. What you have to say is so very important to me."

That is such an incredible thought.

Psalms 139 has been such an inspiration to me because in times of insecurity and contemplations, I have often wondered if God really has a plan for me. Does He really know I'm here, or was I really an mistake, and God just worked me into the schedule, so to speak.

The verse that counters my thinking and proves that God has a plan for each and every one of is :

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you,The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. "

Nope, God doesn't make mistakes. He intended on my life to count for His glory. He already had a plan while I was in my mothers womb. What an awesome thought. Although we may experience pain, disappointment, loss and abandonment, knowing that God is in control, He loves me and is holding me, I can continue on this journey.

I have a promise!!!!

God is Good

God has been so good to us! I just stand amazed when I step back and look at all the answers to pray that have come to pass.
Although there are still many questions without answers and prays yet in waiting, I trust. I have no reason not to!
The Bible gives us examples over and over again that God does what HE says HE will do. This is given to us for an example, something to prove His faithfulness.
God told Joshua many many times to "be strong and of a good courage", He knew that Joshua needed the gentle nudge that "hey Joshua, I am God and I WILL see you throught to the Promise Land!"
So today, I am trusting, and thanking God for all the answers to prayer that He has answered yesterday and today, because I KNOW He will answer the ones in waiting.
Because, Sis. Hill, Sis. Nancy, Nannette, Katrina, Candi....
"HE is an on time God, YES HE is....."