Hoppy Easter

Answered Prayer

Over the Christmas break, Mali made the decision to ask Jesus into her heart. She was very adamant and genuine about this decision. At the same time, she started asking when she could get baptized. Eric, Mali and I met with one of the children's ministers at our church and decided to just give it some more time to make sure Mali was really sure of what she was doing. I ended up telling Mali that when the Holy Spirit told her in her heart to be baptized then that was when it was time. Mali was asking me frequently when she was going to get baptized, but we were just waiting. Last Sunday, Mali told me that her heart was telling her to be baptized. This was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Eric and I still were not sure what to do. Last night we talked some and then this morning I spent a lot of time just praying and asking God for wisdom. When we got to church, there was a handout in the bulletin about a church-wide baptism service. I smiled a little wondering if that was an answer. But then the SERMON was on baptism!!! God definitely gave us wisdom, clarity and specifically answered my prayers. He is certainly a personal God that cares about each one of our prayers! Eric filled out the baptism card for Mali and we got to tell her that it she will get to be baptized on April 11, 2010.

• Romans 6:

• 1.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

• 2.
• By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

• 3.
• Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

• 4.
• We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

• 5.
• If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

• 6.
• For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--

• 7.
• because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

The End

I’m now officially 30. There is really NO denying it or avoiding it or stopping time. I’ve decided I better just embrace it. I’ve loved my 20’s. My 20’s brought so much change in my life, tremendous change, and as in the previous post TREMENDOUS pruning. God has used so many events in my 20s to change me and make me more like Him. At times it has been horribly painful and at other times unimaginably joyful. My teens had been squandered and I had rejected the inheritance of my heavenly Father, but my 20’s brought reconciliation and so much growth. God showed me his tremendous love for me and has carried me through these years so lovingly and graciously. Maybe this is why I hate to see them go, but I’m guessing that means there is even more of God’s love to come my way and I can’t even begin to imagine what HE will do. I’ve had several friends already turn 30 and have read through their blog posts summarizing their 20s, so I thought that I would summarize my 20s with my “names” during my 20s.
20-Brie White-this was my last full year as Brie White. I had a hard time leaving this name behind because it had been my identity for so long, especially growing up with another Bry in Ouray.
20-Brie White Gomez-jokingly. Stephanie Chaumont just thought it was hilarious to refer to me as this when I became engaged. Something about the combo of White and the Mexican last name. I graduated from my undergrad with the name Brianna White on my diploma.
21-Mrs. Brie Gomez-I got married. It took a while to adjust to the name change but I was so excited to marry Eric and be his wife.
22-Mrs. Gomez-my girls at New Directions could never understand how I was a Gomez. But I really believe that having Gomez as my last night bridged the ethnic gaps I encountered in my counseling internship and definitely gave me a leg up with these hardhearted girls. I loved my internship and becoming a therapist.
23-Brie-I started an amazing job at Buckner as a therapist and was simply Brie…called that way by my clients and my wonderful co-workers. I graduate from Graduate school with the name Brianna Gomez.
Coach Gomez’s wife-Eric started coaching and I became a Coach’s wife. I love being a Coach's wife, even when it is hard. I'm honored to be the one that gets to stand beside him and support him as he coaches.
24-Mommy-The sweetest name EVER!!! I had no idea how special and wonderful this name would sound. I’ve spent the rest of my 20s getting more and more acquainted with this name and enjoying it's sound even more. Those sweet sweet moments of hearing "mamamama" for the first time is a treasure in my heart.
25-Mali’s mom-as Mali grew, I grew into the identity of Mali’s mom. I’ve LOVED it! Also, Miss Brie. As we gained Mommy friends we taught our children to refer to each other as Miss Beth, Miss Brie, Miss Stephanie, and Miss Melissa.
26-27-Ummm, I can’t really think of new ones for these years, but a continuation of Coach Gomez’s wife and Mali’s mommy. Brandon’s sister-when he came home from Nepal we got to spend more and more time together, as I introduced him to people or he introduced me to people, my name was "Brandon's sister".
28-Again, Coach Gomez’s wife as we moved to Amarillo and got to know a new coaching staff, kids and parents. Megan’s sister-as we met their friends and they took us under their wing when we moved here. Miss Brie- to my client that I was privileged to work with for nearly two years. Sister in law-Jordan married and I was a sister in law.
29-Mommy AGAIN!!!!:) I’m now Eleri’s mommy too and a mommy to all girls. Aunt Brie-Jordan and Chrissy had Jove and I became Aunt Brie. I'm also Aunt Brie to their other children Shayna, Austin and Robert. Sister-in-law to be-Brandon got engaged and I so look forward to having a new sister in law...Liza.

I remember that this praise song was sort of my motto for the beginning of my 20's at least. I'm not sure that I achieved it, but it is still my desire and I do know that I have followed HARD after Jesus!

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me on magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your dicsiple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after you
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in the truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you

Lord to know and follow hard after you
And to grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

Today during worship at church, I was wondering what praise song would be my motto for my 30s. These are the words of one of the praise songs today, so maybe this is it! I have failed in my twenties, thousands of times, and I will fail in my 30s thousands of times but I do know that God's mercy remains and that it is all ultimately for His glory. And my 20s taught me that!
A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Chorus 2x
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out
A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Chorus 2x
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Chorus 2x
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out
Here is also a picture of Eleri and I in my first picture in my 30s (I look SOO old). Mali was refusing to take a picture with us! I'm so thankful for ALL that God has done and given me in my 20s...it has been a special decade...maybe that's why I hate to see the end.


(This turned into a super long post...I guess that is what happens when you get to blog on your birthday while the house is quiet...and yes if you read my earlier post, that means Eleri finally went to sleep).

St. Patrick's Day

I really didn't capture much on St. Patrick's Day. But we worked in the yard, all wore green, made strawberry muffins and ate strawberries. I also learned a little bit about the spiritual meaning of St. Patrick's Day.

"Daily Prayer" of St Patrick:
St. Patrick's Breastplate
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Pruning

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away ; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches ; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing . "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love ; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. John 15:1-
During BSF this semester, we have been studying John and just recently studied John 15. We talked and learned about how God prunes us. I’ve heard and studied this passage before, but the Bible really is “new every morning” and this time I really got it. This was a huge eye opener to me and my prayer has been that God would help me to see the moments that He is using to prune me. We learned that the pruning that Jesus is talking about sometimes refers to areas that seem good in us. Even though these “parts” may be good qualities and not necessarily unhealthy ones (such as bad language, anger, etc.) they still get pruned away so that we can look just like our Lord. One character trait of mine that seems good to be is my independence but I can see how He has pruned this away over time. I’ve also tried to be aware of how Eleri not sleeping or taking her naps well has helped in this pruning process (not that she is screaming at the top of her lungs in her crib right now refusing to take her nap on my birthday or anything;)). At this moment or season of life, I can’t exactly see the fruit of the pruning, but I know its happening, or that I at least have the choice of allowing God’s pruning away to shape me to look more like Him. I’m trying to be aware of it, and sort of embrace the daily difficulties of babies not sleeping, dishes not being put up, fits, tantrums, disrespect from my big girl…all as ways that I can choose to react in ways that please God and bring Him honor and take on His characteristics. Certainly not always easy, but knowing that all these minor trials have purpose certainly makes the endurance part easier! Thank you Jesus for pruning me in this past decade.

My Day

Beth recently wrote this post, and encouraged me to do the same.

My schedule (on good days, the past two days have been bad days, i.e. Eleri waking at 5:37am and then 5:45am today)

6:45am-Wake up, drink coffee and work on my bible study and quiet time. Get dressed if I have time.
7:30-8:00-Girls wake up. I cuddle with them both on the couch for a little bit. Change Eleri’s diaper.
8:30-make breakfast. Feed Eleri yogurt/oatmeal and “encourage” Mali to come eat.
After breakfast and by 9:00am-Eleri dressed, Mali encouraged to get dressed/brush hair/brush teeth. Leave the girls to play “together” while I go get dressed.
9:15ish-do some sort of chore. Cleaning up after breakfast, unloading dishwasher if Eleri isn’t around to climb on it, or starting laundry. Go to Wal-mart on Days we need to.
On THURSDAY-Rush to BSF (Bible Study) until 11am.
10:00-attempts to play/read/spend time with girls and simultaneously clean/pick up. Check mail and maybe spend time outside if the weather is nice like it has been lately.
11:00-lunch time. Get lunch made for girls and eat myself. Enjoy a nice, big glass of Dr. Pepper (or rather Dr. Thunder).
11:50-Tuesday, Weds, Thursday get girls rounded up and in the car.
12:00-leave the house to take Mali to preschool.
12:10-12:15-drop Mali off at preschool. Sometimes take Eric his lunch he has forgotten.
SOMETIMES Eleri falls asleep in the car…this is a problem because she ends up not taking a good enough nap. So….
1-2pm- I clean the house and pick up if Eleri naps. If she doesn’t nap, I spend time trying to play with her and multitasking. We might even spend time outside.
2:45-get Eleri in the car to go to preschool.
3:10-pick up Mali!!!! Come home and give the girls a snack. Spend some time talking to Eric if he happens to come home between school and practice.
3:45-About two days a week, a babysitter will come and I will go see a client until 4:45pm. Also, if Eric has in town games we go to these at 4:00 once a week.
5:00-start making dinner.
5:30-eat dinner. We eat SOOOO early, Eleri would really eat at 4:30 if I would let her.
6:00-right after dinner, I take the girls straight to the bath. I let them play for a while in the bath. After bath, we lotion, dress and brush teeth.
6:30-7:30ish-playing and having fun as a family. If the girls are playing together I might go clean up the kitchen.
7:30-7:45-rock Eleri to sleep.
8:00-Spend time with Mali cuddling on the couch or helping her pick up her room.
8:30-Read books to Mali and then it is Mali’s bedtime.
8:45-9:00-clean up the kitchen. I “shine my sink” and start the dishwasher if I need to. Sweep and mop.
9:00-9:30-work out with the Wii
9:30-I shower. After I shower, Eric and I do our “Night Light” devotional. Then I go to bed as soon as I can…maybe by 10 or 10:30!

Paradox of Parenting

This is the paradox of parenting. These days things are so difficult and I feel like I'm going to barely make it through the day, but these days are so wonderful and it brings me so much joy to tuck my babies in to bed at night and I look forward to seeing them in the morning. Eleri is in the get-into-everything phase. I try and tell myself that she is learning, but I also tell myself now is not the time to give up Dr. Pepper. I shot these videos yesterday, after church. These are all the messes that Eleri made/got into in about 7 hours. And in the middle of cleaning all of these messes up, I also managed to make soup from scratch, get the laundry done, and drink a Dr. Pepper that my loving husband brought to me! I LOVE my girls and LOVE being a mommy and LOVE being a stay at home mom, but it is also sooo hard some days! Cleaning up messes can be very taxing! And truthfully, Dr. Pepper does not sustain me but God is who really sustains when the days are hard, the tears are frequent and the messes are plentiful.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com