Esther 4:14

As I was reading the other night, God pointed me to this passage in the Bible:

“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” – Esther 4:14

This is SO powerful because I have known that I have a calling from God to reach out to this dark world for His glorious Kingdom, as we all do, and I have really been praying into exactly what he wants from me, as his faithful servant. I definitely know that direction, but it isn't fully clear yet as to when and how to take action. Money is a large portion of the wait, but I know God will provide me in His timing with all of the resources I need to take flight with this calling.

I just love the articulation, “you were made queen for just such a time as this” — we are called as followers of Christ to reach out in His name and not stay silent. This is such a relevant command, especially in the wake of the disaster our world is facing through these perilous times. We are to be queens & kings for Christ now more than ever . . . by that I mean LEADERS. We are to lead people to Christ and the abounding, endless love and hope that he has for all those called according to His purpose — that CAN be everyone if they choose!!

SO, get out there in this mess, don't try to hide or segregate yourselves and your family from what is going on now with the economy, government and society. We must dive in and radiate Christ’s light and help those in panic and need. The jobless, homeless, seniors who have lost all of their retirement money and many others come to mind. Seek these people out, and help them in Jesus' name. Pay for their dinner, help them look for a job, point them to the limitless resources of our merciful God. We are being called to serve a powerful purpose in such a time as this, so let's get out and show the weak, lonely, desperate, lost and so on, the love of our AWESOME God. You go, you Kings & Queens of Christ.

These are a few of my favorite things!

I have been wanting to do this for quite a while, so here it is. My faves roll, in no particular order:

Aveeno Baby Lotion (I even use it, it is amazing.)
It is rated with an overall health safety score of 2 0ut of 10 (the lower, the safer)


www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
Thorough resource to look up any hygiene/personal care product and see how safe (or unsafe) it is for you. It rocks! This is where I make most of my product decisions from.

Mrs. Meyer's Baby Room Freshening Spray
I use this daily in Noah’s room, on his car seat and even other places around the house. It is a safe version of Febreeze, and oh so fresh!


Mrs. Meyer's Lavender Cleaning Products
You can purchase the All-Purpose Cleaner, and dilute to make it into countertop spray, toliet cleaner, you name it! It will last a long time, and it makes me feel like a queen because it is such a rich and exquisite fragrance.

Head Organics Shampoo & Conditioner
Your hair will be sleek & shiny with no bad chemicals!


Apple iMac
This is my life!! Never will I ever use a pc.


Birds
They are a symbol of the freedom we have in Christ and how abundantly he provides for all creation


Blue Bell Cookies n Cream Ice Cream

Starbucks Non-Fat Decaf Peppermint Mocha WITH Whip

Magazines Magazines Magazines!
Martha Living • Domino • Southern Accents • Real Simple • Elle Decor • Parenting + More

Tom’s of Maine Apricot Deodorant - Aluminum Free
Aluminum is found is nearly all deodorants, and it has a huge link to breast cancer . . . this is a great and deliciously scented safe alternative.


www.retailmenot.com
The most amazing resource for online coupon codes!

Capri Blue Candles
Amazingly fragrant and decadent. (Volcano is my favorite, although they are all fabulous!)


That was fun! I will do more of these in future posts! Enjoy!

where did march go?

Well, yes, it has been insane!!! The month of March consisted of the following:
• coordinating outfits, etc for Noah's six month photo shoot
{Photography by Shan Renee}








• hosting a fabulous lingerie shower for my dearest friend Jennifer


• feeling like i was in college again at her bachelorette (no, i didn't drink, but
we did have a BLAST at Louie Louie's, a piano bar)
• hosting a booth at our church's The Titus Project, youth girls event
• LOTS of work, and I mean LOTS
• visit from my mommy (Gran) for a week!


• being overtaken by a terrible icky cold/ upper respiratory/ sinus infection
• Noah being sick with an upper respiratory infection
• visit from Mike, Nathan's dad (Grandpa to Noah) for a long weekend

• Nathan's birthday
• being in Jennifer's wedding


• trying to get this fabulous website done that i have been working on for over a year!!
• preparing for my dad's arrival this thursday

can you see??? However, I am feeling so blessed to have been able to have such a fabulous and busy month. In spite of what the world is trying to tell us, God is still God of the Universe, and I am refreshed at that encouraging reminder. He is bigger than our economy and personal woes. You go God!

Noah's first bouquet of flowers

My dad, Noah's Grandpo, sent him this adorable bouquet of flowers for Valentine's Day that was encased in a metal vintage fire truck! My dad said he got it for Noah for the truck, not really the flowers, but let me just tell you, that Noah BEYOND thoroughly enjoyed the flowers!! So, Dad, here is how much your grandson loved the gift . . . Love you lots!

Happy Valentine's Day from Noah and Zoe

He is the most precious blessing God could have ever given me. I have been exposed to way too many blogs and friends of friends that have babies that are very ill in the hospital, undergoing surgeries, fighting cancer . . . I don't know why God has exposed me to these, but it is an honor to pray fervently for these amazing families, who are completely relying on God's strength to get through. It also makes me thank God for Noah's health and safety, and I look at him with the most intense gratitude toward God. My heart aches literally for these families. I won't post links or anything to these families blogs, but please pray for them.

Noah is a true gem to me, and this Valentine's Day, I am at a loss for words to describe the gratefulness and love that I have for this precious boy. He is wearing a shirt in the photo that says, "Heartbreaker", and I mean, that boy just breaks my heart over HOW STINKIN ADORABLE he is!!!!! He has now been introduced to solid foods as of three days ago, and he is loving him some peas!!! He is such a great eater, and he just took to it immediately. He was like, "Why did you make me wait this long for this good stuff?!"

I wanted his Valentine's photo to be very red and lovey dovey!! I tried everything in my power to get Zoe on the couch next to him and pose for the photo, but she was much more into trying to get me to play with her toy. So, she didn't get in the photo. :(

Noah Thomas Hasse is the love of my life. I can't imagine one day without him, I don't even remember what life was like before him! The same thing goes for the most amazing husband in the entire world. Nathan is the keeper of my heart, and I am honored to be his wife. God is good. This Valentine's, I have a heart of gratitude. For my family, friends and most importantly, the God of the Universe. Happy Valentine's.

UPDATE ON TREY!!!

I talked to Sarah this morning, and Trey was in the OR ready for the biopsy, and the doctor came in and said at the last minute that there was no need to do it because his blood counts came way up (still low, but not of deep concern)!!! They think he could possibly have Parvo Virus.
They are going home from the hospital today, yippee!!! They have to go back on Thursday for another blood test.

So, keep praying for him, that he is healed of anything that is wrong in his body. Thank you so so much for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Sarah and the family are so grateful! Many blessings.

Please pray for my precious cousin, Trey . . .

So I only have 3 first cousins total — Sarah, Amy & Connor. My cousin Sarah's son Trey, was sick last week with a fever, so they took him to the doctor and had his blood tested. It turned out that all of his blood counts were low, so they admitted him to the Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH to run various tests to determine the cause. Well, all of those tests came back negative, and they did another blood test, which told them that his blood cells aren't replenishing themselves currently. He is going in for a bone marrow biopsy tomorrow morning, and we are praying that the result doesn't point to Leukemia, which is a possible cause of what is going on. Please pray for my precious family, Trey, Sarah, Todd (his brother), Austin (his step-brother), Kim (my aunt, Trey's grandma), Sean (Trey's dad), Sean (Trey's step-dad), Amy (Sarah's sister, my cousin), Valerie (Amy's daughter) & Ethan (Amy's son). We are a very close family, and these kids are really being affected by this. Please pray for a favorable outcome, but most importantly God's will in all of this. Pray for strength for Trey and also for his mommy, Sarah. Thank you so much.

In the photos, Trey is the adorable blonde on the right of his mom Sarah. Todd is behind her and Austin next to him. Sarah's hubby, Sean is left of her.

"Cast all your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22