MLK

Martin Luther King Jr. An amazing man. words cannot express all that he did for all people. so here are some of his own words.

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

A lie cannot live.

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

 

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.

via

*all quotes taken from here.

favorites from the week.

happy saturday friends! here are some favorites from this past week including both things i've found online and little things in my life :) [warning, there are a lot ;]

stunning photos of London over HERE

THIS adorable couple Christmas/winter shoot.

THESE gorgeous wedding photos that I LOVE

keep stepping.

getting and finding all kinds of wonderful new free food including Glutino's Gluten Free Chocolate Covered Pretzels. SO good!

got this album on Amazon for $2. some lovely holiday tunes.

yes.

Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer

watching Murder She Wrote and Monk with mom at night

Coldplay. a band I recently discovered. Viva La Vida is a favorite right now.

before i die.

Jennifer's inspiring post about being original. {not to mention that her photos are downright gorgeous. like the one above}

these 2 Tim Hawkins videos. hilarious.




 what are some of your favorites from this week?

*all photos that do not have a link are from pinterest.* 

I slept in till 11 this morning and that was very nice. I ate breakfast and I'm now spending my time relaxing. {i.e.-- being lazy on the computer ;} and then later tonight I'm babysitting. what are YOU doing today?

much love♥

thankful.

Hey all! thank you all for your get well wishes! After switching medicines because of an allergic reaction and lots of rest and cough drops, the strep is all gone :) I have to say I'm glad to get back into a regular routine after a week of craziness! I can hardly believe its ALMOST December! goodness gracious!

back to Thanksgiving, i'm linking up with the ABC's of Thanks over at Finding Joy.
here's what I'm thankful for! {with the exception of family, friends, God, food etc. because they are kinda a given ;}

A-Advent

B- Batman

C-Christmas

D-down blankets/comforters

E-every time my dad says i love you

F-Feeling inspired

G-Green Bay Packers

H- hoodies

I-inside jokes

J-just being yourself

K-kind words

L- late nights

M- movies

N-new clothes

O-Olympics

P-Puzzles

Q-Quotes

R-raspberries

S-Sundays

T- today

U-U.S.

V-vegetable soup

W-wild berry lemonade

X-{i cannot think of anything for this one}

Y-{Greek} yogurt

Z-zoo

I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving! 

well i'm off to enjoy some yummy homemade turkey(left over from thanksgiving) vegetable soup! :) 

much love♥

thanksgiving & Christmas and some friday favorites

hope you all are having a good friday night! it made smile to read the comments on my last post knowing i have some sundtrack loving soul sisters out there ;)

 when did thanksgiving just happen to be less than 1 week away already?! really. and please don't start even start about Christmas quite yet{which is only around 36 days away! but still.} . i LOVE Christmas. love it. and I really want to savor the time and enjoy. after Thanksgiving. It seems like every year thanksgiving keeps getting pushed further and further back on every one's burner. its all about Christmas. yes while it is super special, thanksgving is too. its a day set aside to specifically thank God for the many things He's given us. Let me dwell on that for a little while then after thanksgiving i'll join in all the Christmas cheer and fun ;) anywho, those are my thoughts. What do you think about all this thanksgiving/Christmas jazz?


here are a few favorite things from this week.

from pinterest

from pinterest

loving THIS post on Jessica's blog tonight.

i wanna go here. 

sang this song at church on sunday. powerful.





how are you gonna spend your weekend? Well tonight I'm finishing up chatting with my dear friend while listening to some Lecrae(take a listen.) and now I'm off to go watch some tv. And tomorrow I'm hoping to spend time with my family and getting some things done here and there :)

happy weekend friends! 

♥Samarah

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!

We give God all the glory and thanks for all of our blessings in this country.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and have a great day! :)

God Bless America! :)

much love♥
Samarah

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my amazing dad! You're the best! I love you so much! 


And Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there, keep up the good work ;) 

and lets remember that our Heavenly Father always loves us so awesomely. all the time.

much love♥
Samarah

Happy Memorial Day!

via

thank you to all those who have, are and will sacrifice their lives and so much for this country. for our freedom. And the lets not forget those people's families.they sacrifice a lot also.You all are loved, respected and appreciated. so much. Your service to God and us is often taken for granted. and sometimes only thought of on Memorial Day and so my prayer is that I will never take for granted what many amazing men and women are doing for this country. for the people. for God. for me.
thank you from the bottom of our hearts.



I'm off to watch an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford and do laundry :) Then I'm gonna workout and then {hopefully}work on some school. Then hang out for the rest of the day and spend time with my family and eat some yummy food! :)

Happy Memorial day! 

I hope you have a great day!

much love♥♥

happy valentine's day :)

Hope you all are having a wonderful day spending time with those you love! 

*all pictures taken by me*

CrAzY lOvE

 (it was a bit hard to get all my thoughts together, so I apologize if the post it a little jumbled :/ )

I'm challenging myself to show some Crazy Love and I wanted to share it with y'all and Valentine's Day is a perfect time :]

So... Hawk Nelson came out with this awesome song called Crazy Love. I. love.it. I bought it the day it released. And its so thought provoking and has a special message to me. take a listen to it if you haven't heard it and then move on ;) its a funky unique music video, I laughed out loud when I first watched it!




How neat are those lyrics??

They say it sounds insane
We say that we've been changed
By the power of
Crazy Love
This world, it looks at us
Like we're ridiculous
Baby, it's all because
Of Crazy Love

 I've been convicted about this topic- crazy love. I feel God is using this song and movement to get me out of my comfort zone a bit and serve and glorify HIM by showing crazy love.
We, as Christians are called to love others (especially non Christians). with a special crazy love. To show mercy and grace to others. As a church and individually. God loves us unconditionally, why can't we show some crazy love to others?! I know, personally, I have a particular person that I have a hard to time loving. Because they are have a completely different personality and honestly I really don't have a desire to show them love. let's be honest.... there are some people in our lives that aggravate us so bad and annoy us, we don't like those people and don't want to get to know them. We can think of hundreds of reasons why they don't deserve love. Sometimes I just think "oh someone else can show them love" or "I don't have time". but I don't have any excuses for not showing that person love. I need to love them and show them grace.  This is world may look at us like we're out of our minds when we love our enemies but we know we are glorifying a mighty God :)

Love one another with brotherly affection. outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:10 & 11

So I thought that around Valentine's Day is a great time to start the challenge! to show crazy love and grace to that particular person and others. and when people ask why we are doing it, we can say because of God's great love and mercy to us :)  I want to be so in love with Christ that I can show this world crazy love! will you join me?? :]
 

Happy Valentine's Day! :) 

with love,

Samarah

{2011, a new year}

wait, what?! 2010 is almost over?! I can hardly believe but I'm looking forward to what 2011 will bring. 2010 was a tough year for me because of my health but I've also grown a lot. I've discovered how true that quote "when we are at our weakest God is strongest ( or something like that!) is. God allowed me to become so weak, physically and emotionally, so that I had to rely on Him for strength. Looking back, I only see how God has brought me through this year and  He gave me love to show to others. There were days when I just stayed in bed because I felt so bad and I thought I wouldn't survive another day. I cried out to Him for any glimpse of hope or strength. He answered me with love,hope and joy! He said you can survive with my strength I learned that there is no darkness in Christ. I am a new creation in Him. That gave me so much hope and I still have some days when I don't want to get out of bed but He gives me strength to keep going. Knowing that He is in control and He is all powerful gives me joy. God has each of us right where we wants us to be, even when we don't understand why. He loves you and me and He has a special plan for each of us. In Him there is hope, love,joy and strength.

I've also discovered how much I love my friends! God has brought some really awesome people into my life to love. My friends are the sunshine on those gray days, they pray for me, encourage and make me laugh. I'm so blessed to go through life with them :)

My 2010 "word" was love (read the post here) I've struggled with loving some certain people in my life because they are so different from me. but its those people that I need to love. God has brought them into my life for a reason. I heard this in my youth group a while ago, you don't have to be best friends with everyone and if you only love them because they were created in God's image then so be it. I do "love" them because God has created them but I want to love them for more than that. It goes against ,y sin nature but it doesn't go against God's will. I pray that God would give me love to give to others, to the people that I don't really "like". That is a testimony of Christ. I strive to be a testimony of Christ's love.

I'm excited to see what God has in store for me and you in 2011!
Hope you have a great night with your family and friends!

Happy New Years dear friends!

with love,

Samarah

Christmas bible verse :)

Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'

~ Matthew 1:23, NLT

Merry Christmas!

with love,
Samarah

how could I forget??

How could I possibly forget (even after I talked about it with my mom and dad just a few nights ago) that today, yes the 4th of July, is our dog's birthday??!! I don't know how I did... but at least I remembered before the day was over ;) Our sweet, lovable and wonderful Bailey is 10 years old today :)

either in 2005 or 2006




Sometime in 2007, my grandma took this picture and I love it! :)




This past Christmas... she loves snow!




This year... isn't she adorable?! ;)



Do you see how her muzzle got grayer over the years?? it just got lighter and lighter, now its all gray :)

Bailey really is the best dog. I know people always say that their dog is the best but we've really been blessed with ours :) We got her from some friends that had to move away so they gave her to us, they had gotten her before they had their first baby so she grew up around kids :) She is very gentle and friendly :) She loves to be wherever you are like right now everyone is in the living room/kitchen and she laying right in the middle of the living room :) and earlier she was laying behind the computer chair while I was beginning this post. She also can be very stubborn and ornery!! Sometimes she won't come in from outside for my dad so another family member has to call her in.... or you'll scold her and she'll turn her head away and pretend not to hear you :P She's full of personality and we love her bunches!! I pray that God will continue to give her good health so we can spend many more years with her :D

Happy 4th of July!!


I hope you all are having a great day with your family and friends :)

We have reasons to thank God and celebrate, not only for the freedom in this country but the freedom that Jesus Christ gave us when he died on the cross!! Freedom from our sins! :)

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

~ John 8:36, NLT

Thank you also to all the men and women who served, are serving and will serve this country! Thank you!! :)

This is a song we sang in church this morning. There's nothing we can say except "thank you" for all that God has done for us!



I come before You today, and there's just one thing that I want to say
Thank You, Lord, thank You, Lord For all You've given to me, for all the blessings that I cannot see
Thank You, Lord, thank You, Lord
With a grateful heart, with a song of praise, With an outstretched arm I'll bless Your Name and

Thank You, Lord, I just want to thank You, Lord


For all You've done in my life, You took my darkness and gave me Your light
Thank You, Lord, thank You, Lord
You took my sin and my shame, You took my sickness and healed all my pain
With a grateful heart, with a song of praise With an outstretched arm I'll bless Your Name and
Thank You, Lord, thank You, Lord


With a grateful heart, with a song of praise
With an outstretched arm I'll bless Your Name and


Thank You, Lord, I just want to thank You, Lord

~ Thank You Lord by Paul Baloche

Have a great rest of the day!!

Happy Mother's Day

Well we're back from visiting Sarahlynn and her wonderful family, we got home this morning around 7:00 AM. We drove through the night ( we stopped twice so that my mom could rest) and I can say that last night was the longest night of my life! My mom has been asleep since around 8:30 because probably the last hour or so of the trip she could hardly keep her eyes open, she was SO tired but she stayed awake.. she continues to amaze me with her abilities :) which leads me to my Happy Mother's Day post! (I know this post is late but better late than never right?! ;)

I want to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom! She is the best mom any 3 kids could ask for! She is always there for me now matter what, she is my biggest cheerleader!! ( after God of course ;) She always has something encouraging to say to me when I'm down or don't think I can do something. She always has love to offer my little brother, my little sister, my dad and I. I could go on and on but I won't because you probably wouldn't read it all, so basically my mom is amazing, the best and I'm SO thankful and blessed that God gave her to me and my family!

I love you Mom!

and to all of you Mom's out there.... thanks for all you do! :)

He is not here.... He has RISEN

I look around in the world and its so sad to see that people have "covered up" the real reason for Easter with the ( in my opinion scary) easter bunny, colored eggs, candy etc. purposely ignoring the real reason for the day. I'm not saying that those things are bad and you should not do them but just don't let those distract you from the real reason. I know, its hard but God didn't promise that this life would be easy, He promised that He would be there for us when it gets hard to keep focused on Him. Well I would call Easter a hard time to keep our hearts and minds on Jesus Christ! Let this Easter be one filled with thoughts about the real reason for Easter and joy because God loved us SO much that He sent His Son to die for us! I read this post on Lexi's blog Choosing to Wait and loved it.

So lets celebrate the Risen Lord that is very alive and real in the world today!
He is the light in this dark world and we need to have faith in HIM and be a light for HIM.

( I do not own this image)

I hope you all have a very blessed Easter!

Love,
Samarah

saturday saturday how come you went by so fast?

I feel like today just flew by! I guess it could be because I spend most of the day laying on the couch and watching the Olympics :) My head is hurting really bad again and my ears have started hurting again :( yesterday I felt pretty good, I exercised and we had friends over but last night I began to feel bad again. I'm praying that I will begin to have more days like yesterday :D

I forgot to mention that because I deleted my Photobucket account my blog button is gone so for those of you who took my button and put it on your blog, it won't be there anymore! I'm working on finding another site and making another blog button :)

And I found a tutorial on how to get a scrolling button gadget! I found it on Robin Blogs . I've been looking for one because I've got a lot of blog buttons and it saves a lot of space on your blog and its just cool!

I'm going say this because you probably won't read this at least until tomorrow ( maybe?)
Happy Valentines Day!
I hope you have a wonderful day spending time with the people you love!

I also watched the full music video of We are the World this morning at the beginning of today's Olympic events, it was really good. I loved how they got so many different singers and brought them all together to record this song!
Here's the full music video:





The people of Haiti are in my prayers and I hope they are in yours too :)

~Samarah