Hawaii trip

Thought I would share a glimpse into my thanksgiving vacation. It was absolutely amazing, consisting of gorgeous turquoise water, spectacular views (especially on the 25th floor;)), lots of eating and dancing, and amazing company (my family) enjoying the aloha spirit!
Here are some pics! Enjoy!

It was my parents 30th anniversary...their gift to us!

On the plane to Oahu!

Shaking some booty at the Luau!

The luau...

View after a great hike up Diamond Head

My beautiful family

My brother, his wife and my niece (to come)

Dancing the night away on the dinner cruise

Enjoying the night air at the Polynesian center

Pearl Harbor

AND AMAZING SUNSETS....how beautiful is the Lord's handiwork?

new hair cut

I haven't had my hair touched in two years...so, i thought that i should get a bit of a trim. Here's a picture.

Surprise Disco Party

We surprised our friend with a 70's/80's disco party last night. It was great! We even "karaoke'd" one of my all time fav's..."stop in the name of love." I saw, for the first time, platform shoes with goldfish in them...wow, what style.

Dustin off my sewing machine

My hubby had given me a very nice sewing machine for my birthday, eh...let's say...2 years ago. I had high hopes of learning how to sew and starting my own fashion line. Have you seen the latest chacha jeans in your local JC Penney? Yeah, didn't happen. Sooo, yesterday, I pulled that bad boy out for the very first time and attempted the impossible...literally. I had gotten beautiful material and a pattern for a purse a year or so ago and decided to start on that. I'm still trying to figure out what happened. Thought I'd give you a glimpse into my evening!

Late night laughs

Oh my gracious! Este and I just got back from our friends' house. What a night! We started out pretty normal...eating that is. We had wonderful chicken burritos and a salad with amazing homemade dressing. After the men separated and got their "computer time" in and us girls got our talking out, we came together to battle with domino's. I have hated even the thought of domino's for the past 2 years b/c of one bad experience I had...BUT tonight completely sold me on the game. I laugh a lot throughout most of my days...I just find a lot of fun in life...but tonight, it just blew the can off of laughter. Even my hubby could barely catch his breath between roars. I'm so thankful for friendships...friendships straight from the hand of God.

BROKERS TEST ...ppffff

I took my brokers test today and I thought it went okay. Okay is meaning I thought that I had a chance of passing it. It was 200 questions and I have to get 75 or better. It will be 5-12 days until the results are mailed to me. I was in pretty high spirits until I came home and looked over some of the material I had questions on. Yeah, I feel quite bummed now. I don't think it's a pride thing...I think I just don't wanna take it over for 2 reasons:
1. I will have to spend more money
2. It was a doggone long test! I really don't wanna study and take it again.
I have already jotted down things that I need to go over more for next time. Bummer.

Trip to the dentist

I went to the dentist yesterday and it was, surprisingly, a good experience...mainly because of the dental hygienist I had. She was an older woman who took time with me and told me more about what I need to do and why I need to do it than any other dentist I ever have had.
Anyways, from my previous trips to the dentist, I already knew that I still had two baby teeth and no permanent teeth under them. Kinda interesting. Well, the last couple of months I started wondering if I just happened to miss the time that my wisdom teeth came in. Most people moan and groan as their wisdom teeth are surfacing. I don't remember ever having that. I thought, "well, maybe b/c I am made of Sprouse blood, that's why it didn't hurt so bad." My curiosity got the best of me, so yesterday I thought I would go ahead and ask how many wisdom teeth I have. The doctor looked in my mouth and told me that I had none showing in my mouth and she would go check my x-rays. Nope! She looked at me and said, "Man, you got jipped a total of six teeth!" Okay God, did you think I had enough wisom already? heheee. Yeah, I know...no comments please.
Even though I'm missing a few things I should have had, it actually is better for me b/c I don't have them. I don't have to worry about the pain of them, the crowding of them, or even the surgery that lots of people require because of them. How true is this about other things in our lives that other people have and we think we want them or actually should have them. Maybe God mysteriously blesses us and keeps us from pain by not even letting us have them to deal with. Thank you Lord for your wisdom...and thanks for my lack of wisdom.........teeth:)

5k

So, my friend Lisa and I ran in a 5k race yesterday before church. It was amazing! I thought I would share some clips. Cheesy but fun. Running/walking in a race is great motivation to keep going. If you would like to know some upcoming races, let me know and I will hook you up!

Race for the Cure

Yesterday I ran my first 5k. I thought I would post a picture of my excitement before the race. My last race I was so nervous I was thinking of ways to get out of running but this time, while I did have some butterflies, I was also real excited. I'm hoping to get some video clips up of the race and my pre-workout that I was digging! If they are not posted here, you can look on www.tifiny-healthjournal.blogspot.com.

I'll roll the stone away!

I think that we all know the story of when Jesus called out to Lazarus and He came out in his grave clothes alive. Wow, what a scene. But as I was reading today, something struck me that had never struck me before in my other times of reading this story. If Jesus had the power to raise Lazarus from the dead, didn't He have the power to remove the stone? Of course He could have...but was He looking for faith and obedience in the women?
I stopped to think about how many times in my life I pray to God to bring me out of the grave, to put new life in me, to pull me out of my trouble...and maybe all He's waiting for is me to push that stone away. For me to take that step of faith and obey... to give Him that part of my heart that's keeping me in the grave. OR maybe God's waiting for me to roll that stone away so that somebody else can walk out of the grave. Lord, I'm ready to roll it away!

I passed!

Yay! I passed my appraiser's exam. After paperwork is done, I will be a licensed trainee appraiser! I can check that off my new years resolution list.

Here is Stebby and me at Petco Park this past Tuesday. We got invited to go watch the Padres with free tickets from a friend of ours. It was a lot of fun. Go Padres!

Waterholic

My name is Tifiny. T-I-F-I-N-Y...and I'm addicted to water. I'm thankful for the workers at Costco and my husband for supporting my addiction. Their helping hands to carry my water has furthered my habit. Oh how I appreciate them.


(If you can't tell, I just watched an episode of Intervention.)
(I also went to Costco today and grabbed 4 huge cases of water...but a worker helped me load them in the car and my hubby unloaded them from the car. Helping hands are great. My faith in men has prevailed:))

Some...

things I love...just cause.
1. Waking up to a cool morning
2. Seeing people laugh/smile
3. Chai Tea
4. Dancing
5. Finding "treasures" in the Bible
6. Playing games
7. P&W music
8. Skiing
9. David Crowder Band
10. Christmas
11. Books by Francine Rivers
12. Getting magazines in airports
13. Looking at pictures
14. Strawberries
15. Gum
16. My hubby, family and friends
17. The mall
18. Watching home videos
19. Waking up next to my husband
20. Getting surprises in the mail
21. My dad and mom's answering machine message
22. Birthdays
23. Eating healthy and exercising (love/hate relationship)
24. Encouraging people to exercise/ eat right
25. The shows : biggest loser, american idol, and lost
26. Bible study groups
27. Grandma's thanksgiving dinner
28. Singing
29. Running in a race :)
30. Laughing
31. Gumball machines
32. Playing pranks
33. Listening to Jacob Prasch teachings in car w/ hubby
34. Being challenged to do something
35. Cuddling to a good movie
36. Excitement before goin on a trip
37. Going back to WV for visits
38. Living in cali
39. Traveling to new places
40. A made bed
41. Nice hotel rooms
42. Clean house
43. The beach
44. A full fridge
45. Talking to the Lord
46. Surprises
47. Seeing the stars in the sky
48. Massages/facials/pedicures
49. Eating out
50. Learning something new
51. Thai food (red curry and rice)
52. Heart to heart talks
53. Weekends
54. Making new friends
55. Reminiscing
56. Accomplishing something
57. Cashews
58. Jacuzzis
59. Being with the kids on Sunday
60. Rainy days with nothing to do
Just thought you'd like to know.

need a lil love

Today has been a bit of a rough one. I am left writing this with a puffy face, a drained spirit, and squinty eyes. I know that God has stretched me a lot in the last couple of years...but I have a feeling He's not done yet. I'm a planner, I like to have things figured out. But the Lord says "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways." Is. 55:8. Well, that leaves me with a bit of a problem doesn't it.
I'm in a place right now where I don't know if God wants my trust and faith in Him to grow, if He's leading us to a completely different place in our lives/walks with Him, or if I need some "chastening" (My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives Heb 12...Now no chastening seems joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it)
Yes I am positive that the first and third are a definite. I feel like saying "God please just tell me what I'm going to go through or where we are going to end up...so I can prepare and then I'll be okay to go through whatever" Yeah, actually I have said that to Him. But then there's my lack of trust and faith in Him. Bummer.
I do want the Lord to teach me, correct me, and lead me into the way everlasting. I want to be all His.
So there I was, a ball of tears with a husband praying over me...and in that moment I felt this strong emotion of thankfulness. I started thanking the Lord for my husband and the heart he has for Jesus. I'm thankful for Jesus too.
You are welcome to pray for me...that's how you can give me a lil love:)

another wonderful weekend

I had, once again, a great weekend! Friday night Este and I acted like old people and stayed indoors and just hung out not doing much of anything. On Saturday morning I woke up and ran 5 miles and then we headed to the beach! We heard an amazing teaching from Jacob Prasch on the way there! He was jokingly saying that in heaven he thinks we are all going to have middle names....and they are all going to be Barabbas He went on to say that it was a perfect picture of us and Jesus. He took the place of a guilty man and the guilty man was set free! Ponder that for a moment. Thank you Lord for your sacrifice!
Anyways the beach was absolutely perfect. No clouds, a gentle breeze, and great company. We actually went back to the beach where I saw my first sunset over the ocean while we were dating. We also went back to the same restaurant we ate at that night. We tanned in our chairs as we people watched, played in the water, threw the frisbee and played tic tac toe in the sand. I went home smiling.
Today we went to church and it was great! Read Romans 2 and you'll be thankful for the Lord's goodness on sinners! Then we were invited by some friends to go to a huge mall about 45 minutes away. I was very quick in agreeing to go. I love the mall. Anyways, my friend Sarah and I are both cheapos but we were bad influences on each other. Getting home I think, "and why did I buy this?" But it was a wonderful day with tons of laughs and fellowship.
Looks like next weekend is gonna be another great one. Been invited to karaoke and dancing. Praise the Lord for weekends!

my voice...

Yeah, so one of the things I'm a lil bit self conscious of is my voice. I'm learning to deal but things like this really take me down a few notches...
So a woman from a financial institute called wanting to talk to one of my distant cousins...well actually este's...and wanted her info. I started telling her that I wasn't going to give out her info and to stop calling me. She then proceeded to say, "Is there an adult around that I could speak to?" lol. I said in a stern but "child-like" tone, "I am an adult!"
Geesh, the nerve of some people!

God's whistle

Este and I are reading through the book of Isaiah. Last night we were reading chapter 5 and I found the coolest thing ever! God whistles! I just love that. It's also in chapter 7 as well. Obviously there is a lot more important stuff going on in these chapters but I just grabbed hold of the thought of my Lord whistling. Just one more characteristic of Him I can add to the list...The Lord Whistles :)

Labor Day

The weekend was full of studying, relaxation, and fun...and I'm sad it's over!
Este and I are both taking a big appraiser's exam this month. So a couple times over the week we went to starbucks and wings n things to study. We also went bowling this weekend with some friends and both earned a 20 minute massage. What's the fun in bowling if you don't have some bets? After bowling, we played texas holdem and I was the first one out..surprise surprise. Finally, to top off the weekend, we went to the beach with some friends yesterday. We had a great time EXCEPT for the part of me getting pummeled by a wave and standing up...not realizing that my swimsuit wasn't "in tact"...if you know what I mean. Yeah, trying not to think about it. Other than that, it was wonderful. Thank the Lord for long weekends!

Waking up feeling ALIVE

I woke up this morning after a wonderful rest and just felt amazing! Probably for one of the first times in my life do I really appreciate the blessing of waking up and not feeling a heaviness on me. I feel so blessed to just be feeling good. Over the last week, I have been trying to pray the ACTS prayer. Adore the Lord in His attributes, Confess or name out your sins, Thank the Lord for things in your life and Supplication...praying for pple, yourself, etc. I have realized just how good the Lord is and how much I should be thankful for in my life.
Yesterday my husband and I were in LA doing an appraisal and we accidentally ran into a puddle of wet, white paint on the road. We get out and the paint is all splashed up on the car and yada yada. Bummer! My first fleshly reaction is to get mad and let this ruin my day. But then, I believe it was the Lord, touched my heart and kinda hit me on the head. I thought that if this was the worst thing that happens to us today, we are doin pretty good! Also, we had just listened to a teaching an hour earlier talking about being tied to the world with our earthly possessions. If some paint really upsets me that much, am I truly acting like a citizen of heaven or a citizen of earth, wrapped up in my "material blessings?" ouch!
So, I woke up this morning feeling ALIVE...alive in the Lord and blessed! Paint-ah, no biggie! :)

Go get them!

Today my husband got a you tube video over his email and he had me watch it. It was a group of buffalo walking around with a baby right along with them. The camera caught that they were headed straight towards some lions hiding out, waiting for them. By time the buffalo saw the lions they were too close. The buffalo ran and the lions ran right after the little baby. The baby was caught. The lions were thrashing the baby around and it partly landed in some water. Before you know it a crocodile grabs hold of the baby...it's tug of war. The lions win over the baby. In the corner of the camera you begin to see this massive herd of buffalo coming back for the baby. They surround the lions, charging them. In the midst of all the commotion, you see the little baby get up and head straight in the middle of the buffalo herd to safety.
I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched this. Those buffalo cared so much about that one little baby. I automatically thought about our brothers and sisters...even the babies in Christ that we know. If they are headed towards danger or even if they are already there, let's not forget about them, let's go in the POWER of the Holy Spirit and win them back! Isn't that love?

Here am I

I have had a certain song in my head over the last couple of days. Here are a some of the words...
I see the Lord seated on the throne, exalted
And the train of His robe fills the temple with glory
And the whole earth is filled with His glory

I can completely picture all the words of this song in my head. The mighty Lord, my Savior, sitting on the throne, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Majestic!
So, this morning I decided to read the chapter in the Bible that this song comes out of. It is Isaiah 6. As I began to read, I was in awe of the whole chapter. I had read it before but it was fresh and new to me this morning. Isaiah sees the Lord on the throne...the angels are singing holy is the Lord.
Isaiah said, "Woe is me, for I am UNDONE!" Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts."
An angel took live coal and touched his lips with it to make him clean. The Lord said, "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?"
"HERE AM I! SEND ME." Isaiah said.
I don't know about you but I'm ready to be undone! There's a song by David Crowder that says "He has set me on fire, I am burnin alive, with His breath in my lungs I am coming undone...I am letting myself go" How many times do we go before God seeing how perfect and holy He is and are ashamed enough of how unclean our hearts and lives are to change? How willing are we to raise our hands up to the Lord and be the first to say, "Here I am, Here I am, Lord...Send me, please send me!"
I have been awakened today. May I be the first to raise my hand.

What's it gonna take?

Well, I'm back from the retreat and it was full of laughter (of course), prayer, being in the word, fellowship, bears, busted pipes...heehee...and eating! Of all the things that I felt like God was tugging at my heart, I thought I would share one.
There is a family at our church who had a daughter who was in her 30's. She had cancer for 6 years and died last week. This weekend I saw an interview that her and her husband did about 3-6 months ago. Wow...what she said touched me in the deepest part of my heart. She began to tell that the only way that she has survived is by the word of God. The word was true life for her. Medically she should have been dead years ago, but the word was her life. She was saying that she reall y couldn't live without being in the word everyday. I believe she truly felt that...that the word was her sustenance. There was such an intimacy in her eyes and her voice..she KNEW God and she walked with Him.
Her mom started telling us a couple of stories. Jessica had surgery on the cancerous tumor years ago and the doctors said that it was all gone, she was cancer free. Later that night or the next day she called her mom crying. Her mom asked what was wrong and she said, "my witness is gone." She had been able to witness to so many people while having cancer...her life was all about sharing Jesus with others...and now she was sad b/c it was gone. It came back. The family prayed for her to be healed and when she died they still had peace knowing that if God wanted to heal her, He could have. Well, Jessica's husband called her mom the other day and told her that he had been reading Jessica's journal. Secretly, over the past couple of months, she had been praying to God that He would take her. She was suffering so much, she was ready to go and be with Him. God was ready for her to be with Him. What an intimate relationship. She loved the Lord with everything, and He was her whole life. She loved Him, served Him, shared Him, knew Him...
What's it gonna take for us to get there?

Off for the weekend...

I'm very excited because today I get to go away for the weekend with some girlfriends. I love times like this because all the hustle and flow of life has to go away and I can focus completetly on the Lord. God always reveals so much to me on retreats like this...not because of Him, but because I am seeking Him with my whole heart. This is definitely something I need to adopt in my life, having a retreat each day with the Lord...letting life's cares and pressures go away and drawing in to Him. Sometimes daily reading can become a habit, a "chore," a mark it off my to-do list...but from now on I want it to be a retreat.
If you think of me, pray for me and the other women this weekend...especially for safety cause i'm driving! Have a blessed weekend to you all!

Experiencing Joy

I have had a wonderful day today. Nothing big, nothing really exciting happened, yet i felt so joyful. It seemed as if everything I did today just made me smile...even running 5 miles for the first time...ugh!
For the past two months I have gone through a bit of depression/spiritual attack...not sure which one was more, but know a mixture of both. It seemed as if everyday was a struggle for me. Some days would be better than others but it really drained me each day dealing with all this stuff/lies going on inside my head and then fighting to not react to them. The Lord is faithful and His word is true and He wants to use us to spread His truth to others...so I have learned from all of this.
Anyways, since I have kinda come out of that, each day that is good seems like a huge blessing. Even being able to do the little things without this "fight" is a blessing to me. God is showing me how good my life really is, how special the people I have in my life are, and what a blessing it is to be healthy.
I spent this weekend back in WV with family and friends. I seriously couldn't have dreamed of a better weekend...and I always set my expectations high so that is really something. To see my whole family love God and serve Him is amazing to me. So many pple have never experienced that and some never will but for some reason, God has chosen me to be a part of a family that loves Him...and I'm so grateful for that. God has also blessed me with amazing friends...friends that encourage me, pray for me, love me, and accept me for my quirks..I think they even like some of them:) And God has seriously given me a huge blessing by giving me my husband. Marriage is hard, but if you do it God's way, the blessings that come out of it are more than you have ever thought. Marriage is way different than I ever expected yet so much better..so much deeper. I am married to my best friend...and it really does keep getting better. I have a partner to live with who makes me laugh, who prays for me, loves me, uplifts me with his words, carries me through my rough times in my walk with the Lord...and once again...lives with my quirks and likes some of them...and has even taken on some of them:)
My father, brother and I ran in a 2 mile race on Saturday. My dad and brother did amazing, both placing in their age groups. For me, I was just happy to be able to run. I would have never dreamed I would be able to run for 2 miles without passing out, yet by God's strength I have accomplished a goal. That feeling for me was just like getting a big trophy.
Finally, God has given me His word...even though I ignore it sometimes, don't dive in it like I should...He's still given it to me. ...this is experiencing joy...