Christy (who came from Mo's blog), does your daughter have a Caringbridge site?
I pray that your daughter is doing well. Anyone reading, please join me in praying for Christy's daughter. She just had a bone marrow transplant due to leukemia.

You may sign up to be a donor at www.marrow.org. I signed up about a year ago. It's somewhere around $50 and you only have to swab your mouth and send your info in. You may be able to save someone elses life or you may even need someone to save your life one day.

Do something good for someone today!
Believing-
Zhohn

Jake...

I was just visiting Mo's blog and I decided to post some pics of the little Jakester! Oh how my life has changed since I first visited his site almost four years ago.

Oh those precious eyes, and that great big smile. Please support St. Jude ! And also the Jake Owen Raborn Foundation.

If you don't know Jake's story, you can read it here

Much love and many blessings to all.

BELIEVING-

Zhohn

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" Matthew 22:37

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, Where there is injury, pardon Where there is doubt, faith, Where there is despair, hope, Where there is darkness, light, Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, not so much to be understood as to understand, not so much to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.
St. Francis of Assisi

"Open my lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help againand sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have broughtus in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mightypower, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome byadversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. "
Psalms 51

Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

"...better is one day in Your course, than thousands elsewhere..."

my lil men...

As I've mentioned before, my family is very close. My cousins and I are more like siblings. I spent Saturday at my aunts so I was able to get a picture of the boys.

We have Wyatt (10), Aaron (9), Noah (9), & Tylhor (6)

And I ended the weekend by fishing in the lake all afternoon.

What a good weekend!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Much love and many blessings to all,

Zhohn

how funny...

Heather linked me when she posted a graphic I did for her (using her own picture). I have had about 280 visits since that day! The funny thing is, only three people signed in!!!! One of which has been visiting for a while. Thank you to those of you who have visitied. I hope many of you come back. :)


Please reserve the weekend of June 28th for the Shake for Jake!!!! Still waiting on info about tickets and such so be on the look out.
http://www.jakesfoundation.org/
www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Zhohn

SIGN IN!

Let me know who you are. In return, I'll visit your blog. :)

Have a great day.
Zhohn

TURN UP THE VOLUME!

I added a playlist with some great PRAISE & WORSHIP music! These songs are some of my favorites.

A few scriptures...

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.' Luke 10:27

'You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised' Hebrews 10:36

'Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.' Colossians 3:12-13

Much love and many blessings to all-
Zhohn

I promised pics...

I took some pictures while at my aunts of the "farm"! Actually, most people around here live this way. I actually love it. Nice, quiet and so peaceful. Although somtimes I wish I was back in the city.

I don't really like writing once I put my pictures so I just added text to the pictures. Not sure why, but blogspot and I don't get along with pictures. :) Yes, all of the goats have names.

ENJOY!

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEKEND!

Happy Wednesday :)

I'm off the next two days! I'm about to leave to go spend the night at my aunts. Have I told you how close my family is???? My cousins are more like my siblings. Wyatt is ten years old and I was there when he learned to walk, talk, write...everything! He is my baby boy, even though he is 10, he still gives hugs sometimes. His Dun Dun loves him! (even though he doesn't call me that anymore) Do you know how hard it is to pronounce ZHOHN when you're a year old?
I'll share pics tomorrow.
And I can't forget his older sister, Alyssa. Oh yeah, who is now driving. AAAHHH! I may also share pics of her car. I wish I was a spoiled as she is when I was her age. What 16 year old gets a Lincoln LS....as loaded as they come, used but still. Not saying that I wouldn't do it for my daughter.

Hopefully I'll be back on tomorrow with some good pics. Maybe even a few of the animals.
Yes, they have goats, cows, dogs, rabbits and even a lake in their backyard. A little boys dream (especially when you're raised in the country!)
Casey, making you homesick yet???? lol

Until tomorrow.
Zhohn

random stuff...

Went to the doctor with my sister today. Instead of hearing her baby's heartbeat she found out that it had a chromosome defect and if it would have been born it would have been mentally retarted or had down syndrome. So maybe it was a blessing, but still hard to understand. I have no doubt that even if it were born mentally retarted it would have been loved. We're getting through this and we're thankful for all of your thoughts and prayers. Also my aunt who I have mentioned on here before had a biopsy done today, we should know the results by Wednesday.

I was off yesterday and today and I have been trying to do things to occupy my time so this is what I've been up to...

Team Jake picture

A few of the cousins; Shaun, Alyssa, myself & Eian

Cute Miss Ellie

Kayla & I (Sept. 07)

Jessi's cake

I really enjoy editing pictures. If you would like me to do some for you, just let me know.

Again, thanks to everyone who has been praying for my family.

Please remember Ethan's family in your prayers. And there are so many other families who have had to say goodbye to their children. Also please remember all of the little children who are at St. Jude right this minute. And also our soldiers and their families. I could go on all day with everyone who needs prayer. Let's just ask Our Father to be with those who are hurting, physically and emotionally. May I not forget to PRAISE Him and thank Him for being with us each day.

BELIEVING-

Zhohn

just the right scripture for tonight...

We will have no fear of bad news; our hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
Psalm 112:7

It's been a long day.

I'm feeling so much better than I was just 12 hours ago. I guess I've realized that God is in control and there isn't anything we can do to change that. And no matter how hard something is, He is with us. Please read the previous post if you haven't. My sister was released from the hospital this afternoon. Once she was seen and everything we learned the baby actually died at nine weeks but she had no signs of miscarriage until today. I'd appreciate it if you could continue to pray for her strength, physically and emotionally and all of us also.

And thank you to everyone who has had us in their thoughts and prayers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Something for fun:

You Are a Dash

Your life is fast paced and varied. You are realistic, down to earth, and very honest. You're often busy doing something interesting, and what you do changes quickly. You have many facets to your personality, and you connect them together well. You have a ton of interests. While some of them are a bit offbeat, they all tie together well. You friends rely on you to bring novelty and excitement to their lives. (And while you're the most interesting person they know, they can't help feeling like they don't know you well.) You excel in: Anything to do with money You get along best with: the Exclamation Point

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Please pray

I come here with no words and many tears.

Please pray for my family. My sister is miscarrying, she is now in her own room at the hospital, preparing for a D & C. She was 13 weeks pregnant.

Just pray for peace and comfort.
I'll be back later with more, I just don't have it right now.
Zhohn

What do you say...

I had to train a new employee tonight at work, we'll just call her Dee. Dee is 24 years old.
(A little background, someone was kidnapped from the place where I work and murdered, just a couple of weeks ago, not proven yet that the murder took place at my job but still)
We were walking to our vehicles and I said to her, if you ever want an escort to your car you can just ask at the desk. I also said, I used to park over by the trees but now I park in the open. She said, I'm not scared of anything now. The worse thing that could happen to me has, when I found my husband dead. If it's my time to go, then so be it.

Whoa! Talk about a slap in the face, I was speechless. I watched her get into her vehicle and I walked to mine.

I knew that her husband had died in an accident two years ago, but she hadn't spoke of him or the accident until this.

Please keep this young girl in your prayers. This is her first job since her husband passed away. She had moved back in with her parents and is now trying to get back on her own.

Believing-
Zhohn

www.picnik.com

My new favorite website. I love pictures and now I have a way of editing and creating for FREE!

Here are a few I'm going to share. My camera is at my aunts so you'll have to settle for pictures that I "borrowed"!

My best friend, Kayla and her son, Ethan:

"A mother's love is special"

I hope Mo doesn't mind I'm showing off her baby girl.

Hopefully tomorrow or sometime I'll have pictures of my own to share!

And if you're wondering, this site is so easy to use!

Psalm 24:4

If you haven't heard the song, Give Us Clean Hands by Chris Tomlin, please do!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl5zSB3A-Z8/

This song is amazing! Listen to these words carefully...

"...We bow our hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes
From evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh God let this be
a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be
a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob..."

This is my thoughts on the song...
Make us humble Lord, let it be known that it is not us, it is You.
We must turn our eyes from evil things, we can not approve or take part.
Lord we cast down our idols, because you are King of Kings!
Give us clean hands and pure hearts Lord. Please forgive me for my sins Father.
I will not lift my soul to anyone else.
I pray that we will be the generation that seeks your face. We all know that the time is coming when our God will have enough of this evil world and take us all Home. I pray that all of you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

This is a song of confession and repentance. The only way into Heaven is with clean hands and a pure heart. When we sin, we must confess and repent and the Lord will cleanse our soul, scripture says so. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).

I started off by just wanting you to hear this song and now have gone on. I have so many songs I'd like to share. I love to listen to Praise & Worship music. Maybe I will start sharing a song a week. I have so many favorites. :)

Seeking His face-
Zhohn

Save, Save, Save! St. Jude is THE BEST place on Earth!

I hope this letter finds you well. I know everyone is gearing up for Spring Break and vacations but please do not forget to save. It is so easy to spend five dollars on a coffee, a burger, nail polish, anything but remember, it is just as easy to save it for a good cause-no excuses! You should have $45 dollars saved now. It may not seem like much, but every little bit helps. And whenever you can, throw in a few extra dollars.It's late and I know everyone is busy (school, sports, work, etc.) so I'll move onto the motivations.

Mo's motivation: 10. Target House: You will be running by this palatial apartment style setting after the park and around Mile 10. Be thankful that there are big corporations who still have a heart for giving and sharing. The Target House is HOME to many kids, some for up to three years, and will house up to four from their families. Jake LOVED the pool table and the trikes on the playground. He also used to race to be the first to push the elevator buttons! Be thankful for the Target House.

Please support Target by shopping there. I think that Target as a Wish List for the St. Jude Target House. I'll have to look into that.

My motivation to you to save just five dollars over the next two weeks...
ETHAN POWELL (www.ethanpowell.com)
I have mentioned him several times on here. He has now joined Jake (& others) in Heaven. He passed away on Saturday. Please join me in praying for his precious family, his young parents, Ben & Becky. Ethan was diagnosed with infant leukemia at two months old. Because of St. Jude his family was given a year with him. I promise, that if you visit his site, and read some of his parents' entries you will be inspired! They are very strong in their faith and they are believers! In Ben's entry today he basiclly says that he will not rest until this disease is beat and neither will I! I will continue to raise awareness in anyway and donate money and my time, it's the least I can do. Look at that baby's picture and tell me you can't donate a few dollars!
So in honor of 'Little E'...BeLIeVe!
Zhohn

www.ethanpowell.com, pray for his family

I just don't understand why an infant, at two months old, would be diagnosed with cancer and only be given a 15% chance at life? And why did he have to call a hospital home most of his life? Not to mention what he has gone through this year. Please pray for his family. His young parents, Ben & Becky. I haven't met them but I've been reading Ethan's site since the beginning and they are very strong in their faith and they BELIEVED the entire time.
I just don't understand. I know we're not suppose to understand nor question God but sometimes I just can't help it.
But I must say that I'm thankful for the fifteen months they were given with their son.

Please pray for Ben & Becky and their family and friends. Pray that God will comfort them and carry them through the days and weeks to come. May the good memories of Ethan live in their hearts forever.

I used to think to myself while clicking on Ethan's name, "let me go check on Little E". I have really enjoyed the writing of his parents, through their writing you can see how strong thier faith is.

Rest In Peace "Little E"... no more needles, no more pain! Run & play little man, with no lines or tubes attached! :)
I bet there is a "St. Jude group" up in Heaven where Jake, Stanton, Emma Grace, Jabin, Landon, Brent (playing "big brother" to the young kids!) & now Ethan are all hanging out!

PRAYING & BeLIeVING-
Zhohn

PLEASE PRAY!

www.ethanpowell.com

His parents are constantly updating his site. I just left the site, it was updated about 15 minutes ago, his kidneys are shutting down, his heart rate is extremely high.
Please pray & believe!

pray & believe, the only thing I know to do...

I sit here tonight thinking of a friend, just 20 years old, who will bury her husband tomorrow. She will be left to raise their one year old son. I do not know the pain of her heart and the worry of their future. I just pray that God will comfort her and carry her through the days ahead. Please join me.

A few other things on my heart tonight...
My aunt, a mother of two young sons, may be diagnosed with cancer in just two short weeks;
the MRI say it's cancer but we will wait for confirmation.

My best friends mother is awaiting the results of her MRI. Something was found on her lungs.

Many other things are on my heart right now but I pray specifically for these things now.

Tonight, I'm not going to question "why". I'm not going to question my Creator. I know we will never understand here on Earth. I will just turn my burdens over to Him. He is the only one who can heal us and He already knows what is ahead.
I will just PRAY that in every situation we will seek Him and follow Him.
I BELIEVE that my God never leaves us or forsakes us.

Please join me in praying for these families here.
Zhohn