tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57644338883422148402024-02-18T19:30:11.332-08:00A Woman After God's HeartCelena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-11903583354644752952014-08-05T13:40:00.001-07:002014-09-16T15:35:40.248-07:00Creativity, Art, and Beauty in Auschwitz
Alma Rose, Jewish Violinist and Conductor
of the Women's Orchestra at Auschwitz
"We found ourselves hushed by delicate floating butterflies and cheery watercolor flowers that had no place within the camp's barbed wire walls. We were moved by the coexistence of evil and sheer beauty, seemingly both allowed to flourish in the same place."
~Kristy Cambron, The Butterfly and the Violin
IfCelena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-31425567085343633052014-06-18T14:27:00.000-07:002014-08-05T13:41:12.306-07:00I Am So Vain... Ramblings of a Girl With Just the Right Amount of InsomniaI've never thought of myself as a vain person and Facebook status updates don't usually float around in my mind longer than the seven seconds it takes to read them, but one I read yesterday did. I didn't even click “like” b/c I didn't exactly like it at the time—I didn't admit it to myself then, but it hit a bit too close to home. It was about vanity and selfishness and when I Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-72788515273492194102014-06-17T10:33:00.002-07:002020-11-05T16:40:02.355-08:00Lust, Grace, Truth, and Abortion: A Warning & A Testimony
I will give thanks to You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret...
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
Psalm 139:14a,15a,16
Seven months after I became a Christian, my fiancé left for the Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-39961834700230522302014-05-15T07:25:00.000-07:002014-08-05T13:42:21.550-07:00Angels in the EntrywayAre they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14
I was laying on the living room couch, facing the wall, hoping to take a nap when I heard two soft, excited voices.
My twin babies were born 6 weeks early and had just come home from the hospital. At the time, they were about 2 weeks old. Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-55941201794585888612014-05-01T20:05:00.000-07:002014-08-05T14:52:37.001-07:00God WILL Give You More Than You Can Handle!
“Wow,” someone said to me as I dropped my twin babies off at the church nursery, “You have twins. God didn't give me twins because He knew I couldn't handle them. God will never give you more than you can handle.”
I didn't say anything. Those days, tears were always stuck in my throat, threatening to spill over as depression constantly clouded my mind. What does “handle” mean, anyway? I Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-62305358516562714112013-10-10T12:51:00.000-07:002014-06-01T14:28:20.287-07:00In Remembrance of Joshua Shane
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:16
A wise man once said, "The mark of true Christianity is not 'I'm perfect' but 'I fight." My brother died from a prescription overdose almost 11 years ago and sometimes it still seems like it can't be real. He was my best friend. I still wish I could pick up the phone to Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-7566414636939638472012-10-23T00:20:00.001-07:002013-07-25T01:25:43.994-07:00 Believed
When I was 7, I believed in my parents. They
knew everything there was to know and I thought they were perfect. I
kissed and hugged them every night when they tucked me in with my
musical lamb. When I was 9, I believed in fairies. I looked for them in the woods under moss and around
streams. My brother and I climbed trees and made forts out of planks
and torn sheets. We cried when Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-84084423538535698032012-02-16T13:27:00.001-08:002013-02-18T13:39:29.073-08:00Passion, Joy, & Wisdom, & Why it's a Good Thing to Be a Little on the Selfish SideMy favorite people inspire me because they are selfless. I'm reading "Atlas Shrugged" at the moment and was shocked to discover that Ayn Rand also inspires me in certain ways for different reasons. Gasp! Inspired by an atheist, Celena!? Yes, well, even an atheist can have a brilliant mind and can achieve great things in the eyes of the world. She was an amazing writer Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-83063246718140721992012-01-15T00:29:00.000-08:002012-01-16T14:58:35.614-08:00Thor, Cap, Wolverine, & This Girl's Eternal PerspectiveI'm quite smitten with Cap (Captain America, I mean) & Thor, too… oh, and Wolverine! Maybe you don't stay up late and read comic books in bed, but I challenge any girl to watch Thor, Captain America, or X-men and not fall for the hero during the next 2 hours and 17 minutes.
The end of the Thor movie was especially poignant for me when our dashing, charming, extremely heroic Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-33423502519675855952012-01-11T12:36:00.000-08:002012-08-17T12:36:53.945-07:00The Way Things Ought to BeI'm not a poet but every once in awhile when God inspires him, my husband is. This poem touched my heart! I hope you enjoy it.
In this world which we live
there's a sense of what ought,
an intangible feeling,
a perception, a thought
of the way things once were
or someday will be.
If only we could
through the darkened glass see;
the pane has been clouded
by the sin in our hearts,Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-34935938065206377612011-10-10T12:50:00.000-07:002013-04-24T14:37:36.276-07:00More of my Brother's Poetry
DESERT
I step out the door and into the sky
Heading for Arizona where I'll probably die
Another fork in the road,
Another tattoo on my soul.
The sun grows brighter with each step to the west
Desert is glorious and mountains a success
Beauty surrounds me with her peaceful mountains
And through this desert there are plenty of fountains
The freedom of the desert's warmth
Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-90736296740525615582011-08-18T15:01:00.000-07:002011-08-18T15:14:02.524-07:00Jochebed's BabyJochebed leaned over her baby boy and smiled. What a blessing! For the next two, perhaps three years, Pharaoh's daughter would pay her to nurse her own son! Unlike all of the other Hebrew baby boys, he would be protected and safe. She no longer had to hide him, no longer had to seek to shush him when he cried. She could encourage him to laugh and to coo. She, Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-31680653865230101962011-06-12T17:38:00.001-07:002011-06-12T17:38:33.836-07:00Written in HeavenThis year, my hubby and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary so I wanted to take a minute to share our "love story" with all of you.
Our love story began with a prayer. Mike and I had been friends for years but he was the last person I’d ever choose to marry. He just wasn’t my "type." I wanted someone loud and outgoing; he was quiet and laid back. I wanted someone with my interests in Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-13655181215114826652011-05-25T18:57:00.001-07:002012-03-02T21:24:38.322-08:00"God is Love"... But What Does That MEAN?"Jesus loves you," she says as she hangs up the phone.
"God is love," she says as she tries to explain how wonderful He is to someone who just doesn't get it.
Yes, God is love. But our idea of love as we live in this often-confused, far-from-perfect world is sometimes less than accurate. Honestly, it can be pretty skewed and totally the opposite of what love really is. And if Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-19736961821759077082011-05-10T12:34:00.000-07:002012-08-17T12:35:00.950-07:00O Lord be my refuge!I'm not a poet but every once in awhile when God inspires him, my husband is. This poem touched my heart! I hope you enjoy it.
O Lord be my refuge!
Dear Lord be my rest!
Give me divine guidance
On this arduous quest
Some trials come at us
They form from without
Other fires kindle thus
From within they burn out
Whether deep in our minds
Or the depths of our soul
Whether enemies Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-82065601973214209702011-04-19T19:09:00.000-07:002011-12-20T12:47:04.923-08:00New Take on An Old PrayerYour kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. ~Matthew 6:10
When God sends you a little glimpse of what His kingdom is like and you realize it for what it is, that verse takes on new meaning. Its not just some rote prayer anymore. I've been getting so many glimpses like that lately--moments in life that seem simply perfect.
Minutes on Saturday were Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-39904512384070330262011-03-27T17:11:00.000-07:002011-12-20T21:09:45.145-08:00A Taste of Heaven
A hummingbird flits from flower to flower, its purple and green feathers glistening iridescently as early morning sunbeams hit its wings.
In the foothills of the Santa Catalina mountains, a coyote family ventures home; dark silhouettes make their way slowly against the fading backdrop of Arizona desert.
In the middle of the night when most people are sleeping, flashes of monsoon lightning Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-10289525904194001002011-03-16T09:53:00.000-07:002011-03-16T09:53:17.839-07:00A Simple Word & Locks of LoveI sat beside my husband on a soft blanket in the park. The flames of a bonfire danced and flickered before our eyes as they warmed us. We had come here with some friends from church to barbecue, roast marshmallows, and just spend time together. It was heavenly, leaning against my hubby with his arms around me. I thought of how far God had brought me in the last four years.Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-38979500186061080512011-02-18T10:21:00.000-08:002011-12-20T21:19:32.193-08:00Your Children: A Great Blessing or a Great Burden?Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward. ~Psalm 127:3
"Mama, where is my striped cat?"
"Mo-om, I need help!"
"Mama, Sam took his pants off and he stinks!"
I groan and push myself away from the computer. I want to write my e-mail. I want to finish the last chapter in my book. For goodness sake, I just want to load the dish washer Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764433888342214840.post-67995685997135974902011-02-08T21:00:00.000-08:002011-12-20T21:22:44.922-08:00From the Mouths of ChildrenLast Sunday in church, our pastor asked the children, "Would any of you like to pray to open up the service?" One of my 6 year old twins, Beth, raised her hand. She had never prayed alone at church before in front of the entire congregation and I wondered what she would say. She sat with the other children and bowed her head. She said, "Jesus, Thank you for creating us... Celena Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00599259859239034819noreply@blogger.com2