for better or for worse

this week i have been thinking hard about marriage, because of some marriages i have heard of going though hard times. A marriage goes through many many ups and down , and this world can be brutal on a marriage. (man they should really emphasise the for better or for worse phrase in a wedding) We suffer many many wounds in this life, and we bring all of that in a marriage. so no wonder it's hard. so with that said the other thing i have been thinking about is Jesus. He really is all we have, and the one whom we need to put all our faith into. people let us down and we play the blame game, instead of looking to Jesus for the right answer and the right thing for us to do. i am guilty of the blame game! But it doesn't let Jesus work how He needs to. And i see how in a marriage it's Jesus we need first over ourselves and our spouse. He is the rock the firm foundation we need to cling to with every fiber of our being. SO weather you've been in a divorce, or are at odds with your spouse, or have been hurt by divorce remember Jesus has overcome the world. and he is the hope and the road to WHOLENESS. it may a painful road but the Son didn't suffer for nothing, it was FOR US.

Crazy/ Comfort

yesterday was a day for the books . I woke up and started my period. Not only that i had very bad cramps(which i never have). After that my dog threw up on a rug and i had to wash it out. Later on in the day i remember i need to feed my sisters fish because she is out of town. So we get in the car and my son kicks his soccer ball (in the car mind you)and breaks the garage door opener. Now we get to my sisters house feed the fish and get back in the car to discover that my dog decided to throw up in the car and not only in the car but inside my purse. Nasty!!! But she didn't stop there she had one more left in her for the car ride home. The kids all said they were about to throw up as well. So i get home and now have to clean out the car and my purse. So we get through that and i get the kids in bed and sit down to check e-mail when my husband comes home from work around 10:00pm. i hear him in the basement and then i hear him coming up the stairs and he then informs me that the hot water tank has leaked all over the basement. I get up and head for the basement and for the next 3 1/2 hours i am mopping up water, and carrying wet things out of the basement.

All that to say i have never felt so calm and peaceful with so much chaos around me. all i can say is that it was Jesus. I felt very encouraged to have only lost my temper once that whole day and to have apologized for it later. Then i realized that this is part of life, and as i had that thought i had to laugh. Trials are a part of life and it's how we deal with it and see Jesus in that makes us or breaks us. And on my way to bed i said in my head....Life sometimes goes bad but You are still Good. And then i remember that this is Easter Weekend and think of all the trials Jesus went through for us. All the pain, all the loss, and heartache. And the One who went through all of that is with me in my stuff.

In Christ alone my hope is found
he is my light my strength my song
this corner stone, this solid ground
firm through the fieriest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
when fears are stilled, when striving cease
my comforter my all in all
here in the love of Christ i stand ....

i love this song!!! it ministers to me sooooo much, especially around Easter!!
Happy Easter!!!

Where I'll be

Hello!

So as you know I, Candis Jones, am pregnant. And my due date, well it is tomorrow.

I thought I would update you on this factoid because I may not be able to post on Mondays for a short bit because of the whole having a baby thing. :)

Prayers and good thoughts are welcome and appreciated.

Until next time!

Proof of the power of words and thoughts

I talked about the power of words and the things I tell myself about myself last Monday. This week I want to share with you a short video. You may have heard of  Dr. Masaru Emoto. If not, here is a short biography taken straight from Wikipedia:

"Dr. Masru Emoto is a Japanese author and entrepreneur known for his claim that if human speech or thoughts are directed at water droplets before they are frozen, images of the resulting water crystals will be "beautiful" or "ugly" depending upon whether the words or thoughts were positive or negative. Emoto claims this can be achieved through prayer, music or by attaching written words to a container of water."

Intriguing eh?


So there is an experiment you can do at home to test what Dr. Masru Emoto claims. You basically cook some white rice, put a bit in a couple of air tight jars, tape the words "YOU FOOL" to one jar and the words "THANK YOU" the other and then every day speak those same words over each jar. Give it 50-100 days and watch what happens to your rice.


Here is a home video with the results from this couple's rice experiment:

See video here.

Pretty amazing.


If you are interested in seeing more, check out this video. It shows water that had certain words spoken over it and what the crystallized water looks like after those words were spoken. Make sure you watch long enough to see both the good and bad words spoken.

See video here.

Proverbs 15:4
The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Proverbs 12:18
The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

There is POWER in our thoughts and words!

Friday Inspiration

I posted this on my personal blog on Wednesday, but I really just wanted to share this powerful documentary with you guys as well.  My husband Andy had the honor of traveling with the rest of the Come&Live! team and putting together this piece.  I have seen it numerous times now, and I'm still blown away by God's kindness.

It will inspire you.

NEW ZEALAND {Our Story} | A Come&Live! Documentary from Come&Live! on Vimeo.

Have a great weekend!

birthdays

yesterday was my daughters 6th birthday and i had the most wonderday with her. i enjoyed her the whole day and was condstantly reminded of everything i love about her. what a wonderfull time to think about all the amazing ways God has made us. creating memories with ones you love make the biggest impressions and the longest lasting memories. i want to keep creating wonderful memories for my kids and showing them love the way God intended.

Time to Get Uncomfortable

A week ago today, a chunk of my heart was ripped out. A suicide in the family left me feeling sad, angry, confused and very vulnerable. I've never dealt with death in this way before and I pray to God I never have to deal with it again. It's absolutely heart wrenching.

"If only he would have reached out."

"If only I could have tried harder."

"My love wasn't enough."

"Nothing we did was enough."

"If only he would have believed us when we told him we loved him."

I miss my uncle more than words can express. He was an amazing, talented man with a great sense of humor. Depression just got the best of him. My heart hurts for the pain that we are all going through, especially his daughters, parents and siblings. I feel more sadness for them than I do for myself because I know that the chunk of their heart that is missing is even bigger than mine.

I want to remember my uncle for his good qualities, not for what he did in the end. We can't go back. We can't change things that we wish we could have done differently. Our love was enough, but depression is a serious, serious thing and without the Father, it's hopeless.

What can we do? Move forward, keeping him alive in our hearts. We can live out our regrets by putting them into action towards others. We can make a difference to someone else. We can try even harder. We can go out of our way to call someone daily, just to tell them we are thinking about them and that they are loved. We can lay our lives down for the people we love, and why not also do it for the people we don't?

Express your love fully, today. Make your feelings known by showing people that you care about them. Go out of your way and get uncomfortable, because it will make a difference. We like to think that love is this comfortable, peaceful thing. Sometimes love is just the opposite. Sometimes truly showing love means that we might need to get in someone's way. We might need to take ourselves out of a place of feeling secure and safe. The interesting and awesome thing about this uncomfortable and uneasy love is that the more we practice it—the more we make it a habit of our daily lives—the more we will get comfortable sharing this amazing, real, deeper-than-superficial love.