Spring has Sprung!!

Spring has Sprung here at the Sessler house. Well it actually sprung a few weeks ago, but we have been going home for the last few weeks to spend time with my mom while she has been healing so I haven't had time to show the evidence! The blossoms have been gorgeous and everything is turning such a bring shade of green! I think this could be one of my most favorite times of the year. Its my favorite time to shop, my favorite time to start cooking fresh meals, my favorite time to clean, and my favorite time to be outside. We have to take advantage of that last one here in Dallas before the hot and humid summers start!!! As you can see our tulips have already come up and now we have started planting our other flowers and our lilies are starting to show some life too!! I can't wait for it all to be in full bloom! So cheers to spring! I'll put more pictures once we get everything done!

As for my mom (sorry it has taken me so long to give an update). She is doing very well and is just taking it easy to allow her body to heal. The surgery went very well with no complications and the pathology reports came back to show that the cancer had not spread and they believe they got it all out with the surgery. So once again our Lord has proven that He is in control and our great healer. It has been so fun going home the last few weekends and just getting to spend some good quality time with my mom since there is not much to do beside chill! I will cherish those times forever. So thank you for all your prayers, they are greatly appreciated!

No good terrible very bad blogger!!!

I have been a no good terrible very bad blogger this summer!! I guess I have just been enjoying our summer so much that I keep putting off blogging!!! Forgive me. Since I don't want to bore you with separate posts for some of the things that we have done since I last posted, I thought I would just share a few pics!

We have.......

Hung out with family....

(although I only have a few pics of just this occurrence) Ms. Quinci

Reed

Got my first tattoo...

(ok, so its a non-permanent henna tattoo...please excuse the unpolished toe nails, and the weird crusty stuff is the sugar water they put on to help the tattoo stay..I'm not dirty!!!)

Taught some friends how to make cookies...

(I think I might have to hire them one day!)

I met some of my girl friends at the lake for a fabulous girls weekend....

We did this the entire weekend!!!We're goofy, I know!!!

and Sam has played some softball....

I also thought I would share some pics of my niece Mia. She just turned 3 months old and is precious!!! I had to borrow these from her parents blog though b/c I have been a bad aunt and don't have many recent pictures!! I would also like to ask you to please remember her and her parents in your prayers as they have now reached the 12 month mark. Please pray for peace and faithfulness for her parents, and that they would not allow fear to overcome the joy of having this precious little girl. I know they would appreciate it!

Sprinkle & Cookies

I tend to keep saying that I have been a bad blogger, but I have! I am way behind on stuff, so hopefully I can find some time to get all caught up! A few weekends ago we had a "Sprinkle" for my sister-in-law and my soon to be niece Mia! It was a smaller shower with some close friends and family. Richard and Jennifer are trying to go green (all organic) with Mia, so as hostesses we stuck to theme and had a "Green" Tea Shower! She got some really cute stuff that I know Mia will love! One of her sweet friends also put together a prayer box for Richard and Jennifer for when Mia comes. It is a box filled with devotionals for each day of her first year written by over 80 people that have offered to be in prayer for them. What am amazing gift for them to have. I know this will be such a glorious time for them, but there will also be days when these devotionals and knowing people are in constant prayer will really be needed. Mia will be here in less than a month and I know they are so ready to meet her!!

I of course also made some cookies, so here are a few pictures from the shower and a glimpse of some of the cookies!!

Back to "Normal" Life

The test is over and "normal" life (whatever that is) is back! I am so relieved to be done with my test. I feel like a huge weight/gorilla has finally been lifted off my back. The only bad part is that I don't find out the results for a few months! I guess until then I will just try not to worry about the outcome!

During my craziness of preparing for my test I did not have much time to keep up with my blog. Sam's cousin and wife are expecting a baby right around Christmas, so I helped make some fun goodies for her shower. I was unfortunately unable to attend the shower due to needing to study, but I thought I would still share the few things that I made. We were going for a pink and black theme so I decided to make chocolate cupcakes with pink buttercream icing and red-velvet cake balls. I had planned on making so much more, but time just did not permit!! I also tried something new that I learned from another blogger - chocolate transfer sheets. It was a lot easier than I expected and I think they turned out pretty cute. So the little circles on the cupcakes are chocolate that I imprinted with that design. It was pretty fun, but the only hard part was that my fingers kept melting the chocolate!!! Anyways, enjoy some pictures.

Speaking of babies and the grace of God (well I guess we weren't talking about God really), Sam and I are so excited because we are going to be Uncle Sam and Aunt Mandy! That's right, my brother and sister-in-law are expecting and we could not be more excited and thankful. The Lord is so gracious and has guided them through these past months since Lilly's passing. He is now showing them that He truly is the Lord over their lives and that even through the pain, there is still hope and joy for the future. So please keep both of them, along with baby Thomas in your prayers throughout these next months.

I hope everyone has a great Turkey Day and doesn't eat too much!!! We are so excited to go home and see our family. It has been way too long!!!

Absent

I think those NYC posts not only most likely wore out my readers, but the writer too! At least I know that our families read it, so I guess it was worth it! (I wouldn't blame you if you did not read all of the posts!) I wish that was my reason for being a bit absent lately on the blogging. Actually for about fours weeks now I have been once again studying for my CFP exam (Certified Financial Planner). This test is kind of my "thorn in my side", but I am trying it again. Yes, I say again. This will be my fourth time to take this darn test - four time's a charm right! Its very humbling to admit that this is the fourth time since 2005 that I have taken this test, but no need in hiding right. Each time I start about 2-3 months out and study for about 3-5 hours a day! Ouch that hurts! Its really not too bad, because I honestly do enjoy what I am studying. I also try to split up those hours each day by studying in the morning, during lunch, and then again at night. I try to take a break on Saturdays afternoons, but other than that each day pretty much consists of eating, sleeping, working out, and studying. Sounds fun right? Not so much! Anyways, I would ask that if you could remember me in your prayers until the end of November I would appreciate it. I am not real sure why I have been so close to passing in my past tests and haven't, but the Lord has His reasons and I am just trying to learn the lesson (many of which I already have). So I would ask that if it comes to mind please pray for discipline in my studying, that I would be able to retain all the information, and that I would do my best on the test. From there it is in the Lord's hands!
So if I am slow on posting, just know its because I am studying and not just being a bad blogger!

fore!!!

One of Sam's closest friends, Ryan, came in town last weekend to hang out with us. He dropped his wife, Brittyne, off at the airport on Friday morning to go study abroad for the rest of the summer, so he decided to stay for the weekend. I took some shots of the guys when we went to play golf on Saturday, so I thought I would share. (Yes, I played. No, there are no shots of me while swinging. I personally think I look ridiculous with a large booty when I play! Sorry folks, no flash photography!)

Sam and Ryan on the 1st tee box

He taught me everything I know!

We made Ryan walk, while we rode inthe cart!

I know this picture is blurry b/c they were moving and I dont' have the best camera, but it's still cool.

Ryan in his sweet "golfers" hat!

We had a fun weekend Ryan. Thanks for coming to hang out!

PS. If you want to read about how Ralph Pedigo is doing check out Meagn's blog! Thanks for the prayers, I know they were felt by the Pedigo family!

A-Town

I think I mentioned in my last post that last weekend we played several hours of Rockband. I think we really started to feel like we were a true band and could really play the guitar and drums and sell out venues. I guess that is probably not going to happen anytime soon, but hey, we can dream! I took some pretty funny pictures while my band members played (I was doing my "manager" duties and trying to book us some gigs!). So introducing....A-TOWN!!!!

(screams and cheers)

Jenn Van Halen

DASH

SHAM

We're booked solid through 2008, but contact us and we'll travel anywhere you want us to go!!! We're working on some new stuff that I really think will rock your face off!!!! :) (Sorry, I was just having a little bit of fun!)


PRAYERS:
As I was typing this post, my very close friend Megan called me. (I hope I get all the terminology right) Her dad has a failed kidney and has been on dialysis for quite some time now. Every time a kidney has become available for a transplant it has not worked out for some reason for another for him. She called today to tell me that they have a kidney here in Dallas and that they are trying to get him on a flight here as soon as possible. They are bringing him (his name is Ralph) and another candidate down and who ever is the best match will have a kidney transplant tomorrow. Please, please, please be in prayer for Ralph as he travels here and as the decision is made tomorrow. This has been a long hard road for him and I know that he would really appreciate your prayers. Please also pray for the rest of the family b/c they will all need comfort and peace during this time.

Human-beings not human-doings

"It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our last day"

Author Matthew Henry

Living with an eternal perspective has always been a challenge for me. It's what my heart truly desires, but my earthly flesh is constantly pulling me the other way. I start my day out praying to the Lord to use me, to live in me, and to guide me to do His works that day. Then the second something goes crazy at work I am back to living in my flesh. We are seriously at war here.

This has always been something heavy on my heart, but I was woken up even more the day my niece, Lilly, passed away. I was reminded AGAIN that this is not our home - we are only buy aliens and strangers - we are not promised anything or any day here on earth. I was reminded that our time here on earth is just merly preparation for the greatness that lies ahead. Our time here will determine our judgement one day and will determine our eternal lives; this knowledge in it self should determine the character of our present lives every single day. Our time here is SO short and is only our "testing period". That's HUGE!!! So why aren't we living that way every single day??? I continually ask myself that. It reminds me of tv shows when there is an angel and a devil on each shoulder; which way will we follow???

This week in our Crown Financial class (ask me about it if you want more info, it is something that I am VERY passionate about, but you probably don't want me to pull out my "soap box"!) and it was our last class, and how appropriate - it was on living for eternity. Yes, the focus might have been on money, but living for eternity is about our whole lives, our whole beings. There were a lot of great quotes that I wish I could have come up with myself, but that is just not the way my mind works. They are such easy sentences to read, yet so hard to live. I just felt a tug on my heart though that no matter how simple they are that I need to continually be reminded of what they truly mean and that I needed to share them also. So here are just a few....

"Once our life on earth is over, we will never have another chance to move the hand of God through prayer, to share Christ with one who does not know the Savior, to give money to further God's kingdom, or to share with the needy."

"We must never become too much at home in this world or we will become ineffective in serving the cause of the kingdom we are here to represent." - "Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear" 1 Peter 1:17

"When our eyes are too focused on the visible, they will be drawn away from the invisible." - "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

Then just 3 days later my mom called me as she was leaving her class at church and was telling me about a great article that they focused on that evening on Rick Warren (author of the book A Purpose Driven Life). She ended up sending it to me and I just had time to sit down and read it today. As I was reading, I knew the Lord again was speaking directly to me about my life here on earth - what is my focus/perspective?? I am dying to share the whole article, but I'll just share some and then give you the link to go read more (its not too long): (link: http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/17175.htm)

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond:

In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity.

We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body--

but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions

of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.
God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one,

or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy than

He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

So again like I said, this is all just preparation. Am I allowing God to use my circumstances to prepare me? Am I praising Him when the good times come AND when the bad times come? Am I allowing Him to change and move me through all my circumstances? Rick goes on to say some more great things about the good times and the bad.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always

something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is

always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into

self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain."
But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to

get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

Honestly this is something that I have really not had to face before. Of course I have had tough times...a hard test, working things out with a friend, relationships, finding a job, my dad getting prostate cancer, deaths in the family. Sam brought this to my attention when I was struggling recently - Yes, I saw the Lord's hands in each of these times, but had I really been tested in my faith in Him? The answer was no, until 2 months ago. Now that time has passed, I look back and think, did I turn to the Lord and allow Him to teach me and mold me during that hard time, did I show Him that although this is the worst thing I had faced on earth that I still relied on Him, did I open my eyes to Him when I had nothing else to give me answers, did I have an eternal perspective?

I can now take a step back and say, even in the worst of situations - Lord, I know you better - Lord, you have opened my eyes and I can now see clearer - Lord, I see you in Richard and Jennifer's lives and the amazing way you are guiding them - Lord, you are truly building us all into new people - Lord, YOU and only you brought good.

So that's where I am at. That is my struggle. To ALWAYS see the Lord and His will. To ALWAYS love him first as he commands and then others (what else really matters?). To ALWAYS have an eternal perspective. It is hard, and sometimes frightening to think about, but the Lord comforts us with His scriptures:

"Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished." - 1 Chronicles 28:2

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:2

"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." - Revelation 2:1

My personal favorite: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better ...God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list.

He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

PRAYERS NEEDED:

I would also like to take the time to mention that we got news from my bother and sister-in-law yesterday that their friends from their adult class at church, The Marlowe's, lost their 2 month old baby - Jacob - on Sunday morning in his sleep. I was honestly shocked to hear that this had happened again and to someone in their lives. Please keep this family in your prays to get through this time and to trust in the Lord. Due to the fact that baby Jacob was born pre-mature, they also have a lot of medical bills that they have recently been faced with, so please also pray for that. You can go to Richard and Jennifer's blog to read more: http://richandjenn.blogspot.com/ and also to the Marlowe Family blog to send them an encouraging message: http://marloweclan.blogspot.com/.

I would also like to ask that you would keep Richard and Jennifer in your prayers as I am sure this has opened back up many of the feelings they had to experience. I also ask for prayers that the Lord would use them to help the Marlowe's through this time b/c they are one of the only people who can truly say they know what they are going through. This is such a horrible thing and again something that we will never understand, but we do know that through prayer and through the Lord that this family too to get through this.

Lillian Reese Thomas

Lilly's funeral will be this Friday at 4:00pm. I just wanted to share this information for anyone that might be interested.

Restland Funeral Home

13005 Greenville Ave.

Dallas, TX 75243

(972) 238-7111

The service will be held in the Memorial Chapel

There is also a memorial fund set at for Lilly:

Westminster Presbyterian Church

2525 Wimberley Road

Amarillo, TX 79109

Att: Lilly Memorial Fund

******

I can not express how much every one of your thoughts and prayers have been felt. Richard and Jennifer would not be making it through this with out them. Please don't stop b/c they will need these prayers for a long time. We also appreciate all the kind words and expressions of love. We will continue to keep everyone updated. We truly miss our Lilly, but we also know and understand that the Lord is in control. As we look back we can see His hand preparing this situation. He gave each person that loved her time before she left and we thank Him for that. Blessings to you all.

http://babylillyspad.blogspot.com/

*****

I also wanted to share a new blog that someone set up for Lilly where people can post prayers and letters of encouragement to Richard and Jennifer. Thank you to the person that cared so much to set this up. http://lillyinspirations.blogspot.com/

*****

Good-bye for now precious baby girl, but not good bye forever. We love you so much.

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/030608/obi_obit27.shtml

Precious baby girl

This will not be a long post, but one of the hardest things I will ever have to write. Our precious niece Lilly went to be with the Lord yesterday. At this point there are many unanswered questions and I don't really have to much to say. I am just asking that if you are reading this that you would lift her parents, Richard and Jennifer, and the rest of the family up in your prayers. Everyone is just hanging on trying to get through today and we need all the strength through prayer that you can offer. I will post more when I know more and when I can figure out words to say.