If I one a million dollars I would buy a bigger house and have it made completely accessible. I’d want my own bathroom with a walk in shower, no barriers to coming in or going out. A sound proof room so I could make videos.and take phone calls with the people I work with, and an open floor plan so I can be a host home for my Bible study.

This time of year the things that I miss most are going to Summer camp and concerts with my friends from youth group.

Our youth group used to go Home Lake, in kings Canyon. We would go for a full week. The first year I went was when I was in 9th grade. I’d never had been away from home before, but thank you to one of my youth group leaders, I was able to go, because she volunteered to help me with my personal care nerds.

The first year I went I took my everyday manual wheelchair. Our cabin was accessible, but it was at the top of a hilly path, it took the help of all of my friends, and occasionally the help of a guy from another cabin to make it up that hill.

The second year that I went my pastor asked what it would take to make it easier for me to go, and with the help of Lantermen Regional center we were able to rent a power chair and an accessible van for the week. It made getting to the cabin so much easier and when we had free time I was able to hang out by myself if wanted. My favorite things to do were visit the snack shop to.get a strawberry cheesecake milkshake and go go the gift shop a browse for a bit.

This was my final year of going to camp.

Concerts make up my other fond memories of this time in my life. We would go to a festival called

Hallelujah Jubilee

That took place either at Magic Mountain or Knott’s Berry Farm. There would 5 to 10 bands at these festivals, and it was awesome to run around the park going from show to show. I got some of the best seats at these concerts.

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4‭-‬7

Don’t Feed your Fear Feed your Faith

But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.

Psalms 56:3

Quote said during the sermon

Fear sees a threat and reacts, Anxiety imagines a threat and can’t move

Pastor Rick Mandl

“Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”

Esther 4:16

Esther spent time in prayer before making this statement. She fed her faith.

Don’t Feed bitterness Feed forgiveness

How Do I know if I’m feeding Bitterness

• Am I replaying the incident in my mind
• Am I keeping a list?
• Am I recruiting others to feel the way I feel?

Don’t Feed despair, Feed Hope

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

Lamentations 3:21‭-‬24

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Corinthians 4:16‭-‬18

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8

I think that the shoe that describes me, Even though I don’t wear them much anymore is sparkly tennis shoes, because I love dressing up, but I also have to make sure that I can be stable to do my best walking. I think that describes me in life right now too. I love a simple every day glam look but it’s no to over the top.

I could totally be that woman who wears a dress everyday. It’s so easy to look put together.

I remember when I was in life skills therapy learning how to dress myself. On a particular day when putting non pants was difficult for me, one of my therapist asked the other

How is Marie going to dress herself?

I was really struggling. Her answer was

She would look really.pretty if she wore dresses all the time.

This conversation happened in front of me

And I thought

What Dork wears dresses all the time?!

My other embarrassing option was pants with snaps all over them.

Knowing how easy it was to get dressed today I totally could be that woman who wears dresses all the time.

Stubborn

Willing to try and not wait for perfectton

I talk a lot

Sensitive

Brave

Encouraging

Amazing

Welcoming

Someone who smiles a lot

Stubborn

I am all about growth

I tried to remember the things that I heard lately

My life did not began til I was in my late 20’s. When i was 26 and anticipating ending my college career I realized I needed to change ,so I decided to work on getting healthy and giving up my chair for good.

This journey begin with the purchase of a hand cycle that I used for half an hour everyday, and eventually grew to include 6 weeks of physical therapy, where I focused on getting strong and then, working on my distance walking.

By the time I was 30, I’d became a fan of the show Line Big with Ali Vincent and in August 2011 I got the opportunity to meet Ali when she hosted a workout in Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles. Two months later, over a series of emails. I was asked to be a part of her show and I made some of the most awesome friends through that expirence.

My question of the day book today, asked the question Do I believe in Fate or free Will. The answer to that is both. I believe in both because I. Believe I was created by a loving God and that he has a plan for me, but as I learned in church last year. God did not create us with the intention of being his army of Robots, who would follow a blueprint for our lives.

It is the absolute truth that he died on the cross to save Everyone from sin and he wants everyone to come to know him as their father and personal Lord and savior, but within the adventure he wants to take you on is a game plan, A life with a few specific moves and the freedom to make your own choices. His specific plays are found in the Bible and you can talk to him any time though prayer.

These are some of the nicknames people in my life have given me.

• Nikki
• Gorgeous
• Sunshine
• Miss Marie
• Trouble
• Mi. Short for Mija
• Wonder Woman

Today I’m answering a Life group study Notes question.

When is the last time I rejoiced?

It’s important to me to make sure that I say

Thank you Lord for waking me up

Every morning, because my answer to what gets you out of Bed in the morning is,

God Does!

I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. I’m. Grateful for even the mundane things and the things that people count as doing nothing. For example, using my phone and blogging and or messaging my loved ones on Facebook or by text message to their phone number.

People can choose the way they use technology. It can very often be a tool that is used to kill your brain cells when you are scrolling through Instagram and Facebook and your feed is full of Negitve images and posts that make you feel bad.

OR

It can be a tool that makes you one of the happiest people earth, because you are able to reach out to your friends and family in such a time as quarantine and say something like

How’s it going today? I love you and miss you and I hope you’re doing well ❤️