That's my kinda night!!! Merry Christmas!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS MIGHTY WARRIORS!!! This blog update is obviously a Christmas blog so I hope you enjoy reading this on Christmas morning or if your reading this at midnight! Lets travel back into time and go back to when someone special was born in a little town called Bethlehem…..this is the Christmas story.

Hear the Word of the Lord:

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. 

That scripture verse came from www.biblegateway.com

So on I want you to picture if you were one of the sheperds and you got this kinda news. How would you feel? How would you react? For myself I would probable be astonished and breathless to hear the news that a SAVIOR has been born TODAY!! So now lets talk about Mary because Mary is a BIG part of this story cause she is holding the Savior of the world in her womb. But Mary was a little confused when an angel appeared to her saying that she will be pregant with a child but a child that will SAVE and RENEW THE WORLD!!!! Now Mary was a virgin and she had never had intercourse so she was probable thinking "There's no way I could be pregnant with not a child but a SAVIOR" Now for those of you who are mothers and who have had kids lets just use this as an example when you take that first pregnancy test and its positive you are full of excitement right? Of course and you can't wait to tell everyone the good news. You make phone calls, you share it on social media with your family and friends and word gets out pretty fast but back in Mary's time they didn't have facebook,twitter and instagram to get the word out, it says right in scripture that and angel of the Lord appeared to the sheperds telling them of this wonderful news and right above where Jesus was laid in a manger there was a bright Shining star that shined and the sheperds followed that star until they reached the place where baby Jesus was born. That sounds like a pretty amazing night right? I mean today we celebrate and we honor Jesus' birth but sometimes we tend to forget or loose the sight because we have presents to get,wrap and give to friends and family. We have family meals to make, we have a house to clean and we don't take time to just enjoy the season. Wether that be taking a drive and looking a christmas lights on houses or watching the snow fall. This year I have a friend that use to be my counselor and she recently wrote a book called "Stop, Breathe Believe Mindful Living One Thought at a Time, and last year she came to Lutheran Church of Hope for a Christmas Brunch and shared with us how to do just that Stop,Breathe Believe. 

I am going to describe to you what I have learned from this wonderful yet very sinmply technique to take steps to help live a peace and wonderful life using our minds and hearts and breath to help with this growth in your own life. If you would like to purchase this book you can get it on Amazon.com. So when I first started using Stop, breathe believed it really helped with my anxiety. I felt my anxiety decrease and more hope arise in my life. So for example if I am driving and I feel myself get anxious I am reminded of this easy technique because the book cover is a stop light and how it works is like this. When you feel yourself getting drawn into negative thinking or for some people maybe your mother used the phrase of "Stinkin Thinkin" you just say to yourself Stop Mariah and then the yellow is the breathing part of it and you take big deep breath in and when you retrace your thinking to a postive you exhale and let out all the negative thinking and believe in the green or hope filled thoughts and then repeat it everytime you feel those negatives thoughts try to creep in your head and steal your happiness and joy this holiday season. So with that I am going to wrap up my blog update with three songs Emmanuel by Micheal W Smith and Mary did you know by Rascal Flatts! The last one is a fun song sung by Luke Bryan and its called Run Run Rudolph! Enjoy everyone! I also want to give a special shout out to those who are reading this across the world I pray y'all have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. 

TODAY A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU HE IS CHRIST THE LORD AMEN! 

THANKS FOR READING 

MERRY CHRISTMAS MIGHTY WARRIORS 

~MM

Song 1 Emmanuel By Micheal W Smith

Song 2 Mary did you know? By Rascal Flatts

Song 3 "Run Run Rudolph By Luke Bryan

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Mighty Warriors I hope you all had a great week...what? you say today is a holiday YOUR RIGHT! It's a day of Thanksgiving. Today is a day of thanks, today I am going to share with you Psalm 100. Hear the Word of the Lord:

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 

     Worship the Lord with gladness.
    Come before him, singing with joy. 

 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name. 

 For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

So that was today's scripture reading. So now I want to ask you, what are you thankful for? I went to a thanksgiving service on Tuesday and the lady who brought the message had 2 mugs in her hand. One of the mugs she called "A mug of Thanks" And she first wrote a list of things she was thankful for and then she cut them into strips and put them in the "mug of thanks" and each day she would pull one out and think about that one thing she was thankful for throughout the day.  Then we get out our "mug of giving and each day we put a quarter in and then when our mug of giving is full we can choose what we want to do with those coins or dollars that we gather. Maybe you pay it forward in the drive-thru at a fast food place, or you donate it towards charity this holiday season. There are multiple ways to give. See thanksgiving isn't just one word. Its two words put together but have such an impact if we use it on a daily basis. I will admit I fail at this every day. I forget to be thankful. I know during hard times it's hard to be thankful. Being Thankful is such a great thing and even though during the hard times it may not seem helpful but I think it can be. This year I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for my church family that is continuing to grow, not just as a congregation but as a body of believers. We are still in the building process of our new church home and we have come so far since we first began. I am so thankful the Lord has provided us a place and the money to do this. This week I am very thankful for health and safety. My grandma is in the hospital due to dehydration but is doing so much better. So I am thankful that she is getting her strength back. I am so close to both my grandparents and I love them dearly. My uncle recently fell and broke his hip and had to undergo surgery but all went well and he is now recovering. So I am thankful that he is doing better as well. Family to me is also so very very important and I am just so thankful to my parents who have chosen me and adopted me to be there child. So for me I have a ton to be thankful for. I also am thankful for all my readers of my blog. I pray for all my readers and I pray that these words I write wouldn't be mine but the holy spirit speaking through me into your lives. I could go on and on about what I am thankful for because there is just so much but I finally want to give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for dieing for my sins and the worlds sins. On November 21 5 years ago on that day I professed my faith in Jesus Christ, I could tell you the whole story but I will save that story for another blog. But one of the songs I heard in High school was a song called "Yes I believe" and this song was written by an artist Peder Eide and I want to end with 2 songs about faith and just how awesome our God is. I hope you all have a blessed and joyful Thanksgiving.
Song #1  Awesome God By Rich Mullins
Song # 2 Yes I believe By Peder Eide

Blessings to all!
~MM

Pastor appreciation month!!!

Good Evening Mighty Warriors! I hope you had a great week. So this months blog is dedicated to all the pastors out there. But my church is one church in multiple locations. We have many pastors on staff at Hope. I am going to focus on the pastors that I hear from on most weekends. Those pastors would be Pastor Mike Housholder and Pastor Scott Rains. I also attend another church called Hickman Road Church of Christ, their pastor is Colby Clapp and he gives great messages on Sunday mornings. So I since this month is pastor appreciation month I have asked a couple of people from my church what they appreciate about there pastors. 
Angie from Hope Ankeny told me "I appreciate that all the pastors at Hope are approachable, authentic and live life transparently alongside the congregation."
Jennifer from Hope Ankeny say "she appreciates that the pastors don't pretend to be perfect 
people. 
 Trevor from Hope Ankeny says "I'm a fan of sweater vests"
Scott from Hope Ankeny says " I like that Pastor Scott is so genuine and relatable. He doesn't elevate himself, he humbles himself and is not afraid to share his challenges and heart."
Tiffany from Hope West Des Moines says "I love that our pastors take the time to talk and listen. I love that we can work together to do what God wants us to do…Love God, Love People"
Last we go over to the church Hickman Road church of Christ. The Olson family told me what they appreciate about there Pastor Colby.
 Ethan says " He is like a brother, I know I can talk to him about anything. He is overall a really cool guy.
Alex says "He is really sensitive to other peoples emotions. I like the messages he gives on Sundays.
Abby says "He is really cool. I like when he plays video games with me. He is really good at getting the point across in his messages.
Sherri says "He is a very compassionate guy and he cares about everyone. He has a talent for preaching the Word and getting it across.
Todd says "I like the way he focuses on the Word"
So now I am going to post some pictures of some of the pastors that we talked about in this post. This post is dedicated to all pastors out there. I just want to say continue to share your gifts and talents with your congregation. Let Gods spirit continue to flow through you and may You continue to reach out to the world around you and share the everlasting love of Jesus Christ. ~ Hopes mission statement.

Mighty Mariah and Pastor Scott Rains

Jeremy Johnson and Scott Rains

Mighty Mariah with Pastor Mike Housholder

Alex and I with pastor Colby from Hickman Road Church of Christ!

I want to end with a song dedicated to all pastors. This song is called "Fix My Eyes" By For King and country!

Enjoy! 

Blessings to all!

~MM

September is_______?_________ Month?

Hello Mighty Warriors, I apologize for not writing in the last two months. My life has been busy with work and many church activities. So I just want to get right to the point. In April I wrote a blog about an organization called Donate Life. And how my cousin donated his body and organs to help those who needed it. I want to talk to you today about the month of September. September is recovery month.

This year marks the 25^th annual observance of Recovery Month, a national effort to raise public awareness of the importance of prevention, treatment and, especially, recovery from behavioral health disorders, including substance addictions. 

Has anyone every heard a great and amazing program called "Celebrate Recovery" Rick Warren started the program at Saddleback Church in California and there are many more churches that have the program as well. But right now I want to tell you about my time so far at Celebrate Recovery at Lutheran Church of Hope. It has been very helpful and that doesn't even begin to describe it. My church believes that it is no accident you show up on a Thursday night to Celebrate Recovery or any other event that goes on because WE as a CHURCH have been praying for you. I have been a greeter at my churches Celebrate Recovery for many months and every time it just makes my heart glow brighter and brighter. For newcomers who walk through our doors WE as a CHURCH welcome them with open arms because THEY ARE HOME. We care for one another, we are there. When you join any Celebrate Recovery group there is no need to fear judgement because truth is EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS WORLD STRUGGLES. It doesn't matter what our hurt habit or hang up is.Drugs alcohol, Sexual abuse,drug abuse, divorce,,anxiety, depression, addiction, pornography…. We all have sin, no one in this world is perfect. It doesn't matter how big your house is, or how much money you make or how big your family is or even if you have the best job in the world. NO ONE IS PERFECT! Are you hearing me Mighty Warriors? NO ONE!! Here's the most mind blowing thing about Jesus. He came into this world as a little baby born in a manger. God knew why He sent his one and only son into this world. He didn't do it for nothing.HE DID IT FOR YOU!!!!!! HE LOVES YOU! HE DIED FOR YOU! If you were the last person on this earth He would still have come down to earth and taken on your sin on the cross.  I don't know how many of you have seen the Passion of the Christ? It is a Mel Gibson film and I can tell you that it is such a powerful movie. But I mean even though its just actors its a hard but its such a moving movie. It tugs at your heart. When I first watched this film it was hard to even see my Savior get flogged and beaten and killed like that. Mighty Warriors we will never really know what it was like 2,000 years ago in reality, but this film gets yours thoughts spinning and questions arising. But he really did get flogged and beaten and nailed. All the blood that was poured out of his body was for you! Everything that you have that is weighing on your shoulders has been take off your back and you can now stand up straight and not feel weighed down by your own hurts,habits or hang ups. He took your sin and erased it. It no longer matters to Him. That's what makes Jesus Christ so Mighty so Powerful and so AMAZING AND WONDERFUL. He created every single one of you on purpose for a purpose. Yes, there are struggles in this world but He is already overcome it through his death and resurrection. So I was able to talk to a couple of people who go to my church and here are a couple of questions that I asked them.
Joseph answered these questions: What have you learned from your time at Celebrate Recovery?
Joseph answered "By God's grace I have been set free from my depression and anxieties. Celebrate Recovery has taught me to be grateful for what i have and to concentrate on positive solutions. By confessing my faults to others. In doing so I was able to gain a new perspective and that enabled me to break out of the prison of my old habits"
Melanie: What are you in celebrating recovery from? " I am celebrating recovery from addiction and sexual abuse. It was in the year of 1992 that I first sought help. I was sexual abused at age nine and I took my first drug at age eleven.
What is one piece of advice that you could give to someone who is new to celebrate recovery?
"Reach out to someone you trust"
What is your favorite thing about the Celebrate Recovery program"
"Be still and know"
Mighty Warriors those were a couple of people who have told you a little bit about how Celebrate Recovery has helped them in their recovery journey.
There are many Celebrate Recovery leaders out there who would love to chat with you. I encourage you if you have a hurt, habit or hang up that is weighing you down reach out to one of the Celebrate Recovery programs in your area. You are meant to be FREE from whatever is holding you back from the life that your Mighty Savior has planned for you.
Melissa is a good friend of mine and she is the Celebrate Recovery Coordinator at Lutheran Church of Hope. If your in the area come on out on a Thursday night and check it out. We have a meal at 5:00 than our very own Celebrate Recovery band starts off the night with some awesome and uplifting music, we hear a teaching or a testimony from someone afterwards and last we break out into small groups and if you visit the booth before the service you can find which group best fits your need for recovery or you can check them all out. Come on out and check it out! Celebrate Recovery is a great program and the transformation that I get to see every Thursday is just amazing. We all struggle YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!

Well that is my blog update for Recovery month. I hope y'all enjoyed it. I want to share three songs with you that just touch my heart in so many ways. Feel free to take a listen
The first song is called:  Celebrate Recovery (cry out to Jesus)
The second song is called: I Surrender:Hillsong
The Third song is called: Changed: By Rascal Flatt's
I hope y'all enjoyed this blog update
Blessings
~Mighty Mariah

Exclusive Interview with Echo!!

Echo

Hey Mighty Warriors. I apologize it has been a while since I wrote an update. If you want to also stay connected with me check out Mighty Mariah's facebook page. I am also on Twitter just look up Mighty Mariah. This blog update is one I am really excited about I can't wait for you guys to read this. So first off let me ask "How many of you guys like to listen to hip hop/rap music? What is your favorite hip hop artist? Well for me personally I at first didn't really care for hip hop/rap. But then I found an artist who not only do I know but this mans music as been such an inspiration on me. This mans name is Echo. And I was able to have an exclusive interview with him on his life story,music and faith. Now this interview I asked the questions but he typed me up his answers and he put it in a good format so I just copied and pasted the document. Now there are a couple of reasons to why I did that. 1. Because I don't want to change the wording of his answers. And I wanted to be honest with you that I did copy and paste the interview document. So I invite you to sit back and enjoy this exclusive interview with a Mighty Warrior who enjoys not only rapping but spreading the word and truth about a Mighty Savior.

 How are you doing echo?

I’m doing well, Mariah, hope all is well with you!

 So I have several questions I would like to ask you for my blog.

 Go for it!

 When did u find your calling to be a rapper?

That’s going to take a trip down my memory lane… It wasn’t necessarily that I always grew up thinking, yeah, I’m going to be a rapper. In fact, until I was about 16-17 if you asked me or told me I’d be a rapper I’d probably looked shocked, confused, or not understand you. But God grabbed a hold of me through this genre, and by 16 I was starting to see the need for my state, Iowa, to have a rapper who talked about real life, but also pointed them to a hope they need. Then, by 17, after some recording and some demo songs, I finally released my first single, “The Youth,” and since then have continued to be pressed on my heart and in my life to use the platform of music, especially in the genre of hip hop/rap, to reach and impact the youth culture. I couldn’t say there was a certain day, but when I  started receiving messages about how my second single, “Free,” was being used by God to move in people’s hearts, I knew He had me doing this for a reason. 

Who is someone you admire that motivated you to become a rapper? 

LECRAE. That dude has not only been one of my favorite artists of all time but was the man God used to wake my dead and complacent soul. He’s been such a role model and inspiration to me. I would say he, TobyMac, and Grits were some of the earlier day motivators for me. And now, there are so many I love and are inspired by on the daily. 

What is one piece of advice you want my readers to hear? 

Don’t let anyone tell you you cannot pursue your dreams and passions. God uniquely crafted you to chase after the passions that were breathed into your existence. Be careful, I’m not saying if you want to be a singer, an actress, or something big, to do it just so you can be famous and get a lot money. This is a heart thing, God created in your heart a passion to live and do something. You have to find what that is for yourself, and CHASE IT.

What is the story behind the band name Echo?

Echo is actually the name for me as the rapper of the band, my band is comprised of Ben Nordemeyer (Lead Guitarist) , Becca (Vocalist), Jacob Lubinus (Drummer), and myself (rapper.)

How did you come up with the name? Is there a story behind it?

 The name came while I was trying to decide what my rap name should actually be. I knew my actual name would be hard not only to pronounce but hard to spell and just all around hard for people to catch onto. I was listening to a song called, “Echo” by Canton Jones, which in the chorus sings I’ll be an Echo, Echo, Echo, hey, hey, I’mma say what you say. 

I really liked the message of that song, and the concept of that as well. When someone listens to my music, I don’t want them looking to me and saying, wow he’s so amazing, and he’s doing that all by himself. NO! I want my lyrics to reflect what God wants to say to the youth, to this culture, and Echo those words to them. So when I got into the writing process, sure it is personal, sure it’s my words, but I make it a point that God is speaking through me what He wants to. Not just what I want to say or make it all about me. That’s how the name came about, and so far, has been a great foundation for us. 

What is your favorite part about being a rapper?

For real being able to create music in my favorite genre. But more importantly that I have a better opportunity than most genres to go into depths about the topics I want to talk about, and knowing it’s impacting.

What hardships have you faced in life before you became a rapper that maybe you can tell us and how you got through those times. 

Well, there have been quite a few, though I will say, praise God that I did go through them!

Something that definitely has affected my life has been my struggle with insecurity in myself, depressive thoughts, and definitely the time in my life I contemplated suicide. 

Something you’ll realize when you continue to get to know me is I’m a broken man who’s faced, or been around, a lot that the world has to throw our way. During my late teen years, I had been struggling already with my identity, my faith, my purpose, and if anyone actually cared about me. As you can notice I was focusing so much on myself, my wants, my needs, that I was just slipping deeper into negative thoughts and my depression. I tried to seek satisfaction and appreciation in relationships and in my addictions, but they didn’t work, and it broke me even more, especially the fact that I didn’t let many people know about them. Finally, I came to a point where I thought nobody would truly care if I was gone, that maybe the world would actually be a better place if I was gone. Praise God that He used music and others around me to reach into my life and pull me out! It’s taken a long time for me to face my struggles, my scars, and my pain, but I take it one day at a time and declare with joy today that I didn’t choose suicide, that I didn’t let my loneliness and depression rule my life, but I let Jesus set me free from that! I’m not perfect and I still struggle through a lot, but that’s what life is, we struggle, we break, but if we continue to cling to Jesus, to get to know Him, and surround ourselves in community with others, we can experience the freedom, the joy, and the life we were meant to live!

Finally what is something you would like to share? It can be about faith, your life quotes or anything. 

Honestly? What I’ve been talking about, pursue the passion God created in you, because that was in YOUR design, not for someone else to do for you. Also, live real. If you are struggling, be honest about it, if you are contemplating suicide, talk to someone about it and get friends and others around you to encourage and help strengthen you. I will say this, fixing my eyes, my heart and my mind on others and on Jesus has helped me steer away from my selfish desires to be focused on and noticed and appreciated by everybody. Focus on Jesus, not on what others think or want from you. Also, HAVE FUN. Jesus gave us freedom and a joy we could never attain!! That should give us reason to have the biggest party ever!!

Thanks for letting me do an exclusive interview with you, Echo. You are so inspiring to me! You rock! Keep rappin’

Hey Mighty Mariah, YOU rock, thanks for interviewing me, and for giving me a chance to express myself to you and your readers!

Mighty Warriors that was my exclusive Interview with Des Moines Rapper Echo! If you want more information on Echo 

Check out Echo's official website!

I also want to give y'all an oppurtunity to hear a song sung by Echo. 

Song "Free" By Echo

Echo did a video called "What is love" This is actually a very small video clip and I encourage y'all to check it out!

Check out "What is love" here

I really enjoyed interviewing this Mighty Warrior! I want to end this blog update with writing out a prayer for Echo and his band of Mighty Warriors. 

Dear Heavenly I want to take a moment and lift up Echo and His band to you. Father you work in the most mysterious and awesome ways. I love how you love us so much that you can't stand to leave us in our misery and pain that this world throws our way. You came to give us life and so that we could live it to the fullest. Father I want to lift up Echo and His band to you. Father I thank You for the work You have done and will continue to do in each one of their lives. Father I thank You for the gifts and talents You give each and every person in that band. Echos band shines for You every time they take the stage. Father I ask that you pour out a special blessing upon them. Continue to give Echo wisdom and knowledge as he writes songs and reaches the youth of this culture and make them see that there life has a purpose and that Father you made each one of us for a specific purpose. You are almighty. You don't make mistakes. Father life can bring challenges but when challenges arise may we grab your mighty hand and may we trust in your Mighty plan. You carried a rugged cross to Calvary. You got beaten, spit on, kicked and you got nailed to the cross, BECAUSE YOU LOVE YOUR BELOVED SON AND DAUGHTERS OF THIS WORLD!! You took the nails on that cross for US!!! You died to recieve glory you died to save us because you love us. You will do anything to fight for us your children. Father speak to Echo in new an awesome ways and may he breath in your truth grace and love every day for the rest of his life. I pray this all in your Mighty and holy and precious name Amen.

Blessings to all you Mighty Warriors out there.

Stay Mighty In Him alone

~ Mighty Mariah, Interviewer

~ Echo,Rapper and Mighty Warrior for Christ

Happy Mother's Day!

How are all you Mighty Warriors doing? I hope y'all have had a great week. Today is Sunday but todays post I want to dedicate to all you mothers out there. Mothers are great but they are more than that they… are a gift, a gift from the Mighty One.  Todays scripture comes from the book of Proverbs.
Hear the Word of the Lord: Proverbs 31:10-30

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.  Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.  She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.  She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.  She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.  She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.  She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.  She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.  She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.  In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.  She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.  When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.  She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.  Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.  She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.  She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.  She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.  She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:  "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."  Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

My favorite line out of this scripture is  "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue". I think thats true for all the mothers in the world they do just that they give wisdome and they have faithful instruction. My mom Joan shows a great example of that.

My beautiful and outstanding mother.

Mothers have a gift and that gift is when they are present they say everything without saying anything. One of the things for me when my moms around when I am happy or sad she says just with her eyes and with her heart " I am here" she doesn't have to say it I know she says it. I think thats true for all mothers. They say "I am here" but they don't have to say they just are there and you know that thats just what they are saying. Thats one thing I love about my mom. I got to ask my mom "What qualities make a great mother?" Her answer was teaching the love of the Lord, having lots of patience,showing unconditional love, great communication, spending quality time with your family, pray with and for your family and teach responsibility to your kids at a young age. That is a great answer my mother gave and mom if your reading this you showed all the qualities that make a great mother. Thank you for all you do! I want to end this blog post with a prayer for all the mothers out there.

Dear Heavenly Father I want to lift up all the mothers in the world. Father I ask that you continue to bless them and keep them safe and in your care. Father thank you for giving us a glimpse of what unconditional looks like. Father pour out your love on them on there special day. In your Mighty and Holy name Amen!

I want to end with a song and I want this song to be dedicated to my mom Joan for all she has done as a mother but as my best friend. 

Song for Mother's Day!

I hope all you Mothers have a great and blessed day full of laugh and love and pure joy. 

Blessings to all you Mighty Warriors

Happy Birthday to Mighty Mariah

Hey Mighty Warriors! I hope y'all have had a great week. This is going to be a short update but…oh wait I believe tomorrow is someones birthday….your right tomorrow would be my birthday. I can't believe how blessed I am. I have a great family and an adorable puppy whom I love and an amazing man in my life. I just want to also give a shout out to my parents Dave and Joan for raising me to love our Mighty Savior with all my heart. Without there strong and unshakable faith, I don't know what I would be. Thanks Mom and Dad. My family means everything to me! More importantly I want to give thanks to my Mighty Savior for giving me life and the ability to write blog updates but for the gift to spread the Word of Christ to all you Mighty Warriors out there reading this. I am so thankful for how many people this blog has reached and my prayer is that when you read my posts is that you see Gods mighty power and just how mighty He is. Zephaniah 3:17 is my favorite bible verse that is what I based my blog and my facebook page off of. Is to share just how mighty our Savior is.  Hear the word of the Lord: Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.". I am thankful to have readers that enjoying hearing the word of our Mighty Savior! Have a blessed evening Mighty Warriors. Remember each and every one of you are Mighty Warriors for Christ!
Blessings to all!
Feel free to comment and wish me a very Happy Birthday! 

God's…NOT…DEAD!!!!!!

He is risen indeed!

HAPPY EASTER MIGHTY WARRIORS….Sunday is here and we can CELEBRATE…Christ is risen indeed and He has conquered death and He has overcome the world. I want to start off with three AMAZING words….God's NOT DEAD! He is surely alive! Todays Scripture comes from 1st Corinthians 15: Hear the word of the Lord!
"Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.  It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.  He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.  After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.  Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.  Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.  For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.  So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed. That scripture came from biblegateway.com

So Mighty Warriors that message we proclaim and that Good news we share is that Christ is alive. He has risen indeed. We have a hope in Him that when this world is destroyed we will enter the Kingdom of God all because God's One and Only son paid it all. Easter is a time of celebration. All because God went to the cross and went through unimaginable pain…He conqered death and He,Himself put Hell out of business. He raised the dead to life and He is making ALL things new! The old has gone and the new has come. His love NEVER fails it is available for us all 24/7. Mighty Warriors, it doesn't matter how many times you have messed up, it doesn't matter how far you have run, God sent his son…His Only son to take the pain the guilt the shame, the fear we have and have his son carry that burden to the cross. Then today we celebrate we praise Him for conquering death, pain, guilt,shame, fear! He saved us by His death and Resurrection.  How many Mighty Warriors have seen the new movie "God's NOT Dead" What? You haven't seen it. Well heres the trailor to the movie. God's NOT Dead Trailor! Go grab a friend and a couple of tickets on this Easter Sunday and go see the movie God's NOT Dead. He is surely alive and living on the inside of your heart and roaring like a lion. I want to share with you one of the quotes from this movie that really inspired me. That quote really hit me hard. I never thought of sin like they describe in this quote. What are your thoughts on that quote? 

 The celebration of Christ's resurrection doesn't have to end after today. Celebrate it EVERYDAY! Because…God's NOT dead!! You are His beloved son and daughter. He died and rose for YOU! GO CELEBRATE! Gods not dead…Shout it Mighty Warriors…GOD'S NOT DEAD! 

HAPPY EASTER MIGHTY WARRIORS!

I want to end with two songs.

1. Jesus paid it all!

I think you all can guess what song I will be ending with…you guessed it here is the song…

2.God's NOT Dead by Newsboys! 

Blessings to all!

Donate Life!!!!

I donated my life so you could have eternal life!

Hey Mighty Warriors it's Good Friday! This is a day to remember what are Savior Jesus Christ did on the cross. Let me first start off by asking you one question "What would it look like if you donated life? Thats just what Christ did for us. He gave us his life so we could have eternal life after death. Hear the word of the Lord Mighty Warriors.

"Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”).The soldiers gave him wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it. After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there.  A sign was fastened above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way. 

The death of Jesus, Hear the word of the Lord "At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.  One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.  But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,  and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee. 

So I got the scriptures from biblegateway.com 

Anyways I know this is a long update but hang in there with me. So you have read the story of Jesus' death and now back to my question I asked in the beginning of this update "What would it look like if you donated life? This past Monday marked 8 years since my Cousin Chase Huizer went to be with his Mighty Savior Jesus Christ. He died in a motorcycle accident due to the injuries he sustained. If your reading this and you knew Chase personally or were a close friend to him you know that this beloved child of God had a passion for serving his Savior. Chase loved his friends, his family and his girlfriend that he had at that time in his life. Chase touched so many lives before and after his death. I want to focus more on the people that he touched after his death. How many of you have heard of an organization called "Donate Life"? Maybe for some you this sounds familiar because maybe you have done this or know someone who has, or when you got your drivers licenses you were asked if you wanted to be an organ donor. Well, I was reading the web homepage for Donate life and I found this to be very inspiring, "Every life touched by organ and tissue donation crosses a bridge between death and life, grief and meaning, hope and healing."  Thats what Chase did. Chase donated his organs and tissues to those who needed it. I had the chance to chat with my Aunt over social media and I asked her as a parent "Why would you encourage someone to donate life?" She responded with this answer "As a parent it was a light in a very dark tunnel knowing that something good was going to happen out of a tragedy." I also asked her if she knew any of the people who recieved the donations that Chase gave with his life. She said "We do not know names - just ages of the recievers and if they are male of female and the city and states and what donation they recieved." I think Good Friday is a good example of just this "Donate Life" One way that I look at it is by reading Scripture it reads in Matthew 26:26-28

 Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

So Jesus gave his body and his blood so that we may have eternal life with him in Heaven. As I was preparing to write this blog I was looking up information on Donate Life and found out that it is National Donate Life Month! I would encourage everyone to donate Life. Think of the lives you will save and the impact that you will make in someone elses life. You don't have to know the person well to be an impact. Just show Christ-like love and reach out to the world around you sharing that love with someone who maybe doesn't know Christ or what it feels like to be loved. I know thats what Chase wanted. He wanted to help people and make an impact. He lived his life for Christ an by showing that passion that he had for his Savior. He donated his organs and tissues to help those who needed it. That was one thing for me after Chase passed away that amazed me. Donating Life can be the most amazing and bittersweet feeling that you get inside you. It's a mixture of sadness and happiness because losing a loved one is heart breaking. For Mark and Vicky losing there son was hard but in knowing that Chase touched lives after he was gone gave them a light in there darkness. So on this Good Friday we remember just that the light in the darkest hour that Christ spent on the cross. Every lash He got when He was being flogged was for YOU! Every drop of blood He spilled was for YOU! He did this all for YOU! He gave His life! Chase devoted his life to Christ and my hope and prayer for all you Mighty Warriors is that you will devote your life everyday to Christ! Trust in His unfailing love for you. Jesus' love never changes it's the same love that conquered the grave,the same love that is with you when days get hard. The same love that is with you in joyous time. The same love that carries your burdens in life so you don't have too.Give your life to Christ. I again encourage anyone to sign up to be a donor. The lives you will impact are going to be amazing! So that is my 2014 Good Friday blog update!

I hope you all enjoyed this blog update! If you have a prayer request feel free to send it to Mighty Mariah's Facebook page! 

Here are two songs that I want to end with: 

1.You loved me anyways (Passion of Christ)

2.Take my life-Chris Tomlin

Feel free to sing along to the last song,lyrics with be with it!

Blessings to y'all on this Good Friday! 

Next couple of blog updates

Hey Mighty Warriors! I hope you all have had a great week last week! So I apologize I did not get a blog update for the month of March except for this one here. But my plan is and I usually never give out information on my upcoming blogs because I like to surprise my readers but I also am doing this because I don't want to loose readers. So my plan is to do a Good Friday blog and an Easter blog update. So it will be 2 updates. So stay tuned and continue to be Mighty Warriors!
Blessings to y'all!!!! Have a great week!!!

We are Gods masterpiece!

Hey Mighty Warriors! How was your week? Was it busy? Did the week feel like it would go on forever? Anyway's this blog update is going to be about us and how we are Gods masterpiece. So lets start from the beginning actually lets go back even farther to when we were in our mothers womb. God knew us even then. He knew what you were going to look like, he knew what personality you were going to have. In fact He knows every hair thats on top of your head. What do you think of that? God creaated you. God designed you. To put you in even more awe....you....YOU are Gods MASTERPIECE! He is proud to call you His son/daughter! He rejoices over you! Now maybe for some your thinking "I can't see myself being a masterpiece" Maybe for some of you your thinking "I am broken and I am unfixable" Can I tell you something. You are made new in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! There is nothing that God can't fix and make new. There is nothing to bad for God to forgive. God sent His son to this earth to forgive the unforgiveable, love the unlovable and fix the unfixable....you are made new and you are redeemed by the blood of your Mighty Savior Jesus Christ. if you read this and don't remember anything remember this....GOD DOESN'T MAKE JUNK! His love for you has no boundaries. Another verse comes from Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. YOU ARE GODS MASTERPIECE! When I hear this verse I imagine me hanging on the wall of a famous museum (like the mona lisa) popular piece of art! When you go into a museum you look at all the cool art that people create and you think "WOW" what beautiful art...thats what God thinks of us. He is in awe of us. Now I was trying to find a song that would fit this blog update and I think I have a good one because it happens to be one of my favorites. Its by a band named Gungor-Beautiful Things Enjoy! While you listen to this song soak in the words. My favorite line out of this whole song is this. "You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of the dust. You make beautiful things,You make beautiful things out of us!!!"
 He is in awe of his creation and how He created you. He loves you for you. Your unique and special self. Blessings to all you Mighty Warriors out there. Have a safe and blessed weekend.
If you have a prayer request feel free to send it to my email mightymariah.84@gmail.com or if you want to connect with me through social media like Mighty Mariahs Facebook page! Send your prayer requests to either of those and I will write you back with a written out prayer by me. I would love to pray for you and encourage you through!