In Whom I Am Well Pleased

A group of my friends and i have decided to get together once a week to do a bible study . Our first one was last night and we are going thru the curriculum "Extraordinary- the life you were meant to live" by John Bevere. John Bevere is one of my favorite christian authors/speakers. He is so challenging and always backs up all of his thoughts with alot of scripture. I am very excited about the study but at the same time i am going into it knowing that it is definitely going to stretch me personally. I don't just want to read another book and go thru another study. I know that change only comes thru application. So I really want to apply the things I'm learning. Thats where it gets complicated!!! Anyways here's one of things that stood out to me from last night.

You cannot do one thing to make God LOVE you anymore or any less. Gods love for you is completely unconditional. BUT.... we are in control of how PLEASED God is with us.
Wow... what a thought provoking statement. My parents are awesome and I grew up knowing that no matter what i did or what choices I made they would always love me just the same. But i can definitely tell you there have been times in my life when they were not PLEASED with me. Although i couldn't control or change how much they loved me (that was already set in stone) I could control if they were pleased by my obedience. But not just my obedience but also by my attitude during my obedience. I know there were many times with my parents that i would obey what they told me to do but the attitude of my obedience didn't allow my parents to take full pleasure in what i had done. I really want to work on this when it comes to God. Don't misunderstand I'm not gong to run around trying to work and do things to get God to love me more but i do want to make sure that my life, my choices, my actions, and my attitude is PLEASING to Him. So this is just a little insight to what Im working on right now in my spiritual life!!!
 Now on a lighter note its been so long since I've written that i need to update everyone on the little peanut growing inside of me!  I am almost 22 weeks( just a little over half way there) and we have found out that we are indeed having a GIRL!!! Yay for shopping!!! We have decided to name her Eliana Kate Sanseverino. She is already consuming most of my daily thoughts and she's not even here yet! She is definitely beginning to make her presence known by her gentle kicks and nudges, and my ever growing baby bump! I cant wait to see her sweet face and get to know her little personality. Please be praying that everything continues to go smooth. I have had a picture perfect pregnancy so far and i know its due to all the prayers of my incredible family and friends!

Don't forget lets all make it our goal to live our lives in such a way that God would say about us " This is  my beloved servant. In whom I am well pleased!"

Im Back and Im Better...

I know its been a long absence on here but  for good cause. In the last month we have hosted our first women's conference, helped run our annual Masters Commission International Network conference, went to Pigeon Forge Tennessee to lead worship for a huge youth conference, had 2 bouts with the flu that I thought were literally gonna kill me(I'm not even being dramatic!), and the small task of being an incubator for the little peanut i have growing inside of me! So I'm gonna give myself a pass for not being very faithful to the blog!(this time) But that being said I'm Back.... And this is what I've been thinking lately.

I don't want to just be inspired, I want to inspire.
I don't want to just be loved, I want to love.
I don't want to just be encouraged, I want to encourage.
I don't want to just have life, I want to truly live!!!

I've been thinking alot about the opportunities we are each given every single day when we wake up in the morning with breath in our lungs. We have the opportunity to do something with our lives. I want to to do better. I need to do better. I can do better. Its time for me to stop taking for granted the grace of God in my life. I need to wake up and realize that the grace of God gives me the power to be better than i can on my own. The grace of God gives me the power to be better than those around me who are not operating in the power that comes from His grace. How can I ,someone who has received this  wonderful and life changing gift, set back and allow myself to not fully operate in the power he has given me! I wont do it anymore. I wont rely on my own gifts or abilities any longer. I wont be lazy and let my opportunities pass me by. I will be better!

Life As We Know It...

Well its official... I am pregnant!!! Yes you heard it here folks so if you see me in the next few months and think to yourself, "Wow that Krista sure is getting a little chubby" it is for a good cause folks! Its kind of a crazy time in the Sanseverino household as we try to prepare our minds for the arrival of a new addition. You see we've been married for almost 10 years and are very well adjusted to our "normal" routine. You know while all of our other friends who have had kids for quite some time are up at 6am on Saturday and go to chick-fil-a play land for "date night", We have been sleeping in and enjoying the luxury of never having to worry about finding a babysitter. You see we do what we want!! Ha Ha well it seems as though that will all be changing soon enough. So I have made it my goal for the next 7 months to squeeze out every moment to the last drop! I will sleep in, take spur of the moment road trips, buy unnecessary items, eat my meals while they are still hot, and selfishly not share anything that  is on my plate!!! All joking aside... I could not be more thrilled about this little person growing inside of my body. I honestly cant wait to meet him/her. I never knew you could love someone so much that you've never met but evidently its possible. I don't even care that your going to completely change Life As We Know It...

Tis the Season...

I LOVE Christmas! I love everything about it, the music, the shopping,the food, the family, the lights, did I mention the shopping? :) My friends all get a kick out of me telling some of my families Christmas traditions. Thats probably cuz were not the most traditional family! Every year from as early as I can remember my family would start the holidays off right with our annual Christmas tree fight. What is this you ask? Well every year when it would come time for putting up the tree my parents would get into a big fight because my dad would sit in his recliner( probably watching Matlock!) while my mom would wrestle with the lights. You know the kind of lights back in the day where if one bulb was out the whole strand wouldn't work and you would have to spend hours trying each bulb until you finally got the right one. Well after hours of fussing with the tree to no avail inevitably my mom would get frustrated with dear old dad who by that time was snoring away on his "thrown". And then as you can imagine the drama would ensue. This sight was a particularly funny one. You see my mom has been known to be a little bit of a spit fire. Although I rarely remember my parents fighting while I was growing up we could always count on a good one when it came to the Christmas tree. One year in the midst of the annual fight my mom gathered up all the lights, the tinsel, and the ornaments stuffed them in a box and threw them in the dumpster!!! She was just fed up! Our poor naked tree stood lonely for weeks until a few days before Christmas my friend Lisette and I took it upon ourselves to "decorate" the tree. We took utensils, cookie cutters, pencil sharpeners, toilet paper,scissors, basically anything we could find laying around and stuck it on the tree. My older and much cooler brother was out on a date that night and had no idea what the "little elves" had been up to. He brought his date in to meet my parents and what was the first thing you see when you walk into the house? Why our one of a kind, classy, christmas tree of course! He was totally humiliated! Try explaining that to your new girlfriend!  But you see thats not where the christmas tree saga ends. For the next couple years my mom refused to put up a tree if my dad wasn't going to help so we just hung some twinkle lights on one of those plastic house plants and put all the presents around it. By the time I was in high school our lack of a christmas tree was the running joke among all of my friends. One year some of my guy friends actually "borrowed" one of those big street signs that they post in parks and empty lots to keep people from dumping there dead trees. It was a big metal sign with a picture of a christmas tree with a circle and a big red line going thru it.We hung it in the living room with pride! You see i'm telling you this story because no matter how crazy this all may seem to you, to me these are some of my favorite memories. And although my family may not be the most traditional I wouldn't trade them for the world. This is the season for family and I thank God for the one he put me in. I thank him for a mom who really loves people, always put her family first, and inspires me to be  a better woman. I thank him for a dad who is wise and discerning, and that never made decisions out of emotion but always followed God's voice. I thank him for a brother who showed me a great example of serving God, who always held himself to high standards and consistently lived up to those standards. Along the way I've added a few additions to my family that i also thank God for. My sister-in -law, Amber who isn't really a sister-in-law at all. She 's just a sister. She is so creative and someone that you know you can trust. My nieces Brylea and Addie who light up every room and last but definitely not least my husband Shawn. I thank God that he knew exactly what I needed in a mate and that he sent me the only person on earth who could put up with me!!!  Well now that I've written a book I'll leave you with one last thought. In the craziest time of the year don't forget to slow down and take some time to think about the most important things in your life. God and Family.

Another Step

Well part of the reason I wanted to start a blog is to share some of the music I write. That is a very scary statement because honestly until about 2 years ago I hadn't showed even my closest friends my songs and now here I am about to put it out there for whoever feels like taking a look!!! Aughhhh deep breath here we go..... This is a song I wrote a long time ago but it just seems appropriate for  where Im at right now.

I looked in the mirror didn't like what I'd see
Empty, hollow staring back at me
Blow the dust off the cover take a look inside
There's a love  for life trying to survive
Beneath all the dust I knew it was always there
Trying so hard, struggling for air

I wanna ride the wind
Go somewhere I've never been
Experience the life that you've given me
Believe like a child again
So lets turn the music up
And roll all the windows down
I wanna dance in the open
Like no ones around

Take you by the hand don't matter if I understand
Take a chance don't look just leap
Dreams come true I know they do
That why i put my faith in you
I'll close my eyes so I can see

I wanna ride the wind

Go somewhere I've never been

Experience the life that you've given me

Believe like a child again

So lets turn the music up

And roll all the windows down

I wanna dance in the open

Like no ones around

Well there ya go, a small insight to me. Hope you enjoy! Some day soon ill post a video of me singing it but for now it is what it is. 

Just Getting Started...

I'm the kind of person who has thousands of thoughts and words tumbling around in my head all day long. But for some reason when I sit down to write I freeze up. I'll stare at the empty computer screen or blank piece of paper in nervous anticipation.  I know I have something to say but what if it comes up shallow? What if the words i write don't carry the weight which i intend, or they don't convey the message I'm desperately trying to get across? If there is one thing I've learned in life its that sometimes just getting started is the hardest part. Once I begin to write, the words seem to overflow from a place inside myself  that I'm not always aware of but has been there all along. And its in those moments that i feel inspired and connected to the person I truly want to be. So this is me- Just getting started...