Prayer. . .works

Here are a couple verses that I know
and believe about prayer:

James 5:16 says:
Confess your trespasses to one another,
and pray for one another, that you may
be healed. The effective, fervent prayer
of a righteous man avails much."

Matthew 21:21-22
So Jesus answered and said to them,
"Assuredly, I say to you, if you have
faith and do not doubt, you will not
only do what was done to the fig tree,
but also if you say to this mountain,
'Be removed and be cast into the sea,'
it will be done. "And whatever things
you ask in prayer, believing, you will
receive."

The other night Jake was sick for hours
with a horrible migraine. He felt so
bad for most of the afternoon and into
the evening. He fell asleep for a little
bit but then woke up and with tears in
his eyes, said, "I just want this pain
to go away. It's worse than it's ever
been."

I rubbed his head a little bit and
said, "We need to pray." I DO believe
in the POWER of prayer and the GOD that
answers prayer. I prayed over Jake
believing he could be healed, but not
sure if God would choose to heal him
right then and there. I prayed in
Jesus name, I prayed fervently and
I prayed believing and guess what:

Prayer worked!

Not even 10 minutes later Jake was up
and getting food (I let him even though
it was past 9pm because he felt so sick
he wasn't able to eat since 11:30am).
He had a smile on his face and he said
his headache was gone! Amazing! I'm
so glad I chose to cry out on Jake's
behalf to God and He answered. Another
faith builder for me and for Jake to
experience himself. God is so good!

Monkey on your back

Ever feel like you have a monkey on your
back?

Maybe you get so used to thinking a
certain way, that you don't even realize
that you are carrying an unwanted burden. . .

Well, what does that saying even mean?

This is what it means:
"A monkey on your back is anything at all
that you find to be a constant burden. You
have to finish your BA degree for advancement
at work, you are married and have a small
child. Having to get that degree is "a monkey
on your back". It usually doesn't refer to
actual physical burdens."

Here's what the Bible has to say about
burdens:
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke
upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. "For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

So I can either carry my monkey around
or let him down and play with him :)

Holding on Through the Waves

Today I took my boys to the beach to beat
the 111-117 degree heat that was all over
Southern California!

The boys had a great time playing and
we even made seashell necklaces with
seaweed. Our day was finished with
Balboa Bars (pictures will come once
I download them)!

Here's what I wanted to post:

I went out in the water (not too
far) with my boys. Jake was on
his own and Luke and Drew were
holding my hands. They were
laughing and having a great time!
Pretty soon, the waves were getting
bigger and Luke (3) wanted to go
back in to shore. Drew (4) wanted to
go further, as long as he could
hold onto my hand. Luke got afraid
even though I would never let him
fall. Drew knew that holding onto
my hand meant safety so he was
jumping into all the waves crashing
toward us. My boys had two completely
different experiences in the ocean.

Then this "God-thought" came to my
mind (I call it this because I
believe God puts these things in my
head):

God promises to always be with us.
He wants us to let Him lead us and
guide us. He is always there to hold
our hands. But sometimes our fear
gets the best of us. If we worry
more about the waves crashing in and
forget who is holding our hand and
the protection we have, we will run
to shore and miss out on the exciting
adventures awaiting us.

For the one who will trust God with
all his/her heart, and will follow
where God leads, there is so much
to be experienced. Yes, it could
be scary and intimidating, but once
you look to the One who is holding
you, you can face those waves and
jump right through them with a smile
on your face! You won't miss out
on what God has planned for you
and you will have the greatest
adventure ever. Even if you stumble,
God promises that He will not let
you fall, just like I wouldn't let
my boys fall!

Psalm 55:22: "Cast your cares on the
Lord and he will sustain you; he will
never let the righteous fall."

Drew

Drew and I have been going to a couple
stores together to get stuff for his
Birthday Party coming up in a couple
weeks! He chose GI Joe as a theme (he'll
choose anything with swords/weapons- this
is my life with boys!). He won't be 4 years
old much longer!!! My boys are growing up
too fast!

Youth Rally in VA

I mentioned that I spoke at Lebanon Methodist
United Church this past Sunday. Well, there
were two articles this week about the event
and FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)
in the local paper: Petersburg Progress-
Index.
Here are the links:
Inspirational Message on Monday, Sept 20


FCA Brings New Life to our Youth on Thur, Sept 23

Why share these links?

Because how often do we see in a Newspaper,

on the Sports Page,

comments about living life for God?

Not very!

Here were some comments:

"O'Brien-Amico, who was a talented soccer and
softball player in high school, speaks with
passion and speaks about passion."

"After ingesting the words from the Old and
New Testament she turned her life over to
God."

"It was then that I learned about eternal
things," O'Brien-Amico said with a smile.
"God gave me the opportunity to win a gold
medal and it was my turn to do his work. If
you be faithful, God will take care of the
rest."

"She ended with a quote from the Book of
Daniel and concluded that "when we are
willing to receive the word of God, we
receive a lot."

The article was written by Thomas Dozier,
Sports Writer. God Bless him as he boldly
shared what that group heard on Sunday night!

JFSC: Radford, Virginia

This was my 2nd camp this year with Jennie Finch
and they do such a great job. Radford University
and some of the Roanoke SB players helped out
at all the stations and behind the scenes.

There was such a great turnout- there were 409
campers!
This was Mac doing a catching talk:

I worked at the outfield station

Each day we did 3 different stations of
drills working on different drills: diving
was one of their favorite stations!

We worked on sprinting to the ball

and also soft hands.

All the fields were being used to work on:
bunting/slapping, hitting, fielding, pitching
and throwing and baserunning.

We had all different ages to work with.

I enjoyed working with this group.

My college helpers were awesome:
Hannah, Lauren, and Jessica

And the clinicians were fun to work with too!
Toni being her silly self.

One girl I met was Gracie. She was so adorable
and her and her mom came up to me and told me
they were Christians too.

She even gave me a silly band and a great
Christian CD, Caleb. I am thankful for
other people I meet with the same faith
and love for the sport of softball.

We signed autographs for all 409 campers

And we each gave some words of encouragement as
we ended the clinic.

Jennie and her whole staff (family) do an amazing
job. The clinics are so well organized and family
friendly. I was so blessed this week because on
Sunday Jennie asked if I would open up with a
devotional for people who wanted to come early
and listen.

Then after the clinic, I drove about 4 hours away
to Lebanon Methodist to speak and flew home on
Monday morning to get back to my life as a mom
and wife and homeschool teacher! I am grateful
for these little trips I get to take!

The Cabin

The Jennie Finch Softball Camp was held
at Radford University and Coach Micky
Dean put us up at a real log cabin nearby.
It was a cabin on a lake, and we even
went in a canoe while we were there!

There was so much room at the cabin. There
were 4 bedrooms and also 7 twin beds, and
a kitchen, dining area and big living room.

5 of us girls slept here both nights:

It was a screened in porch and you could see
the lake from the beds. The first night we
got there in the dark and acorns kept hitting
the tin roof and it sounded like somebody was
throwing boulders, so I didn't sleep too much
that night.

From the back porch, we walked down to the
water.

It was so pretty

We had to get pictures on the dock

And a Wildcat picture: Bear Down Arizona!

Montana, Mac, Amy and me went out in the
water just before it got dark. We had
to be a little adventurous!

We definitely made memories in Virginia!

Support System

I can't thank my husband enough for ALL of
his support! He works so hard to support
our family and at the same time is so
supportive of me being able to go and
share my passions (faith in Jesus and
softball) with others all over the country.

It is such a blessing to leave and know
that things are in good hands back at
home. I am so grateful for the husband
that God hand-picked for me!

I love you Tommy!

Where does Jesus live?

Luke grabbed a paper and put heart stickers all
over it and said,

"Look, Jesus lives in our hearts!"

Then he proudly hung his creation on our
fridge!

What is Heaven like?

Read Revelation 21 and 22 and
here's what we'll find there:

Throne of God and of the Lamb

River of the water of life:
as clear as crystal

Tree of life, yielding it's
fruit each month

No more curse, no more night

No need for a lamp or the
light of the sun, for God
will give the light

Reigning with God forever

Great street of the city is
pure gold, like transparent
glass

No more death, mourning, crying,
or pain

and much more!

Who is there:
"only those whose names are
written in the Lamb's book of
life" Rev 21:27

*I recently had a chance to share
with a friend and she wanted to
make Jesus the Lord of her life.
As I was sharing verses and
explaining some of the truths of
the Bible, she was taking it all
in. As I shared these verses about
heaven, she said, "Forget all those
other verses, who wouldn't want
this?"

I loved her heart! There is so much
waiting for us but sometimes it's
easy to forget what lies ahead. We
can get side-tracked and forget that
there is a life beyond this one that
is so much better. Heaven is real,
but we need Jesus to get there. We
need our names in the book of life.
I know people who are with God right
now and I look forward to seeing them
again one day! Until then, I will
tell others about heaven and the God
who created it all.

Photo Shoot with Drew :)

Just for fun, I took my camera and had
a little photo shoot with Drew. Jake
wanted nothing to do with it and Luke
cried because he had to take a nap.
Drew had too much fun :)

He thought he was cool





This one made him smile the most when he saw it

My Birthday

Cupcakes (made by my best friend, Kristi)

and Baskin Robin's Mint Choc Chip Ice
Cream Cake:

What more do you need to have a great
Birthday?

Absolutely nothing,

and yet, I had so much more!

I am blessed.

Last week, my boys had their first day
of Pre-school on my birthday, so I had
a few hours to myself.

My mom and I went to get manicures and
pedicures (thanks to my hubby)

And he surprised me by walking in the
salon with these:

All the workers thought it was so cute
and I thought he was cute :)

Then, my mom and I went to lunch at the
best Mexican food restaurant: Miguel's!
After stuffing myself, they sang Happy
Birthday to me and I wore this silly hat
while they sang :)

Then I went and picked up the kids and
we spent that night feeding the homeless.

We were able to hang out with family
on Saturday:
My little sis


My little bro

My thoughtful and giving husband

all the kiddos

I am a multi-tasker and because we weren't
able to go to the Sept 11th Memorial at our
church, we were able to watch it live on
www.hischannel.com. Bridgette Gabriel spoke
and I wish every American could hear what
she has to share! Kristi and I ate our
cake and I was texting on twitter and
facebook for people to turn on Hischannel
and watch, and we listened to a message
at the same time (multi- indeed)

I don't need much to make me happy:
but it makes me happy to be surrounded by
loved ones and to eat yummy food! For me,
that is enough!

A servant's heart

Here are a couple Bible verses that talk
about serving:

Mark 10:45: "For even the Son of Man did
not come to be served, but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many."

Luke 4:8: "Jesus answered, "It is written:
'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only."

Two pretty powerful statements. I believe one
of the reasons God wants us to serve others is
because when we stop looking at ourselves and
start focusing on OTHERS, we get a glimpse of
Heaven. God sent Jesus to make a way for us to
heaven, Jesus served others so they could know
the love that God has for them, and we are
called to serve as well. There are many different
ways we can serve and even being a mom and
raising our children right is a chance to serve
God. But when we get out of our comfort zone
and serve, many times that is when God shows
up the most.

I just wanted to write a post about a friend who
I met while serving and who serves the Lord
with all her heart. She watches little ones in
the nursery at church and she serves A LOT.
She would never want any credit and sacrifices
a lot of her time without complaining even
though she has to deal with physical pain. You
would never know it because she always has a
smile on her face. She loves the little girls
and boys and they always want to go to her.
She serves more than full-time- she serves 2X
full-time because there is a need.

She is an example to me-
an encouragement to me- a light to many-
a true servant of God. There are other people
like her at our church and I know that God is
so pleased with them. I get around people who
serve and I want to serve more. I am more
blessed when I serve others. To my friend,
thank you for your example. You are making
a huge difference!