Holy Ghost Part 2016!!!

As usual, our church had our annual Harvest Festival, THE HOLY GHOST PARTY!!! Annnnnnnd I figured I better go ahead and blog about it today since this weekend we're having our youth rally and Thanksgiving Feast on Sunday and I STILL gotta blog about NEW YORK!!!

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Sooooooooo MJ decided to go as Miram and this here below is her precious baby Moses in the river basket, I particularly enjoy the lil sign hanging on his basket...VERY BIBLICAL!!! LOL

Captain America Himself...his dad thought this was HILARIOUS that his son was Captain America when he is half Liberian and half Belizian!!! LOL

I was gonna dress up, Odin was going as Lazaruz so I thought I could dress up and be MARY, Lazarus' AUNT Mary, buuuuuut turns out I rand out of time and just went as AUNT MARY!!! LOL

PARTY TIME!!!

I think everyone's favorite game was Bro. Jimmy's toilet plunger race!!! LOL

The other HUGE FAVORITE this year was Pastor's Hay Ride...screaming throught the streets...we had a GRAND O TIME!!!

Our traditional longest ever going game of THE BALLOON STOMP...every game changes...EXCEPT THIS ONE!!! LPC can NOT have a Holy Ghost party without THE BALLOON STOMP!!!

Annnnnnnnnnnd HERE we are ready for...

THE CANDY RAIN!!!

Time to trample one another for CANDY!!!!

Stultz and Bro. Seth on the roof throwing the candy!!!!

MORE CANDY!!!

ANNNNNNNNND

STILL MORE CANDY!!!

Trying, to take a picture with the kids in the van, they were like ummmmm MARY, we're NOT gonna show up...OH YEAH...I should know this by now!!!

Got it with the lights on now!!! LOL

Crazy, crazy kids!!!

Buuuuuuuuuut I LOVE THEM!!!

Poor girl, trying to block away the boy that likes her...

It was pretty epic he was determined to say bye through the window...

Gotta love Grace, she's always giving the guys a reality check..."Just to let you know, she thinks your ugly and you don't stand a chance and I coulda told you that to begin with!!!"

I'm like, Just keepin it real girl!!! She's like, THATS RIGHT!!!

The really cool thing about this year was that I got to bring a HUGE group of Muslim kids, THESE PARTIES are THE ONLY TIME they are allowed to come to church...buuuuuuut YOU JUST NEVERRRRR KNOW...weeeeellll it was a crazy night, BUUUUUUUUUUT if ONE SOUL IS SAVED IT'S WORTH IT ALL!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

JESUS IS...

Isn't that just like, THE AWESOMEST MEME EVERRRRR????? One of my friends sent that to me a few weeks back and when they did I was like, THATS GOING ON THE BLOG!!! Hee, hee!!! Next time someone gets on me for taking selfies I'm gonna be like,

Don't HATE...

I'm JUST being Godly!!! AHAHAHA!!!

 Then I just break out with,

♪♫To be like Jesus,

♫ To be like Jesus...

♪On earth I loooooooooooong TO BE LIKE HIM!!! ♪♪♫

*Side note: Next time someone ask me what the difference is between one God and the trinity, Ima be like, soooooooo let me show you this really great meme that just sums it all up!!! You see, like when we take a picture of ourselves, its OUR IMAGE, Jesus is THE IMAGE of the INVISIBLE God, he's NOT a separate person, BUT THE IMAGE OF GOD!!! The visible image of an INVISIBLE GOD!!! Can I get an amen up here in AZ from my amen corners all over the USA???

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" And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1Timothy 3:16

♥Mary Frances :)

IF there's a race...

I found this book the other day in the used section of the Christian bookstore and just busted up laughing!!!

I'm like, Okaaaaaaaaaay IF there's a race to the alter...

Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike BIG TIME!!!

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

When they honk at a red light...

So last week I'm driving to my job, talking on the phone with a friend I stop at a red light. So I'm just sitting there at the red light. chatting on the phone when I suddenly realized that my hands were soooooooo DRY!!! With that thought, I figured since I was sitting there at the red light, I may as put on some lotion while I talk and wait!!!

Sooooooooo I'm just sitting there, chatting away and putting on this lotion, when SUDDENLY there is this obnoxious HONK behind me to GOOOOOO!!!! I look up and SURE ENOUGH the light was GREEN now!!! Buuuuuut I'm thinking in my head like, REALLY??? REALLY??? Your honking at me after ONLY 5 seconds of waiting on me??? RUUUUUUUUUUDE!!!

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Soooooooooo just to put this driver behind me in their place, I begin to pull through the light VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRY slowly...you know, JUST to be annoying!!! Just a little something the big sis and mother taught me to do...Hee, hee!!!

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Once I got through the light, I very randomly thought, that was a REALLY ODD SOUNDING HORN, I wonder what kind of car that was anyway???? So I casually glance in my rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of this honker, I don't even see a car, I look again and catch a glimpse of a little white motorcyclist! I was like, HA! A motorcycle??? Your NOT even a REAL C... OMW...

IT'S A MOTORCYCLE COP...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

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At this moment in time my car maaaaaaaaaaay have taken a slight swerve on the road annnnnnnnnnd the next thing I know, red and blue lights are flashing, YOURS TRULY is being pulled over!!! Double AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

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I don't even say bye to my phone, I just kinda let it slide to the passengers seat while I reach in my glove box for my registration...I pull it out...ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNND WAIT!!! EEEEEEE!!!

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Cop comes to my window, (Don't even have to roll it down for him since its PERMANENTLY DOWN! LOL) and says Good afternoon! I'm like, Uh, HI!!! He's like, you seem a bit distracted this afternoon! I'm like, Oh, do I? He's like, YES, pretty occupied your phone, you even almost hit the curb just now! (Actually, that wasn't from the phone, that was when I realized YOU were the that honked at me!) I'm like, I'm like, I am sooooooooooooo SORRY SIR!!! He's like, its ok, just be safe, if you need to take a phone call, just pull over to the side of the road like you did just now! I'm like, YES SIR!! He's like, Ok, have a good afternood!!!

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NOOOOOOOOO TICKET FOLKS, thus far, NO ATTITUDE and being very respectful of cops when I'm pulled over has gotten me out of a ticket EVERY TIME NOW!!! (Minus the accidents!) Also, he may not have given me a ticket cuz its technically NOT illegal in AZ to use your phone while driving!!! Google informed me of that...I like her, HOWEVER at the end tho...LOL

Soooooooo the moral of THIS STORY IS: When someone honks at you at a red light, before you decide to give them some attitude for honking, LOOK TO SEE WHO IT WAS THAT HONKED...IT JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUST MIGHT BE LAW ENFORCER OFFICER!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Operation Christmas Box Party!!!

Soooooooooo MJ has been wanting to do this for a while now, you pack a shoe box and send it to a child in a 3rd world country and they'll get it in time for Christmas. Most of the kids that receive these boxes, this IS what they'll get for Christmas this year!!! Weeeeeellll we didn't get it done in time for last year BUUUUUUT this year we did it!!! We got two boxes packed for girls and brought them down to Crossroads Christian Bookstore (I'll do a review on this awesome Book and coffee shop in another post!) at 91st AVE and Olive for their Christmas Shoebox Party that they had yesterday!!!

I Just wanted to take a moment to share with you all about the movement of OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD!!! You fill a box with little toys, toiletries, school supplies and a note from you, you can tell these kids about Jesus, its a Christian based organization, you can pick boy or girl and the age group you want ANNNNND the coolest part IS you can actually track it and see WHO gets your box and even see them open it!!! HOW COOL IS THAT??? I gave the girls I packed the box for my contact info and said lets be friends!!! I just want encourage us as CHRISTIANS to take the time to reach out this Christmas!!! This is a GREAT thing to get your children involved in!!!

 At this party, you just went in an assembly line and filled boxes, their goal yesterday was to fill 400 boxes...MJ LOVED IT, she was filling them for babies!!!

We had a blast doing this!!!

I couldn't help but think about how my mom woulda LOVED participating in something like this!!! She LOVED reaching out to people of all ages and ethnicities!!!

Soooooooo the group that was in charge of putting this Christmas box party together was a group of Christian woman from all over the valley, they meet once a month all year long and make handmade toys and gifts to pack in these boxes, I these are little cd's that were turned into tops, the kids really get a kick out of stuff...Imagine IF our kids could appreciate something as simple as a HANDMADE TOP for Christmas, it really makes you think!!!

I plan on joining these woman this year in helping make these gifts and I plan bringing some of my kids to help out, they NEED to learn to REACH OUT AND APPRECIATE what they have!!! annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd guess what??? SO DO YOUR KIDS!!! Jus sayin...:))))) I'll put more info about that this coming year as I find out about it!!!

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BUUUUUUUUUUUUT FOR NOW...

Participate in OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD!!! GO HERE for all the details!!! It starts TODAY, November 14th and goes through the 21st!!! And once again, don't forget that you can write your child a NOTE, TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS!!!! *Remember, IF ONE SOUL IS SAVED, IT'S WORTH IT ALL!!!

♥Mary Frances :)
P.S. IF you do this, I would LOOOOOOVE to hear about it! Send me pics!!! Maryfranceswriting@gmail.com

Happy Sunday!!!

♪♪ Only JESUS can satisfy, ONLY HE can cleanse and make us whole!!!♪♪♪
Happy Sunday my friends, REMEMBER this week that JESUS is STILL the answer!!!
"I was glad when they said unto me; Let us go into the house of the Lord" (Psalm 122:1)

♥Mary Frances :)

Single Saturday!!!

AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! SOOOOOOOO HILARIOUSLY AWESOME... I'm soooooo feeling it for the last square, like, I'm getting comfortable while I wait, ANYONE GOT A BLANKET AND A BOOK??? Maybe a pillow, some coffee??? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Behind the scenes blessings!!!

Soooooo last weekend we went to this really good community yard sales up in the Desert Ridge area of Phoenix, its a really uppity area and these communities are only allowed to have yard sales twice a year and when they do, US NOT SO UPPITY people go to town shopping at them!!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllll the whole time I was begging and pleading with God to help me find some GOOD DEALS on hiking stuff!!!

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Well in the beginning of shopping I found a pair of sneakers for $2 and a headlight for $3...I didn't any of it was all that amazing, buuuuut I figured for the prices I could just get them until something better came along, annnnnnnnd the whole time, EVERY YARD SALE i'm just praying, come one God, let there be hiking stuff, bless me, BLESS ME!!! PLEASE GOD, BLEEEEESSSS ME!!!

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Weeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllll by the time the yard sales were over, those were still the ONLY two things I had gotten...BUMMMMMERRR, buuuuuuut OH WELL!!! As I was putting stuff away in my rooms a few days later, a slip of paper fell out my sneakers, its said, Merrell Hiking boots...I was like, Hmmmmm...maybe these are better than I had originally thought! I decided put the exact shoe into Google and see what come up...MUCH TO MY SUPRISE, it was $100!!! WOW!!! Then I put in the headlamp and it came up at $49...WOW too!!!

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So God blessed me with $150 worth of stuff for $5!!! That whole time I was saying, God bless me, Bless me, BLESS ME and that WHOLE time I was praying that, GOD ALREAY HAD BLESSED ME!!! That whole time I'm like, GOD bless me with hiking stuff and he was probably thinking, I did! I did!!! I DID!!!

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It me to thinking about how GOD is a BEHIND THE SCENES kind of God. Sometimes he does HUGE miracles that are like, WOW!!! Buuuuut for the most part, He's like that quiet person in a play, there is the main person in the show AND then there is the man that is working behind the scenes, Costumes, scripts, prompting, lighting, ALL that stuff that a play can't make it without, AND YET, know one really notices or gives credit to that worker.

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God is just like that in our lives, he's busily working on things that we have NO CLUE he is working on and will have NO CLUE until BAM! It happens and then we're like, WOW!!! Buuuuut the whole time God has been working on it, you just had NO IDEA, because he was working BEHIND THE SCENES!!!

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How many times has God protected us, kept us from harm and we didn't even know it?!?! How many times has he provide for us??? We're just like, COME ON GOD, Do it! BLess me!!! And God's like, I AM! I AM!!! Today I just want to encourage us all to THANK GOD for all the BEHIND THE SCENES BLESSINGS he has performed in our lives without ever getting a moments credit for what he has done for us!!! We serve an amazing, wonderful, BEHIND THE SCENES God!!! Thank Him today, FOR ALL that He has done in your life!!!

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

♥Mary Frances :)

When you ACTUALLY think about it....

Soooooooooo CREEPILY FUNNY!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Holy Ghost Kid's Church!!!!

Soooooooo Sunday night after service, Pastor decided that since one of the girls I bring was really seeking for the Holy Ghost and had almost gotten it in the morning and evening services, that we would dismiss Wednesday night Bible classes for the kids and just have HOLY GHOST CHURCH!!!!

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I was very excited about this buuuuuut not to sure how everything was going to turn out, CONSIDERING that on the way to church the kids were all chanting, CANDY! CANDY! CANDY!!! Not exactly a Holy Ghost theme...LOL!!!

THEEEEEEEEEEN when we actually got to church some of the kids were MAD at me because I didn't tell them it was going to be CHURCH and NOT Wednesday night Bible School!!! WHY didn't you tell us MARY??? I'm like, UH, cuz I KNEW you wouldn't come then!!! Welllll yeah BUUUUT you shoulda told us MARY!!! Huffs, puffs and attitutes...Psh...whateverrrr I'm used to all that!!! LOL

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Weeeeeeellllll We had GOOOOOOOD worship service and then Pastor Abbott went right into preaching, then he called up all the kids in the church that didn't have the Holy Ghost to come up and to gather around and start praying...

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Annnnnnnnnnnd this little girl was THE first one to start speaking in tongues!!!

This doesn't surprise me, she's been asking about getting the Holy Ghost in class...

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Annnnnnnnd FINALLY Lola got the Holy Ghost!!! She came Sunday wearing a special dress and said that it was her Holy Ghost dress, she didn't get it Sunday night, SO GUESS WHAT, she wore it again last night and GOT THE HOLY GHOST!!!  and already has permission from her mom to be baptized in Jesus name THIS SUNDAY!!!

Annnnnnnd here's the BEST PART...

The two girls, BEST FRIENDS, that were MAD AT ME before church for not telling them it was church...

HERE THEY ARE GETTING THE HOLY GHOST!!!

AFTER church I was like, STILL MAD AT ME???

They're like, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

This is Gracie, she is the youngest of all the African kids from the original group I started bringing, she was 18 months at the time, now she's 11, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!

Annnnnnnnnnnnd here they all are, MY NEW HOLY GHOST GIRLS...

wellllllll and MY HOLY GHOST PASTOR...Heh, heh!!!

God is sooooooooo good!!! I am soooooooooo thankful to him for pouring out His spirit once again!!! I am expecting God to continue to do great things in the lives of these children and at Landmark Pentecostal Church and I am sooooo grateful to be apart of His work...what an honor and privilege it truly is to have the opportunity to bring a soul to JESUS...IF ONE SOUL IS SAVED, IT'S WORTH IT ALL!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

The MOMENT YOU KNOW!!!

So the other night I'm at Walmart doing some grocery shopping. I'm standing in line, putting my stuff on the belt when one of my Greek yogurts (Btw: Dannon light and easy greek yogurts are ONLY  80 calories and 12 grams of protein!) falls out of my, drops and rolls on the ground and much to my horror, splats open and a HUGE blob of Greek yogurt goes on the ankle of the work pants of the man in front of me!!! I gasped in horror thinking this man is going to be sooooo ANGRY with me,

I AM SOOOO SORRY SIR!!!

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He kinda just glances back at his pants, shrugs and says,

It's all GOOD, stuff happens!!!

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I was ASTOUNDED by his response, It's ALL GOOD, STUFF HAPPENS...I mean I'm THE KIND OF GIRL, that A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENS, and to hear a man say that it was ALL GOOD????

A MAN THAT SAYS THAT???? In one moments of time, I KNEW, I JUST KNEW!!! 

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AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! For realz people...Right there, on the spot, on the cash register at WALMART, I got down on ONE KNEE and BEGGED...BAHAHAHA...NOoooo juuuuuust KIDDING!!! Whaaaaaaat REALLY happened was that I silently, shamefully put the rest of my groceries on the conveyor belt, and I DID think, Okaaaaaaaaaay, we should PROBABLY get married then!!! THEN I watched in MORE horror as part of the blob of yogurt glopped off his pant leg and on to the floor, the rest just stayed smeared on his pants!!! What do I do???

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I was like, ummmmm, do you have any paper towels to the cashier!!! She handed me some and I wiped up the blog, then I stared at the smear on his pants, should I wipe that too???? The cashier was like, did you get it all cleaned up? I'm like, Ummmm, uh, UMMMMMMM...??? The man just takes the paper towel and calmly wipes his pant leg, grabs his stuff and throws away the mess on the way out...I'm just staring, like,

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIT,

ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO MARRY ME??????

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Sooooooooo the moral of this story is that I DID NOT get a husband at Walmart last night, BUUUUUUUUUUUUUT I did realize ONE MORE THING that I will need in whomever I marry,

SOMEONE THAT IS JUST CHILL WHEN MY,

"STUFF HAPPENS"!!!

CAN I GET AN AMEN????

♥Mary Frances :)

SOOOOO TRUE!!!

One thing my mom always taught me was not to care what people think!!! She always would tell me you can't make everyone happy, so just make Jesus happy!!! One of the things I strive for in this life!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Single Saturday!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Big LPC news!!

So it's official, LPC has a church bus!!! Pastor and Sis. Abbott got it on Monday, the last day of the month that marked the ten year anniversary of outreach to the kids!!! I'm soooooo excited!!! Annnnnd your sooooo not even gonna believe the AMAZING deal they got it for, $3,000...Isn't that AWESOME???? I mean there were a few things wrong with it, but Pastor has most of that stuff already fixed!!! I'm just soooooo excited!!!

 GOD IS SOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!!

NOW, we just need to go get MORE SOULS!!!

I'm soooooooooooo READY!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

When you FINALLY make it!!!

As I shared with you all yesterday, this past weekend, I FINALLY climbed to the top of the mountain. When I finally made the last haul up, over that last rock and I was FINALLY standing on top of that mountain peak, I was so overwhelmed with a feeling of accomplishment, I DID IT! I MADE IT TO THE TOP, FINALLY, I DID IT!!!

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After a few moments of excitement, my next thought was, MAN, I wish I could tell mom, she would be soooooo proud of me!!!

I knew when my mom died, that some of the hardest moments in life without her, wouldn't just be in the hard times, but in the moments of accomplishment and joy, for there was NO ONE that was prouder and happier for her children's successes then my mother!!!

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Buuuuut before I could feel sad for to long, another thought went into my mind as I continued thinking about how I FINALLY made it to the top of that mountain. This annnnnnd SO MUCH MORE must be how my mom felt, when she breathed her last breath AND FINALLY, she was in heaven!!! To know that she had made it!!! To know that she done it!!! HEAVEN!!! She was there, I can only imagine how she must have felt!!!

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Every time in life that she wanted to turn back, but she kept on going up that mountain called LIFE! Every struggle, all the pain she went through and the last two years of her life, bedridden, was so close to then end, but that finally climb up was the longest, the steepest the hardest, but she kept on pushing and the closer she got the harder it was for her, but finally she was there, that last step and she was standing on her mountain peak in heaven, SHE DID IT!!! SHE FINALLY MADE IT TO HEAVEN!!!

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You guys,  we can't ever give up in this life, every heart ache, every trial, its going to be worth it when we see Jesus face to face! Just one step at a time, keep pushing through and day, oh glorious day, we'll be on top of our mountain peak of heaven and THE BEST PART about that final step of our hike into heaven, is that we'll NEVER have to do the hike back down, we'll forever be with Jesus!!! Just imagine my friends, WHEN WE FINALLY GET TO HEAVEN!!! When you see those walls of jasper, streets of gold and JESUS and you just throw your head back and scream at the top of your lungs,

I MADE IT!!!

Think about it...

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4)

^"And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof." (Revelation 21:22-23)

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I'm going you guys!!! I'm gonna keep going through this crazy life till I make that FINAL step into heaven, and if you think I got excited about climbing a mountain here on earth, you ain't seen NOTHING till I throw my head back in heaven and scream,

I MADE IT!!!
I'm HERE, in heaven,

I MAAAAAAAAADE IT!!!

♥Mary Frances :)