Not YET!!!!

I’m one of those people that… CHRISTMAS does NOT START until Thanksgiving is OVER!!!! Do NOT decorate before!!!

Tomorrow I will be wearing a festive Christmas outfit in the mall, buuuuuuuuuut TODAY it’s still THANKSGIVING!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Birthday John!!!

Your first birthday 🥳 in heaven John!!! We tried to recreate your pizza that we did together every year buuuuuut of course it wasn’t quite the same!!! Buuuuuut it wasn’t bad, it tasted like the year you made pizza for mom’s birthday and I told you to pizza wasn’t your thing, stick to cheesecake!!! Buuuuuut hey it was still bomb.com, I only said that to be annoying!!! 😜 

And we released balloons for you cuz you always liked doing that for people, I told Grace, John always liked doing that, as long as he didn’t have to buy the balloons!!! Bahahahahaaa 

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Abe made cheesecake and it wasn’t to shabby, Richard said it tastes like dad’s!!! Buuuuuuut I have to say, I’m working on cheesecake recipe that is going to outdo both of your guys cheesecake… it miiiiiight even get me a husband… IF I can find a single guy to actually eat it!!!! Bahahahahaaa 

Happy Monday!!!

Weeeeeeeellll that is THE TRUTH!!!

 I may not be a parent but this is soooooo TRUTH!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Sunday!!!

“ “Unto Him that is able He is to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20)

♥Mary Frances :)

Guess my #1 character trait!!!

Soooooooo one of my friends gave me this link for a FREE character strength test… I looooooove stuff like this!!!!

https://www.viacharacter.org/

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Soooooooo I took it aaaaaaaand guess what my #1 character strength is??? 

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Are you guessing????

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GUESS!!!

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.LOOOOOOOOVE!!!

I honestly was NOT surprised!! I know I’m a loverrrr!! Loving comes so easily and naturally for me and many people have told me before that I’m a very loving 🥰 person!!!! WHEN I love someone, it’s whole heartedly and with everything… I’m not a mediocre lover!!! That’s why I’m a kid magnet… they know where the fluffy teddy bear 🧸 is!!!

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  Put me in an orphanage in the Philippines for two hours and I’m attached to them just like that!!! My brother was liiiiiike how can you and that girl be attached in two hours??? I’m liiiiiike SHE NEEDS ME!!!  I could be her mommy!!! 

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#2 character strength is: humor

and weeeeeeelll…

 I think we ALL KNOW THAT ALREADY!!!! 

My biggest character weakness is: UH… prudence!!! That means basically thinking things through before making a decision or speaking or taking a risk…and then regretting it later on… only thing is that I usually neverrrrrr really regret it either… I’m just liiiike weeeeeeeeeellll that was awkward…Oooooops…OH WELL!!!

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I think I can be summed up as, 

loving 🥰, hilarious 

      AND cRaZy 😜!!!!

What do you think 🤔????

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Check out your character strengths  HERE

♥Mary Frances :)

Joseph WHO???

Sooooooooo my friend is telling us all in a group text the other day this really cute story about her son. The jist of the story is that he wanted his Auntie at church but she couldn't take him at the moment because she was praying with someone. So the little boy is like, I'm JEALOUS, like Joseph's brother's!!! And walks away!!!

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So you have to understand that in the moment that I read the story, I was in the middle of doing some stuff… I’m just thinking WHO is Joseph and WHY are his brother’s jealous???

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So all the other girls are writing back like, Oh wow! He's so funny! Too cute! What a cute kid! Annnnnd I'm just sitting there and in my head i'm thinking like, I don't get it!!! What soooo funny??? 

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So then his mom writes in again and is like, The kid sure does know his Bible! Annnnnd it HIT ME...THE BIBLE...sooooooooooo I finally write my response, "And I'm sitting over here like, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHO JOSEPH IS???"

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Yes, my friends, TRUE STORY!!! I read her lil story and thought, "I don't know any kids from her church!!! Joseph?! How am I supposed to WHO JOSEPH is, let alone his brothers??? BAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

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Annnnnnnnnnnnnd YES PEOPLE, 

I DO KNOW WHO JOSEPH IN THE BIBLE IS!!!

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The story of Joseph is ACTUALLY one of my all time favorite stories...His attitude amidst his circumstances and the fact that you just NEVERRRR know what God is working out in the middle of YOUR MESS!!! What man meant for evil...GOD MEANT FOR GOOD!!!  

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Buuuuuuuut yeah… don’t be jealous like Joseph’s brothers!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!

I was liiiiike this is sooooo me buuuuuuut I had to add in ONE MORE WORD to truly be me!!!

Aaaaaaannnnnd whateverrrrr you do…

Do NOT FORGET THE BEAUTIFUL PART!!! 🙌 

♥Mary Frances :)

And He came here just for ME and YOU!!! 🤗 

♥Mary Frances :)

Light The Night2023!!!

White Light-Survivor or loved one

Red- still fighting or loved one

Gold- remembrance for someone 

♥Mary Frances :)

Then Peter Said Game!!!!

So right now the Sunday School rooms are in a bit of a rigamarol so the really young kids are combined with the next age up which means the lesson has to be really simple and short to keep the attention span of all the kids so even with songs and a craft there’s still about 10 extra minutes… so I was trying to think of a game that would interest both age groups…

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Well the only thing that came to my mind was Duck, duck, duck  GOOSE!!! Buuuuuuuut I was thinking there’s like no spiritual aspect to this game… how can I make it spiritual so it’s NOT just a game to fill time??? 

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Hmmmm… oh I knoooooow…. I could make it Biblical… liiiiiiiike…. And I got the inspiration from God and ALL THE KIDS LOVED IT!!!! 

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Instead of Duck, duck GOOSE!!! We played, Then Peter said!!

Sooooooo you play it just like duck, duck GOOSE!!! Buuuuuuut you go around saying, Then Peter said, Then Peter said, Then Peter said, Then Peter said, Then Peter said, Then Peter said, REPENT!!!! Annnnnnnd if you’re the one they touch then you have to run around and get back to your spot in a prayerful/repentant position!!!!

It went soooooo great! The kids had a blast and the best part is that the Sunday School kids are memorizing the first part of Acts 2:38 without even trying!!!!

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If we have time, we will probably play this with the kids this Sunday again and I plan to play this with my nieces and nephews and the next family get together!!!

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Of course, I’m sharing the game on here BECAUSE, I’d love for you all to play the game as well!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

Sooooooo it was literally THE CUTEST thing everrrr...A few years ago... WHEN ODIN WAS STILL LITTLE...We went to a little kids Christmas play and as we were walking in, there was a group of people there for another show and OF COURSE little O just has to talk to everyone on our way into the theatre! Hi! I'm Odin, what's your name?

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 So he sees this husky, older gentleman, wearing khaki slacks and a plaid shirt and who just happened to have a white beard and he greets him as usual, "Hi, I'm Odin!" and the man says back to him, I'm Santa Clause!

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Odin just stops dead in his tracks, mouth agape, his WHOLE FACE JUST LIGHTS UP in sheer shock and joy! Then, without saying anything, he just walks over to the man and throws his arms around him in a HUGE ODIN HUG!!! 

The look on his face was liiiiiiiike NO WAY, I'M ACTUALLY MEETING SANTA!!! Everyone was laughing soooooooo hard and it completely made the man's night!!! It was literally THE CUUUUUTEST, FUNNIEST THING EVERRRRRR!!! Gotta love this kid, there's just no one quite like him!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

LPC Thanksgiving Feast 2023!!!

We had an absolutely lovely and delicious 😋 Thangiving feast at our church ⛪️ yesterday!!! 🙌 

The WHOLE MEAL… it was sooooooo gooooood!!!

We had mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, salad, cranberries, ham, and pastor’s BOMB.COM smoked Turkey!!! I knoooooow it’s A LOT of work for my pastor when he makes the turkey, buuuuuuuuut it really does taste best when he does it!!!! It’s like soooooo juicy and flavorful!!!! No offense to anyone else who has ever made an LPC Turkey, they were GOOOOOOOD, pastor’s is just Bomb 💣 though!!!

My mashed potatoes 🥔… not as good as my green bean casserole or stuffing or my chocolate chip cookies 🍪 and definitely not as good as my brother’s, BUUUUUUUUT… not as bad as someone’s from YEARS AGO… Bahahahahaaa 

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My plate of DELICIOUSNSS!!! #FeastMode

My new brown butter icing sugar cookies… man those were gooooooood!!!

Carrot cake with the brown butter icing

Chocolate chip cookies 🍪 THAT ARE BETTER THAN CHIC-Fil-A!!!!

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KIDS’s Church ⛪️ 

Brother Garrett preaching 

Sooooooo I had this Mac and cheese and it was sooooo, soooooo, sooooooooooooooo goooooood, it was ALMOST as good as Chic-fil-A’s!!!!! If only my brother Abe could get his recipe to reach CFA status… IF ONLY!!! 
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You guys, it’s WAR BETWEEN US!!! Two weeks ago, he told me that my chocolate chip cookies 🍪 were almost as good as CHIC-Fil-A!!! I can’t show you exactly cuz I don’t have three hands, buuuuuuuut he said it was CFA COOKIES 🍪, then mine and then McDonald’s right under me and you have Noooooooo idea how absolutely offensive it is to me that ANYTHING i make is even in the running with MCDONALDS!!!! CFA, I could see being right below me, which he put right above me, buuuuuuut how is McDonalds even in THE RUNNING???? You should’ve seen the look on his face when I told him that about his Mac and cheese at church yesterday… HA!!!! 

I  took leftovers, just to make this little leftover sandwich yesterday!!! I mean you can make homemade rolls buuuuuuut why bother when there’s Hawaiian rolls??? Turkey, Mayo, stuffing and cranberry sauce… I thought of this and then all these restaurants copied me!!!! 🙄 Buuuuuuuut I did it for years hearing oh your weird Mary… Now it’s cool… well I was cool before it was cool to be COOL 😎 

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Annnnnnnd that’s the whole day…

Oh waaaaaaait, you guys said you were just dying to see my outfit… I almost FORGOT!!! 😜 

OF COURSE ILL SHOW YOU MY LOVELY THANKSGIVING DAY FEAST OUTFIT!!! 😘 

I have my fall line up of outfits for church ⛪️ ready now through Thanksgiving, then there’s two services between Thanksgiving and December which I’ll give everyone a breather before I transition into a month of Christmas outfits!!!

Don’t worry… I’ll show you guys EVERYTHING!!! 😜 

♥Mary Frances :)

Confession Time!!!

You guys, I have a HUGE CONFESSION TO MAKE…

Please don’t judge me, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut…

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I’m ADDICTED TO …

SHEIN!!!

Aaaaaaaand it’s ALL MY SISTER-IN-LAWS fault!!!

#LiZZZyyy!!! One day I was visiting with her and the kids and I noticed her dress and the NEXT THING I KNEW… SHOPPPPPPPPPPING!!! 🛍️ 

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I don’t care what aluminum people say is in their products, if I can get get a completely modest, beautiful hot pink skirt and adorable ruffle shirt for  less than $15… guess where I’m shopping??? #GoAsians!!! 🙌 

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Yep, I’m addicted and it’s all LiZ’s fault!!! 😝 

John’s in heaven shaking his head at us…

buuuuuuuut smiling too!!! 😊 

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Brain-boosting-Wednesday!!!

Here's your 

Middle-Of-The-Week-Brain-Booster!!!!

"Did you know???..."

That there are ACTUALLY MORE Panda Express restaurants in the world 🌎 than there are actual 

PANDA 🐼 BEARS???

Aren’t they soooooo cuuuuuute??? I just wanna hug a panda!!! They’re the Asian bears… sooooo I wonder 💭 if that means they’re the smartest bears too??? 🤔 
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"...Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll NOW YOU DO, annnnnnnnnd don't you FORGET IT!!!" (AIO BTV quote;)

♥Mary Frances :)

Prayer Copyer!!!

I was doing prayer with the kids yesterday and we’re literally 10-seconds in to praying when Odin looks at me like I had just stolen the 19 commandments from Moses on mount sinai and says, 

“ARE YOU COPYING ME???”

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I’m like, NO, I’m praying!!!

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He says, Weeeeeeeelllll, I said, I love you God! And THEN YOU said I love you God too!!! So, YOU DID COPY ME!!!

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I was liiiiiike, yeah I said I love you God too, NOT BECAUSE I WAS COPYING YOU, buuuuuuuuut because, 

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I LOVE HIM!!!! 

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There was a REALLY LOOOOONG PAUSE, then, 

                             ooooooooh ok, I guess that’s ok then!!! 

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I was liiiiiike, WOWWWWWWW!!!🤣🤣🤣

I have to say, Odin has a way of making EVERYTHING extra interesting!!!! Buuuuuuut sure do love this kid!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

WHY God cannot be understood!!!

I was talking to one of my friends one time, and we were discussing how sometimes we just can't understand God. We don't get WHY He does things a certain way or WHY He allows certain things to happen. We just have to trust Him and know that He is looking out for us...And I started off in the discussion pretty theological "...the foolishness of God is wiser than men..." (1 Corinthians 1:25) I'm like you know, we just don't understand the way God works...Sometimes He’s JUST HARD TO FIGURE OUT!!! Then without thinking about it, it just came to me, I'm like, buuuuuuuuuut THEN AGAIN that makes PERFECT SENSE...
AFTER ALL...

HE'S MALE!!!
*ba-dum-cha

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 

Then I seriously just cracked myself up!!! For like five minutes straight!!! I laughed and laughed and laughed about that!!! I even patted myself on the back! Good one Mary! GOOD ONE!!! 

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Heeeeeey men just take it as a compliment if we females can't figure you guys out...its a GODLY TRAIT!!! Annnnnnnd if we CAN figure you out...that probably means your TOO MUCH LIKE US!!! Go gargle some gravel!!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!

♥Mary Frances :)
I know that God is a spirit, buuuuut Jesus, who IS GOD manifested in the flesh, , is a man! Furthermore, every time God is referred to in the Bible, it is ALWAYS in a male connotation...NEVER FEMALE!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Ginty Kids!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

#LifeGoals

You guys, I knoooooow I haven’t blogged in a while buuuuuuuut I have to tell you all something, I’m laying on my bed currently thinking 🤔 about my newest life goal…

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I want to get a TEMPORARY, EXTRA  JOB…

AT TRADER JOE’S!!!

Why??? 

For THE HOODIE!!! Liiiiike duh!!! 

Yes you guyZ, nooooo joke, I just wanna get a job at Trader Joe’s for the hoodie and then quit!!! 🤷‍♀️ 

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Can you imagine at the job interview when they ask me why I want a job with them??? I just want a hoodie!!! 🤣😂🤣

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Or they hire me and they’re liiiiiike, do you have any questions about starting your new job? And I’m like, YES, how long before I get a hoodie??? They’re like, in two weeks!!! And I’m liiiiiiike PERFECT, I’d like to put in my two week notice!!! Ahahahahahaaaa!!!

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I just left Trader Joe’s and was really jelly of my cashier’s hoodie!!! I was liiiiiike, MARY, do NOT covet her hoody… get a job here!!!

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Or ask your Asian sister in law to make you one!!! #AsiansCanDoAnything 🙌 omw I could ask her to make me a Trader Joe’s hoodie dress… I finally found a hoodie dress on SHEIN that is completely modest on me!!!! I was already going to ask her for a Landmark hoodie dress, now I can have her make me a TJ one too!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

I’m home from…

Literally THE BEST TRIP EVERRRRRR!!!

A 40th Birthday 🥳 gift 🎁 from THE BEST SISTER EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! 🤗 🥰 😘 

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It’s going to take FOREVERRR to blog about the whole trip… buuuuuuut my top 🔝 favorites: 1. Moses play- Light &Sound

2. Amish Farmers Market 3. Shopping 🛍️ at The Main Street Exchange 4. Seeing my extended family outside of NYC or AZ 

5. Standing in front of the country capitol and the White House for the very first time  6.The Bible Museum 7. Randomly meeting Pentecostals that read my blog in DC 8.The Spy Museum 9.Brooklyn Bagels 🥯 & a Paris Bakery 

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Weirdest things on the trip:

1. A lady with a pet roach named Gerald… YES I screamed

2. Uber driver that kept opening his door and honking loogies as he drove! 

3. Another Uber driver that lectured me for 10 minutes straight on FEMALE CANCER… I was liiiiike BRO… i was literally trying trying soooooo hard NOT to start laughing… and there’d be a 10 second pause and he’d be right back at it… AS YOUR FRIEND I have to tell you this… it was a really long and awkward drive to an amazing bakery!!!! 🤣😂🤣😅

♥Mary Frances :)

DC Pentecostal Shoutout!!!

We were in George Town doing a DC tour and we all had a lunch break and we were heading to the boat and I saw a group of people smiling at me… and it was weird because I had been seeing A LOT of modestly dressed people when we went to Lancaster but when I saw this group I KNEW they were Pentecostal… I was liiiiiike, are you guys Pentecostal????

They said they were, ANNNNNNND that they knew who I was cuz they read my blog… I was, that is soooooooo cool!!! The last thing I was expecting to find in DC!!!! There’s something about being Pentecostal, it’s not just dressing modesty that separates us from the world as it is with other Christian religions, it’s obedience to Acts 2:38, repentance, baptism in Jesus name and the HOLY GHOST, that truly separates us from the world and unites us together!!!

The people in my tour group were soooooo like, did you know those people? Why would you just take a picture with them? Who are they? One man kept asking me, well where are they from? I was like, Miami? He’s like, but where were they from before that? I was liiiiiike, idk 🤷‍♀️ liiiiiiike I literally just met them!!!! Buuuuuuut THE FAMILY OF GOD… we’re related by the blood 🩸 of JESUS!!!

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Sooooooooo shout out to the Pentecostals from Brother John’s church ⛪️ in Miami Florida!!! The only names I remember are Kaleo, the only reason I remember that name is cuz I knew someone else with that name and it’s Hawaiian 🌺, Mona and baby Jace!!!! Thanks for being a reader of Classic Mary Moments!!! Feel free to keep in touch, MaryFrancesWriting@gmail.com I love making new friends and it was a highlight on my trip meeting you all!!! 🤗 

♥Mary Frances :)

Guess where I am!!!

Having a blast.. already making plans to come back in the spring!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

No rear view mirrors!!!

"I'm shootin for the moon, an I'm in a spaceship, an this spaceship don't even have rear view mirrors, so that means I ain't even tryin to look back." 

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My friend said this to me a while ago. It was a slightly ODD statement to say and yet, the AWESOMEST quote ever. I just loved it!!! Its like soooo ghetto, yet sooo profound. "...An this spaceship don't even have rear veiw mirrors..." <----- SOOO Ghetto...BUT sometimes I think we need to GET GHETTO!!!

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Often times its the luxurious things in life that are holding us back in the kingdom of God! We have everything figured out just right. We're still in our comfort zone. We know all of our surroundings, we have our seat belts on, our seats just right, and our mirrors adjust perfectly. We're moving forward but we can still see behind us.

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You don't need to see what's behind. Leave your past and just go. In the Bible, before destroying the City  in Genesis 19, God tells lot and his family, "...Escape for thy life; look not behind thee..." However, Lot's wife did look back and she was turned to a pillar of salt. 

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What did lots wife need that she looked back? The WHOLE city was being consumed by fire, what did she need??? NOTHING!!! When your buried in the name of Jesus, THERE IS NOTHING in your past that you need to look back too. Looking back to this old world will ONLY destroy you. 

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" But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) 

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We need to leave behind the things that are holding us back. You don't need to look behind you living for God. There's NO REARVIEW MIRRORS on your way to heaven. Who cares if your spaceship is a little ghetto?! You don't need the fanciest transportation, as you travel this journey, you just need to GET TO HEAVEN!!!

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All you need to do is get on the straight path, rip off those rearview mirrors and make up your mind...

I'm on my way to heaven and...

 "I ain't EVEN TRYIN to look back!!!" 

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!

I’m telling you guys, when in doubt,  

JUST ADD BUTTER 🧈 !!!! 

It works EVERY TIME!!! Either that or take a selfie 🤳 between the two, YOUR GOOOOD!!! Lol 😂 😝 🙌 

♥Mary Frances :)

Happpppppppyyyy Sunday!!!

Amen and Amen aaaaaaaaand AMEN!!! I don’t need a mega church ⛪️, just give me the anointed preaching of God!!!

♥Mary Frances :)