Special Prayer Request

I received an e-mail from Sis. Thetus Tenney this morning asking prayer for her granddaughter Shannon Spears as well as her daughter Teri Spears. Teri, as many of you know has been sick for several years and God has done a miraculous miracle in her life! She has written about her healing, a very powerful testimony! Her daughter Shannon was in Turkey last year working with the Robison's as well as teaching school there and was bitten by a dog while there. She recieved an infection from this that developed into a major illness over the past two months. Shannon is engaged to J.T. Harris and they are supposed to be gettting married next Tuesday, Nov. 25th on the shores of Marco Island in Florida. The following is an e-mail from Sis. Tenney concerning both Teri & Shannon:

Debby, please have your prayer groups pray.

I just got off the phone with Teri. They desperately need prayer re-enforcement.
Shannon, Teri's daughter, has been sick for over a year, and very sick the last two months. It has been a serious illness. She was doing a little better but this morning has a new development. Her wedding is less than a week away. Also, last night Teri woke up with severe leg cramps and cannot yet stand on her feet this morning. The spiritual and physical attack on them has been relentless for the last two months.Please give serious prayer to this need. And join us in fighting this battle with praise that God is more than able!
Thank you,
Thetus Tenney

Thank you for joining us in prayer for Teri & Shannon Spears! OUR GOD IS MORE THAN ABLE!!!

Happy Birthday Steve

Happy Birthday to the love of my life!!! I am so thankful that God brought you into my life. . . .as someone said. . . .Good things come to those who wait! Wow. . .that is so true in my life!! God gave me you!! And I am so thankful!! Our Bible Study Connect group surprised Steve on Thursday night with a Birthday dinner, Nana & Ampa (Steve's parents) made homemade tamales and beans on Saturday, the church surprised him on Sunday, our family celebrated together on Sunday evening at Houston's and upgraded him with the new 3G iPhone and apple bluetooth! Then today as per his request, I made him chicken, shrimp, & turkey sausage gumbo & a german chocolate cake! My cousin Paula and her husband Randy Reno (from Albuquerque) are in town on their way to Hawaii, so they celebrated with us tonight!

It's been one continuous FUN PARTY and no one is more deserving than you, Steve Saiz!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Babe. . . I love you very much!!

The Fires here is Southern California

The fires are burning once again in southern California. All over the L.A. area smoke fills the air. Steve and I had gone to eat homemade tamales at his Mom's (yes, they were delicious.....his Dad & Mom make them from scratch), afterwards we decided to drive by the water. Below is a picture I took with my iPhone. . . .a very hazy ocean. The whole scene to me looked like I was looking at a sepia picture.

When we drove into our driveway, I looked over and looked at my use to be clean car. . . .there was ash all over it! I shot the pic below of it:

Later on, I was outside in the back and could not believe what I saw in our pool! Ash was all in it! Here's a pic:

We don't live in the fire areas and are not experiencing those strong Santa Ana winds, but we did get the warmer weather today around 90 degrees which is very warm for the ocean area! Thankfully we don't have the humidity to go along with the heat! It is sad that so many people have lost their homes. . . . .everything but the clothes on their backs. Our hearts and prayers go out to all who have experienced this devestation. Our prayers are with all of our firefighters as well.

We Honor Our Veterans Today!

We salute our Veterans today! Thank you for your service to our country!

Life Saiz

Fun At General Conference

Friday night of conference, my 2 great neices, Jayden (7) & Jesi (6) spent the night with Uncle Steve & Aunt Debbie! We enjoyed them so much. . . .telling the bed time story, praying together before going to sleep, just laughing and having fun together and them waking up the next morning and getting to eat skittles in bed! I look forward to the holidays when we get to see Jayden & Jesi again along with Shiloh Grace and baby Huck on my side as well as Seth and Liah on Steve's side! They are all so much fun! I've enjoyed being an aunt to my 4 nephews (Jonathan, Jeremy, Shiloh, & Hayden) and my 1 neice (Cheyenne). . . .the fun continues as their kids come along!

More General Conference Pictures

Here's some pics that Steve put together:

General Conference

I have been slack in updating our blog. Some of my friends have let me know. : ) Please forgive me, I will try to do better. We had a great time at General Conference in Greensboro, NC. It was a great conference! The services were great. . .the preaching, the music. . it was all great! I love GC. . . .a time to see so many friends, as well as my family! General Conference has always been a highlight in my life ever since my first one when I was 11 years old in the summer in Portland, Oregon. . . . .so many years ago . . . .more than we like to think!! I haven't shot pictures at conference in a few years. I used to do photography for Youth Day. . .etc. . . .when I was younger. . .but this year, I shot a few pictures with our little camera of lots of great friends and family!
Minister's Wives Breakfast:

Friends At General Conference

We just got back from Greensboro, NC where we attended GC. It was a great time to get with friends and family and to hear some incredible preaching! Debbie will be posting a slide show with a ton of pictures. It was good to see everyone! Praying God's best for all of you!

Got Bacon?

The infamous Dexter, landscaper extraordinaire, checking to see if there is any extra bacon!

LIFE AT NIGHT IN THE BIG CITY?!!!

Tonight when Steve & I were leaving the church after prayer, I looked across the street and saw something that I would never think that I would see walking down the street in a big city! I saw what I first thought was two big cats, but another look I realized that it was two raccoons!! Raccoons right in the middle of Torrance, the southbay area of the 2nd largest city in America. . . .Los Angeles!! A few times I have seen a skunk out on that same street and ever so often at night, we have a possum that goes along our side wall of our house. Of course Dexter and Chaquita go wild going after him! The other night I was taking Dexter out on a walk around 8 p.m. and a couple of men from down the street were trying to catch a raccoon. . .right in our neighborhood! We are not on my parent's ranch in Louisiana but right in the middle of the city where there are no big fields or woody areas, but lots of concrete and buildings!! One thing I have learned is that Raccoons, Possums, & Skunks are all a part of life at night in the big city!!

Monday Morning Breakfast at Home!

There is nothing like the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen on a cozy morning! I thought I would make some bacon and eggs with toast today. Nothing like the creature comforts of home before heading out on a busy week! Hoping you all are having a great day!

Dexter the Landscaper!

I came home today to find that Dexter, our boxer, had rearranged the palms we had around the pool. Notice Dexter's way of watering the palms! LOL! You notice he is no where to be found in this picture, but let Chiquita (poodle) be photographed with the evidence. Just wait till his Momma comes home.....LOL!

He will be safe because this is the only proof that we will have at his effort at landscaping. It will be our secret!

Hope you all are having a great day!

Getting Old Is Different When It's You!

Getting older is so much different when it's you that's moving up in the age bracket. I was talking to a friend recently and asked him if he had turned 50 yet, he responded, "No, not until next year! But I just had an epiphany of growing older. My daughter had some music on that was "rocky", Gospel, but rocky and caught myself banging on her door telling her to turn that noise down. I stopped myself there in the hallway and said, I've just turned into my Dad!"

Those of us born in 1959 are very quickly approaching the half century mark, but it doesn't feel like 50. I am still young inside. Perhaps I am young ONLY in my mind. My body reminds me that it is well aware that 50 is very near. When my Dad turned 50 he was very old....but the 50 I am facing in about 14 months surely is not the same 50! I am so young! Ha! This comic strip is the epitome of the way I feel.....dumb mirror!!!!!

Wheels of Life

Thought you all would enjoy this one!

Praying for Our Friends In Harm's Way

We have many friends in the Houston and surrounding area that will be experiencing the brunt of Hurricane Ike. Our prayers are with you and your families and churches.

Incredible UPCI Impressionist

Tyler Sullivan had this on his blog and I thought it was great!

Judge backs UC on Christian textbooks

This article was on yesterday's front page of our newspaper, DAILY BREEZE:

Judge backs UC on Christian textbooks
By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle Article

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge says the University of California can deny course credit to applicants from Christian high schools whose textbooks declare the Bible infallible and reject evolution.
Disputing claims of religious discrimination and stifling of free expression, U.S. District Judge James Otero of Los Angeles said the university's review committees cited legitimate reasons for rejecting the texts - not because they contained religious viewpoints, but because they omitted important topics in science and history and failed to teach critical thinking.
Otero's ruling Friday, which focused on specific courses and texts, followed his decision in March that found no anti-religious bias in the university's system of reviewing high school classes. Now that the lawsuit has been dismissed, a group of Christian schools has appealed Otero's rulings to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
"It appears the UC is attempting to secularize private religious schools," attorney Jennifer Monk of Advocates for Faith and Freedom said Tuesday. Her clients include the Association of Christian Schools International, two Southern California high schools and several students.
Charles Robinson, the university's vice president for legal affairs, said the ruling "confirms that UC may apply the same admissions standards to all students and to all high schools without regard to their religious affiliations." What the plaintiffs seek, he said, is a "religious exemption from regular admissions standards."
The suit, filed in 2005, challenged UC's review of high school courses taken by would-be applicants to the 10-campus system. Most students qualify by taking an approved set of college preparatory classes; students whose courses lack UC approval can remain eligible by scoring well in those subjects on the Scholastic Assessment Test.
Christian schools in the suit accused the university of rejecting courses that include any religious viewpoint, "any instance of God's guidance of history, or any alternative ... to evolution."
But Otero said in March that the university has approved many courses containing religious material and viewpoints, including some that use such texts as "Chemistry for Christian Schools" and "Biology: God's Living Creation," or that include scientific discussions of creationism as well as evolution.
UC denies credit to courses that rely largely or entirely on material stressing supernatural over historic or scientific explanations, though it has approved such texts as supplemental reading, the judge said.
For example, in Friday's ruling, he upheld the university's rejection of a history course called Christianity's Influence on America. According to a UC professor on the course review committee, the primary text, published by Bob Jones University, "instructs that the Bible is the unerring source for analysis of historical events" and evaluates historical figures based on their religious motivations.
Another rejected text, "Biology for Christian Schools," declares on the first page that "if (scientific) conclusions contradict the Word of God, the conclusions are wrong," Otero said.
He also said the Christian schools presented no evidence that the university's decisions were motivated by hostility to religion.
UC attorney Christopher Patti said Tuesday that the judge assessed the review process accurately.
"We evaluate the courses to see whether they prepare these kids to come to college at UC," he said. "There was no evidence that these students were in fact denied the ability to come to the university."
But Monk, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said Otero had used the wrong legal standard and had given the university too much deference.
"Science courses from a religious perspective are not approved," she said. "If it comes from certain publishers or from a religious perspective, UC simply denies them."

Camp Meeting 2008

Here is a slideshow of some of the pics we took at Camp. It was one of the best Camps we have ever had. I want to thank everyone who attended and made it great! I have a long list of "thank you's" that I will add to this post. Enjoy the pictures!

For more pictures of Camp Meeting 2008, make sure you get to the following blogs. They have some great shots.

Shirley Buxton
Ronda Hurst
Tena Valenti

Happy Birthday Steve!

Steve turned 22 on August 1st. This was the first year in a while that his birthday wasn't in the middle of Camp Meeting. We are late in our posting due to being in Santa Maria this past week. We are very proud of Steve or Stevo as we call him. He's a great young man that lives for God, is our drummer in the church, works at Western Credit Union and is going to school at a neighboring college. He is the life of the party....whether it's here at home or at a major conference. Buddy, we love you and pray God best for you! You make us laugh and our hearts warm by the love you show to us. It's hard to believe our little boy is all grown up!

THE MEMORY CONTINUES

Today, August 11th would have been my nephew, Shiloh's 30th birthday! After talking to his Dad, my brother, Tim this evening, as well as some other members of our family, we all were reminising about Shiloh and our memories of him. Shiloh was taken suddenly on October 12, 1994 in a car accident at the age of 16. His sister Cheyenne was with him and was seriously hurt, but God allowed us to keep her. That night will forever be marked in the life of the Foster family. Shiloh and Cheyenne were on their way to church. In thinking of Shiloh's life, I will never forget the phone call that came one evening after a mission's conference in Stockton, when he told me at the age of 12 that he felt a call to preach. I remember the night at a youth congress the year before his death, that the preacher said that night that there were young men in that service who had never publicly acknowledged their call to preach and that God was bidding for them that evening. I watched Shiloh get up and walk to the front in dedication to God. He may have never preached a message like he dreamed, but his life has touched hundreds of young people as his story has been preached across the county by his uncles, cousins, his aunt, his granddad, and many friends.


At the Variety Youth Conference in West Monroe, LA. the July before his death, Shiloh gave his testimony of how he went from a Christian School of around 250 to a public high school of over 5000 students and how you can live for God. Part of his testimony is on his footstone of his grave as shown above. (click on picture to read) Shiloh, we miss you so much. We know that one day we will all be together again in heaven.

A Southern Girl's Take On The Earthquake

I was standing in Steve's office at the time that it happened. . . .all of a sudden, everything was shaking. . . .the ground under me. . . .the 2 huge windows right to my right were shaking. . .the blinds were really shaking. . . . here I am standing there with everything shaking. . . .it hit me. . . ."We are in an earthquake!" Then it was over. . . I was a little freaked out. I hurried outside and there was no one coming out of the other offices in the area! I was amazed. . .this was no big deal to these people! But me . . . . the girl from northeast Louisiana who has been out here for right at 4 years. . . .THIS WAS BIG!!!!! After several attempts, I finally got through on the phone to Steve. He wanted to make sure I was ok. I was. . . . .just amazed that to everyone else this was really no big deal!! I went to the tailor that we use, she and another lady in there were real nonchalant about it. I came home and my mailman asked me if I felt it, he said that he felt it on the sidewalk, but no big deal! The Fed-Ex lady that delivered a package did ask me if I felt it, but it was no big deal to her either. I'm not sure if it will ever become just another happening for me. . . . .believe me. . . .when it is happening. . . .when everything around you, over you, beside you, and UNDER you are SHAKING. . . .it is a BIG DEAL!!!! Our weather here has been in the 70's. . . .really nice and when I called my sis-in-law Gayla in Dallas to tell her about the earthquake, she said, "I'll take our 105 degree weather!" Well. . . .I was raised in that hot humid southern weather, and I must say that I do love living in the southbay area of of Los Angeles where we are surrounded by water on 3 sides! Yes, I have gotten very adjusted to this incredible weather!! But one thing for sure, I don't think that I will ever get adjusted to earthquakes! That is a chance that I have to take being where God has me and believe me. . . .I love life here where He has me!!

L A Earthquake

We experienced a 5.4 earthquake here in the Los Angeles area today. A pretty good shaker. We are all fine. For the family....Nana and Ampa are just fine. Mom was shook up a bit and Dad was out in the park next door to their apartment and didn't even feel it. Smile!

Honoring Dad!

On Thursday, July 24th, Coleman Court (place where Mom and Dad live) honored the Veterans that live in the complex. My Dad, Paul Saiz, was one of the honorees. Deb and I were glad to be able to attend along with our son Steve and our nephew Che Aguilar who was in town for the week to see Mom and Dad.

Coleman Court purchased shirts with their respective branch of serivce embroidered on it for the ceremony. The Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Torrance presented each of them with a Certificate of Appreciation for serving in the armed forces. They were then presented with medals that many of them did not receive during their tour of duty, in a shadow box. This was a very thoughtful and generous gift and I know Dad was very touched and I know it will add to his current collection of medals that includes the "Purple Heart" The day was capped off by the cutting of a huge cake that was made in their honor. Thank you Coleman Court. Thank you Betty D'Errico who is the manager of Coleman Court and who worked so hard to make this day a great success!

God's Awesome Power

I just had to share this picture showing Sis. Susan receiving the Holy Ghost last week! When I saw her walk in the church last Wednesday night, there was such a glow and beam permeating from her! It was so exciting! She was telling everyone how great she felt and that she had never felt better in her 63 years!! Her son received the Holy Ghost on Friend Day! This past Sunday, between her and her good friend, Betty, they had 8 of their grandkids in service! They both are believing for greater revival in their families! Susan lives less than 2 miles from our church and had been looking for a church. Her former coworker invited her on Easter. She came and now you know the rest of the story! I love seeing God's awesome power working in people's lives! It is exciting and rewarding!

I HEART HUCK Fan Club

We got this giant post card in the mail and have joined the campaign. . . .I must admit I am hooked!
This is the front side of the card . . . . .

this is the back of the card . . . . .

The card reads:

Jasper Huck Johnson

June 14, 2008

9 lbs. 10 oz. - 21.5 in.

Join the "I heart huck" fan club. . . .

we did!

Robert, Cheyenne, & Shiloh Grace

Read back a few postings and you will find that Huck is our new great newphew born to my neice and her husband. . .Cheyenne & Robert Johnson in Wheaton, IL. My brother Tim Foster is the proud Grandaddy & Becci is the proud grandmother! The other proud grandparents are Louis & Martha Johnson, Missionaries to Ethiopia & Rwanda.

Urgent Prayer Request!

Please pray for Bro. Paul Pryor, Mark's Dad, who was rushed to the hospital for open heart surgery and is in critical condition! Many of you may already know....we are just passing this on here on our blog!

Bayside's Record Breaking FRIEND DAY!

This past Sunday, June 22nd was a record breaking day for our church! I believe that we stepped into something that God has been leading us to for quite a while! Our record was 151 which we broke on Easter in 2005. We have strived to break it so many times, but just could not do it. In December of last year, our church stepped into some new things and it has been building for quite a while. We set the date last year for our Friend Day and for the past several weeks, we have been promoting it. Evangelist Kelly & Debbie Howard came in the week before to help push Outreach. On Wednesday night, at the beginning of his message, Bro. Howard asked everyone to take out their cell phone, the ushers passed out visitors cards from the past few months. We then began to make phone calls right there in church to these visitors to give them another invitation to Friend Day! In a matter of 5 - 10 minutes, we had 7 confirmed contacts for them and their families! By the time church was over, another contact returned the call and said they were coming!! Bayside caught the vision and brought their friends on FRIEND DAY! We broke our record and had 160 in attendance!! We were jammed packed, but my oh my. . .what a great feeling it was! It was so awesome to see all of these lives touched by God's power! Before the service was ended, there were 10 people filled with the Holy Ghost!!!! What a great day!! After the service, there was a meal prepared on the patio in the back of the building for everyone to enjoy! In the side parking lot, there was a jumper set up for the kids as well as rides on a horse! Almost all of these children had never ridden a horse. . . .most of them had never been that close to a horse. . . .even some of the parent's as well!! These are L.A. people. . . . .city people! Now for me, growing up in Texas and Louisiana. . .that is really foreign to me! But there is not much property at all for horses in L.A.!!! This was a fun day for everyone!! We are so excited at all that God is doing at Bayside! It is so exciting!

Here are a few stories of that day:
My Mother-in-law's neighbor, Helen (86 yrs.) was back again. She came on Easter. She actually prayed some and was so touched by what she felt. She said she had read in Acts about speaking in tongues, but had never actually heard someone speak in tongues and today was the first time! We are believing that it won't be long before Helen experiences it for herself!
One of our men, who teaches public high school for LA Unified School District, brought 3 young ladies from his classes. These young ladies were mightily touched. They want to come back! On Wednesday, Bro. Ernest told me about some more that want to come this Sunday! Below is a picture of these 3 beautiful young ladies standing in the alter with their teacher, Mr. 'Pia' behind them. Bro. Ernest & Sis. Joyce are from Ghana and his last name is Appiah, but his students call him Mr. Pia!

Jose's Mom has been praying for him. He came home from Texas for his younger brother's high school graduation. His Mother has been praying and believing God was going to refill him. He was so touched that in the middle of Bro. Howard's sermon, he was so into it, that he stood up until altar call. He came down with his girlfriend who had never been in a Pentecostal church. What a beautiful experience to see Jose filled with the Holy Ghost! God does answer a Mother's faithful prayers! Here's a picture of Sis. Zidia praising the Lord with Jose beside her.

One of our ladies had been working on some of her former coworkers. One of them was Susan, who came on Easter for the first time and has hardly missed since then. God has done some miraculous things in her life. She got her son and family to come on Friend Day. They were so touched and in the altar. This picture of is of Sis. Susan praising God with her hand up and in front of her is her son and daughter-in-law! At our Bible Study last night, when I showed this picture to Sis. Susan, you could see how proud she is of what God is doing in her family's life!