Almost 3 years!

I am looking forward to celebrating 3 years of marriage to my best friend. The Lord has been so gracious and faithful. I've learned so much about God's Character through our trials and I wouldn't have things any other way. I am in awe watching my husband go off to work daily and provide for our family. Seeing how God sustains him and gives him strength to head out daily and glorify him at work. Some of you may or may not know what the Lord saved my husband from but no one could have predicted his future. He wasn't suppose to be here, he should still be in a hospital somewhere drugged and away from society. But he is here! Redeemed and in his right mind! Leading our family, providing, praying for us and teaching us about this Great God that makes it possible for him to breathe daily. Glory to God!!! We have seen him at his lowest, body shutting down from a panic attack and yet reciting bible verses and worshiping God regardless. What a man! What a God! What an honor it has been to follow my husband as he depends on our Great God daily. I admire my husband so much. He has been such a gift to me. A real Christian man weak in nature but depending on a strong and mighty God for EVERYTHING and teaching his family to do the same. I pray the Lord blesses us with many children and the means to provide for them. I hope that the Lord enables us to teach our children about our Lord and how holy He is, how wretched we are and the mighty work that was done on the cross. We married young and barely had anything but the Lord has kept us and graciously showered us with His love, children and much more! We serve a mighty God. As we approach 3 years of marriage, I look forward to learning more about our Great God and of course being conformed into the image of Christ. May the Lord use our marriage to show the beautiful picture of Christ and the church. May He be Glorified!

New Apartment =)

Hello Friends,

As you all know, March 1st was supposed to be our last day in the condo and on February 28th we got a phone call from a complex we were praying about that we were approved for a 2 bedroom duplex in a much better neighborhood. March 1st we spent the day moving out.

By the Grace of God, we were able to schedule a moving company and we are now living in our marvelous 2 bedroom duplex apartment. Thank you all for praying for us and encouraging us.

Our little boy loves his bedroom and sleeps through the night. I (Marie) am 18 weeks pregnant now and we find out baby#2's gender April 3rd! We're extremely excited and so is Aidenn. He is going to be a big brother. Praise God!

I hope you all have a marvelous weekend.

God bless!

Moving Again

In June of 2013 we (the Samuels) moved from our tiny basement apartment in Takoma Park, MD to a spacious 1 bedroom apartment in Temple Hills, MD. It's called LynnHill Condominiums, and we are currently renting the condo from an owner. We knew when we moved into this building that it was pretty dilapidated due to owners not paying their condo fees. We live on the 6th floor and the elevator does not work. This has been a consistent challenge for us. Along with our water being cut off regularly, pest infestations and rampant prostitution and drug use happening on our very floor. We considered our stay a blessing since our rent was very cheap. Now however, God seems to be bringing judgement on the condominiums. The WSSC has ordered our water be cut off on March 1st due to unpaid water account charges from the Condo owners over $100,000. As a consequence the Condos will be considered unfit for human habitation and all owners/tenants will be ordered to vacate immediately. We received this letter on Monday, February 10th. 

We need to move by March 1st and are looking for any leads in the DC metropolitan area (but particularly somewhere close to Alexandria/Arlington, VA since that's where I (Tyrell) work, somewhere like southern PG County for example would be great). By God's grace I make a little extra change and we can probably afford something up to the $1100 mark...though that might be pushing it. $900-$1000 would be ideal. We'd love a two bedroom apt but may have to settle for a one bedroom temporarily. If you know any condo owners who are renting that would be great too since rent usually goes up in typical Apartment complexes. If you don't have any leads, your prayers are greatly appreciated in this time. Currently, we are set to visit three apts on Saturday Feb 15th but I'm not too hopeful for any of them. 

Though this is tragic. We are encouraged by God's sovereignty. Marie is pregnant with our second child and going up and down the steps are becoming increasingly difficult especially with having to carry a one year old. Though our place was renovated and a fairly nice apt, losing hot water and noticing we weren't "alone" anymore (hint hint) in our place we began considering to move. This was dicey though since our lease isn't up til June. Now God is definitely telling us to leave and He is making a way for us to do it. 

We have two weeks to find another place to live. Until our next post help us pray that all goes well with the apartment search and especially the apartment we applied for Feb 16th.

God Bless you all!

Tyrell, Marie, Aidenn and our unborn one :)

November 6, 2012

3 Months! ^_^

A Crazy Ride

Dropped my laptop on the bare ground in all of my pride last night, but praise the Lord it is still working. In other news Azariah Aideen Samuels is here. Born July 30th in an emergency C Section. Baby is healthy, Marie is fine but in a lot of pain. Please pray for her. I haven't really slept since Sunday...don't think things will change anytime soon. Praying for greater grace :). Wow...I'm a father. Sooo weirrrrddddd!!! The rescue mission begins...May the Lord be merciful to this wretched sinner :)

I'm Amazed at the Lord's ability to take my callousness toward the Church and make me appreciate it beyond measure. He has done this by stripping away members of mines and my wife's real family and allowing the church to take their place. Though this grieves my inner man and requires much wisdom to maneuver through backlash and anger on their part, I am glad that God is sovereign over my sins and ABLE to provide for my wife and I because we are His children. I am also exceedingly amazed that God took this spoiled brat who lived for himself and made him lead, provide for and sacrifice for this lovely lady of mines, and this child. I am not my own nor am I myself these days. Christ literally lives through me. I am simply along for this ride of glory. May God continue to glorify Himself in the shattering of my self. I'm really tired, really stressed, but God is good. In my "apostle Paul" voice, I am the LEAST likely candidate to be a father and husband and those who truly know me can attest to this and give God His due glory.

I must be honest though, since my wife and I started looking at new places to live I've been pretty despondent about life and towards life. In God's sovereignty this has carried over to now and I don't feel much anxiety now that we have moved out of my mom's place and given birth to Aidenn. I thought for sure I would pass out and die when my baby came because it's such a huge change in my life. Everything just feels surreal though, no panic, no anxiety, no psychosis. It's weird though, I don't know how to think of the baby. It's like he's me, but he's not me at all. He came from me, but he is not me. I think it's best described in the analogy of how God created us. We were made in His image, but we are not Him, and He is not us. I want to think that he has the same thoughts as me and the same personality, but he doesn't. He is his own person. When I think like that, I think I begin to think properly though I feel sort of disconnected from him at that point. But I say "properly" because he is not "mines." I am his steward. I am his father but ultimately he belongs to the Lord as do all people who are created by God. Indeed all people are created by God, but not all are His children. Aidenn is my child though, so I will treat him as such and love him as such by the grace God gives me. 

-Tyrell

Labor And Delivery

Our baby is here!!!

Azariah Aidenn Samuels

6lbs 8oz, July 30th, 2012 at 5:05am

What an experience!!! My husband and I spent July 29th driving a truck and moving our things from my mother in law's house to our new place. We watched a movie and later the contractions began. One moment I was sitting down singing to Hillsong's This Is Our God CD and the next I was screaming my husband's name to come quickly because it hurts so much! Before I knew it, the ambulance was here and I was being rushed to the hospital.

I'm at the Hospital, anxious but trying to remain calm. They took me to a room to answer some questions and in the process of answering I threw up all over the floor. The nurse was pretty upset. Later the doctor came in and we found out that I was 5 centimeters dilated but baby was not making his way down.

As some of you know, I have the Arnold Chiari Malformationan. DBecause of this rare abnormality, I had to be closely monitered while pregnant. They didn't know what to do. They didn't know if they should allow me to push, fearing that pushing would add pressure to my brain.

I wanted to have what seemed like the typical "Christian woman labor" A water birth with people praying and pushing for the joy that is set before me enduring the pain like Christ that I may obtain the prize but now we were told that we needed to have a C-section and that I needed to be put to sleep because they could not give me an epidural due to the abnormality in my brain. We were devistated. We didn't know what to do. We had prayed that the Lord would give the doctor wisdom and this was what he thought was best. We prayed then submitted to the doctors orders.

I woke up to the sound of my little boy crying. I'm still recovering and have to constantly confess my envy to the Lord, seeing that I not only idolized other christian women and was envious that I could not take part in their wonderful experience. After the procedure my husband and I were told that we needed to wait at least 18 months to have our next child.

We know that it's the Lord who opens and closes the womb. We don't believe in taking birth control so we are forced down to our knees again, seeking direction from the Lord.

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

I'm not sure why the Lord allowed things to happen as they did but I know that He is Sovereign over every detail and that nothing takes Him by surprise.

In this life, I continually seek after ease, comfort, a "good" life and yet He comes in and chooses to glorify Himself through my sufferings revealing to me the evilness in my heart.

Praise the Lord for continually shaking my plans and allowing suffering that I may treasure Him above this life, my health and every vain thing under the sun.

By Faith & Not By Sight

Wow... Where do I begin... It's been a long time since I blogged, overwhelmed by our circumstances, it's been hard to find the strength to sit, meditate and write.

My husband and I have been "homeless" since June 17. We didn't see it coming and weren't prepared for it but God knew and He had us covered. We had to speak up in obedience to our Lord about some things taking place in the home where we were staying and as a result we were threatened and for my sake and the life of our unborn baby, my husband and I had to leave. We left all our things behind and headed to church that morning not knowing where we would sleep, not having enough funds or a car that we can sleep in until we figure things out.

We've been attending Capital Hill Baptist Church and hadn't been there for long and yet the believers there opened their arms to us and purposed to pray for us and help us in any way that they could. One couple with 4 beautiful children opened their homes to us.

One more thing I forgot to mention is that her and I are both expecting and our due dates are a day apart. She is due August 10th and I am due August 9th. It was perfectly orchestrated by God, there I learned how to cook a few meals and learned what contractions were! lol My stomach was as hard as a melon and it was hurting and I mentioned it to her just to see if she gets "those" and she explained to me that those were contractions lol. The Lord used them to continually remind us to trust Him in the midst of our storm. We daily broke bread together as a family and stayed up late hours talking about the attributes of God.

Can't forget my sister Jamika who gave us her room to sleep in while we stayed there!

Later another couple opened their homes to us.

They were heading out of town and so they left their house key with us along with the key to both of their cars and encouraged us to eat whatever is there and make ourselves at home as we sought the Lord on what to do.

Later Another young couple offered to drive all the way to Waldorf to pick up our baby's crib since the cars we had weren't big enough to pick them up. That same day, they fed us and drove the crib all the way to Takoma Park! The house where we would be staying.

As if that wasn't enough the Lord also used the mother of one of my students. She lives in the neighborhood Tyrell and I had hoped we would live one day. We took a stroll there the day before our wedding and just admired the beauty of that place. She offered us her basement! for a price we CAN afford in a neighborhood we CANNOT afford to live in. She along with a carpenter named Steve labored and fully renovated the basement! They painted, did stencil work, bought us a brand new fridge along with other things and fully furnished it!!! 

This is so amazing and I know that this could not have happened apart from the Lord moving. What a journey it has been!!! We've only been married 8 months and our Lord has been so faithful to teach us about His character. He has blessed us with the circumstances we've found ourselves in so that we could see Him in action.

There were nights of worry, tears, I saw no way out. I knew only the Lord could help us but spent hours doubting that He would pay us any mind. "why should He help us?" were my thoughts. Our Lord is faithful and He is Sovereign. I hope He continues to remind us of this truth as Tyrell and I continue on this narrow road together. We're suppose to move into our new place today and we are so thankful for the body of Christ coming along side of us to pray for us and serve us. Praise the Lord! God is indeed faithful!

Tears Of Joy!

As you all know, my past sin of fornication tore my husband's heart apart when we were courting. He felt defraud and helpless. The Lord had to strengthen him and help him love me in spite of it all. The gospel was his help, remembering what Christ had done for him along with confessing to the Lord his bitterness and how though he knew the Gospel, he still found it hard to love me.

On my wedding day, I walked down the isle in faith, hoping in the Lord to fully restore Tyrell so that he may love me as God loves the Church. Trusting in the faithfulness of the Lord, I said I do making a commitment to love him until death no matter what.

 I walked down the isle smiling yet filled with questions. Tyrell was smiling, I didn't understand why. I didn't feel beautiful, I didn't feel worthy but I knew that what I was getting ready to do was what I felt God desired of me. I hoped that Ty would heal and love me and my hope was my comfort. I was to shy to look at him and terrified to embrace him for the first time.

We married in obedience to the Lord, knowing that the road would be hard but trusting Him nevertheless. Saturday, June 9th 2012, months after our marriage, we somehow ended up talking about how he views me. His struggle in our courtship was elevating my sin above my redemption and having a hard time seeing me as something to be prized. I thought he still struggled with that. While talking, tears ran down my face and my heart was exposed and he saw the hurt and broken due to what I believed. He gently got up grabbed his journal and began to read to me. It was titled:

"October 29th 2011-The day my life changes forever-marriage"

 It was 1:49am when he wrote it. He wrote about how thankful he was to have me as a wife, he wrote about how much he treasured me and wanted no other. The entry is filled with praises to the Lord for all he had done. Most importantly MY HUSBAND WAS GLORYING IN THE CROSS!!!!!!! HE SAW ME AS A NEW CREATURE! I WAS PRIZED IN HIS SIGHT BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS CHRIST HAD DONE! It answered my questions and showed me that the smile he had on his face was genuine, my prayer and hope had already been answered. My groom delighted in me and couldn't wait to love me with his life. I was in tears! God answered my prayer months ago and I had no idea! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness in redeeming. I cannot thank God enough. My husband's heart races at the thought of me, he delights in me! Praise God!

A Wonderful Surprise

We just received an awesome surprise in the mail!!! We are so thankful to the Lord for all the precious gifts we're receiving for our little boy ^_^ Praise the Lord.

Along with the gifts, this person included some words of encouragement and bible verses

Under neat the Breastflow BPA Free Starter Set
It says "Your blog has been a true blessing to me. Here is a verse I really like and trust you will too. It is revelation 22:17. Meditate on it."

Underneath the Microwave Steam Sterilizer, it says: "Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth. John 17:17. May GOD bless and keep you."

Praise the Lord. I had for hold back tears. This gift was so thoughtful and unexpected. May the Lord bless you tremendously in England for your act of kindness! We are so thankful!

Surprise Baby Shower!

I am beyond thankful! The idea of having a baby shower when Ty and I live in a small little room in a basement that can't even hold all our things was an impossibility. I threw that idea out the window and just continued to pray that the Lord would bless us with the things we need for baby's arrival. Without a shower, the Lord had already provided bags of clothes for baby's first year, along with a brand new crib, walker and other important items. 

God not only answered my prayers but made the impossible possible. I had a baby shower!!! There was so much food and the decorations were beautiful! Not to mention people I've been wanting to see for months! What a mighty God we serve! We were also showered with love and more gifts for baby and we are eagerly waiting his arrival. We are so thankful for our brothers and sisters who labored. 

In my husband's Words:

"I'm so thankful to the Lord that I can experience church, and even watch God take care of His children through the church. Where my wife and I have lost a mother we have gained mothers in the church, where my wife and I have lost brothers, we have gained brothers in the church, where we have lost fathers, we have gained fathers in the church, uncles, aunts, sisters. What we have lost in pursuing Christ with total abandon we have gained 10fold. Our Heavenly Father has provided for His children, and He continues to provide. And still, never have I seen the righteous forsaken...or his children begging for bread. May the Lord use us in the same way for others."

God's Faithfulness!

Sooo... I (Tyrell) was on the bus on the way to school and I got hungry. I thought to myself  "I could go to McDonald's." I didn't actually want to go though because I haven't been making the best financial decisions lately. Against my better judgement, I got off the bus and went to McDonald's. While walking, I began to beat myself up about how I lack discipline and I prayed to God for help in that area. I knew the Lord forgave me, but I knew that I would still have to deal with the physical consequences of my lack of discipline. I really needed to be assured of God's love for me at that point.

So I went to McDonald's and my food came up to 6 bucks which was way more than what I had planned to spend. My food was good but I kept worrying about my uncontrollable spending. I got back on the bus and went to school, right when I got off the bus there lay a 10 dollar bill on the ground. Everyone was gone from the scene so I couldn't ask who's it was. 

I took it as God saying "Hey, you're my son, I love you. You will continue to make mistakes, realize that I love you regardless, and there's grace for you when you make mistakes. Now go and sin no more." PRAISE THE LORD!!! He gave back more than what I had spent. I got to enjoy my meal and have some extra cash in my pocket. God is good, my Daddy is tight!