How Cute!

Ok, I couldn't post a picture of the camera without posting a picture of the case that I bought!

Finally!

Around the beginning of the year my camera gave out on me. I made an attempt to buy a new one, but the Lord allowed it to fall through because He knew I would need that money to pay for my upcoming trip to Missouri. That said, I've finally been able to purchase one! It should get here on Thursday. I'm really excited because it has so many cool features that my other camera didn't have. AND...the best part...IT'S PINK!!!!

Video

So I finally got it figured out. For some reason it wasn't working uploading it straight to Blogger, so I uploaded it to YouTube. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Nicki!

This past Friday was Nicki's 21st Birthday. Carolyn, Maggie and I wanted to do something unique and fun for her on this occasion. While she was at work we went and filled her car with balloons and wrote on her windows. Here are some pictures. We also took a video, but I'm having trouble downloading it. I'll keep trying though! Hopefully it'll work. If not, the pictures will have to do.

After everyone got off work we headed east to go white water rafting. It was about a 3 1/2 hr drive. We stayed the night in a hotel where we also surprised Nicki with a birthday cake. We also made her a crown since she was the "Birthday Princess"!

Nine o'clock Saturday morning we found ourselves climbing into wet suits and lathering on the sunscreen. It was a beautiful day to go white water rafting. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Rafting was an absolute blast! We made our way through rapids such as "Pinball", "Drunkards Drop", and even "Grannies Panties"! I definitely want to do it again, and would recommend it highly. After we made it through the rapids, we stopped at a BBQ they provided and finally made it back around 2:30 p.m. After going back to our hotel and cleaning up, we found our way downtown and proceeded to peruse the shops. We found much amusement in what is known as "The Hat Store". Here are a couple of pictures.

We also found one of those photo shops where you can dress up in either Wild West, Pirate, or Victorian style clothes and have your picture taken. We chose Victorian style and it turned out great. I plan on ordering the CD, so I'll be sure to post the picture when I get it.

So that's pretty much what our weekend consisted of. It was so much fun to be able to enjoy the company and fellowship of Carolyn, Nicki, & Maggie. I'm waiting to get pictures from rafting. Once I get them I'll definitely be posting them!

Back To School!

I'm going to be teaching the Learning-to-Read class again this coming school year. I'm really excited about it. I've got a new classroom that's an actual room rather than a corner. I've been working feverishly all week trying to get things ready for testing. I start testing kids next month to see if they're ready, and I want the classroom to be done by then. I've revamped the filing system, purged ALOT, currently working on revamping some other things, and in the process of getting some bulletin boards done. I'll be sure to post pictures when I'm done!

(By the way...the picture is the Aging Ape. A reads a, a, a. Ape reads a, a, a.)

Baby Shower Pics

Carrie singing to her daughters, Poly & Esther

Carrie & I talking baby stuff

Singing "Baby Don't Be Late"

These girls were responsible for the games. They did a good job!

Almost everyone that helped out at the shower

Sobering Thought

When I was coming out of the jail the other day, I saw this bumper sticker with a quote that I had never seen before.

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." -- Gandhi

Wow! The sad part is...it can be SO TRUE! May we strive daily (in Christ's power, of course!) to prove this saying WRONG!! If we take heed to this verse, there will be no problems being like our Christ!

Galatians 5:16 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

I'm Back!!!

Ok…so I realized that it’s probably pretty hard to know what I’m up to if I’m not posting anything, right? I’ll try to be better about it. I guess this one will be a bit of a catch me up.

Hhhmmmm…what have I been doing?

A couple of weekends ago we had a baby shower for our Pastor’s wife, Shannon. This is their first baby and they’re having a girl! Anyways, the baby shower was really fun. Maggie did a little skit that was pretty humorous. She pretended to be an obnoxious guest that was late and the hostess DID NOT want her at the shower. She was required to show her invitation in which she had to pull EVERYTHING out of her purse in order to find it. So, all the guests are watching this thinking it was just a skit, but found out afterwards that it was in fact a game and they had to try to remember everything that was in Maggie’s purse. It was fun. I also did a skit with Carrie. I was pregnant and she had twins. During the skit I went to her “house” and we began talking about babies and such. During our conversation we proceeded to break out into song a couple of times. We used the tunes of “The Addams Family” and “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late),” we just changed the words to fit appropriately. After our final song I began to have a contraction and I decided that I better go home. It was then that my water broke! It was awesome and totally unexpected for everyone!! I’ll try to get some pics and post them later.

This last week Pastor Sargent and his wife went to Mexico to minister to a missionary that we support. I was able to house sit for them and take care of Lucy. She’s fun, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dog with such a ‘tude! ;0) I don’t have a picture of Lucy, but here’s a dog that looks very similar to her.

I can’t think of anything else terribly exciting. I’ve been busy with work and church. Just trying to look for opportunities to build relationships and share the Gospel. It’s amazing when you’re willing to do so, how many opportunities the Lord provides for you. It’s exciting. This month at church our theme is: Looking Beyond Ourselves to the Sorrow of the World. Last week was really good, tomorrow should be good as well!

Well, that’s all for now. Stay tuned! Next week I’m going white water rafting!!!

I can't stay out of jail!

Pastor asked me to pray about the jail ministry late 05/early 06. I agreed to do so, but then things happened and I actually forgot about it until about a year later. It was then that the Lord started working on my heart about going into the ministry. To be totally honest, it was something that I did not want to do. It took me a while to even approach pastor about it, and when I did I was totally upfront that it was something that I personally didn’t want to do but if the Lord wanted me there than that was what I would do. At that time, Amy and Anna were already working the jail, so I would just be a sub or maybe rotate with one of them. I began training with Amy and it wasn’t too long until the Lord presented the opportunity to teach on my own. I’ve been doing so ever since and I love it. I will admit there are times when I don’t feel like going, but once I’m there with those ladies it all changes. When you’re doing something the Lord wants you to do, He gives you a heart for it.

Since being in this ministry there are a few things that the Lord has taught me.

#1 – Sometimes it’s the things you don’t want to do that the Lord uses you the most.
Like I said before, this ministry was something I didn’t initially want to do…I was scared. But, I went into it and then Lord really opened my eyes to the needs of these ladies. He gave me a love for them. I wanted to see results in this part of the ministry. We’ve always heard about men in the jail getting saved…I wanted to be able to rejoice in hearing of women getting saved.

#2 – Apply yourself, and the Lord will work through you.
In any ministry it can’t be a job. It has to be a ministry. Not something you have to do, but something you get to do! It’s not the easiest mindset to have…I’m still working on it! Really, it’s all about dying to ourselves and letting the Lord work through us. Since I’ve been working in the jail ministry, I’ve been able to see 5 professions of faith! I haven’t done anything special, I’ve just been teaching God’s Word. It’s the Lord that does the work in the hearts of people, He just needs a vessel through which he can pour out His love.

#3 – We can do more than we think we can.
Sometimes we don’t think ourselves capable to do things or even speak about certain subjects, whether they be doctrine or even the Gospel. It’s amazing what the Lord does when those circumstances come. There have been times where questions have been asked and initially I don’t know what to say, but the Lord is faithful and He directs to Scripture and gives me the words to say. There have been times where things that I believe have been questioned. It’s great to be able to go to God’s Word as backup for why you believe the way you do. We don’t have to come up with any other reason other than this is what God says. I can think of one experience in particular where I had to stand up for what I believed in. I had a lady pretty much yelling at me and telling me that because of my age I didn’t know what I was talking about. (Praise God, He doesn’t put an age limit on His Word!) She left the Bible Study mad with another lady trailing behind her. I went home and cried. I had never had anything happen like that before, but in the end I knew that I stood up for what I believed in and nothing she said was going to change that.

#4 – Your ministry must be bathed in prayer.
Just like in any ministry, I’ve found that the more prayer we put into it the more results we see. When we give our ministry to the Lord, He gives the increase. Prayer is so important in many aspects of the Jail Ministry.
~ Praying for the ladies (salvation, spiritual growth)
~ Praying for the Bible Study
~ Praying for wisdom in difficult situations

It’s been so exciting to see what the Lord is doing in the lives of these women. I just pray that He continues to work in them, as well as work in and through me.

Getting Started #2

I think I've finally got this thing figured out. I'll be posting as I feel like it. :) Please don't hesitate to comment...I'd love to hear what you think!

Getting Started

Okay...so I thought I'd give this whole blog thing a try. There's always so much going on in my life, why not write about it? With this first entry I'm going to add a few odd and end things just testing it out.

Well, that's all for now. See you next time...and thanks for visiting "The Island"!